Obanai Iguro

Hachijojima Island.

Rain poured from the sky like a waterfall, bean-sized drops smashing into the ground and splashing up sprays of water.

Within the torrential curtain of rain, a small figure ran. Every step sank into the muddy ground, leaving footprints of varying depths that gradually blurred beneath the downpour.

He was a boy who looked eleven or twelve, dressed in tattered clothes. His seaweed-like hair was soaked by the rain, plastered limply against his forehead.

Between his disheveled bangs were mismatched eyes, green on the left and gold on the right. Despair and unwillingness, two conflicting emotions, mingled on the boy's face. Someone had torn open his cheek, leaving a crescent-shaped gash stretching from the corner of his mouth to his ear. The red muscle beneath looked like a grotesque canyon.

Most bizarrely, a small white snake was coiled around the boy's neck like a scarf.

The white snake's fierce vertical pupils stared fixedly into the rain behind them. Its tongue flicked incessantly, as though a savage monster lurked within the storm.

"Rustle, rustle, rustle!"

The sound of scales scraping through mud suddenly came from the rain. That faint noise was like a death curse, stabbing viciously into Obanai Iguro's ears.

He gently pulled the little snake from his neck and hurled it aside with all his strength. He could die, but his friend could not.

In that foul-smelling dungeon, this was the only "family" that had kept Iguro Obanai company.

"Kaburamaru, run!"

Iguro Obanai screamed hysterically, then pulled a dagger from his clothes. It had originally been meant for suicide, but now he chose to use it to fight against fate.

The instant Obanai Iguro turned around, an enormous serpent-like monster burst through the rain.

Its upper body was that of a woman with a split mouth. Her face was twisted and hideous, her mouth full of sharp fangs that sent chills down one's spine.

Her yellow slit-pupiled eyes glinted coldly, and an eerie smile hung at the corners of her mouth. Her lower body was a black serpent, its writhing tail like a sharp blade.

"Keep running!"

"Boring human. Wouldn't it be better to obediently die?"

The Serpent Demon looked at Obanai Iguro with amusement, mocking him teasingly.

"Why don't you die instead?!"

"Monster!"

Obanai Iguro spat at the Serpent Demon, gripped his dagger tightly, and charged forward without hesitation. Even though he knew he would die, accepting death and dying while resisting were not the same thing.

It would be best if a descendant of sinners like him died, but he could not die at the hands of a monster like this.

"Your entire clan's wealth came from me!"

The Serpent Demon easily sent Obanai Iguro flying with a swipe. His dagger flew off somewhere as well.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Obanai Iguro gritted his teeth. Even the pain of broken bones failed to draw a cry from him.

The Serpent Demon could no longer be bothered to toy with this prey. She was hungry, and she was going to eat him.

Her enormous snake body launched into the air. The edges of the Serpent Demon's mouth rapidly stretched and collided like putty, stopping only when it had opened wide enough to swallow an entire person.

"Monster!"

"Even if I die, I'll never forgive you!"

There was no fear of death on the twelve-year-old's face, only hatred for the Demon.

At the critical moment, a blazing slash tore through the curtain of rain and severed half of the Serpent Demon's body. Black blood sprayed everywhere.

The Serpent Demon froze. An attack of this level could only come from a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps.

Damn it!

Without the slightest hesitation, she turned and fled into the rain, moving at almost the fastest speed of her life.

"Why would a damned Hashira come after me?!"

"Damn it!"

The Serpent Demon cursed viciously. The wound extending from her shoulder to her abdomen was healing, but every cell in her body trembled.

The Hashira was too strong. She was no match for him, so she could only let that brat go.

"Kid, I'll be right back!"

Rengoku Shinjuro's warm, cheerful voice drove away the cold rain. Obanai Iguro only saw an afterimage flash past, followed by rapid footsteps.

Even though he understood nothing, he could still feel that powerful pressure.

At that moment, he began to yearn for it—the power to fight Demons like that.

But an instant later, that hope vanished. He was merely a descendant of sinners; he should die in the rain.

Just then, a gentle voice rang out. Unlike the passionate voice from before, this one was more like a spring breeze in March.

"Hello, my name is Tendo Hiruma. What's your name?"

When he raised his eyes, a pair of brilliant golden eyes entered his view, making Obanai Iguro almost unable to look up.

This person looked about his age, so why was he acting so familiar?

Then, an umbrella opened above Obanai Iguro's head, shielding him from the cold rain.

"Hey, what's your name?"

Hiruma knowingly asked the question, then raised his hand and handed Kaburamaru to Obanai Iguro.

"Don't throw away such an important family member again!"

"How did you..."

His words caught in his throat. Once Kaburamaru crawled back around his neck, he struggled to his feet and instinctively stepped out from beneath the umbrella.

He did not dare look at the boy before him. He felt inferior.

I'm only the descendant of a wicked clan that lived by relying on Demons to plunder wealth. Vile blood runs through my veins. How could I possibly deserve to stand beside anyone else?

I really should just die.

Looking at the despondent boy standing in the rain, Hiruma felt somewhat distressed. He knew the past of every Hashira in the Demon Slayer Corps.

Obanai Iguro had been born into the Iguro Family, which lived extravagantly on money stolen by Demons who murdered people. Every so often, they sacrificed an infant from the clan in exchange for wealth and prosperity.

He hated the blood flowing through his body and always felt that he was guilty.

Even joining the Demon Slayer Corps to kill Demons had been for atonement.

But who could decide where they were born? Being born into that family was not his fault.

Obanai Iguro definitely would not understand if he told him that. Perhaps they could slowly get along in the future.

"You'll get sick if you keep getting soaked. Think about him a little more, will you?"

Hiruma pointed at Kaburamaru, then moved closer to Obanai Iguro.

This time, Obanai Iguro did not step away. He glanced at Hiruma and said coldly:

"Obanai Iguro. That's my name!"

"Tendo Hiruma. Please take care of me from now on!"

Hiruma flashed a radiant smile. How could a snake get sick from being rained on? He had told a small lie.

"Oh."

"Why did you help me?"

Hiruma's next words stunned Obanai Iguro.

"I helped because I wanted to. That's all!"

Obanai Iguro looked bewildered. It was the first time he had heard such an unconventional reason. If he were not a sinner, perhaps he could have talked with him.

A moment later, footsteps came through the rain again. They sounded like something moving at extreme speed.

As expected of that old man, he came back so quickly.

Thinking about it, that was normal. Before a Hashira, the Serpent Demon was trash—at most, slightly stronger trash.

Suddenly, a blue figure rushed toward the two of them, and Hiruma immediately sensed danger.

But it was already too late to draw his sword. Because Shinjuro, a Hashira, was nearby and because he knew the plot, Hiruma had let his guard down.

This sudden change had come far too abruptly.

The blue figure was another Demon.

Damn it, I got careless. I didn't dodge.

At the critical moment, Hiruma shoved Obanai Iguro away.