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Chapter 1

The sound of rustling from within the forest, were abundant and could have originated from anything. Perhaps it was foreshadowing a spider catching a firefly it could call its late-night snack. Or, it belonged to a mouse, scurrying for its dear life only to be caught by a true owl. However, whether or not theses event transpire would simply be a coincidence. The culprit behind the disruption of the forest came from none other a human, hounded by a horde of demons.

A young man no older than in his twenties found himself running for his life. He had no idea why he was being chased other than appearing at the wrong place and time. Whomever kept up with him were determined to have him silenced. The constant growling and snarls made it difficult for the boy to understand anything the monsters were saying, aside from their intent on eating him. It didn't matter how many demons were tracking him, he let his adrenaline take over. He looked back for one second and caused him to collide his arm to a tree, created an explosion of pain. The boy could only imagine how brusied up his shoulder looked underneath his clothes.

Suddenly, the monsters' shrieked with glee echoed from all corners of the earth. Their morale increased for their prey had been weakened, giving off a delicious scent, from a certain point of view.

Several minutes later, the young man had encountered a river after leaping over countless stones and logs. Without hesitation, he dived into the water, allowed it to carry him away. His efforts ended up in vain when one of the demons caught up and dragged the boy towards it. Caught off guard, the boy surveyed the water and spotted a silhouette. With one sturdy kick, the boy was able to strike at the monster's neck and swam across safely. He gave himself a moment to breath before deciding whether to remove his yellow kimono. Alas, it stayed on for the demon was enraged and roared to let its brethren know his whereabouts.

The child had no idea how much time had passed; how long it'd take for the sun to rise. In the midst of his thoughts, a tiny butterfly appeared out of nowhere, fluttering ever so casually. One could not help but envy the petite creature for being exempted from the horde's wrath. The boy had come across a fork in the road and the butterfly swayed his attention to the right. He had wanted to go left but his instincts told him to trust the bug. It was the right call for the boy didn't hear anymore demons and began to feel the sun's heat in the air. He felt relieved knowing if there was heat, there was light. If there was light, there was an exit. The boy regained his focus when he spotted a bear from his peripheral vision. It growled and readied itself for the offense by swinging its paw. The boy took a gamble and hurled forward to pull off a shoulder roll and maintained his footing. His second attempt of evasion proved successful thanks to his excellent eyesight and reaction.

The boy had almost lost track of the butterfly until he caught its faint glimmer reflecting from the forest's abysmal lighting. He followed the tiny insect until he arrived in front of a giant tree. No sooner than he had found himself at a dead end, the trampling of the demons grew louder, and the boy's eyes searched frantically over where he could go. He spotted the butterfly on top of the tree and came up with an ingenious idea. Wrapping his arm around his kimono and latching it onto the tree, he hoisted himself from the ground and began to scale upwards. Once he secured himself on top of a sturdy branch, he spotted the butterfly across from him, as if it asking for him to follow it. The child looked down and sure enough, the monsters were searching every nook and cranny for him. Before he panicked, he looked across and noticed several branches resembled a broken path. Next thing he knew, he found himself leaping from branch to branch. The exit of the forest began to enlarge but much to the boy's horror, a branch snapped and found himself tumbling back into the hell hole he had just escape from.

The child realized something was off when he found himself staring at a mountain of boulders. The color of his skin drained when he heard the monsters jump down. Although the density of the forest prevented most sunlight from penetrating, the few beams of light glowed brighter, exposed a way to climb up. Without hesitating, the boy began his presumably final obstacle. At one point, his foot caught inside a crevice due to the demons following him or picking out random boulders. Using all of his might, the child managed to break free from the rocks; at the cost of twisting his foot. Once reaching the top of the boulders, the boy refamiliarized his path and sprinted.

Just as the end goal was within his reach, the boy felt things had become too easy. In the blink of an eye, a scathing sensation took over his face. It was then the boy finally spotted one of his many captors; a monster with sickles for hands, reminded him of a praying mantis. Turning his head toward the demon, he glared at it and knocked it out of the way by jabbing it with his elbow. He used one final boost of energy to sprint and a giant leap.

Lo and behold, the boy reappeared in the outside world. He took this time to get a better look at his injuries. At that moment he discovered his greatest loss. His pair of keen eyes—reduced to one. His black top and pants were covered with scratch marks and bloodstains. After taking a step with his injured foot, the boy nearly lost his balance because his leg nearly gave out. His arm wasn't any better and frankly, he couldn't bear to look at it. He spotted a sign a few feet away, he figured it would give out directions to the nearest town or hospital. However, the child felt his muscles unwilling to obey him the moment he heard a voice.

"Where do you think you're going? If you thought you could get a glimpse of my stronghold and live to tell your parasitic friends. You're sorely mistaken. The mysterious voice snarled.

With one pull, the boy found himself being dragged back inside the forest. Had he distance himself further away, not only would his escape been successful but would've read the sign: Aokigahara forest.

"You made us all work up an appetite, let's see if you were worth the hunt." The demon remarked. The boy was freaking out because he survived only to be caught once again. He looked at his captor, who appeared human. He wore black collared shirt and cream slacks. His fedora did a good job covering his face, yet the boy spotted two distinguishable features: the ghoulish skin that seemed to have never seen the sun and a pair of unnatural red eyes. The demon's victim screamed in horror when he saw a pair of fangs were drawn out, aimed for his neck.


Gasp

"Take it easy, son. I was asked to see if you're okay. Got some complaints about your…sleeping habits." The employee grumbled.

The individual in question yawned with his mouth wide open, just like a lion. He rubbed his eyes to get a better grasp of his surroundings.

"I'm sorry sir. I had a…bad dream and… it scared me." A boy replied, looked away from the inspector and then tucked himself into a corner.

"Fine, I'll tell the other passengers that there's nothing to worry about. Just… no more naps." The inspector sighed and rolled his eyes before making his exit.

The timid passenger nodded and stayed silent. He watched until the inspector's silhouette disappeared and calmed down after pulling up a deck of flash cards, the first revealing his name. Yuki Subachi, a 16-year-old boy whose traveled from the busy life of Chiba all the way to the countryside of Okutama, just past Tokyo. This was his first time away from his hometown, yet he already felt anxious. His first reason being his height, he loomed over his family and community at 6 feet. Whenever he attended an event, everyone would turn their attention towards him, made him feel insecure. His second reason was because despite being a Japanese citizen, he grew up in a western influence household, caused him to feel out of touch with his native roots.

Yuki decided to calm down by looking outside. He was greeted with a beautiful scenery of the mountains in the region and the fields of rice, eggplant, daikon, and wheat. He couldn't help but feel pity to the farmers who spend hours of their day against the scorching summer sun to maintain healthy crops. The boy then became fascinated with cattle pulling a cart full of crops.

'Wow, a real-life water buffalo!' Yuki thought to himself and then stared at a nearby river, which reminded him of home.

The window reflected his dark brown eyes and brown hair. It was then Yuki took notice of someone in an all-black uniform who appeared to be following a crow.

'Interesting, most people would brush away crows. Then again, my family never worried about those pests thanks to our pet' He thought.

The train arrived at its destination where the conductor made his announcement: "We've arrived at Okutama. This is our last stop for today. We'll be taking a break and traveling back to Chiba from here on. That is all."

Yuki covered his ears the entire announcement, but had heard what he needed to. He grabbed his belongings and rushed to go outside. He accidentally bumped into the exasperated train inspector.

"My bad… thank you for checking up on me earlier. K-keep up the good work, sir" the boy replied hastily, bowed apologetically and went on his way. Yuki was not known to make small talk unless it was mandatory.

"All aboard and welcome to the Mugen train!" The conductor proclaimed for all to hear.

The lanky child scurried through the busy traffic at a train station, looking down at people ensuring he didn't trip anyone while searching for his ride. The sun nestled high in the sky, everyone was either sweating through their clothes in the midst of rush hour, or were lounging around complaining about the summer heat. After stepping outside of the station, Yuki was told be on the lookout for a carriage with a yellow stash. After surveying the area, he finally found his carriage and walked up to the horse and gave its head a hug. It was caught off guard but calmed down after recognizing the boy.

"AHEM" a retainer of his cleared their throat. The lanky child flinched and looked directly at him, doing his best not to look away.

"Hi, Haruno-san. S-sorry I didn't say greet you first, but you know how much I love Matsuda." Yuki turned to the horse and gave it a kiss on the head, who neighed happily in return.

"Time is of the essence, Yuki-kun. Your parents will worry if you don't reply to them as soon as possible. Yuki's coachman replied with his arms crossed. He then released Matsuda and sat next to his retainer.

"Ready when you are." The lanky child gleamed with excitement.

Haruni didn't share the boy's enthusiasm yet couldn't help but admire Yuki's sense of wonder. Without any further distractions, Haruno signaled their horse Matsuda to commence and held onto the reigns. "So, anything interesting happen on your way here?"

"I saw a water buffalo for the first time. It was big and strong." Yuki exclaimed.

"Nice." Haruno looked up for a second for he kept his focus on the road.

"Um, can I-I mean, may I tell you about a dream I had today?" The lanky child asked.

"I don't see why not; we have time to spare." Haruno-san nodded and shrugged.

Yuki thought long and hard how to explain his dream. "Well, It all started in a random forest…"


"…I went through all that trouble only to die in the end. What do you think it means, Haruno-san?" The child tilted his head.

"You're quite the storyteller. I'm sure in another life, you could've been a fantastic author, renowned for your imagination." Haruno declared as he shook his head.

"Oh" Yuki lowered his head in disappointment. Growing up in an exclusive community, making friends was difficult to make without the approval of his parents. Haruno had been with the family for as long as he could remember. Even so, Yuki was upset because he didn't get an answer right away, yet couldn't pinpoint whether if he didn't explain the dream well enough or if Haruno-san truly paid attention to him.

"We've arrived" Yuki's retainer said as he nudged Yuki, preventing him from falling asleep.

The village was a contrast of the busy life in the Chiba region; no tall buildings competing each other over their heights, carts and vendors filled up the roads instead of cars. Gone were the average citizen who'd wear either a mix or pure western clothing, instead donning traditional Japanese outfits. Yuki felt a bit insecure because at the moment, he was the only person in the village wearing western clothes, with his light-yellow collared shirt, made from the finest fabric and a pair of custom-made blue suit pants. Seeing several strangers give him weird looks didn't boost his confidence whatsoever.

It was then Yuki spotted a giant shop, filled with all sorts of traditional and western goodies. He made a mental note to himself on visiting the shop at some point to get some sweets. Aside from the shop, residents who weren't running shops conversed while sharing a few drinks with one another. Children were flying all sorts of unique and colorful kites. People in his hometown were nowhere near this close to one another. In one instance, a couple walked down the streets holding hands. The lanky child was confused as to how people were so comfortable touching one another. Once the men crossed the other side of the village, they travelled up a small hill before making their stop.

"Everyone, give your undivided attention to our young master and future heir to our liege, Yuki Subachi." Haruno stood and declared as he stepped down from the carriage and met with all the servants.

Yuki rose from his seat and stepped onto the ground. Nothing but the sound of crunched leaves could be heard within the immediate area. He looked around and counted more people attended than he was imagined. He could feel his throat dry up and was at a loss of words, but realized he had with him a stack of cards he and his parents made in advance. He pulled them out of his sleeve, some cards were smudged and misplaced but thanks to his exceptional eyesight, he found what he needed, rearrange them before finally reading aloud to his audience.

"T-to everyone who showed up today, I'd like to thank you all for giving me this time to speak. Although I am heir to the Subachi family, I-I realize that I'm far too sheltered for my own good. I-I hope to be a great leader... just like my mother and father, who have given us all food and shelter under their name. I might not lead the same way they do, but I-I-I hope you'll give me a chance to become a fair and just ruler so we can continue to live a prosperous future. Thank you." Yuki looked at the ground and received a small round of applause.

From then on, Haruno-san and the other servants took this time to unload and delivery Yuki's luggage to his room. Aside from answering questions involving the family inn or the village nearby, none of the servants attempted to make small talk to the young master. The room in question was not within the inn. In fact, it was a storage shed converted into a mini studio, with electricity but no running water. Once everyone had gathered, Yuki did his best to instruct each and every servant's where to place his belonging. Although this did take some time due to the furniture constantly scraping the floor or people talking over him. Once everything had finally been put together, Yuki laid on top of his bed.

"Dinner will be ready soon. Don't take too long for we'd like to celebrate your arrival." Haruno-san addressed politely while waiting outside.

The young master nodded and then went to his table to read a letter sent from his parents:

To our esteemed Yuki,

Your father and I approve of you volunteering on our behalf. We hoped you made a good speech and good impression to our servants. Moving on, we ask of you to spread our influence in the region you're residing in. We are aware it's not as luxurious as our residence back in the city, but we need your help to build a relationship with the commoners in the area. Give them good service and spread the word of our inn to neighboring villages along with tourists arriving from the cities. Listen to Haruno-san and above all, don't do anything embarrassing, use the cards we worked prior to your trip.

Remember, you are the successor to the Subachi family. Practice what we taught you.

Sincerely,

Mizuho Subachi

P.S. Your sister wishes you good luck.

"I can't let them down; they believe in me. I'll be a good son and a good big brother." Yuki folded the letter and smiled. His stomach growled after he smelled the savory aroma of food. He got up to open the door and followed Haruno-san to the dining hall to the commence the feast.


4 months later

It was the end of fall and the beginning of winter, the breeze could not be chillier. The snow had yet to arrive, but frosting could be found anywhere from every plant to throughout the village's roofs.

The young master woke up shivering and promptly turned on his electric kotatsu. The room began to warm up gradually to the point it became toasty. When Yuki wasn't upholding his role as heir to a wealthy family, he relished his moments of peace and quiet, where he could just be himself. He took this moment to observe his room. It was decorated sparsely with a simple futon, a small coffee table, a study table, and a wardrobe for his clothes. The ceiling and floor were decorated with yellow paint and a yellow carpet. The few miscellaneous items found in the room were western based items such as his trusty typewriter, a fedora, and pocket watch his dad gave him from overseas trips. He was tempted to declare today a lazy one, until his head servant knocked on his door.

"Ohayo Gozimasu, Yuki-sama. Shall we begin our objective to attract new guests to our inn?" Haruno-san asked.

"Yeah, let's get this over with." Yuki sighed and stood up, walked up and looked down his head servant. He stared at him for a moment before kneeling down to see eye to eye.

"You've known me and my family for a long time. I just want to say, thank you for being my friend. Since you say my full name all the time, I think its only fair I learn your first name, Haruno-san."

"Goodness, you're direct. Certainly different from your mother. Just as long as you don't tell anyone else. It's Kenji." His head servant smiled and bowed. "Let's get you changed first."

While most servants were tasked to help dress their master's, the Subachi heir preffered to dress himself. Thus, only allowed Kenji to pick out his clothes for him. If Yuki could he'd always wear western clothes, but during his time in Okutama, he had been advised to wear traditional kimono's.

After his wardrobe was selected, the young master went inside the master bathroom to take a bath, brush his hair, wash his face, and brush his teeth. Afterwards, the child walked to the dining room and sat at the largest table all by himself. His servants greeted their young master and sat down to eat their breakfast at different tables. Yuki was aware as heir to his family, he couldn't mingle with his servants so casually. He envied them for being able to share memories together as more than workers. Most masters would rather dine separately from their servants, but Yuki hated being alone, so he made a compromise: he'd get to enjoy some company and in return, respected their off time before work started.

Once breakfast concluded, Yuki followed his head servant and began walking towards the village along with his servants, to the heart of the village. The young master set up a podium, got on top of it and went through his flash cards before starting his speech:

"G-good morning to all the citizens and tourists of this village. I hope you all are nice and warm from the cold. I just want to say for anyone who needs food or shelter, p-please look no further than the Subachi inn. We're located at the opposite side of town. We hope to s-see you soon."

The lanky child bowed politely and waited for an applause, only a few people returned the favor. He wished more people would've applaud, but he knew he wasn't great at making speeches. However, Yuki was happy to finally deliver one without freezing up. Just as Yuki and his men reached the village gates, a boy bumped into the young master. Yuki nearly lost his balance when the commoner reached his hand at the nick of time. Haruno-san took no chances and ordered the servants to restrain the peasant. However, Yuki raised his hand, forcing everyone to stay where they were. The head servant could only imagine how scared the peasant must be to stand before a noble who inherited extraordinary wealth and height.

The commoner looked up at Yuki, cowering in fear, for he had no idea what world of trouble he found himself in. From an outsider's perspective, this was the moment where a rich person devises a plan to punish their victim the same level of humiliation they endured. The lanky child maintained his glare then crouched to level himself towards the commoner who'd been forced to kneel on his knees. A moment passed and the peasant was confused because his captor's face was no longer filled with anger, but replaced with fear instead.

"Oh my gosh, I-I can't believe I hurt you just now. And I ruined your livelihood. I'm so sorry. Here, let me make it up to you" Yuki stammered, as he frantically searched his pockets for his wallet and offered the commoner 200 yen.

"I-I know this isn't much, but please accept this as compensation." Yuki exclaimed. Kenji immediately signaled the servants to surround the boys.

"No, this is too much, I can't accept this since you haven't bought anything." The commoner said, referring to the charcoal sticks that fell off, shook his head profusely.

"Please, it's only fair since you're the one making a living selling sticks. Or better yet, think of it as emergency cash for you a-and your family. If you have one that is." Yuki stammered once more, fighting the urge to cry. That was until he noticed the peasant's nose twitched for a moment. He wondered what the peasant could possibly be smelling at this moment.

"Well, when you put it like that, maybe my family can put this money into good use when we're in a pinch. Thank you, sir, I'll pay you back as soon as I can." The boy finally responded.

"Y-you don't need to; I have plenty of money to live off of. Just be more careful next time. N-not every rich person is as nice as I am. A-And don't call me sir. I'm not that old. We're the same age!" Yuki whined, followed by clearing his throat and glanced at a notecard hidden in his sleeve. The peasant's face gave off a puzzled look.

"I mean, farewell. May our paths cross again on a better note." Yuki smiled softly, signaled his servants to unhand the commoner and disperse the circle. The peasant picked up all the charcoal sticks he deemed salvageable, cleaned his green kimono and then bowed to the young master as he rushed off to continue his errands. Yuki's head servant crossed his arms and urged everyone to get back on track.

"Not that it's my place to tell you what to do, but did either of you exchange names?" Haruno sighed.

The lanky child paused and looked down at Haruno in a daze. He turned around only to see the commoner chatting with the locals. Because of his insecurities of standing out, he held his tongue decided not to call out the peasant in front of a crowd. Yet, he was able to spot a large scar on the forehead and some kind of earrings.

'How is everyone so friendly with him?! I have trouble bringing attention to myself' Yuki thought.

"Oh well, maybe next time" Yuki replied to his head servant, brushed aside his envy and continued his routine via carriage. Had they stuck around longer, they would've picked up a name.

"Thank you. You came just in time with them charcoal, Tanjiro-kun." A villager said.

By sundown, Yuki and servants returned home after spending the day promoting the family inn throughout neighboring towns within the Kanto region. The first cart arrived at the entrance of the family inn, carrying Yuki, Haruno, and four servants. The young master stepped down and looked at waited for Kenji to gather everyone's attention, specifically those who stayed in.

"Thank you for your attention. I wanted to inform everyone we finally got ourselves, brand new guests. Please make them feel welcome at the Subachi Inn." Yuki declared with his head lifted high. Six was the highest number of guests he brought in at once.

As if on cue, the second cart had arrived with the remaining servants lending a hand to bring down the passengers carefully. Meanwhile, the crowd applauded the young master for they knew how difficult it was for him to speak to people. Yet, it never deterred him from showing kindness to those who returned the favor. Yuki went well and beyond to make sure everyone around him were treated with respect. Unfortunately, noble intentions didn't improve the numbers to meet his parent's quota. What he lacked in number was made up with a loyal base who believed in Yuki's goal of becoming an heir worthy to his family's name and fortune.

A celebration took place throughout the remainder of the day. By midnight, most of the guests had gone to bed while the servants were tasked to clean up every area of the inn used during the party. Yuki may not have been a fan of crowded places, but he was obligated to stick around during the party for as long as possible, especially since it was thrown in his honor. By the time the young master excused himself, only two guests remained, both sleeping on a couch. The lanky child found peace sitting next to a tiny pond. He tried searching for his koi fish but became distracted by the moon's reflection in the water.

"What a pretty moon we have tonight." The boy looked up in awe.

"Wow, what a pretty butterfly. Just like the one in my dream." He took a closer look at the bug. "Wait a minute, you're a moth. Sorry."

Meanwhile, a servant of Yuki's was patrolling the entrance when he heard some footsteps from a distance, spotted several people running away. The servant was puzzled for no one in their right mind would willing be outside due to the freezing temperatures. He took note that these foreigners wore all black uniforms.

"Hey there, it's late and all but if you'd like, feel free to come inside for some food and—" The servant never got to his sentence for what followed next shook him to his core. One of the men in uniform pulled out a sword to defend himself but to no avail. In an instant, his whole arm was slashed clean from his body. One minute the swordsman screamed in agony because of his injury and the next, something had lunged towards him and the sounds of chewing nearly replaced the screams of a dead man. The servant covered his mouth for the horror he just witnessed.

One glace was all it took to realize the murderer was not human. It's ghastly pale fur, bulging eyes that shifted constantly, canine-like teeth filled with foam, snarling at the darkness. Blood had splattered all over the floor of the entrance and the servant's sandals. Out of instinct, he ran up the stairs and screamed.

"Monster! We have a monster outside! Get out while you can!" The frightened servant's announcement alarmed several others in the immediate area. One servant had finished sweeping the floor and the other was ready to call all remaining servants inside.

"Tell them to ring the bell now!" the servant's plea was interrupted when he and the others notice sizeable claws in his chest and stomach. In one swoosh, the traumatized servant was pulled back, followed by another set of claws ripped opened his chest and a set of teeth devouring its victim. Without hesitation, the remaining servants fulfilled their coworker's command and rang the bell for all to hear.

"THIS IS NOT A DRILL. EVERYONE RISE AND FIND AN EXIT NEAR YOU." The other servant wanted to stress the urgency that was about to unfold. "WE'RE UNDER ATAAAAUGH—" the message ended with an audible crunch. The silent night had been replaced with fear and chaos of people shoving one another, trying to escape first.

Yuki heard the announcement and began to panic over his servants and guests. Something needed to be done, but what?

"Are you okay, Yuki-sama?" Haruno-san exclaimed as he caught up to the young master. Yuki nodded.

"No time to explain. We need to hide, now."

"Hold on, you're hurting my hand, Kenji" The lanky child complained as he was being dragged into his room. Haruno nudged the young master to go under the bed and then helped himself inside the wardrobe.

"Yuki-sama. Whatever you do, stay put. Do not say anything. No sudden movements." Haruno explained before closing the closet door. Yuki nodded and did what he was told. Moments later, the demon had found the storage shed and treaded back and forth around the entrance.

"I KNOW YOU'RE THERE. I CAN SMEEELL YYOOUU!" The demon growled. This demon was hybrid of man and wolf. Its upper body was bulkier than the average human. Its bulky arms, accompanied by retractable claws. Its legs had morphed into its animal counterpart. Once it stopped moving, it stood high and mighty at 6 feet. It waited for someone to quiver in fear.

"WHEN I WAS HUMAN…I HATED YOU RICH FOLK…THE KIND OF PEOPLE WHO LOOK DOWN AT US…PEASANTS… WHO SIMPLY ASKED FOR SPARE CHANGE. NOW THAT I'VE BECOME A DEMON…I MADE IT MY LIFE'S GOAL…TO EAT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOUR KIND. SHOW YOURSELF, BOY…AND I PROMISE TO EAT YOU QUICKLY…AND SPARE YOUR SERVANT…" The wolf demon began to salivate, losing its patience simultaneously.

"IF I CAN'T EAT YOU…THEN NO ONE ELSE DOES!" Its claws slashed the shed in half, resulted with the ceiling crumbling and leaving nothing standing. Once the dust had settled, the wolf demon let a deep growl and took off. Leaving behind a demolished inn, scratch marks all over the walls, and the unknown conditions of a young heir and his servants.


It felt like an eternity, hiding under the bed, flattened with debris, unaware with what what's happening outside. Did any of his servant's or guests make it out safely? Was Haruno okay? Where did the demon run off to? More importantly, how long did he need to stay under the bed? The lanky child could feel the pressure from above starting to squish him. He yelled for help, but no one responded.

"Help! Someone! Anyone! Save Haruno-san! Save me." Yuki hyperventilation took over and grew weary rapidly. All of a sudden, he heard voices from above. The lanky child thought he heard angels but in reality, he was saved by the few servants who stuck around, searching for survivors. They rejoiced when Yuki was pulled out of the debris successfully.

"Where is Haruno-san, Subachi-sama?" A female servant asked as he rested his head on her shoulder.

"He's in there. Save him please" Yuki pointed at a broken wardrobe.

The remaining servants rallied together to toss the debris aside and retrieve the head servant. They were successful, yet the room filled with worry for Haruno had suffered a concussion on the head. He was breathing, but wouldn't wake up no matter what any of the servants tried. They carried him over to their young master, who was shivering.

"Someone hold me. It's so cold." Yuki looked at his servants and was clearly struggling to stay conscious.

"Huddle up everyone, we can't let Subachi-sama or our boss die like this. We must keep them warm until help arrives." The sole female servant ordered. The men did what they were told and covered the wounded with any blankets they could spare.

"You think someone will help us?" One servant asked.

"Hard to say, this village is superstitious of monsters. Help might not arrive until the morning." The second servant quipped.

"We don't have all night." A third servant expressed bluntly.

A couple of hours passed and snow began to pile on everyone. By this point, three servants had died because of hypothermia and those who were alive were knocking on death's door. Yuki had stayed up all this time and was devasted when he noticed the circle had gotten smaller but was too weak to react. He looked out at the horizon and saw someone coming. The young boy smiled when he saw them getting closer and the remaining servants yelled and waved their arms. Unable to keep his eyes open any longer, Yuki caught a glimpse of yellow and pink hair before finally passing out.


Hello, Wanderingtree here.

So, I didn't think I'd find myself posting here after I finish my first story. I was out on a family vacation when this idea popped in my head. I will say that this story has gone through a crap ton of rewrites, even Yuki had seen drastic changes compared to his original version.

With that said, this chapter alone took about four months to make. While I'm done polishing this chapter, I'm not done with this story anytime soon.

Aside from several easter eggs and cameos in Demon slayer, I wanted this chapter to focus on my OC. From here on, he will be interacting with the other character from the main story. To be clear, just because he will meet Tanjiro for instance, doesn't mean they'll be pals instantly and travel together. In fact, they won't meet again for a while. Last thing I want is for my OC to be a Gary Stu. Not a fan of that trope.

Last thing I want to point out is the genre. Adventure is front and center, this story will touch on romance, hurt/comfort, to name a few. However, these are all secondary genres because my one goal in this story is tapped into the world building within and outside of Japan. This is probably the only critique I have with Demon Slayer.

To wrap things up, I look forward to feedback. If this story gets attention, I'll try to make a schedule to post consistently, and if not, at least I get to take my time.

I want to give a shout-out to Towfu San, their story 'And so the current flows' was a major source of inspiration of me throwing my hat into the ring.

Until next time, hope you all have a good day or good night.

Edit: I'll be going back to edit grammatical errors and make things as consistent to the timeline as I can. 1/22/24, 2/5/2024