The Chosen one

-Karma-

"Shit, shit, shit! How did this happen!" A red-haired boy runs through the hall of a large Japanese estate in the mountains on a dark moonless night. He arrived home to see flames rage about and bloody mangled corpses of the servants who worked there litter the halls. Looking around he tried to find at least one person alive. "What in the world happened here?" He mumbled to himself as only corpses kept turning up, he just hoped he wouldn't see his family among them. Approaching the dining room he burst through the door to see something more disturbing than he could have ever imagined. His parents, and grandfather lay dead on the floor among more servants having their bodies devoured by a group of people. Looking at them he realized they weren't human, maybe once before but not anymore. Their skin was unnaturally pale, and they sported razor sharp fangs and claws among other distinct oddities. "D-demons? Why are demons here?" The boy said in disbelief, turning to run as the creatures took notice of him.

"A child?" A demon asked in a raspy voice.

"Talent boy… must die too…. we eat…get stronger" Another growled as he stood up and headed after the boy.

"Wait, that's the prodigy Karma. Boss wants that one for himself. Catch him alive, but you can break a few bones if you must." Another of them reminded his ally before devouring more flesh.

The large demon merely grunted an acknowledgement and took a three point stance as his leg muscles bulged intensely and he exploded down the hall with unrealistic speed, especially for his size. Without looking back the Karma ducked and rolled to the side just in time to dodge a hulking fist which devastated the wall before him. When the smoke cleared Karma was gone. "No one here…" The demon looked around and started to lumber down the hallway when Karma jumped down from the rafters stabbing a short sword into the demon's scalp. "AAAAARGH!" The demon cried in pain to have a bomb shoved in his mouth and be forced to bite down. BOOOM it's face was horribly disfigured by the blast. Karma cut off its mangled head and slipped into a hidden passageway under a floor panel as the demon turned to dust.

"Did you hear that?" The demon feasting on Karma's father asked. "Go check on Jogo and make sure he didn't kill the kid." He sent two more demons out to go look around.

"(Mom, Dad, and Gramps are all dead? Killed by just a few low-level demons…that shouldn't be possible, they eat demons like that for breakfast)" Karma thought trying to make sense of what he just saw. "(Still, I didn't see Nagisa and Gakushu in there. Maybe they're hiding somewhere or have even escaped.)" He made up his mind to go find his two missing brothers, starting with the youngest Nagisa. Emerging from underneath a storeroom not far from Nagisa's room, Karma slowly made his way down the hall, pausing at a corner to avoid a passing demon. When he got there, he saw it had ransacked and torn to shreds but no sign of a dead Nagisa. He took a quick look around the room and lightly tapped a spot on the wall four times. After a brief pause a hidden door opened and a small boy with soft facial features (almost like a girl) and shoulder length blue hair opened a hidden door.

"Kar-"before Nagisa could cry out, Karma covered his mouth and shushed him, then stepped inside the hidden room and closed the door.

"Keep quiet, ok?" Karma waited until Nagisa nodded his head in agreement. "Demons have overrun the estate, and everyone is dead. As far as I know there's only us and Shu left."

"Big brother…it's just us." Nagisa answered.

"What do you mean? Have you seen Shu?" Karma asked trying to keep calm.

"Ga- Gakushu did this… He became a demon and brought them here with him to kill all of us, especially you…"

"Huh? I know he doesn't like me but this… this is madness. He has to be stopped." Karma said clenching his fist so tight they started to bleed. "I'll kill him myself."

"I can't even count how many times I've said that about you." A smug voice came from the other side of the trap door.

"Nagisa look out!" Karma went to grab him just as a huge impact burst through the door sending them crashing through the wall and into the courtyard. When Karma looked up he saw his demonized older brother standing over them. His sadistic smile now filled with dagger like teeth.

He hopped out of the hole in the wall casually giving off a murderous aura that made it hard for his younger brothers to breath. "What's up Karma? Nagisa? Like my new look?" His skin had lost all color as well and black circular patterns ran under his eyes like a stream of tears and three more circles were above both of his eyebrows. His pale violet eyes were now framed with red sclera and his short hair was now a very pale pink. Not to mention his already well-trained body was even more defined now, as veins bulged out of his muscles.

"Gakushu…you really became a demon? How could you do this to your own family?" Karma asked in shock.

"Can you really call this a family? We're merely tools raised for killing. What does it matter if I choose to go about it this way? They didn't see my point of view so they did the only thing a parent should do, sacrifice themselves for my growth." He said rubbing his stomach. "Human flesh honestly isn't so bad. I could get used to it." He said as his evil grin widened, and he licked his lips. "Now it's your turn."

"I'll kill you!" Karma said as his murderous glare fixed on his brother. He grit his teeth as his skin started to turn a deep red and veins bulged out from his skin. Karma rushed his brother going beyond full force straight for his throat, but Gakushu was able to grab his arm easily. A tight squeeze he broke Karma's arm. Karma dropped the blade and caught it in his other hand continuing to try and decapitate Gakushu.

Even that was futile, two fingers stopped Karma's blade as a smug look crossed Gakushu's face. "Not good enough little brother. You always could use the removal technique better than anyone of us, mother thought you might be the first to reach one hundred percent of your inner power in her entire lineage. Father on the other hand thought you could maybe even awaken a nen ability, something that hasn't happened since our clan's founder. A never-before-seen miracle of talent…Not me, but you…they were talking about making you the next clan head!" Gakushu angered himself at that thought. "All those hopes once rested on me, they believed I was the future of the Zoldyck clan. That was until you came along and took that from me. But now, with this I am on top again." Gakushu extended his claws to finish Karma, but the look in Karma's eye angered him even more. "How dare you look at me like that, with those vile condescending eyes. Don't you dare look down on me, I'M STRONGER THAN YOU!" Gakushu kicked Karma across the yard as his skin also turned red and he rushed forward. Karma stood up only to see Gakushu swinging at him, which he barely dodged.

Using his blade to try and deflect at oncoming onslaught of punches and kicks Karma struggled to maintain a defense when a heavy uppercut knocked him off of his feet and a leaping heel-drop planted him deep into the ground. Violently coughing up blood, all Karma could do while trying to retain consciousness was hold on to his brother's leg.

"Let go you piece of shit!" Gakushu tore his leg free and was about to stomp his head in when a teary eyed Nagisa approached him.

"Big brother…please stop. You don't have to do this. We always looked up to you…we should be working together, right?"

Gakushu lowered his guard to his baby brother. "Nagisa. I never had any intention of killing you, you're still my dear little brother. Come here let me make you strong like me, and we'll build a new Zoldyck clan as it should be."

Nagisa nodded yes and stepped forward. "Nagisa! Don't… do it!" Karma squeezed out before Gakushu pressed down harder.

"Shut it Karma." Gakushu said as he was about to take Nagisa into his embrace. No one noticed the blade Nagisa had picked up, and at the last second, he sliced Gakushu's throat open. Blood sprayed everywhere as the demonized eldest brother stumbled backwards. "Why you little-"

"You idiot!" The three of us were the future of the Zoldyck clan. That's what it should have been like! I can't believe you thought I'd really join you!" Nagisa said firmly standing between his two older brothers, blade at the ready.

"I should have seen this coming," Gakushu laughed off his disappointment as his throat closed. "You were already shaping up to be the best assassin of us three. Mother and Father spoiled you too. What a shame it must end this way." He started his approach as his nails sharpened into long claws.

"Gakushu don't…Nagisa…run…" Karma said with the last of his breath before fainting, but Nagisa stood his ground and Gakushu kept his steady advance.

"It's too late. DIE!" As Gakushu swung his hand, a flying blade cut it off. He jumped back across the yard from his brothers. "Who did that?! Show yourself!" Gakushu yelled into the dark as his hand was replaced with a new one.

The spinning blade continued its curving path, returning to a man standing on the rooftop. He wore a sleeveless demon slayer uniform with golden bands on his exposed arms, a white headwrap covered most of his hair, and a circular red pattern was painted around one of his eyes. "Picking on children? There's nothing flashy about that at all, but then again, I don't expect a demon like you to understand what that means. From here on your opponent will be none other than Tengen Uzui! The god of festivals has arrived!" He proclaims striking a flashy pose.

Gakushu could hear the sound of others fighting across the estate. It was only a matter of time before backup arrived "(A hashira? He has plenty of help inside too…) Fine, if you insist on getting in my way, I'll just have to kill you too demon slayer. COME!"