Mafumafu stared up at a place that when you looked into the pure clear blue sky above, a stunning pattern of ice float weightlessly, each by each float dancing freely, follow the flowing of the ice wind, carries it to you. The brown tree swayed in the cold winter wind as a chilled squirrel hopped from tree to tree.

The seven-years-old albino looked at it , stunningly and fulled with curious. His hand was rosy red, cold, and stiff, showing on how much time he stayed in the snow, played with his brother. The more red palm grabbed the edge of his scarf, felt shocked with the sudden movements on his scarf, the big round red eyes looked down at the small figures of his brother.

The four-years-old Sou, cutely smile, his cheeks were red. He kneels down and patted the boy's hair. Sou chuckles, happily. What behind his hand was an orange carrot as he sticks it out to the albino. He takes it from him before pushed the edge of the carrot to their snowman, completed their hand-made snowman. Both of the boys' high-five in indeed proud.

Sou holds the albino's hand, ran while dragged the boy along. The albino just let himself being pulled by the younger. The single wooden house stood still in the middle of the mystical snow forest. The man and the women in the yard, blooming a broad smile on their face upon seeing their sons presences.

"Our house", the albino said.

"Hum~!", Sou replied.

"E-Eh Mahu-nyi, why are you crawying?", he continued, titled to the side.

Mafumafu was in the puzzlement, as he touches softly in his eyes area, there's a liquid trailing down.

"E-Eh? Why am I? Eh?"

"Mahu-nyi, Is evewything alright?", he squeezes the older hand.

"Oh I'm okay, it just......just I got a nightmare that everyone is going to leave Onii-Chan alone", he sheepishly laughs.

"B-but I won't!", Sou puffed his cheeks, shut his eyes down, clinging onto the boy's arm.

"No mwatter what happens, Sou would never leave Mahu-nyi alone, that's Sou pwomise to him!", he stated, eyes teary but sincerity showing underneath it.

Mafumafu hugs the small boy, Treasure him in his arms. "If you say so, I will believe you then!".

You would never leave me..

We will always be together.....forever

Everything will always be alright, as long as I had you by my side.

——————————

The black bird swooped down to its nest. Faintly the sounds of its chirping in the blazing midday. The albino unconsciously reacts to the chirping noises or what for him was his nature alarm. He popped open his red orbs, his eyes were full with a drip of tears as he wiped it away, sits on the futon.

That dream earlier...he brought his hand to his chest.

Such a nostalgic...

He scratches his body a bit, felt a bit pain in the back of his neck but soon he felt his body become lighter. The pleasant dream he had earlier cure his pain a bit, he loves this euneirophrenia mostly when he turned the sorrow into a pleasure. Upon seeing the new surrounding, he studied the place a bit. Mesmerized it into his lovely eyes. The place was a small wooden house, that might be a bit old since the wooden materials were dark and exposed to the selected area. The hole was everywhere and there was the single fireplace stood still, burning wildly the fuel to brings the warming up on the small house.

There is a footstep,

Upon hearing the sound of footsteps, he peeks over his shoulder, to the back, and to the wooden door. The middle-aged guy with the red tengu mask and the black haori just like his hair with the white clothes inside made his way towards the albino, placing the wooden plate with the onigiri in it, in front of the albino. He changed a look with the black-haired guy, gulped a bit, the uneasy feeling and anxiety built inside, he hates it so much.

"Sou—my little brother, where is him?", he stutters, avoid the uncomfortable gazed.

The black-haired guy remains silent as his fingers pointing at the bamboo bucket in the corner of the room, he followed the gazed. Nodded slightly before stand up and moved toward the bucket.

Sou was practically wilted into the bucket, sleeping peacefully inside, his body smaller which amazed the albino. But he guesses it's just a demon power Sou's now had, allow him to do whatever he likes with his body. Mafumafu grab the younger hand and give it a squeeze, gave a peck of a kiss in his forehead before dashed back to the futon

The earlier guy was sat on his left side. The pot of the medicine tea and a full plate of Onigiri sat on the wooden floor, but no one was having any. The man spoke, his tone was polite.

"Mafumafu and Your brother over there, Sou, am I right?"

"Y-yes, that's me"

"So Kashitarou brought both of you to me, so I can make you as my new apprentice", he confessed in the curious tone.

"Kashitarou?....", he appealed.

"Wait that masked guy earlier!", his voice rising as being responded by the cold semi-glared sending sharp through his soul.

He sniffled, gazed on the ground. Mutter polite apologized for his rudeness.

The black-haired guy shakes his head before continuing. "So in order to train you, first, I need to test you"

Mafumafu white eyebrows twitching, decided to ask for this one with the pan am smile stayed across his face. "May I ask, What kinds of tests?"

The black-haired guy smile behind his tengu mask, his voice was indeed in the overload excitement. "Well, I'II now proceed to test you to find out if you have what it takes....to be a demon slayer".

"Demon slayer.....", Mafumafu was still in the critical puzzlement stated, all of this was truly a big mess for his brain. Unable to proceed with all the information he got until now. Before he at least can be able to make his mind even a bit the black-haired guy already stands up, staring daggers as the albino shiver in the perhaps fear.

I've got a bad feeling about this and yet he dodged all of it away.

"Mafumafu"

"Y-yes?"

"Follow me!", he said with the simple directness, teetered his way outside as the albino arose afterward and be attacked by the sudden coldness as he brushes it off,

The earlier guy giving a Mafumafu a brief once over, eyebrows furrowed. "Are you ready", his deep voice asking.

The albino nodded but with the blink of eyes, the black-haired man was already a few meters away from him, bolted up the mountain as Mafumafu ran after him, tried to catch up with his incredible pace but it still leaves them a big gap between him and the black-haired.

As their still running up the mountain, Mafumafu stopped at some points, He places his hands on his knees, breathing heavy and labored. It made the gap between them expand further every time he stops over.

Too fast

He's too fast and how does he silence his footsteps like that?

What it seems like a running competition finally finished once they got themselves to the other old house before they hike up the mountain. The albino was panting heavily, sweating all over his face. He can't even feel the warmth in his legs anymore, his head spinning for what it be like 90 degrees. The albino's stamina was eternally great but because of the lack of oxygen considering on how high the mountain was, it made him hard to breathe or to even talk, thanks to the thinner air. The fog started to become thick and thick once they explore deep and more deeper.

"S-So now, d-did I pass the test?", he asked between the hard panting.

"No, better. The test starts now"

The albino shut down his vision, unbelievably cried inside upon hearing his words, tried to consume his energy even with his mentality exhausted.

"Your goal is to return back to my house, in the foothills of the mountain and this time I won't wait until dawn", He instructors, expression was grave, showing to him that he was in the death seriousness before disappeared along with the fog.

No matter how the albino wanted to ask more questions further less but something in his furious gazed told him that he really didn't have any choice left anymore. So instead he shifted from foot to foot.

"That's all, right?", The fog illuminated the sky, the wind howled harshly, slapping gently his face and the snow smashed down without any sign to stop.

"Oh, I think I get it! He might think that I'II lost in this thick fog and what I've to do is just to return before dawn"

"This is going to be easy, I already locked my nose with his scent, I can do this, yes I totally will pass this test", he searches for some sought of a clue.

He made his way back straight away before he can felt something light brushed against his exposed feet. Soon the hard stone strike to his face, magnificently hit directly to the albino's nose. Blood began to run down his nose.

He says nothing as he continues moving until his feet were touched by the same rope and the same hard stone being thrown up to his face, The cause of the sharp shape of the stone cutting and bleeding his forehead. He leans ahead again as this time the big piece of wooden swinging to the side and smashed his body, send him flying away to the single walnut pine tree.

"what just happen?", he blinked, coughing and sulking the air. Eyes on the sky even the fog blocking his sight.

"I see, there are a traps all of the way back", the image of the guy with the tengu mask on his mind. "this is his game, now it's all clear. There's no way the test is going to be a piece of cake huh"

He painfully teetered along the tree, help him to stay stand up since his numb legs are not helping much. Until the same wooden swinging over and directly to him as he reacts quick enough and jumped backward. Sadly everything went black as he found himself falling in the darkness or to the pitfall to be more specific. The high of the pitfall length would more likely kill him but the pile of the soft leaves layers on the end of the pitfall, said otherwise.

He somehow gets out from it and continues his way down the mountain to the more less thin air, and to combat with all the traps that were set well to examine his ability.

Even with the burning lungs gasp like there are the needles in his trachea but he still keeps moving forward with the unsteady legs. Running through the thick hazy fog with his heart that heavy with fear of the upcoming trap.

He wheezes, slaps himself. His sight and full focus were on his way down. His devote was in the maximum number. Made up his mind, filled with chilled spirit, dodged away from the pensive feeling.

"If—If one human had a hand in setting all these traps then their scent will betray them".

"Yes, that's right I can do this, just concentrate on his smell and the trap"

"I can dodge it, all of it. Of course, my body won't grow agile enough"

"But I will pass this test for sure!", he determined, takes the long sniffle, searching for the specific scent in order to return before the dawn.

....

From the darkness came the two pairs of glowing eyes. One was deep blue while the other was silver.

"Do you see that", the first voice asked. The boy with the raven-hair (no sorry this isn't soraru ww) with the haori and clothes full in white asked softly the girl beside him who's her eyes never leave the albino, entertain enough to see how Mafumafu struggle to pass and avoid all the traps.

She had a long white hair which has been combed in the ponytails style, the pink ribbon was tied around, matching well with her pink flower haori.

"Yes, based on the situation it seems like that new boy is the Sensei new apprentice"

"yea...are you going to show yourself to him soon?"

The girl in the thinking poses. "Well if you want it, why not? Besides—", her sharp pupils landed and studied the albino, her pointed chin resting on her tightly clasped hand. She pursued her lips.

" Besides, there's no one can be strong enough to pass the Sensei Glutamine lesson alone", she continued

"That's why we are here to help him out..."

——————————

Glutamine span the blankets and lifting the brown-haired on the futon.

He moved his sight to the side, the single envelope resting on top of the old table as he grabbed it and reread the letter by his ex-student.

Greetings Master Glutamine,

I believe that my Master hasn't died yet~or do you? Www no I'm joking around. Anyway Master I've sent a young man to your way. He had the courage to fight me and had a big hope to become a demon slayer, well at least I thoughts so~

His family was slaughtered by the escaped demon which's actually was under my watch. Sadly, his brother was also transformed into a demon and yet....he appears not to bring any harm to humans. Obviously something distinctly about these two and again I wish you can train him~

Oh, also I'm not sorry for sending him to you, I wish you a good luck in training that boy. You need it since that boy is pretty hard to handle just like you, Master~

Sincerely, your amazing masked apprentice~

He sighed, "Kashitarou....without polite as usual huh, send me a letter with the word full with schmooze".

"The time now..... the sun was almost setting, as I thought that albino boy was no use—"

The sounds of the door being slid open harshly interrupt the black-haired guy from his thoughts as his eyes landed on it, exposing the albino washed with the rosy blood.

"I-I made it back!", He cried out, the browning blood had drizzled down his face like so many snowflakes down a windowpane.

The black-haired guy finally creep out a sincere smile, he said with the humming rhythm~

"You, Young boy I recognize your abilities"