Life of a Demon Slayer

Chapter 1: Grief -part 1

The cold morning air felt crisp in xis lungs as xe jogged along the forested park path. Despite the chill in the air, Mark wasn't cold as xe'd worked up quite a sweat during xis run.

As xe arrived at xis front step, Mark stowed xis earbuds in xis pocket and unlocked the front door.

"I'm home!" Xe announced.

There was no answer from the empty house as Mark hung xis keys on the hook by the door.

Mark let out a sigh as xe kicked off xis running shoes and headed downstairs to xis room. Mark tugged off xis sweat-drenched shirt and threw it on the growing pile of dirty laundry in the corner. It missed the basket and landed among the assortment of garments on the floor. Mark ignored it and fished fresh clothes from the closet and crossed the hall to the bathroom.

Mark tossed xis new clothes on the counter and crouched next to the tub to wait for the shower to heat up. Once it was a good temperature, xe carefully stripped down and hopped in. For a while, Mark stood under the warmth of the water with xis eyes closed, letting it wash away the sweat and grime from the morning. After a time, Mark heard xis phone buzzing. With a small sigh, xe turned the water off and wrapped ximself in a soft towel before fishing the device from the pocket of the shorts discarded on the floor. As xe glanced through the list of missed notifications xe spied a voicemail from the schools number. There were also some messages from some unknown numbers but xe decided to deal with the phone call first.

Xe dialed the number and put the phone to xis ear, listening to it ring for a minute before there was a click and an elderly sounding woman answered.

"Hello? Brookwoods attendance office: how can I help you?"

"Hi. Markus Dragons. I won't be coming in today." Mark said, running a hand through xis wet blue hair.

"No problem! I'll mark you down," the woman replied with a small chuckle.

"Thanks. Have a good day." Mark rolled xis eyes at the obvious pun and hung up.

The phone thunked against the floor as Mark slid down to a crouch. Xe let out another sigh as xe pushed xis long hair from xis face.

Xe sat that way for a while, leaning against the wall with xis eyes closed, until xis legs were cramped and sore. As xe stood and stretched, Mark found xis hand drifting up to the bandage on xis cheek. In the foggy mirror, the skin around the bandages on both xis neck, face and body looked dull and discolored—the spots were all still tender to the touch and bruises were starting to form around the raw skin.

Mark grabbed another towel from the closet and gently patted xis face and neck dry before carefully peeling off the old bandages. When xe did xe could see that the skin around the stitches on xis ear was still red and puffy; the air stung against the wounds. Mark quickly re-covered the stitches with fresh bandages before getting dressed. After pulling on xis clothes, Mark grabbed a hair tie from the counter and pulled xis hair back into a low ponytail, being careful not to nick any tender spots with a fingernail.

When xe was happy with xis hair, Mark made xis way downstairs and sat down in the kitchen. Xe kicked xis feet up on one of the other chairs and pulled out xis phone. Xe scrolled the Internet mindlessly for a while. How long? Xe wasn't sure, but by the time xe looked up again the sun had risen a generous amount.

Might as well be productive, xe decided.

Xe snatched a sweatshirt from xis room before returning downstairs to put on xis shoes. Grabbing xis keys from the hook by the door, xe left.

Instead of continuing down the road as xe usually would for school, Mark took a hard right outside of the gate and started making xis way along the edge of the wooden fence. Once xe reached the corner of the fence, xe took another right. Xe continued walking for about 10 minutes before xe reached the edge of xis property, marked by a thick black iron fence. Mark, having done so several times before, quickly scaled the fence to land softly on the other side. Xe continued onward.

*Editors note

Pictured at beginning of chapter is Markus Dragons, a spirit slayer.*