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The ‘Mu’ in ‘Muichiro’ stands for ‘useless’.
That’s what Yuichiro reminded his twin brother every chance he got. He had to. So he wouldn’t turn out like their father.
How stupid their father was to go out in a storm to look for herbs. Herbs for their mother’s sickness which ended up claiming her life the same night he died. What if he had just waited? Would things be different?
Would they have at least one parent- then? Maybe then they wouldn’t be taking care of themselves at the young age of 10. Anger and resentment settled deep in the older twin’s chest. If not for that stupid sickness— they wouldn’t be in this situation. He wouldn’t have to make food for themselves every night since his twin didn’t have any idea how to cook nor the attention span to learn.
He tried one time and one time only.
“Muichiro—god— are you listening?” Yuichiro shouted, slamming his fist against the cutting board. He watched Muichiro jump and his eyes turn back to the knife and radishes in front of him. He had been zoned out, looking straight out at nothing in particular. He swallowed nervously and nodded. “Y-Yes nii-san,” he mumbled. Oh my god. Yuichiro had to swallow his anger to avoid lashing out. He lifted his hand off the cutting board (it ached from hitting the cutting board, but he wouldn’t admit that) and glanced at Muichiro.
There was a pause before the younger twin finally picked up the knife. He hesitantly looked at Yuichiro, who raised an eyebrow and urged him to start. And after what seemed like ages he began to chop up the radishes.
Thank god. Yuichiro was beginning to think it would never get done. It was another hot day, which meant they only had leftovers from previous hunts to work with. It’s days like these that his temper is particularly short. The heat seeps into his bones and makes his chest heavy— not to mention sweaty— in a way that feels like he’s suffocating.
And of course Muichiro always has to be extra irritating, constantly bringing up their parents or their future. How was he supposed to know? He was just as lost as Muichiro. But it’s not like he could let that be known. He was older (“only by a few minutes!” Muichiro would whine whenever he brought it up), and therefore had to be the strong and responsible one.
But he was still a kid himself.
Yuichiro, slightly satisfied that they were making progress, began to peel the potatoes. Things were going smoothly for a few minutes- he was even beginning to think they could have a decent night.
…..
Until he could no longer hear the sound of chopping. He internally groaned and peered next to him where Muichiro was SUPPOSED to be cutting the radishes. Instead, the knife was still and his arms were by his sides.His eyes were right back to gazing out like before. The anger that seemed to settle in Yuichiro’s heart began to pump into his veins and makes his fists clench. He set down the last potato he was halfway done peeling and his knife. He waited to see if maybe Muichiro would notice.
He wanted to give his infuriating little brother another chance. He for once didn’t want to go to bed fuming and the room tense. He waited one second. Then 15. Then 30. Still out of it. He gritted his teeth together.
Yuichiro didn’t even have to time to think as he reached up and grabbed Muichiro’s left shoulder and swung it to force him to face him. Muichiro’s glazed eyes immediately went wide and he let out a shocked yelp. “Yuichiro-“ Muichiro started, but Yuichiro was already starting. “Are you serious?! You can’t even focus for five damn minutes to cut a few vegetables?” He snapped.
Muichiro flinched and stepped back. “N-Nii-chan, i’m sorry, I-“ he whimpered as he was cut off once again. Yuichiro was just shouting things now. Anything that came to his brain. He just needed to get this anger out. He NEEDED Muichiro to understand how frustrating this was for him. Why couldn’t he get it through his head? Why was he so naive? So forgiving— so much like them?
“The ‘Mu’ in ‘Muichiro’ stands for useless!” He finished with. He ignored the sting of tears that bloomed behind his eyes and turned back to the cutting board. Muichiro was silent, but out of the corner of his eye he could see his shoulders shaking. He pretended not to notice. “Just go do something else. Leave me alone- I don’t care. I’ll finish it since you clearly can’t.” He demanded. Muichiro lingered for a beat before turning around.
Yuichiro glared at the radishes like they had done him wrong and lifted the knife. He hated the way his hand shook. He hated the way guilt and regret seeped into his finger tips right after their fights.
That was the last time Muichiro tried to help with dinner.
🫧𓇼𓏲*ੈ✩‧₊˚🎐
It’s the middle of summer. The air is heavy and sticky, leaving your skin slick with salty sweat. The heat doesn’t falter, even after the sun’s gone away. At night, the cicadas sing their midnight song. Yuichiro and Muichiro are experiencing one of these summer nights. a month ago, they turned 11. Their first birthday without their parents.
It was hard to say the least.
Yuichiro turned to lay on his back, his blanket long discarded. The heat was almost overwhelming. Neither of them could sleep. Sweat gathered on his brow and made his bangs cling to his forehead. There was a very slight breeze from the open door, which was the only thing that kept them from overheating.
He lost track of time a while ago. But if he were to guess, he would say it’s around 1 am. The two couldn’t stop tossing and turning. It was a nightly occurrence this time of year. The lack of sleep left them both irritable and moody.
They hadn’t been talking to each other lately, though. This lady that called herself ‘Amane’—had been coming up the mountain every few days to tell them that their ‘chosen’ to become demon slayers. Which was ridiculous. Not the fact that demons existed— but the fact that Muichiro wanted to become a slayer so bad.
The kid couldn’t even cook rice or chop vegetables. What made him think he could kill those beasts for a living?
Eventually of course, Yuichiro got tired of hearing Muichiro yap about it and seeing that odd ladies face. So- he did the only sensible thing a moody 11 year old could do in this situation. He threw water at her. Muichiro didn’t like that, which caused a huge fight. Tonight marks the third day of them not speaking to each other. The tension is so thick you could cut through it like butter.
Yuichiro was pulled from his thoughts when he heard shuffling. He peeked his eyes open, his teal eyes slowly drifting to the form of Muichiro getting out of his futon. He couldn’t blame him- the heat made him restless too. He watched the boy grab the wooden spoon and scoop up warm water from a bucket.
He closed his eyes again, letting out a slight sigh. Muichiro tipped the spoon to his chapped lips and took in the water. His dry mouth slowly went away, but the feeling of warm water made him cringe a little. He chugged it down and exhaled in relief after swallowing the last bit. The younger boy slowly zoned out, letting another old memory play in his mind like a movie. He saw his parents, smiling and definitely not dead, guiding him and Yuichiro to the river nearby. Everyone is happy- even Yuichiro. Theres no scowl that doesn’t fit a boy his age.
Before everything went wrong. Muichiro wanted to go back. He missed that Yuichiro. He missed his brother. The one that didn’t hate him. The one that didn’t either yell at him everyday or ignore him completely. Where did he go?
He was so wrapped up in his own mind, he didn’t notice the entity right in front of him that entered the room. Not at first, at least.
As the memory ended, their dark, tiny house came back into view. He blinked and looked up from the floor, prepared to head back to bed. Thats when he saw it. Some… guy? Was standing right in front of him. Was it a hunter? He didn’t look like your normal guy though.. he had an odd mark on his left cheek and his hands looked deformed- from what he could make out in the dark.
Muichiro gasped upon meeting his eyes, his grip on the spoon faltering just enough for it to slide out of his hand. “Whats this, just a couple of kids?” The guy(?) grunted, more to himself than either Muichiro or Yuichiro.
Before Muichiro could even think of a response, the guy lifted his clawed (clawed?!) hand up and began to step towards him. The younger twin completely froze, his eyes slightly wide. What did this hunter want? Why did his hands look like that—
“MUICHIRO!”
Yuichiro’s voice. And then quick footsteps.
…
All he did was blink. It only took a second. But apparently, that was enough time for everything to go wrong. Yuichiro had ran in front of him just as the guy raised his arm up in the air and swung.
A horrible sound ripped through the air. Like meat being torn apart.
Muichiro didn’t know what he saw first.
The arm that flew past his head,
Blood spraying across the floor—
Or the man’s face.
The face of something that wasn’t human. A loud, pained scream erupted from Yuichiro, where his shaky hand was clutching his shoulder where his arm once was. The older twin swayed before curling into himself and hitting the floor on his knees.
Muichiro’s body finally caught up to his mind and met Yuichiro on the ground. All he could hear was Yuichiro’s pained screams and thick blood pouring onto the floor. “Nii-san,!!” Muichiro gasped, his arms hovering above Yuichiro’s hunched over frame. He was rocking back and forth, repeating ‘ow’ again and again. “Let me see— Yuichiro, let me see!-“ the younger begged, his eyes blown about as wide as they could go.
A menacing laugh erupted from the thing above them, and it was only then Muichiro remembered it was there. The sound was horrid. It came from all things evil, and the sound would haunt his mind forever.
He couldn’t stand to hear it anymore. Nor could he stand to hear Yuichiro’s cries of anguish. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around Yuichiro’s torso and began to pull both himself and his twin brother up at once. Now- Muichiro has never been very strong. He could barely carry the firewood back to their house. Yuichiro had always been the stronger one. So how he found the strength to lift them both up at once? He wasn’t sure.
But he wasn’t gonna sit there and think about it. Yuichiro stumbled to his feet, still desperately grabbing his shoulder.
It felt like they were moving in slow motion. Like when you’re in a dream and can’t seem to run any faster than a few steps an hour. Yuichiro leaned forward, stumbling. Muichiro was barely able to catch him, a gasp escaping him. They couldn’t afford to fall. Not now. He wrapped one of his arms around his shaking brother’s back to help him stay up.
Muichiro hoisted himself up on the platform to their futons, letting Yuichiro lean on his knees on the edge for a second. He only had to let go of him for a second.
But fear spiked through him as he did so. He pushed himself to stand and then bent down to lift Yuichiro up onto the platform himself. Yuichiro’s hand slipped and what looked like a gallon of blood to Muichiro waterfalled onto the ground.
How much blood loss was too much?
As they stumbled and tripped across the room, Muichiro’s mind raced. Why was this happening? Why was this happening to them? They shouldn’t have left the door open. They should’ve dealt with the heat. Then this wouldn’t be happening. They’d be fast asleep and completely safe. Yuichiro wouldn’t be hurt.
Yuichiro’s voice was hoarse as he sobbed, tears rolling down his cheeks at a pace Muichiro has never seen before. His heart ached, seeing his brother hurt like that. He’s never seen him like this. He was always strong and stubborn. He never cried or showed how much he was hurting. So seeing that same boy reduced to a sobbing, bleeding mess was terrifying.
Muichiro directed them to a corner, and that was clearly a good decision on his part because just then Yuichiro’s legs gave out. He leaned forward, cries still escaping his lips despite them being muffled into his knees.
The younger twin quickly turned to sit in front of him, his arms wrapping around the boy’s hunched back in a protective manner. “Nii-san..!! You’re okay- it’s gonna be okay!..” Muichiro rambled on, trying to convince himself more than Yuichiro. Because- how was everything going to be okay? Yuichiro was missing an arm!
“Shut up! Quit your whining! You’re just a couple of tree cutters!” The beast groaned, stepping up on the platform and toward them. No. No! He couldn’t let it get near. But what could he do? He was a skinny 11 year old with absolutely no body strength whatsoever.
Was there even anything to be done? Was he supposed to just accept his fate?
There was so much he still wanted to do. He still wanted to be a demon slayer. Even if Yuichiro would disapprove- Muichiro wouldn’t care. He wants things to go back to normal.
Muichiro’s eyes were glued to the creature that walked up to them, his teal eyes wide and glossy. The sound of his heartbeat pounding in his ears. Yuichiro’s quivered pleads rang in his ears. The thing kept talking. Kept ranting about how useless and weak they were. How they were going to die a meaningless death.
Muichiro never got mad. Never. He’s always been a sensitive boy. No matter what, he was soft spoken and never yelled at anyone. Not even Yuichiro had insulted their deceased father. He couldn’t bring himself to get mad. It didn’t feel right.
But now, as he stared at the cruel man speaking, he only had one thought.
How dare he?
How dare he hurt his sweet nii-san? How dare he make his brother cry and bleed?
Rage splintered throughout his body, seeping into his arms and legs. He felt numb and tingly. This feeling was foreign to him. He squeezed Yuichiro tightly as something began to bubble up to the surface. It climbed through his chest cavity and ascend up his throat.
A bitter taste spread across his tongue as he screamed. He screamed in pure anger, ripping his throat raw. All he heard was himself.
The next couple hours he doesn’t remember. He just blacked out.
He woke up to the bright light of the sun. At some point, he had gone outside. He looked up at the bright sky, blood dripping from all over his body. The adrenaline slowly drained from his veins as he glanced back down to the ground. Below him was the creature. There were numerous weapons and boulders crushing every one of its limbs. It was still twitching as if it still weren’t dead.
Muichiro’s mind was fogged. If it weren’t, he might’ve contemplated why it was still alive. He realized there was weight in his hands and dropped two butcher knives he didn’t even know he had in his grip.
He slowly turned around, and in front of him was his house. A trail of blood led from his spot to inside the house. Yuichiro. He was still in there! He took a step forward, and instantly made contact with the dirt. It was like a thousand pounds was suddenly dropped on his back. His body was so fatigued he could barely move. But he had to. His brother was in there, hurt and alone. So he began to drag himself across the dirt. Despite being so close to the house, it took him an hour to make it inside.
Blood was splattered across the room, painting the stone walls a deep, sickening red. His tired eyes shot around the room in search of a certain black and teal haired boy. Finally, his gaze rested on a lifeless body on his futon.
Yuichiro!
He let out a strangled gasp and began to drag his weight over to him. He grabbed onto the edge of the platform in front of the futon and lifted himself up.
Yuichiro’s eyes were dull. Once a bright teal, now a dulled blue. If not for the sight of his mouth moving, Muichiro would’ve thought he was dead. “Y-Yu..” he trailed off, the exhaustion making it hard to even speak. He rested on one arm, sitting up to be able to hear his brother better.
“Please God, anyone listening… spare my brother. He didn’t… do anything wrong.” Yuichiro whispered. His voice was so little that if Muichiro wasn’t straining to listen he wouldn’t have been able to hear him. What was he praying for? Everything was alright now. The evil man was gone. “He just.. wanted to save people. I got in his way. He’s always been… a good kid.” Yuichiro gasped. His breathing was erratic and barely there. He was clearly forcing the words out of his mouth.
Muichiro’s lip quivered. He didn’t want Yuichiro to blame himself anymore. He didn’t have to. Muichiro let out a low whine, but the sound didn’t make it to the older twin. He didn’t even notice Muichiro was there. Part of him wanted to scream and shout until Yuichiro’s flickering eyes finally rested upon him.
“I know.. now.” Yuichiro began, pausing to let out a staggering exhale. “I’ve known.. all this time. The ‘Mu’ in ‘Muichiro’…” he inhaled.
Muichiro’s tired eyes widened and tears quickly clouded his vision.
“means infinity.” Yuichiro finally got out. And just then, it finally clicked. Yuichiro had never hated him. He had loved him and was looking out for him this whole time. Muichiro’s tears finally bubbled over the line and dripped down his cheeks. He gritted his teeth and reached out towards Yuichiro. He weakly grasped his hand, and almost retracted. His skin was cold. Way too cold for summer. Their bloody hands met, and Muichiro put the remaining amount of his strength to squeeze his hand.
He let out a sob, watching the light leave Yuichiro’s eyes. He watched his brother’s chest still, no longer rising. All color drained from his face, leaving him the empty shell of his twin brother. Muichiro shook his head, his heart aching in a way that made him want to throw up. This wasn’t happening. Just hours before… they were okay.
Yuichiro was dead. But that mangled body in front of Muichiro wasn’t his brother. Yuichiro was somewhere else. Probably chopping wood or grumbling about something that annoyed him. That was the Yuichiro that Muichiro knew, not the one in front of him.
Over the course of three days, Muichiro had to experience horrors no one—especially an 11 year old— should have to. He watched his twin brother rot. He weakly watched as his skin turned into a sickly grey color, Muichiro’s lively but pale skin contrasting heavily next to Yuichiro’s. The older twin’s body was small, leading him to decompose quickly. Maggots began to gather on Yuichiro, digging holes in his arms and legs.
Muichiro wanted to scream at them to quit. To stop because that’s his brother and you’re hurting him.
On the third day, the maggots began to eat on Muichiro too. He had no more strength or will to live. He let it happen. His eyes met with Yuichiro’s grey ones, staring at them as white filled his vision. Right before losing consciousness he heard yelling and people rushing in.
Two brothers died that day. But only one of them stopped breathing.
…..