Demon Slayer: The Nature Hashira

Chapter 1

Hot flames lick my skin as I sit on the tatami mat floor. My green eyes flickered back and forth to the demons fighting just outside my home. Watching them fight through a giant hole in the wall the demon went through just seconds ago. Screams of agony and the war cry from the demons made my ears ring.

My lungs ached, and barely any air circulated from my screams. Screams of pain. Screams for them to stop. For my friend to stop. To prevent him from getting killed and run away. My eyes burned from the growing fire around me and the tears that wouldn't stop flowing.

"Please!" I screamed once again. "Sahi! Please! Run away!" I cried and cried.

"Kana, get out of there, or you'll burn!" He turned to look at me after a short break from fighting, his widened eyes filled with worry.

No matter how hard I tried to listen to his words, I couldn't move. My legs, arms, hands, and fingers shook with each ragged breath I took. With each gasp of air, I tried to take. It was so hard to breathe. Each short breath burns my lungs. Was it the fire? Or was it from my screaming for him to stop?

My eyes finally broke from the fight, looking at my surroundings. I realize how close the fire has gotten and how it has already enveloped my adoptive parents' corpses. I wanted to cry, seeing more people die around me.

This moment is proof of how unlucky I genuinely am. I already lost my actual family, and now I have lost another.

In a swift, quick movement, my sight was replaced with the outside of my home. The cold air brushes against my burned skin, making it sting. But I couldn't focus on that.

"S-Sahi?!" I blurt out. His blue arm wrapped around my waist tightly, his shallow breaths against my neck. He separated us just slightly to where he hasn't fully let me go, but we could see each other's faces. I look at his bright golden eyes, hands gently cupping his blue face. "Sahi...Please...Run away! Please...." Another tear has fallen, only to be wiped away by my friend.

He smiled at me. One of his kind smiles that always made my heart flutter with happiness. "Kana, run. Run as far away as you can." I wanted to. I tried to listen. But I couldn't. My hold on him has gotten tighter, afraid I'd lose my only family.

Oh, how I wish I had died in my home village.

My hands are empty as the other demon takes his body away from me. The demon who attacked the village in the dead of night. A demon who is far larger than Sahi, but he wouldn't stop fighting to protect the people of this small village.

I watch as he crushes Sahi's head in his giant hand. His blood splattered on the ground, and his body fell limp.

The demon now focused on me as he threw Sahi's body away. I was scared, but I knew Sahi was still alive. He's a demon, after all.

"Kana!" I hear my name being called, the giant demon coming closer at an agonizingly slow pace.

"Kana!"

"Kana!"

A large hand slaps my shoulder, my body jerking as my mind returns to reality. Blinking, I look around. A straw dummy standing before me, a wooden sword in my hands, trees surrounding me, and Uzui Tengen standing at my side.

"Are you finally awake?" He shakes his head, the stones hanging from his headpiece clacking together. He was annoyed, but the look in his eyes told a different story. "Lunch is ready." He says, turning around. I watch him walk to the three women setting up a picnic on the grass.

"Is she sleeping while standing again? She's been doing that lately." Makio speaks to no one in particular. She sets a large bento on the light blue colored blanket, opening the lid to show different assortments of food.