~??? ???? ????~

Muichiro set off for the mission. Ginko led him the entire way, knowing that he'd get lost without her help. Upon arrival, it was clear that something was off. A usually busy village looked abandoned.

There were no lights, no people, and no activity. One would think that no one even lived there at all! Muichiro looked around at his surroundings. It was a bit unsettling to see how empty the village looked.

According to Ginko, there have been villages under attack every night. One after another, the villages stood empty. This was the work of no ordinary demon. It had to be an Upper Moon. 'But which Upper Moon could have done this...?' Muichiro wondered, as he walked around the village.

He noticed some slashes on the walls of one of the houses. 'That looks like it was done by a sword... There must be an Upper Moon that wields a sword... I should be careful...' Muichiro took a closer look at the slashes. 'Yeah, that was definitely made by a sword...'

As he continued making his way through the village, Muichiro noticed blood splatters either on the walls or on the floors of the houses. Muichiro kept walking but came to a stop when he saw a figure in the distance.

It seemed to be a man standing in the village... but everyone had either evacuated or had been killed... and this man didn't have the presence of any normal human... he had to be the demon.

Muichiro froze completely when the figure turned around, seeming to sense Muichiro's presence. Muichiro's eyes widened as he saw just who he was up against. It was an Upper Moon, Upper Moon One.

"You... Demon Slayer... your name... what is it?" Muichiro took a second to think before he replied to the Upper Moon. "Tokito Muichiro..." The demon thought for a moment. "I see... so the Tsugikuni name must have died out over time..."

Muichiro was confused. 'Tsugikuni? Who's that?' The demon spoke to him once more: "My name before I was turned into a demon... was Mitchikatsu Tsugikuni... and you, Muichiro, are a descendant of my son whom I left behind... so you... are my descendant."

Muichiro's eyes widened once again as his mind raced. 'Me? A descendant of Upper Moon One?! That can't be possible... What would Yui think about this? We've been working so hard to eradicate demons... and now I found out that we're descendants of a demon?! The second most powerful one, at that!'

Muichiro's hands were shaking as he rested them on the hilt of his katana, ready to fight. He calmed his nerves and drew his sword, deciding to attack the Upper Moon.

Upper Moon One watched as Muichiro looked ready to attack. He noticed how Muichiro was shaking a bit before, but managed to calm his nerves. He looked no older than 13, but still managed to calm himself. 'What more would I expect from my descendent?'

Muichiro ran towards the Upper Moon, ready to attack him. 'Mist breathing, second form; eight-layered mist!' The attack didn't even faze the Upper Moon as he just complimented him instead. "Mist breathing, I see... Not too bad... You were even able to calm your nerves before attacking me... Impressive for someone your age."

Muichiro didn't respond as he prepared for his next attack. 'Mist breathing, fifth form; sea of clouds and haze!' The Upper Moon was yet again left unscathed. "I should... draw my blade as well... It would be poor etiquette not to."

Upper Moon One drew his blade, which was longer than an average katana and had eyes covering it. Muichiro was about to attack, but ceased when a line of crescent moons flew towards him, cutting his hand off in the process.

Muichiro panicked for a moment, as he didn't know what to do. He could now only fight with one hand, but he also needed to stop himself from bleeding out. Muichiro ripped a piece of his uniform and tied it around his arm to try and stop the bleeding.

He went in for another attack, but more crescent moons flew his way. Muichiro tried to dodge them but got slashed on the shoulder. He faltered for a second before going through with an attack. 'Mist breathing, seventh form; obscuring clouds!'

Muichiro ran around, disappearing in the mist and moving at high speeds, before reappearing and seeming to be moving slowly. It was a move specially created to disorient enemies by making him appear slower than he actually was.

This trick didn't seem to work on Upper One because he found where Muichiro was hiding fairly quickly and sent another herd of crescents towards him. Muichiro's leg was slashed by a crescent, which caused him to falter once again.

Muichiro slashed at the Upper Moon, but narrowly missed his neck. Upper One still seemed unfazed by the attacks. He sent more crescent moons flying towards Muichiro, a few of them hitting him.

Muichiro got slashed by the crescents on his arm and on his other leg. He was losing blood quickly and knew that he wouldn't last much longer. Muichiro went for another attack, but stopped when he realized that his sword was missing.

Once he was disarmed, Muichiro panicked a bit. He tried to think of what to do next, but was hit again by more crescent moons. They hit his chest, just barely missing his heart and other vital places. "You... have potential... Killing you would bring no benefits... You would be better as a demon..."

Muichiro's eyes widened at that. 'Me? A demon? I could never allow that to happen... What would Yuichiro think if that happened? He'd probably hate me for it...'  Upper One nodded to himself. "Yes, you would be perfect as a demon..."

The Upper Moon cut his hand, allowing his blood to fall. He walked over to Muichiro, who was close to passing out due to blood loss. Muichiro was struggling to stay on his feet but was on guard and ready to attack, even without his sword.

Once he was close enough to Muichiro, the Upper Moon made Muichiro drink the blood. Muichiro was in even more pain as he felt the blood start to take on its effects. Muichiro passed out from blood loss, exhaustion, and the powerful blood he was forced to drink.

The Upper Moon called out for someone and disappeared with an unconscious Muichiro. One can only imagine the pain that his elder twin brother would be feeling when informed of this news. A normal being would be unable to handle it, but Yuichiro isn't normal—at least, not anymore.

Ginko flew back to the Demon Slayer Headquarters in a panic. Muichiro was missing. He had fought Upper Moon One. Upper Moon One had taken him. It was all a bit much for the poor crow. Muichiro was her favorite person. He was her first priority—well, after the Master, of course.

She arrived at the headquarters and informed the Ubuyashiki family of the terrible news. The Master didn't seem too surprised, as if he knew something like this would happen. He did, however, seem disappointed. Not in Muichiro, but in the whole situation.

They lost one of their best Hashiras, and now they would have to tell his twin the news. The Master knew that Yuichiro would not take the news of his twin disappearing lightly, and there was no telling what he might do.

The next place Ginko flew to was the Butterfly Mansion. She needed to inform Yuichiro of the news, whether he liked it or not. Ginko flew through an open window, landing on a bed post.

Yuichiro was sitting up, looking out the window next to his bed. He was trying so hard not to worry about his brother, but he was failing. He was so overprotective of his twin and never wanted him in danger. Muichiro's having to leave for a mission without him was a terrifying thought.

He hadn't noticed Ginko yet, so she spoke up. "Yuichiro! I have important news!" Yuichiro was startled out of his thoughts, and turned his attention to the crow. "What is it? What happened? Is Muichiro okay??" There was a hint of fear in Yuichiro's voice. He was certainly anxious about his little brother, that was for sure.

"Muichiro went missing while fighting Upper Moon One! He took Muichiro away with him! We don't know if he's alright or not." Yuichiro felt his heart drop as she said that. His little brother was missing, and he wasn't there to protect him... Who knew what kind of horrors he'd be facing all alone...

"Very funny, Ginko. Now, tell me, where is Muichiro?" Yuichiro refused to believe what she said, though a little part of him deep down told him that what she was saying was true. "I'm not joking! Upper Moon One took him!" And now it wasn't just that small part telling him to believe her, he knew it was true.

Yuichiro took a few deep breaths to calm himself. "I'm going to save him." He had a confident tone, as if nothing was going to stop him. "Are you crazy?! Do you know how dangerous that is?! Did you not hear when I said UPPER MOON ONE??!! You're going to die!" Ginko squawked at him.

"I don't care. I'm going to save him." Yuichiro was dead set on saving his brother. He didn't want his little brother to get hurt in any way. "You know what? Fine. It's not my fault if you get yourself killed." Ginko was so fed up with Yuichiro. She knew that Yuichiro was worried about Muichiro; she was too, but his overprotectiveness still annoyed her.

Yuichiro took a few deep breaths to calm down, and Ginko flew back outside. The second he was alone, Yuichiro broke down in tears. He hadn't cried like that in a long time, not even when his parents died. It just goes to show how much he cares for his twin. He eventually went back to sleep, unknowing the events that would unfold just the next day...

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Word count: 1,695

Hello! The first chapter for The Twin Mist is complete! I have never written a story without any ships, so this'll be interesting.

Have a good day/night, and I shall see you in the next chapter!

-Updates every Monday and Friday!-

-the author