(1)Demons in the dark

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The speckled koi fish swam frantically as small hands grabbed at their shimmering bodies. A maroon haired child grinned and splashed around in the cool water, the sleeves of her yukata drenched in water.

Finally after minutes of failure, the young
girl finally grabbed the wriggling fish. "Shion-" A voice called from the estate, causing Shion to jump in surprise. A young man poked his head out to see his master's daughter holding a large koi fish like an animal with wide eyes. The man sighed and kept an amused smile on his face, approaching the soaking girl.

"Those are your father's favorite, you can't do that to them." The servant man gently took the fish from her arms and set it back into the water gently. "Chuya san, what would happen if I held on to it?" Shion tilted her head innocently and pouted towards her taller companion, obviously upset. Chuya made an contemplative face and crouched down to meet his superiors glance. "They'd die. They wouldn't swim anymore and your father would be very sad." He pet her messy head of hair and smiled down at Shion, but she still looked confused. Putting his hands on Shion's round face, Chuya looked her in the eye and made sure to make himself clear. "Just remember that nothing deserves to die in this world, but it just happens as the wind of fate decides it." Shion furrowed her brow and was about to speak, but Chuya had already begun to usher her off.

"It's time for you to get changed and take your daily nap so we can celebrate your birthday dinner later on Lady Shion." Chuya chirped and lead the small girl inside, but stopped to stare back at the pond. The fish had joined its friends and joined to swim merrily though Chuya looked over in thought. "Everything deserves life-" He paused and ran a hand through his wavy hair. "Even for someone like me." His hand revealed a pointed ear underneath the locks of hair, but was quickly concealed due to the remembrance of being unmoral.

The small girl tossed and turned in her bed after she had changed out of her wet clothes. Her mother had gotten worked up when she saw her daughter all wet, but quickly sent to her room to get changed. It had been a couple hours since she had fallen asleep, though she felt a little refreshed. The house seemed eerily quiet, but Shion's young mind chalked it up to be a surprise for her birthday. "Maybe Papa bought something special for me!" Shion grinned and threw herself out of her bed, landing on the mat floors with a thud. Usually a servent would come running the moment they heard her fall, but maybe they were busy as well? Shion frowned, picked herself up, sliding open the paper door and was met with an unfamiliar scent. Wrinkling her eyebrows, the young girl held her nose in slight disgust. It smelled almost metallic in a way though the whole house seemed to reek of it. Dread started to gnaw at her as Shion began to tread down the hallway, whimpering slightly.

The sound of the tapping of Shion's small feet was the only sound she could focus on as she guided herself through the pitch black hall. " I'm not scared..." She muttered continueleesly, eyes darting every which way. There was a faint yet sharp noise in the distance, but Shion couldn't recognise it. Though a clear and familiar scream echo through the hallway, startling the small girl and bringing tears to her eyes. "Aniki!!" Shion yelped, transtiong from her slow stumble to a hasty sprint.

Hisako; Shion's older sister or her "Aniki" was a demon slayer who was usually out traveling. She always had this rebellious streak and boyish nature that seemed inspiring in a way. She could remember saying "I want to be like you!" and phrases like that, but memories like that would soon be tarnished. Shion ripped open the sliding door to see her beloved sister laying on the ground with the rest of her family's corspes spread across the room. Shion held back a scream and stated in shock at the oh so familiar wavy haired figure. "All life is worth protecting, Shion..." His familiar words rang in her mind and a growing feeling of hatred flowed her body. "Chuya...." Shion whispered, taking small steps towards the demon. Her eyes were out of focus and desperate though the animosity was almost tangible. "You liar!" She screamed uncontrollably. "You said life is worth protecting!"

Chuya looked up with unstable eyes, iris flickering around the room until they landed on a small figure. That figure was Shion, the sweet girl he had known since her birth. Shion, the sweet girl who looked at him with joy filled eyes every time she looked at him. Shion who was now shaking in fright and hatred filled eyes. He didn't respond to her outburst and instead limped towards her. "Shi..on." He growled, quickly growing in volume until he was shouting. "Shion, I'm so sorry. Grow strong and become better than this monster you see infront of you." He thought before he knocked the lamp over and smiling as the fire flickered across the ground. Chuya mouthed his final message to Shion with a remorseful smile on his face, showing his fanged teeth.

"Run like your life depended on it. Run and chase the wind of fate."

Chuya's voice was the last thing Shion heard as she grabbed the closet thing she could find to protect herself; just her sister's sword. The blade glistened in the light of the fire, but was hot to the touch from the heat. Hisako's bloody corpse and torn robes started to catch flame along with the other bodies, filling the room with ash. Embers and flames danced amount their charred bodies, leaving Shion coughing with hot tears running down her cheeks. Chuya seemed to have fled at closer inspection, the wavy haired demon was nowhere to be found.

"Chuya!"

Shion's hoarse voice rang out as she gave chase in a blind rage. Hiccuping, Shion wiped the ash from her cheek. He needed to pay for this. He deserved to pay for destroying her happy life. The young girl chopped through the burning wood hastily that stood in her way with her measly five year old strength. He killed her mother. Red sparks danced on her pale skin, causing burns. He killed her father. Her lengthy hair started fo smolder amd burn, but Shion pressed on. That bastard needed to pay. Chuya killed Hisako. Hisako was dead; her big sister was dead. Shion's breath started to grow ragged as her dirty feet reached the cool grass, the oversized ornate sword dragging along.

"Bring them back! Bring my family back, Chuya!"

She sobbed as rocks cut her feet, brambles tore her sleeves and trees swatted at her like a pesky insect. She didn't even know where she was going or where Chuya had run off to, but she was going to find him. Shion had found herself in a dense forest with no familiar markings or locations. This forest had been her play spot for years and yet she still found herself lost inside it's clutches.

Noticeing a nearby stream, Shion hurried over to check for signs of Chuya. The adrenaline and rage in her system was started to wear off, but the small girl was determined to push on. Despite her indifference towards her well-being in this situation, Shion began to feel the consequence of her reckless actions. Small burns covered her now exposed arms as her once pristine kimono was beyond repair. Her hair was covered in ash and branches, on top of being crisp from the flames. Shion glanced over at her reflection in the water to see a large burn on her left cheek, oozing blood slowly. Her lungs ached from the smoke and fumes, leaving the child feeling breathless and wheezing.

"Mother would get so mad at me if she saw me like this..."

Shion huffed sadly and stood back up shakily, lungs heaving at the effort. The stream was raging furiously due to a storm a few days back, but it was still safe to cross, to Shion at least. Out of the blue, a familiar figure limped hastily through the trees. Their defining feature was his long jet black hair that flowed behind him in smooth waves; Chuya, the murderer of her family. Shion growled and rushed to reach him, hopping on the first stone that sat on the river. Water practically pounced at her as her small body was almost engulfed with each wave, hounding her until it finally succeeded. Shion's eye filled with utter terror as she was swept away down the stream. Though her grip on the sword didn't loosen; she was going to survive.

Survive and find him.

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