In His Shadow (KNY x M!Reader)

Chapter 5: Final Selection

3rd person POV:

Mt. Fujikasane: site of the final selection

After hours of walking, Tanjiro and (Y/N) have reached Mt. Fujikasane.

"Wow! It's so beautiful! But wisteria shouldn't be blooming this time of year." Tanjiro thought to himself, admiring the scene.

(Y/N) didn't look really happy. Instead, he felt ill ever since they got close to the wisteria.

The duo reached a flight of stairs, leading up to a gate.

After climbing up the steps, they came face to face with two almost identical twins, only the hair color was different, and around 20 people, all wearing different uniforms, most having scars on their faces.

"Look how many there are..!" Tanjiro yelled in his mind, (Y/N) feeling worse and worse by the second.

One of the twins in the front spoke up, which got everyone's attention. "Greetings, everyone. Thank you for gathering tonight for the final selection. Mt. Fujikasane holds demons that demon-slayer swordsmen have taken alive and trapped here."

The other spoke up after the first finished. "Demons hate wisteria flowers, which bloom here even out of season. They cover the mountain from its foot halfway up the slope."

The black haired twin spoke up again. "However, from that point on, the wisteria does not bloom. So the demons roam free. You must survive there for seven days." She explained.

"If you do, then you will have passed the final selection. Now go." The other twin sent everyone on their way.

Tanjiro grabbed (Y/N)'s wrist and started running, practically dragging the (H/C) haired boy after him.

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The two were now far away from their starting point. They heard rustling in some bushes nearby, and then two voices arguing with each other.

"Hey, hey! Get lost! I'm gonna eat these kids!" A feminine demon's voice could be heard.

"No, you get lost!" Now a masculine voice was heard.

(Y/N) immediately unsheathed his katana and stood in front of Tanjiro, protectively. "Two of them! Out of nowhere! Can I win?" He thought to himself.

"They're my meal!"

"Shut up!"

"The one who kills them first gets to eat them!

The two demons rushed towards him, and he readied his blade. "It's been so long since I tasted human flesh!" One of them yelled.

(Y/N) breathed in. "Water breathing, fourth form: Striking Tide!" He shouted in his mind as he jumped towards the two demons. Water started flowing around his sword with his every movement. He slashed multiple times at the two demons before landing behind them, their heads already falling.

"That was cool, (Y/N)!" Tanjiro clapped. (Y/N) just smiled and sheathed his katana.

"We should go, we don't want to draw any more attention to us." The (H/C) haired male stated. "I did it. I beat two demons! I've gotten stronger. All that training didn't go to waste! We can do this!" He thought to himself.

Suddenly, a man ran in their direction while screaming. "WAAH! THERE'S A HUGE, DEFORMED DEMON BACK THERE! I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT!"

The demon came out from the shadows, holding a probably already deceased person. The demon had several hands, a lot of them covering his head and mouth. Both of his eyes had an x on them. It launched its hand after the running man, grabbing him by the ankle.