Travelling to Mt Fujikasane alone is faster than I thought it would be. It's different to when I travelled with Shinjuro-san, I can move much faster now. Running for several hours is easy.
During my year with Shinjuro-san and his family, my body has developed even more. I'm probably around the same height as Tanjuro now and I've put on a lot more muscle.
My hair is still long, but it is tidy. The majority of it is tied back behind my head to prevent it getting in my eyes when I fight. The mark is still somewhat covered but it is as noticeable as ever.
My crimson haori flutters in the wind as I run, bypassing several surprised people. My footsteps make almost no noise, even at a high speed. This is thanks to my training but also thanks to the nature of the Hinokami Kagura and it's light footsteps.
Even though Shinjuro-san advised me to find somewhere safe to spend the night, I go out on patrol. Even though I am not yet a Demon Slayer, I can still kill demons. I patrol for four hours each night, covering the area that I am resting in.
When the sun rises, I sleep for four hours. I don't need to worry about being attacked, the instant someone draws close I will hear them.
On the fourth night, I encounter a demon. It has just killed two people, with a third yet to be devoured. As I get closer, I see that the survivor is a child. The demon has killed the girl's parents and will soon kill her.
I allow a single footstep to echo throughout the area, alerting the demon to my presence. It moves away from the girl, guaranteeing her safety. There are twenty metres between me and the demon, with the girl a further ten metres away.
If it moves towards her, I will cut it's head off before it can do her any harm.
This demon has eaten multiple people, I can tell just from looking at it. It has feasted on around thirty people, judging from the way it moves and behaves.
"You don't have a Demon Slayer uniform, so you're just a normal swordsman. Heh, you shouldn't have gotten involved."
The demon smirks as he licks the blood off of his hands. He is sentient unlike Takahiro-san, who was driven purely by instinct. This demon knows what it is doing and enjoys it, even mocking human beings.
It is unforgivable, it has taken two lives like they meant nothing and intends to take two more before the night is up. It will pay the toll that it has incurred.
It's fatal mistake is underestimating me, especially since I am armed with a nichirin blade. I make no move to correct the demon, letting it wallow in it's disgusting false confidence.
I breathe in. This is a chance to use what I have learned from Shinjuro-san, even if I should keep my body in prime condition for Final Selection. I can utilise what I already know and put my training to good use.
My right hand rests on the hilt of the katana as I watch the demon approach. It seems to have forgotten about the little girl, which means that I have more leeway.
The pathway is deserted, no one else is out at this time of night. I have no idea why this family were here but it proved to be a fatal mistake for them. Their daughter is now all alone.
Blood drips down from the lips of the demon, spattering against the path. I can hear everything in this moment. The sound of the blood hitting the floor is drowned out by the noise of steel.
I draw the katana as fast as I can, something that I have practiced endlessly. The red steel blurs in the moonlight. This blade once belonged to a member of the Rengoku family, so the blade is as red as fire.
The demon halts it's approach as it realises exactly what the blade is. It's too late. It has already gotten close enough. I feel the oxygen in my blood soar and my body gains incredible strength.
In one short burst of speed, I move forward. The blade swings level and I dash at the demon. I am far too fast for it to react.
"Flame Breathing, First Form: Unknowing Fire!"
The first form of Flame Breathing, a powerful horizontal slash designed for decapitation. Roaring flames race along my blade as it reaches it's apex, burning clean through the demon's neck and removing it's head from it's shoulders.
The head remains in the air for a moment before being accosted by gravity, falling to the floor with a thud. The sound reminds me of the time that I killed Takahiro-san, but this time it is different.
This demon was evil. It knew that killing humans was wrong. It had sentience and intelligence yet it caused harm anyway. The toll has been paid.
Even as it's head begins to crumble to ash, it still speaks.
"YOU! YOU! YOU! I'LL TEAR YOU TO PIECES!"
It's right arm reaches for me slowly, the left having already crumbled into pieces. Before it can touch my haori, my blade removes the hand at the wrist.
I can do it. I can kill demons. I can protect people. But there is something more important in this moment.
A little girl has just lost her parents. At least she is alive and unharmed but I fear that she will never be the same. To see that happen in front of you at a young age, my heart aches for her.
I swing my blade to the side, flicking the blood from it before placing it back into it's sheath.
I approach the little girl slowly, lowering myself down to her level. The moonlight beams down onto the path and I reach my hand out to her.
"It's okay. The monster is gone now, you'll be okay."
I try my best to comfort her. I can't even imagine how she feels, the pain that must be eating away at her.
She stares at my hand, then up at my face. She is terrified.
"It's really gone?"
She asks me, her voice trembling slightly as she does so. It's as if she can't believe the demon is dead, something so powerful that it could tear a grown man in two.
"It's gone."
I smile down at her and brush some of the hair away from my face. She must only be around eight years old, not much older than Kyojuro.
The girl's name is Oshita Rie. Her family had been evicted due to her father suffering a badly broken leg that left him unable to work. Her mother could not earn enough to cover all of their costs and it was discovered that she was pregnant too.
Their household fell into despair and they left their hometown behind in order to find a living elsewhere. Due to her father's broken leg, they could not cover much ground and were caught outside tonight.
That is when the demon ambushed them and killed her parents. Devouring her crippled father first and then her pregnant mother, forcing her to watch the entire situation as it laughed at her.
My blood boils, that disgusting thing had put a little girl through so much. It had destroyed a family that had nothing left and laughed whilst doing so.
It is dead now, so it failed to have the last laugh. But this is irrevocable proof that demons are a mistake, a blemish on nature. They must be eradicated. For the people that they have killed and to prevent any more tragedies.
I cremate Rie-chan's parents, I don't have anything I could bury them with. I cleaned up a hairpin that belonged to her mother and gave it to her. She cried for the first time when I did that.
It's decided that she'll accompany me for the time being, I'm still around three weeks away from Final Selection. I can entrust her to the Demon Slayer Corps, they can find a home for her. I'll look after her until then, sharing my rations with her.
I stop patrolling at night, instead guarding the building that we choose to take refuge in. Many people assume that we are brother and sister, or even father and daughter.
Now that Rie-chan is with me, they show sympathy. There are weird looks when they spot the katana on my hip but when I explain that it is for protection, they understand.
I leave a pouch of wisteria incense at every place we stay, a habit I seem to have picked up from Shinjuro-san. If it helps protect even one household, then it is incredibly worth it.
We travel by day, the pace has gotten a bit slower now that I have to account for Rie-chan. When she gets tired, she rides on my shoulders as I run. It seems like she enjoys it, her brown hair blowing in the wind as she looks down from a big height.
She smiles occasionally, when I tell her the stories that Tanjuro used to tell me. Her big brown eyes widen in wonder and she looks at me in awe. Thank god that I arrived in time to save her life.
She cries herself to sleep most nights, it hurts my heart to hear but it is natural. She has lost her parents and is all alone with a stranger. She witnessed one of the most awful things possible at such a young age, even after the hardship her family had faced.
I'm surprised she is still able to smile at all, this girl possesses an incredible innate strength. I'm sure she'll be fine.
I still train every day, practicing the forms of Flame Breathing. I have already drilled them into my bones, I just need to keep going. Every minimal improvement makes a difference, if I can swing even a tenth of a second faster then it is worth the pain.
Rie-chan watches as I train, eating something that I have normally scrounged up. Her eyes never leave the blade as I swing it. I wonder what she is thinking about it, but I never ask. It is the blade that avenged her parents, so perhaps she feels an attachment towards it.
We have been travelling for two weeks now. Rie-chan has become more talkative as of late, asking more and more questions every day. I do my best to answer them all but she asks so many.
"I miss my mama."
As we were crossing a shallow stream, with her sat on my shoulders, she said those words. Her mother was probably the most important person in her life and now she is gone.
"I'm sure she's always thinking of you."
I don't really know how to handle this subject, but it is something that I cannot shy away from. I must be as compassionate as I can, I doubt this will be the last time that I ever face this situation.
"Really?"
"Really."
I am absolutely sure that her mother and father are watching over her. Even pregnant, her mother had done her best to shield Rie-chan. That tells me everything I need to know.
We bed down for the night, staying with an old widow. She eyes the sword at my hip and sighs audibly before noticing Rie-chan. This causes a look of surprise to wash across her face.
"You're heading for Mt Fujikasane, with that little 'un at your side?"
She knows of the Demon Slayer Corps and Final Selection. After talking with her for some time, she tells me that she had a son who died some time ago.
He became a Demon Slayer and passed Final Selection. Mt Fujikasane is only a week away from here, so he was expected back within three weeks. He never came home. A demon killed him right after he passed Final Selection.
She feared the worst but received notice that he had passed Final Selection. She ventured out to look for him, thinking that his wounds might have forced him to rest elsewhere.
She found what was left of him less than a mile away from home, the only thing that had not been eaten was his hands. They still bore the marks of the harsh training he had undergone and the ring that had belonged to his father was still on his ring finger.
It seems like she is using this story to try to dissuade me from becoming a Demon Slayer. I can understand why she is doing this but I will not turn back.
She points out that Rie-chan seems to have become attached to me, especially considering that I am the last person alive that she seems to have a connection to.
The old woman knew right away that we weren't related. My hair and eyes are a reddish brown and she calls me something like a child of light.
Rie-chan's hair is light brown and her eyes are a deep hazel, not to mention our facial structures are different too.
The old woman asks me about Rie-chan and when I tell her that I saved her from a demon, her attitude seems to shift. After finding out that I was able to kill a demon, she stops pestering me about not going to Final Selection.
A few tears spill from her eyes and she asks me to keep moving forward.
"You are one of the few people who can actually do it, who have the strength to fight. Please. Kill them for those who can't, for people like my foolish son."
She wipes her tears away with the back of her hand and makes dinner for all three of us.
When Rie-chan falls asleep, the old woman calls out to me. I join her on the porch and she lights wisteria incense.
"About Rie-chan, I don't think she will like being separated from you."
The old lady also lights up a pipe and begins to smoke it. She exhales a large cloud out into the night and sighs. When the moonlight reaches her, it feels like she has aged ten years. She is only sixty years old but she looks like she has reached the end of her rope under the moon.
"You saved her, like a knight in shining armour. She is already too attached to you, you've spent the past two weeks travelling together every single day."
She inhales and exhales again, coughing softly after a few tokes. She turns her head to look at me and awaits my answer.
"I'm not the right person to look after her. All I can do is kill demons. That is the one thing I can do."
Even to me, it sounds like an excuse. I can die at any time, a powerful demon could kill me and then Rie-chan would be left all alone again. If she were settled with a proper family, she would have a good life.
The old woman raises an eyebrow and looks up at the moon. She continues to smoke her pipe until the tobacco is no more. When that happens, she stands up and bids me goodnight.
I wake Rie-chan at dawn and we leave. We are only a week away from Mt Fujikasane and the time flies by.
The mountain is bordered by a dense boundary of wisteria flowers. They glow so beautifully and Rie-chan is astounded. We follow the path upwards, we have arrived right on time for Final Selection.
Everyone present turns to look at me and the area falls silent. I stand a head taller than many of these people, but the real subject is the fact that I have a child with me.
I can also hear whispers about the mark on my face and how they pity me. It bothers me slightly, I haven't come all this way to be pitied by everybody.
I approach Kagaya-san, the boy in the white with black hair. I explain what had happened, how I had killed a demon and saved Rie-chan. He listens patiently, smiling up at me. He looks almost exactly like the master, his father.
He introduces himself to Rie-chan and takes her hand. She is reluctant to part with me, but I will see her again in seven days. The old woman had given me enough food and water to last through Final Selection, so all I need to do is stay alive.
The whispers have changed subject after they hear that I have killed a demon. The pity disappears entirely. Some people suspect that I am lying, others think that I am just showing off. It does not matter. Their opinions do not matter in the slightest.
We are informed of the general rules and sent off into the mountain. Descending the mountain results in failure. Dying results in failure. We have to survive seven days on this mountain before we can join the Demon Slayer Corps.
I race ahead of the pack. I counted twenty-five people in total. I wonder how many of them will live to see the sun rise.
It isn't long before I break away from everyone else, forging deeper into the forest. I can hear them, demons. They're everywhere, waiting to get the jump on the Final Selection candidates.
I'll kill as many as I can. If there is still a single demon left on this mountain in seven days, then I will accept my failure.
The first one is directly ahead of me, hiding behind a tree. No doubt it hopes to catch hold of me as soon as I run past, to sink it's teeth into my neck. I can hear it's ragged breathing.
It won't even get the chance. I know what to do before I even reach the demon.
I reach it's position and it leaps from behind the tree with it's arms outstretched. The female demon has a large grin plastered across her face, as if she has already won.
"Flame Breathing, Second Form: Rising Scorching Sun."
Both of her arms are cut off in the upwards slash. I allow my momentum to keep moving and pivot with my entire body. I deliver a devastating horizontal cut and slice her head clean off of her shoulders.
She did not even have the time to stop smiling, the smile only disappearing when the lower part of her face crumbles into ash.
One.
Another demon is close by, advancing on my position. I can hear the tree branches creaking as it approaches from above. It thinks that getting the drop on me from above will do the trick.
A gust of wind blows throughout the area, lifting the tail end of my crimson haori into the air. I take a deep breath and the demon leaps down towards my position.
My hands move like lightning, the blade seemingly disappearing as it moves faster than my eyes can follow it.
The demon is spiralling downwards towards me, diagonally like a bullet. That will be the last thing it ever does.
"Flame Breathing, Third Form: Blazing Universe."
The vertical cut of the Third Form at a diagonal angle. It meets the demon perfectly, passing through it's neck like paper. It's body continues to fall towards me and I lift up a leg, kicking it aside and into a tree.
Two.
As the night passes, I continue hunting the demons. Where humans are normally the prey, now we are the hunters. I am not here to survive, I am here to ensure the survival of others.
Eight.
The first night ends and I have killed eight demons so far. I find a hill on the edge of the forest that is bathed in the rising sun, it'll do for now. I stretch out and allow my exhaustion to win over for the time being.
I sleep for four hours and wake at the slightest noise. Demons can be active outside of the sunlight, even in the day. I need to ensure that I do not find myself in a dire situation.
The second night begins and I hunt again. A scream echoes from my left and I burst through the forest. A girl has been cornered by two demons that are fighting over her, her left hand is wounded and she is holding her katana in her right hand. Her white haori is stained with dirt and blood, whereas mine is spotless.
I'm not supposed to use it, but the Hinokami Kagura has a form that can decapitate multiple opponents. I'm only supposed to use Flame Breathing, but this girl's life is at stake.
The two demons both lunge towards her, but I have already closed in. My footsteps were unheard by them and I will reach them before they reach her.
This will require all the power I can muster, my footwork and timing must be perfect. I have the strength, but now I must focus my entire being
"Hinokami Kagura: Dragon Sun Halo Head Dance."
My blade takes the form of a dragon made of fire, roaring as it bears down upon the unguarded necks of the demons before me.
Ten.
Their heads fly upwards, looking down upon me as I place my blade in it's sheath. The girl looks up at me and I kneel down.
I bandage her wound with some of the provisions that I have brought. It's nothing much but it should help her. She doesn't speak or thank me, she looks up at me in awe.
I leap off into the forest. There is still more to do tonight, more demons to kill and potentially more lives to save.
Thirteen.
The night was a quiet one, only finding five demons as compared to the night before. None of them could even put up a fight, my blade reaching them before they could react.
It sounds conceited, but it is a little disappointing. Shinjuro-san must have been right when he said my strength was above average. I did train so hard, so maybe the training is just paying off.
The third night begins and I can sense a demon that has been stalking me as I walk throughout the forest. It thinks it is hidden, but I am luring it to a location that will force it into close combat.
A clearing opens up, hedged in by thick foliage and thorn bushes. The area itself is open but hemmed in by the environment.
I move as if I am going to sit down, my legs bending as I begin to descend backwards. I can hear it take the bait, which means it is dead.
Even though Shinjuro-san worked so hard to teach me Flame Breathing, the Hinokami Kagura feels much more natural. It feels right, as if it is something that I was always meant to use.
The demon speeds towards my unguarded back, it's arm raised to pierce through me. I push off of the floor with my legs and execute a complicated form of the Hinokami Kagura.
"Hinokami Kagura: Fake Rainbow."
The demon is confused as I seemingly disappear. In actuality, I twisted my body and rotated at a high speed. It creates an afterimage, meaning that by the time the demon realises what has happened, it's already dead.
My blade passes through it's neck from the side. I don't even use a form this time, I just swing with all my might. The blade cuts cleanly, the edge is perfect. It hasn't rolled or chipped even once.
Fourteen.
Whoever makes these swords does a good job, that is for sure. Of course they have to be good, if it breaks it can mean the death of the wielder.
This sword belonged to a member of the Rengoku family who did not become a Hashira, dying before they reached that milestone. That is all Shinjuro-san said before handing it to me, entrusting me with it's legacy.
The sword is faithful to it's wielder, never failing to remove the head of any demon I have faced so far.
Twenty.
I don't know how many demons they keep on this mountain, but they have decreased in number. I am actively hunting them down, it means that more people will survive and join the Demon Slayer Corps.
I wonder if that girl I saved is still alive, I hope so.
The sun falls and the fourth night starts. I haven't seen anybody else for a while and I am slightly reluctant to venture right into the depths of the forest. I need to remain near to the sun, so that I can guarantee my safety into the day.
But, that means demons can survive. For tonight, I'll go deeper. I forge my way into the dark depths, cutting foliage with my blade. It is becoming so claustrophobic that I cannot even swing my sword properly.
This is not a good situation. I can hear a demon nearby, it has already sensed me. If it attacks me here, I will be at a disadvantage.
It springs from my right, slamming into my side. For the first time, a demon has landed a hit on me. It claws at my side, digging it's nails into my flesh. The pain is awful but it helps me focus.
I twist my body until the demon is in front of me. It lunges, it's arm aimed straight for my throat.
I move my head, evading it's blow. It's hand shoots straight past me and I slam my blade into it's neck. My left hand is on the hilt and my right hand is pushing down on the back of the blade as I force it into the neck of the demon.
The demon screeches and claws at my stomach with it's other hand. It cuts but not deep enough. I force the demon onto a tree and push the blade all the way through it's neck, cutting it's head off.
Twenty-one.
Entering this deep into the forest is a stupid mistake, one that has left me with painful injuries.
I return to my normal territory, bandaging my bleeding wounds and resting up. The feeling of nails gouging my flesh, searing pain attacking my nerves and burning everything it reached rings fresh in my mind.
The rest of Final Selection passes the same. I venture outwards at night and kill every demon I come across. They are all weak, weaker than the demon I encountered before Final Selection.
I am more careful after being injured, I have learnt my lesson. I stick to the territory that I have marked out, venturing just outside of it on the hunt.
Thirty-two.
That is my total at the end of Final Selection. It makes for thirty-three demons that I have killed by my own hand.
I am not sure if that is every single demon on this mountain, but it must be close. They wouldn't outnumber us two to one, would they?
I descend the mountain back to where we all started. Kagaya and his sister are awaiting us, without the lanterns this time.
Where twenty-five ascended, there are only three of us left. The girl that I saved before, who looks at me with a smile. The third survivor looks at me curiously, a man wearing a blue haori patterned with cresting waves.
He must be a few years older than me, but it is good to see that I am not the only survivor. The wounds I have suffered are visible, although bandaged heavily. I am not so injured that I can't move freely or fight.
We select our ores and are awarded a Kasugai crow each. Our measurements are taken and we are sent on our way.
It will take two weeks for our swords to be finished and delivered to us, after which we will officially begin service as a Demon Slayer.
As I descend the mountain, Rie-chan is waiting at the bottom. Her face lights up when she spots me and she rushes towards me. It's weird, I only looked after her for two weeks but she is this happy to see me.
It turns out that she is being taken in by Urokodaki-san, the man that stepped forward first at the Hashira meeting. She will live with him for some time and become a Demon Slayer if she chooses. He seemed like a kind man and she can even choose to live a normal life, so it seems fine.
I'll definitely visit when I have time. If I have time. I'm going to be very busy for the foreseeable future, working alongside Shinjuro-san in protecting the territory allotted to him. I might also end up going out on solo missions.
I pat Rie-chan on the head and say goodbye to her, she looks crestfallen but she accompanies Urokodaki-san who bows to me and turns away. He is wearing a red tengu mask, the same one he wore at the Hashira meeting. It seems like he has retired due to age and that there is an open spot amongst the Hashira.
I will take that spot. It normally takes five years for someone to become a Hashira, that is how long it took Shinjuro-san. I must do it in far less time than that. I must reach that level as soon as possible, so that I can deal with any threat that I have to face.
The Rumble Hashira has been badly injured but to what extent is unknown, he was on the older side too. Perhaps there will be two open spots amongst the Hashira.
My Kasugai Crow perches on my shoulder and announces it's name to me loudly, squawking into my ear with no restraint.
"SHOU, SHOU, SHOU."
An apt name for a crow, although not the most original. It continues to squawk as I begin to travel home to the Rengoku Estate. The journey feels a bit easier on the way back, I stop at the old woman's house to notify her of my survival. She smiles as I stop by, I do not stay the night this time though.
I thank her for her hospitality and leave. Two weeks until I return home as promised. I'll receive my own nichirin blade and uniform and I'll officially become a Demon Slayer.
I'm having far too much fun writing this. The words just flow from my brain and onto the screen in a ridiculously fast time, to the point that I find freetime every day just to work on a chapter even with my busy schedule lmao. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this one. Stuff should pick up intensity from next chapter on as Yoichi is now a Demon Slayer! I would love to hear your opinions on this chapter and what you think of Yoichi in general. Many thanks for reading!
-TheGrailsVoice