Alternate Fate I

Chapter 4

👦Lost Souls👧

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His attack were short but precise, Tanjirou couldn't land a hit on him. He noticed that he was wielding a wooden sword and this made him a little bit irritated. 'This isn't a fair fight!' With a swoosh, he return the sword to its sheath and used his hands to deflect the incoming blow.

The boy have gotten furious because of his smell suddenly turning darker and how his attack turned more vicious. This made Tanjirou took the defence and before he knew it-the boy had knocked him down.

The boy used the hilt of his wooden sword and hit him hard under the chin. The last word he heard from him was, "A man shouldn't hold back." before everything went dark.

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When he passed out, he suddenly dreamt a memory of a man. He was wearing (a familiar) hanafuda earrings on his ears and his hair was tied up in a pony tail. He was carrying a katana.

'A demon slayer?' Tanjirou though as he watches the man talking to another man that looked quite similar to him. The man says, "I'm really, really sorry. You're the visitor but I made you watch over my kid."

He watched as the other man smiled and pats the young child's head. The man then turned to his look a like and patted his shoulder.

He replied, "Don't worry about it. She's probably tired. Birthing a child and raising them is hard work. After I've finish drinking this, I'll be on my way. I can't keep eating meals for free like this."

The other man shook his head and said, "Oh, no! I own you my life. If you weren't around back then, then I much less my children wouldn't be here now." The man look at him and did not say a thing.

His look a like was about to give up but continue saying, "Alright then. At least tell me your story for future generations."

The man replied bluntly, "No need."

His look a like sighed and said, "But it must be hard since you have no successor at hand. It may be impossible for me since I am a humble coal burner, but one day someone will..."

The man answers as he smiles again, "No need. Sumiyoshi. Masters of their crafts will always find their way to the same place. Even if the time have changed, even if they have taken different paths to that point, they will always go to the same place. You seem to see me as a special kind of human, but that's not true. I couldn't protect a single thing that was precious to me. I couldn't achieve what I was suppose to achieve in life. I am a man of no worth." He stood up and begun to walk away from the house.

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Tanjirou gasped and stood up but he swayed a little and fell back. 'I think I forced myself too much.' He sighed; then, remembers his dream. 'What was that? A past memory? A vision-'

His mind went back to the man's sad face. Something ache in his heart as he felt the same pain and he couldn't help but sympathize with him. 'That man...he must really hold a lot of regrets like him.'