The Descendant (A Retelling and love story of Demon Slayer)

Two

Akari could hardly believe it. She was in Taisho Era Japan. How it happened she didn't know and right now she couldn't bring herself to care. Trying to figure out something as complex as time travel was beyond her, so instead she focused on the only logical thing she could, and that was that she had a choice to make. She had learned about the Ahiko Shrine Tragedy back in primary school. The history books made it seem as though it had been destroyed in some powerful storm, not only taking out the neighboring village but this one as well. Buildings had been leveled and there had been no survivors. Traveling merchants had discovered the destroyed village and came to the conclusion that wild animals must have taken advantage of the chaos afterward, as only bits and pieces of human remains could be found.

Of course, that wasn't the truth. In reality, there had been demon slayers sent to the villages to dig up more information on rumors of a demon in the area. That demon destroyed everything and feasted on the village occupants without mercy before moving on. Due to there being no survivors and the fact that the merchants already came up with a reason for the madness, the Master of the Demon Slayer Corps didn't see a need to alter that. That's how the Tragedy Of Ahiko Shrine came to be.

Light garnet eyes gazed up at the dark wood of the ceiling above. It was night now, the sun had long set and Akari's constantly spinning thoughts wouldn't allow her to get any sleep. After she had collapsed the nurse had instructed the stranger to carry Akari inside, and once on the bed, she received a stern talking to from the doctor. All of it had of course gone right over her head, as she was seemingly having an existential crisis, but she followed what little orders she had heard from the doctor. Stay in bed and eat, the latter of which she wasn't about to argue with. Thinking back, she hadn't eaten a full meal since the morning she left for school on that fateful day. Now her stomach was full and all she could do was stare at the ceiling, consumed with the thoughts of what she was supposed to do now. Either she stays here in the town, posed to defend it from the inevitable threat that is sure to come crashing down any day now; or she abandons the town to the path that fate had chosen for it... A choice that would no doubt affect the flow of history.

"W-We're all going to die..." A shaken male voice broke the silence of the night and Akari turned to face where the injured man lay. "T-There's no hope, t-they're all dead..." Akari sat up, swinging her legs off the bed just as the man began to wail hopelessly in dread. His sobs tugged on Akari's heart. The sounds of someone who had lost everything. It pulled her across the cold wooden floor and to the side of his bed. She settled on the chair as the man continued his sobbing, now getting a look at his amputated left hand wrapped extensively in bandages as he attempted to shield his face from the world. Akari could just make out the purplish red veins peeking up from the edge of the bandages, reaching out like little pointed fingers up the length of his bicep. The calling card of that infection the nurse had mentioned before. There was also a thick sheen of sweat coating his pale skin, alluding to the fever that she could feel radiating off of him even at this distance. Her heart tugged painfully and she found herself taking in a gentle breath, speaking softly to him.

"Hope... It is not something that fades with the death of others; it in fact, lives on in the people that surpass them." His sobs softened, his arm laid over his eyes to shield his tear filled eyes from her gaze. Akari, however, was looking out the window to her right in a daze so the guy had no need to worry about his pride. "Like a torch handed off from one person to the next in the midst of a harsh snow storm. Its brilliant glow may flicker as the winds of evil push against it, but that is why we are here, to keep that flame ever burning. We owe it to those who passed it on to us." His sobs had faded and he peeked at the brunette from under his arm, content to listen to the beautiful strangers' heartfelt words. Akari placed a hand on her heart gently glancing at the man with a soft smile. "Wouldn't you agree?" She watched as he furiously wiped his eyes and nodded sharply. She gave him a few moment's to compose himself and she dipped a wet rag into a bowl of water that was lying on the end table, draping it on his forehead to bring the fever down. She also took the time to light the candle that sat there so they could see each other better. Its dull glow would hopefully not disturb the other patient that laid on the other end of the room.