Three days passed after that gathering. Right now, Kazumi's on her way to a new mission in which she's sent to a certain mountain. It is said that some people who pass by there and stay there overnight were never found. At the bottom of the mountain is a small village. This seems to be the smallest village Kazumi had ever been to compared to the previous villages she had seen.
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."
Kazumi heard a voice while walking up the mountain. She went to its direction to see it. She saw a small cottage as she got closer and outside the cottage is a girl crying on the ground. She has a waist length black hair with green tips. She watched as the man in front of the girl pull her head up by her hair.
"I'm sorry, I was hungry so I can't help but eat it." The girl cried.
"What a pest you are! Not only are you lazy but you also wanted to steal our food!" A woman standing at the door nagged clearly angry at the girl.
Kazumi hid herself for a while to see what will happen. The man let go of the girl's hair. She slowly crawled away from him wiping her tears.
"Go sell some woods and earn money!" The man ordered before going inside and shutting the door.
The girl went to pick up some chopped woods to sell. As she walk away from her home, Kazumi slowly approached her and tapped her shoulder gently.
"Excuse me miss."
The girl turned around, her black colored eyes looked at the one who just tapped her shoulder. She saw a person just the same height as her with an ash-gray hair with black tips and heterochromatic eyes.
"Um.... y-yes?"
"Are you selling those woods?" Kazumi asked.
"Yes I am."
"Can I help you then? That looks heavy."
"There's no need! I-I can do it!" The girl hesitated.
Kazumi made Take carry her sword for a while so the girl won't notice and get startled.
"You'll be able to earn more money. Please." Kazumi clasped her hands pleading to the girl.
"A-Alright."
The two walked side-by-side to search for the houses as they walk further. They managed to sell the woods just by the time the sun started to set. They sat under a tree for a while to rest.
"Thank you for helping me. I'm really sorry for troubling you."
"No need. I'm happy to help by the way, I'm Kazumi, Kazu for short. And you are?" Kazumi reached for her hand to the girl.
"I'm Haruna, nice to meet you Kazumi-san." Haruna shaked Kazumi's hand before the both of them slowly pulled it back.
"Kazu's fine, no need to be so formal."
"Anyway, you seem to be new here. Where are you from?"
"I'm really new here, in fact, I'm here for a mission."
"A mission?" Haruna slightly tilted her head to the side.
"I'm a slayer, a demon slayer to be exact. We slay demons in order to protect humans." Kazumi answered giving her a closed eye smile.
"A.... slayer.... Demons...." Haruna still looked clueless.
"Demons are the creatures who live by devouring humans. They lurk at night since the sunlight would kill them."
"Oh, I see.... so they kill humans in order to live." Haruna lifted a finger getting what Kazumi's saying.
"Yes. But not all of them, there are also demons who don't devour humans or let's say, stopped devouring humans."
"I see but, how do they turn into one?"
"They turn into demons if a demon blood entered their body. Demons are once humans too." Kazumi explained.
After Haruna thought of it, she remembered the money. She suddenly stood up.
"I have to go home now, I'm sorry Kazumi-kun." Haruna bowed before turning around.
"Can I come with you?"
Haruna suddenly stopped when she heard Kazumi's question. She turned around to look at her.
"T-There's no need my father—"
"It's alright, I won't show myself." Kazumi cut Haruna's words.
Haruna knew that even if she say no, Kazumi would follow her so she just agreed. As they got closer to her home, Kazumi decided to start a conversation.
"So he's your father Haruna-chan?" Kazumi asked with her hands placed at the back of her neck.
"W-What?!" Haruna asked shocked at Kazumi's question.
"Honestly, I heard someone crying while walking up this mountain so I decided to check. That's when I saw you."
"So.... you know."
"Yeah, sorry for not telling you."
"It's alright. Yes, he's my father and the woman is my stepmother." Haruna looked down while they're walking.
"Stepmother?"
"My mother left us when I was five, she said she can't stand my father's laziness and his temper and she also found out that father have a mistress. My mother was about to take me with her but my father stopped her."
".... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
"It's alright. It's been nine years since that thing happened. Though, I still hope my mother would show herself to take me with her."
The two stopped as they arrived at Haruna's home. Kazumi noticed Haruna trembling as she held her purse tightly. She gave her a tap on the shoulder in which Haruna replied with a nod.
"I'm here." Haruna said knocking on the door.
Kazumi hid beside the house leaning on a wall. The door finally opened showing a man with a pipe.
"Get in."
Haruna went inside and sat on the floor. Her stepmother already finished cooking but only for her and her husband.
"H-Here's the m-money." Haruna lifted her trembling hands to hand a purse.
Her father grabbed it from her hands and opened it. As he saw the amount of money in it, his brows furrowed and he put his pipe down.
"Only this much?!" The man exclaimed.
"I'm sorry, that's all." Haruna bowed her head down on the floor tears falling out from her eyes.
"YOU SHOULD'VE TAKEN MORE WOODS WITH YOU!!!" Her father shouted grabbing Haruna by the collar of her yukata then slapping her.
She fell on the floor holding the left side of her face her father slapped. She kept on crying until her father grabbed her by the hair.
"You're just like your useless mother! You two haven't done anything but to bring pain in my life!"
"M-Mother.... Mother is not useless! She loves me and she left because of you!"
He grabbed Haruna's jaw and squeezed it. This made the girl wince in pain and hold on to her father's hand.
"If she loved you then why didn't she came back to take you from me? Why didn't she came back to look for you at the village? Did she show up? No! It has been more than nine years! Wake up from your dream of ever seeing her or escaping from me!"
He let go of her jaw before dragging her to the door then throwing her out. Haruna rolled on the ground scratching her elbows and palms, her nose also bled. Her father shut the door close, she can't do anything but to cry. She tried to stand up but nearly fell when someone catched her and helped her stand up.
"You're still here?" Haruna looked at Kazumi.
"Let's go to the back, I'll treat your scratches."
Kazumi assisted Haruna to walk at the back of the house before letting her sit on a huge stone. She took out a small med-kit and started cleaning Haruna's scratches. She also cleaned the scratches on her feet before wrapping it with a clean bandage.
"Thank you." Haruna said after Kazumi cleaned her wounds.
"Your father's such a bad one. I must say he's rotten to the core, you worked hard for that money and yet that's not enough for him?" Kazumi sat beside Haruna.
Haruna started crying again and Kazumi pulled her for a hug. She kept on crying while gripping on Kazumi's clothes.
"It hurts! I really can't stand them anymore! This keep on repeating everyday, he would always hit me and yell at me. He would only care for his mistress and yet he can't even care for his own daughter!"
Kazumi caressed her head and back gently. She let Haruna cry it all out before she came to a stop. She soon looked at Kazumi drying her tears.
"I'm sorry, I even bothered you from doing your mission." Haruna slowly pulled away.
"No worries. As long as you're safe now then it's fine."
Kazumi stood up and took her haori off putting it on Haruna. Haruna's eyes widened in shock.
"Kazumi-kun!"
"Don't worry. I'm sorry if I have to let you wait for a while, I promise I'll come back. If ever your father comes out to look for you or your stepmother, run and I'll find you." Kazumi replied patting Haruna's head gently.
She walked away from the girl before vanishing in the dark. She thought of finding the demon fast and slay it.
'Kazumi-kun.... please be safe.'
Haruna thought while looking down the haori and covered her body with it like a blanket.
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As Kazumi jumped from tree to tree, she managed to caught the sound of the demon before landing on the ground dashing to the demon's location.
"Dammit! If I can't find anyone around here, I have to go down the village." The demon murmured looking for a human to be his food.
He soon saw a man carrying some bags. He's a traveler. The demon's eyes widened and smiled from ear to ear. He got his self ready as he jump to the man.
"AAAAAAH!!!" The man shouted seeing the creature jump at him.
The demon was soon shoved on the ground when Kazumi landed on his back.
"Please run away now." Kazumi instructed looking at the man.
The man just nodded his head as he ran as fast as he can, away from them. Kazumi jumped away from the demon as it stood up instantly.
"Dammit! I lost my dinner because of you brat!"
The demon dashed at Kazumi as she step aside to dodge him. He charged at her again but Kazumi grabbed his wrist. She spun back, bending down forward flipping the demon to the ground.
'He don't have a sword with him.'
The demon thought looking at Kazumi's side.
Soon, she jumped up a tree behind the demon catching her sword as Take dropped it. She instantly unsheathed it then jumped forward to the demon. It's so fast that the demon only noticed his head detached from his body as it made contact on the ground.
"You.... you have a sword?!"
"Of course I do, I'm a slayer after all." Kazumi answered with a smile.
The demon slowly disintegrated. Kazumi ran back to Haruna's home thinking that Haruna's father might look for her this time.
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Haruna heard the front doors open and her father calling out her name. She stiffened and shivered gripping Kazumi's haori tighter. She lifted her knees and hugged them while still gripping on the haori.
'If ever your father or your stepmother look for you, run and I'll find you.'
She remembered Kazumi's words.
'I have to.'
Haruna instantly stood up then ran away from their home. His father saw this and chased after her. She's trying her best not to cry and just to keep on running as fast as she can.
"COME BACK HERE YOU PEST!!!" Her father called while chasing her.
"No!" She answered back.
Haruna took a turn to her left. She hid behind a huge tree panting. Her father looked from side to side before running to the other direction to look for her. When Haruna saw this, she gave out a sigh of relief.
"You've done very well Haruna-chan." A voice from her side said.
She snapped her head to the side to look at the familiar person standing beside her. She hugged Kazumi tightly as she slowly calm down.
"I ran.... I ran away Kazumi-kun."
"Yes you did." Kazumi gently pat her head.
While Kazumi and Haruna hug each other, Haruna's father saw them. He ran closer calling out.
"HARUNA! COME BACK HERE YOU LITTLE—" He was cut off from his words when he saw the other person carry his daughter.
Kazumi carried Haruna on her arms before jumping to a tree branch then landing on the ground running away from Haruna's father. The man is stunned by this that he slowly stopped running. He fell on his knees and his hands balled into a fist while gritting his teeth.
"Ka-Kazumi-kun." Haruna said while looking ahead.
"Don't worry, I'll take you to a safe place."
"Where?"
"Just sleep and we'll arrive there. It'll be a surprise." Kazumi gave Haruna a closed eye smile before looking ahead.