patience. (Demon Slayer OC insert)

prologue 1

CW: Slapping, toxic family, comment if you see anything I should add here.

From when I was young, my mother would tell me that "the one who was patient would get everything." Foolishly, I believed her.

My younger brother was sickly, his heart stopping multiple times in our mother's womb. We had thought him to be stillborn, until he released his first cries.

I hated him when I first saw him. In the past, though Mother did not love me, never outright looked at me with hatred.

We were a somewhat wealthy family, my sister married to a successful merchant, following my parent's footsteps to become wealthy. As the younger son, I had no expectations placed upon me, and though no true love was given, my personal servant, Shio, served as a source of comfort.

Mother and Father just threw money at me to serve as love. Though love was not something I was accustomed to, the attention was something I had relished.

As soon as my brother was born, Mother and Father both fussed over him, inviting prestigious physicians from all over the world to treat him. The servants adored him, fascinated with the beauty of a fleeting life.

I, the unremarkable middle child of the family, was left mostly forgotten.

"Oniisama," he called to me one day, tugging on my kimono. Mother and Father had left on a trip, and only a handful of servants still remained in the house. "Do you fear dying?"

I had looked at him, unsure of what he meant. Then, I understood. We had invited many physicians to our house, and I could see that after every visit, their expressions fell more and more.

I had failed to consider the fact that my brother was a young child. He had never asked to be born, never asked for my parents' affections to be showered on him.

To him, he was someone brought into the world, only to be told again and again how he might die. He, like me, lacked loving parents, but unlike me, had not felt the gentle tutelage of our sister, Yui, and I had done nothing to help him.

Regret struck me at that moment, and it was a turning point in my relationship with him. I no longer held back my protectiveness of him, and showered my love upon him.

No one had taught me what love was, and before Shio had explained it to me, I had thought that money was "love".

When I had asked Shio why she didn't return my intent of friendship, she pulled me aside to talk to me. I asked her, with a heavy heart, if I was simply unlovable, and her face crumpled when hearing that.

She grabbed my hand and pressed her cheek against it, tears running down her face. She bowed down, and begged for forgiveness.

I asked her why.

She told me that she thought that I had been mocking her for her origins in poverty, and her status as a servant, as one of her former masters had done. It was only now that she realized that I had done it out of care.

After that, she taught me what "love" looked like, and my world filled with color. I realized that our servants were cared, in subtle ways, and that love didn't have to be loud. It could be quiet and beautiful.

I resolved to teach my brother this.

As he grew older, he grew beautiful. His hair long, his skin pearly white from lack of sunlight, his face with small smile lines from the smiles I had coaxed out of him.

I, too, was drawn deeper in the web. I suppose it is human nature to see the beauty in short life. His life was like a butterfly. Fleeting and beautiful.

Somewhere along the line closer to my brother's death, my parents got Doctor Ren to treat my brother. Doctor Ren was a respected physician, and his assistant, Yuri, a handsome young man around my age.

When we met, I was drawn to him. He was intoxicating, with ebony hair and long, elegant fingers. When he embraced me, kissed me, and called me by my name, I finally felt completely filled with love.

I suppose I liked how Yuri looked at me, and me only. My family never mattered. No one else mattered. It was just us, together, ready to face the world.

In a family of accomplished people, as the ordinary middle child, getting someone to care for you, and you only, is difficult, but not impossible, as I now know.

My brother didn't like our relationship. He reacted poorly when I, flushed with the joy of my first kiss, told him about what happened. 

Over the years, his temper had gotten worse. To him, another physician just meant another doctor to tell him he was closer to death, and he didn't like me 'consorting with an enemy.' (His words, not mine.)

I couldn't blame him, though. He had been through so much.

I thought it impressive he was still sane. I think I would rather kill myself than live a life that wasn't full. I would go crazy with each new death warrant.

Doctor Ren gave us distressing news that we had long suspected. My brother was going to die at twenty years old.

But worry not, he told my mother as she cried in my father's arms, I am developing medicine.

That night, I sobbed in Yuri's arms. It was unseemly for me to cry as an (almost) grown man, but Yuri didn't judge, and stayed by my side that night.

After some back and forth, my parents allowed Doctor Ren to administer his prototype medicine.

I was against it. He is still young! What if we cut his life even shorter! I yelled that day. So many have failed! Some of the most distinguished physicians have failed! How can we risk doing this to Muzan! 

Mother's hand raised but Father beat her to it. A crisp slap was delivered to my cheek.

I was shocked. My father did not usually hit me. He preferred a more hands-off approach, typically making me fast for extended periods as punishment for misbehavior.

How dare you try to stop my son's treatment! she yelled at me. I was silent as she rained more verbal abuse on me, not even bothering to tone it down with the strangers watching.

It was alright. Everything was fine.

So, we allowed Doctor Ren to administer treatment, and I watched as my baby brother was given an unknown medicine and we were ushered out of the room.

That night, I slept terribly.

The next day, my parents were dead. Doctor Ren was dead. Yuri was dead. My brother was missing.

And I...

craved human flesh.