A year had passed.
I stood at my parents' graves , moss claimed the rocks, that surrounded the mound where they lay.
"Mother, Father, I'm going to the city today."
I bowed, leaving to pack my things.
I'm travelling to the city for two purposes: firstly, to sell rice grains and earn some money. Secondly and most importantly, it's to hunt some demons.
I tied off the last straw sack, hauling it onto the wooden cart and set off, carving thin trails into the earth as the wooden wheels tumbled along.
Lifting this cart would typically be an impossible feat for a little kid like me. But it's actually feasible now, as a result of my arduous training routine. After a year of attempting to maintain total concentration breathing at all times, I've gotten to the point where it aids in day to day activities.
Although it isn't perfect and nowhere near to the real thing, I can maintain it for quite a while.
As I continued onwards, I noticed that I had I garnered a few stares. I guess I should expect it, what else would someone do when they see a small kid pulling a hefty cart, several times his own weight all by himself.
Since one of my objectives is to hunt demons, I've decided to travel during the dead of the night for the majority of the time.
"I should make a detour, there's no demons here."
I peered into the horizon, where I spied a small hill, a stairway climbed up to a shrine at the top.
When I made it to the stairway, I paused looking up, I could hear crickets chirping out of the overgrown bushes and weeds that lined the staircase to the top.
It's clear that it's quite neglected… and also the perfect den for a demon.
I scaled up the stairs, the wooden wheels clattered on the cracked stone with each step.
Eventually, I made it to the top through the torii gate, a shrine basked in the moonlight and I had a gut feeling it hosted something rather sinister.
The bells dangling from the entrance chimed softly, as a gust of wind blew past me.
The cart creaked as I dragged it forward continuing my way to the Shinto shrine.
Since I couldn't afford a katana, I kept a hatchet strapped to my waist.
Then I found something suspicious.
A glistening slimy trail on the floor trailed to the area behind the shrine.
Investigating, I followed the lead and found exactly what I was searching for.
"I knew it!"
In front of me was a strange scaly looking demon, he had two horns and four eyes. He sat in a squat and was leaping around.
"Who's in my territory?!"
Four slit pupils narrowed within its gleaming amber eyes, darting erratically, until finally locking onto me — like I was prey.
His head contorted sideways and he walked on all fours.
"I knew there would be a demon here."
"Hehe, what a nice smell… you'll definitely taste good"
His tongue flickered out licking his lips. I couldn't help but shiver in disgust.
His neck began bulging weirdly and his head faced the sky, so I took a stance, ready for an attack.
Suddenly his head flicked down, the whip-like tongue, which looked like that of a frog, shot towards me in a flash.
As it rapidly approached, my grip on the hilt of my blade tightened.
I breathed out, releasing a stream of chilled air from the side of my mouth.
Slice!
The severed part of the tongue, flung behind me and landed in the bushes.
"Huh?! What did you just do!" He mumbled out, his returned tongue fizzled as it regenerated.
It seems this demons regenerative factor is faster than the last.
Despite that, I decided to continue my pressure.
I didn't speak, I lunged forward, maintaining my breathing technique and swung at his neck.
But he dodged, jumping back and slinging out his newly regenerated tongue at my face.
I raised my hatchet with the sharp side facing his the tongue, two strands of the tongue split, diverging out.
"Argh! How dare you!"
He leaped forward, clawing at me, I pivoted my lead leg back and simultaneously cleaved down.
But in an instant he shifted to the side with all four limbs, his tongue spiralled out as he did so, wrapping around my leg, lifting me up in the air.
"Tsk… this creepy demon and his dirty tongue."
Of course, I swiftly detached the slimy tongue from its grasp on my leg, landing down with a thud as I did.
Contrary to my expectations, the demon just smiled.
"Hehe… that's enough playing for now."
As he muttered, mucus excreted from his skin, causing a rainbow sheen to envelope his body, light refracted off the surface of his skin, appearing as though he had disappeared into thin air.
"Is that his blood demon art?!"
Before I could even process his ability, I felt a shift of the wind, which tingled against my skin, I instinctively swung up feeling the resistance of flesh as I did.
A damp thud echoed on the ground.
"So you can go invisible huh?"
Although he went invisible, doesn't mean he can hide his presence, the only issue would be countering his tongue attack.
Unfortunately for me however, I don't have the supernatural smell of Tanjiro, nor do I have the hearing prowess of Zenitsu.
I surveyed across the ground searching for a hint of his location but he was no where to be found.
But even so, I closed my eyes trying to heighten my other senses in an attempt to search for any traces of him.
But all of a sudden, I could no longer breathe and I felt my legs sway in the air ,as I felt myself lifted up.
He must've wrapped his tongue around my neck before I could react and without a pain response, all I could feel was the inability to breathe.
I thrashed in the air but to no avail, as the invisible coil ramped up its crushing pressure on my throat.
I coughed out blood and my limbs gradually weakened.
It's said that when you die, your life flashes before your eyes. And I can tell you after having experienced it multiples times — it really does. It's a instinctive psychological last ditch effort to try and look for an avenue for survival.
In a fraction of a second my brain replayed all of my memories, including my life and death battles with the demon prior to this one. My training, all the time spent focusing on total concentration breathing.
It all added up.
However, I noticed that in my first life the memories weren't as visceral and impactful as this worlds one, I could only conclude, with the last of my thoughts, that it was my ability in this life.
*
I suddenly stumbled and tried to regain my footing, only to step on a familiar slime trail.
"Who's in my territory?!"
"… I'm back."
"Hehe, what a nice smell… you'll definitely taste good"
His tongue slithered out licking his lips. I couldn't help but shiver in disgust once again.
The battle commenced exactly as before. But at the same time, it was different.
My strikes were cleaner, sharper, more precise. My breathing technique improved and in a strange way.
Maybe it's a byproduct of using my breathing technique and all of my experience farming, I could feel the vibrations of the earth, similar to Inosuke.
But it was more than that, as soon as he went invisible, I could feel the reverberations of the earth, locating him crawling up the tree and subsequent shot of his projectile tongue, all of the vibrations helped me narrow down his general location.
I cleaved his tongue off before it could coil around my neck and then I leaped to the tree where he thought he was safely hiding.
Veins bulged out of my hands as I swung, the hatchet whipped through the air, tearing through from his neck to his torso.
Thud.
The body flopped down, the shimmering film faded away leaving behind a cleanly sliced corpse, writhing in pain.
"Tsk… I really need a Nichirin blade."
But I knew I couldn't kill a demon without sunlight, that's why I brought a useful tool with me.
The head was still worming around on the floor, so I pulled out a large metal nail and slammed down my hatchet, pinning him to the ground.
After a long time of waiting, the sun finally rose, disintegrating both the demons body and head.
After this battle, It seriously dawned on me that it isn't efficient to fight without a nichirin blade, so my next plan of action is to find a member of the demon slayer corps for the location and timing of the final selection.
I would like to find a mentor to teach me their breathing form if possible. But if that's not possible, I'll just go the inosuke route and just steal the blades off others, although I won't go around challenging them to a fight.
At least I hope so.
…
As the sun began to set, I entered through the gate of a town.
The moon hung high and I walked through a narrow path, where wooden buildings lined each other. My path being dimly lit through paper windows.
I finally made it to my first destination , the travellers inn.
When I entered through the door a female receptionist greeted me.
"Welcome! What's a little kid doing here travelling by himself?"
"I'm just selling some rice, I came here last year with my father."
Coins clattered as I placed them on the desk.
"Oh I remember you. You're Mr. Hayashi's son right?"
"How's he doing?"
"…He didn't come with me."
"Oh, that's a shame I haven't seen him in a while. "
"Can I get a room?"
"Of course."
I woke up well rested, ate some food and made my way to the city.
When I finally made it, I lugged my cart to the rice shop and exchanged it for some money.
Rice was actually quite the commodity, mainly meant for those in the upper and middle class.
Poor folks like me had to mix other grains in my food to actually have enough calories to survive.
So, with my new found money, I went to the market in search of tools to aid in my training.
Eventually, I happened across a market that sold gourd water bottles.
That's it! That's perfect for what I need!
After making the purchase, I walked around the city with two gourds hanging loosely from my waist.
My plan is to expand my lung capacity with these.
As I was casually strolling around with my cart, something — or rather someone caught my eye.
A young man wearing a black buttoned uniform with a white framed collar, the kanji for 'Destroy' engraved in white plastered on the back. His katana was fastened to his belt and he looked to be in a rush.
It's demon slayer corps member, so most likely there was a demon somewhere around here. But he doesn't see to be a high ranking member, so it shouldn't matter if I ask him a couple of questions right?
I quickly jogged towards him, dropping my cart.
I tapped his shoulder. Maybe If I tell him my story he'll help me out.
He looked back and shot me a strange glare.
"What do you want kid?"
"Hey mister, where did you get your sword and how can I become like you?"
"Hah! Go away little boy, you're not built for this job."
He scoffed and pushed passed me.
Isn't he supposed to help me?
"Please! My parents were killed by demons!"
"What's that have to do with me! You're wasting my time! If I finish this mission, I'll get promoted and earn money from the higher ups!"
He shouted at me, trying to shove me out of the way.
But I stood still.
"Huh? Why aren't you moving?"
I gritted my teeth
"You bastard…"
"Im being serious! Tell me how I can join your organisation!", I grabbed him by the collar while using my breathing technique, the vascularity of my forearms became prominent as I wrinkled his uniform.
"Argh! Let go! What are you doing you little brat!"
Using a judo toss I threw him to the ground, causing him to cough out in pain.
Seriously? Is this guy even capable of killing demons?
Not hearing a response, I began to pummel his face.
"Tell. Me. How. To. Join. You!"
A few moments later…
I realised that I might have gone a bit overboard and stopped the beating I was giving him.
After letting him recover for a bit, his entire demeanour changed and he began telling me everything while kneeling on the floor.
He gave me everything he knew about about the timing of the final selection, how to get to Mount Fujikasane etc…
Unfortunately, the final selection is a long ten months away, in fact he was just a new recruit himself.
Also, I enquired about his mission, apparently there was suspicious disappearances late at night, located in a temple of this city.
So I 'borrowed' his nichirin katana and left to check out the demon.
Along the way, I spotted a crow flutter away.