•|• Avatar •||• Hashibira Inosuke x Reader •|•

Chapter 13

"Maybe, c'mon."
He grabs my hand and takes me up the stairs before us, reaching flat land.

We pass by a gate, and see dozens of other children our age, some even younger, all with their swords at the ready.

"So many people..."

Before we say anything else, two identical twins speak up.
They both look eerily alike, the only difference even visible is that one of them has black hair.

"Good evening. Tonight, you have come to enter the Demon Slayer Corps Final Selection. Thank you all for being here."

The one with white hair continued.
"Here on Mount Fujikasane, there are several demons that were captured alive by demon slayer swordsmen. They are kept here for this event."

So... Final Selection means fighting an actual demon...

"The wisteria blossoms prevent them from leaving."
The other twin speaks up.
"They bloom on this mountain year round. And they cover everything from the base to halfway to the top."

"But the wisteria ends here. So demons are bound from here on out. And they're very hungry."

I slightly frown in discomfort. Sure, the lesson that demons must be slain has been practically pounded into my head by Urokodaki, but I still doubt I'm able to do it.

Tanjiro squeezes my hand a little tighter for comfort, which I appreciate as I listen on.

"In order to complete Final Selection, you must survive for seven days beyond the wisteria's protection."

"Now, your trial begins."
They say in unison and bow.

Tanjiro and I look at each other and nod for reassurance, making our way past the protective blossoms, and into the dark forest.

We chose to stay together so we'd be safer, and we had long surpassed the blossoms, evening now bleeding into night.

We ran, going east to be as close to the sun as we could, so our safety would be ensured quicker.

Just make it through the night so we can safely rest until evening.
That's our plan for now.

We stopped in our tracks, Tanjiro readying his sword while I held my staff.
"I can smell a demon. Do you see anything?"

"Nothing yet. Just our movements for now."

"!"
We both looked up, jumping out of the way as a demon tried to pounce on us, splitting us apart.

Another demon came for Tanjiro as I tried to keep the one currently on me at bay.
With a little room to move as he pinned me down, I managed to send him off of me, gaining some distance.

Luckily, the two demons, upon noticing each other, began to fight over who they would eat first.

We used this opportunity to run, holding hands to make sure we wouldn't be separated.
It worked, too, until I felt something wrap tightly around my neck and legs in a flash, making me collapse as I'm being dragged away, immobile.

Tanjiro could barely even catch up with this thing as I struggled against it, realizing far too late my staff had fallen off!