"Hey, Black Fang, let's go check on Little Obedient."
Still only a seven- or eight-year-old child, Black Fang turned his head. It was Nanako, the girl who had grown up with him since they were small.
Nanako was the same age as Black Fang, but stood a whole head taller than he.
Black Fang's body developed slowly, and the kids his age liked to call him a stunted shorty, excluding him and refusing to talk to him.
Only Nanako liked to come find Black Fang to play, and only Nanako was his friend.
Black Fang answered casually, "Sure, let me finish my bath and we'll go together."
"Huh? Bath?"
"Ah—Nanako, turn your head around right now, I'm still bathing!"
Black Fang was shy. He squatted down in a hurry, only half his head showing above the water, blowing bubbles.
Nanako giggled. "I mean, Black Fang, you're a boy. How come you're more shy than me?"
Black Fang raised his head, trying to look calm. "Who says I'm shy? I just… I just…"
"Right, I just thought—if other people find out you saw me bathing, Nanako, you won't be able to get married in the future. I'm thinking for your sake."
Nanako narrowed her eyes. Her small face lit with a lively, mischievous smile. "I see. Well then, if I can't get married later, Black Fang, you'll have to marry me instead."
"If it's you, Black Fang, Nanako would be happy to."
"Black Fang, will you marry me in the future?"
Black Fang stammered a little. Looking at Nanako's bright smile like sunlight in March, he wanted to say yes, but his boyish pride made him hesitate. "We… we'll talk about it later."
Nanako didn't press him. She tossed him his clothes. "Here, let's go see Little Obedient."
After Black Fang dressed, Nanako took his hand and together they headed for Blue Mountain behind the town—the place where Rin Sho was now.
Black Fang glanced at the sky. Sunshine poured down, and birds chirped softly. He reached out to catch a ray of light.
"Today's sunlight is so nice. Feels warm on the body. I love it."
The small figures of Nanako and Black Fang moved through Blue Mountain like they knew every step. Soon, they ducked into a clump of bushes.
Inside was a small nest, and in it a tiny wolf pup whose eyes were still closed.
"Look, doesn't Little Goodie seem a bit bigger than yesterday?"
Black Fang shook his head. "No way, looks the same to me."
Nanako unhappily rapped him on the head. "Idiot. If I say it's bigger, then it is."
Black Fang clutched his head. "Ow! Hey, I'm telling you, it hasn't grown. Can't we be reasonable?"
Nanako raised her little fist again, turning it in mock threat. "Never argue reason with a girl, Black Fang."
Black Fang surrendered. "Alright, alright."
Nanako leaned closer, surprised. "Look, don't Little Goodie's eyes look just like yours?"
Black Fang, exasperated: "It hasn't even opened them yet. How could they look like mine? I protest."
"I said they look like yours, so they do. Objection overruled."
"Fine, fine. Little Goodie really looks like me."
"That's better. Now I like you even more, Black Fang."
…
Half a month later, Nanako's parents were taking her to live with distant relatives.
Tears ran down Nanako's face as she told the stunned Black Fang, "Black Fang, I have to go. You must remember me, and take good care of Little Goodie."
"Wait for me. When I grow up, I'll come back to find you and marry you as your bride. Black Fang, you have to wait for me."
With that, Nanako climbed into the carriage with her parents.
Black Fang stood frozen. Watching the carriage grow smaller, the fake strength on his face crumbled. Tears burst like a dam breaking.
He ran after the carriage, shouting, "Nanako! I'll wait here for you to come back! I'm willing to marry you when we grow up, I really am, really, really am!"
Only when you lose something do you realize how precious it is.
Black Fang's voice faded into the wind. He didn't know if Nanako heard.
The carriage carrying her vanished completely from his sight. Choking, he collapsed onto the ground, sobbing.
"Nanako… I'll take good care of Little Goodie. You come back soon… and marry me…"
The next day, Black Fang went alone with some fresh milk to feed Little Goodie.
The sky was dimming into darkness. He'd left a bit late today, and night was falling.
The path was silent. Without Nanako's company, Black Fang felt loneliness he'd never known before.
"At least we still have our Little Goodie. Until you come back, Nanako, I'll take good care of him."
But as soon as he pushed aside the bushes, Black Fang saw a pair of green wolf eyes fixed on him.
It was a huge wolf, the size of a calf. Little Goodie was at its belly, drinking milk.
"Is that… Little Goodie's mother?"
Black Fang guessed who it was. But the big wolf didn't know him. Having finally found her lost pup, she would never expose it to danger.
She bared her fangs, then swung her claws down on both sides of his face. Sharp talons raked three terrible gashes into each cheek, white bone showing.
Blood sprayed. Instantly gravely wounded, Black Fang fell to the ground, his eyes dimming.
"Nanako…"
The big wolf stepped toward him, lowering its jaws to his neck.
"What a pitiful child."
Under the bright moonlight, a man in a white top hat appeared in Black Fang's sight, as if from nowhere.
With a blur of motion, Muzan snapped the big wolf's neck and flung it far away.
He crouched down, speaking gently. "Little one, do you want to live?"
Light returned to Black Fang's eyes. "I do… I'm still waiting for someone. I can't die…"
Muzan pressed the brim of his hat. "As you wish. Only… there's a small price to pay."
A few drops of blood fell into Black Fang's mouth. From that day, he became a Demon.
As a Demon, Black Fang lost his human mind. He forgot Nanako, forgot Little Goodie, forgot all his kin.
But even so, he never forgot to stay here and wait. Even without knowing why, some instinct in him said not to leave, to wait forever…
That inexplicable waiting lasted years, until today, when Kamado Asaki cut off his head, and Black Fang remembered everything.
And Kamado Asaki, as a bystander, had witnessed Black Fang's entire life.
In the endless white light, Asaki was silent, not knowing what to say.
A beam of white light gathered into the form of Black Fang as a seven- or eight-year-old boy. He walked over, sat down beside Asaki, arms around his knees.
"Thank you for letting me remember everything. The sunlight that day… it was so nice. I miss it."
"We're the same. Both people toyed with by fate. The only difference is, you're still alive. And if you're alive, there's still a chance."
"Take my strength, take my blessing, and go find that man."
"His true name is Kibutsuji Muzan, the progenitor of all Demons. A Demon must never speak its name directly, or a curse will kill it. Remember this well."
"The 'small price' he spoke of… for me, it was pain I could never bear."
"If you get the chance, ask him for me— being a Demon… is it really fun?"
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10+ early chapters on P@treon // Kryzt