Sixteen years had passed since Goku was found by the two merchants. Goku was biologically five-hundred and twenty-five years old, but physically, he was sixteen. Goku lived with his mother and his father, in a distant village. To live properly, Goku travelled through other villages and sell coal to the villagers. Particularly, to the Ragako Village, that he considered his second home. This made him known and respected outside his village. In Ragako, he often heard stories about demons, who ate humans in the night. But Goku had never seen a demon with his eyes, so he didn't believe in them. One day, as usual, Goku woke up in his room, yawning.
"Another day, another coal sell..." he said, getting up and stretching. As he got past the door that brought outside the house, Goku noticed that his village already started to move on.
"Good morning, Goku!" said a villager, greeting him. "Off to Ragako again today?"
"That's right!" replied Goku.
"I've got enough coal for the next three days, but I do not know if I'll sell them for a good price..." he mumbled to himself. Then, after a while, Goku's father, whose name was Tsubaki, woke up.
"Morning, son," he said.
"Morning, father," replied Goku.
"How many coal did you get?" Tsubaki asked.
"About five kilos," answered Goku, pointing the coal, "I hope that's enough, at least for today."
"I see..." muttered Tsubaki, "you always work so hard for us and your mom, Goku. You should take a day off."
"No, thanks," replied Goku, firmly, "even if I should, I don't want to. Someone's gotta seel this coal."
"Thanks, my son. It really means a lot to us," said Tsubaki, patting Goku on the head.
"Now I gotta go, father" said Goku, smiling as he leaned in the touch.
"Take care of yourself, Goku," said Tsubaki. Then, Goku took his chest with the coal inside and made his way to Ragako.
As the snow fell from the sky, Goku arrived in Ragako.
"Here I am, once again," he said, brushing some snow away from his shoulder. Once he arrived, he got greeted by the elder of the village, Hiroshi.
"Well, if it isn't Goku..." he said.
"Hello, Hiroshi-san," said Goku, "how's going?"
"Everything's alright," replied Hiroshi, "how much coal do you have today?"
"Five kilos," said the boy, "do you need some of it?"
"No, I don't. I still have some", answered Hiroshi.
"That's fine," said Goku, waving his hand to Hiroshi while walking away. "see you later, Hiroshi-san, I'm gonna sell this coal to the others."
For the rest of the day, Goku sold coal to the villagers.
"It's late... I guess I should return home. My parents gotta be waiting for me..." whispered Goku, wiping away sweat from his forehead.
"Goku, you should stay here for night. Demons might be around the corner," said Hiroshi, who walked towards the boy.
"Maybe you're right, Hiroshi-san..." said Goku.
"You can stay in my house for the night," proposed Hiroshi.
"Fine. I guess it'll do..." said Goku.
As Goku followed Hiroshi inside his house, he took down his chest on the floor.
"Hiroshi-san... Is it true, what they say?" asked the boy, "about the existence of demons, I mean."
"Ah! Of course it's true, Goku," said Hiroshi.
"I've never seen a demon though," said Goku, sitting down, "and I only believe what I see. Until I don't see a demon, I won't believe in their existence..."
Then, without even noticing, Goku fell asleep, snoring.
"He fell asleep..." mumbled Hiroshi, "I hope our Lord doesn't hurt this little boy..."
Then, Hiroshi fell asleep as well.
The next morning, Goku opened his eyes, yawning.
"Ugh... I have to return home now..." he sighed, standing up. As he got outside the house, he found Hiroshi.
"Morning, Goku. You're gonna return to your village?" He asked.
"Yes, I have to," said Goku.
"Fine. Have a good journey and take care of yourself, boy," said Hiroshi. Goku nodded, as he carried his chest on his shoulder and started to make his way back to his village.
After a while, Goku arrived to his village, but he felt something was off.
"I hear something strange..." he mumbled. As he stepped up, he opened the door of the closest house nearby. As he opened it, he saw the owners of the house slaughtered, blood splattered thorugh the whole house.
"Oh, damn..." realized the boy, "something's not okay..."
"Wait... So... My parents too..." he whispered, with terror and worry in his voice. As he ran towards the rest of the houses, he reached his.
"Please, mom and dad... Tell me you're okay..." he hoped, opening the door. But as he did so, his eyes widened in terror and fear. His parents were dead, covered in blood.
"Mom... Dad... What the hell has happened in my village..." he said, struggling to hold back tears. Then, Goku looked outside the window, and saw something he never saw until then -- a demon.
"So... They really exist..." realized Goku. Suddenly, the demon turned.
This demon had yellow eyes, pink hair and blue lines all over his body and face. But for some reason, instead of killing Goku, the demon left, disappearing in the shadows.
"Hiroshi-san was right..." whispered Goku. Then, the boy turned once again to see his dead parents.
"Mom... Dad... Rest in peace. But now, your son has to become stronger..." he said, gathering his things.
"I will become a Demon Slayer. I've heard about a man named Urokodaki Sakonji, who trains people. I'll ask him to train me to become a demon slayer."
And so, Goku left his village and started his journey to reach Mount Sagiri, where he'd ask Urokodaki Sakonji to train him.
Chapter 1 - End.