Author's Note:
So, this is my first time actually posting one of my stories really anywhere actually. I'm fairly proud of this piece of work so far and I hope you all enjoy reading what my brain churns out. At the moment, I'm mostly posting this over on my tumblr ( edomusings) so if you want to read the chapters before they get posted here, they'll definitely be up over there. Thanks for giving this AU a chance and please, if you like it or don't like it, feel free to tell me about it. P.S. Sorry these first couple chapters are so short. Hopefully I'll be able to make them longer for later chapters.

- Zee

Everything was a blur as a dark haired woman sprinted past burning trees and deeper into the dark forest to escape the massacre behind them. The wound she had received on her side while trying to escape was excruciating, but that was nothing compared to the pain she felt in her heart. Everyone and everything was gone. All except her dear little sister that she carried tightly in her arms as she ran away from the burning village. The adrenaline that coursed through her veins allowed her to get far into the depths of the dark forest, but she didn't stop until she knew for sure that the humans had given up on chasing them.

Her chest heaved as she finally stopped running, her lungs burning for air, but this was no time to stop moving. She clutched the sobbing girl while limping through the forest and forced herself to push on despite the gaping wound on her side. She had to keep her only remaining family safe from harm. She couldn't protect her little brother, but she would be damned if she didn't give everything she had left to protect her little sister. But she knew it couldn't be that easy. She couldn't die and leave her poor sister on her own in a world filled with humans. She had to live for her sister's sake.

"It'll be okay, Chizuru. We're going to be okay." She knew what she said was a complete and utter lie. She had no idea what to do or where to go. All she could do was hold her little sister closer to her neck, hoping her scent would be enough to calm the girl down, but even that was a shot in the dark. After everything that had happened that night, something as simple as her scent wasn't going to be enough. But that was better than nothing. Her scent would remind her that she wasn't alone. That she still had someone there for her. That there was someone who would take care of her and stay with her no matter what life threw at them.

After what felt like hours of aimless wandering, her body finally began to give in to its wounds. With the amount of blood that she lost and the agony of losing practically her entire family, the woman barely managed to brace herself against a nearby tree before slumping to the forest ground, unconscious. Chizuru, who had fallen into a fitful sleep, was jolted awake from the fall and the feeling of her sister's arms loosening around her body.

"Nee-san?" Her hesitant voice was the only sound in the early dawn making her feel all the much smaller and alone. The rays from the emerging sun shining through the trees brought her no comfort at all as they reminded her too much of the burning flames that engulfed her home. Tears once again began to stream down her face as she begged and cried for her sister to wake up, but no matter how loud she was or hard she shook her, the woman wouldn't move.

Chizuru was terrified. She didn't want to be left alone.

But there wasn't anything she could do. She wasn't anything like her sister, mother, or any of the females in her village who could help heal wounds just by being near an injured oni. She was too young and too inexperienced to be any help at all. All she could do was crawl under her sister's limp arm and curl up next to her, hoping that maybe just maybe she could be able to help.

Suddenly, the rustling of leaves caused the tiny girl to look toward the noise in fear and she hastily scrambled back around in an attempt to hide from whatever was coming. She could hear the noises getting louder and clenched her eyes shut, gripping the fabric of her sister's kimono.

"Oi, why are you being so noisy?" An annoyed boy's voice sounded above her small frame and she hesitantly cracked one eye open to see a messy haired brunet glaring down at her. Chizuru let out a panicked squeak and turned back to try and hide from the stranger.

"You woke me up with your screaming and now you won't say anything? Why- woah. Hey, she doesn't look okay." The boy noticed the bloodstained material of the woman the kid was hiding under and by the looks of how much of the fabric was stained red, he could tell she wouldn't be okay if he let them be. Even though he had just met them and already despised the fact that his sleep was interrupted, the woman in a way reminded him of his own sister.

Chizuru could hear footsteps quickly leaving their location, but she refused to make a single move until the only sounds left were the sounds of the forest. The young girl quickly crawled out from under her sister's arm and desperately tried to wake her, but to no avail.

"Nee-san, please wake up! We have to go before he comes back! Nee-san!" However, her quiet pleas were only met with her sister's shallow ragged breathing. The smell of blood overwhelmed all her senses and she didn't notice the sound of voices nearing until it was too late.

"Kondo-san, I think they were over there." Chizuru heard the voice from before coming back and it sounded like he had brought someone else with him too. She frantically looked around for something that could be used to defend herself and the two swords that hung on her sister's hip caught her eye. Scrambling toward them, she tried to pull one out of its sheath, but they were pinned and much too heavy for her to even attempt lifting.

"Are you alright, little one?" Suddenly, Chizuru heard a kind voice and she turned around to see the same boy from before and another older man kneeling next to him. They were humans! Had they followed them all the way from their village to finally finish the two of them off while her sister was injured and couldn't defend herself?

"Don't be scared. We're not here to hurt you, we're only here to help." The man could see the poor girl was terrified and trembling as soon as they made their presence known. He could tell the two had been through something awful from the blood and dirt smeared on their clothing, and he wanted to calm the girl down the best he could so he could help them.

"My name is Kondo Isami. What's your name?" He tried for a simple enough question that wouldn't panic the scared girl and would be easy enough for her to answer.

"Chi-chizuru…" She tried not to sound scared, but that was hard enough seeing that he was a stranger, but it was even harder knowing that he was a human that could hurt them. The man seemed to be pleased with her answer and stood up, slowly walking over then kneeling down near her.

"Well Chizuru-chan, I think your friend needs some help. We're going to help her, okay?" The little girl was still nervous about the two people and especially because they were humans too. She really didn't want to trust them, but she didn't know what else she would be able to do alone to help her sister. Chizuru nervously nodded and allowed Kondo to gently pick her sister off the forest floor, mindful not to agitate her wound any more than necessary.

"Hey, come on. You don't want to leave her, right?" The brunet had walked over to her and held his hand out, waiting for her to take it. His expression was slightly annoyed, but she nervously reached out to hold it regardless as the older man gently carried her sister out of the forest. All she could do was follow the two humans and hope they would be okay in the end.

Thanks for reading! I'll hopefully be updating weekly!