together in the framed ocean | g. tomioka

03 - Stranger

Age 19

"I made it . . ."

...

What the . . .

You soon find yourself awoken by a voice within your dream, staring blankly out the window. Another year has gone by . . . The pitch-black sky, drowning in countless stars, is a peaceful sight. You place your arms on the window sill, rest your head on them, then walk back to the futon when your eyes droop. As you are dozing off, the chilly breeze touches your skin and you feel yourself awakening. Running to the window, you hang your head out to see a quick flash, then heard the screams of the townspeople following it. You ran to grab your weapon to see what the noise was about, but right as your fingertips grazed the handle of your sword, intense pressure was put on your legs, breaking some bones. A shady figure kicked the blade to the other side of the room and slowly approached you soon after.

Shit. You twitched in pain, looking up at the demon before you. While you were distracted by the commotion outside, the demon forced a hole into your wall and managed to hurt you in that short timeframe.

"You humans are worthless without your little swords. I guess I can take my time here." Having the ability to change the flow and course of your breathing silently is something you trained long for; you took the time he was wasting to recover your gastrocnemius. Finally, after what seemed like a few minutes of the demon going on with his speech, he bent down, examining your weak-looking figure laid out on the floor, then grabbed your chin and pulled your face closer to his.

"Hmm. It would be a shame to have you get eaten."

His warm breath sent tingles to travel throughout your body. This demon reeked of the scent you smelled back at Tanjiro's house, but the smell wasn't his own. It rubbed off on him as if he had been around the demon that killed Tanjiro's family. Recently most likely. As your recovery breathing technique lessened the pain of your leg injury, you took the chance to punch the demon when he seemed distracted with his thoughts. The punch sent him flying out the way he came in.

"GAHHH."

Even with your injury, you jump out of the window and manage to land on your uninjured leg. The demon follows but this time you have your sword by your side. In truth, after the hundreds of demons you have slain, this one was a mere ant. He moved like an amateur and charged at you. Full of openings.

"Blaze Breathing, First Form. One Point Fire." You slash the demon's neck off in a single, clean strike. He wasn't experienced enough to look back at his accomplishments as a demon. However, his severed head complained of the unfairness of the battle. You cut his head into a million pieces. There are a lot of things more unfair than battle. Luckily, this demon had no scent of blood when he first crashed into your room. Perhaps he was trying to eliminate the strongest opponent first, then get to the bigger crowds.

Falling to the ground and you let out a huge sigh. Your leg is throbbing but you still have to check up on the townspeople to see if they are doing okay.

A man starts walking towards you. His long golden hair flowed with the gentle midnight breeze, and the red tips followed. Was it that man who rescued you a long time ago? The air around you was warm; however, it was like the feeling of warmth from a group hug. The warmth one feels sitting at the dinner table with family by a lit fireplace through a blizzard. He stopped and knelt down 3 inches away from you. Tall...

"Oh, I see. So you're a fellow Demon Slayer!"

He hovers over you with his sizeable eyes that were of the same colors as his hair and a smile. It wasn't him, though you thought he seemed to be around the same age as yourself. You analyzed that although he possesses a young face he was wise, reliable, and confident. Such bright energy was only given to one in a million.