Lucid Dreams [Demon Slayer]

[0.1] Prologue

Warnings:
Death

How... Tragic.

You probably should've been crying, but you weren't. There was simply an emptiness in your soul. You couldn't remember it being there before.

The village you'd lived in for so long, was dead.

Dead. Everyone was dead. That nice lady that gave you food was dead. That old man who helped you was dead.

You somehow were the only survivor - and only because you were out pretty far gathering firewood.

You had wondered how it happened, there was only a lot of blood and no bodies. Granted, your village was fairly small, but there would be no way a single person could just cart off with a bunch of bodies. Demons had crossed your mind, but you'd quickly dismissed it. Demons didn't exist anyways - they were just things to scare kids with, to lure them inside to give parents peace of mind.

You decided that you should probably find your house and leave. Finding a live kid in a dead village would probably raise suspicion. You'd probably be tried for witchcraft or something like that. So off you went, to find your stuff and leave. Ignorant of the eyes following your petite form.

Urokodaki had been travelling to a nearby village when he caught a whiff of blood. He was going to buy some food, and he was glad he brought his sword. The wind was blowing from the village he'd been heading to, so he quickened his pace. With each passing step, the reek of blood and death and demon grew stronger - it would definitely be unbearable for any normal person, but as a former demon slayer, he was quite used to it. The blood seemed somewhat fresh, so possibly the demon, or demons were still there.

Then he noticed the smell of a girl. In fact, she was alive, and a demon happened to be nearby.

Odd. How had the girl survived? He knew that most demons preferred female children, apparently they were more 'tender'. Maybe the girl had just returned from somewhere, maybe she was still hiding, maybe she was working with the demons. It was suspicious, but he wouldn't risk an innocent being to die, not if there was a chance at life. It didn't matter if he was retired - he was still strong enough to kill a demon.

The village was still quite far and it was a bit hard to track the girl's scent because of all the blood. He'd just have to hope that she was hiding and wouldn't be found.

As you walked towards the direction of your house, you felt like someone - or something - was watching you. It was unnerving, but you continued onward. You decided that if you were to die, you wouldn't want to die on the pathway. Eventually you arrived at your house, snapping out of your odd thoughts when you bumped into the door.

You opened the door and entered. Normally, you would've taken off your shoes but at this point you honestly didn't really care. You had a gut feeling that you probably needed your shoes to make your escape slightly quicker. You weren't in much hurry, but you still felt like something was watching you. Your instincts were usually right.

You felt hungry. You'd eaten just recently, when you were returning from gathering firewood. It was probably the least of your concerns though.

Your room was somewhat bare, you didn't feel like it needed much. Just the basic necessities, as well as a few things to keep you entertained. Of course, you had to take your origami papers with you, it was a gift from that nice lady. Plus, origami is fun. You picked up a few clothes as well as other things you might've needed.

...

Where would you go? You never really paid attention when they taught you about Japan, it was quite boring. You supposed you should probably just wander around a bit, see if you could find anything. Maybe lady luck would take pity on you and send some fortune your way.

Do you really wish to leave your hometown? You... probably grew up here, you can't really remember anywhere else. You had a feeling you were wrong, but you dismissed that thought.

Sending a quick prayer to the villagers you turned around to exit your room.

Well, you tried to.

There was something blocking the way, though.

You suddenly felt extremely small.

The... human but not quite a human was covered in black hairs. The bits where there weren't hairs were fairly pale. It's eyes were pinpricks of red against black. It was quite tall - and bulky - having to stoop to get through the door. Your door.

And yet, for some reason you still felt hungry. Of course, there was a twinge of fear, but that was covered by satisfaction. And glee, for some odd reason.

The... demon. You decided to call it a demon. It was smiling, shining you its razor sharp teeth.

Which were covered in blood.

That was...

Probably not good.

You were still mulling in your thoughts when the demon thing started walking towards you, still grinning like it finally found what it was looking for. You. Exactly in the place where it wanted you to be - backed into a dead end with no chance of escape.

It was obviously underestimating you - maybe you did have a chance of escaping. Sure, the chances were slim, but it was slowly walking toward you. You clutched your axe that you were chopping firewood with, your knuckles nearly turning white. There was still a sense of glee within you, but your heart was pumping with adrenaline. Or fear. Either way, you wanted to go down fighting.

You stepped back in fear - or so the demon thought. His grin grew wider. Your clutched your axe harder, so much that your fingers hurt. You thought that it was odd that the demon didn't seem to see the axe, or maybe it didn't care. Time seemed to slow down, and you watched each step. When it came close enough you jumped up.

And swung.

Its head came clean off.

It was easier than you expected.

Too easy.

Nothing is easy in life, [Name]. Remember that.

You stared at the axe in your hands. And the blood covering it. You had blood on your hands now. It wasn't just a simple bug that you squashed every now and again. It was a real thing. A living, thinking, intelligent being. Granted, it was probably self-defence, but it looked human enough for you to feel guilt. Murderer.

You might as well send it a prayer.

Looking back, you saw it in the same position as before.

With it's black hairs, looming height and...

Its head.

...

It...

Was it alive..?

Almost as if it read your mind, it turned its head.

You felt anger.

And suddenly, pain.

Were you going to die?