Veil of Mist

Chapter 3

Note: c/n - crow's name, h/c/p - haori color and pattern, h/l -hair length, h/c - hair color

Extra note: Please note that the demons in here are just made up by me for purposes of simplicity.

"C/n, what are you doing here?" I asked, addressing the bird. "It's pouring rain outside."

"Caw, y/n, you have a mission," C/n squawked. "Urgent! Urgent! You are to report right away!"

It seemed my pleasant rainy day would have to wait.

I groaned. "What is it?"

"A powerful demon is terrorizing a village to the west," C/n replied frantically. "It's taken advantage of the rain!"

I sighed. "Of course it has. I'll get my things, don't go anywhere."

"Y/n? What's going on?" Yuna called as I dashed past the living room towards my room.

"Urgent mission!" I called back, nearly slipping as I turned the corner too sharply to get into my room. I winced as my side struck the doorframe, but kept running.

"Urgent?" Yuna asked, appearing at the entrance. "But it's only late afternoon - don't demons come out at night?"

"The rain clouds are covering the sun," I replied, pulling on my uniform. "It's easy for a demon to take advantage of that one. They must be a powerful demon."

"Be careful out there," Yuna pleaded, handing me my haori.

It was a beautiful haori made for me by Yuna. It was h/c/p.

"My sword," I breathed, leaping out into the hallway to find my sword.

I stuffed the blade in its sheath and strapped it to my belt before dashing back to the door.

"I'll be back!" I called. "I love you!"

"Love you too," Yuna said, moving out into the hallway. "Please come back safe."

"I will," I replied, waving.

"Y/n! Hurry, hurry!" C/n shouted, pulling at my h/l, h/c hair.

I slid open the door and followed c/n into the rain.

I immediately missed the warm coziness of our home. The rain drenched me instantly, soaking through my clothes to pierce my skin. My hair was a sopping mess in seconds, clinging to my face in wet strands. The rain was pouring so hard that it covered the landscape like a curtain, obscuring my view.

"How much further?" I called over the roar of the weather. It seemed as though we'd been running for hours.

"The village is just ahead!" C/n called. "You're to assist the other demon slayers!"

Other demon slayers?

Sometimes I forgot the other slayers existed. I knew about the pillars, the Hashira, but the other slayers... I'd never met any other slayers - it was as if they had weekly functions so we could meet each other.

I'd never been injured badly enough to go to the butterfly mansion or any other healing place, and I'd only done missions alone.

C/n led me down a paved path to the arching entrance of a village that would have been quite a sight to see if it wasn't for all the rain. It was silent except for the rain in my ears and my heart in my chest.

I was so focused on searching for the demon, I had only a second to realize I'd tripped over something.

I crashed to the ground, hitting my head hard on a rock and getting mud down my front. Warm liquid trickled down my face and I had to use my haori sleeve to wipe the blood as it dripped into my eye.

I stood up fully and turned to see what had tripped me.

The thing I'd tripped over was a body.

It was a young boy, looking perhaps two years my junior. His eyes stared up at the sky, unseeing. Blood mixed with mud in the puddle he was lying in.

I placed two fingers against his neck. "Still a bit of warmth - he must have died recently."

Oddly, there was nothing but the rain on the empty streets of the village. The villagers, I assumed, had been ordered to take shelter within their houses while the slayers carried out their work.

"Hey you! Are you a slayer? We need help!" The shout startled me from my thoughts, dragging me back to reality.