Fireflies and Dreams-Demon Slayer

Prologue

"Such a drag..." Aki thought.  She strolled through the town dressed in her favorite kimono but surrounded by her servants with parasols to cover her pale skin from the sun. 

She was on her way to meet her fiancé for the first time. Through the exchanged letters of their parents, it was decided that they would get married. Being the daughter of a very wealthy family with nobility, this was just common practice.

Aki had no choice and she had no qualms about it publicly. She accepted her fate long ago and only wished that her husband-to-be was could at least protect her if needed. 

Small and petite, she could barely fend for herself in any case. Aki was born feeble and weak too. So she couldn't work if she wanted to. Not only that, she was never criticized on anything she did. It made her feel strange. 

While rich and with everything to her name, she was still humbled by her grandparents who taught her how to sew and sew properly. Even cook and cook properly.

Before she knew it, she was kneeling on a pillow in front of her fiancé. Their servants were kneeled close-by and dare not look at the couple.

"...his arms are skinnier than mine!" she thought. There was no way this man could protect her and give her a sense of comfort that she desired in a partner.

He smiled at her and she bowed her head. "Thank you for accepting me as your bride. I look forward to our wedding," she said. The man smiled, "You're beautiful. We'll have lots of children to secure our legacy!" he said.

The way he said that made Aki get chills. She didn't like the idea of raising children with this man. She didn't really find him reliable but she wasn't getting any younger. She was 22 and her parents had fears that she wouldn't be able to give children if she turned 25.

"Yes...many sons." she added. It was half-hearted and coated to the brim with doubt. She was the only child and for her bloodline to be successful, she had to have boys. Which she hated. She didn't want to get married or even in relationship. 

All she wanted was to be alone.

That night, she snuck out of her home and decided to wonder the trails of the nearby woods. She enjoyed walking around without people, especially without an umbrella. 

The moon was strikingly beautiful and the stars came out brighter than ever. She liked being alone. What she liked more was being judged.

No one spoke their judgements against her. No one told her what she was doing on anything was wrong. She was never criticized or taught anything different than what she was doing. It unnerved her.

She would overhear people being yelled at for their repeat mistakes. People being lightly scolded for a first time offense. She had a belief that if she did anything, she should be told if it was being done right or wrong. Instead, she would only be greeted with fake kindness and tolerance.

On purpose, she would sometimes ruin expensive textiles just to hear anything about how wrong she did it. But she was only met with a pained smile and letting her continue doing what she was doing to the point of a mangled garment that couldn't even be worn.

Then she realized something. She had no idea of her surroundings. Nothing was familiar for her and she was lost. She wasn't on a path anymore and she started to panic about finding her way home.

"...hello?" she called, hoping a kind soul would find her. Suddenly there was growling behind her and the brushes crinkled. She whipped around to see something 5 times her size pushing through the thicket.

It's eyes glowed against the moonlight and she could feel her heart jump into her throat. This was a beast of the wild. It was hungry. And she was a perfect meal.

Her fight or flight activated and she took off as fast as she could. Her kimono hindered her movement greatly but she had a fire in her heart to live.

Aki ran. Not knowing where to go, she took blind turns deeper into the woods. She looked behind her to see the beast was right on her tail. 

She was crying at this point and was ready to accept her death. Then her foot didn't hit the ground and she started falling.

It happened all so quickly that she ran herself off a cliff. She didn't even scream and only closed her eyes to wait for the death she accepted. 

Her frail body crashed against the water and the stream took her away. 

"There." the man spoke. He planted the last of the reed against the river bank. He stood up and lifted his hyottoko mask to wipe his sweat. 

A body floating down the stream took his stream and he grew panicked. He immediately jumped in and grabbed the person's clothing.

He flipped the body over and saw young girls pained face. He quickly checked for a pulse and found one. 

"You poor thing!" he exclaimed. He moved his mask back down and started his trek for his village.