From the day Yua was born into the infamous Demon Slayer family Mochizuki her path in life was already set.
Join the Demon Slayer Corps and try to clear their family's name, because their ancestor had been the pupil of the traitor Michikatsu Tsugikuni, learning from him Moon Breathing Style.
They were feared and watched with mistrust.
No matter how powerful a Mochizuki was, they never reached the Rank of Hashira.
Now it was Yua's turn to reach this impossible goal, to show that her family is only loyal to the Demon Slayer Corps.
At seventeen she is close.
Yua should be happy, but she feels so empty inside.
She never had a choice in her life, she only followed orders.
What does she really want?
For what she was living?
It's not after she meets a certain young boy and his demon sister, that Yua realizes what it truly means to live for yourself and your dreams.
What is it with me and starting now stories if I already have a bunch I need to finish?
But I have fallen into Demon Slayer Hell again and need to at least get out the first chapter to see if anyone would like this idea. .3.
So enjoy!
Chapter 1: Moon Family
Her house had always been more of a museum of her family's failures, than a real home.
Broken Katanas litter the walls.
Old Demon Slayer Corps uniform laying in closets.
Haori's passed down from parent to child.
Yua had a feeling her ancestor lived in their home.
Watching them, the new generation, with cold eyes, whispering in their ears.
Whispering bring honor to our family.
Wash our name from the sin of our forefathers.
Become a Hashira.
The Moon isn't bad, it's the light in the darkness of the night.
It was chilling.
Yet, she couldn't just leave home.
All Mochizuki's lived in this old big house, so leaving the family was out of the question.
They only had the family.
Friends were hard to have if your whole life only revolved around learning how to kill demons and your Demon Slayer comrades been fearful and mistrusting of you.
The midnight blue-haired girl stood before the door, signing quietly to herself.
Her trusty crow, Kaguya, was nuzzling her cheek, trying to lift her spirits. She gave her a pet and told her to go to rest.
Yua wasn't a little girl anymore, she could face her family.
Stepping into the house, she had to dodge her two young cousins Hikari and Kaito, who played catch with each other.
The two were lucky.
She hadn't had a playmate when she was their age.
For her, it had been only training, training, and training.
It was kind of sad if she thought about it.
"Yua, you are back!", greeted the voice of her aunt and Kaito's mother Chiyoko. Her aunt was still wearing her Demon Slayer uniform, she probably came home also a few minutes ago.
She greeted her aunt back and then asked where her grandfather, Chiyoko's father, was.
Her aunt pointed at the Tea Room, then shrieked at Kaito and Hikari since the two rascals wanted to pick up two Katanas from the walls.
Yua made haste to her grandfather.
Makoto Mochizuki was an old man, who lost his arm in a fight with a lower moon, when he was forty and had to end his Demon Slayer carrier.
It had been a bitter pill to swallow for the proud men since he had nearly become a Hashira.
Now he laid all his hope in the new generation, especially Yua herself.
"I'm back, grandfather.", said Yua with a low bow to him.
Like she was taught she waited till her grandfather gave her permission to raise and sit before him.
He was playing Shogi against himself, nursing a cup of tea.
Curious Yua sniffed the tea and had to correct herself. That was sake mixed with tea.
Since a few months, grandfather picked up this bad habit of spiking his tea.
"Yua, report.", he demanded coldly to her.
Not asking if she was all right.
Not asking if she was injured.
Not asking if she needed to rest.
For Makoto only the Demon Slayer Corps mattered. Only matter if one of his family finally became a Hashira and their name could be said without shame.
The seventeen-year-old was used to it, still, sometimes she wonder how it would have been if her grandfather was like the silly old grandpas in the novels she liked to read.
She only knows from Makoto's cold and discipline.
Hugs or dear gods kisses were a waste of time in his eyes. How her late grandma could have married this piece of cold ice was still a mystery to Yua.
But she was used to it, so she gave him her report.
He didn't show any emotion, didn't show if he was proud of her for killing a strong demon who had killed babies to young children.
Only asked one thing.
"Your rank?"
"Still Hinoto."
The balding elder with a long beard took a big sip from his spiked tea and gave her his patented disappointed look.
"You have to give your all Yua.", he told her like always. "You are the only one, besides me, in our family who can use Moon Breathing, your aunt, your uncle, and your father are failures. It's your duty and honor to become a Hashira. All our hopes lay with you. Why can't you level up in Rank?"
She bit her tongue not to shout at her grandfather. To throw at him words full of hate.
She hated how he thought so little of his own children, who hadn't be able to learn Moon Breathing from him.
She hated how she was forced to be better than she already was.
She was seventeen years old and for a good four years a Demon Slayer. In her eyes, she did a good job in climbing the ranks.
One could be proud to be Hinoto at such a young age.
Yet her grandfather expected her to climb any week a new rank. He seemed sick of waiting that she became a Hashira.
He wanted it now!
How she wished she could say this all to him. He deserved a piece of her mind, yet she couldn't.
Since young age, it was drilled into her to respect her grandfather as the head of the family.
He knew what was best for the Mochizuki.
Yua hated this so much.
She couldn't even describe how she hated it. In a way she know it was wrong what her grandfather did, yet she couldn't shake it off.
Talking back only made things worse.
The young girl didn't need extra training and chores with all she already did.
So she bowed low down, till her forehead touched the Tatami Mats of the Tea Room.
"Forgive me, grandfather.", she said monotone. "I will take a risker mission next time."
Something like a grunt came from grandfather and she heard how he gulped down his spiked tea.
"Dismissed. Now go to train."
"Of course, grandfather."
Who cares that she hadn't slept in nearly 24 hours?
Who cares that she was dirty and sweaty and needed a bath?
Who cares that she hadn't had a proper meal in two days?
Training was always more important.
This was her whole life.
Her father, Haruto Mochizuki, found her outpowered, nearly collapsing in the Training Area of their garden.
She swung her Katana at the training dummies. Ignore with all she had the pain in her muscles.
It showed how out of it she really was, as her father took her Katana out of her hands without a problem.
Blinking she looked from her empty hands up to her father.
"Father?"
"Enough, Yua. You will only hurt yourself.", he told her.
"But grandfather!-"
"Has fallen asleep. He will not notice you stopping your training, my moon bunny."
At that, she practically collapsed and would have eaten dirt, if father didn't catch her in his strong arms and picked her up.
"I hate how he forces you to do all this.", her father grumbled, while carrying her into their house. "You shouldn't be the only one to carry the burden of our name."
She yawned, snuggling up to her father. In his arms, she felt always safe and protected. Her father was a good man.
"I'm the only one who can do Moon Breathing. It's my duty to our family to make us a respectful Demon Slayer family.", she reminded her father.
"You mean it's a curse, moon bunny."
Yua didn't know how to answer that. She know her father and his siblings were on one side bitter that they couldn't have learned Moon Breathing, but on the other hand, they never had to feel the pressure of clearing their name, becoming a Hashira.
They finally reached the bathroom, where her father put her down slowly and after making sure she wouldn't drown, let her be to take a well-earned bath.
The midnight blue-haired girl enjoys greatly the warm water mixed with the healing herbs her younger cousin Sayoko collected in her work as Kakushi of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Speaking of Sayoko…her black-haired cousin poked her head into the bathroom.
After making eye contact Sayoko told her plainly: "You look like shit."
"And you are still a brat.", Yua shoots back.
"How did the demon killing go?"
"Killed the bastard. Had a preference for babies and kids."
"Fucker."
"Indeed."
"Our shit grandfather still pissed you didn't move up a Rank?"
"Yup."
Sayoko gave her an encouraging nod and told her, Miwa, Yua's aunt, and Sayoko's mother would make dinner today.
Thank Tsukuyomi!
Nothing against aunt Chiyoko, but the woman was 1000 times better at killing demons than making tasty food.
With that Sayoko left her alone, so Yua could enjoy her bad some more.
She relaxed against the bathtub and like often she wonder why she was cursed, yes cursed, with the ability to use Moon Breathing.
Why couldn't she be like her father and his siblings? Just normal Demon Slayers?
Why couldn't she be like Sayoko, who took pride in her job as Kakushi?
Why couldn't she be like uncle Noritaka…who just left one night and never returned.
Uncle Noritaka was the black sheep of the family. All had to pretend to hate him for grandfather's sake, even if they all admired him, Yua was sure.
Noritaka could use Moon Breathing too…he was close to becoming a Hashira, but one day he just didn't come home and ended his carrier at the Demon Slayer Corps.
In the letter he had left behind, he wrote that he wouldn't give up his life for some stupid family honor and that they shouldn't pay for the sins of their forefathers. Manly the founder of their family, who had learned Moon Breathing in the first place from the traitor Michikatsu Tsugikuni and had practically demanded that their family should still practice Moon Breathing, even if most of their comrades saw in them as potential traitors.
Yua had learned Moon Breathing from Noritaka, he had always been her favorite uncle, and him having the courage to live his life how he wanted made her love him even more.
Yet, she still wished he would be here with them.
If he had become a Hashira, then her grandfather wouldn't probably demand so much from her.
Signing Yua decide that it was time to get out of her bath and see if dinner was ready.
She shouldn't waste her energy on what-ifs.
This was her life and she needed to accept it.
Family dinner was nice, since grandfather had drunk himself so silly, that he was snoring up a storm in his bedroom.
So the remaining Mochizuki could catch up, laugh, talk, and gossip like they were a normal family.
For Yua, these were the best nights, also the ones that hurt the most. The vacant spot on their table belonging to grandma Junko, uncle Noritaka, cousin Taiga, and her mother Kioko were practically staring at her. Making her heart twist in turn.
No matter if someone was dead or had left them, the pain of not having them around anymore was still like a wound. A wound that slowly healed, but if you thought about it, it began to hurt again.
After dinner, Yua decide to go to bed and took Kaito and Hikari with her. Since they were the youngest it was bedtime for them. The remaining family decides to play some games together.
It was nice having Kaito and Hikari around her again.
Both were really sweet kids.
They put their futons together so that Yua was in the middle and her two cousins demanded a story.
The midnight blue-haired girl told also their favorite bedtime story.
The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.
Princess Kaguya's story.
Yua herself had loved the story when her late mother told her it, that's why she named her raven after the legendary moon princess.
Kaito was sucking on his thumb, trying to stay awake, while Hikari was snuggled up on Yua's side, halfway in dreamland.
As she ended the story both kids were out.
She chuckled quietly and closed her eyes.
Tomorrow all would begin again.
The harsh training.
No free-time.
Waiting for her next Demon Slayer job.
But this was the only life she know.
While she drifted off into sleep Yua wonder how Princess Kaguya could have left behind her life on Earth to return back to the moon. To a life, she didn't know.
The unknown…was scary.
Or maybe Yua was just a coward.
Who knows?
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