Demon Slayer: Nature's Symphony

3. The Demon Slayer Corps

Hisato's POV

The cold stone floor was hard beneath me, but I didn't move. I hadn't moved in a long time, except to shift my legs when they started to cramp. The room around me was dark, with only a single window near the ceiling letting in a sliver of light. It was small, and too high up for me to reach, not that I tried anymore.

I sat there, knees pulled up to my chest, trying to remember what Haru-nii used to say when I was scared. He would always have something to say. Something funny, something that would make me feel better. But that voice was getting harder to remember, like trying to hold onto a handful of water.

Where was Haru-nii now? Why wasn't he here?

I looked at my hands, still feeling the phantom weight of the sword I'd held what felt like a lifetime ago. My fingers twitched, and I could almost hear the clanging of metal as I swung the blade in the darkness. The memory was fuzzy, but I remembered the sound of the demons screeching as I cut them down, the same sound the villagers made when they found me afterward.

Why had they screamed at me? Why had they run away?

My stomach growled loudly, snapping me back to the dim dungeon I'd called home for... days? Weeks? Maybe months. Time didn't make sense anymore, but I knew it had been long enough that I'd stopped crying for Haru-nii. He wasn't coming, was he?

Maybe he's hiding? Playing one of those games where you wait and wait and... and...

The door at the top of the stairs creaked open, and I straightened up, the faintest flicker of hope warming my chest. Maybe it was Haru-nii this time! Maybe he finally found me!

But no. It was the same old woman, with the same old, wrinkled face, carrying a tray of food. She didn't look at me. She never did. She just placed the tray near the entrance of my cell and backed away, never meeting my eyes. The heavy iron door clanged shut again behind her, and I was alone.

I stared at the tray, my stomach twisting in hunger, but I couldn't make myself move toward it. My arms felt too heavy, too tired to lift. I wasn't even that hungry anymore, not really. Not like I used to be. Sometimes I felt hungry, but other times it just went away, leaving a dull ache in its place.

I didn't understand.

"Why... why am I here?"

The words echoed in the small cell, weak and hoarse from lack of use. No one answered. They never did. When the villagers looked at me, they looked at me like I wasn't... me. They didn't call me by my name, not even once. I was "the demon" to them. A monster.

But I wasn't a monster, was I?

I wasn't a demon.

I hugged my knees tighter, trying to remember what it felt like to be held. Haru-nii used to hug me, used to tell me that I'd grow up to be strong, and he'd always protect me. That's what brothers were for, right?

So why did everyone hate me now?

I couldn't understand. After that day, after I killed the demons... everything changed. The people who used to smile at me now crossed the street when they saw me, their faces twisted in fear. They whispered behind their hands, but I heard them.

"He's a demon in disguise."

"A cursed child... no human boy could do what he did."

"Keep him locked up. If we let him go, the whole village will be doomed."

I didn't know what they meant. I didn't feel like a demon. I didn't feel like anything anymore.

The light from the window started to fade, and I knew the day was ending. Another day gone, just like all the rest. Another day waiting for Haru-nii to come, to tell me this was all a mistake. He'd take me home, and we'd eat dinner together again. Just like before. But even though I told myself that every night, the door never opened for him.