The light tapping of footsteps was all that could be heard in the darkness. A young boy with bright flowing red hair and curious red eyes could be seen walking in the void. He knew this place all too well since there was a bright smile on his face. Two glowing figures of females appeared and hugged the boy. The young boy held onto them tightly before a voice called out to him.

"Y/n! Hey, Y/n! It's time to wake up!" A young girl said with a wide smile on her face as she shook the boy awake.

"Huh? Yuki? Give me 10 more minutes." Y/n said sleepily and wanted to go back to the darkness.

"Come on, Y/n. Don't you always say he who desires, but acts not, breeds pestilence?" A young boy with brown hair asked and Y/n groaned.

"I hate it when you use my words against me. Fine! I am up." Y/n then sat up on his bed and saw his childhood friend and brother.

"Come on! We have to go and train. And also, Celis is coming!" Yuki said happily and Y/n chuckled.

"Okay, okay. I'm up. Now out you go. Let me at least clean up."

Once Basara and Yuki had left his room, Y/n began to clean it as well as himself up and got dressed in clothes that he was able to move comfortably in. He left his room and went into the dining room to see Yuki and Basara as well as his other friends.

"G-Good morning, Y-Y/n-san." Yuki's younger sister Kurumi said shyly and Y/n pat her head.

She turned bright red and everyone in the room giggled at her reaction.

"Hey, Y/n. Are you ready for training?" Y/n's friend Takashi asked with a grin.

Y/n could only sigh softly.

"I would prefer to read, but I have no say in the matter."

Since they are still young, Y/n and the rest of the children in the Village of Heroes had to undergo intense training so that once they were older, they would be able to protect the world from Demonic forces. Y/n hated it, but his father, Jin Toujou, was able to convince him to do it for Basara and his friends since it seemed like they enjoyed spending time with him.

Once they were finished talking, they then left the Toujou house and made their way to the training grounds.

"Ah. It seems that the people from the Vatican has arrived." Y/n said to himself as he looked at the people wearing white robes with golden accessories.

Every year, the different districts of the Hero clan would gather together and exchange combat and tactics. A young girl with brilliant blonde hair then noticed Y/n and his group and she waved while running up to them.

"Y/n! Basara! Yuki! Kurumi!" The girl shouted happily.'

"Celis-nee! It's good to see you again!" Kurumi said happily and hugged the blonde girl.

"Yo. Celis-chan." Y/n said with a wave and Celis smiled brightly while tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

"H-Hey, Y/n. It's nice to see you again." She said with a blush on her face.

An Old man then walked up to the group along with one of the Vatican commanders.

"Toujou Y/n. This year, we would like for you to spar with Celis here instead of Basara." The elder asked and Y/n stood straight.

"It would be an honour." Y/n said with a polite and respectful tone.

"My, my. What manners." The commander said with a smile on her face.

Y/n and Celis were then led to the training grounds and given wooden swords. The two then got into a fighting stance and the children cheered them on.

"So that is one of the sons of War God Jin Toujou?" The commander asked curiously and the elder nodded his head.

"Hai. That is correct. We've decided to let him spare with the young Celis to see how he is doing. He and his brother really are the children of Jin." The elder said with a smile on his face.

Celis charged towards Y/n who held his sword tightly and she raised hers over her head. She swung her sword down, but Y/n barely moved out of the way. Her eyes widened when she missed by just a few centimetres. Y/n swiped his sword at her body, but she was able to avoid it just in time by jumping backwards.

"Uhwah! Y/n is really taking this serious!" Basara said with wide eyes as he looked at his brother's calm face.

"I want to fight him next." Takashi said with a grin on his face.

As they watched Y/n battel against Celis, a blush made its way onto Yuki's face and Kurumi cheered loudly.

'Come on, Y/n. Show them what you got.' Yuki thought as she held her trembling heart to her chest.

Y/n the went to swipe at Celis's legs but she jumped over it and spun around, aiming to kick him. Seeing the kick coming, Y/n bent down slightly and her foot just missed his face. Before she could recover, while still bending his body, Y/n spun around and swept Celis's feet and she fell onto her back. She wanted to get up as fast as she could but it was already over. Y/n's weapon sword pointed at her face. She looked at Y/n's fierce eyes but calm face and her heart began to beat uncontrollably.

"Good match." Y/n said with a smile on his face and reached his hand out to her.

Celis took his hand and he pulled her up.

"Y-Yeah. G-Good match." She said with a red face and Y/n looked at in concern.

"Are you okay? Your face is red." Y/n then put his forehead against Celis's and her face turned even redder to the point where steam blew out from her ears.

"E-E-Eh?! U-Uhm!!!"

"That is enough flirting for now, lovebirds." The Commander said with a smirk on her face and looked confused until he realized what he was doing.

"Huh?! OH! S-Sorry!" He said apologetically and jumped back.

Yuki walked up to him with a pout and grabbed his ear.

"OWOWOWOWO!!!! Yuki! Not the ears!" Y/n said in pain.

"Y/n ecchi." Kurumi said with a blush and Y/n began to cry anime tears.

Everyone around them began to laugh and giggle as Yuki kept her pout and Y/n tried his best to talk his way out. After a few hours had gone by, it was time for the Hero clan of the Vatican to leave.

"Uhm. I guess I'll see you next year again?" Celis asked a bit sadly and Y/n nodded his head.

"Yeah. In the meantime when you are bored or something, you can read this." Y/n said with a smile and handed her a book. "Song of the Innocence and the Experience by William Blake. One of my favourite writers."

Celis took the book in her hands and beamed happily.

"Thank you so much, Y/n! I'll treasure it!"

She then surprised everyone when she kissed his cheek. Y/n blushed and he put his hand to his red cheek.

"Y-Yeah....Y-Your welcome." Y/n said softly.

"Bye...Y/n."

The Vatican Heroes then left the village but Y/n kept staring at their retreating figure with his hand on his cheek. The wind blew and Y/n's crimson hair swayed. A smile made its way onto his face and he walked back to the Toujou household. He had decided to take a well-deserved bath after a long day of training with Celis and the others.

Y/n washed the dirt out of crimson locks and sighed in bliss as he felt the warm water on his skin. The bathroom door suddenly opened and his eyes went wide when the door suddenly opened.

"Eh?" He asked himself and looked at the door see a naked Yuki. "EH?! AGAIN?!" He asked shocked and Yuki walked towards him.

"Y/n." She said with a straight face and he gulped nervously.

"H-Hai?"

"I'm bathing with you." Yuki said with a glare and Y/n looked down, knowing that she would not take no as an answer.

"Hai." he said depressed and she stood behind him.

"I'll wash your hair." She said and began to wash his hair.

Y/n sighed with depression.

'Why does she always have to do this? I can bath on my own!' He thought as Yuki's finger trailed through his hair. "Uhm....Yuki. Do you always to join me?"

"Hai." Yuki said with a straight voice and Y/n sweatdropped.

Once she rinsed of his hair, Yuki and Y/n sat in the tub with Yuki sitting on a blushing Y/n's lap. It was awkward for him and he tried his best to stay away from Yuki's nude body.

"Neh. Y/n." Yuki started and she turned her head slightly to look at him. "Do you like Celis?" She asked.

Y/n's eyes widened before he spat out saliva and began to cough.

"W-What?! N-No I don't! W-What makes you think that?!" Y/n asked shocked and Yuki shook her head with a smile.

"No reason..." She said simply and Y/n kept his gaze on the back of her head.

It was the next day, and Y/n was called to meet with the village elders. Y/n walked up to the large traditional Japanese home that was in the middle of the Village. Once he had entered, Y/n sat on his knees in front of the three elders.

"Ah. Y/n. Thank you for coming." Atsuta, the balding male dressed in a blue short-sleeved hoodie said with a smile on his face and the other two nodded.

"Yes. Yesterday was a splendid performance. The Vatican certainly approved of your fight against Celis." Fuji, the elderly man with long black hair and beard dressed in a light purple kimono, said with a smile on his face.

"Ah. Right. Your father, Jin, is returning tomorrow, am I right?" The third elder, Kumano asked and Y/n nodded his head.

"Really. You and your brother are just like him." Atsuta said in a nostalgic tone and Y/n secretly balled his fists.

'Stop comparing me to him.' Y/n thought angrily.

For as long as he could remember, Y/n and Basara were always being compared to their father. Toujou Jin was great at many things, so a lot was expected from his sons. As the elders continued to talk about Jin, Y/n spoke loud enough to cut into their conversation.

"What did you call me here for, Elders?" Y/n asked a little annoyed and they furrowed their brows at the disrespect.

"Right. Normally, we would until you were a bit older, but we have decided." Fuji said and immediately, the air went serious.

"We have decided that we will be sending you on a mission." Kumano said and Y/n eyes widened in shock.

"A....mission?" Y/n asked and they nodded their heads.

"Yes. But this mission should be held with utmost secrecy. None of your friends or family needs to know of this."

To Atsuta's words, Y/n gulped nervously and tried his best to look serious.

"Hai...I...understand."

"Very well. Normally, we would give these kinds of missions to seasoned warriors. But perhaps you wouldn't have any problems with it. In a cursed Temple a few miles from here rests a sword that is able to cut through time and space." Kumano said and showed Y/n an old looking scroll.

"With this weapon in the Hero's hands, we will be able to protect the human world just as we have done for generations...but should it fall into the Demon's hands. Our world could be over." Atsuta said with a serious tone and Y/n looked shocked. "If you are able to retrieve this weapon. Toujou Y/n. Your feats will be known across the Hero clans and you would be feared by many Demons."

"Do you accept?" The three elders asked.

Y/n looked at them before looking back at the scroll.

Y/n huffed a little as he walked through a very dense forest. The trees were tall and dark, letting no sunlight in. The forest had a dark presence that made the boy feel a little sick. There were no animals around and the grass looked as if it was decaying. He came to a stop when he saw numerous glowing red eyes in the darkness.

"ShAll YOu bE tHE ONE?" A distorted voice asked and from the darkness stepped out strange-looking beasts.

The looked like a mix between a Demonic dragon and a wolf. They also had four wings and one long sharp tail with spikes on their spines. On top of the beast's head, were two cut off horns that blew out a strange blue energy. Their hand legs, as well as their front legs, had strange blue ethereal blades.

"I'm here for the sword." Y/n said with a serious face as the beasts began to circle him.

"HeHEhEhehE. WhAT mAkES yOU ThINk iT WIlL cHOoSe yOu?" The beasts asked at the same time.

"I....don't know." Y/n said softly and he balled his fists. "I'm nothing special. I don't even have a goal for my life....So....Maybe that sword will be the answer." He said and all the beasts burst into simultaneous laughter.

"YoU DOn'T kNoW WHaT yOU wAnt In yOuR lIFE. pErHaPS tHe SWoRd cAn aNSweR."

The beasts then made way for Y/n and he could see a crumbling temple. Will still keeping his guard up, Y/n walked past the beasts and up the stairs that lead to the temple. With a loud creak, Y/n opened the broken doors and his eyes widened. Inside of the temple floated a katana with blue energy surrounding it.

With slow and steady steps, Y/n walked towards the weapon, but upon closer inspection, he frowned when he saw the katana was split in two.

"What the hell is this?!" Y/n asked out loud. "What do I do now? The sword is broken...what are the elders gonna think?" he asked himself and then sighed.

Y/n then stared at the floating sword with an unreadable expression on his face. He then thought back to what the beasts said and slowly he walked towards the split sword. With trembling hands, he reached forward and gulped nervously.

"Argh. Screw it." Y/n said with a shrug and grabbed the white hilt of the sword.

Suddenly, Y/n began to scream in pain and the sword began to grow very bright. It was so bright that the entire dark forest was lit up. Images then began to flow through his head.

The first image was a dark room back in the Hero village. A man walked up to a silver sword and when he grasped the hilt, he began to scream out in pain. His eyes then began to turn purple and a crazed look made its way onto his face. Once he left the room, he began to slaughter the villages, whether they were young or old, it didn't matter to him.

And then, the next image was of Yuki and Basara trying to escape from the crazed man. Y/n's eyes widened and immediately he let go of the hilt of the katana.

"Basara! Yuki!" Y/n said worried and ran out of the temple.

He ran past the beasts, not caring if they were going to attack him or not. It wasn't important. The one thing that mattered to him now was the safety of his friends and family. He didn't care if what he saw fake or not, or whether the elder would be disappointed that he failed his mission.

It was not long before Y/n had reached the village. His eyes went wide when he saw corpses all over. Men. Females. Young and old. Whoever did this didn't care. His eyes perked up when he heard the children scream not too far from where he was.

"The training grounds!"

Y/n ran at full speed towards the training grounds just to see the mentors who tried to protect the children get cut down like they were nothing. In front of the group of children, Y/n could see Yuki and Basara running away. Basara looked back at the beast of a man and his eyes widened when he saw him mercilessly cut down a few children. Their blood splattered onto the ground and onto Yuki and Basara's clothes. The Possessed man stood over Yuki and Basara with a sadistic grin and raised the silver sword over his head.

"BASARA! YUKI!!" Y/n shouted and reached his hand out to them.

It felt like time had slowed down for all of them. Slowly, the silver sword came down and Basara's eyes widened.

Back at the crumbling temple, the broken katana began to glow brightly and the beasts howled at their loudest. The two pieces of the katana then reattached together and looked as if it was brand new. The howling beasts all turned into orbs and floated into the weapon.

Suddenly, the katana disappeared from the temple and appeared in Y/n's outstretched hand. he didn't even realize that the blade was in his hand since he was more concerned about Basara and Yuki. The next thing Y/n knew, he was right next to Basara despite being far away. Basara shielded his eyes and then....

Everything went black...

A slim man with brown hair and glasses could be seen walking towards the village of Heroes. A sigh left his lips and lit a cigarette before putting it to his mouth.

"Haaah. Those old geezers. Sending me on missions all the time. Keeping me away from my children." The man said annoyed and blew out a big puff of smoke.

Then wind then began to whip violently and the man held his hand by his face.

"The hell?" he asked softly.

His eyes widened when a giant explosion could be seen within the distance.

"That! Y/n! Basara!" He said in concern and then at blinding speeds he ran towards the Village.

Once he arrived in the village in less than a few seconds, he stood over a massive crater.

"No..." He said with shock in his voice.

In the middle of the crater Y/n could be seen barely standing and in front of him stood Basara with the silver sword in his hands. Yuki laid behind Y/n unconscious. The katana in Y/n's hand then glowed slightly before disappearing. Instead, it took form on Y/n's left hand as a reptilian-scaled arm from the elbow down.

"Y/n! Basara!" The man shouted and jumped down into the crater.

The man then caught the falling Basara and then looked at Y/n.

"T-Tou...san." Y/n said slowly before he too fell unconscious.

"They should be executed!" Atsuta said pointing Y/n and Basara who had blank faces as they sat on their knees in the village square.

Many of the villages agreed to the elder's statement.

"Not only did Basara destroy nearly half of the village, but Y/n also has Demon blood!" Kumano said and once again, the village cheered and glared at the two boys.

"How are we supposed to bury our children and family if there is not even a trance of them?!" One woman asked angrily as tears flowed down her cheeks.

"How can all of you say that?!" Said a man wearing Japanese styled clothing with an eyepatch over his left eye. "If it wasn't for Y/n and Basara, Seito would've killed everyone in the village before Jin had even arrived!" He said and Yuki as well as Kurumi held onto his legs.

Some of the villagers who weren't glaring daggers at the boys agreed with him.

"I still stand by their execution. Basara's power out of control!"

"Oi, oi! That is my children you are talking about." the two boy's father, Toujou Jin, said with a glare and they all gulped nervously.

"Then what do you suggest?" Atsuta asked with a frown.

Jin then looked at Y/n and Basara who still held no emotion and then sighed.

"I....Then how about exiling them." Jin said and multiple gasps were heard.

Takashi hid behind a tree and balled his fists in anger.

'Okaa-san!' He thought with tears in his eyes.

"Of course, I will be leaving with them." Jin continued and everyone went dead silent.

The elders then all came together and began to discuss what was going to happen. Y/n, however, didn't care. Instead, he looked at his bandaged left arm that was in a sling. He balled his fists in anger.

'Demon? It can't be. My father is Jin Toujou, a human...My mother is...Who is my mother?' Y/n thought and looked at his father who kept his gaze on the Elders.

"We've come to a decision." Atsuta said and everyone tensed up.

"We've decided that Y/n as well as Basara Toujou...will be exiled from the Hero Village and never to return for as long as they live." Fuji said and gasps were heard.

Basara's eyes widened in pure shock but Y/n kept a straight face. Kurumi and Yuki bean to ball their eyes out and held onto their father and mother tightly.

"Then it is decided." Jin said and looked at his sons. "Come on. Let's go." He said with a sad smile.

Once they were finished packing their stuff, Y/n and Basara walked past the sealing chambers on their way out.

"Are, are? Are you leaving?" A young boys asked and from the sealing chamber bars, he stuck his head out.

"Yeah. See you never, Shiba." Y/n said with a straight face and Shiba smiled creepily.

"Bye. See you soon, Y/n-kun."

Once outside of the village, Basara looked back in sadness but Y/n kept his gaze forward.

"Y/n...Basara..." Yuki said sadly as she watched the two walked off with their father.

"HOLD ON, BASARA! Y/N!" Takashi's voice could be heard and he ran up to them. "Are...are you two really leaving the village!? You're running away?!" He asked and Basara looked down.

"Takashi...It's the Elder's decision to Exile us from the village, so-" Jin started but Takashi cut him off.

"Such a thing...say it doesn't matter!!" He shouted and Basara looked away.

"Sorry...Takashi..." Basara said softly and Takashi looked at Y/n.

"Everyone's gone...if you go away too...what...what am I going to do?" Takashi asked with tears flowing down his cheeks.

"Takashi." Y/n said and looked at him coldly. "Get stronger. Overcome your weakness...That is all we can do now."

Perhaps Y/n was speaking to himself, but it made Takashi's eyes widen. Y/n, Basara and Jin then finally walked away. Leaving the life they knew behind. After an hour's walk from the village, Y/n suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Y/n? What's wrong?" Jin asked looking over his shoulder.

"Who is our mother?" Y/n asked and instantly Jin tensed up. "Where is our mother?"

"Y/n. I don't want to talk about this now." Jin said looking away and Y/n glared at him.

"The Elders said I have Demon blood in me! Is it because of my mother?! Is she a Demon?! Are we just Demon whore's children?!" Y/n asked angrily and Jin looked enraged.

Jin then smacked Y/n across the face and he fell to the ground holding his cheek.

"T-Tousan." Basara said nervously.

"Don't you ever say something like that again! Do you understand me?! Your mother loves you and your brother with all of her heart!"

"Then where is she?" Y/n asked slowly standing up.

"She's dead." Jin said looking away.

"No she isn't. If she was, you would've said she loved us, not loves. You are hiding something from us." Y/n said with a glare.

"Y/n. I do not want to talk about this." Jin said and began to walk again.

"Fine then....I'll find her myself."

Jin stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned to his son.

"What?" he asked with wide eyes.

"I said I will find her myself. You and Basara can just go hide in a small town and forget about everything that has happened here but I won't!" Y/n then took off the sling and the bandages off his left arm and glared at his father. "I will use this power to find my mother while you two go and rot."

"Y/n! Stop this immediately!" Jin ordered.

Y/n then turned and began to walk in a different path. Basara's eyes widened in shock and tears began to well in his eyes.

"Y/n...Don't go..." Basara said softly.

"Y/n! Return this instant!" Jin said with a trembling voice but Y/n kept walking in the forest...

Until...

His figure disappeared into the darkness...

'I'll find you, mom. I promise I will.' Y/n thought with determination in his glowing red eyes.