Disclaimer: I do not own Demon Slayer : Kimetsu no Yaiba or any of its characters/story.

IV: Final Selection, Part One

Here I go.

Kanao grabbed small bundles of clothes out of her closet, and placed them on her bed. A black backpack sat next to the pile of supplies that she had packed for Final Selection.

It had already been around a year since she had started the harsh training assigned to her by Shinobu under what she guessed was Kanae's wishes. Still, she didn't regret any of it.

She was physically stronger, and could handle guns and knives with not much problem. Shinobu told her that she was a quick learner, and that's why she was already at a near-master level at handling the weapons. But after training every day without a break, it was no wonder that the girl had improved.

Her regular education was caught up to what it would have been if she was a normal girl enrolled in school.

A normal girl. I don't think I could ever be that, no matter how much I was trained or taught.

Kanao shook her head slightly, clearing her head, and looked back to the task at hand. Grabbing a few articles of clothing, she opened her bag. After folding the clothes, she placed them in the bottom of the backpack. What else can go in here? Glancing around, her amethyst eyes landed on her sketchbook, which was sitting on her desk.

God, she hadn't drawn in ages. She doubted bringing it would really do anything for her, since she was fairly certain the Final Selection would have absolutely nothing to do with art. But regardless, she dropped it in the pocket along with the rest of the clothes.

A while later, Kanao found herself with a bag filled with extra supplies of all types, since she had no clue what the exam would actually consist of. Her gun was concealed by the folds of her jacket, and her knives were strapped at her chest.

Going into the bathroom, she grabbed her hairbrush and did her hair up into the side ponytail that Kanae had taught her all those years ago. Opening her mirror cupboard, she found the pink and green butterfly hairpin that once belonged to her sister. That too, always went in her hair. She finished clipping it in, and walked out to grab her bag.

"Kanao, it's time to go."

Glancing up, she found Shinobu leaning against the doorframe. It was talent, she supposed, how her elder sister could sneak around without anyone hearing anything. Maybe the Academy taught things like that, too.

With a small nod, she threw her backpack over her shoulder.

.

Sitting in the car, Kanao stared out the window. Buildings and trees greeted her on the other side. It was going to be a long ride, Shinobu had told her that, so she had her phone in her lap with headphones on her ears. The music playing was a preset playlist created by Kanae, since Kanao didn't have any preferences. She hadn't even listened to songs before, since her parents had deemed it unnecessary. Not that they could even afford it.

It was hard to think about her past. Usually at the slightest mention or thought of it, Kanao would shut her mind down in a way. It would often leave her still and staring ahead, eyes open but unseeing. Her sisters had swore when they first beheld her like that, curled up on the floor of her room, knees brought to her chest and eyes in a faraway place.

Still, no one seemed to mind too much, unless she stayed like that for too long without moving.

Luckily, or perhaps unluckily for her, the car ride was going to be a while.

/-/-/-/-/

With no emotion on her face, Kanao stood with Shinobu at the front gates of the academy.

The huge building, white in colour and surrounded by what she recognized were wisteria trees, was filled with people. She could easily see through the tall and narrow windows at least 25 people her age, give or take a year.

The guards posted at the gates took one look at Shinobu and gave them admission inside.

"Alright Kanao, you're staying here with your fellow students. I have to go with the other teachers." That's right, she thought, Shinobu is a teacher here. Her sister walked away, towards a line of adults that looked like the teachers of the school.

Kanao's gaze swept the room, landing on a few people that stood out. A dark-haired boy with a scar across his right cheek. A timid, golden-haired boy that clutched his yellow triangle-patterned sweater.

And….

Kanao's eyes widened, just a little.

A boy with familiar reddish black hair, and a flame-like scar on his forehead. Although his clothes were different, a blue cloud pattern hoodie, she could still see the boy from so long ago, the first person to make her smile after such a traumatizing life.

What was he doing here?

His eyes were staring straight ahead, at nothing in particular. Where was his family? His sister, that he seemed to love so much?

Under what conditions did he need to take this exam?

She realized she was staring, and turned her head to the side, ridding her face of emotion. In her peripheral vision, she glanced at the boy, who she didn't even know the name of. Maybe… if she talked to him, she could learn the answers to her questions?

"Stupid girl! Nobody would bother speaking to the likes of you!" Her father, in her mind, narrowed his eyes at her. "How could you possibly think that-"

"Hello."

Kanao's thoughts were cut off by the boy, who now stood in front of her. She met his eyes, remembering the warm crimson colour the instant she saw it again.

But she couldn't talk. Her throat had closed up, leaving her just staring at the boy. Although she wasn't sure why, it was too difficult to speak. Maybe if she pretended she was mute, like all the other times someone spoke to her, he'd leave. But did she really want him to go?

"You're that girl from a long time ago. How many years was it? 8?" He continued, apparently not minding that she didn't answer.

She gave a nod, albeit hesitantly. He remembered her? How did he possibly bother to recall a memory from that long ago? Her hand was in her pocket, where the coin lay waiting to be used.

"We haven't actually introduced each other. I'm Tanjiro Kamado."

She pulled out a small card from her pocket that Shinobu created for her in case anyone needed to know. Maybe her sister had thought prior to the exam that she wouldn't speak, and decided to save Kanao from situations like this.

Turning the card to show the boy, she lowered her eyes.

How did Tanjiro not care that she didn't talk?

He smiled, testing out her name. "Nice to meet you, Kanao."

She nodded, not really knowing what else to do.

The two stood together, not saying anything. Somehow it didn't feel awkward, though. She watched as two identical twins walked out to the front of the room, and silenced the future students. Taking turns speaking, they gave the welcome speech for the exam.

.

Shinobu stood between Giyuu and Muichiro, watching the speech boredly. The two by her sides weren't helping the case, since both were pretty quiet and didn't provide any entertainment for her.

Scanning the crowd, she found Kanao. She stood next to a boy with dark red hair. How she managed to approach someone, she didn't know. Or maybe the boy talked first.

After a long few minutes, the exam was about to start. It was quite simple, really. The students were to enter a forest terrain, filled with captured members of the Demons. The only objective was to survive for seven days.

Taking a deep breath, Shinobu watched as Kanao walked through the back doors and disappeared into the sea of people.

Time to see how well she had trained her adoptive sister.

/-/-/-/-/

Hello, welcome to chapter 4. I got bored after a while, writing this entire thing in one sitting.

Don't have much to say about this one, other than "Get ready for next chapter."

So yeah, see you (hopefully) next week for chapter 5.