Demon Slayer : Heir to the Moon

The first rays of dawn painted the horizon, a stark contrast to the darkness we had just fought through. My body ached but I lay there, feeling the utter exhaustion of my comrades beside me. We were all sprawled on the ground, battered but victorious.

I couldn't deny it, those demons were strong. I'd faced two Lower Moons before, but that time, I'd been utterly thrashed. This time, I had no major injuries, just a collection of minor cuts and bruises. The others, though, looked truly beat up. That boar-headed Inosuke had even broken both his swords, yet he'd kept fighting, a relentless, fearless force, distracting the demon with makeshift weapons, even if they didn't do much damage.

And Zenitsu… what was that coward's deal? Awake, he'd refuse to fight and just run. But somehow, when he got knocked unconscious, he'd fight for real, utterly fearless. He had some wild fighting instinct hidden deep inside him. Maybe he should just stay asleep all the time; he was certainly quieter then.

A Kasugai Crow descended, circling above us. "Congratulations, Caw! You accomplished your mission, successfully defeated two Lower Moons. Support group on their way!"

Congratulations, huh? I still didn't understand how these crows could talk, or how they possessed enough intelligence to communicate like humans. But after seeing demons, it seemed nothing was impossible. Whatever. I didn't really care about these things anymore. All I wanted was to go home and see Yuki. I hadn't spent enough time with her lately, caught up in training and other duties. She'd probably be angry if I didn't give her enough attention.

She was, perhaps, the top reason I was still fighting demons. Vengeance for my family, saving people, saving the world—those were my initial motivations, but that spark was slowly fading. Then I remembered the illusion of my family the demon had shown me. I had cried after seeing them. Maybe I did still want revenge. At this point, I wasn't sure about my own feelings. I still didn't know which demon killed my family. Perhaps that demon was already dead, killed by other Slayers, or maybe even by me. I'd killed a lot of demons by now. I loved fighting, but I didn't want to fight anymore. Yet, I couldn't stop. I needed to make the world a safer place for Yuki, for our future.

A few moments later, I heard the sounds of the support group arriving. We hadn't truly needed them, we could have managed on our own after a small rest. But who cared? Any help was welcome. I let my body go loose, giving in to the exhaustion, and drifted off to sleep.

I woke to the gentle sound of birds singing. Sunlight streamed through the window, painting the room in soft hues. It was morning. I realized I was in the Butterfly Mansion. My eyes fluttered open, and I saw her, my beautiful wife, Yuki, carefully tending to my wounds.

She noticed I was awake, and her expression immediately shifted to one of playful annoyance. "You got yourself wounded again, didn't you?" she accused, her voice light but firm. "I told you to be careful!" Getting injuries during battle against tough demons was unavoidable, but she didn't seem to care for my unspoken excuses. "Those are just excuses!" she declared, then leaned closer. "You'll be in big trouble if you get wounded again." I knew she was just playing, and I loved this playful dynamic. Just moments ago, I was amidst chaos, fighting terrifying demons, but now, a beautiful, angel-like human being was taking care of me. This must be what being happy feels like. I needed to make her happy too. I needed to spend more free time with her.

Just then, Kanao entered the room. She was beautiful, as ever. As a man, seeing a beautiful girl will always catch my attention. Though I was, and always would be, faithful to my wife.

"Ryo, how are your wounds?" Kanao asked, her voice soft. It was surprising, I didn't think we had ever truly conversed, even though I had been living in the Butterfly Mansion for a long time. She was always so shy and quiet. But lately, she seemed to have opened up with others. And now, she had even started a conversation with me.

I replied to her question with a slight—a really slight—blush. "Yeah, everything's great. The demons weren't that much of a trouble."

Yuki noticed my slight blush. I could already feel the impending doom, she pinched my hand under the blanket, a silent but effective warning. I couldn't react now.

"Shinobu told me to tell you to meet the Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji," Kanao continued. "It seems Mitsuri-san asked Shinobu-san to send a strong Demon Slayer, and Shinobu-san referred you." The Love Hashira? The one with the open chest and zero modesty, I thought. I told Kanao that I would go when I was able. She simply nodded and left, apparently having come just to deliver that information.

Then I looked at Yuki. She looked super pissed. "Weren't you having fun talking to her?" she asked, her voice dangerously sweet. Oh no, I was doomed.

The next day, I followed my Kasugai Crow as it guided me to the location of the Love Hashira's home. It was a very big and expensive mansion. How much do these Hashiras get paid, anyway? I was still a low-rank, or rather mid-rank, Slayer—in terms of official rank only, of course. If it was skills, I was sure I was way stronger than most seniors, except for the Hashiras, I guessed. And I was paid handsomely.

Thinking of that, where did the Demon Slayer Corps get all this money from? How did they even earn money? Was the government involved? That couldn't happen, as the existence of demons was kept secret to prevent mass panic. I hadn't even heard of demons before I met one. How the hell did they keep it a secret when whole villages were getting attacked? I had even been involved in one such incident. It was kind of weird, but who cared, I guessed. If it worked, it worked.

Now, I needed to meet the Love Hashira. I opened the ornate gate and entered the mansion yard.

I walked up to the main door and knocked. No one showed. I knocked harder. I heard someone running, a light, quick patter of feet. It was Mitsuri, rushing to open the door. She swung it open, and I… I saw it. Her clothes barely holding up…

To Be Continued…

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Author here. I tried to explore Ryo's inner feelings, emotions and thoughts more in this chapter. Hope you liked it.