Blood-stained money Chapter 0: “Fate’s Pity”
Before there was
a blacksmith,
an inventor,
a Hashira,
a hero,
there was only a child one whom fate showed no mercy.
His parents were beggars who never had money… mostly because they spent what little they had on alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, and other vices. To them, Hagane was nothing more than the result of one terrible night’s mistake especially when the child was born with blood-red eyes.
They hated the boy, not just because he was another mouth to feed or they needed to take care of him, they hated the eyes thinking of him as a broken baby.
So they didn’t care for him and often would forget to feed him.
When Hagane was four years old, they sold him to criminals for 1,000 yen and disappeared forever.
After that, he was forced to work in a weapons factory alongside other children.
Every day was hell.
Every day was a fight to survive.
It became difficult to decide whether waking up was a gift… or a curse that only meant more suffering.
For seven years, he worked there.
The adults often used tricks and false kindness, pretending to care only to betray the children in the end. Hagane had a few companions, but it was hard to call them true friends. When food was scarce, friendship meant nothing.
Hunger always came first.
Only Tetsu stayed by his side.
He was his only true friend, more like a brother.
But even that came to an end.
One day, demons attacked.
They slaughtered everyone children and adults alike leaving no one alive.
Hagane was lucky enough to escape.
But he got lost and couldn’t find Tetsu or the other children. So he kept walking.
Life afterward was no easier.
Some would say it became even worse.
He knew nothing about money, so he stole whatever he needed to survive. But nothing was free. Whenever he took something without paying, he was beaten and punished.
Hagane learned quickly:
Nothing is free.
Nothing is given out of kindness.
He lived on the streets for a year, barely surviving. Villagers often mistook him for a demon because of his blood-red eyes.
During winter, beneath freezing rain and merciless winds, he nearly died.
It was a miracle he survived at all.
At that point, Hagane accepted his fate.
He accepted that one day he would die and that all he was doing was delaying the inevitable.
He accepted what he was.
“A soul failed by fate”
⸻
But fate… for once… showed pity.
Now twelve years old, Hagane wandered through the streets trying to sell a sword he had found in the forest an old, rusty blade.
Eventually, he approached a tall woman with pink eyes, long dark hair, and butterfly hairpins resting gently above her ears.
Kid Hagane: “…Hello… ma’am… um…”
Kanae: “Oh my, what do we have here? A sword? Little boys like you shouldn’t be playing with that.”
Kid Hagane: “I… I wasn’t playing… I wanted… to sell the sword… would you be… interested?”
Kanae looked confused.
A young boy selling a sword?
Kanae: “Sweetie, where are your parents?”
Hagane: “I… they… left me…”
Kanae’s heart ached.
It was obvious the boy standing before her had suffered greatly.
So she took him in.
Hagane followed Kanae with only one thought in mind:
If I work hard enough, maybe I’ll survive.
He expected another nightmare like the factory. But at least, he thought, there would be food.
At the Butterfly Mansion, Kanae cleaned him, gave him new clothes, and treated the countless injuries and illnesses his body carried after years of suffering.
She was fascinated by Hagane’s eyes.
And strangely enough… she loved them.
Shinobu was slightly annoyed that Kanae had brought home a stray boy especially one older than her but that irritation faded quickly.
Hagane was like a frightened kitten.
Terrified of everything.
Even when Kanae and Shinobu brought him food, he suspected it was a trap. He believed they would demand something in return… or spill the food onto the floor as a cruel joke.
One day, Hagane accidentally broke a vase.
Fear drained the color from his face.
He immediately ran to the nearest closet and locked himself inside, convinced punishment would come next screaming, hitting, pain… just like at the factory.
But it never came.
Kanae remained calm.
She never screamed at him.
She never struck him.
Instead, she gently spoke to him through the door.
And slowly, with her soft voice guiding him back, Hagane stepped out — still trembling, still skeptical, still afraid.
Kanae was always kind to him.
Even when Hagane refused to trust her, she never stopped showing him kindness… and she never asked for anything in return.
Then one day, her kindness finally shattered the cruel belief he had about the world.
And in its place, she lit a fire that would never burn out.
It was an ordinary night, but the rain was harsher than usual.
It reminded him of the day he had nearly died.
Beneath the blanket, Hagane trembled uncontrollably. Panic gripped him tightly. Tears streamed silently down his face as his body shook violently. His heart pounded so hard it felt as though it might burst from his chest.
Then
A soft hand touched him.
It was Kanae.
Kanae: “Scared?”
Hagane couldn’t answer.
In his panic, he didn’t know what to do. He had never learned the instinct to run toward someone for comfort, the way children run to their mothers when frightened.
So he simply sat there, shaking as tears rolled down his cheeks.
But then
Kanae pulled him gently into a warm embrace.
She wrapped the blanket around both of them, rubbed his back softly, and hummed a quiet melody to calm him.
Kanae: “Shhh… I’m here.”
For the first time in his life, Hagane felt something unfamiliar.
Warmth.
Protection.
Safety.
He clung to Kanae as though she were the only thing keeping him from drowning.
And in twelve years of existence…
He finally slept without fear.
Quietly.
Peacefully.
Comfortably.
In Kanae’s arms.
To Be Continued…
