Demon Slayer: The Nature Hashira

Chapter 4

But that's when I heard it. Screams amongst screams echoing throughout the village. Some are calling for help, and some are screaming in agony. Many buildings caught on fire, dead bodies littering the dirty grounds. My mother held me tight. One hand holding my body against hers and the other holding my head down against her shoulder so I couldn't see. But that didn't work because I saw everything.

From afar, I could see some forms jumping higher than any average human and running faster than a cheetah from the stories I have read. Being eight years old, I didn't understand anything that was going on. No fear wracked my body, nor tears ran down my cheeks from seeing the dead bodies.

Suddenly, my body was lifted into the air, the air getting knocked out of my lungs as I hit the ground. I was gasping, clinging onto as much air as I could. Once I have gained some air, tears start to spill as I feel the pain in my back from hitting the ground. I called out for my mother as I cried in pain. But when I started to pull myself up, my mother was laid before me with someone standing on top of her.

No...it wasn't someone...it was something. Large, pointy teeth sticking out of its mouth, drool dripping as it stared down at my mother. It had a human-like body but with bigger limbs and gray-colored skin. A horn stuck out from its forehead, and its eyes were completely white.

"...R-run...Kana...run far away...!" My mother cried. Her screams of agony get louder as the long, sharp nails on its toes dig into her back.

"Run!"

My body moved on its own. I was quickly pulling myself up, despite the pain in my back, and running down the streets. I wasn't sure how many creatures were in the village, but I knew I passed just a few miles from my mother. I cried and cried as I ran. I was crying for my mother, who sacrificed herself for me—calling for my father to come and help. I was crying for the ache in my back and bare feet.

— — — —

I was running down a hill in the trees now. I never once stopped to breathe or rest until I knew I was safe. But safe from what, exactly? What were those things? Not human, of course. Not an animal, either. So what?

"There you are..." A deep voice rasps behind me.

I gasp, turning my head to look at the voice's owner. Another creature, but very different from the one who attacked my mother. I couldn't even think. My body instantly fell to the ground. I almost fell unconscious from exhaustion and dehydration, but I stayed awake. My mother told me to run, so I did. I wasn't safe yet.

My arms shook from my weight as I pushed myself up. Tears blurred my vision, but I could see what was on the ground before the demon. Pieces of cloth scattered, and a dark red puddle splattered onto the ground. What was that from?

My back felt warm and wet like someone dropped a bucket full of warm water on top of me. It felt numb at first, but I screamed as soon as I touched it. The creature must have cut my back as it approached me. All I felt was pain. Pain and aches throughout my body. I couldn't move, and I couldn't speak.

Am I going to die here?

"What a waste. Not going to run anymore? I love to chase my food." The creature speaks. His footsteps thumped on the ground as he got closer.

"Leave that girl alone!" A voice rings throughout the forest. The creature howls in pain as he flies through the woods far away.

A new creature stood in its place. This creature was more human-like. A human body, a human face, and human hair. Only it had blue skin, yellow eyes with blue replacing the white, and pink hair.