Love me as i am (Genya x OC) (Light in the dark remake)

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[Predating the death of Tanjiros family by a year, the Hayashi twins are 12 years old]

~

Third person

     Sakoshi had done her best to raise her sister's children, even though she never wanted children. She knew she could never love them as much as her sister did when she was pregnant with them. Despite that fact, she wanted to raise them, she didn't want the, being raised by the cult. She kept them away from the cults teachings, but this simple act would lead to her death. The children 12th birthday passed over 2 months ago in January. Isamu and Saori were peacefully eating dinner, Sakoshi watched since she didn't plan to eat till scheduled mealtime. They expected to have a peaceful night as always... that was until the shoji door to their room was busted down by an angry mob and Sakoshi was dragged out screaming.

     The twins ran behind the angry mob, trying to break through the crowd of people dragging their aunt away as she screamed. She knew her fate, she just didnt want the children to have to see it. They were brought to the court yard, where the leader of the cult Arata was waiting, his face obscured by his wretched mask like always. It was snowing pretty hard, and as Arata made his speech about how Sakoshi had brought upon famine and misfortune into the cult, the Hayashi twins started become more and more scared. They didnt want to be punished like their aunt, they were already considered a disgrace to the cult. So, as the bigger members of the angry mob moved in to start beating on Sakoshi by order of Arata... they ran.

     They had no shoes on, Saori wearing her kimono and Isamu wearing his montsuki. They weren't dressed for the harsh winter, nor were they prepared to run from a psycho dude chasing after them. They just ran as fast as their legs could carry them, their aunts screams fading into the distance until all they could hear was the sound of their own labored breathing and the man quickly catching up behind them. Isamu had seen this man before, he was favored within the cult, along with a few others. When he was born, the crops grew big and strong and there wasnt a storm for almost a year, meanwhile when they were born they were born during a violent thunder storm that damn near tore apart the temple and ripped up all of the crops.

     The man who was chasing after them was about 5 or 6 years older than them, but he looked like he could be in his 30's with how much muscle he packed on. Isamu had seen him during gatherings, prayer, or daily chores, and he always looked back at Isamu with complete and utter hatred. Isamu knew somewhere deep down this man wanted him and his sister dead, and them just running away was the perfect excuse to do so. As a last resort, Isamu decided rather then trying to out run a man they knew they were never gonna be able to outrun, let him think they were dead. 

     Quickly grabbing Saori's hand, he ran and made it look like the two slipped. Saori screamed, going silent once they hit the ground. The snow softened their landing but Isamu's nose and head were bleeding, and Saori (who already had an open wound for a previous injury) was bleeding horribly from her back. The man who had been chasing them scoffed, upset that he didn't get to kill them. He started running, wanting to get back inside the warmth of the temple. Saori was the first to wake up, crawling her way over to Isamu and shaking him  to get him to wake. He was quick to wake up once Saori started shaking him, his survival instinct kicking in almost instantly.

     "Shh, it's okay. Don't cry, we're gonna be ok." Isamu said, pulling himself up and picking up his sister to carry on his back. Though Saori was the oldest of the two, Isamu was always better at comforting people. They walked for miles, two days. Blood had dried on Isamu's head, and the gash on Saori's back had gotten infected and gave way to sepsis. They were dying, and they knew that. "Please we're begging you. We need help!" Saori pleaded, the adult staring at them as if them were the scum of the earth. They didn't even say a word to them, just walked away muttering something about them looking like vermin.

     The blizzard on that second night had gotten so bad, Isamu was considering making his peace with whatever god would listen. Isamu hobbled his way into a cave, his feet were blue from walking in the snow for so long, Saori was becoming lethargic, and hypothermia was starting to set in. He placed her down on the cold floor of the cave, sitting down beside her, taking off his Haori and wrapping it around her to try and keep her warm. They both knew that their chances of survival were slim to non, they knew they were likely to die. He just held Saori, her breathing more labored than before.

     Just when Saori was sure she was dead, finally out of her misery... she heard footsteps echoing in the cave they were. She looked up at Isamu, he seemed to have heard them too but his glazed over eyes made it hard to tell. "Oh my goodness!" A woman's voice, she sounded pretty. Saori could barely see anything, the cave was so dark and her vision was already blurred, she just said the first word that came to mind. "My brother is hurt..." She gave into sleep not long after, her body feeling like it was floating and her pain just melted away.

~Was this what death felt like?~