Chapter Text
Sabito couldn’t breath, and he tasted something copper from his throat.
The creature’s grasp around his neck is too tight. He can feel the tips of its claws are prickling to his skin, drawing crimson bloods. There’s this pain burning across his right cheek. It hurts so much, and it doesn’t help that he’s struggling to breathe–to the point that his vision blurs that he’s unable to see clearly of the creature that has him dangling in the air.
But what he can see is the blurry figure behind the creature, laying motionlessly on the damp ground stained in crimson. Their face is beyond recognizable, but he knows who that is–
Father.
Sabito chokes out in pain. His hands are too small to claw the creature’s grip open. Its skin is too cold and hard. He heard a delighted cackle at his poor attempt to escape. The more he squirms, the more he hurts himself. But the only thing Sabito has in mind is his father, lying still on the ground bloodily.
Father, father, father, NO–
He doesn’t realize he let out strangled, pained cries. Warm tears spilling down to his face, and his vision slowly engulfed with black spots–
Suddenly, he fell to the ground harshly. Sabito gasped, blinking away the dark spots and tears from his eyes. As he forces himself to look up, even with his sights unclear, he finds the creature’s grotesque head fell from its neck before its body completely disintegrated like ashes.
‘What happened? What was that?’
And there, he sees another person standing in front of him.
They’re donned in black uniforms and red haori, holding a bloodied katana. But what makes the figure peculiar is the warding fox mask that covers their face entirely. With a swift swing, the blood on their blade splats away to the ground before they sheathes the weapon back.
He couldn’t help but to stare at them, frozen on the spot. So many questions rushing in his mind. Who are they? What just happened? What was that creature?
Before he could force his voice out, he felt lightheaded. The next thing he knows, everything turns black.
Yet the last thing he remembered is the fox mask staring down at him before he fell into deep slumber.
His eyes fluttered open. The sight of the dark night sky greets him instead of the usual wooden ceiling of his room.
Where is he? Sabito thought dazedly. There are aches all over his body, especially around his neck. He grimaced at the pain. What happened?
He closed his eyes trying to remember. He recalled his father had gone to get more wood for their hearth. Sabito was insistent to go with him, but his father told him to stay and rest. But as the night grew darker and no signs of his father coming back, Sabito decided to leave to search for–
Father’s body laying cold on the ground, soaked in blood. The creature– the monster with bloodied claws and jaws. His own cries as he feels burning pain across his right cheek, large hand holding a tight grip around his neck–suffocated him from breathing. The monster’s laugh at his struggle to escape–
A figure with a katana and a fox mask.
A horrified gasp left his lips, body jolted up abruptly from where he’s laying, “Father–”
“Stay still.”
A low yet gentle voice stops him and a warm hand holds him firm from standing up. Sabito looks up, and he’s met with the Fox Mask crouching by his side, discarding leftover bandages.
It’s then Sabito also realized that Fox Mask is missing their–his red haori. Sabito looks down to his laps where a red fabric blanketed the lower half of his body. That must be his haori.
The feel of slight pain burns from his right cheek. His hand automatically reaches for his face, feeling a bandage gauze already covering his wounds. His hand slowly trails down to his neck where the monster suffocated him–remembering the claws that prickled his skin. His neck is bandaged again, secured and clean. Then, Fox Mask tended him when he’s unconscious.
“You…” Sabito looks at the Fox Mask, bewildered, yet also doesn’t know what to say.
Fox Mask doesn’t seem to be bothered by his reaction. He stares at Sabito, as if observing him up and down, “Do you feel any pain somewhere?” he asked, calm and gentle.
Sabito shook his head. Instead, he voiced, “My father– where is he–”
He stopped himself when Fox Mask’s shoulders tensed. Something burning welling in his eyes. Sabito knows, he knows, his father has died. He was killed by that thing. An overwhelming sorrow and rage washes over him. That monster had taken his father’s life. His father who had done nothing wrong and had always been kind to people. Why? What had his father done to end up dead by a monster? Why? Just why–?!
He couldn’t even see his father’s body. But Sabito isn’t even sure if he can.
“I’m sorry.”
A hand grasp around his hand, warm and gentle, contrasting to the cold chilly night. Sabito turns to see Fox Mask staring at him. With the mask, he appears to be cold and lofty, but the gentle voice and the warm hand is a total opposite to his appearance. Fox Mask squeezes his hand in an attempt to comfort. The simple gesture somehow works, and Sabito couldn’t hold it anymore.
“Did you…” Sabito chokes as he looks down, not wanting to openly cry at a stranger, clutching at the red haori on his laps tightly, “did you bury him?”
“... I did.”
A heavy yet shaky exhale left Sabito’s lips, “... I see. Thank you.”
His chest hurts and his eyes watered. Sabito closed his eyes shut, drips of tears fell onto his hands. He feels suffocated yet again, but this time feels much more painful than when the thing almost choked him to death.
A hand pushes Sabito’s head to lean on his shoulder. He finds himself being tucked under Fox Mask’s chin, resting his head comfortably on his shoulder. Sabito’s breath hitched. For some reason, he feels warm, safe, and weirdly comfortable. The Fox Mask’s presence… is calming.
“It’s okay, let it all out.” His voice is soothing and soft, his other hand still grasping around Sabito’s, as if Sabito will crumble more if he lets him go.
Sabito didn’t cry outright, not to the point of running his voice hoarse. Instead, he quietly weeps in a stranger’s hold while his heart holds rage against the monster who took his father’s life.
He didn’t know how long Sabito wallowed in his grief, and the Fox Mask didn’t comment anything. He also doesn’t seem to be bothered knowing Sabito already stained his uniform with tears.
“I want to see my father.” Sabito said tightly.
Fox Mask didn’t say anything, but he nodded. He stands up and offers Sabito a hand, and then he pulls carefully once Sabito takes his hand. His hand is a bit calloused from wielding the katana.
“Oh, and your haori…”
Fox Mask shook his head, “Wear it for now. It’s cold out.”
He frowns, Sabito was about to protest, yet Fox Mask’s voice leaves no more room to counter. Hesitantly, he slipped into the red haori. The haori, curiously, isn’t too big on Sabito. In fact, it fits him just fine. Looking back at the Fox Mask, he doesn’t appear to be that much older than him. He’s a little bit taller than Sabito though. Sabito wonders how old this swordsman is.
Sabito followed the masked swordsman. The night was quiet, Fox Mask didn’t try to make a conversation with him, and Sabito is rather grateful. He’s unsure what to say and talk to fill the silence. The grief still settles heavily in his gut in every step he made to his father’s burial.
Yet there are still questions in his mind. The questions he hasn’t asked the swordsman. What was that monster exactly?
His father’s grave is simple. Purple-colored petals scattered on top of the grave and the makeshift stones serving as the grave’s tomb. Sabito inhales sharply, before he kneels in front of the grave and prays.
Sabito would like to think that this is just a nightmare. But the stinging pain on his right cheek is real. There’s no point of denying that his father was killed unjustly by a monstrous creature. Fox Mask distanced himself, giving Sabito a privacy to grieve.
The creature’s slashed neck. A bloodied katana held by the masked swordsman.
The Fox Mask has saved him from his demise. He’s the one who killed that creature. Sabito also realized that he hadn't thanked the swordsman properly.
… Father. You said that we can use our strength to protect the weak, not to trample on them. Can I use it to fight against those monsters?
He clenched his fists, before slowly standing up. When he turns, Fox Mask seems to notice Sabito approaching him, determined.
“Those creatures, what are they exactly?” he asked immediately.
The swordsman in front of him stills, as if not expecting the question. But he immediately regained his composure, “They are demons.” he answers, voice still as calm, “They are man-eating creatures who appear in the night.”
Demons. Those creatures are called demons. It is a fitting label for them. Cowardly creatures who seek for weak humans to eat. The thought made Sabito… angry and disgusted. He is not one to believe youkai to exist, much less demons. But they are here, and they killed his only family.
“And who are you?” Sabito asked again. He hasn’t even identified Fox Mask yet, “Are you a samurai? Or– some sort of hunter?”
“... I’m a demon slayer.” Fox Mask said, “I’m part of the Demon Slayer Corps. Our duty is to eliminate demons.” he paused, “... My name is Tomioka Giyuu.”
A demon slayer? And such an organization exists? Sabito has never heard of this. But this does explain why Fox Mask–Tomioka Giyuu carries a katana and why he is wearing that uniform.
If Sabito becomes part of this organization, he can protect people from demons. He can protect children from losing more family because of those things. He can put his strength to use for good. That’s what father had taught him. That what father had been doing to his loved ones, to him.
“Tomioka-san.” he stares at Tomioka. And he just noticed blue eyes peeking from the eyes of his mask–deep blue, like the depths of a lake, “I want to join the Demon Slayer Corps.”
Silence. Tomioka only stares at him, but somehow the air… feels heavier.
When Tomioka still didn’t utter a word, Sabito continued on, “I don’t have anyone anymore. My mother passed away when she gave birth to me, and my father was killed unfairly by that monster.” he grits his teeth, “Father… he taught me to use strength to protect the weak. To not break, to not bend, to keep going. He had been doing this to the people he loved even after losing my mother, to protect me until the very end.”
Father didn’t come back immediately, just to make sure the demon was not getting him.
“...” Tomioka assessed him silently behind the mask. Blue eyes sharp and intense, a hand holding the hilt of his katana tightly, “This is not a job that you can take lightly.” he said, voice cold that it surprises Sabito, “You will put your life on the line everyday. Death will approach you whenever you go.”
Sabito is aware of this already. To know people put their life to protect others from the dangers lurking in the shadows, and they didn’t even know if they will get to live for tomorrow and the other day. Still, they are… noble. To protect the innocents when the people themselves don’t know deaths looming over them in the night.
And the living proof is standing in front of him.
Sabito doesn’t know much about Tomioka. They are strangers. But Tomioka saved him from his death. He cleaned and tended his wounds as much as he could, he kept Sabito warm with his red haori, and he buried his father properly–to the point of making a makeshift tomb and even put flower petals on his grave.
“I know.” Sabito’s voice is steady, “And I almost died, remember? But you saved me.” At that, Tomioka stiffens, “I want to do the same to other people, like you.” he stares straight ahead at Tomioka’s masked face, “I want to destroy those demons from harming more people.”
Tomioka’s voice is sharp like his blade, “How are you going to achieve that when you can die easily like before?”
“By becoming stronger.” Sabito’s answer is swift and absolute, “I will work hard to be stronger, stronger like you, or maybe more than you.” He looked at Tomioka challengingly, “I can’t stay still knowing there are demons hunting people at night. I have nowhere to go. I need to move on, and I want to fight.”
With you. The last went unsaid.
Silence befell between them again. Tomioka’s gaze is unrelenting behind his mask, but Sabito stays true to his words. He stares back at Tomioka again despite how tense the atmosphere is between the two. The night breeze blows gently, fluttering the red haori that Sabito wears and sways Tomioka’s black locks.
Then, Tomioka’s shoulders slowly ease down. He nods.
“Very well, if that’s what you want.” The swordsman’s voice softened, “You will come with me, I will introduce you to sensei.”
Sabito’s eyes widened, he let out a breath that he didn’t even know he had been holding to, “Thank you.”
Tomioka shook his head.
“We should go now,” Tomioka said instead, “we need to properly treat your wounds at Wisteria House before you can meet sensei.”
Sabito paused, he looked back at the grave behind him.
“Actually, there’s something I need to get before.”
The green and golden kimono belongs to his father. It has a geometric pattern that resembles a tortoise shell. Father told him that the pattern was called bishamon-kikkou and it symbolizes good health and victory. Father wished to live long enough until he could see Sabito grow into a fine and successful man.
It’s sad that his father won’t get to see him live. To grow into an adult. But he hopes his father is watching over him now with his mother, to bless the path he had chosen. It won’t be easy, he knows, but this is what he wants.
Sabito changed his used, bloodied kimono, to the green and golden ones. He had adjusted it to fit his size. He then replaced Tomioka’s red haori to his white one, so Tomioka won’t be cold during their travels.
This house is the place where he is raised by his father, where memories were made. It feels empty and cold after his father had gone and now Sabito will leave to pursue thorny paths to become a demon slayer like Tomioka.
Taking their humble home another last look, Sabito steps outside with his travelling pack and a red haori draped over his arm. Tomioka was waiting for him and yet again, noticed Sabito immediately. This guy… how exactly sharp are his instincts?
“Here.” Sabito gives back the red haori to Tomioka, and the masked swordsman takes it without much words and wears it. It feels right and complete now, seeing Tomioka back with his red haori over his dark uniform.
“Let’s go.”
Sabito followed Tomioka, not looking back at the place he called home before. His steps are… surprisingly light and determined, despite the grief that is still in his heart.
He would like to think his father blessed him with strength.
He’s now looking forward ahead, walking side-by-side with Tomioka Giyuu.
***