Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Blood.

There’s not much to be said about the substance in specific. We all have it in our system and must do our best to not lose it, easy right?

Then, why am I bleeding here?

Why did that steel rod detach?

Out of all the places it stabbed it was exactly through my heart. It doesn’t matter what anyone do now, I’m bound to die anyway.

My name? Norihiko Kaito.

I was a simple student at Ritsumeikan University, even though I’m just 16 years old. I’ve been known as a genius since I was 8, absorbing knowledge as a sponge and being talented in various activities.

Although it shames me to say that my physical prowess is quite low compared to my mind. I’ve tried my fair share of efforts but my body simply can’t handle the burden.

Regardless, I decided to focus my attention on my knowledge of different fields of knowledge, my favorites being gastronomy and medicine.

Too bad all of that is useless now, a steel rod has pierced my entire heart. Blood is flowing out of my body at such speeds that It’ll be impossible for me to survive until I receive medical attention.

This building was supposed to be completed on this very day; I wasn’t expecting my luck to be such like this. I was told several times that I was born with this gift in order to bring a “great change” to society, to the lives of everyone.

But with this twist it appears those would remain baseless dreams.

Mother, father, I’m sorry… this son of yours is leaving.

And with that, I lost my life.

Or at least that’s how it should’ve been.

Why you ask? Well, for starters, I’m wandering these soil streets barefooted on a place that could only be described as retro.

As to how I got here don’t hold your breath, I literally just woke up from a pile of garbage a few blocks back. I’m wearing a black haori but I don’t know if its naturally black or it’s black due to all the stains it has.

As I kept looking around I reached a single conclusion to my debacle.

I had been reincarnated back into the Taisho Period.

How do I know? I just asked. At least I wasn’t asking for food or anything, people here are either kind or assholes, there’s no middle ground.

Regardless, I’m in no position to complain. Right now I’m just formulating a plan to survive these harsh living conditions.

It’ll take me some time to adjust so, let me skip to the important part.

(2 years later)

Wow, 2 whole years to rise from the rags eh? I’m now 10 years old, yes I used to be 8, and life has been quite nice with me.

This body is a whole world different from the last one, not only can I do more physical stuff, but my 5 senses are also completely augmented.

Thanks to this I managed to create a reputation as a chore boy that was good at everything and would work for a reasonable price should food and lodging be provided.

Eventually I had to leave said lifestyle and chose the path of a chef, the easy part about it was that most recipes haven’t been invented nor are popular amongst the people of this era.

For example: Did you know that while Chinese noodle soup existed in the Taishō era (“Shina soba”), the modern, richly flavored ramen styles (tonkotsu, miso, shoyu variations) didn’t appear until the Shōwa Era.

Which was exhausting to gather the materials for due to various reasons but the moment people started trying my Miso Ramen they grew to love the flavor. And you know how the saying goes, with great cooking comes lots of money to pay for your bills.

Money literally rained over me from this small business of mine.

Yeah, too bad things couldn’t remain as they were.

It was just another normal day of me handling the shop…

(Third Person POV)

“Ah, Kai-kun, such a delight as always.” A woman complimented as she savored the noodles.

“Glad to hear it Shima-san.” Kaito answered.

“I swear, if I had been told that the ragged kid doing chores around town would become such a chef I wouldn’t have believed it.” Shima declared with a joke.

“No one did, I’m quite lucky the recipe worked, otherwise I’d be stuck in the streets like I used to.” Kaito recalled.

Before living here he’d are homeless with no clear place to sleep. It wasn’t until he bought a cart and modified it into a Yatai that he managed to live inside of it until his business bloomed.

“Still, I’m quite jealous. You should’ve accepted my offer back then.” Shima said in resignation as she finished her bowl.

Truth to be told, Kaizo was offered full-time job as Shima’s chore boy since her business was lacking competent ones, but Kaito rejected back then due to not wanting to be in someone’s debt.

Just as he was about to answer, the curtain opened and arrived a gentle-looking old woman.

“Good afternoon Kaito-chan.” The elderly woman spoke.

“Granny Ito. Welcome.” Kaito greeted the elder and helped her reach the chair.

Ito is a well-known senior in this town, she used to be a medic until her age caught up with her, thankfully she managed to pass on her knowledge to different people who looked for her guidance.

Kaizo also learned a bit from her, but it was mostly about herbs since his 20^th century medicine knowledge is far better than what’s here.

“Thank you Kaito-chan, I’d like my usual please.” Ito.

“A bowl of light miso ramen with buckwheat noodles coming right in.” Kaizo declared as he started to prepare the noodles.

“I should get going, have a nice mean Ito-san and good rest of the afternoon Kai-kun.” Shima said as she left the stall.

“Shima seems a bit on a rush these days.” Kaito wondered out loud.

Ito let out a gentle chuckle as she looked at Kaito.

“There’s no surprise there, she’s getting married next week.” Ito explains.

“Eh?! I didn’t know that.” Kaito is perplexed.

Although he’s not good with social cues he thought he was at least capable of discerning as much.

“Kaito-chan has the bad habit of not paying attention when focusing on new things. Are you still struggling with your clay pots?” Ito.

“Well, I wanted to see if I could use them to ferment some ingredients but so far either the shape or the sealings are off and the spices ended up ruined. Regardless of that, who’s Shima-nee marrying?” Kaito.

“You already know him.” Ito said with a cheeky soft smile.

Kaito thought of everyone Shima interacts and thought of someone.

“Ah! Could it be Masaru-san?!” Kaito said excitedly.

Buying meat in this era isn’t cheap and Kaito knew that better than anyone, however, he was fortunate enough to have someone such as Masaru in his debt.

Masaru is the best hunter in town, from fish to wild boars he knows where and how to hunt them as efficiently as possible. One day he was without money and hungry and Kaito fed him a rice ball.

Masaru in return would give Kaito some leftover meat and even taught him his tricks at trapping and also wood chopping.

It made sense that he and Shima had been close since they’re childhood friends, so Kaito managed to connect the dots quite easily.

“As expected of Kaito-chan, your mind is sharp when needed.” Ito mused as Kaito finished her food.

“One bowl of mild miso ramen with buckwheat noodles.” Kaito said cheerfully as he cleaned up some of his space.

As she finished eating, Ito paid for her meal and looked at Kaito.

“Kaito-chan, I don’t know if you’re aware but recently there’s been some disappearances.” Ito warned him.

“Disappearances? What does the Keisatsu (Police) say about it?” Kaito.

“They’ve been investigating these cases, but I have a feeling they won’t be able to solve it.” Ito.

“Why’s that?” Kaito.

“The disappearances often arrive with news of bloodstained rooms; I was even called to one of the crime scenes for some insight and I’m certain that this isn’t the work of some human.” Ito.

“I don’t follow, and even then, why be this through with explaining?” Kaito asked her.

“Perhaps it’s because of my age but as I grow older I tend to recall small portions of my younger memories, my mother used to be a Miko (Shrine Maiden) at the temple that used to be here, she’d tell me stories that I didn’t believe, stories I’m starting to think are real.” Ito.

“Stories of…?” Kaito.

“Demons.” Ito said with a small sense of fear.

Kaito wanted to roll his eyes or something, but he couldn’t be disrespectful. So, he limited himself to listen.

“They say that they only appear at night and feed off humans, given strength above and beyond humans they’re the cause of several tragedies guised as “accidents” throughout all Japan.” Ito.

“Why tell me this? I’m sorry for being disrespectful but I’m starting to feel a bit eerie.” Kaito.

‘And I can’t find myself to simply refute your words, sorry granny but I guess dementia has hit you early.’ Kaito sighed mentally.

“I just wanted to warn you to not leave your home at night, especially if what you hear is something loud.” Ito.

“Granny Ito, not to be rude but I doubt could hold a demon off if what you’ve told me is true.” Kaito.

“No need to worry, just hide and survive the night. Afterall, we’re being protected by the Demon Slayers.” Ito said with a relieved sigh.

‘And she goes on with that….’

“What or who are these Demon Slayers?” Kaito.

“Swordmen and woman that fight tirelessly throughout the nights to ensure that we all live happy and safe lives.” Ito explained.

“That’s cool and all but Granny Ito, you better go back then, evening is about to come and I’d shiver at the thought of you having to hustle with your aching back.” Kaito.

“You’re so kind Kaito-chan, don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Ito.

With that, Kaito helped the granny get off the chair and watched her walk towards her home with a smile.

Once Ito was far enough Kaito sighed and placed his palm on his face.

‘Demons and Demons Slayers, what a mess. I remember there used to be a VERY popular mange/anime/movies about them but I never bothered with them. Breathings that enhance the body to beyond Olympic medalists? Demons with reality BS abilities? What a load of bull. I have more important things to do rather than take a stroll at night anyway.’ Kaito thought as he started to pack his Yatai up.

After some minutes he parked it near the inn he’s staying at.

Wait, you thought he LIVED inside the Yatai? Get real! Too many issues would arise should he do that. Unsanitary establishment, cramped limbs, cold nights, the list goes on. So, Kaito has a deal with the guy who owns this inn.

For allowing Kaito live with a 50% discount, Kaito works as a chef all Sunday long and the owner also has a 50% off his purchase of whatever Kaito cooks.

With his energies in dire need of a recharge Kaito went to his futon and slept.

Or at least he was supposed to.

Kaito woke up at night due to him feeling a bit “full” and needed release.

‘Crap, I drank too much water and now I need to take a leak.’ Kaito thought as he walked towards the bathroom.

*PSSSSS*

Once relieved of his tribulations, Kaito was ready to continue his slumber until………

*CRASH*

A loud noise coming from outside was heard, Kaito looked through the window but only managed to see two silhouettes, one humanoid and other more deformed, in the shadows.

Kaito immediately pulled the curtain and went back to his room.

‘Yeah… fuck that. I’ve seen enough horror media to know what happens when you don’t mind your own business.’ Kaito thought as he made haste to his room.

Once again embraced by the softness of his covers and futon Kaito went to sleep…

*WHAM*

If it weren’t for the fact that life hates him.

A deformed creature bursts through Kaito’s window with a pained growl as Kaito helplessly watches the surreal scene in fear.

The creature was unlike anything Kaito believed possible, it had grey skin with blue sharp eyes and had horns in its head. Kaito didn’t need to think twice before he started to run from the creature.

It didn’t take long for the creature to pursuit him, Kaito did a sharp turn at the end of the hallway and the creature lunged at the end only to smash through the wall and fall off the building.

Kaito didn’t cared though, he was currently too focused on running the hell out of there. Just as he arrived at the ground floor, the innkeeper opened the door from his room and came out with his shovel.

“What in tarnation is going on round here?!” The owner asked.

“Monsters! Or Yokais or whatever the hell that thing was is wrecking the whole building!” Kaito explained as he tried to catch his breath.

“Nonsense! Everyone knows those are children stories, now, what the hell’s going on in here?” The owner decided to ignore Kaito’s words and went outside to have a look.

Kaito felt a chill on his back as the owner was about to take a step out, Kaito dashed at him and yanked him from the shirt. Thanks to him already being mid-step, Kaito easily yanked him back.

And quite lucky too, you see, the creature had just lunged from the side, where the owner would’ve been, and failed in his attack just as another figure dashed from behind him.

Kaito takes a small peek outside and then looks at the owner, whose eyes are widened as big as plates.

“Well, could you repeat what you’ve said or you can’t because you’re too busy shitting your own pants?” Kaito asked in sarcasm.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!” The owner screams in fear and locks himself in his room.

Kaito looks at the shovel on the floor and sighs.

“Just to be clear, I’m not working this Sunday because of this!” Kaito takes the shovel and runs back upstairs.

Just as he was about to leave, from above fell the creature once again and Kaito barely evaded being squashed by it. He then instinctively stabbed his head with the shovel but at most could only pierce its left eye.

Kaito decided to run once again but this time the creature was faster and managed to swipe him with his hand. Kaito was sent flying out of the inn and coughed blood as the creature started to approach him.

Due to the pain in his body Kaito couldn’t exactly focus on the immense fear this creature sprouts in him but rather focuses on trying to limp himself out of the way.

‘Shit… this sucks! Who the hell dialed the difficulty up to 11?! Am I going to die here?’ Kaito thought as he felt his legs barely respond.

*SWISH*

The creature lunged at Kaito, aiming to kill him in the next swipe when……

*SWISH*

“Wind Breathing: Second Form: Claws-Purifying Wind!”

Just as Kaito heard those words, several slashes appeared on the creature’s body, chopping him vertically from the face all the way down to his feet. The creature dissipated into dust before it could harm Kaito further.

Kaito looked with his semi-opened eyes at the man that just saved his life.

He wears a light green vest with the words “Destroy” on his back, black shoes and a white scarf around his neck. He’s 1’8 tall and his black hair moves slowly under the wind of the night.

“What a mess, a demon breakout on this town and there was no Lower nor Upper Moon involved.” The man spoke with a hint of disappointment.

He then crouched at Kaito’s level and checked his body.

“Nothing too serious, he’ll survive.” The man then looked back and saw a group of people dress in the same outfits approach him.

“Take care of him, this demon was specially attracted to him, he might be a Marechi so prepare the Wisteria charms.” The man ordered.

“Yes Sir!” They answered in unison.

Kaito felt that his consciousness wasn’t gonna last long so he started closing his eyes.

Little would he know that this would bring him into a world where dangers lurk in every corner and life and death dance daily. Kaito would soon realize that he reincarnated in the world of Demon Slayer.

Slight problem though……

He doesn’t know the plot!

Chapter Text

(Kaito POV)

Waking up on an unfamiliar ceiling.

I feel a dense somewhat comical feeling of Déjà vu, but now I remember the why. Wind Breathing. At the moment I heard those words I knew exactly where I was: The Demon Slayer world.

I know nothing about this place at all! I liked some fiction here and there but when you use historical fiction to the mix it becomes unbearable to me. All I heard was that the protagonists use some sort of breathing techniques which is the power system of this world, or at least I guess.

And then there’s demons.

Various representations have been given throughout mankind’s history but the ones represented in this media are that of flesh-eating, bloodsucking evil beings that care little to none about Human Lives.

I know Granny Ito’s words were a HUGE red flag the moment she spoke so ominously but I didn’t want to jump to conclusions!

You don’t see the sea and think you’re in the One Piece World, you don’t have an adult-like figure while just being a teenager and assume you’re in the Jojo World, you don’t you don’t see a huge wall over a medieval city and believe you’re in the Attack on Titan world.

My point being, don’t bust my balls ok? I just wanted to make an honest living!

I stop arguing with myself and look at my body, I’m all bandaged and my sides hurt so I’m pretty sure I got fucked over physically by that demon.

Well, lucky for me my answers weren’t going to be left unanswered as a caretaker arrived.

“Oh, you’re awake.” The man wears a black uniform and a white cloth that covers all his face except his eyes.

“I don’t have insurance, sorry for the inconvenience.” I tend to escape stressful situations using bad humor, please bear with me.

“Don’t worry about that *The man reassured me* how’re your injuries? Feeling any pain, discomfort?” The man asked as he pulled out a notepad and a small blue chalk.

“Mostly fine but my right side kinda burns whilst my left side is itchy. Must’ve been due to that clawed attack and then my side recoiled the impact when I landed.” I answered while adjusting my posture.

The man seemed taken aback at my sudden understanding of my situation but didn’t pressed as he noted down something.

“Ok, are you aware of what happened to you? Any memories regarding this incident?” The man asked.

“Well, I’m not exactly sure why but I guess a demon tried to kill me.” I answer with a sigh.

“Not wrong. You see, demons have a very well developed sense of smell, that allows them to distinguish their prey from males to females and so on.” I interrupted the man.

“Why’re you telling me this? I’m scared as I am.” I complained a little.

“Sorry, it was to answer your why were you chased. You see, we all have different blood through our veins, said blood comes from rare to common, those with the rarest blood types are known as Marechi and they’re a delicacy beyond belief to demons.” The man showed me a chart with said blood types.

A -> 40% Common.

O -> 30% Not Common.

B -> 20% Rare.

AB -> 10% Extremely rare.

‘Huh, they’re missing the other blood types, guess that’s as far as Taisho technology goes.’ I thought as I saw the chart.

“Anyway, that’s the reason as to why that demon was so set on getting you.” The man then checked my pulse with a stethoscope.

“Ok, why’re you telling me this, like at all?” I asked.

“Well, you seemed smart enough to understand and I wanted to lay the current chain of events as honestly as I could.” The man admitted.

Well, to be fair, I’d also be talkative should my line of work involve demons.

“What’s your name? I’m Norihiko Kaito.” I introduced myself.

“Suzuki, no surname, a pleasure meeting you Kaito.” He greeted me back.

After some back and forth about talking and stuff I was made known about a lot of things.

Marechi bloods like me are always given wisteria charms to keep demons back since demons HATE the smell of the flower, on the other side we’re bound to certain areas so that the Demon Slayers are available should something happens to the charm.

As to the why they can’t just place them everywhere, well, the process to make the charm las as long as a lifetime takes A LONG time, time others don’t have so, yeah, killing demons seem more cost-effective.

But just knowing that demons exists for real already puts a dent on my innovative lifestyle around Japan during this age. With little to do I asked how long I would remain in the clinic to which Suzuki said it would take two whole weeks for a full recovery.

In case you’ve never been mauled by a bear or some similar in strength this time is quite cheap. For the moment though, I’m bedridden for at least a whole 3 days.

“By the way Suzuki-san, anyone else got injured?” I asked a question I didn’t want the answer to.

Suzuki didn’t said anything but I could FEEL the awkwardness through his eyes.

“Yes… some got injured during the assault. It wasn’t a single demon, there were 5 demons, making a competition of seeing who kills and eats the most humans, you sector was one of the less affected since Toriko-dono kept the damage at minimum but others…” Suzuki almost choked at the end.

I didn’t want to think the worst, heck what are the chances that the only 3 people I actually give a shit about are injured are?

Zero, right? Right?

“A-anyway! What would you like to eat?” Suzuki was very obvious to change the subject.

“Curry with rice please.” Since he wasn’t going to say anything I might as well just comply.

As Suzuki left I asked him for some medicine books to borrow, he seemed eager to change the subject so he complied. Oh boy how far we’ve come, medicine books here as SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO outdated, such a shame but I am a medicine graduate so…… at least I need to make a registry of my skills.

With that, three days had passed and I was feeling quite good about my own body. I was fit, I was sleek, I was handsome (that’s a little boost of morale) everything was going dilly dandy until I met my most hated foe…………………………………Character Development!

(3^rd Person POV)

Kaito started to get bored so with some effort and with a cane provided by one of the Kakushi, he started walking around the clinic he was, which he realized that it was a bunch more nicely than he expected.

The whole place is like a small mansion with wisteria crests as decorations, Kaito looked in some other rooms and saw a few people injured. Some had broken limbs, others had cuts and some even had poison in them.

It was later that Kaito was told that these were actually Demon Slayers who got injured during their battles. Civilian patients such as him were in different places in the clinic, Kaito then looked around some more and eventually got bored so, he went back to his room.

As he walked, he overheard some Kakushi talking.

“So, how many causalities happened this time?”

“Around 10 civilians were attacked and only 1 died.”

“Shit, how did it come to this? The Master even sent a Hashira to minimize causalities.”

“Apparently Kazemiru-Sama was met by some demons who obstructed his path.”

“No way, but even then Kazemiru-Sama would’ve been capable of defeating them all in like, two seconds tops.”

“It’s not that he couldn’t, what happened was that one of the demons had a Blood Demon Art that allowed him to turn the ground into mud, that’s what caught Kazemiru-sama by surprise.”

“Hellish Demon Arts, who are the victims then?”

“Some patrols, the Marechi kid and one elderly woman.”

Kaito stiffened.

“All of the victims accounted and registered?”

“Yeah, all in these documents, I’ll send them over after lunchtime.”

“Let’s go then.”

Kaito swiftly made his way towards the end of his side of the corridor, given that the cafeteria was the other way, and saw the two Kakushi leave the room. Once out of sight, Kaito entered the room and looked at the file.

Page after page contained detailed information of those attacked, including him, and by the time he looked at the last archive he prayed with all his might that he would be wrong.

*SWOF*

Kaito’s eyes widened as his worst outcome came became truth…

(Minutes later.)

Suzuki arrived at the morgue in a huff, he blamed himself for not being outright about the situation, he just couldn’t allow a simple kid face such circumstance but now he’s caused Kaito so much pain by lying to him.

He saw Kaito standing near a figure covered with a white cloth, Suzuki looked at the nametag near the body: Ito. He placed his hand on Kaito’s shoulder and was about to speak but Kaito spoke first.

“You know who this person is?” Kaito asked.

“From what others say, she was very special to you.” Suzuki answered with guilt.

“Special huh? Heh. Not wrong but not entirely right.” Kaito started to monologue.

Two years ago I had nothing, no money, no food, I didn’t even had a hole to fall dead, I tried to make myself of use and earn some money, but no one wanted a kid to work for them so I was always pushed back.

One night I started to cry out of hunger, my stomach ached so badly that I thought I had a bug inside, that’s when granny Ito and I met for the first time.

She gave me a dumpling, that was it, just a simple salted meat dumpling but for me it tasted like heaven. I talked to her about how I wanted to cook to earn money, that I knew how to but no one believed me, but she did.

With the little money she had she bought me some proper ingredients for me to cook a meal, that’s when my skills got recognized by others, her reputation as a doctor made skeptical clients at least try my food instead of judge it.

That’s how I started making money, it was all thanks to Granny Ito. I remember how nice it felt to cook for her my better dishes and she would savor them with delight. Perhaps it’s because I’ve lived alone since little but I felt uncomfortable living with her and I wanted that independence back, foolish!

I should’ve stayed with her, spend every moment together as I could and repay her back a thousandfold what she did for me. But I didn’t want to overstep her kindness.

“Was it arrogance? Stubbornness? Or some other foolish feeling in my gut that drove me away from her? None of that matters now.” Kaito finished talking for the moment as he passed Ito’s file to Suzuki.

“Did you know she adopted a kid once? It happened before she became a doctor, the kid died from an unknown illness and Granny Ito dedicated her whole life into healing as many patients as possible for the sake of their health, she threw away her youth and future for that of others, never paying attention to her exhausted body nor to the low compensations, she did it out of her own kindness. Kindness that I pushed away for the dumbest of reasons.” Kaito.

He looked at Suzuki with tears in his eyes.

“I had a rough life, but Granny Ito made it all the better for me, how can I repay her now that she’s dead? How can I tell her how much I love her now that she’s dead?! WHO IN THIS WHOLE WIDE WORLD CAN ANSWER ME?!!!” Kaito yelled as he gripped the table tightly.

He takes some deep breaths before looking at Suzuki.

“Sorry for the tantrum, I know you’re not at fault, the Demon Slayers aren’t at fault, even I, regardless of how much I yell at myself, am not at fault. Who created these demons?” Kaito asked as he wiped his tears away.

“That information is only for Demon Slayers, as a civilian you-” Suzuki was interrupted.

“Then it’s decided, I’ll become a Demon Slayer, cut whoever’s bastard started all this mess and then pay my respect to my Granny. Where do I begin?” Kaito asked as he looked at Suzuki, his eyes brimming with determination.

Suzuki could only sigh as he saw anger and the sheer will to kill demons in Kaito’s eyes, with a sigh he placed his hand in his shoulder.

“You can talk more about this once you’re fully healed.” Suzuki said as he guided Kaito back to his room.

Kaito looked back at Ito for one last time before leaving.