KNY Fanfiction - The Last Breath of Bravery

Inside the Lion's Maw

Cradled in his father's limp arms, Wemu awakens as he gazes at his shoulder. A bloodied black robe wrapped tightly around it with the remanence of a large handprint that was holding his gaping wound closed with sheer willpower. The young boy's body feels so numb and he can't feel his upper body as he wipes the dried blood off of his face. His eyes look up at his father but his eyes seem to be different... they've lost their childlike shine...only left with his normal deep red irises. Moments pass as Wem stays within his deceased father's lap as he seems frozen in time and space... He sits with a blank stare at the nothingness that surrounds him... he sits with a blank stare at nothing... he sits...staring blankly...

Then a sound echoes throughout the quiet black night, a loud sound that rattles Wemu out of his stare as his pupils focus once more. A high-pitched sound... a baby cry... the baby is alive! Wem clenches his shoulder as he rises from his dead guardian, slowly searching for the cries. Returning back to his shattered home, he gently wandered to his parent's old bedroom, reliving the moment when he first saw the claw marks and blood on the walls... It seems like the mother put up a fight but ultimately decided to take the battle out of the house... As he surveys the claw marks he catches a glimpse of movement a the pile of clean blankets as he slowly approaches it. Lifting the soft blankets, a small baby with two-toned hair wriggles and whines at the glimpse of light hitting her. Her eyes were bright red and a set of small fangs protrude from the sides of her cheeks as well as the sides of her stomach area. Stricken with disgust at the demonic-looking baby, Wemu gazes at the baby but as he touched her face, she let out the smallest of giggles, so innocent and so small... Huddling down in the corner of the destroyed room, he cracks a small smile as he holds his baby sister in his arms as this is the last living member of his family... Rasshu...

It's been about 11 years since the incident and Wemu has grown into a stoic young teenager. Some villagers from the nearby town would check on Wemu and Rasshu from time to time but they slowly stopped coming as they feared Rasshu's demonic facial features, believing that she would one day turn on the village, mirroring what happened to their parents... At that point, Wemu had adjusted to becoming independent and strong in order to keep himself and Rasshu safe, soon pursuing the art of demon-slaying. Gathering the past books that his late mother used to write and record in, he had access to the Benaio's signature breathing style; "the Breath of Bravery". Each day, he would practice the forms from sun up to sun down, and eventually, he taught himself all of the breathing forms that his mother knew throughout the years. When he would practice his swordsmanship, Rasshu would always be mimicking her older brother as that's all she had to do for the most part. She would gleefully use a solid wooden stick as her katana while she swung it wildly around, and on good days, Wemu would even humor her as they playfully sword-fought together.

However as time went on, Wemu became a busy person, as he would drown himself in hobbies and errands to do; fixing and cleaning the house, tending to the wheat farm, cooking and preparing meals, training and honing his skills, and even recently he had to drain out the nearby well to board it up since it hasn't been working for quite a while. Rasshu would follow him while he did his daily routine, mimicking his duties, and eventually, she would try to help him though he would never allow her to... Rasshu was about 11 years old, but he treated her like she was still 5, and sure, he was doing all of this in order to make sure she would stay comfortable. But she felt pity when Wemu would come back looking drained and disheveled from his routinely struggles. She would often look up to him, as he would do so much in so little time and he wouldn't even show any hints of weakness as he referred to his constant activities as "normal" for him... He was just content with this life he carved out for the both of them, but Rasshu... Rasshu felt like she had to do something, there had to be more than this to life. Sitting and watching from the sidelines without contributing couldn't be the extent of her life, right...