Katsuki's eyes fluttered upon hearing birds chirping from out her window. She sat up slowly and peered outside from her seated position. The sun peeking through the clouds entered through her window, hitting her face. The warm rays warmed up her cold face. She felt the morning breeze kiss her cheeks as her hair slowly floated behind her. It was a beautiful day.
The small girl stretched her arms in the air before getting up to change her clothes.
She slipped on a pair of black trousers, a black turtleneck tank top, and black knee high boots. The white belt she threw on last and fastened it around her hip, securing her sword at her hip. Katsuki examined herself in the mirror and smoothed out the material on her body. The young girl nodded in approval.
"Maybe we can add a little color with this haori?" A male voice entered the room.
Katsuki spun on her heels and saw Urokodaki standing in the doorway. There he held a haori similar to his. It was blue and the pattern on the fabric gave off the image of water flowing.
"It may not be your style, but in case it gets cold out there, it's better to have something than nothing," he handed the piece of clothing over to the girl.
She held the fabric in her hand, it was soft and beautifully made. She had never had anything like it before.
"Once you pass the Final Selection they'll have you fitted for your uniform and you can design your own haori in the process," he stated and placed his hands behind his back, "I know blue isn't everyone's color," he scoffed lightly.
"No, thank you, Urokodaki," Katsuki smiled softly and began to slide into the piece of clothing, but stopped short. She glanced up at her master, in disbelief. Was she hearing him correctly? "I'm sorry, but did you say-" before the girl could finish he cut her off.
"Yes," he answered admittedly. "When you pass make sure to come visit me afterwards so you can tell me all about it, okay?"
She stood there, with wide eyes, unsure of what to say. She felt something bubble up in the pit of stomach. Was it pride? She was unsure.
"Yes! Of course!" She exclaimed and finished putting the haori on that Urokodaki gave her. She examined herself in the mirror and only hoped she could perform the part as much as she looked the part.
"One last thing, follow me," the white haired man trudged out of the room and into the next. Katsuki did not question him. After securing the haori around her she caught behind him. She watched as he dug through a closet to pull out a mask. It was a fox mask. He hands it over to the girl.
She examined the mask in her hand, running her thumb against the material. It's base was white and had red details. It was smooth to the touch and looked like it had barely been worn. "What is this?" she questioned.
"It's a warding mask," Urokodaki answered. "There has been a spell placed on it to protect you from harm."
She nodded her head after learning about the purpose of the mask and thanked him once again for his generosity.
Katsuki embraced Urokodaki in a hug and bid him farewell before heading up the hill. She turned back one last time to wave goodbye to her teacher. Her green orbs caught an image behind the man. It was Sabito. He was smiling slightly and outstretched his hand, waving to the redheaded girl. She nodded her head, almost reassuring him that she will make it out of there. Turning on her heels, she headed over the heels and made her track to her destination.
It had taken Katsuki some time before reaching her destination; she had underestimated how far Mount Fujikasane was from Urokodaki's hut. Relief swelled in the pit of her stomach when the purple colors of the blooming wisterias came into view and a set of stairs sitting at the end of the pathway. However, there was this other strange feeling tugging deep within her, unsure of what it was. She knew as soon as she ascended those stairs, everything would change from that point on.
Upon taking the flight of cobblestone steps up, she was rather amazed with the amount of people standing there, waiting for the Final Selection to begin. There had to be at least thirty possible candidates hoping to earn a spot into the corporation.
Out of everyone standing there, a petite girl stood out to her the most. She was cladded in a kimono with different shades of bright pink. Her hair was tied into two dutch braids and the rest of her black hair laid smoothly against her back. She stood there fiddling with her fingers in an anxious manner.
"Good evening," a pair of voices interrupted Katsuki's thoughts.
Katsuki and the rest of the candidates turned their attention to two girls wearing a purple kimono. One had white hair and the other had black hair. There they each held a lantern up. Their purple eyes stared into the direction of everyone. It was honestly a little creepy how similar and unfazed the two stood there.
"Tonight we thank you for coming and entering in the Demon Slayer Corps Final Selection," the two continued, still talking in unison.
The white haired girl began on her own, "Here on Mount Fujikasane there are imprisoned demons, captured by current demon slayers swordsmen. They are kept here for this event you will all be partaking in momentarily."
The black haired girl continued off the other girl, "The wisteria flowers, which demons despise, are what keep them from leaving."
"The wisteria flowers end here, so demons abound from this point on and are extremely hungry."
"As some of you may know, in order to complete Final Selection you must last seven days beyond the wisteria's protection," the girls continued to talk, never shifting or moving a single muscle. It was almost unhuman-like behavior.
They both bowed their heads in respect to all the candidates, "Your trial begins now."
Katsuki secured the mask over her face and grasped her hand over the hilt of her sword. Taking a deep breath, her relaxed demeanor was replaced with a serious one as she walked forward to enter the woods roaming with demons.
"Stay sharp and survive," she thought to herself.
Katsuki had been running through the woods for a few hours. The other candidates had branched away and she had been on her own for quite some time. Maybe this was better and traveling in large groups would attract more demons? She was unsure, still not fully acquainted with how these monsters function.
All she had to do was make it through the night. She knew once the sun began to rise she would be safe and could allow herself to rest. Being that demons hate the sun and wither away when caught in its rays. At night it was dangerous and it was where they excelled the most, this is when she had to be on alert at all times.
Katsuki stopped in her tracks and scanned her surroundings. She sensed the presence of another, but from what she could feel, it was not another human. Her hand rested on the hilt and she prepared herself to unsheath it at any moment.
"Where are you?" she asked herself.
Her green orbs continued to observe her surroundings. It finally hit her and with just enough time she jumped in the air, avoiding the hands that emerged from below her.
"So you were burrowed below me?"
Katsuki flipped once and landed gently on the ground, watching the demon show himself before her.
He cackled wickedly, eyeing the girl. He licked his lips in a hungry manner.
"My, my, you have a unique scent, girl," he growled and readied himself to attack. "Maybe that's because I have not had flesh in awhile. But nevertheless, allow me to feast upon you!"
He dashed forward, extending his sharp claws at the girl, aiming them for her neck.
She steadied herself and released her sword from its refinements. Her stance strong and her hands wrapped around the sword, she blocked the attack. She transferred the weight of the attack into her own and swung forward, only for him to duck. He kicked his leg forward, connecting it with Katsuki's sword. He sent her backwards and she skipped to a stop.
She huffed to herself, "Relax," she managed to calm herself down. "Remember what you learned and apply it!"
The demon dashed forward sloppily, his sight was blocked by hunger.
"Total concentration! Water breathing," Katsuki breathed deeply and waited for the line to connect. She saw an opening and took it, "First form, Water Surface Slash." Like water, Katsuki followed without hesitation and sliced his head clean off.
The redheaded girl peered over her back, watching the demon slowly disappear. Her breathing was rather ragged, could be from the adrenaline pumping through her blood.
"I did it," she took in another deep breath, her chest raising up and down furiously, "I killed my first demon."
Katsuki looked down at her hand and gripped it, determined to advance further. She placed her sword back in her sheath and progressed East.
After traveling through the night, the sunlight finally became visible. Katsuki promised herself she would not push herself as hard once daylight broke through. She gave herself permission to ease herself against a large rock and regain her strength before continuing.
After a few hours of resting, she picked herself up off the ground and dusted the first off her uniform. Being that it was still light out she did not want to go at a fast pace quite yet. She walked down the dirt path in the direction that would hopefully lead her to the end of the forest. Only a few more days of this and she would be given a spot in the Demon Slayer Corps.
She stopped in her tracks, noticing the girl from before standing in her way. She looked unsure of which way to go. The black haired girl gasped upon realizing Katsuki had been there for some time and did not notice it until now.
"Hi," the girl spoke first, her voice was quiet and gentle, "Are you lost as well?" she asked.
Katsuki shook her head, "I'm heading in that direction, it should lead you to the end," she pointed in the pathway that was behind the girl's back.
The girl's deep shade of brown eyes trailed in the direction that Katsuki was pointing in. She sighed in relief being that she was bounding that way from the start. She just wanted reassurance that her sense of direction was correct.
"Ah, thank you," she bowed her head in respect.
Katsuki stood there, unbothered by the girl. Instead she continued to walk ahead of her. Passing by the girl she did not break her gaze from the path ahead of her.
"Wait- Wait a moment! What's your name?" She asked.
"Katsuki, Katsuki Akane." She didn't even bother to ask the girl her name.
"My name is Shizuko Tanaka. Maybe we could travel together?" she asked, watching Katsuki pass by her.
Katsuki stopped in her tracks, her eyes still glued on the path in front of her, "No, I'd rather travel on my own."
Without waiting for a response, the student of Urokodaki kept walking ahead.
Was it because she did not want to travel in groups and attract more demons with the scent of their blood? Or was it that she did not want to grow an attachment to someone in fear of them being taken away as well? She did not want to have to rely on someone to help or have this sense of needing to protect them and failing. She did not want to lose another person due to her own weakness or carelessness.
At this point it was night again and Katsuki had run into three demons already. She was able to manage and behead each of them. Her guesses were that the deeper you get into the Final Selection, the harder it got? If only Giyu had relayed some of that information in the letters he had sent or even paid a visit. Ever since he was sworn into the Corporation he never made an attempt to come back. She did not know how to feel about it, she struggled to understand how she felt about a lot of things. Sometimes her mind was just seemingly blank. But why? That did not matter. When given the opportunity she swore she would question his actions and why he neglected to come back to visit.
"You should not be thinking of these type of things right now, Katsuki," she spoke firmly to herself and shook away any of the remainder thoughts,
"HELP!"
The girl with a fox mask stopped and shifted her attention to where the shouting was coming from. The voice was oddly familiar, something in her was tugging at her to advance towards the pleads.
Katsuki ran forward this time keeping her sword unsheathed and grasping tightly in her right hand.
She came to a halt and took in the battle that was going on before her. It was the girl from earlier, this time she was faced with two demons, no, a third. She was too preoccupied with the demons in front of her, she was failing to recognize the one perched on a tree. It readied itself to pounce on the unguarded girl.
What was Katsuki to do? She was stuck battling her own thoughts. Her hand clutched around the hilt of her sword shook slightly. It was not shaking in fear of the demon, but in fear of not being able to help the girl.
"Katsuki! Help me!"
Her emerald eyes widened upon hearing his voice. It was Hiraku.
"Save me, please!"
The girl before her was now replaced with an image of her younger brother. Her blood turned cold seeing her dead brother before and seeing how scared he looked. The look of despair and fear looked the same as from that day before he was knocked out.
Something in her made her move before she could even process anything else. She squatted to the ground, loading up her power. She sprung and within a blink of an eye she appeared behind the girl. They stood back to back.
"K-Katsuki, is that you?" she asked and blocked the attack from the demon in front of her.
"Relax," she spoke, cooly. She readied herself for the demon above her. "Focus on the two in front of you."
"Right!" Shizuko nodded her head and grasped onto whatever weapon she was using. Katsuki was unsure of what breathing style she used or what type of weapon complimented her style. At the moment that did not matter, she was too focused on the demon that was preparing itself to launch at her.
This moment felt different to Katsuki. Her stance was seemingly stronger and more firm than faced with other demons. While she felt like her grip on her sword was the same when fighting the other demons, she thought she was going to break the hilt of her sword with how tight she held onto it. For the most part, Katsuki wore a blank expression on her face. This time, behind the mask, she had an emotionless, yet cold stare. It was as if something in her switched.
"Two young girls, how delightful!" The demon from above was aching for a bite. He lunged forward, baring his teeth.
Katsuki breathed deeply and fixed her hand positioning on the sword.
"Total Concentration. Water breathing." her voice had a deathly aura to it. "Third Form. Flowing Dance." In a swift movement, Katsuki bent her body to follow the movement of her sword and found the line that connected with the demon's neck. In a swift movement, her blade made contact with his neck and sliced his head off.
Katsuki landed gently on the ground and prepared herself to assist with Shizuko. However, there was a beautiful, yet calming melody playing in the background. It was peaceful, almost putting her mind and body at ease.
She watched as the black haired girl played a soft tune from her flute, putting the two demons in front of her in some sort of trance. Katsuki had never seen anything like it. Her suspicions heightened about the style the girl in front of her used.
"Total Concentration! Music breathing!" the petite girl internally spoke to herself. "First form. Sedative Melody."
Once the demons had fallen under the girl's song, a sword slid from beneath the sleeve of her kimono. "Total Concentration. Music breathing." Shizuko sprung forward at the two demons who stood there helplessly. "Second form. Acoustic Rampage." Swiftly the girl beheaded the two demons in front of her.
The two stood there in silence for a moment, trying to collect themselves after the recent events. Shizuko did not realize how fast and quick moving Katsuki was. It was truly a sight to see, well it would have been if Shizuko could have seen it happen.
She explained to Katsuki what had happened. She was traveling and had gotten nicked on a prickly bush. There must have been demons nearby that had caught the scent of her fresh blood. It had attracted one and before she knew she had been caught on the grounds of another demon. The raven haired girl thanked Katsuki for saving her. Being occupied with the two demons in front of her, she was unaware of her surroundings and failed to check everywhere.
"Your breathing style, it is really pretty," Katsuki regained her composure from that heightened state she had after facing that demon. She had to admit, she was a little winded after that encounter. Still unsure what happened to her back there, almost feeling like she had blacked out during that fight.
"R-Really! Thank you," the girl smiled sweetly, a tint of pink appearing on her cheeks. She analyzed Katsuki's current state and pondered asking her again. "You seem a little exhausted, I could only imagine how many you fought before coming in to save me at the last minute. I apologize for that!" She bowed her head, apologizing for the following events the two faced together. "Until you have regained your stamina, let's travel together for the time being. Then we can go our separate ways?"
Katsuki was still a little unsure about traveling as two. However, she was a little exhausted from fighting that demon and daylight was pretty far from now. Just for tonight, it would not hurt to travel as two. "I would like that, thank you."
The two girls walked, side by side. They were extra cautious of their surroundings and did not let up their guard throughout the night. Katsuki and Shizuko were rather lucky to make it through the night without running into any more demons.
When the morning rays of the sun began to rise over the hill, the two eased up a bit and decided they would let themselves rest for only a little bit though. They did not travel fast this past night and wanted to cover more ground before the night approached them again.
"Thank you, Shizuko, was it?" Katsuki questioned, resting her head on the back of a tree trunk.
"Mhmm," the small girl nodded her head, with a smile. "Shizuko Tanaka, my family and I reside out of Asakusa. It's a small and quiet area and not much happens out over there. Honestly, our area hasn't really been tormented by demons. Honestly, I have never come face to face with one until these past few days. So fighting demons and the Demon Slayer Corps was something new to the ears in my village. It did not come to our attention until talk had come about with recent killings in nearby villages that my mother traveled to check on patients and would notice unrecognizable behavior from those infected," Shizuko sparked a conversation between the two.
Katsuki was truly shocked to hear this information from her new acquaintance. If she had never experienced what demons truly are and what they do, why put yourself in harm's way? "Then how did you discover this sort of stuff? Why are you even risking your life?" Katsuki asked.
The small girl laughed and looked down at her hands. "I'm truly not sure, Katsuki." She laughed lightly and eyed the red headed closely. Expecting an outburst of some sort or a sly remark. However, she remained silent, allowing Shizuko to fully explain herself.
"I grew up in a rather privileged house, I guess you could say? We had a very stable livelihood and got basically everything we asked for. My father worked in hospitals as the lead doctor and my mother worked as a traveling nurse, always on the move. My brother is even in residency to become a doctor himself. You could say helping people runs in my family," she chuckled softly and shook her head. "Then there was me." she paused for a moment and glanced down at her hands.
"I was never interested in going to the medical field, the smell of blood made me queasy and the sight of broken bones was enough to make me faint," she laughed and Katsuki gave a small laugh in response. She was not laughing at the girl, but with her. "As much as I wanted to follow in their footsteps, I couldn't do it, I was told I was too timid and hesitant to be a doctor anyways. The idea of having someone's life in my hands like that truly scared me to death."
"However, if there was something I was never hesitant about, it was music," she glanced down at her flute. It was one of her most prized possessions. "I was always enchanted by the lovely tunes musical instruments brought. I found myself practicing every day and found I had a natural talent at it."
While it sounded like a pleasant story, it took a quick turn.
"But my family did not approve of my new found love. My family's history ran through a long line of relatives working in the medical field. When they found out I did not want to pursue it anymore, they were devastated and upset. My mother cried for a straight week and my father could not even look at me. My brother of course did not care what I did, but I knew deep down he was disappointed as well. You could see it on his face," the sadness radiated off her voice and her eyes dropped to the ground. "I was pushed to the side, I was the forgotten child. They were embarrassed of what their daughter was spending most of her time doing. I felt so lonely at the time, as if I had no one, but there was one thing that never left me. Music."
"While I could not physically help people, maybe my music could help others in some ways. So I ran away and sought out what I could do with this talent of mine."
"I was curious about these strange killings and what was turning people to do inhuman things, humans killing humans and eating them as a matter of fact" Shizuko continued, this dreaded look in her eyes. "That was then when I met someone named Uzui Tengen. He was the Hashira assigned to that village to exterminate the demons dwelling in that town. His melody was loud, almost too loud for the human ears. However, it was fascinating!" She exclaimed and she looked out ahead of her. Recalling her past memories.
"While he would not allow me to directly train underneath him as his Tsugoku, he allowed me to train with him and watch him until his mission was completed. He had mentioned something about the Final Selection and should consider it if I was feeling up to it. Since then I have been working on Total Concentration and trying to perfect it to complement my style. I believe this was how I was going to help people. By saving those in need of assistance!"
"What about you, Katsuki," Shizuko's curiosity got the best of her and she shifted her attention to the red headed girl cladded in blue. Katsuki had grown rather quiet. "Where are you from? Why did you want to become a demon slayer?"
Katsuki sat there and really pondered over the question. Why did she want to become a demon slayer? What was her true purpose? Was it to avenge her family? Was it to protect those who needed it? Was it to just pass time because she had nothing? What was her purpose?
"My family is dead and I don't really know why I'm here," she answered blandly and pulled her legs up and hugged them close to her chest. She rested her chin on her knees and kept her gaze out into the distance. "I don't know what I'm doing honestly."
Shizuko was unsure of how to respond back to this answer. She offered the girl a sad, but sincere smile. "I'm sorry to hear about your family, I pray that they had a peaceful death and are in no pain now. It's okay to not know what you're doing, keep following whatever path feels right and keep chasing it!"
Katsuki's green orbs widened slightly. Follow a path and keep chasing it. She turned her attention away from the girl and onto the path in front of them.
"Well, I enjoyed the chat," Shizuko picked herself off the floor and dusted the dirt off her kimono. "We better take our leave and make our way to the end. I'll be praying for your safety and success. Hopefully when we see each other again, it'll be us getting sworn into the Demon Slayer Corps!"
Shizuko had turned around and began to head off in her own path. Katsuki contemplated for a moment before springing up on her feet.
"Shizuki!" she shouted and sped up to catch up with the music slayer. She stopped in her tracks and turned around to see Katsuki closing the distance between the two.
"Why don't we… travel together?" Katsuki managed to speak, her face pointed away from the girl. While she was unable to see her uneasy expression due to her mask, this was a hard and uncomfortable position for Katsuki.
A wide grin appeared and she immediately shook her head, "I'd love to!" she exclaimed.
For the rest of the selection the two traveled together and fought side by side. They managed to get through the seven nights. They had minor cuts and bruises, but nothing serious. They would attend to have them looked at better once they were all situated at the end.
Upon reaching the end there were only four others that made it to the end. They were astonished to see that not many candidates had survived the seven days. Towards the back were the two young girls with white and black hair, waiting for everyone to gather around.
"Katsuki we did it!" Shizuko was fighting back the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes. She wiped them away immediately. "Thank you for your help and encouragement throughout the test, you are truly amazing. Hopefully this can be our stepping stone into the path of becoming friends!"
Katsuki did not know how to respond to this interaction, it was something new to her. She found herself becoming awkward in these types of situations. But hearing the word friends made her heart feel warm. Like it did when she was with her family.
"Thank you, Shizuko," she bowed her head.