I only want to believe in good fortune-telling results.
I want to live without paying attention to bad results.
But the world is utterly unreasonable, and strangely, the worse the fortune, the more accurately it comes true.
Who would have imagined that impulsively running out of the house would lead to encountering a demon.
In the years I've lived in this village, I've never seen or heard rumors of one, yet it appeared at such a perfect timing, as if waiting for me to run out after hearing the fortune-teller's prophecy.
At this point, I started to think the fortune-teller's prophecy might have been real. I suddenly felt scared.
The demon seemed to have been looking for prey tonight. Upon spotting a child walking alone without caution, it laughed scornfully, and upon seeing the white hair and red eyes, it rejoiced even more, saying, "Since that Lord is looking for it, it must be exceptionally delicious!" and charged.
I ran in the opposite direction of the Ayaki mansion. While leading the demon away, making sure not to head toward the mansion no matter what, I naturally came to accept that fortune-teller's prophecy.
Yes, as the fortune-teller said, I am a being that brings calamity. Because I'm a child with white hair and red eyes. Because of this appearance that attracts demons. Surely, if I were there, the Ayaki mansion would become the demon's target too.
Perhaps the calamity the fortune-teller prophesied is exactly this demon chasing me now. If so, if I had stayed, surely by now──
Imagining the devastated mansion and devoured family made my heart grow cold. I was scared.
As if to escape the imagination, I ran. I left the village, passed through the main road, crossed the river, and kept running as far as I could from the Ayaki mansion, as long as my breath held.
I must not return to the Ayaki mansion. If I'm there, the demon will come. Then everyone will be eaten. Whether it's because of the fortune-teller's prophecy or not, I couldn't help but think that.
Cut ties with the Ayaki family. Discard the surname 'Ayaki'. Just return to being Rei. Then the family will be safe.
I was an adopted child from the start, just an unnecessary child luckily taken in by that house. I should never have existed in the first place.
Peace and happiness suit those warm people well.
So, that house has no need for a calamity like me.
I heard the Kasugai Crow's message about a demon appearing in the mountains on my way back after completing a mission.
As soon as I entered the mountains, adjusting my tengu mask, my sense of smell, ten times more sensitive than others, picked up what the Kasugai Crow had mentioned.
The scent of a demon gleefully chasing a weaker being. Mixed with the smell of blood, as if someone was being pursued. I immediately ran and, upon confirming the demon's form, cut its neck.
The one being chased was a child. A boy around ten years old, with white hair and red eyes.
The boy smelled of blood but had no visible injuries; it just seemed like blisters on his feet had popped. After simple first aid, the mission would be over if I took him home.
"Where is your home? I'll take you there."
"I have no home to return to."
──A lie. My sense of smell told me so. This boy had a place to return to.
"Don't lie. Tell me where you came from."
"………"
While emitting a scent of longing for family, the boy stubbornly kept his mouth shut. Perhaps he didn't want to get scolded by his parents for sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night.
However, I sensed no shameful attempt to hide a mistake, like concealing a wet futon in a closet.
"Why won't you say? Don't you want to go back?"
"……I can't go back."
──I want to go back.
The scent told me.
"As you can see, because of this appearance, because I have white hair and red eyes, I'm targeted by demons."
The boy stammered out the words. He smelled like he was about to cry. No, he was actually crying, with tear stains around his eyes.
"If I go back home, my family will be in danger. And... a fortune-teller who came to the house said I'm a being that brings calamity."
Listening to the boy's fading voice, I sniffed the air.
It wasn't a lie. I wished it were false, but no matter how many times I sniffed, what seeped into my nose was the scent of truth. Like that of a pine tree budding just before the rainy season.
"He said if I didn't leave, my family would all die horribly. The calamity the fortune-teller spoke of must be the demon."
"Then where do you plan to go? Do you have a place?"
"I'll live as a demon slayer. Please. Make me a demon slayer."
"……Go back home. You have family, don't you?"
The boy's hair had a subtle sheen. Even under the crescent moon, his gleaming hair, well-maintained as if wearing a moon's crown, his plump cheeks, and good skin complexion were evident. His sleepwear was of good fabric, clearly from a reputable family where he was cherished.
He must have lived surrounded by kind family who didn't mind his unusual white hair and red eyes.
This boy is loved by his family, and that family is alive. Despite his unusual appearance, he can still live an ordinary life. Unlike us, who had everything taken by demons.
"Consider your parents' feelings. How worried would they be if their child disappeared?"
"……They're not my biological parents. So I mustn't cause them any more trouble."
"Don't be swayed by fortune-telling. They say fortunes can be right or wrong. It might have been a low-quality fake fortune-teller."
"But he accurately guessed my existence, hiding to avoid being found by demons. ……So it's real. They say the words of the fortune-teller in wisteria-colored kimono at the crossroads always hit the mark."
"What did you say?"
I raised my eyebrows not because the child misunderstood, but because I knew that woman.
The fortune-teller in wisteria-colored kimono at the crossroads. I even had a conversation with her tonight, in a village near the mountain foothills.
While tracking the demon's footprints, someone at a crossroads called out to me, saying in a seductive voice, "If you're looking for something, it's over there."
When I looked back, a woman in wisteria-colored kimono was smiling at me, slightly pointing south.
She was of an age not young, but far from old or frail—a beautifully aged woman. Women of this kind seem to maintain a mysterious beauty no matter their age, with an irresistible charm. I sensed an indescribable, enigmatic mysterious scent.
Perhaps because of that, I believed her words.
Heading in the direction she pointed, I was genuinely surprised to find the demon I was scheduled to exterminate in the mission.
Fortunately, it was before it attacked people, so I could handle it without casualties, but if I had ignored the fortune-teller's words, who knows what would have happened. Since it was near a residential area, if I had been a little later, one household would have been sacrificed.
If that fortune-teller is involved, the situation changes. I shouldn't send the boy back home. Having faced her myself, I know. If not followed, eventually, things will unfold as prophesied.
"I understand. I'll allow you to become a demon slayer. But that path is harsh and arduous."
"……Yes!"
He's a young boy. A child whose body hasn't fully grown yet. Normally, I should guide such a person to a more moderate path, not that of a demon slayer.
But the boy emitted a firm determination to become a demon slayer with that young body. It could even be called resolve. No matter what I say, it's useless. Realizing that, I acknowledged his becoming a demon slayer.
"I'm late with introductions, but I'm Rei. Thank you for helping me."
"I am Urokodaki Sakonji. ……Rei, what is your surname?"
"I discarded it to not burden the family."
"It'll be inconvenient without one."
"Then lend me your surname, Urokodaki."
"Wait, why would that happen?"
"Huh? But aren't you taking me with you, Urokodaki??"
"I am not taking you."
Immediately answering, Rei opened his red eyes wide as if overflowing. Then, trembling, he resentfully bit his sleeve hem.
"That's cruel, you're toying with me!"
His pre-puberty falsetto was pitiful like a girl's. If this weren't the middle of the night in the mountains but a daytime street, everyone would turn to see what was happening with such a mournful voice. Quite a talent.
I wanted to hit his head for saying something absurd, but I didn't. Because from the boy now, I smelled a forcibly bright scent, like a gas lamp in the city.
"First, I'll take you to my estate, but I won't take you in. I'll introduce you to a trainer, so train there. Borrow a surname from that place."
As a Hashira, my body is burdened with heavy duties. It's impossible to satisfactorily raise a child who isn't even a tsuguko.
Demon slaying is harsh, and accordingly, training must be strict. It's not something that can be taught in spare moments. Training under a professional trainer will be much more beneficial time than if I took him in directly.
After bringing Rei to the estate, I immediately sent a letter to an acquaintance trainer entrusting him with a disciple. A few days later, the crow brought back a positive reply, and that evening, I sent Rei off.
Originally, I should send him when the sun is up, but Rei cannot walk under sunlight. I've heard that white hair and red eyes are weak to sunlight, but Rei has an especially sensitive constitution; if he goes under sunlight, he gets burns or his skin peels.
It was like a demon. The fact that he recovers quickly if he just avoids shade also reminds one of demons. If his scent weren't human, I might have suspected him of being a new type of demon.
According to Rei, if he applies a special medicine and wears thick clothes, it's fine, but he said materials are lacking now to make the medicine.
It wasn't that I wasn't anxious about sending a child out on a night road, but since I gave him a wisteria scent pouch, there should be no worry about demons. I saw him off, telling him to send a letter upon arrival.
The time he stayed at the estate was short, and I was often away on missions, so the pure time spent with the boy wasn't long.
But as they say, you know where you've slept, and especially since Rei was a bright and lively child, albeit with a somewhat strained scent, the estate seemed engulfed in silence after he left.
It was exactly five days later, when I couldn't bear that loneliness.
"Urokodaki, I'm back!"
While looking up at the dawn sky, thinking it was about time for the letter to arrive, unexpectedly, Rei returned in person.
Wait, why did he come back? Did he get lost? No, that can't be. The guide crow was with him.
By the way, that crow was nestled in Rei's arms, fast asleep. Hey, dereliction of duty.
"The trainer said to deliver this..."
What the boy held out was a letter. The familiar handwriting was clearly the trainer's. So, perhaps.
"……Did you go to the trainer?"
"…? Yes. Since I can only move at night, it took a day and a bit more."
The period I expected was three days. And I thought the crow would return in about two days.
"I'm sorry for being late returning. I took a slight detour on the way."
"A detour?"
"To get sunblock... uh, skin medicine ingredients, I detoured toward the mountains. I hurried to arrive here by night, but the crow got tired and fell asleep, so I got a bit lost... Sorry, are you angry?"
"No."
I was surprised. Who would have thought he'd go to the trainer and back so quickly. I thought he had enough leg strength to escape from a demon, but perhaps he had endurance too. Even so──
"But why did you return from the trainer's house? You were supposed to train there."
"After one day of training, he said I'm done, so go back to Urokodaki's place."
With a worried face tilting his head as if wondering if he did something wrong, but that's what I wanted to ask.
That trainer is a good-natured man who doesn't get angry easily. Would he have driven this child out for a minor mistake?
"……You must be hungry. There's leftover soup in the kitchen from breakfast. Go eat."
"Wow, thank you!"
Anyway, the reason will be known by reading the letter.
'You sent an outrageous child.'
Summarizing the letter content in one sentence, it's this. No, the actual sentences were much more polite, but the scribbled state of mind was probably like this.
The trainer, who watched Rei train for just one day, said, 'I cannot raise him.'
It doesn't mean he's a problem child. Rather, it means he's excessively excellent.
He has already mastered breathing techniques and swordsmanship, and even has the mindset of a swordsman. The only thing lacking is actual combat experience; there's no more basics to teach.
He can be sent to the next final selection immediately, and even if he doesn't pass, if given a Nichirin Blade, he can complete missions as a demon slayer right now.
It was written that sending such talent to a trainer, what was I thinking, and rather, I should take him as a tsuguko and keep him by my side.
Upon reading the letter, I immediately called Rei and had him demonstrate swordsmanship in the estate's dojo. And I realized. The trainer's words were all correct.
With unfamiliar breathing sounds, the sword the boy swung could only be described as excellent. A sword aura that couldn't be dismissed as a child's play.
The form I had never seen before was the epitome of fluidity, and Rei called it Moon Breathing. Indeed, as the name suggests, the sharp forms drawn by the blade resembled a crescent moon, and the elegant dance reminded one of a full moon without waning.
There was no falsehood in the trainer's words. This boy is already complete. Excluding combat experience, it's no exaggeration to say he has skills surpassing lower-ranking members.
"Is that a technique you learned on your own?"
"No, I learned it from someone else."
"A demon slayer?"
"Yes."
"Then, instead of here, why not go to that master?"
If forming a master-disciple relationship, it's most desirable to do so with the same breathing. It's much easier for both the teacher and the learner.
But to my suggestion, Rei's eyebrows drooped, and he froze with a lonely expression.
"My master passed away long ago."
"……I'm sorry."
"No. Um, are there no other swordsmen who use Moon Breathing?"
"None."
I couldn't even guess from which breathing it was derived.
The basic breaths are five: Flame, Water, Wind, Stone, and Thunder. All other breaths are derivatives of these. But from Moon Breathing, I sensed no trace of any breath, as if it were an independent breathing style.
"I've never seen or heard of it. The name Moon Breathing is also the first time I've heard it."
"……I see."
From Rei, who lowered his eyes, wafted a deep loneliness. A bitter aura resembling regret.
This child sometimes emitted strange scents. Clearly a young boy, yet he occasionally cast shadows too deep for his age. Like a larva trapped in amber, he hinted at distant history. A mysterious child.
In the end, I decided to take care of Rei at the estate. But not as a tsuguko, only until the next final selection.
Kuwajima, who heard the rumor, complained as if it were his own business, saying it's a waste, but it's noisy. Isn't it the same for you not having a tsuguko? Mind your own business.
Certainly, as the trainer said, Rei was an unparalleled talent to take as a tsuguko. He has already mastered breathing techniques and swordsmanship, and has entered the stage where he needs to gain experience and hone his skills.
But conversely, it also means there's almost nothing left to teach.
Taking such a complete boy as a tsuguko just because I brought him felt like stealing. I felt sorry to his master, so I couldn't bring myself to do it.
Rei must have learned from a considerably excellent master. His sword was refined, and all I could do was occasionally spar with him in the dojo to keep his sword from dulling.
"Ah, w-wait, Urokodaki, wait a moment! You're not seriously hitting, are you?! I can't find a chance to counterattack, this is different from the sparring I know!!"
"Talking while facing the opponent, you still have leisure. I'll hit a bit heavier."
"Huh, this wasn't even serious yet……?!"
Rei was skilled at dodging. The movement from evasion to counterattack was also smooth without excess. But his eleven-year-old body, though agile, lacked strength. The counter blade was too light, bouncing off futilely.
"How about sometimes not dodging but receiving it?"
"If I receive that, my hands will sting! I'll build grip strength, so please wait two years!"
"Don't act spoiled. Complete it before the selection."
"Ah, this strictness… it's nostalgic, reminds me of my master……."
"Next, receive it. If you dodge, add a thousand overhead strikes."
"Did Urokodaki pour all his kindness into his face, oooh?!"
……Don't talk about faces.
Inside the tengu mask, veins bulged, and I unintentionally unleashed a sincere Droplet Thrust. By the way, dodging that attack now.
"Sor-sor-sor-sorry, did I hit Urokodaki's sore spot with Droplet Thrust?!"
"Do you think it'll end with Droplet Thrust?"
Crash!!
"Kyaaahーー Dragon Roarーーー!!"
Rei, with tears welling up, focusing only on evasion, saying sorry, I won't say it again!
Still, the fact that he apologizes makes him more endearing than a demon, and not coming out brazenly saying, "So what, it's true!" makes him much more forgivable than Kuwajima. The fact that Kuwajima himself intended it as praise is beyond salvation.
…Ah, remembering it makes me angry again. Even the Twisted Whirlpool I unleashed, fueled by past anger, Rei dodged. Even though it was quite sincere.
"Good, you dodged three times. Add three thousand overhead strikes."
"Aaaah!! Urokodaki has no mercy!!"
If he has the energy to shout like that, he should be fine.
Rei was full of vitality anyway. At first, he smelled of forcibly bright behavior with lingering attachment to family, but lately, that has been fading.
"Next time, let's do it in the bamboo forest! I think I can receive it in the bamboo forest!"
"No. Don't think you can always fight in situations favorable to you."
"Totally right!"
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