Veil of Mist

Chapter 1

I sat up, rubbing my eyes. I had been having a dream that seemed to drag on for hours. Strangely, I couldn't remember what had happened in that dream.

I crawled out of my pleasantly warm futon and padded across the tatami mats towards my back door. I slid the door back and looked out.

A gloomy sky filled with fluffy gray clouds hung over my small garden. A light drizzle of rain blurred the land in the distance and sprayed my face with a gentle mist.

"I hope there aren't any missions today," I said glumly. "I don't want to go out in that."

"Hey, y/n!" I turned away from the door as the sound of my sister's voice reached me. "Get away from there or you'll catch a cold."

I slid the door shut and laughed. "I don't think you can get sick from rain."

"Maybe not a water breather like you," my sister chuckled, coming into the room. She was several years older than me and the only one that had survived with me.

I still remembered the night. We lived with our family in this very house. They took good care of us, but the good people are always the first to die. A demon got into our house one night. It had attacked the people in the town below our house, then made its way towards the forest.

Our house was in its path.

I could still remember the horrible scratching sounds at our door as the demon clawed down the door. My mother had hidden my sister and I beneath the floorboards and we stayed there until morning. When the sun rose, the demon was gone, and so were our parents.

I smiled at my sister. She was the epitome of perfect - silky black hair that looked flawless even when it was messy, soft, glowing skin, a perfect face, and a graceful figure. It made me sad to think that she had to take the place and burden of our parents when they were killed. All that weight dumped on a young lady who should only have had to concern herself with finding a nice young man and settling down. Yet here we were, in the midst of the ongoing battle between humans and demons.

After the attack, a woman came to our house. Her name was Amane Ubuyashiki. News of our attack had reached her and she had come to assist us. She gave us the option to join the fight against demons.

My sister was eager to fight, so we both accepted her offer. Amane was able to find us a teacher. Oddly, I couldn't remember his name, even though he had done so much for us. I had decided that the blank patches in my memory were from the trauma - I had been filled with a sadness I wanted to forget.

At some point in that blurring of time, my sister gave up. She mastered three forms of water breathing, but refused to continue. She didn't want to face the hard training anymore, and I couldn't exactly blame her - I often fainted from the fatigue or coughed blood when I pushed myself too hard. She quit training and decided that with her three forms and her sword, she could protect herself.

I became a demon slayer half a year after training myself near to death. I was fueled by a rage unlike any I had ever felt before. It burned deep inside me, channeling out into the powerful water forms I created.

After passing the Final Selection, I went out to begin my life as a demon slayer. Many months after Final Selection, I came across the very demon that killed my parents in a town I was assigned to. Somehow, I knew it was the demon that took my previous life away.

That was the day of my greatest victory - the day I avenged my family and found peace. After that, I found happiness again, even though more blank patches appeared in my memory - I forgot what my family looked like.

"Y/n? Hey, Y/n, get back down to earth." My sister shook me gently.

I shook my head, clearing away the memories. "Sorry, the cloudy days make me distracted."

My sister's smile vanished for a moment - it was a cloudy day like this the last time we were with our parents. She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me. "Y/n, I know it's been hard - for me and you. But you're the braver one. You have to stay strong, okay? For me."

I nodded, letting go and smiling. "We have to stick together."

"That's right," my sister said. She pinched my s/c cheeks. "And that means no getting distracted with pretty boys, got it?"

I swatted at her hands. "Hey, no fair. You get to find a husband."

My sister ruffled my messy h/l, h/c hair. "That's because I'm not the protector of this family."

I tapped my chin in exaggerated thought. "What if it's pretty demon slayer boy, what then?"

My sister pushed me over and threw a pillow at me. "You goofball! You're such a little weasel."

"Well, this weasel has teeth!" I yelled, grabbing the pillow and hitting her in the face.

I jumped up and my sister took off down the hall, her bare feet thumping against the wood floors. I took off after her, laughing as I charged after her. She ran down the main hall, and tried to lose me by taking a sharp turn to the left. I crashed into the wall, but staggered forward, sprinting after her again.

"Running is pointless!" I shouted, brandishing the pillow. "You know I can do my total concentration breathing!"

"So can I!" my sister yelled back."

I broke off and sunk into one of the rooms. I crouched behind a low table and waited for my sister to appear. As soon as she slid the door open and slipped inside, I jumped out of my hiding spot striking her with the pillow. "Gotcha!"

She screamed and we both collapsed, laughing hysterically.

When we both regained some breath, my sister looked at me with a calm expression. "Y/n, I mean it - you shouldn't get distracted."

I reached over and smacked her with the sleeve of my night robe. "Yuna, you don't have to fuss over me. I'm y/a years old."

Yuna sat up, clutching her sides. "I know, I just want to protect you. When Mother and Father died, it became my responsibility to take care of you. I don't want to see you get your heart broken. Focus on ridding the world of demons before you decide to set your sights on a boy."

I hugged the pillow near Yuna to my chest. "I'm fine without one for now. Mostly, I just want to see the day when demons are gone from the world."

"I'm sure that day will come," Yuna replied. "Just be patient and don't die. After demons are defeated for good, you can set your sights on living a comfortable life."

I stared up at the wooden ceiling. "Yes, I just have to try not to die."

Yuna layed back down on the tatami mats beside me. "Y/n, be careful, okay? If you die, I'll be all alone here. One of the reasons I quit my training was so that you wouldn't lose any more family."

I smiled at her and took her hand in mine. "We're sisters forever, Yuna. I won't leave."

Yuna sat up. "Then you'd best work hard to keep your word, Y/n. I'll hold you to it."

I stood up and held the pillow to my chest. "Okay, I'll show you - I'll keep my word better than you."

Yuna smiled. "Good. Come, I made breakfast. Go get dressed, y/n, we don't sit around in nightclothes, silly."

"Do you think I should put on my uniform?" I asked.

Yuna slid the door open and opened a window across the hall. It had gone from a misty drizzle to a light rain. "I doubt you'll get any missions today, so no."

"Okay," I bounded off down the hall towards my room.