After some time, the passing of time became dull and monotonous, as if fate was following some twisted pattern. Assuming Sanemi's mind remained mostly intact, it must have been the fifth day of the Final Selection – only two more before he became an official corp member. On the other hand, much could have happened throughout this span, so he stayed vigilant and cautious.
The more time he spent on this cursed mountain, the more confusing and conflicted his mind became. Amongst all this madness, only one piece remained constant; it hardly mattered how many demons he had cut down, as for each of them, there were two more ready and willing to take its place. It seemed like a fight against a rising and endless tide. Perhaps it was the reasoning behind the time restriction. Otherwise, the defeat was inevitable; the only question lingering was, how long would a unit – like him – oppose the odds stacked against it before succumbing to injuries, exhaustion, and sheer number of enemies?
As a stray ray of midday light stirred the teenager out of his dreamless sleep, he felt a cold as-ice shiver running down his spine. He overslept; what was meant to be an hour-long nap was unwittingly extended. Biting hard down his bottom lip, guilt and embarrassment washed over him. It was reckless, to say the least, he thought, spitting on the ground with a mix of saliva and blood to clear his mouth. Nonetheless, as the white-haired boy had no means of interacting with time, he concluded it would be his best option to get going.
Soon enough, Sanemi noticed another densely vegetated area filled with so many dark-barked trees overlapping and seemingly multiplying in his eyes. Considering his experience with demons, he halted, chugging generously from his half-empty beaker. Undoubtedly, the moment he would venture into the twilight zone, these children of the night would take the presented opportunity to surround him and attack. With it on his mind, Sanemi took a few additional moments to relax, mentally preparing for inevitable encounters.
It was but a matter of time before Sanemi's overwhelming hatred towards the night kind overruled his common sense, forcing him to enter the tangled area. As expected, the moment he stepped under the trees' cover, he heard a low yet clear snarl coming from the grove's depth. Unwittingly, the boy smirked mischievously; after all, some hungry and degenerated demon kept an eye on him. He continued his stroll without hesitation, progressing slowly, constantly scanning his surroundings.
Compared to the mysterious and somewhat thrilling wisteria forest, this grove was uninteresting and bland, consisting of either old or marked by the demons' claws trees. A scoff escaped the boy's throat, irritated with the destruction and suffering the children of the night left in their wake. Regardless of this feeling intensifying in him, it was pushed aside once he heard these savage beasts approaching him fast. Two of them if his hearing was still as sharp as it used to be. Even though he had found a somewhat reliable water source, the same could not be said about food. He kept looking for something edible during the daytime despite feeling like a vain endeavour. The growing hunger had already affected him, decreasing the teenager's overall strength and speed, but this was a problem for later.
Within a heartbeat, two shadowed silhouettes rushed Sanemi, eager to finish the fight as soon as possible. Even though he was aware of their incoming attack, he barely managed to step back, dogging the sharp claws. In the next heartbeat, he was forced to use his katana to block these. As sparks manifested, he groaned, frustrated at how easily he was being pushed back.
"He survived this, brother?" a young feminine voice sounded surprised.
"Tsk, a fluke or luck, or both," a tad older male voice responded, annoyed.
"Is that so, brother?"
"Of course it is, Kazue."
As the demons halted their attack for the time being, Sanemi got an opportunity to look at whom he was dealing with. Though, it would have been better if he had not been granted it. Before him, two children of the night stood. The taller of them was a teenage boy with short, dark-brown hair, more-or-less Sanemi's height. His face was slightly disfigured due to the transformation, yet it preserved its remnants of humanity; it was pale, long, and covered with numerous burnt marks. He wore a cramped beige shirt, tattered in some areas and matching pants. Beside him, a young girl sat. Sanemi loudly gulped, realising she could not have been older than seven when she had been turned into this monstrosity. Compared to her potential brother, she bore no visible downsides of the transformation apart from a pair of piercing, intense pair of crimson-red eyes. Kazue wore a pink, flowery embroidered yukata slightly stained with blood and dirt. Her hair was long and dark as the darkest night, allowed to fall in cascades on her tiny back. The white-haired boy did not want to confront them, as they reminded him about his dead siblings. As he took another step backwards, he thought about fleeing. But … he could not do this. Sanemi had already chosen his path; he would become a full-fledged demon slayer, so backing down was not an option. He would face his nightmares and defeat them or die trying.
"I will put you to rest," Sanemi said quietly.
"You dare to speak? What an audacity?" the male demon commented.
"Maybe … he'll survive longer than the previous one? What do you think, brother?" Kazue questioned, standing up.
"That is hardly doubtful, Kazue," the so-called brother replied.
"Don't be sad. Being killed by Kazue and Ichirou Sako is nothing to be ashamed of," the dark-haired girl said, smirking at him.
"Stop talking," the white-haired boy said, raising his voice slightly whilst trying his best not to explode. "I will lay you to rest, Kazue and Ichirou," he added, feeling a pang of guilt as he had never learnt of that demon slayer's name.
Surprisingly enough, Sanemi allowed this guilt, this misdeed, to fuel him instead of sheer anger or rage. With the sword held low, he lunged forward, planning to deal with the girl first. He hoped to outpace the siblings, but this idea died too quickly as Ichirou stepped before his sister and blocked the attack with his rapidly extending claws. Wasting no time, Kazue joined in, sending numerous projectiles at him. Sanemi rolled to the left, effectively avoiding both demons' attacks. He needed to find some weakness to exploit before they overpowered him. Hence, the white-haired teenager opted for a hit-and-run strategy. It would be a taxing endeavour, yet the less physical the fight became, the better for him.
Slash, dodge, roll, parry, the pattern was so dull, yet with the fight's overall pacing, Sanemi had little to no time to complain. Fully covered in thick, sticky sweat, he continued the rigorous sequence, trying to find the opening. Yet, there was nothing to be seen. He could exploit some weakness of each separate demon. However, together, they pressed him constantly, not allowing the soon-to-be demon slayer to catch his breath, not to mention his wits. Sanemi was slowly reaching his limits but had not been wounded by some miracle or unexpected heaven's intervention. Maybe, just like the last time he had found himself cornered, his blood would grant him an opening he so desperately sought. Still, relying only upon this would lead him towards an early grave one day. No, there must have been another way to achieve the victory, he concluded, trying to muster more strength.
The next couple of minutes passed as if a blink of an eye for the wind-breathing apprentice. Yet, the fight was at a standstill, with neither party accusing a meaningful advantage. Despite utilising every possible weapon at his disposal, Sanemi could not pass through Ichirou's seemingly impenetrable defence. Of course, he could have tried using fire against them, but considering the surroundings, it would not have been wise, so the idea was discarded immediately. Feeling his burning, aching muscles and fading strength, he came to a sad conclusion. The boy concluded that his experience and overall weapon proficiency would not carry him further. And … even though he was still reluctant to use the wind-breathing techniques, it was the only way to survive and grow stronger. As the images of his family or his brother – Genya – flashed before Sanemi's eyes, he made the decision.
Author's notes section:
[2023-10-23]: Hey, here is a preview of the story's next chapter. Please, bear in mind that it is, as mentioned, a preview. Some parts of it might not be included in the final release. I will try to finish this chapter as soon as possible. I would like to clean up some of the tasks in my schedule, and right now, there are many chapters queued there.
Don't forget to comment. I really appreciate your feedback.
Note that the dialogues written in italic are thoughts.
As always, I would like to thank you for everything. See you soon :)
Changelog:
[2023-10-23]: A preview has been released.
Info: I know I should not try to start new stories when I have my backlog full of the incompleted ones, but I failed to do so. The idea for this fic came to me when I was rewatching the anime, reading about the details, and simply watching videos on YouTube regarding the matter. I hope you find it interesting.
Info: I have included more stories in the schedule as I'm not 100% certain what I want to write next. Please, keep in mind that I might add or remove positions from the list. I might rewrite some of the older stories or extract some of the longer stories from `The story of one lost soul`.
Schedule:
- Bury the light (finish the WIP)
- The shadows can be deceiving (finish the WIP)
- The war call (finish the WIP)
- The silence of the shackles (finish the WIP)
- Hidden in the mountain's shadow (new chapter)
- The rise of the Blood Moons' servants (new chapter)
- Black Diamond (new chapter)
- When the clock is ticking (Warhammer 40k new story)
- Sometimes it's just better not to know (new chapter)
- My home is where my heart lies (rewrite chapter 4)
- The heart not so cold (rewrite chapter 2)
- The family tree (revisit the previous chapters and apply adjustments)
- Will you look past my mistakes? (new chapter)
- The Prisoner of Your Eyes (new chapter)
- Lifetime of war (new chapter)
- Hope is the last one to die (new story in SW universe)
- Sometimes it's just better not to know (finish rewriting the second chapter)
- Life is full of surprises (new chapter)
- Exiled you say? (new chapter)
- Until my last breath (new chapter)
- The family tree (new chapter)
- The story of one lost soul (new chapter)
- See the world through my eyes (new chapter)
- The broken heart (new chapter)
- My home is where my heart lies (new chapter)
- A new story in JJK universe - focused on Gojo/Geto/Shoko/Utahime
- A new story in Bleach universe (potentially a one shot) - focused on Byakuya and Yoruichi
- A new story in Demon Slayer universe (modern au, school)
Bonuses' section:
A new story taking place in the Warhammer 40k universe.
Story of one lost soul: The war call: rewrite.
An entirely new story (possibly Akali x [Irelia, Syndra, Katarina]).
A new short story (Vi x Cait).
An entirely original story (possibly even two stories, one taking place in medieval times, the other in the far future)
Bleach story. (Byakuya x Yoruichi / ?)
Naruto story. (Neji x Hinata / Neji x TenTen / Nagato x Konan)
Fairy Tail story. (most likely Erza x Mira)
Maybe some Star Wars?
References:
- DMC - Bury the light
*bonuses will be worked on when I don't feel like writing the chapters pointed out in the schedule :D
End of the author's notes section.