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(*)
Deep in a little Wistaria Forest, following an ancient path and passing a Torii, you would find a traditional Japanese home surrounded by all kinds of flowers.
This was the home of the venerable Mochizuki's.
An old and powerful Demon Slayer family.
From outside, it looked warm and welcoming, but for one Mochizuki Yua, the estate seemed more like a museum of her family failures.
Broken Katanas decorate the walls, old Demon Slayer Corps uniforms lie in the closets, and Haori were passed down from generation to generation.
The past clung to them in their home, like unkind spectres.
It felt to the midnight blue-haired young woman as if someone was still watching her.
Their ancestors still living in the mansion with them.
Whispering.
Waiting.
Demanding!
Bring honour to our family.
Wash our name from the sin of our forefathers.
Become a Hashira.
The Moon isn't bad; it's the light in the darkness of the night.
Chilling was an understatement.
Sadly, Yua didn't possess the courage to leave home.
Her blood family was the only people she had in her life.
All Mochizuki's only had the family.
Finding friends was difficult when your life revolves around learning to kill demons, and your fellow Demon Slayers view you with fear and mistrust.
Standing before the front door, Yua could only sigh.
On her shoulder sat her beloved and trusty crow, Kaguya, who was nuzzling her cheek, trying to lift her spirits.
The seventeen-year-old gave her crow a gentle pet and told her to rest.
Yua wasn't a little girl anymore; she could face her family.
Kaguya gave a caw and, with a last nuzzle, flew to the old wisteria tree besides the mansion, where all the crows of the Mochizuki lived.
As Yua stepped into the house, she had to dodge her two young cousins, Hikari and Kaito, who played catch with each other.
Lucky kids.
They still could play and laugh inside this mausoleum.
To her own luck, Yua hadn't had the chance to play a lot with her cousins when she was their age.
For her, it had only been training, training, and training.
It was kind of sad if she thought about it.
"Yua, you're back!" greeted her aunt, Chiyoko, who was also Kaito's mother. She was still wearing her Demon Slayer uniform, which suggested she had just returned home a few minutes earlier.
Yua greeted her aunt in return and then asked where her grandfather, Chiyoko's father, was.
Aunt Chiyoko pointed toward the Tea Room and then quickly shouted at Kaito and Hikari as they attempted to reach for two katanas displayed on the walls.
Better not to make Grandfather wait, Yua made haste.
Makoto Mochizuki was an old man who lost his arm in a fight with a lower moon when he was twenty-five and had to end his Demon Slayer career.
It had been a bitter pill to swallow for the proud men since he had nearly become a Hashira.
Now he laid all his hope in the new generation, especially Yua herself.
"I'm back, grandfather.", said Yua with a low bow to him.
Like she was taught, she waited till her grandfather gave her permission to raise and sit before him.
He was playing Shogi against himself, nursing a cup of tea.
Curious, she sniffed the air and had to correct herself.
That was more sake mixed with tea.
For a few months now, grandfather has picked up this bad habit of spiking his tea.
"Yua, report.", Makoto demanded coldly to her.
To the old man, the only thing that truly mattered was the Demon Slayer Corps. His family's honour depended on whether one of them could rise to the rank of Hashira, earning a name that could be spoken with pride. Makoto believed that wasting time on hugs, kisses, or showing any interest in his family was utterly pointless.
Yua, like everybody else in the family, was used to the coldness of the patriarch, still, sometimes she wondered how it would have been if her grandfather were like the silly old grandpas in the novels she liked to read.
How her late grandma, Junko, could have married this piece of cold ice was still a mystery to Yua.
Anyways, dutiful Yua gave Makoto her report.
As always, grandfather displayed no emotion or pride for her triumph over a powerful demon that had killed babies and young children.
He only asked one thing.
"Your rank?"
"Still Hinoto."
The balding elder with a long beard took a big sip from his spiked tea and gave her his patented disappointed look.
"You have to give your all, Yua.", he told her as always. "You are the only one, besides me, in our family who can use Moon Breathing; your aunt, your uncle, and your father are failures. It's your duty and honour to become a Hashira. All our hopes lie with you. Why can't you raise up in rank?"
A part of her wanted to shout and scream at her grandfather.
She hated how he thought so little of his own children, who hadn't been able to learn Moon Breathing from him.
She hated how she was forced to be better than she already was.
Yua was since good four years a Demon Slayer, already being a Hinoto was something to be proud of.
However, Makoto didn't share this sentiment, demanding practically from Yua to rise in ranks every few days.
He was sick, waiting for her to become a Hashira.
The sooner the better!
How she wished she could tell Grandfather exactly what she thought, yet she felt unable to do so.
From a young age, she had been taught to respect her grandfather as the head of the family.
He believed he knew what was best for the Mochizuki family.
Yua despised this notion deeply.
She couldn't fully express how much she hated it.
In some way, she recognised that her grandfather's actions were wrong, but she couldn't shake off her feelings of obligation.
Speaking out only seemed to make things worse.
And she rather avoided extra training and chores for disrespect.
So she bowed low down, till her forehead touched the tatami mats of the Tea Room.
"Forgive me, grandfather.", she pleaded monotone. "I will take a riskier mission next time."
Something like a grunt came from Makoto, and she heard how he gulped down his spiked tea.
"Dismissed. Now go to train."
"Of course, grandfather."
It didn't matter how she hadn't slept, eaten or washed herself for a good day and a half.
Training was always more important.
This was her whole life.
(*)
For hours, Yua swung her Katana against the training dummies at the training field, ignoring the pain and hunger, as someone took the weapon from her hands.
Dumbfounded, she blinked, looking up from her empty hands and found her father, Haruto, holding her Katana.
"Papa?" murmured Yua tiredly.
"Enough, Yua. You will only hurt yourself," he told her.
"But Grandfather—"
"—has fallen asleep. He will not notice you stopping your training, my moon bunny."
At that, she nearly collapsed and would have fallen if her father hadn't caught her in his strong arms and lifted her up.
"I hate how he forces you to do all this," her father grumbled while carrying her into the mansion. "You shouldn't be the only one to bear the burden of our name."
Yawning, she cuddles up to Papa. In his arms, she always felt safe and protected.
"I'm the only one who can do Moon Breathing. It's my duty to our family to make us a respectful Demon Slayer family.", she reminded her father.
"You mean, it's a curse, moon bunny."
Yua didn't know how to respond.
She understood that her father and his siblings felt bitter because they never had the opportunity to learn Moon Breathing.
However, on the other hand, they were also free from the pressure of having to clear their name and the daunting expectation of becoming a Hashira at any cost.
They finally reached the bathroom, where her father gently set her down. After ensuring she wouldn't drown, he left her to enjoy a well-deserved bath.
The girl with midnight blue hair revelled in the warm water, which was infused with healing herbs collected by her younger cousin, Sayako, during her work as a Kakushi in the Demon Slayer Corps.
Speaking of Sayako…her black-haired cousin poked her head into the bathroom.
After making eye contact Sayako told her plainly: "You look like shit."
"And you are still a brat.", Yua shoots back.
"How did the demon killing go?"
"Killed the bastard. Had a preference for babies and kids."
"Fucker."
"Indeed."
"Our shit grandfather still pissed you didn't move up a Rank?"
"Yup."
Sayako gave her an encouraging nod and told her, Miwa, Yua's aunt, and Sayako's mother would make dinner today.
Thank Tsukuyomi!
Nothing against Aunt Chiyoko, but the woman was 1000 times better at killing demons than making tasty food.
With that, Sayako left her alone, so Yua could enjoy her bathtime some more.
She relaxed against the bathtub and, as often, she wondered why she was cursed, yes, cursed, with the ability to use Moon Breathing.
Why couldn't she be like her father and his siblings?
Just normal Demon Slayers.
Why couldn't she be like Sayako, who took pride in her job as Kakushi?
Why couldn't she be like Uncle Noritaka…who just left one night and never returned.
Uncle Noritaka was considered the black sheep of the family.
Everyone had to pretend to dislike him for the sake of their grandfather, even though Yua was sure they all admired him deep down.
Noritaka practised Moon Breathing and was on the verge of becoming a Hashira.
However, one day he simply didn't come home, bringing his career in the Demon Slayer Corps to an abrupt end.
In the letter he had left behind, he wrote that he wouldn't give up his life for some stupid family honour and that they shouldn't pay for the sins of their forefathers.
Manly, the founder of their family, who had learned Moon Breathing in the first place from the traitor Michikatsu Tsugikuni and had practically demanded that their family should still practice Moon Breathing, even if most of their comrades saw them as potential traitors.
Yua had learned Moon Breathing from her favourite uncle, Noritaka. His courage to live life on his own terms made her love him even more.
Yet, she still wished he would be here with them.
If he had become a Hashira, then her grandfather wouldn't probably demand so much from her.
Signing Yua decided that it was time to get out of her bath and see if dinner was ready.
She shouldn't waste her energy on what-ifs.
This was her life, and she needed to accept it.
Family dinner was nice, since grandfather had drunk himself so silly that he was snoring up a storm in his bedroom.
So the remaining Mochizuki could catch up, laugh, talk, and gossip like they were a normal family.
For Yua, these were the best nights, also the ones that hurt the most.
The vacant spot on their table, belonging to grandma Junko, uncle Noritaka, cousin Taiga, and her mother Kioko, were practically staring at her, making her heart twist in turn.
No matter if someone was dead or had left them, the pain of not having them around anymore was still like a wound.
A wound that slowly healed, but if you thought about it, it began to hurt again.
After dinner, Yua decided to go to bed and took Kaito and Hikari with her. Since they were the youngest, it was bedtime for them.
The remaining family decided to play some games together.
Yua loved having the babies of the family around her.
They arranged their futons so that Yua was in the middle, and her two cousins eagerly requested a story.
The midnight blue-haired beauty shared their favourite bedtime
tale: "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter," the story of Princess Kaguya.
Yua had cherished this story ever since her late mother told it to her, which is why she named her raven after the legendary moon princess.
Kaito was sucking his thumb, trying to stay awake, while Hikari snuggled up on Yua's side, already drifting into dreamland.
As Yua concluded the story, both kids were fast asleep.
She chuckled quietly and closed her eyes, knowing that tomorrow would b
ring the return of harsh training, no free time, and the anticipation of her next Demon Slayer job.
This was the only life she knew.
As she drifted off to sleep, Yua pondered how Princess Kaguya had left her life on Earth to return to the moon—a life she didn't understand.
The unknown was a scary thought, or maybe Yua was just a coward.
Who knows?
(*)
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