"Hey, Yamibari, let's go see our Little Darling."
Yamibari, still a child of seven or eight, turned his head. It was Nanako, the girl who had grown up with him since childhood.
Nanako was the same age as Yamibari but a head taller than him.
Yamibari's body developed slowly. Children his age often called him an "undeveloped shorty," excluding him and unwilling to play with him.
Only Nanako loved to seek out Yamibari to play, and only Nanako was Yamibari's friend.
Yamibari casually replied, "Alright, let's go together after I finish my bath."
"Oh, bath?"
"Ah, Nanako, quickly turn your head! I'm still bathing!"
Yamibari was very shy. He quickly squatted down, only half his head sticking out, blowing bubbles.
Nanako, however, giggled, "I say, Yamibari, you're a boy, how are you shyer than me?"
Yamibari showed his head, pretending to be calm, "Who said I'm shy? I just, I just..."
"Oh, right, I just thought, if others found out you saw me bathing, Nanako, you wouldn't be able to get married later. I'm thinking of you."
Nanako's eyes narrowed slightly, and a mischievous smile appeared on her small face: "Is that so? Then if I can't get married later, Yamibari, you'll marry me."
"If it's Yamibari, Nanako would be very happy."
"Yamibari, will you marry me in the future?"
Yamibari stammered a bit. Looking at Nanako, whose smile was as bright as spring sunlight, he really wanted to say yes, but his young boy's pride made him hesitate: "We'll... we'll see."
Nanako didn't press him but tossed him his clothes: "Here, let's go see Little Darling."
After Yamibari got dressed, Nanako held his hand, and they walked together to Mt. Ranri behind the town, which was Akihiro's current location.
Yamibari looked at the sky. The sun was bright, and birds chirped softly. He reached out and blocked a ray of sunlight.
"The sun is so nice today, it feels warm on the skin. I really like it."
Nanako and Yamibari's small bodies moved through Mt. Ranri with practiced ease, and soon they burrowed into a bush.
Inside the bush was a small den, where a tiny wolf cub, whose eyes hadn't yet opened, lay.
"Look, Little Darling seems a little bigger than yesterday, doesn't it?"
Yamibari shook his head: "No way, it looks the same to me."
Nanako unhappily tapped Yamibari's head: "Idiot, if I say it is, it is."
Yamibari clutched his head and cried out: "That hurts! It hasn't grown up! Can't we be reasonable?"
Nanako raised her small fist again, making a threatening motion: "Don't argue with a girl, Yamibari."
Yamibari surrendered: "Alright, alright."
Nanako moved closer to Yamibari, marveling: "Look, don't Little Darling's eyes look a lot like yours?"
Yamibari, helpless: "Its eyes aren't even open yet! How could they? I protest!"
"If I say they do, they do. No arguing, protest denied."
"Alright, Little Darling really looks like me."
"That's right! I like Yamibari even more now."
...
Half a month later, Nanako's parents took Nanako, preparing to move to relatives' house far away.
Nanako, tears streaming down her face, said to the dazed Yamibari, "Yamibari, I'm leaving. You must remember me, and take good care of Little Darling."
"Wait for me. When I grow up, I'll come back here to find you and marry you, to be your bride. Yamibari, you must wait for me."
After speaking, Nanako and her parents boarded the carriage.
Yamibari stood stunned in place. He watched the carriage fade into the distance, and the pretense of strength he had maintained finally broke. Tears flowed profusely, like a burst dam.
He chased the carriage, shouting, "Nanako, I'll definitely wait here for you to come back! I'm willing to marry you when I grow up, very willing, truly, truly very willing..."
Only when something is lost does one understand its value.
Yamibari's voice gradually faded into the wind, and he didn't know if Nanako heard him.
The carriage Nanako was in completely disappeared from Yamibari's sight. He choked back sobs, collapsing to the ground and weeping bitterly.
"Nanako, I'll take good care of Little Darling. You must come back soon and marry me..."
The next day, Yamibari, alone, brought some fresh milk to feed Little Darling.
The sky grew dark. Yamibari had left a bit late today; it was getting dark.
The journey was incredibly silent. Without Nanako's company, Yamibari felt an unprecedented loneliness.
"Good thing, I still have our Little Darling to accompany me. Until you come back, Nanako, I'll take good care of Little Darling."
But as he pushed aside the bushes, Yamibari saw a pair of green wolf eyes watching him.
It was a large wolf, built like a calf, and Little Darling was nursing at the wolf's belly.
"Is this, Little Darling's mother?"
Yamibari guessed the large wolf's identity, but the wolf didn't recognize Yamibari. It had finally found its lost pup and would not expose it to danger.
Baring its fangs, it then swung its claws, striking Yamibari's left and right cheeks. The sharp wolf claws left three terrifying gashes on each side of Yamibari's face, revealing pale bone.
Blood spurted out, and the severely injured Yamibari instantly fell to the ground, his eyes dimming.
"Nanako..."
The large wolf slowly approached Yamibari, about to bite his neck.
"What a pitiful child."
At this moment, under the bright moonlight, a man wearing a white top hat suddenly appeared in Yamibari's vision, seemingly from nowhere.
Muzan's figure flickered, and he directly crushed the large wolf's neck, throwing it far away.
He gently squatted down and said warmly to Yamibari, "Little one, do you want to live?"
Yamibari's eyes regained their luster: "Yes, I still have to wait for someone. I can't die..."
Muzan slightly lowered his hat brim: "As you wish, but there's a small price..."
A few strands of blood fell into Yamibari's mouth. From that day on, he became a demon...
The demonized Yamibari lost his human consciousness. He forgot Nanako, he forgot Little Darling, he forgot all his loved ones.
But even after becoming a demon, he never forgot to stay here and wait. Even though Yamibari didn't know why, his subconscious told him not to leave here, to keep waiting...
This waiting without knowing the reason lasted for sixty-seven years, until today, when his head was severed by Akihiro, Yamibari remembered everything.
And Akihiro, as an observer, witnessed Yamibari's entire life.
In the endless white light, Akihiro remained silent, not knowing what to say.
A white light coalesced into Yamibari's seven or eight-year-old self. He walked to Akihiro, sat down with his arms wrapped around his knees.
"Thank you, for making me remember everything. The sun was so good that day, I miss it so much."
"We are all the same, people toyed with by fate. Only you are still alive, and alive means there's still a chance."
"Take my strength, take my blessing, and go find that person."
"That person's true name is Kibutsuji Muzan, the progenitor of all demons. Demons must not utter his name, otherwise, a curse will kill them. You must remember this."
"The 'small price' he spoke of was an unbearable pain for me..."
"If you have the chance, ask him for me, is being a demon truly happy?"
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