Phenomenon Breathing (Mitsuri Kanroji x Male Reader)

[Chapter Zero]: Birth Of The Dragon Demon

This is more so a 'prequel' chapter to the Demon Slayer story. As the chapter number suggests, it takes place chronologically before Chapter One, but will have moments after it as well. 

A child hummed to himself joyfully as he painted on a dead corpse with said corpse's blood, which had painted the child's face red. He moved his index finger fluidly as if he was a professional artist, contrasted by the childish drawings of dragons he was doodling on the corpse. 

His eyes were a dull orange, and his hair short and dark brown. He had an innocent face, yet it was ruined by the blood that stained it. The boy's hands were filthy, covered in the same blood as well as dirt, and only matched by the raggedness of his clothes, looking as though they would fall off at any second.

 "Mama looks so pretty..." he muttered to himself with a cute smile, contrasting the malice in his actions. But was he aware of what was wrong with those actions? He moved his hands to her arm and shook her like he was trying to wake her up. Which he was trying to do. "Wakey, wakey!" He shook her again, but she made no movement. "Mama?" 

Before the boy could do anything else, he then heard the sound of footsteps. Looking away from his mother's corpse, he watched silently as the front door of his home slowly slid open, revealing  a man with light skin and short black hair. His face would have been considered handsome had it not been for the peculiar pinkish-purpleish mark on his left eye, making it seem as though his skin itself was rotting away.

"Oh... that's not very good, is it?" he spoke in a gentle and calm voice, untroubled by the sight of a child painting on his own mother with her blood. 

The child looked up at the man and blinked, before waving in a comical manner. "Hellooo. Do you want to play?"

"That doesn't look like a fun game," the man replied promptly, as he started to move forward towards the child, the floorboards creaking with every step. He ignored the shards of glass on the floor, the food and books littered all across the floor, the dirtiness of the house, and placed a hand on the child's head. The boy made no movement, and showed no signs of discomfort. He felt at ease, in fact. "Come with me." If it had been anyone else asking, he would have disagreed instantly, but the gentle aura of the man made it hard to do anything other than agree. 

The boy slowly scrambled to his feet and said, "I'm Akui." 

"That's a nice name," the man nodded with a smile as he led him outside the house. "My family will take care of you."

...

"That was how I met the Master. He was... a kind person and saved me from what could've been a far worse fate. I don't really remember how things even got to that point. Maybe it was a Demon. That might've been the case, but I don't really care anymore about the answer. It's a waste of time to think about something as useless as that.

So that was then how I learnt of the Demon Slayer Corps. The people who fight and slay Demons; that was something that a child like myself found exciting. Of course, I didn't understand what the real dangers of the job were. All I knew was that you wielded a cool-looking sword, fought for your loved ones, and killed a lot. If I had found out the truth, then I wouldn't have tried.

Well, that's what they assumed, anyway.

But I've never been afraid.

...

Sat on his knees, Obanai Iguro surveyed the sight in front of him with a mix of intrigue and annoyance. For starters, none other than the Master was sat in front of him, gazing at him with his usual, calming smile. But that wasn't Obanai's main issue with what was happening here; he would never mind a talk with the Master. His main issue was the young boy that sat next to the Master, looking no older than thirteen or fourteen, and lacking basic manners it seemed.