A/N: Have this doodle of Kōrenki, you'll learn who he really is in this chapter anyway ily
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"Thank you again, Atsushi! Here," The female shopkeeper hands the young boy 5¥, "I'm sorry it's not much, but-"
"-No! Please don't worry about it! This is more than enough!" The boy-named Atsushi Kōrenki-flushes pink at the unexpected reward, "Thank you very much!"
The female shopkeeper watches the 10 year old boy with guilty eyes as he tries to find a good place to keep his Yen.
She was tempted to offer him a proposition to stay in a guest room. The poor boy looks like he needs a bath, and his bones were beginning to show through his pale skin.
The offer was quickly off the table with one look at his unnaturally silver eyes.
"Run along now, Atsushi," The shopkeeper smiles through her guilt, "Your work is done here."
Kōrenki bows a perfect 90° angle before running towards his usual hideout.
He was out later than usual, so he was a bit worried he wouldn't make it to his small makeshift hut right outside town.
Of course, it hurt his feelings when the townspeople were eager to get him to leave. But Kōrenki knew it was his punishment for being a demon child. Maybe he was a horrible person in his past life, and this was his punishment.
Grey eyes are a sign that demons, evil spirits, and ugly souls inhabit the wearer. And Kōrenki was born with unnaturally silver eyes.
It was ironic, really. That the characters used to spell his name were things of kindness, brightness, purity.
Kōrenki was told long ago that when he was born, everyone in the room was certain he would accomplish great things. Then a few minutes after his birth, he opened his eyes to reveal his silver eyes.
Kōrenki has to thank his parents for at least naming him and keeping him until he was able to walk and talk on his own.
Self-confidence who? Kōrenki doesn't know her.
That's also another reason why many people keep their distance from the brunette. His strange, out of place sense of humor.
It's not like Kōrenki had any problems being alone, though.
He was a good kid, so they haven't killed him yet. But they might as well with the way they treat him when he's not acting as their slave.
——
6 Years Later
"I don't have a detonator, it's on a timer." Kōrenki says quietly.
"A count-down timer?" The male Demon Slayer questions.
"No." Kōrenki rolls his eyes, "A count-up timer. It goes from 1 to explode."
Kōrenki never thought he'd be helping some crazy guy who claimed to slay demons on a fine Thursday night. But then again, he's always eager to help out the weirdos.
This man with black hair and striking golden eyes was wearing a weird uniform with a blade to his hip. He came into town, asking about a demon that's been killing in the area.
The town was pretty closed off, but Kōrenki had noticed the decreasing number in townspeople recently when no one else had. So of course, he wanted to help out.
Even if Kōrenki did think the guy was full of shit.
In the end, Kōrenki witnessed a demon getting decapitated and turning to dust for the first time that night.
The Demon Slayer claimed to be the first Wind Breath user.
Whatever the hell that meant.
——
7 Years Later
"Hey, want me to look at that?" Kōrenki smiles softly as he crouches down in front of a small girl.
It was late in the evening in the middle of winter, the sun was just beginning to set. Kōrenki had just finished helping an innkeeper fix up her front door. As he was making his way back to his hut outside of town, he saw a young girl against a tree.
She doesn't look any older than 9, maybe 10.
Her messy long, dark brown hair was tangled with noticeable twigs and leaves nestled in. Her skin was tan and dirty, black ink was drawn over her arms and legs in forms of constellations.
She was wearing an over sized potato sack, it was falling apart. Her entire body was covered in small bruises and cuts. The exposed skin that touched the snow was beginning to turn red from frostbite.
She was inspecting the back of her left hand. Kōrenki is sure the bright blue is supposed to be ink, but he's not sure what it's supposed to be since there was a nasty gash bleeding over it.
The girl snaps her head up to look at the man with black hair.
Her eyes were heterochromia: her left eye was dark brown, almost black, the other was a dull grey. She had tears streaming down her face.
"I-I fell," She whimpers, "o-on a rock. An-And it really hurts."
"Can I see? I promise I'll be careful," Kōrenki speaks as he reaches his side pocket to pull out a small gourd of water.
The girl widens her eyes, "Your eyes are just like mine!"
Kōrenki grins at her enthusiastic nature as he carefully takes her injured hand, "Yeah, I guess that means we're secretly brother and sister."
It was only supposed to be a joke, something to distract the girl from her wound. But she took it differently, not that Kōrenki was upset about it.
"Onii-chan!" The girl laughs, "What's Onii-chan's name?"
Onii-chan?
Ah.
Kōrenki was the only child, and if his parents ever had another, they must've had one when they abandoned him at age 5. He never had anyone look up to him, no one to take care of.
"My name is Atsushi Kōrenki," The silver eyed male smiles as he pours the water over her wound, "And what's Imouto-chan's name?"
The girl seems to have totally forgotten about her wound, "Saldana Hanako."
"Saldana?" Kōrenki muses as he tears off a piece of his haori, "Doesn't sound Japanese."
"It was on my loincloth, but I lost it," Hanako shrugs, "Woah! How did you do that?! I didn't even feel it!"
"Magic!" Kōrenki laughs, wrapping up the girl's hand.
"It's because of your eyes!" Hanako gushes, "Your eyes are shiny like the stars! So you have star magic in you!"
"Star magic?" Kōrenki grins, "You think so?"
"When is your birthday?"
"Mm, it's coming up soon, actually. February 24th." Kōrenki answers.
Hanako perks up and pulls back the potato sack to show her left knee. There were marks painted on her knee in a V shape.
"You're a Pisces! The fish!" Hanako squeals, tracing over the Pisces constellation, "Pisces are very compassionate people!"
"Let's get out of this snow first, then you can tell me all about it," Kōrenki suggests.
And she did.
She chatted away about the different constellations and Zodiacs she painted on her body.
Kōrenki never paid much attention to astrology and such, but he decided then and there he was going to buy his Imouto-chan all the scrolls he could find of stars and space.
Hanako and Kōrenki were inside the hut, he had started a small fire to keep her warm while he set up a bath for her.
"I'm a Cancer, my birthday is on June 23rd, 1766!" Hanako speaks loudly from the other room, "Cancers are generally loyal, intuitive, and caring. And you're a Pisces! Pisces are really creative, empathetic, and generous! Which you are!"
"How do you know all this?" Kōrenki asks, impressed with her knowledge on something unexplored in the Edo Era.
"Because my left eye is grey! That means I have some star dust in me! And one day, when I know everything about stars, I'm going to go and live with them!" Hanako squeals.
You and I, Hanako, we're both stars, aren't we?
"Well, one day, we'll both go and live in the stars," Kōrenki says as he walks into the other room where Hanako sat.
"The bath is ready for you, Imouto-chan," Kōrenki smiles, "I'm going to get more firewood. I'll be back very soon."
"Okay, Onii-chan! Be safe!"
Kōrenki was only supposed to get firewood. He was only supposed to get firewood when Hanako got out of the bath.
Kōrenki wasn't supposed to get attacked by a demon.
The demon wasn't supposed to be Kibutsuji Muzan.
Muzan wasn't supposed to give Kōrenki a generous amount of his blood.
Kōrenki wasn't supposed to survive absorbing that surplus amount of demon blood.
Kōrenki was pissed at himself. Even though Muzan gave him almost 2 liters of blood, Kōrenki wasn't strong enough.
Marechi blood.
Muzan told him if he wanted to get stronger, he needed to eat humans with marechi blood. Oh, was that all? There must be someone from town who had marechi blood.
Kōrenki didn't care if his appearance unsettled the townspeople. He was angry with them. Why did they always shun him away when all he did was show them kindness?
"Onii-chan!"
Hanako. What is she doing out here? It didn't matter, Kōrenki only needed-
Marechi.
Hanako oozed the smell of Marechi blood.
Her wound. It was still fresh, and by the smell of it, she had rare marechi blood. She was a small child, but her marechi blood would make up for it.
Kōrenki doesn't remember much that night.
"Anata wa sekido akumadesu!"
(It's an angry demon!)
"Onii-Chan! Kōrenki! You're hurting me!"
Marechi blood was rare. And Hanako's was the rarest of the rare. Her blood made Kōrenki regain his senses.
The last thing Kōrenki remembers is looking down at what remained of Hanako. Her left hand with a blue, faded flower drawing, on her palm was a cancer constellation.
Hanako.
Saldana Hanako.
Imouto-Chan.
Hanako's Marechi blood.
Marechi blood.
Hanako.
Hanako, my little sister.
I killed my little sister.
I really was born a demon child.
Kōrenki fled.
"Anata wa sekido akumadesu!"
(It's an angry demon!)
Kōrenki didn't think he was an angry person.
But he was an angry demon.
——
87 Years Later
"It's a little early to be dressing up for Halloween, isn't it?" The short man scuffs as he lit his cigar.
"It's a little douchey to be murdering innocent families, isn't it?" The man with black hair and pale grey skin retorts.
The man laughs, "What, you gonna kill me?"
"I am."
The man narrows his eyes, "Yeah? Your eyes are silver, think I can make a fortune out of 'em. What's your name so I can have something to label my jar."
"My name?"
"Yes."
The demon grins, "It's Sekido."
——•_•_•_•_•——
~Alias
Sekido
•Rōmanji
Atsushi Kōrenki
•Kanji
敦 幸恋希
•Last Name
Atsushi: From Japanese 敦 (atsushi) meaning "kindness, honesty".
•First Name
Kōrenki: From Japanese 幸 (kō) meaning "happiness, good luck" combined with 恋 (ren) meaning "love", combined with 希 (ki) meaning "hope".
•Time Period
Edo Era-Taisho Era - ?
•Edo Era: 1603-1868~Taisho Era: 1912-1926~
•Birthday
Friday, February 24th, 1743; 7:43am
•Physical Age
23
•Biological Age
171