Demon Slayer: Modern Age

Chapter 8- To Enjoy My Youth, I Suppose

The thing that woke Gabe from his slumber was a pitiful whimpering from the other side of the room. At first, before he opened his eyes, he had assumed he had forgotten to let the dog out of his room before going to sleep. But then he realized the floor beneath him was not the same texture as the bed he'd fallen asleep in.

    Gabe opened his eyes to a small prison-like cell with thick concrete walls and a metal gate door. His hands and feet were tied behind him so he could do little to stand, much less move. The whimpering he had heard earlier was from his little sister who was tied up just like him. Her eyes were pleading with his, and that's when he noticed the men.

    Two of them wore cloaks with a red and black design while the man between the two wore blue jeans and a sleeveless red t-shirt. Though the other forms were hard to make out the uncloaked man was large with large muscles that were decorated with intricate tattoos. 

    "Is this one OK?" Said the hooded figure to the left.

    The uncloaked man crouched down to a knee and scooped Gabe's little sister's face in his massive hands. Tears rolled down her eyes as he looked her over.

    "If that one doesn't do, we brought the brother as well. He's a bit older and not of your preferred gender, but we felt he would fill you up if she does not." The other cloaked man said.

    "Such a small and pitiful thing she is. Not yet mature in her mortal skin, but yet she glows with the chance of becoming a beautiful thing. She will do." The unlocked man said, his voice smooth and without emotion.

    Gabe watched this all in horror but remained silent in the hopes of finding a way to escape before they realized he was awake. But now he roared with screams of fear and anger as he watched the man's jaw fall unnaturally large. The other two men walked over to Gabe and began kicking him.

    "Be silent you child! The master has chosen to spare your life so do him the honor of allowing him to enjoy his meal!"

    The last thing he saw was the squirming form of his sister as the man bites into her neck.

***

    The day my sword arrived I was deep in meditation. Memories from my childhood which have been suppressed deep in my mind have been recently replaying in the back of my head. Ever since that last night from the selection they've been popping up whenever I've been lost in thought.

    When the chance came to distract myself from the memories, I took it without a second's hesitation. The Maiden who'd noticed me waited patiently as I rose from my work of suppressing these past moments and then escorted me to the front of the cabin.

    There stood a man with a thin frame and an angled face. His head shone bald in the summer's sun as he pulled a cloth wrapped sword from his back. Mr. Yas stood at the door of a cabin watching. The man waved me forward and I walk down the steps until only a few feet separated us.

    From there he fell to a knee and raised the clothed covered sword to me. I unwrapped the weapon and saw my Katana. From the pommel to the guard its cord wrapped handle was expertly made from fine black cloth. The guard was rectangular with a thin green outline and a deep crimson red inside with an engraved wyvern encircling the blade.

    "Isaac Nortan, I am Liam from the Onn family. I have come to present you with a Katana that I forged. May it serve you well from here and into the future. Now, if you will, take the sword so it can change its color and forever be yours."

    I did as he asked. The handle was a great fit in my hand and felt perfectly made and balanced for me. I took hold of the black metal scabbard and slowly unmasked the blade. The moment the sun hit the steel of the blade it began to morph from the base of the guard upward into a dark green. Its beauty put me in a trance of wonder and awe.