3 Kiyoshi's Death
In a dojo, two men could be seen practicing. While the older man looked at him seriously, the younger man had a slight advantage in the fight.
Today is November 17, 2001 and six months have passed since I came here.
In the news, it has been reported that the demons have been unusually active lately, attacking citizens for no apparent reason. However, in this part of Tokyo all has remained relatively quiet.
*BOOM*
Multiple sounds of impacts could be heard in the dojo where the older one was sparring with the younger one, who seemed to dominate the fight.
Despite his young age, the boy was already around 1.50 meters tall, quite tall for his age, and had well-developed musculature.
*BOOM*
Clad in a black kimono, the older man parried a palm strike covered in negative energy that his young disciple sent at him, causing him to step back slightly.
"You're strong, you damn brat. To think that in six months you learned everything I had to show you and now you just need to perfect it," the older one said with a voice arrogant and proud of his disciple's progress.
Quickly launching a kick, the old man smiled as Toji, his bold young disciple evaded his kick. This bold young man who had appeared out of nowhere one day with prodigious control over negative energy had grown into a dangerous little warrior.
"But you still have a long way to go." Reappearing behind him on the right side of him after Toji dodged his kick, the old man spoke.
Toji turned around and instinctively covered his body with cursed energy, creating a guard with arms raised in the shape of a cross in front of his face.
*BOOM*
Toji, who was facing his master, was sent flying after receiving a powerful palm strike, landing several meters away before recovering with a small bruise that was quickly healed by the cursed energy.
The old man calmly walked out of the training area, which was a wooden room completely illuminated by sunlight, along with three training dummies on the floor that were used to practice swordsmanship. He just smiled.
Breathing heavily, Toji defused the cursed energy from him and began to take deep breaths to calm himself down.
"Old Kiyoshi, you're stronger than me, but rest assured, as Toji Fushiguro, I swear I'll kick your ol' ass one day," Toji said with a cocky voice and a smile on his face.
During the time he spent with the old Kiyoshi and his granddaughter, he discovered and planned some things.
1. the cursed energy from him, for some reason, is immense but it's being suppressed by some kind of seal.
2. The old man used to be a lonely demon hunter. This means that he was one of the many veterans who killed demons on his behalf at a time when the Hunter Association was extremely ineffective.
3. His Inventory Curse tattoo of him has been stealing some of the cursed energy from him and absorbing it into himself.
4. The US government has been using his "weapons" intensively and reaping great benefits from them.
5. He will not look for Makima and will try to avoid her as much as possible now that she is in the hands of the politicians, at least until he unlocks the curse from the inventory.
As they were about to continue their fight, a soft but authoritative voice rang out, shaking the two 'men' in the courtyard.
"Enough fighting, you two. Go eat dinner." The 5-year-old girl and only "woman" in the house, and therefore the only one who can command them as she pleases, she spoke like a mother scolding her children.
Sighing in resignation, the 'men' of the house followed the girl as they went to her not-so-humble kitchen, which was made of marble and equipped with top-of-the-line kitchenware.
Sitting on the ground in front of them was a bowl of Yakisoba soup with many ingredients (use your imagination) in front of them.
Toji, looking at those he considered his family, couldn't help but remember his mother from his previous life.
"The US government has been using their weapons excessively and increasing people's fear of them, which worries me," Kiyoshi said as he looked at his disciple, who nodded with a thoughtful expression.
"Don't you think that some demon might emerge from those fears, right?" Toji said with a slightly worried look on his face.
'In the manga, the Demon Weapon attacked all of Japan, killing at least 56,000 people in 26 damn seconds, but the bad part is that they didn't specify where the traces of the Demon's flesh fell or where it attacked.'
The old man simply nodded resignedly and looked at him with a hint of concern.
"That could happen, and the worst part is that if it does, the bastard will be powerful as hell," Kiyoshi said before slowly savoring his Yakisoba.
Toji also drank his Yakisoba at the same pace as Kiyoshi.
Seeing that Toji was doing this slightly faster than him, Kiyoshi increased his speed, causing Toji to do the same, and they began a competition.
In less than 3 seconds, Toji had finished his Yakisoba, and Kiyoshi almost choked trying to keep up.
Seeing Kiyoshi choking, Toji, who had his Yakisoba in his mouth, almost spat it out from the urge to laugh. But when he looked at the one he had ironically nicknamed the "Little Angel," her staring at him as if the devil had possessed her and simply swallowed his Yakisoba with a wink.
The girl, upon seeing this, blushed as if she had been tickled, her entire face turning red as she tried to cover her face with her hands.
Toji, upon seeing her reaction, burst into laughter, making the girl blush even more.
Kiyoshi, seeing his granddaughter being charmed by this rogue, gave him a knock on the head that almost made him smash his head against the table.
The day passed as usual until evening.
On the tatami mat in the room, Toji and Kiyoshi were drinking their tea, each of them wearing a Yukata, with a small round table separating them.
Kiyoshi wore a white Yukata, while Toji wore a black one, and the darkness of the room was settled behind them. The two men looked at each other with a serious and somewhat determined look in their eyes.
"Toji, I want you to promise me something," Kiyoshi said as he looked at his tea and took a sip.
"I know what you want, old man, and I'll do it, don't doubt that," Toji said with a serious look on his face.
"You must protect her at all costs," Kiyoshi said with a more serious tone.
"I will," Toji said, looking him directly in the eyes.
"No matter that we are demons, you are stronger than her, and I have no doubt that in the future, you will surpass me. They will come for my granddaughter in a month. Please, protect her," Kiyoshi said as he coughed up some blood into his handkerchief.
"Without a doubt, Master," Toji said as he bowed respectfully to the man who was his master.
Old man Kiyoshi was surprised and smiled mockingly, though deep down, he was relieved to see Toji's seriousness and respect.
"You can be respectful for once, you brat," Kiyoshi said with a mocking smile.
(November 18, 2001, 8:58 PM)
In the backyard, Toji and Nakame were gazing at the starry sky as they sat under a tree, their young faces filled with peaceful passion.
Nakame, who had placed her head on Toji's shoulder, watched the sky with him and asked, "Do you think there will be a better future without evil, just peace?"
"While good exists, evil will never go away. Evil has existed in humanity for a long time, and it's something that will never disappear. If you believe there can be peace in a world where power is everything, you're naive," Toji said, sounding far beyond his 5 years.
Sighing, Nakame turned to feel her grandfather's presence watching them from the tatami in the house, with a soft smile on his face.
Standing up to see her grandfather, Nakame approached him with a smile.
**BOOM**
A powerful explosion obliterated the house where Kiyoshi was and sent Nakame flying, nearly crashing into the tree, but Toji caught her in time.
Both of them were left traumatized as they witnessed massive chunks of flesh and sudden explosions raining down everywhere.
The place where Kiyoshi had been, and where Toji and Nakame had undoubtedly spent their best days, was utterly destroyed.
**BOOM**
**BOOM**
While they watched, with an emotionless expression on Toji's part but filled with anger, and on Nakame's part with terror and tears streaming down her face.
"GRANDFAAAAATHER!" Snapping out of her shock and crying with palpable pain, Nakame did a horrifying scream of agony that made Toji shudder slightly.
Knocking her out, Toji grabbed Nakame in his arms and, using cursed energy, shielded both himself and his master's granddaughter as he shot out of the house at an incredible speed, pushing his body to its limits.
**BOOM**
**PULSE**
**PULSE**
**PULSE**
Amidst the sounds of explosions and collapses in a moment of unknown danger, his Cursed Inventory tattoo began to pulse strongly, gradually siphoning his cursed energy and leaving him gradually weak.
End of Ch
