The flames of inferno spiralled around my form, covered with nothing but my original cloth and a layer of ash as cries wormed their way through my ears. All I could do was look to the ground, my hair fighting the breese and the flames etching their way onto my skin, only for the marks to fade a millisecond later.

It was a simple mission at the start. I was sent to a nearby village with Isamu to survey the area in case of any slayers, and yet everything descended into chaos as soon as the demon boy laid his eyes on an enemy. He struck without compassion, clearing the way towards the slayer by slaughtering any in his path, and all it took was for a body to drop to the ground, a torch that in his hand colliding with straw that lay scattered over the ground for the entire scene to catch on fire and burn like the rage in my soul.

I only watched, eyes glued to my brother while his blade pierced through flesh and bone, blood soon following, and that was what it took for me to finally realise that this man was no longer the boy I once knew.

What I could remember of his young image grinning at me as snow flitted around his form and ascended into his hair until he looked like an angel was now replaced with what I saw now. His form panting, lips parted in a sickening grin, blade held at his side, crimson staining his form until it slithered to the ground around him.

All of a sudden, everything felt much more real.

Much more undenyable.

I thought that somewhere, behind his earlier slurs, his now cat-like eyes, that he was still the same boy I knew, that's why I paid him and everyone else as little fuss as possible the first time we met after all these years. That's why I found it so easy to forgive them when I went to sleep that night, because I thought they hadn't changed to the point they were made like this...

Mindless, bloodthirsty, nasty, spiteful machines built from nothing but the desire for power.

Made and crafted only to kill.

Was that what had become of me too? Would I be able to kill so easily, just like them? Was this Akaza's goal when training me?

Yes, I had feasted on flesh, and yes, I had watched others die on that day when we were taken, but I had never taken a life before. Yes, I had been overcome by rage to the point I wanted to beat someone to the ground until they were a beaten mess, but still alive. I had never once had such a desire to kill, aside from the obvious hatred I held for Muzan, and yet I still knew...Somewhere deep inside me, I knew I could never take one's life, even if it was his.

Would I struggle if I were to walk up to a civilian running away at this moment and murder them in cold blood, their remains spurting out onto the ground beneath me, my hands stained with blood, my mind rampant with the desire for more blood-

I stumbled back, only stabilising myself by gripping a wooden stall to the side of me, where the flames had not yet reached. I covered my mouth, eyes wide, my breath irregular. I felt like throwing up at just the thought. I could practically taste the burning sensation of puke making its way through my throat, but I swallowed it down, taking a slow breath as I did so.

Why was I like this? Why couldn't I just be like them? I was always the disappointment, the one to single out if there was trouble, the one to pin the blame on. Why did it have to be me?

What would Akaza think? He tried to teach me how to kill all these years and yet I nearly throw up at just the thought of someone else's blood slipping from my fingers, coaxing my nails like polish, making its way through all the crevices and dents in my flesh.

"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" A voice cried over the flames, shoving me from my mind and back into reality.

It felt far too real now.

I looked far within the flames, watching as a young child gripped a womans hand, who had been crushed under some rubble after the flames tore down the building. The girl cried and screamed and gripped onto the hand for dear life, desperate to get the woman out of the rubble. The woman only looked up at the child pitifully. You could tell she was far too weak to even speak, blood seeping from her whole body until it pooled around her and stained the young girl's hand.

I leaned away from the stall, my eyes watching with contradiction, even as I felt his presence nearing us all. It was almost as though I had frozen, my eyes wide, watching as Isamu strolled through the flames, clouds of smoke parting around him as his eyes glowed, and even nature itself bowed down to him.

What caught my eyes, however, was the way he held his blade, and how his greedy eyes were set on the girl.

He continued on, grinning wide, and the girl's cries only growing louder over the smoke and crackles of flames, like they were trying to cry to her, begging her to run, the same message the woman held in her eyes as the young girl continued to tug and tug and tug.

He stalked nearer.

What should I do? Am I really this weak? If I stay and watch, does that make me a murderer? Does that place me on the same level as Isamu?

Would I make Akaza proud?

It wasn't long before the man was towering over the girl, crimson-stained blade rising over his head, posture strong, no hesitation in his actions.

He was about to kill a child.

An innocent child who then turned her head to me, still unaware of the man behind her, and her eyes met my own, and all of a sudden, I wasn't looking into her eyes anymore.

I was looking into my own eyes.

The same eyes that watched as my mother was slashed to the ground. The same eyes that grew wide and filled with rage as I reached to throw a punch at the upper moon three. The same eyes that gazed up at the upper moon one as his blade plunged into my shoulder.

The same eyes that watched as the girl in front of me reached her hand out desperately. A final cry for help.

His blade struck down, coming down closer and closer to the young girl as the scene around me paused. It felt as through the ash and smoke had stopped just for me, as though the mocking from the flames had halted, and the heat that made its way onto my skin had turned ice cold.

I was about to watch my brother slice down an innocent child.

I was about to watch my brother slice down an innocent child like a demon.

My pupils blurred over, my heart held in my chest, and all of a sudden, I was there.

Isamu's blade was a mere hair width away from slicing her in two, and I dashed, arms reaching for the girl who held my eyes, my face, my lips, my nose, my clothes. And as I continued forward, I realised the girl was gone, and a younger version of me stood in her place.

My eyes widened.

My feet dug into the earth as I finally reached the girl and pulled her into my arms, Isamu's blade slicing away a single strand of my hair moments before I began to skid against the paved ground, the girl held close, and a cloud of dust and smoke following behind me as embers continued to flail and fade.

I heard the clash of metal against stone, and I finally came to a halt, crouched and panting as the girl's tears began to fall down my skin. I was shaking, mouth agape and chest heaving before I slowly turned my head over my shoulder, eyes holding an element of dread while I watched the demon turn to us, his grin no longer over his features.

It only took the demon a moment to realise what had happened and his darkened eyes met mine instantly.

I tucked the girl closer to my chest.

"You traitor."

The man growled, turning his whole body to face me before outstretching his blade to the side and glaring at me with rage-filled eyes. "YOU TRAITOR!"

I didn't mean to, I swear. Akaza. I'm so sorry.

It's just...when that girl looked at me, I realised we were no different than the demons who took everything from us. Who took our mother, cornered us, forced us to become just like them until there was no such thing known as humanity left in us.

I wish no one the same fate, no matter how horrible they are, will be, or have been.

No one deserved to lose their humanity.

Especially not us.

We were just victims to a hundred-year-old scheme.

And I guess I was the only one to realise this.

"No. No, I'm not-"

"HOW DARE YOU! AFTER SEVENTY DAMNED YEARS! YOU DARE BETRAY OUR TRUST!"

My world froze. 70 years? No, that can't be right. We had been there for thirteen. I swear I counted. But, then again, I had no way to tell, no ability to tell the time, only basing it on how much of a gap there would be between when Akaza left me and then returned.

I even asked. Akaza told me it had been 13 years...

The demon then came to a sudden realisation through my silence and eyes which held nothing but dread and confusion. "Hold on.." The demon chuckled, lips turning up into a crazed grin, pupils narrowing. "Don't tell me you didn't know?"

I could remain only silent, my ears taking in nothing but the sound of the girls whimpering. "Huh..." I couldn't muster out another syllable. My mind was in a haze, blurring the line between time itself, pushing the line of morals right and back until even my soul was left beyond confused.

The demon smirked, huffing out a laugh through his nose until the embers around him cleared and my eyes felt as though they were going to spill. "Now that's interesting.." His crazed eyes, his sharpened teeth, his bloody clothes, his katana that seeped and wreaked of crimson fluid mixed with tears and ash.

This wasn't my brother.

This was a true demon.

I slowly stood to my feet, the girl stiff in my arms, her arms wrapped around my neck, her face in my chest. My eyes held nothing. My soul held nothing. My brain could muster no thoughts. My lips couldn't spill any words.

I had been a demon for seventy years. I had been tortured for seventy years. I hadn't held any humanity for seventy years..

but...

I looked down to the girl in my arms, brows furrowing.

Why did I save her if that was the case? If I wasn't human, then how could I manage such a task?

I swallowed down my thoughts, forcing myself to speak a whisper. I knew that Isamu wouldn't let me leave after the stunt I just pulled. It was either, he would forcefully take me back to that man, or even try to kill me here, I wasn't certain.

However, I knew one thing.

That wasn't going to happen without a fight.

"Run away." I spoke to the shivering girl. "I will get that woman out of here. Go now, run away, away until you collapse if you have to." The girl lifted her head from my chest, though I paid no attention as her eyes widened at my features, facing forward, eyes wide with terror, cheeks red and ready for tears. "Never look back."

"She isn't getting away." The demon spoke and my eyes widened. There was no way he would ever be able to hear me- hell, there was no way he could even see my lips move behind the smog. "Oh, and if you're wondering, I didn't hear you, no." He smirked, eyes still glaring into mine. "My demon abilities allow me to read practically anyone through their eyes." He began to pace, waving his katana around almost playfully. The girl flinched. "Their emotions, their past, their soul...I can see it all." His eyes suddenly turned manic. "And I can read how powerful they are, too."

My brows creased, lips pursing until they were a thin line and I slowly began to crouch down so the girls feet could pad against the ground, though I still held her close. "When I say...You have to go.." I paused half way through, not expecting how shaky my voice had come out. It wavered and creased like crashing waves, and yet they were as silent as a fluttering butterfly on a sunny day.

I swallowed, hard. I couldn't let him see my weakness, and yet it was so easy. It was such a simple process for him. I had never been able to read anyone as well as he could. Even as kids he would be able to take one look at you and know everything about you and what you did. That's what made him such an incredible person, and a flawless swordbearer.

Never once had I been able to hold the same gift. I was so jealous, but I still loved him all the same. I couldn't hold it against him, not when he was so kind, so understanding, so empathetic. And now look at him...laughing at my distress, smirking at my fear, narrowing his eyes at my misunderstanding.

He truly was too far gone...though...I should've seen that from the moment he attacked a child.

I slowly let my arms fall from around the girl and I stood to my full height, legs bending and stretching out, one of my palms clenching and moving close to my chest, the other outstretching and laying flat in the air.

Just how Akaza taught me.

"Get out of here." That was all it took for the girl to nod, turning on her heel and running away without another word, and the demon simply watched her, eyes narrowing, his sickening smirk growing to the point it made me want to puke. "You are too far gone, Isamu. Stop this madness, please." The man paused, standing straight and looking at me through his brows.

"And what if I don't?" He inquired harshly, his blade now tight in his grasp and held at his side, the embers and flames reflecting off the blade and morphed into something much more beautiful than a dangerous art piece.

I paused, teeth clenching silently and I closed my eyes, heaving in a sigh, the burn of ash and dust clawing at the back of my throat. "Then I will kill you." My eyes reopened, filled with a fake determination I prayed he couldnt see through.

He did.

The demon grinned, taking a step forward and my body stiffened. "No you won't." He tilted his head to the side tauntingly, as if he could read my thoughts, my mind, my everything. Even my soul. "If you could then you wouldn't have let that kid live."

I swallowed down the lump in my throat, about to speak, before I was suddenly interrupted by his voice once again, however, this time there was much more malice. Much more of a desire to kill. "Now, let's get this over with. I wouldn't like to keep him waiting."

All of a sudden, the demon disappeared before my eyes, faster than I could move. I was at a clear disadvantage. No weapon. No way of reading my opponent like him. Little training compared to what he has been taught by upper moon one.

Without warning, the demon appeared beside me, blade swinging at my neck, ready to slice if not for my arm swiftly moving to take the blow instead of my face. The blade quickly pierced the flesh, slicing through my palm down to my elbow until it was sliced in two, pieces of flesh peeling apart to each side.

He was fast. Faster than I could register, choosing to sacrifice my arm to make sure I didn't get my head sliced off in the first few seconds of the fight.

I was outmatched.

I jumped back, feet skidding against the ground before I steadied myself and launched at him, arm reeled back as he made the move to jump at me, katana reeled back before he swung forward at my face.

I ducked beneath the blow, skidding beneath the blade before launching my fist towards his stomach. He flinched at the contact. I steadied myself under him before my fist clenched tighter around my palm and I launched the demon forward, the grip on his sword loosening.

The demon was launched back until his body hit a wall and he slid down the building's structure. I walked through the flames, my fists clenched at my sides as I marched through the smoke, eyes wide with concentration and my breaths unsteady.

The demon slowly stood to his feet, stumbling slightly and leaning against the wall support, wiping a single drop of blood from his nose, though, once his hand reached for the blood, he found there was none there.

His brows furrowed, lips widening before he turned to look at me and his eyes widened. I stood, thumb covered with his blood as though I had just wiped it. I smirked, watching as he got into a strong stance, teeth grit. "I'll tell you something, Isamu." I began, tilting my head to the side and holding a deadly glare. "My demon abilities allow me to take someone's best skills as long as I drink their blood." His eyes widened and he froze in place. "Let's see what happens, shall we?"

I lifted my thumb to my mouth, and without second thought, I smirked and licked the blood clean from my finger, my pupils slitting to the point they could be considered blades in the centre of my eyes.

All of a sudden, I saw it. What was in his eyes. His emotions. His soul. His past. I saw it all, and it made me grin wider. "Oh, now that's interesting.."

A dull ache burst through my head, my pupils slit just like his, my teeth sharpened more than before, my vision blurred, and the only thing I wished to see was his blood.

He wasn't human. He wasn't my brother. He was the one who replaced him, tore him apart from the inside out to the point he lost his humanity. He was about to kill a child- he was trying to kill ME. His sister, one of the only people he had left- one of the only people he could relate to.

He had no emotions, no thoughts, just death. The purest desire to kill and cause pain to others like the pain he endured with Kokushibou, from the moment we were all brought here.

He wanted nothing but revenge from the world.

It's funny to think how the kindest of souls can be twisted and morphed into the most disturbing of demons.

I didn't have the time to finish before he launched at me, blade swinging. I ducked, turning to run the other way as he slashed and dashed. He bounced off a wall, slicing down at me, and I dodged to the left, just out the way. He dashed towards me, skidding past me to stab at me. I jumped back, flipping around and steadying myself.

As I moved to get back on my feet, he jumped beside me and swung down, where I pushed myself away with my palm. He swung at me as my body fell to the ground and I leaned back, his blade skimming the fesh over my nose and snapping away a strand of my hair.

I jumped back to my feet, swinging my leg back to hit at him before he deflected my attack with his blade. I scoffed, turning my head just as he was about to thrust his katana through my skull. I leaned back, gripping his arm and throwing him forward before I steadied myself back in place.

He