Chapter 1

The Demon Slayers

"What? Only five of you this time?" I asked, cockily grinning at the large thugs that were in front of me, and who, I also may add, had me backed into a corner in an abandoned alley way.

My name is Corey Kartana, age sixteen. For starters, I don't look like much of a fighter, that's for sure. I was a scrawny looking teenager, with a bit of a muscle that matched my weight of 175 pounds. Of course, I was 6'1". I had spiked dark brown hair and hazel eyes, and a slight goatee that for some reason had a hint of red to it. At the moment, my clothing is also average. A brown AC/DC shirt, with a pair of jeans, black zip-up sweatshirt (which I wore unzipped) and a pair of Vans skating shoes. I was also wearing a pair of black fingerless gloves, and a silver oval necklace that I naturally wore around my neck. But let's get back to the matter at hand. Here I was facing off against five guys who were probably double my weight and could probably bench 400lbs. Still, I kept a cocky grin on my face.

"We're sick of you, Kartana. You've been taking down to many of us, and our boss is sick of it!" yelled what seemed to be the leader of the group.

"You're boss? You mean Cross Blade? Yea, I've been meaning to go see him. I want to end all this nice and peaceful like, so I was just going to go kill him." I said with a laugh. That didn't seem to calm them down any.

"You're going to regret that! Get 'em, boys!" Now, this is the part that changes this from a street brawl, to something of the paranormal. When the four other thugs ran at me, they each grew a set of small horns atop of their heads. Their finger nails turned to claws, and their skinned turned red. They also had pair of rather sharp looking fangs to boot. These weren't ordinary street thugs...they were demons. Still, I merely grinned as they ran up to me at full speed. The closest one took a swing with such strength that would probably take down a tree, but when he had fallen through on it, I wasn't on the ground...I was a good five feet in the air, and at that moment I kicked the demon right under the chin, sending him flying into a nearby set of trash cans.

It was at that time that a blue aura started circling around me. I was used to it. It's called Spirit Energy. It happened every time I went up against demons. See, I've been able to see demons and spirits ever since I was a little kid. Some were friendly, but most weren't, so I had to defend myself. I gained control of my powers as if it was second nature, and when I was 12 became what I called a Demon Slayer. It seemed like a cool enough title. From what I could tell, normal humans could not see demons, and I'd notice a lot of times that they would try and hurt humans, so I had to help them out. Do my civic duties and all that jazz. Through my battles, I learned about an actual Demon Gang that ran through out the area of cities around my area. Why this city was beyond me. It was just a mill and logging town that grew a bit. It was nothing too special. I also learned their boss was a demon who went by the name of Cross Blade. Yea, I thought it was lame, too. So, I made it my goal to defeat Cross Blade, and maybe re-enter some peace into this area, which leads us back to the battle at hand.

"Well...it seems you're the only one left, big guy." I said, wiping my gloved hands off on one of the fallen demons shirts. I walked forward, and saw that the leader of the pack was about to run and quickly grabbed him. That aura enhanced my physical strength and speed, that's for sure, a plus for fighting demons. "Tell me where Cross Blade is!" I said, glaring at him. I had obviously scared this guy pretty good with beating the crap out of his men, so it didn't take much persuading.

"He...he's at the abandoned mill...the first one made here..." he whimpered out.

"Abandoned, huh? How freakin' cliché..." I sighed then punched him hard in the stomach, causing him to keel over. "You had better get out of here...I doubt your boss will like it much if he finds you squealed on him." And with that I walked passed him, and headed for home. I wanted to rest before I went storming into a demon stronghold, and talk to an old friend of mine about a certain weapon that I hold dear.

"Well, Corey, it's repaired...god damn you break this thing a lot." Derek said sourly as he handed me my sword. Derek Maison, age 17. Derek wore clothes similar to mine; a plain black shirt with a black coat over it, and a pair of jeans, with a pair of tennis shoes. His own hair was slicked back, and he actually had two different color eyes; one green eye on his right, and one blue for his left. Oh. And he was a demon. Another thing that I learned is not all demons are bad. Derek is one of them, and he actually saved my life. That's how we met. When I was 13 years old I got over my head in a swarm of demons, and Derek came and helped me fight them off. He was also the one to tell me the difference between Spirit Energy and Demon Energy.

It turned out he was actually born in this world. See, from what I can tell there are two worlds: Human and Demon. Derek had told me that his father told him about how in the Demon World there were all kinds of demons, who'd run amuck in the Human World, and that a barrier called the Kekai Barrier was put up. It served like a boarder wall. It was to keep the more powerful demons from attacking the Human World. There were also three demon lords who ruled the lands of Demon World, but then a half demon named Yusuke Urameshi who was the ancestral son to one of the late Demon Lords, Raizen, proposed a tournament to the other two Lords, Yomi and Mukuro. The victor would then rule all of Demon World for four years, like a presidential election. Then, the tournament would start all over again. The tournament had many competitors, but actually the one who one was a demon named Enkii, an old friend of Raizen. He declared that for now on there would be no messing with humans from Human World, and for 75 years that still stayed in play. Of course, there are always a few "bad eggs", and those were the demons that Corey and Derek fought together to defeat. Cross Blade was one of them.

"Yea, but that's what your ass is good for...fixing it when it does break! Not my fault that my spirit energy breaks it all the time." I said, laughing as I tested the blade's sharpness by gently rubbing my thumb over it. Another neat trick I learned to do with my spirit energy is coat it over my sword. It makes it both sharper and swifter, but normally it breaks after a month of that. Derek sighed again and stood up.

"Why don't you just go out and get a new one, instead of being a pain in the ass to me and making me fix it?" he asks, rubbing his left temple.

"Duh. Cause this is the best one, and I'm to damn broke to buy a new one! Being a Demon Slayer isn't exactly the best paying gig, and my dishwashing money goes to my car insurance and crap." Yes, yes...I am a dishwasher at a restaurant. Something had to pay for new clothes after they get ripped up in battle. So whenever I work, Derek patrols for me.

"Whatever..." my demon friend replied, "So when are we going to strike Cross Blade's H.Q.? News about an uproar is streaming through the channels..." Derek also proved to be a great help for gathering information, being a demon himself. It was great for tracking down potential demon attacks.

"Well...I think we should wait until tomorrow night. That leaves us all that night and the weekend incase something happens."

"All right...so let's see. Today's Thursday, so I suppose we could go after school and prepare, right? Then head to the mill at about 7pm. Work for you?" he asked, glancing down at some paper work he had on his desk. Derek lived alone in a one bedroom apartment, since his mother was killed and his father disappeared when he was a child. They left him a small fortune, so he was good for living at least. My mother liked him, so I was allowed to stay the night there all the time, which gave us time to do our demon slaying.

"Yea," I said with a nod, "That works fine for me." I grabbed my black overcoat, which I always wore over my sweatshirt when I wasn't fighting. I had already taken off my gloves. "I'll keep the sword here, and then meet you after school at 2:30 in the parking lot. Deal?" I asked, stepping towards the door and looking over my shoulder at him.

"Works for me, later, pal." And with that I took off towards home.

I let out a large yawn as I walked through the halls of my high school. I didn't get home last night until probably 11pm, and then had to do homework until 1am. Trust me: school, work and demon slaying do not mix very well. It's tiring work. Luckily, I can normally get Sundays off on all of them, since Derek doesn't have to work, and he can patrol for me. Now, I really didn't like school, but what other teenager did? I trudged down the hallway, my backpack over my shoulder.

"Ugh...6 hours of this crap...I should just skip..." I said aloud. I was seriously considering it when a heard a throat clear directly behind me. I turned around and found my friend Liz standing there.

Elizabeth Rain, or Liz for short. Everyone calls her that, because if you didn't, I swear to God she wouldn't hesitate to rip your head off. Liz had long dark brown hair, with blue eyes and a pretty good looking chest. Don't judge me, I'm sixteen. She was my age, and a bit of a tomboy. Today, she was wearing camouflage cargo pants with a white t-shirt, with a pair of tennis shoes.

"You can't skip today, Corey. We have that math test." she said, frowning at my attempted escape from school.

"Aw, lay off, will ya? I had a hard night." I responded grumpily. How could I forget? Stupid math. It never was my best subject, especially since it was Algebra III.

"What? Did you stay up all night playing video games again?" she asked. Needless to say, she didn't know anything about my demon fighting. Only Derek did. I figured it would be easier to keep it a secret if only the two of us knew which has worked so far.

"No. I was studying and doing other homework, so lay off..." I retorted rather grumpily and started walking down the hallway. Liz ran up to catch me.

"Come on, Corey, I'm just joking. So what are you doing this weekend?" she asked, walking beside me now.

"Derek and me are going to chill at his place. Probably check out the town or somethin'." If only she knew.

"Hmm...sounds like a blast," she remarked sarcastically, "Well...see ya." And she took off into one of the doors to my right. I sighed again.

"Eh...school, then, killing demons. What a night." And then I, too, went to my classroom.

The 2:25 bell woke me up from my classroom slumber, and I watched as a few people walked out of my class. I slowly got up and walked out as well, throwing my bag over my shoulder. I already knew I bombed the math test, but that wasn't any big deal. I had more important matters at hand, and that was preparing for Cross Blade. I've heard stories of his powers, but never actually saw him face-to-face. He seemed to like to keep a low profile, which made sense since he was a demon crime lord.

"Ya know...we should really be getting paid for this crap." I mumbled as I climbed into the passenger side of Derek's truck. He merely laughed.

"Yea. It would get us some pretty cool new crap. Maybe even upgrade our arsenal. And you could buy new swords so I could stop wasting my time fixing them!"

"Are you still complaining about that??" I asked, shooting him a glare, "Just shut up and drive..."

It only took about an hour to get ready for the strike. I wore my normal clothing of the sweatshirt, t-shirt (Zeppelin this time), jeans, Vans, and my gloves. This time, however, I had my broad sword with me, which made me all the more confident. It was resting on the ground, the hilt propped up against my leg. The blade was about 40", and the hilt was 12". It wasn't anything special, but it does have a story to it.

I was trained in the art of swordsmanship so I could learn how to fight demons, along with karate. I always figured the two went together, and they have helped a lot in the past. I would have died a lot of times by now I'm sure without some kind of training. I still do practice karate, but I mastered the sword after only three years. Derek, however, is even better with a sword then I am. His father showed him how when he was little, and then his mother actually continued his training, so he has a good 10 years on me. I spar a lot with him in training sessions, to keep up my skills.

I glanced over at Derek, who wore completely different clothes when he was going to go fighting. He wore a black shirt and pants, with a red belt and a white bandana, with a pair of black army boots. He also wore a set of black gloves, but they had fingers unlike my own. He had his own katana in the back seat of the truck. It was about the same length as my own sword, but was made in the Demon World and given to him by his father. Needless to say, it was harder to break.

"Were almost there." he said calmly as we drove down an old dirt road. The mill, we learned through some research, was about 20 miles down an old logging road, but we also learned that the road gave away after 18 miles. Our plan was to get out there, and just walk the rest of it. The vehicle stopped and we both climbed out. I glanced at my watch. It was exactly 9:53pm. It was a rather chilly night, but it was the middle of October. There was a full moon out, which was nice for me visually. Derek was lucky enough to be able to see in the darkness with only a little bit of light. I always called it his "Vamp Trick", but he would always reply it was only his demon powers. We trucked through the forest area and the rather slightly beaten down path to the mill. I could only figure it was from Cross Blade's demon gang, which made the most sense. I glanced at Derek who seemed to have the same idea as me, and nodded in agreement.

It took us about an hour to get to the strong hold, and the thug had not lied to us. About fifty demons or so were coming in and out of the old mill, guarding it and doing who knows what else. None of them seemed to powerful, but great numbers were always a problem with me. I'm much better with one-on-one combat. Derek was a different case. He preferred groups more then just one enemy. He had a rather powerful flame technique that helped him with that. Yes, Derek was a fire demon. I've come across elemental demons in the past, and found that fire ones were normally the strongest. He hasn't gotten it so it's like a bomb, but the ability is handy. What he does is he snaps his fingers together to create a spark, and then swings his katana into it, causing a flame to go into the works. It then sends a flaming wave into enemies. I asked him once if he could teach it to me, but he said it was a demon energy based attack. I tried using my spirit energy to create attacks like that, but each time I break my sword, as per usual. Having a weapon made in the Demon World probably helped. Oh well.

"Okay..." I whispered in a near dead silence, "Remember the plan."

"I know...I rush in first, take out the first wave of guards..." Derek whispered back.

"Right. Then I follow afterwards and head into the building..."

"With me on your tail..."

"Then we find Cross Blade and take him down."

"Right." He held up his hand, opened. I grinned, and did the same with my own.

"For love." I said quietly,

"For war." and with that we clapped hands together. Don't ask. It's a thing that we had been doing pretty much since we met. It became accustomed that we do it each time we went into battle, and so it began. Derek quickly ran forward towards the mill's entrance. Needless to say, we caught them off guard. He snapped his fingers and ignited his katana, then swung it forward, sending a wave of flame into the demon guards. Cries of pain filled the air as they caught on fire. That's when I ran into the fight. Thanks to Derek's distraction, I only had to take on a couple demon adversaries, which I promptly took care of by slicing them into two. I glanced back at Derek who was still fighting some of the demon guards. It seemed as though they hadn't even taken notice to me quite yet. My friend gave me a look that told me to go on ahead, and I did just that. I knew he'd be fine. I ran into the open entrance of the mill and looked around. Cross Blade must have made some major renovations. They were demons that looked like they were scientists, working on some kind of machine. What it was I had no idea, but what I did see was a large beast like creature standing in the center of the place, watching the production go on.

"So!" I yelled loudly, causing the demon to jump in start, "You must be Cross Blade, am I correct?" I asked, grinning and gripping the hilt of my sword.

"Aye, I am. And I take it your the infamous Corey Kartana, correct?" He asked. Now, this guy was big, really big, at least 12 feet in length, and 4 feet in diameter. He wasn't wearing clothes...not that he needed to since his body was covered in what looked like black lizard scales. His head had three horns on it, and he had rather large looking fangs, probably about 6 inches long.

"Infamous?" I asked, grinning still, "Never been called that before, "The Infamous Corey Kartana". It's gotta nice ring to it, don't you agree?" I replied, mockingly. I started laughing a bit, which merely enraged Cross Blade. He stepped forward harshly which caused the earth beneath me to shake. That shut me up.

"I've heard quite a lot about you, Kartana, and I've had enough of it. Tonight is the night I feast on your flesh."

"Is that right?" I asked, holding my blade in a ready position, "We'll see about that!" I ran forward, cutting the difference between us to about seven feet, and then jumped high into the air, blade up. My spirit energy glared around me and my weapon, and I slashed downward to split Cross in two.

"You think I'm that easy to defeat?" He asked, moments before I made contact. He held out his arm in front of my sword.

Is he going to sacrifice his arm? I thought to myself right before I made contact, but soon found out. His arm suddenly grew a large scale, which looked very similar to a sword, which parried my attack. He then used that time to use his other fist and punch my entire body. Trust me, it could.

"Gaaachkk!!" I yelled as I flew backwards into an old wood pile, my sword flying out of my reach. I don't even know where. I slowly got up, and rested my left hand over my side, Shit! He broke a couple of my ribs with that punch. Damn, he's strong… I watched as Cross started walking towards me,

"See that, human? Your no match for me with those pathetic attacks!" he began to laugh hoarsely, "You're weak. All humans are, and soon they will all be destroyed!"

"What?!" I exclaimed, my eyes widening at this statement. "What are you talking about?!"

"Oops, wasn't supposed to mention that. Oh well. You're dead, anyways!" He was about ten feet from me now. I felt myself began to sweat. I was scared; scared of death. Not until now had I ever been truly afraid of a demon, but this one was to strong for me, and Derek was no where to be found.

Am I really going to die? No...I can't die. I can't let this bastard beat me...come on...think of something...come on, Corey. Think!! That's when I felt something warm on my right index finger. "Huh?" I asked myself, and held it up. It was glowing with spirit energy. What is this? It...It feels weird. It's like it's trying to pull away from my finger. I wonder... I held it up and pointed my index finger at Cross Blade as though I were a little kid playing cops and robbers.

"Whaa? Hahahaha! Kartana, are you crazy?! Do you honestly think that you can harm me with that puny amount of energy??" He broke off into that damn laughter again. I was glaring at him now. I was scared and desperate, and this spirit energy was my only hope, but Cross was wrong. It wasn't puny. I could actually feel my entire body being drained of spiritual power, and it was all going into my finger. Then, in the back of my mind, I saw a trigger. So, I did the only logical thing I could think of at the time, and pulled it. The effects shocked both me, and I'm pretty sure Cross Blade too. A blast of blue spirit energy erupted from my finger and nailed Cross right in the chest.

"Graaahh!!!!!" he yelled in pain, for it was his turn to go flying across the room, but he crashed through the wall and out into the open. Sawdust and smoke came from the area, and I fell to my knees. I couldn't support my body anymore. That blast, whatever it was, drained me of any spirit energy I had left.

"Please...be dead...I, I can't move anymore..." I whispered to myself.

"Corey!" a voice came from the entrance. Derek ran in, holding what seemed to be his bleeding left arm, his katana sheathed at his side. He quickly spotted me and ran to my side, "Corey are you ok?! What the hell happened? What was that explosion? Where's Cross Blade?" All I could do to answer was nod my head towards the big hole in the wall I had just created.

"Heh...I really hope that did it...I can't move anymore, pal..." I muttered, rubbing my broken ribs tenderly. He smirked a little,

"I hear ya...I really hurt my arm in that fight. Three of 'em got the drop on me and ripped a bit of my arm. I think it's broken, but it will heal." Demons were fast healers.

"Y-yea..." I mumbled, but then my eyes widened as I gazed onto the hole again. There was Cross Blade, with a large black burn mark on his chest, gasping for air, but still very much alive.

"You...you little punks!!" He started running towards us, "I'll kill you both!!" Neither of us could move out of both shock and injury. We were dead. I couldn't help but close my eyes, but when a minute went by, I noticed that I was still alive. I opened one eye, then the second and found what had stopped Cross Blade. A man with long red hair and green eyes, carrying a green whip which looked like it had thorns on it. He wore tan pants and a blue shirt with a brown vest, and a pair of black shoes. He was smirking, and Cross Blade was cut into five pieces on the floor, drenched in blood. The man turned fully around to look at me and Derek,

"So, you two are Corey Kartana and Derek Maison. My name is Suichi Minamino. But please...call me Kurama."