Hachisaku-Sama

The first thing that Sanemi notices when he stepped a foot in this village was, 'I was too late'.

He saw that people were having a solemn, saddened look. The men were having dark shadow cast over their face and the women were whispering, some even had their eyes puffy and red due tears. The strangest thing was that there were no kids or teenagers whenever he looked. Only adults.

Strange.

He suspects some kids mayhaps did bad things and get grounded, he thinks some wealthy kids might be send off to study in the big city, but the rest? Where did they go? Don't tell him the Demons had eaten them all. No. That's impossible. No matter how long the Demon had been hunting in this village, no way he/she/it/whatever could kill all children and teenagers.

So what happened?

"Hey, You!"

Sanemi turned around and see a man looking down on him with a frown on his face. The mere sight of it had Sanemi bristled. This almost reminded him of his first mission where everyone looks at him with hatred and disgust just because he's different. And thus, he can't help himself but snap, "What do you want?!"

The man glared. "Don't give me that attitude brat! Go back to your home!"

Ha? What is this shitty old man saying about? "What the Fuck you mean?"

"Language!"

"I say what I fucking want!"

"Grrr... you...!"

"Alright alright, two of you, cut it off." An even old man come between them. That was when Sanemi realized they've been making a scene. People were staring and whispering. To make things worse, they more focused on HIM. The fuck is their problem?! He had just arrived, dammit! Was his luck THAT bad he stumbled at two xenophobic villages?

"Kid." The old geezer addressed him. Sanemi bites back response to say he's an adult. "What are you doing out there? It's dangerous. You should head back home."

...

...

...

What...

WHAT THE HELL?! WHY IS HE TREATED LIKE SOME KIND OF FREAKIN' TODDLER?!

"EXCUSE ME?!" He shouted. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! I'M NOT SOME KIND OF BRATTY BRAT! DON'T TREAT ME LIKE ONE!"

HE IS NOT A KID! He is seventeen! He is a fully-fledged adult, in age and in law! He was old enough to participate in Demon Slayer Final Selection! He had killed (Demons) and he was more than capable of taking care of himself! Where in the ever-loving hell is his respect?!

"Ahh..." The old geezer looked at him. "You're new to here?"

"So what?!"

The old geezer looks unphased. Probably had experienced. "Have you find lodging?"

"Why do you care?!"

"I take as a no." OI! Even though it was true, don't make assumptions! "Come, I'll lend you my house."

"Wha—hey! Don't just make a decision! Unhand me HEY!"

It was futile. Sanemi was dragged off somewhere by the old man. Oh. Of course, he can break free if he wants to, but by doing so he will have to hurt the old geezer. At least dislocating his shoulders and giving him one hella backache. In full view of citizens. Not the best impression. But because he didn't fight back, he made an impression of a misbehaving brat.

He gnashed his teeth. This was worse than his first mission! At least there he was just hated, here, he was treated like a kid! So infuriating! So humiliating!

The old geezer brought him to a rather well off house, the one with the second floor. An old woman was sweeping the hall. She paused when they come inside the property. Then she seems to understand something. They went inside and locked the door, with the woman placed a charm on the door.

Uh, woman? Hello? Not like Sanemi want to be a dick or something... but what you need is Wisteria, you know? Unless the charm was written with ink mixed with highly concentrated Wisteria essence, it won't do jack shit against Demon.

"Boy." Again? He is a man you know? A young man is fine but not a boy! "Have you seen a tall woman with a white dress?"

Huh? "No. Haven't seen any."

"How about hearing a sound like this," the old woman coughed and deepens her voice, "Po po po po"

"No. Am I supposed to?" What the hell with those questions?

"Oh good." Huh. "It's good. You're safe."

Without any more thing to say, Sanemi was pushed into a room. Leaving him befuddled and with even more questions than before.

"What the everloving fuck happened here?"

"What is fuck?" Sanemi turned and found a young preteen girl. She must have really long hair if she had to pull them into a bun. The girl looks at him with innocent eyes.

"Uhh... something a lady should not say." Sanemi stammered awkwardly. Crap. He hoped the old geezers didn't know or they gonna have his hide. "Sorry, but I have a really weird day. I'm only arrived in less than an hour and fu—everyone treating me like a kid. And what was those weird question supposed to mean?!" He messed up his hair.

"What question?"

"A tall lady with a white dress or weird laugh."

"Was it 'Po po po po' in deep voice?"

"Yeah. You know about it?"

The girl frowned. "Well... I heard it was Hachisaku-sama."

Finally! A straight answer! "Hachisaku-sama?" Inquired Sanemi, sitting closer to the girl, but still keep a respectful distance. "Who or what was that?"

"It was a rumor." Answered the girl. "About a very very very tall lady."

"Tell me about it?"

The girl nodded.

"U-uhm... so, I heard about things from Jii-san and baa-san. They said there was a taaaaalll lady. About Eight Feet, so we call her Hachisaku-sama." Well. That was one tall woman. "They said, a kid was walking home late. Then on the road, he heard a weird voice akin to a man said Po Po Po repeatedly. The kid turned around and saw a lady in white kimono and a wide hat covering her face. It was that lady who makes a weird sound. The lady is veery tall because the kid saw her between the tall fence. The rumor said you can see her hat above the fence but the fence is eight feet tall!"

Sanemi nodded. Yep. Demon. No human is THAT tall. Not even those foreigners whose standard height is above locals. Demons, however, are freak of nature. Compares to what sort of weird-ass monster he had slain, insanely tall woman is barely rated "meh".

"What's next? I mean, what the kid do next?"

"Well..." the girl playing with her thumb. "Uhh... oh right. The kid was about to approach the tall lady, but his parents found him and bring him home. When the kid looked back, the tall lady was gone as if she was never there. The kid told his parents, who didn't take it seriously. Calling him hallucinating or something."

Of course. Adults looked down on kid oh so much. Why do you think Sanemi hated to be treated like a child?

"Then?"

"Then... the kid was gone."

Oi oi! Don't dump the bad end just like that! "What happened?! He can't just go poofed out of existence just like that."

The girl slumped. "But people said that's what happens." She replied. "One morning and the kid was just gone. His parents search for him everywhere but he was nowhere to be found."

"And the adults become weird?" That was a huge leap of logic. People suspect it was a bad joke, then they become worried an alerted the local authority. Then call for open search. When logic does no longer applied, they finally blame the supernaturals.

"Well..." The girl chewed her lips. "I've heard the Hachisaku-sama haunted this area. Not just this village, but neighboring Village as well. Jii-san said the next village had sightings of Hachisaku-sama... and one kid and two teenagers were gone from their bed, even though people were guarding. They said Hachisaku-sama was heading to this village."

"So this Hachisaku-sama targeted kids and teenagers?"

"Yep."

No wonder no kids and teens were wandering around. But doesn't people know Demon can only go out at night? No. But Sanemi is an adult for Amaterasu's sake! Or, well, close to an adult. Is seventeen still not adult enough here?

Sanemi ruffles up his hair. Fuck. Okay. He can't blame people for being paranoid and overbearing to the point of caging up their kid. He got it, he got it. Had it happens in Namimori, he would do the same to his brother and cousins. Even though Genya, Tanjiro, and Nezuko has the same training as him, he would still be worried.

It doesn't mean he likes it.

Especially since the Demon can break into a person's house. The charm did jack shit. What they need is Wisteria Incense. And Sanemi didn't see any Wisteria on his way here!

He had to do something. But what?!

"Aaahh! What do you want? Get off!"

Huh? That sounds like the old geezer. But why is he shouting?

Curious, Sanemi get up and went to see what happens. Through the window, he saw that the Old man was trying to gently shoo off a crow. A very familiar crow.

"Oh. That's mine." He said, opening the door, much to the old man's displeasure, and lifted his hand. The crow landed safely in his hand. "See? He is a good boy."

The old man huffed and pushed Sanemi inside. "You could have warned us. I don't know people still use bird messenger nowadays, with electricity and phones. Or normal post-man."

"That big city. A small village like this doesn't have any." Japan is modernized, yes, but it took time and money. The government prioritizes big and important cities before a backwater village. "That, and even if it did, the bill would be insanely high. Post-man would take a long time, too."

"...you will tell me when you want to set your bird off."

Sanemi rolled his eyes. Geez. Protective much and to stranger nonetheless. He knew paranoia can make people gone bonker, but at least do some background check! Especially when he has a young granddaughter! They're lucky it was Sanemi and not some shady no-good-doer who gonna take advantage. Ugh!

Also, tone down the protectiveness will he?! Seriously! When during the dinner the girl declared she need to go to the back (read: lavatory), the granny followed her? And she furiously yelled that it was uncomfortable when the granny didn't even let her closed the toilet's door? For real? That's a privacy breach over there!

Sanemi can't look at the girl for the rest of the night. He stuffed his mouth full before retreating for the night. Stealing some sashimi to feed his kasugai crow with.

The bird accepted it before fly out, making a nest somewhere. Sanemi rolled his eyes. Not even a thank you? What a rude bird.

He burns some wisteria incense and went to sleep early...

...and wake up when his instinct screamed a trespasser.

He doesn't know what hour it was, but since he wakes up refreshed, it was somewhere around after midnight before sunrise.

There's a knock on his the wall outside his room.

Who it can be—

"Young man?" The old man called in. Sanemi freezes. "Are you awake? There's something I need to talk about. Would you please come out?"

Sanemi twitched. Who the fuck thinking waking him up in... whatever ungodly hour this was... was a good idea?! That was rude! Rude!

The knock becomes persistent. Sanemi had half a mind to open the door and yelled at the old geezer. Or he could just escape from the window. Wait. Scratch that idea. His ankle had just healed. He can't jump off from two stories floor. He hasn't learned that particular art of jumping and landing. He can't risk his health. So he just quietly rolled to the corner, where he has an advantage view to observe if anyone, anything, enter the room but they can't straight up seeing him.

After long, long hours, the knocking finally stopped. Sanemi was about to back to sleep when he heard a rooster crowing from distance.

Whelp. Morning is here.

This was one hell of an annoying night. And yes. He includes seven nights in Fujikasane.

He makes sure to told the old geezer, "I don't care how paranoid you are but your nightly round is becoming annoying."

In which he got a reply, "I'm sorry but it was a necessity. I'll try to not disturb your sleep."

"You better be."

~X~

Surprise Surprise. The old man didn't keep his promise.

Sanemi was found awake at ungodly hours when there was an insistent knocking outside his room the next night. And the night after.

And he was not allowed to stroll out during the daytime. He had to sneak out. And if anyone found him, they tried to guilt-tripping him into obedience (which failed) and dragged him back inside.

Fuckers.

Can't they take hints that he was not a goddamn kid?! He even yelled at them that whoever the fuck this Hachisakusama is, she probably only out at nighttime! Come on, the rumor said the kid saw her at night, and the said kid was disappeared before morning. It was obvious that the Demon, Ghost, whatever, come out during the night.

But you know, adults. They don't take him seriously.

And the knocking was. Still. There.

Sanemi was tearing off his hair. So much time... being wasted. Had he was allowed to search for any clue, he could have already moved to his next mission! Seriously! This is a new record how long it took him to finish one mission... and he hasn't made any progress!

Finally, he can't take it anymore.

"Would it kill you to cut it off?!" He explodes. "Do you know how creepy it was to knock on the wall at Night?! See this eyebags? This is because you don't give me time to rest! I swear if my hair isn't naturally this color they would've gone white!"

Silence. There was only a pitter-patter sound of rain (storm) hitting the roof.

"What do you mean?"

Sanemi scowled. "Aren't you the one who make a ruckus in the unholy hour? You knock the walls outside my room till the dawn, for Kami-sama's sake! I swear your nightly round makes no sense! Your granddaughter also agree that it was beyond ridiculous!"

"I didn't do it." The old man frowned. "Are you sure you aren't dreaming, young man?"

"Of course." Sanemi was used to switching between sound asleep to fully awake and ready to fight. "You called out to me, too, remember?"

"I didn't." Ha? "I'm making rounds around the village with other men. I did not remember coming upstairs or knocking the wall."

Wait.

"Hold up a minute. Are you sure you were outside during after midnight to the dawn?"

"I may be old but I still can do patrols. I have witness. And last night all the family head was called for a meeting in the city hall till after midnight. After that, I follow some men fixed the damn since the weather was bad, even if they insist I go home due to my age."

The knocking last night was much, much longer than the usual, but it also ends an hour before the dawn. Enough so that Sanemi can sneak out... and he didn't see the old man until the dawn... or so. It's raining heavily outside.

"So you were not here." Sanemi frowned. "If it was not you, and there are no other men in this house aside from us, so who it could... be..." His eyes widened in horror.

The knocking from the walls outside his room. They were so loud and so insistent Sanemi didn't try to find out where did they come. It could have come from the wall next to the window.

This Hachisaku-sama was named after her height. Eight feet. Tall enough to reach his floor.

Hachisaku-sama has the voice of a man, not a woman.

Hachisaku-sama targets children and teenagers. Sanemi was considered a not-yet adult here.

Holy. Shit.

THAT was the Hachisaku-sama?! He had the target outside his damn room this entire time and he didn't realize it? Either he was very very lucky or very very unlucky. She must be attracted to his Marechi and made him her target. The only reason why she didn't break in was that he burnt some Wisteria Incense, which repels Demon. That's why she pretends to be the old man in an attempt to lure him out.

It begets the Question: HOW did she fit herself in? She was Eight Feet Tall. Can she shrink? And why did no one notice? You would think someone would see her inside—

Inside.

The lightning zapped at outside. Hammering down the weight of this situation.

Inside is not safe. Sanemi knew the charm did shit. And Hachisaku-sama lures u her victim by pretending to be (male) relatives or friends.

Someone else must be heard the ruckus.

Hachisaku-sama stopped making ruckus much earlier and it must be not because she sensed the old man returning. Demon doesn't care about a witness. That means...

"Where's your granddaughter?"

The silence and the rapidly paling face was damning.

~X~

The village was in chaos.

A girl had been abducted. The monster that terrorizes the village can play pretend to lure her victim away. The granny was discovered knocked out cold with blood running down from her head. She currently was resting. All able-bodied men were sent out to find the monster and saved the girl before it was too late.

As usual, Sanemi was not allowed to go out, but he snuck out.

He stole one of the grey raincoats and a wide hat. The hat covered his hair and the upper half of his face, making him looks like a rather short man. This allows him to blends in.

The sky is dark. No sun in sight. Demons can come out at times like this. The storm slowed down the search by erasing the trace.

Sanemi uses the crow to find anything that was wearing a white dress. Well, hopefully not white with blood splatter on it yet. The crow scout from the sky, trying to find the target amidst the storm. Sanemi trying to navigate through the land.

"...st...! Est...!"

"LOUDER!" Sanemi shouted. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU! THE STORM IS TOO LOUD! SCREAM LOUDER!"

"SOUTHWEST! THERE'S SOMETHING WHITE IN THE SOUTHWEST!"

"I'M DIRECTION BLIND HERE! SHOW ME WHICH WAY IS SOUTHWEST!"

The crow makes some frustrated noise, which the storm drowns out before descends down and lead Sanemi. By pecking and pulling him by ear.

Had it was not an urgent situation, Sanemi would call it abuse.

The Crow led him to a secluded cave deep, deep in the forest. It was hard to see, but Sanemi can make an outline of the cave mouth. Worrying for the worst, he approached.

Yet it didn't take him three steps before his instinct SCREAMED to GET THE FUCK AWAY. He quickly dropped to the ground and rolled. Ignoring how the mud now stained the raincoat. The hat fell down, destroyed.

There was someone before him. A very tall woman wearing white kimono akin to burial kimono yet only ended below the knee. Her long black wild and untamed, and her eyes were black, empty as if someone had taken out her eyes leaving empty socket behind, with mouth stretched into deranged crescent moon grin, filled with sharp teeth.

The woman—Demon—let out a masculine sound before moved to grab Sanemi.

Sanemi unsheathed his longer sword and cut off the arm. The action resulting in the Demon let out a strange sound. A loud screeches that more like a bear roar than anything. She attacks him blindly, only to meet a barrage of slash. Frustrated, the Demon makes the mistake of bending down so she can grab him easier.

Sanemi stabs her in the head with one of his shorter blades. The pain was enough to make the Demon retreated, howling like the damned.

Breath of the Sun: First For—

A sudden roar of thunder broke Sanemi's concentration, surprising him that he lost his footings on the muddy, slippery grounds. He fell backward and rolling down the slope before he stopped when his back hit a rather big tree.

"Augh!" He cried in pain, before forcing himself to stood up.

This is going to leave bruises.

Stupid slippery slope.

Something black headed towards him. Sanemi dodges them, albeit slower than he would like.

It was hair. The demon's hair turned into whip-like. And she continuously attacked Sanemi without giving him a room to breathe, let alone making counter-attack.

Normally Sanemi won't have so much problem, but the storm troubled him. Without the hat, the rain enters his eyes, making his eyes watered and his vision blurred, not to mention the storm noise drown any other sounds. He had to go with instinct and Flame alarm. The slippery ground totally did not help!

And he thought the battle in ship hull was bad. This was worse!

"!"

Sanemi nearly screamed when he lost focus for a split second, and next thing he knows he was dangled upside down by his ankle. Before he can do something, anything, the other hair wrapped themselves around him like a rope. The Demon got him, shit! Sanemi struggles as he called forth for his Flame.

"Gurk!"

Yet another tendril wrapped themselves around his neck. Cutting his air supply.

Shit... can't breathe... Sanemi tried to loosen the bindings, or at least get his arms free. But the Demon apparently learned her lesson and forcibly yank the sword away from his grasp. Leaving him defenseless, gasping for air, and at mercy of the demon.

Oh. Don't forget he was suspended upside down, making all the blood flow in reverse, which DOESN'T HELP AT ALL! It actually made him even dizzier!

Help came from the most unexpected source.

Sanemi almost blacked out, when he heard someone... something... cursing, and the Demon screeches. The hair moves wildly and loosens its binding. Sending Sanemi flying. He failed to land on his feet and instead send crashing headfirst to a tree.

He swears he saw stars.

Blinking rapidly to re-oriented himself, Sanemi narrowed his eyes.

His crow was messing with the Demon. Crowing and cursing while trying to dodge the hair tendrils. There was blood dripping from his claw and a rapidly healing gash on the Demon's wound.

He was soo going to treat him nicely from today onwards.

Using the chance, Sanemi takes out his other short swords. Holding one in each hand as he running towards the Demon.

Please don't let it be another failure... Breath of the Sun...

He cut all the hair tendrils before leap and swung the swords. The Demon realizes it and attempt to intercept, yet the Crow keeps making a nuisance of himself thus dividing her attention. Giving Sanemi all time he needs.

...First Form: Dance!

SPLAT!

The blood splattered across Sanemi's face and in front of his uniform, before the rain washed them away. The head falls off and vanished into black ashes, with the body soon follow.

Sanemi panted. His vision blurred and his head throbbing like someone use it as Festival Taiko. When he's holding his hand, his finger can trace the bulging veins near his temple. A little pressure is all Sanemi needs to know his blood was flowing a bit too fast. His stomach also rebels, now that the adrenaline was going down.

Still, there are things to be done before he can crash down.

He hasn't found the girl yet.

"Hey." He called out to the crow. "Mind telling the adults? About the cave whereabout?"

~X~

He managed to sneak back without anyone being the wiser, using the girl's discovery as cover. He washed out the dirt from his uniform and hang them in the back, before grabbing a book and pretending he never left.

Despite the girl was found safe and sound, everyone hasn't tone down their overprotective nature, and the constant warning and spiels make Sanemi's headache even worse.

He can't take it anymore. The cloying well-meaning adults, he can't deal with them anymore. Under the excuse of being exhausted (true), Sanemi retires early and pretend to be asleep, only to put on the uniform (clean, but definitely wet) in the middle of the night and sneaking out after leaving notes and some money. Running as fast as he could despite the chilly wind biting down on him.

It was not the best course of action.

That was yesterday and the consequences of running away in the middle of the night without a proper rest start to catch up to him.

Sanemi's headache growing worse. So bad he can hear his blood rushing in the veins and he can feel his own heartbeat. He had to use his sword as a walking stick less he fell down. His whole body groaned in protest every time he took another step. His legs feel like lead. Everything feels so fucking hot and so damn cold at the same time.

Fever. He was running on a fever.

To make things worse, his Crow didn't tell me where to go. It nagging him to go ahead and pulling on his sleeve.

At least it shut up. Sanemi doesn't think he can take any more noise. His head felt like someone take a blacksmith hammer and hitting it against his skull. It hurts. It hurt so badly he wants to vomit. He feels so damn weak.

"Ngghh..."

His vision blurred.

THUD!

He crashed against someone in the intersecting road. It was not even a bad collision, but Sanemi haven't had anything as he would just puke them back, and the fever drained his strength. The medicine didn't work as intended.

Someone caught him before he landed on the floor. Sanemi was too tired to say sorry.

"You're sick." A cool, cold voice said.

The last thing he saw was a mismatched Haori. Half red half patterned.

TBC

A/N: The Demon this chapter is taken from Creepypasta Hachisaku-Sama. Look at it on the internet! It was a tale about a little girl who visited her grandparents, but encountering Eight Feet Tall Monster Lady (Hachisaku roughly translated as Eight Feet). She has to be rescued from Hachisaku-sama and afterward was not allowed to return to Japan, even as she grows up and becomes an adult.

Poor Sanemi, got sick so soon after mission complete. Well, that was what you got if you running in the middle of the night wearing wet clothes. Demon Slayer uniform is rip and tear-resistant. Not waterproof.

On the plus side, say hi to your teammate for the next mission.

Fun Fact: Do you know that while handstand could relieve pressure on your lower half? But since it will reverse the flow of blood in your body (or so the internet says), don't do it too long. It also NOT recommended for people who suffering from brain injury, spinal issues, or high blood pressure.

Less than fun fact: Suspended upside down too long can cause the blood pooling in your heard, risking clot forming and raising blood pressure. It will cause strain in your heart and blood vessel.