PS: I wish y'all a satisfying read.
"No… you can't kill him! He's my brother—I won't let you!"
A young girl in a white pleated skirt spread her arms wide, standing defiantly in front of a man.
The man's entire body was shrouded in writhing black smoke, obscuring his true form. Only two crimson lights burned where his eyes should be, glowing like embers in the dark. He looked less like a human and more like a wraith—something twisted, something inhuman.
Behind the girl, half-buried in the snow, lay a dying boy.
His body was riddled with wounds. His once-white robe had long since been dyed crimson with blood. Broken bodies and severed limbs littered the ground around him, the snow melted and refrozen into jagged sheets of ice.
It was a scene straight out of hell—a true Shura field.
"Qi An… that's enough!" the girl cried, her voice trembling but firm. "You've already slaughtered everyone in the village. Let him go. If you spare him… I'll agree to anything you want."
The smoke shifted as the man slowly approached.
The girl appeared no older than eighteen. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold, and frozen tears clung to her lashes. Snow gathered in her long black hair, turning it white at the tips.
Yet even in the face of that monstrous presence, she did not retreat.
Not even a single step.
Her eyes were resolute—unyielding, fearless.
The man stopped before her.
For a brief moment, they simply stared at one another.
Then, from within the smoke, a pale, clawed hand emerged. Its sharp nail lightly pressed against her forehead. The touch was gentle… yet the blade-like tip still drew blood, a thin crimson line trailing down her nose.
The man lifted his finger and slowly licked the blood away.
"What if I let him go?" he murmured. "Look at him. Do you really think he'll survive? Why not let me turn him into a demon? Then the three of us could stay together forever… Yū, don't you want that?"
"Let him go," the girl replied without hesitation. "If you spare him… I'll stay with you. Forever."
Her voice softened slightly.
"You said it yourself—he won't last long. Then leave him here. Whether he lives or dies… that's up to fate. I don't want him interfering with us."
The crimson lights flickered as the man fell silent, as though weighing her words.
Seizing the moment, she pressed on.
"I don't know what becoming a demon truly feels like… but I know there's a difference between choosing it and being forced into it. If you kill him…" Her voice hardened. "Then I will never accept becoming one willingly."
A pause.
"You could force me," she added quietly, "but I doubt the result would be what you want."
"...Are you threatening me?"
The man leaned closer, his smoke-shrouded face inches from hers.
She didn't flinch.
Didn't blink.
Through the darkness, she seemed to see the person he used to be—the one she once longed for.
But that man… was gone.
What stood before her now… was a devil.
"You can call it a threat," she said calmly. "Or a request. Either way… it's the truth."
A pale glow began to spread across the eastern horizon.
Dawn was coming.
Sunlight cut through the darkness like a blade, racing across the snow-covered land.
The world turned blinding white.
The man straightened.
"…Let's go."
He turned away—and spared the boy.
Extending his hand, he beckoned to her.
"Wait."
The girl turned back.
Summoning the last of her strength, she dragged her brother beneath a large tree, gently leaning him against its roots.
Her hands trembled as she removed the pendant from her neck and placed it in his palm. With her sleeve, she carefully wiped the blood and dirt from his face.
His skin was deathly pale.
His breathing—barely there.
If he didn't receive help soon… he wouldn't survive.
"Little Qi…" she whispered, her voice breaking. "You have to live."
Tears streamed down her face, freezing in the cold.
"Don't come looking for me. Don't think about revenge. I just… want you to live. Live for both of us."
She gently cupped his cheek, her expression filled with grief and longing.
She knew.
This goodbye… was likely forever.
The next time they met—
She might already be a monster.
A creature her brother could no longer recognize.
"Yū," the man called impatiently from behind. "The sun is rising. That's enough."
A low chuckle escaped him.
"If he survives… perhaps you'll meet again. Though I'd prefer he died here."
His voice darkened.
"Because next time… heh… things might be very different."
The girl ignored him.
She stood, her face now expressionless.
After one final look at her brother, she turned—and took the man's hand.
Together, they disappeared into the drifting black smoke.
Into the depths of the forest.
The boy stirred weakly.
Using the last of his strength, he raised his hand, reaching toward the fading silhouette.
But it was already gone.
His arm fell.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
He felt himself sinking—deeper and deeper—into a cold, endless void.
Even when sunlight finally broke through the sky, it brought him no warmth.
Only silence.
Only cold.
His consciousness began to fade…
Until—
A faint fragrance drifted into his senses.
Wisteria.
The same scent his sister carried.
His sinking stopped.
"Sis… ter…"
He forced his eyes open.
Through his blurred vision, something fluttered down before him—a butterfly.
No…
Not a butterfly.
A person.
A girl.
Her presence was gentle, like spring after a long winter. Her purple eyes were calm, her smile soft—yet unreadable.
"You're… not… my sister…" he murmured weakly. "Who… are you…?"
Before he could hear the answer, darkness claimed him once more.
"Eek! He's dead! He's dead! He's dead!"
A girl with twin tails and a butterfly hair ornament shrieked, covering her mouth in panic.
"Kanzaki Aoi, please don't make such a fuss," the purple-eyed girl said with a gentle smile. "He's only fainted."
She knelt beside the boy, examining him briefly.
"…What a poor child."
Rising to her feet, she turned calmly.
"Take him back to the Butterfly Mansion. He needs immediate treatment."
The girl was none other than the Insect Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps—
Kochō Shinobu.
She looked around at the ruined village.
Bodies.
Blood.
Silence.
A Demon Slayer rushed over and bowed.
"Shinobu-sama, we've completed the search. There are no other survivors."
"Oh my… how tragic."
Her voice was light. Polite.
Her smile—unchanged.
But deep within her violet eyes… a cold, simmering hatred stirred.
Her gaze shifted to the unconscious boy.
"Everyone else is dead… yet you survived."
Her smile deepened slightly.
"How curious."
A pause.
"Why would a demon spare you?"
Her tone remained soft—almost teasing.
"Surely it's not because you taste bad?"
She turned gracefully, her haori fluttering behind her.
"…It seems I'll have to take a closer interest in you."