Celebrations and Final Selections

'I did it, I really actually did it.' She thought herself her eyes widened with disbelief as she stared at the boulder she had just split in two. She still had trouble believing that it happened.

She stood in front of the rock unsure of what to do still flabbergasted at the feat she just pulled off. Until she heard footsteps she turned around.

"You know I never planned on actually passing you. I had no wish to send another child to the grave." Glynda started her voice stern and solum. "Even after all that training, I was sure you wouldn't be to split this rock in two but-you did," Glynda said as she wrapped her arms around Ruby and brought her into a hug, her voice breaking for the first time. "And you did very well,".

Ruby was still confused but she returned the hug because free hug duh.

When the hug broke Glynda and Ruby walked back to the house.

Glynda played a box down in front of Ruby as they waited for the food to finish. The box was filled with mochi and rice cakes.

"Um?" Ruby squeaked looking at Glynda for any form of approval.' gods these look delicious' ruby thought as her mouth watered looking at the tasty sweets in front of her.

"You may eat,". Glynda spoke as she continued to cook.

Ruby dug in as she shoved a large piece in her mouth grabbing another as she chewed off the first. 'Soooooooooo goooooood!' She thought as her taste buds exploded. When was the last time she had eaten a meal like this? It was divine. She remembered the one time Yang had come home bearing tons of delicious treats from a person she had helped and smiled as she remembered her and her family all sat inside enjoying the many sweets that Yang had brought. A small tear spilled from her eyes

"Eat your fill," Glynda said as she placed a bowl of delicious food in front of her.

Ruby took a big gulp as she swallowed the food in her mouth. "What's the occasion?" She asked Glynda had barely even given her scraps of food let alone this kind of feast.

"You passed all your tests, it's a cause for celebration," Glynda said sounding happy for once. Her posture seemed a bit more lively and had more energy to it.

"Welph thannphks yph," Ruby said as food once again reclaiming her mouth.

"DON'T SPEAK WITH YOUR MOUTHFUL!" Glynda yelled at her. Clearly annoyed at the behavior.

She swallowed "thank you very much," Ruby said, bowing her head before going back to the food in front of her. 'It's soo good,' she thought as she stuffed her face with the delectables.

"The final selection will be held at mount Fujikasane this spring so be prepared

Ruby was cutting her hair which had grown out of control while she had been training. She remembered fondly when Yang would help her because of how clumsy she used to be saving her from the many times she would have cut her ear off. She sighed at the memory.

"Here," Glynda said from across the room as she picked out an item from the shelf. The item in question was a fox mask much like Pyrrahs but instead of gold stripes, it was lined with a red crescent shape that covered the majority of the mask. She told Ruby it was a Warding Mask and it would help keep evil spirits away from her and protect her from harm.

Ruby put on a jinbei style kimono that was similar to Ms. Goodwitchs in every way aside from size. She tied the katana that Glynda gave to her around her belt and tied her sickle to her back. No matter how much she trained she still always made time to train with the sickle that Qrow had given her two years ago. Call it a keepsake if you will but to her, it held a strange sort of value that she couldn't bear to part with. As she left the house Glynda waved her goodbye.

"Oh," Ruby paused turning around and waved back at Glynda. "Say goodbye to Pyrrha and Gretchen for me" she yelled back before continuing upon her path. When Ruby had run out of earshot Glynda spoke.

"But …. How-how does she know the names of dead children" Glynda shuddered out as Ruby ran over the horizon.

"Cool!" Ruby said as she walked through a wisteria forest every tree seaming to glow as she walked along the trail and at the end was a large clearing where there was a congregation of teenagers like herself. Most had some scars or marked injury and every one of them had a sword. There were, however, a few who stood out among the crowd. There was one girl who had put white hair worn in a ponytail and she wore a light blue kimono with no discernable traits. Her face was furrowed into a deep scowl and she seemed very annoyed she also had a long scar running vertically down her left eye. Her fog seemed to be cold and ridged. It was like ice unchanging and cold but pretty.

The other was a boy who had short bright yellow hair and blue eyes. He wore a yellow kimono that had a triangle pattern going along the surface. He looked very scared. Scratch that he looks absolutely terrified. Even if he didn't show it Ruby could see his essence and he was panicking his fog was shifting every which way and going wild it was like lightning during a storm.

But she was perplexed when she saw a trail of fog going into the forest which she found very familiar. It was very faint but it was burning like fire. It reminded her of Y-

"Welcome," a voice said, knocking her out of her thoughts. "Thank you for gathering for the final selection," said a girl she had black hair and wore a floral kimono with a flower print obi. Looking next to her was another girl who looked exactly like her only difference being that one had white hair and the other black them both having dark greenish-yellow eyes."This mountain holds demons that demon slayers have taken alive and trapped in here" the girl said her voice lacked much emotion and she had a small smile on her face at all times the same as the other girl.

"Demons hate wisteria flowers which bloom here all year round. They cover the mountain from its foot to halfway up the slope," the other girl said.

"But beyond this point, the wisteria does not bloom so the demons roam free," the black hairs one said." you must survive there for seven days"

"If you do, you will have passed the final selection," Ruby listened and began to walk into the final selection exam. She didn't turn back not even for a second.

Ruby ran through the dark forest constantly scanning all directions constantly searching for demons.' I'll rest during the day but until then I need to be constantly alert' she planned.

'Wait what was that?' she paused going into a defensive form, her hand on her sword as she scans the area. Then she saw an unnatural black fog that was charging right at her. The demon jumped out attempting to attack her but she dodged away but just then another demon jumped in behind her and she ducked causing the demon to sail overhead and into the first one.

"Hey what are you doing this is my territory" One of the demons snarled angrily at the other.

"No it's not this prey is mine" the other growled.

'Two demons can I even beat two?' She asked herself as the demons argued amongst each other.

"There's only one way to decide. WHOEVER KILLS HER FIRST GETS TO EAT HER!" The two demons charged at her baring their fangs and claws as they flew towards her both in the air as they began to pounce.' just remember what you were taught' she said to herself. She took a deep breath as she entered total concentration as she focused on her targets.' I see the threads' she thought as the two demons closed in on her.

She put her sword in position and used one of the many forms that Glynda had taught her. Water breathing fourth form Striking tide she leaped towards the demons taking two slashes at each of the demons necks what looked like a beautiful stream of water following her blade as she landed, both of the demons body's disintegrating as she landed.

"Demons can only be killed in two ways, one is by sunlight as you have seen before a demon's body will completely disintegrate when in direct sunlight. The second is a special sword that the demon hunters use. The sword is made of a special type of iron ore that constantly absorbs sunlight. Decapitate a demon with this and nothing will remain neither flesh nor bone," Glynda explained. "It is called a Nichiren sword,". Glynda described giving the blade back to Ruby.

Ruby looked back at where the two demons once stood.' She was right' Ruby thought looking at the sword 'not even bone remains' Ruby watched as the remaining energy began to dissipate into the air as she sheathed her sword. Ruby looked at the ground clenching her fists 'I can do it, I can kill demons, I can fight' She thought tears beginning to well from her eyes as she remembered the first demon she met. 'I can prevent it from happening again' She thought.

*Shriek!*

Ruby was torn from her thoughts as a loud scream pierced the air. Her head shot up as she looked around trying to determine the origin of the sound. She listened carefully, hearing two sets of footprints she looked and saw a trail of two energies in the distance, one was a panicked blue and the other was black and powerful. She peeked past a tree that was blocking her sight. And terror filled her as she saw what was in front of her. Her eyes widened as her whole body froze. The demon was huge and wrapped around in many of its own hands in one of its hands it held another one of the students as he chased another. The demon's energy was huge and she could feel its pressure.

The demon's many arms began to gather, preparing to attack the kid. The mass of flesh shot out of the demon's body and a hand on the end of it. It grappled the boy by the and began to slowly pull the kid towards him as the demon ate the other kid. The kid screamed as the demon lifted him off the ground.

'Don't be afraid' Ruby panicked clearly afraid 'you gotta help him, you're not powerless anymore. You have to protect him.' Ruby thought as she unsheathed her sword and charged the demon jumping in the air as she did as she prepared an attack. Water breathing second form Water Weel she spun around her blade seeming to form a weel of water as she cut through the demons flesh severing the hand holding the kid resulting in a thud as the kid landed and began to scramble away stopping a good distance away from the demon. Ruby stood in front of the boy, her face hardened in determination, her silver pools trained on the hand demon.

"Ah, another fox has stumbled on to me,".The demon spoke. It's voice high and clearly deranged as its eyes with x shaped pupils seemed to get giddy at the sight of her. The demon's energy matched 'why it was so happy-wait'.

"Another?" Ruby questioned her eyes remained trained on the demon her sword up as she prepared to fight the demon

"Pyrrha do you think that she can take on that demon,". Gretchen asked as she stared up at Pyrrha.

"I don't know," Pyrrha said, concerned, filling her voice, "I hope She can at least," she spoke.

"Tell me fox, what year is it on the Meiji calendar?". The demon asked ruby seemingly making small talk.

"Umm. it's the Taisho period,". Ruby answered the question.

The demon's energy raged like wildfire as it screamed it's many many fingers scraped at its flesh-ripping at it scraping it off all while healing them. As his feet thrashed about on the ground.

"AAAAHHHHH I'VE BEEN HERE SO LONG THAT ANOTHER PERIOD HAS PASSED AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" The demon yelled like a mad man. "AGAIN AND AGAIN ALL WHILE I'VE BEEN TRAPED HER!" The demon writhed twisting its own head "UNFORGIVABLE, UNFORGIVABLE DAMN YOU GOODWHICH, DAMN YOU TO HELL!" The demon screamed.

"You know -," Ruby started only to be cut off by the demon.

"OH, I KNOW HER ALRIGHT SHE WAS THE ONE WHO CAPTURED ME! I'LL NEVER FORGET! NEVER!" The demon yelled in anger.``IT'S BEEN 47 TORTUROUS YEARS! BACK WHEN SHE WAS STILL A DEMON HUNTER IN THE EDO PERIOD… THE KEIO ERA!" The demon explained as its veins seemed to bust with anger.

'The Edo period!' Ruby was shocked.

"YOU'RE LYING! NO DEMON HERE HAS BEEN ALIVE THAT LONG!" The other demon hunter yelled," LIES!" He proclaimed."THEY ONLY PUT DEMONS WHO HAVE EATEN TWO OR THREE PEOPLE AND THEY GET KILLED IN THE SELECTION! YOU DEMONS ALSO EAT EACH OTHER TOO!" The kid yelled at the demon from behind Ruby.

"But I have survived in this flower prison and I've eaten at least 50 of you brats!" The demon said his proclamation reminded her of what Glynda had told her.

"Remember a demon's strength comes from the number of humans it has consumed," Glynda said as ruby sat on the floor. "And some physically change gaining unnatural powers" Glynda explained "once you begin to see better you'll be able to tell how many people a demon has eaten," Glynda told her as she stared at the task she was working on away from Ruby as Ruby tried and failed to steal a box of sweets that laid atop a tall shelf Glynda whacking her in the head just as the sweets were in her reach."Pay Attention!"

"..12 ...13… yes, you're number 14!" The demon said.

"What are you talking about?" Ruby's eyes widened in surprise.

"That's how many of her students I've eaten, I've decided to eat all of her pathetic students," the demon put its hands to its cheeks. Its energy read pride and happiness."Out of every one of the two really stood out to them. One of them had a gold jacket and vermilion hair, she was by far the strongest of them all. The other was a brat whose kimono had a floral pattern on it and dark tanned skin. She wasn't too strong and very small but she was really agile."The demon explained.

'But they trained me how could they have been eaten?' Ruby asked herself her grip tightened as the demon continued.

"I recognize you from those fox masks," the demon said, pointing at the mask that was tied to her head."I know the grain of the masks that Goodwitch carves. They're the same as the kitsune mask that she wore. She called it a 'Warding mask' I ate them all because of the mask they all wore. They're all in my stomach because Goodwitch fed them to me,". The demon taunted Ruby's face and began to cross with anger rage boiled inside her stomach as her teeth grated against one another clenched in anger. Her hands were wrapped tightly on her sword causing the blade to shake. She seethed in anger as the Hand-Demon laughed at her teachers. "the girl wept and grew angry when I told her that too. As soon as her moves grew shaky… I ripped her limb from limb," The demon said as if it had accomplished such a grand task. That broke all restraint she couldn't let this monster talk about them like that.

Ruby shot forward towards the demon threw it many hands at her in an attempt to grab her. Ruby enraged took swipes at every hand in a fury of swipes.

"Stay calm Ruby forget about us your breathing is uneven" Pyrrha warned

A fist connected with her stomach as she was sent flying into a nearby tree the fox mask she wore broke into prices as she made contact. She got knocked out from the force.

The kid who she saved used this time to run away from the demon not wanting to get eaten.

The demon prepared to crush the girl and kill her once and for all. Another little fox, let to be slaughtered.

"Ruby WAKE UP!"

Ruby's eyes shot open at the sound of her father's voice as she narrowly dodged the attack and cut the rest of the hands coming at her.

Ruby kept up the defense cutting away the hands coming towards her as she moved trying to get some sort of advantage on the demon. Then she noticed the demon's energy was being pumped into the ground. She looked below her noticing the energy coming back upright on her.

Ruby leaped into the air dodging the multitude of hands that came from below her.

'She Dodged, No matter she can't dodge midair' the demon shot a huge hand at Ruby.' I've got her now' The demon thought.

Then in mid-air Ruby reached and grabbed the sickle that was still behind her wrapped in her kimono. She unsheathed it and struck down as the hand came close to her using the sickle now firmly planted in the skin she used the demon's momentum to flip herself onto the demon's arm as soon as she landed she began sprinting down the arm making a mad dash for the demon's head. She jumped, appearing right before the demon's face as she saw the thin thread that connected her blade to the demon's neck.

'Total Concentration!' she thought as she took a deep breath in tightening her gip.

'She dodged, and I'm all out of hands no matter my neck is still too strong for this girl to cut through, not even that vermilion hair was able to do it.' The Demon remembered how the vermilion haired girl sword broke when she tried to cut off his neck.' As soon as this girl fails to cut my neck I crush her head just like the others.'

'WATER BREATHING FIRST FORM!' She tucked her arms around her chest bringing the sword Glynda had given her and her sickle gifted to her by Qrow to the sides of her head, tucking her legs into her chest as she prepared her attack.

Gretchen looked up at Pyrrha as she sat atop the boulder Ruby had cut. Gretchen began "Is it possible that Rubys gonna fail?" She said, her voice dropping.

...

Pyrrha didn't say anything.

The smaller girl continued "That Demons neck it's so strong" Gretchen looked at the ground "not one of us has gotten close to cutting through it not even you,".

"I Don't know, I honestly have no clue who will win,". Pyrrha began. "But I do know this one thing for certain...The boulder that Ruby cut… Was bigger and harder than any one of us had cut before,".

'Water Surface Slash!' Ruby's body in a violent motion her body seemed tp spring open and with both sickle and sword, she cleaved clean through the demon's neck decapitating it as both of her weapons seamed to trail water.

Authors Note:

Hello everyone who's enjoyed my story(Yes I know theirs not a lot of you)

I wanted to apologize for the extended period of time this took to make. I had SSSSSSSSOOOOOOOO much school work I had to do that made this hard to work on.

Also, I just wanted to say F*** The Corona Virus. (Yeh That's right I just censored myself deal with it.)

Anyway so very sorry for the wait I'll try to make sure it doesn't happen again