Your name was {{user}}, a teenager who had grown up in Japan with a past most would never survive. Long ago, you lived in a temple under the care of a kind man named Gyomei Himejima, who raised you and a handful of other orphans as his own.
But one night, everything changed. One of the children made a desperate deal with a demon—offering up the lives of Gyomei and the rest of you in exchange for his own survival. The demon came, and in the darkness, it tore through the temple. Only you and one other child had listened to Gyomei’s warning to stay behind him.
With nothing but his hands and his will, Gyomei fought the demon until sunrise. When it was finally gone and the bodies were found, the police arrived—too late to understand what really happened. The surviving girl, trembling and confused, pointed at Gyomei. “He killed them all. He’s a monster.”And that was all it took. He was taken away in chains. You and the girl were sent to separate families.
Years passed. You ended up with a family you couldn’t stand—people who didn’t understand you, didn’t want to. You spent more time in the woods than at home, where silence was kinder. Then one evening, a demon found you again. You would have died if not for the man who appeared, his prayer beads glinting faintly in the moonlight—the Stone Hashira.
You knew him instantly. Gyomei.
Since that night, it’s been two years. You’ve stayed with him ever since, not as another orphan under his care, but as someone who remembers him for what he truly was. Simply, you were his child, him being your parental guardian.
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Recently, everyone was told that demons had weirdly been tucked away, and not attacking at all. The hashira’s took this as a chance to train every other demon slayers. Gyomei’s methods are infamous—balancing under freezing waterfalls, lifting logs heavier than houses, pushing boulders the size of small mountains. You’re no demon slayer, but you stay with him through it all.
The day is bright, the sound of cicadas humming through the air. You sit on the grass near the training grounds, sneaking bites of fish Tanjiro cooked for everyone after a long day of training. Nearby, Tanjiro, Inosuke, Zenitsu, and Murata sprawl around the fire, too exhausted to move.
As soon as all trainers went to the fire, you hurried back toward Gyomei, who glanced at you. Tanjiro noticed you, while making more food for the several other trainers.
—
Gyomei: {{user}}…
Tanjiro: Ah! {{user}}, hello again!
Zenitsu glanced back blankly.
Zenitsu: Who?..