Toshikawa, Kyozumi
Chizami village was quiet. The moon was out and the sunble breezes swept calmly across the village. In a normal sized house there lived a small family which consisted of a mother, a 10 year old boy which was her son and her baby daughter which was 1 year old.
The mother herself was 32 and loved her kids as any other mother should. The sun had just completely set and the boys were just getting inside. Chiyō, the mother opened her front door and called her son into the house.
Soon a boy with long, messy, black hair with bangs that framed the side of his face along with dark gray eyes came running into the house.
"Kyoshi, no running in the house. I just put your sister to bed so be quiet." Chiyō said with her finger over her lips. She had long black hair that was tied up into a bun and she wore a pink kimono with white lining. Unlike Kyoshi, who had dark gray eyes, hers was purple.
"Sorry." Kyoshi said with a smile. Chiyō looked at him and saw that his blue kimono was dirty along with his face and he had some bruises on his hands and legs.
"What happened to you today?" She asked as she went into the bathroom and brought out a wet towel.
"Me and Hazushima were racing to see who was the fastest and I tripped over a rock. Then we went to the big oak tree in Mr. Kasinagi's backyard and climbed to the top." He said enthusiastically as his mother washed his face.
"I see you had fun today. Go wash up and give me your dirty clothes so they could be washed." Chiyō said as she rubbed his hair. He nodded and ran off to his room. Chiyō was about to tell him to walk, but just sighed and shook her head.
Chiyō went and slid the door shut and set up a pink flower that seemed to shine in the night, right in front of it. She then went to the kitchen, living room, bathroom, and normal bedrooms and put the flower right in front of the door.
The name of these flowers was called "Wisteria Flower." These flowers were used to keep demons away from things since they seem to hate it and actively avoid it for some reason.
Once she was done, Kyoshi was done washing up and gave his clothes to his mother. Afterwards he snuck into his baby sister's room and looked at her through the bars of her crib.
Just like everyone else in the family, she had black hair, kinda pale skin and when her eyes were open her eyes were purple like her mothers. He put his finger through the bars and poked her face just before hearing the door being pushed open.
"Kyoshi, don't wake Hiina up." Said Chiyō as she took him out of the room.
"Get to bed. Tomorrow we'll be going to the market, so get some sleep." She said as she took him to his room.
"Can we get some onigure?" He asked with a smile.
"I'll see what I can do. Go to bed for now." She said and tucked him in before kissing his forehead.
The village wasn't extravagant and rich, but it wasn't poor and in poverty, it was average. Nothing too special and it was rather small so everyone knew each other like family.
Chiyō sighed and walked down the hallway and into her room where she laid down on her futon and drifted off to sleep.
….
In the call of night there was a being moving faster than any human could see. It ran down the road like a blur with crazy eyes and it's tongue hanging from its mouth as it drooled.
This thing was shirtless and had pale skin, sharp teeth, veins erupting from its forehead.
"It's been months since I last dug my teeth into anything. I'm starving here!!" It shouted as it ran down a road with its eyes pinned on a nearby village.
It sped up towards the gates and jumped right over it. As soon as it was in, the demon ran for the first house in sight.
Back with the family of three, Chiyō woke up with a bad feeling. One she had felt a long time ago when she lived with her grandmother.
It was the feeling of dread that came with the sound of screams. Immediately she got up from her futon and went into her dresser.
"The only way to kill a demon is by decapitating it or letting it burn in the sunlight." Those words were told to her by her grandmother who received them from a demon slayer that saved her family.
In her dresser she grabbed a tanto that had a wisteria engraved onto the sheath. It was her family crest that she had abandoned a long time ago. She grabbed the tanto and ran from her room and just as she expected, she heard the sound of screams and doors being torn down.
She ran to Kyoshi's room first since it was the closest and quickly woke him up.
"Mm, mom it-" Chiyō put her hand over his mouth before putting a finger over her own.
"Just stay quiet for now and go hide in mommy's room. I'll bring Hiina there in a while. Take care of her and try to keep her sleep okay." She told him.
He could see the worry in her eyes and as he became more aware he heard the screams.
"Mom, what's happening?" He asked with a shaky voice.
"Kyo, you have to be strong right now okay? Go to my room and look in the dresser. Take the pink flower and hold it close to you and Hiina. Go in the room now." She said in a more serious tone.
He wiped his eyes and ran into the room, went into the dresser and grabbed the flower before getting into a corner and hugging his knees. Soon Chiyō came in with Hiina in her arms and kneeled down in front of him.
"Remember how I taught you to hold her?" She asked as she handed her over to Kuoshi. He grabbed her gently and looked at the sleeping baby. Chiyō picked up the wisteria flower and put it on top of her before kissing Kyos forehead.
"Mom, where are you going?" Kyoshi asked as he saw her standing up.
"I have to guard the house. Stay here and protect your sister. If anything happens keep the wisteria with you at all times.
"But-…"
"No buts, stay put and be as quiet as possible." She said before leaving the room. Kyoshi held Hiina and did as he was told, but deep down he was scared, frightened at what was happening. He could hear the screams and the sound of houses being destroyed and those sounds were getting closer and closer.
…
Chiyō went into the front room and held the tanto out as she prepared for the demon to come burst through the door at any moment.
"I just need to wait till a demon slayer comes. I can try to hold it off for a little bit." She muttered as she got into a knife wielding stance. She held the knife in a reverse grip with her right hand and had her left hand open and out with her feet parted.
As a kid her family taught her basic combat and she practiced all the way up to when she was 23. That's when the family had a falling out and she abandoned them. She shook her head and focused on what was in front of her and breathed calmly.
Suddenly she looked above her and jumped to the side, just as the roof caved in on itself. She looked at the dust cloud that was made and when she was able to see a silhouette, she charged at it.
The demon jumped over her as she slashed, pushing the smoke away. Quickly she turned back around, but the demon was alright in her face.
"Uuuu, a nice and tender woman. So cute, I almost don't want to waste you like this." The demon said in her face.
She slashed the tanto at its neck, but it leaned back and smirked before sniffing the air.
"Wait, are those kids? Guh, used products are the worst." He said as he seemed to lose interest in her body. He dashed towards her and went to stick his hand through her chest but to his surprise she ducked and dashed towards the kitchen.
"Ah, cat and mouse. I can play games." He said as he walked into the kitchen. He saw her backed up against the tabel with a look of complete despair as she held the tanto out, pointing at him.
"Aww, the little rat got herself trapped. Now stay still and I might kill you quickly." He said as his claws elongated and he walked towards her.
"Don't come closer." She warned.
"Or what?"
He took slow steps and just when he was close enough, her left hand which was being hidden by her body shot from behind her and emptied a cup of pink liquid onto the demon's face and some seeped into his open mouth making him swallow it.
"W-what the hell i-is this stuff?" He asked desperately as he started to feel drained. Chiyō took this chance and slashed at his neck, but her cut wasn't deep enough and the demon grabbed her left arm and flung her into the wall.
"You bitch." He said as he dashed towards her again, but he was much slower than before. She dodged his first slash and kicked him in the nuts making him stiff before slashing at his healing neck again.
Blood flew from his neck onto her face and as she went for another slash, he kicked her in the side and it flung her through her room door. She landed right in front of Kyoshi and Hiina started gearing up for a crying fit.
"Mom!!" Kyoshi yelled as Hiina started to cry. Chiyō got up and held her ribs while keeping the tanto in front of her. The demon stepped through the doorway and instantly his eyes widened as his body went stiff again. Inside the room there was tons of wisteria in the closet, in the dresser, and some hanging from the roof of the doorway.
The demon was weakened, poisoned, had a fatal wound that was slow to heal, and now he's trapped. While this was good, Chiyō wasn't in good shape either. She's been a mother for a while and hadn't felt pain like this since childbirth so she was finding it hard to continue fighting, but to protect her kids she kept standing.
The demon put a hand on his neck as a way to protect it while it healed and ran towards Chiyō, who ducked and kicked the demon away from Kyoshi and Hiina to the other side of the room. Kyoshi saw the door was open and thought that if he could get out of the way, his mom could fight without worrying about them.
He saw his chance and made a run for it while holding Hiina closely. Seeing this the demon smiled as it made a break for the kids.
"NO!!" Chiyō yelled as she ran towards it, but with the pain from her ribs it was hard to even walk.
The demon swept its claws across Kyoshis' back which sent him flying out of the door and caused blood to drizzle down his back. Chiyō, who was behind the demon, was about to stab it in the neck before it ducked and spin-kicked her away and into the wall.
The tanto flew from her hand and the demon finally smiled and laughed out as it saw her sorry state. She was slumped over in the corner with blood coming from her waist, her arm was fractured and she was too hurt to move.
Back in the hallway, Kyoshis' body twitched as he slowly started to get up. His vision was blurry and he felt tears running down his cheeks. He looked down at Hiina, who he fell on and saw that her nose was bleeding. His arms wrapped around her head area, so she didn't hit her head on the ground.
"You damn bitch. I almost died because of you, you dirty little whore. Look at my fucking neck, you-…"
Kyoshi heard the demon throwing insults at his mother and turned to look towards the door and saw the tanto sitting just in the doorway. He clenched his fist and withstood the pain from his back as he rose to his feet.
Slowly he walked over to the tanto trying his best not to make a sound while doing it. He saw the demon pick his mother up as she had tears in her eyes which were losing light. He grabbed the tanto and his leg muscles bulged and blood red veins popped out and he shot towards the demon.
His eyes turned red and with the tanto, he stabbed the demon in the thigh and dragged the knife down to its calf. Blood sprayed out like water from a hose onto Kyoshis' face and some got into his mouth which he accidentally swallowed.
Feeling the pain surge through his body, the demon's grip on Chiyōs' neck increased as he tightened his grip and the snapping sound which was heard caused Kyoshi to look at his mother.
Her head slumped over to the right with her lifeless eyes looking right at him. He started to hyperventilate as the demon came crashing to the ground yelling.
'What did I do?' Kyoshi asked himself as he stepped back.
'I just killed mom.'
His breathing became more sporadic and he looked at the tabto in his hand then towards the whining demon. He clenched his teeth and before the demon could react he stabbed it again and again and again in the neck.
Soon the head was completely cut off and the body started to turn into black ash that vanished. Kyoshi sat there for a while looking at his hands then remembered the rest of the village. He got up and was about to run out of the doorway before looking down and noticing Hiina.
He picked her up with tears in his eyes and ran from the house.