I do not own Demon Slayer. Koyoharu Gotouge deserves the credit. I own my OCs (Laurel and her parents). Thanks and I hope you enjoy the prologue.

Prologue

Kyojuro stared at the wall in front of him as he held up the phone to his ear, listening to the ringing on the other side. A moment later, a female's voice came on the other end. Kyojuro brightened a little. "Hello? Yes, this is Kyojuro Rengoku. How are you? Oh, that's good. Listen…I was wondering…if you wanted to hang out after school tomorrow?" He looked at the wall, a look of hope in his eyes. Suddenly, his face fell slightly. "Oh…I see. No, I completely understand. Of course….I'll see you around…." He hung up the phone quietly, staring at it. He frowned a little and sighed. A moment later, his younger brother, Senjuro appeared around the corner.

"Hi, big brother," he smiled.

"Hello, Senjuro. I'm guessing you overheard my phone call," he said, quietly.

"Unfortunately…."

Kyojuro nodded. He put on a smile for his little brother. Senjuro looked at his older brother with pity. Suddenly, his stomach growled. Kyojuro chuckled. "It sounds like you're hungry."

Senjuro looked down sheepishly. "Y-yes, I suppose I am."

Kyojuro smiled brightly and patted his little brother's head. "Don't worry, I'll take care of that." He walked toward the kitchen and began gathering ingredients to make some food.

Senjuro followed him. "Would you like some help, brother?

Kyojuro put a pot on the stove and shook his head. "No, Senjuro, I've got this. You just sit down and relax. I'll have some food prepared for us in no time." He began cutting up some carrots on the cutting board. Senjuro nodded and went to the living room to grab some books and papers.

As Kyojuro cut up some vegetables and herbs, he turned the stove on, heating up a pot of boiling water. He also had some meat cooking as well. Senjuro sat at the kitchen table, working on some homework. The boys' father, Shinjuro, was asleep in his room. About an hour or so later, Kyojuro checked the stew. He took a little sip and thought to himself. He grabbed a little more stew and held the spoon out to Senjuro. "How does this taste to you?"

Senjuro looked up from his work and walked over to the stove. He took a bite of the stew. "It's delicious, of course!"

Kyojuro smiled and nodded. "Great! I'll get some bowls for us." He went over to the cabinet and grabbed two bowls, one for each of them. He scooped out some stew and handed it to Senjuro. Then, he made a bowl for himself. They both sat at the table together.

"Thank you, brother," said Senjuro as he sipped the warm broth.

"Of course, Senjuro," Kyojuro looked at his little brother with admiration. Then, he stared down at his bowl of stew as he ate. Most of the time, Kyojuro Rengoku was a very upbeat and positive 16 year old boy. But behind his bright and pleasant personality and smile, held a young man with a lot of stress and responsibility. Shinjuro Rengoku, their father, had a very important job. He worked for the Demon Slayer Corps., an organization of people that fought against demons, creatures of the night that wished to harm and devour humans. Shinjuro was a leading member of the private organization and held an elite spot amongst his fellow demon slayers.

With all of the stress from the job and raising his sons as a single father, he had developed a terrible drinking habit. From the moment he came home, he would drink until he fell asleep. The boys rarely saw their father because they both attended Kimetsu Academy and were on their way to school by the time their father came home. It didn't bother Kyojuro, though. Along with the drinking, their father could be verbally abusive, and even physically abusive. So, Kyojuro took the responsibility of protecting and taking care of his younger brother and would shield him from their father's anger and abuse.

Even with all of this occurring, Kyojuro kept up with his studies and kept the house nice and tidy, and still carried a friendly smile everyday. As he continued eating, he couldn't help but think why no one was interested in hanging out with him. And by no one, he meant a girl. He had some friends at school, but when it came to hanging out with girls, none of them ever seemed interested. They only seemed interested in hanging out with the boys with "a bad reputation" or that seemed to be more on the "risky" side. One girl even said that Kyojuro was not attractive enough, and that really hurt him, even though he didn't let it show. He started wondering if there really was something wrong with him, and no one wanted to tell him.

He finished eating and sighed, staring at the empty bowl. Senjuro looked at his brother with concern. "Kyojuro, are you still upset about that phone call?"

Kyojuro looked up at his brother and nodded slightly. Senjuro smiled reassuringly.

"You shouldn't worry. It's her loss."

Kyojuro looked surprised by his brother's blunt response. But his face softened as those words sunk in. Kyojuro chuckled slightly. "Are you sure there isn't anything wrong with me?"

Senjuro looked surprised this time. "Why would you think that? You're a great person! All of those girls you've tried to talk to….they aren't good enough for you." He seemed very confident in his response.

Kyojuro looked at his brother, admiration filling his eyes. "Do you really believe that?"

Senjuro nodded. "100 percent. I just don't think the right girl has shown up, yet. And when she does, you will know."

Kyojuro looked at his brother with a renewed sense of gratitude. Even at his young age, he seemed more mature than anyone else he knew. He smiled even more. "You're right, Senjuro. I shouldn't worry about it. I have enough to think about anyway."

Senjuro smiled and nodded, finishing up his stew. "If anyone deserves to have a girlfriend, it's you." Kyojuro nodded softly, hoping that what Senjuro was saying was true…

In a different part of town, there was a young lady around Kyojuro's age. She had just moved in a few days ago with her mother and father. This evening, she was laying on the couch, watching the movie "Tangled". She was at the part of the movie where the main characters were at the tavern, and a bunch of ruffians and Rapunzel were singing about their dreams. As she watched the scene, her father came over. With a cigarette between his fingers, he picked up the remote and turned the movie off. Laurel didn't even flinch…this was typical. She glanced up at him. He frowned down at her. "It's time for bed."

She didn't even mutter a word…she just stood up and went towards her room. Her father walked away but didn't bother following her. Laurel walked up the stairs towards her new bedroom. She walked inside and shut the door behind her. Even though they moved in only a few days ago, Laurel was already unpacked and everything was in its proper place. She took every opportunity when her parents were around to stay away from them. Laurel's parents, Richard and Margeret James, were very busy people because their jobs were very demanding. Richard was a clothing designer and Margeret was a stage actress. As Laurel became older, her parents saw her as less of a precious gift, and more of a burden on them. By the age of three, she was dragged from one place to another, staying with her parents' friends as they were consumed with work. She did her best to be very well behaved. She began thinking that if she was well behaved, her parents would acknowledge her and be proud of her. But over time, her parents started telling her that they demanded "perfection" in the eyes of high society.

Laurel was made to participate in several fine arts activities, including dancing, ballet, playing the piano and violin, and singing. Her parents told her they wanted her to be refined and a model citizen with many talents, but in reality, they just didn't want her to end up being an embarrassment to them. Now at the age of 15, almost 16, she was a young lady of several talents as well as an excellent student, but hidden behind all of that, was a lonely girl that stayed away from people and preferred the company of her books than talking to other people. She also held onto the hope that one day, she might meet someone that would sweep her off her feet, like the princes and male figures in all of those Disney movies…and she could find real love at last.