Prologue

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"Mama! Papa!! Ready or not, I'm coming for you!!" A gleeful voice of a little girl can be heard throughout the house. She's playing hide and seek with both of her parents inside their small house. She let out an excited laugh as she begins to search of both of her parents. "S/N-Nee! Don't just stand around!! Come and help me find mama and papa!" She said, scolding her older sibling who only giggles at her attempt to sound angry. But it only makes her look adorable. The one word to describe the young girl is innocence.

The front door suddenly slams open, making the two of them flinched. They turn their heads to look at the door. A large figure looms over their body causing the two of them to tremble in fear.

"S/N-Nee... w-what is t-that thing?" She stuttered out as her sister rushed over to her side, using her own body to act as a protective shield for her. Her eyes wide filled with pure terror as she stares fearfully at the figure.

"Shh... shh, Y/N. Don't look" her sister cooed. Y/N buries her face into her sister's shoulder. "Leave us alone! We have nothing to offer you!" She said, as she tries to convince the monster to leave their living space.

"Wahhh... such a brave young girl" the demon said. He opens his mouth to reveal sharp canines that hid behind his heavily chapped lips. "Unfortunately, I'm not going anywhere. It's been a while since I've had delicious kids as dinner. Especially the younger one. She smells sooo good" he said. He ends his words with licking his lips as drool starts flowing down his chin. His voice sounded evil and malice, which causes the girls to tremble in fear.

He moves out of the way just in time as an axe is swung at him. "S/N take your sister and run away!" The girls' mother yelled at them. But before she could try to attack the demon again, the demon had strike her. Little Y/N unfortunately pulled away from her sister, causing her to witness the way the demon's claw pierced through their mother's abdomen.

"M/N! No!!" Their father yelled out, while holding a scythe in his hands. "You heard your mother! Run!! Get out of here! Hurry!!" He yelled. S/N quickly picks up her little sister and rushes out of the house. As much as she didn't want to, her top priority is to get Y/N to safety.

'Someone... anyone... please save us' S/N pleaded in her head. She tighten her grip around her sister's body. She can feel her sister trembling in her arms. She tries her best to stay calm as to not scare her sister's further.

"Nee-San. I'm scared..." the little girl whimpered. S/N heart aches at the sound of her sister's voice. The sound of fear can be heard in her voice. "Mama and papa. The two of them are dead, right? That thing killed them. A-Are we going to d-die too?" She asked.

"Shh... don't think like that. You'll be alright. Your big sister got you. Just hold on tight, okay?" She said. Her voice sounded strained and breathless from the running she's doing. Y/N only wrap her arms tighter around her neck. S/N tries her best to ignore the burning ache of her feet as she force them to keep running.

A strong push on her back causes the two of them to stumble. S/N turns her body to make sure Y/N didn't get hurt from the fall. She held Y/N close as the same demon appears before them.

"You're fast... I'd give you that. But not fast enough" he said. His sharp clawed hands grabs onto S/N's hair. She let out a scream as she's yanked up, making her dangle by her hair. "Awe... what a precious sound. Music to my ears" he said.

Y/N could only watch as the demon took a bite on her sister's neck. A loud scream causes her body to tremble and blood runs cold. Her sister's severed arms fall on the ground in front of her.

"Delicious... but of course. I'd save the best meal for the last" the demon said. Y/N's breathing gradually starts to get heavier, as she watches the light left her sister's eyes. Tears rolls down her cheeks as she clenches her hands to tight fists. She turns her gaze to look at the demon as he slowly approaches her. That's the last thing she could remember as her surrounding went dark.

***

A man holding a basket on his back slowly walks through the forest. The crunching sound of dry leaves reaches his ears with every steps he takes. Behind him is the oldest child.

He eventually stops walking when he didn't hear the sound of his son's footsteps. He turns around to look at his son. "Tanjiro? Why are you stopping?" He asked. He raises an eyebrow as Tanjiro only stares at something.

"Father... over there. Isn't that a girl? She seems to be injured" he said. He turned his head to look at where his son is pointing. His eyes widen when he sees what his son meant. He drops his axe and rushes towards the girl's side.

"She's still breathing. Look at all these wounds. Who would do such thing?" He said to himself. He turn to look at his son who stared worriedly at the girl. "We have to get her home and get her treated. Come on, Tanjiro..." he said. Tanjiro only nods his head. He grab the axe that his father had dropped.

Time-skip

The man's wife has changed the girl's outfit into a pair of cleaner ones. She's now lying on a futon, with blanket covering her body. She has bandages covering all the injuries on her body. Her chest rise and fall at an irregular pattern which shows she's having a hard time breathing.

"What an unfortunate little child... she's still so young" the woman said. She stared sadly at the little girl who lays weakly on the futon. "If only I could've find a better medication for you..." she said.

The girl's finger twitches a little. The woman just stares at her as she slowly opens her eyes. She stares at the ceiling for a few seconds before her eyes shot open. She hurriedly sits up as she looks around in fear.

"Hey... hey hey hey. Shhh... it's okay. You're okay..." her soothing voice reaches the girl's ear. She stops frantically looking around and turn her gaze to look at the woman. Her breathing still sounded heavy as she stares at the woman. "What happened to you?" She said. The girl's eyes starts to tear up as she burst into tears.

"Mama... papa and S/N. They're all dead!!" She cried out. The woman's eyes soften as she realize the little girl had gone through so much at such a young age. "They were killed in front of me!!" She cried out. The woman scoots closer to her side and pulls her close.

"I'm sorry this happens to you, little girl. But you don't have to worry. You can stay with us" the man who had brought her here said. She pulls away from the woman's embrace to look at him. Standing near him is a boy is his oldest child. The man notices her gaze on his son. He smiles softly and places a hand on Tanjiro's head. "This is Tanjiro... do you have a name?" He said, gently.

"Y/N... L-L/N Y/N..." she said, in a hushed voice. The man smiles softly and walks up to her. He kneels down to be on the same eye-level as the girl. He lift his hand, making her flinch slightly. But she didn't back away as she let the man places his hand on her head.

"My name is Kamado Tanjuro. You are welcome to stay here for as long as you want. We can be your family" he said. Y/N turn her head to look at the woman who nod her head, smiling softly at her. She turn to look at the boy who gives her a close-eyed smile. "Do you want to stay with us, hm?" He asked again. Her eyes starts to swell up in tears as she nods her head. He smiles and gently pulls her close. She buries her face into his chest as she starts to cry softly.

At such a young age, Y/N had to bear so much weight on her shoulders. Losing both her parents and sister could be too much for her. Thankfully, this lovely family welcomed her in their family with open arms. And it makes her feel... safe.

*to be continued*

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