Zenitsu and (Y/N) walked back to Jigoro's home slowly. They were both exhausted from the test they had undergone. The weight from their borrowed swords and new uniforms felt greater than it was. Although, (Y/N) had to admit, this was far nicer than her walk from her old house to the city. If nothing else she wasn't alone anymore.
(Y/N) let out a sigh in contentment. There was a gentle smile gracing her features. The blond boy next to her felt his heart skip a beat, she looked truly beautiful. Zenitsu frowned slightly. This is how she would have smiled everyday had her family not been taken from her.
"C'mon (Y/N)-chan! We gotta hurry back so we can train and get rid of as many demons as possible!!" Zenitsu suddenly exclaimed as he started walking faster.
"Eh? What's with the sudden determination?" (Y/N) asked as she matched his pace. He looked back at her and giggled before running as fast as his tired legs would carry him. "Hey get back here!" the girl called after before running along with him.
Once the duo arrived back at Jigoro's estate they were panting and out of breath. The sun was just barely starting to dip back over the horizon as Jigoro beamed at the duo. They both looked up at the one who'd trained them the past years and gave him tired smiles.
"Wow. I'm surprised you two actually made it back alive. Especially you Zenitsu," Kaigaku said. He'd already passed the test a couple months prior and hadn't stopped talking about it anytime he saw the pair, though, it was far worse for Zenitsu.
(Y/N) stood fully, her chest still rising and falling, while Zenitsu stayed hunched over with his hands on his knees. They both still bared smiles.
"Yeah, we're slayers now, just like you. Thank you for all your support, Kaigaku-san!" (Y/N) said with a surprisingly genuine smile. The boy merely scoffed and walked into the house. Jigoro greeted his three students with pride.
The four of them had a rather large and lavish dinner and celebrated. Kaigaku had gotten out of being assigned any new missions for a couple days because even though he couldn't stand Zenitsu, he was at least a little happy (Y/N) had made it back okay, though he'd never admit that of course.
A few days past and Kaigaku had had to return to slaying demons. (Y/N) went back to training and, with Jigoro's help, got Zenitsu to join her.
✩☆★☆✩
It was an average day when the two swordsmiths appeared. (Y/N) had almost forgotten that she was an official demon slayer as she practiced with the sword Jigoro had lent her. She had just finished cutting at a tree when she heard the sound of chimes.
She looked to see two strange men hyottoko masks nearing the estate. One of them had black hair the was brushed back while the other had a hat with the chimes that had alerted her to their presence in the first place. She frowned slightly as they grew closer. She had no clue who these men were or why they were here.
"(L/N) (Y/N)," the one with the chimes said, pointing slightly at the girl.
"Uh yes?" she questioned. The two seemed harmless but she didn't know what they had in the boxes they carried and was especially confused as to how they knew her name. The one with the chimes started to drone about swords before being tugged back by the other.
"Please forgive my colleague. I'm Kanamori and this is Haganezuka, we're the ones who forged your's and Agatsuma Zenitsu's swords," the one with the one with the black hair, Kanamori, said calmly, Haganezuka attempting to pull away awkwardly.
"Oh! That explains those boxes you have! Please, follow me inside," (Y/N) said, trying to keep down the bubbling excitement she felt. Kanamori dragged his friend with him to follow the girl leading them to the house.
"Zenitsu-kun!" she called once they walked in. The sound of steps was heard as he along with Jigoro approached.
"Who are these guys (Y/N)-chan?" he asked tugging her a bit away from the strange men. Jigoro moved to greet them.
"Hello! You two must be from the swordsmiths village!" he said while smiling, "Please come in and have some tea," he continued.
Jigoro gestured them into the house before walking away. The two followed (although Kanamori was still pulling the other by his clothes) with (Y/N) and Zenitsu trailing behind.
"So these two have our swords?" Zenitsu whispered to (Y/N).
"I believe so, yes," she replied. Her voice was laced with so much excitement that Zenitsu felt somewhat ashamed of his previous hopes that they would somehow be forgotten and not get their swords so that he didn't have to go fight.
The unbridled joy she felt begane to rub off on him and he felt himself dreading the thought of leaving for less. Once the group made it to the living room they all took a seat, Jigoro leaving briefly to make tea. The four were silent. Kanamori and(Y/N) didn't seem to take much issue with it, Zenitsu seemed slightly off, but Haganezuka seemed clearly bothered.
He soon started gushing about swords and explaining his process that led to the creation of (Y/N)'s sword. Kanamori seemed mildly annoyed with his antics but let him continue. The two teenagers listened quitely (though Zenitsu enjoyed the long explaination far less than (Y/N) did). He didn't finish until Jigoro had returned, a tray with all their tea on it.
"Sorry for the long explaination, he really enjoys his swords. I'm Kanamori and this is Haganezuka. We were the two selected to forge your swords," he said calmly. It was a stark contrast to Haganezuka but it was nice that he was here to help reel him in. He took the cup of tea before him and lifted his mask just enough to take a sip before setting it down and readjusting his mask.
"(L/N)! Let me see your sword color! You're a Breath of Wind user yes? It should be a nice green. Here. Look," he said, pushing the oblong box he carried towards her. She opened it to reveal a sword with a reddish brown sheath and a small bit of silver covering the bottom tip of the sheath and the top near the sword guard. The handle was wrapped gorgeously. It was the same color as the sheath but had small squares of bright red that went down the middle underneath the brown wrappings and a silver coat at the edge of the handle. The guard was rather ornate, it had four clouds, two of which were white and two that were gray, in-between two black rings. All in all it was already gorgeous to the girl.
Zenitsu could hear the joy coming from her as she reached into the box and pulled it to her lap. That joy became more apparent as she brought a hand to it's handle and unsheathed it, holding it upright. A deep green started to coat it while a lighter green coated the edge of the blade, forming a somewhat fluffy pattern in the darker green that reminded the girl of the cloud tops. She turned her attention to the masked man that had given her the sword with a bright smile.
"Thank you Haganezuka, this is a wonderful sword," she said before turning her attention back to her new possession. It reminded her of the forest she had grown up in and loved so much although she wasn't fully aware of that memory. He seemed overjoyed.
"No sword I've made has ever had a pattern! It's so rare I never thought I'd get to see it," he said. Though the mask concealed it, there was an obvious smile on his face.
He then turned towards Kanamori, clearly waiting for him to give Zenitsu his sword. He shook his head slightly at his antics before giving the boy a box similar to the one (Y/N) received. The girl sheathed her sword and looked towards her friend.
Zenitsu opened the box to a sword with a white sheath with two spots of gold on both ends. The wrapping was also white with yellow squares underneath that could be seen down the middle. The guard was white with a lightening pattern and a gold lining. He gently picked it up from the box and unsheathed it. Yellow bloomed from the base of the sword and made a lightening pattern on the sword.
Both swordsmiths were amazed. It was rare for a sword to be patterned at all let alone two in the same day. Haganezuka seemed to be outright astonished, Kanamori looked on in wonder, and Jigoro seemed full of pride for his pupils.
"The only other patterned sword I've been able to see was Flame Hashira Rengoku's sword. I have no doubt that the two of you will go far," Kanamori's gentle voice rang out.
The swordsmiths stayed for only a little longer before leaving. They each had to make other deliveries and return home before nightfall. (Y/N) quickly made her way to her room to put on her uniform, Zenitsu leaving to his for the same reason. He didn't necessarily want to but Jigoro and (Y/N) had both asked.
She looked at herself in the mirror with a large smile. She had pants instead of the usual skirt for girls per her request (there was nothing wrong with skirts but it seems somewhat impractical for a fighter) and the basic standard top. It had more of a brown tint as opposed to the usual solid black. (Y/N) fastened the sword to her side with her belt and took a step back.
This was it. She was an official demon slayer. There was a sound at her window as her crow flew into the sill. The girl opened her it and her crow, named Mizuki, flew in to her shoulder. (Y/N) smiled at bird, petting her head gently, before looking to her closet. She looked at the old haori that was folded neatly on the shelf. For a moment (Y/N) contemplated bringing it but she decided against it.
She walked out, Mizuki still on her shoulder, and into the livingroom. Zenitsu, who was already in his uniform, was standing waiting along with Jigoro.
"What's your crow doing in here?" Zenitsu asked timidly. Truth be told, if it wasn't for the bright, joyous look on her face he'd have been intimidated at the sight of someone in a black uniform with a sword and crow.
"She was at the window so I let her in," (Y/N) answered as she brought a hand up to her crow to gently stroke the surprisingly soft feathers. He let out a small 'oh' in reply before Jigoro spoke up.
"Here, I know you don't like wearing your old one because of the memories so I had this made for you," he said, holding a haori up to the girl. It was an earthy brown at the bottom edge and tips of the sleeves and faded to a sage green. There were white cloud outlines in the green parts and a slim black border lined the edges of the haori.
(Y/N) slowly took it and threw it on (her crow flying for a moment before settling back on her shoulder). Tears formed in her eyes as she looked back on Jigoro.
"Thank you, Gramps, I wouldn't be here without you," she said before hugging him tightly. He returned it and pat her back. Zenitsu, tears forming in his golden eyes, joined the hug before sobbing rather loudly.
"(Y/N). If you want to meet with the hashira you should leave now. There's a demon you must slay along the way," Mizuki said in a calm manner which, according to Jigoro, was a rather rare trait among the kasugai crows (not much more rare than Chuntaro being a sparrow though).
Jigoro let (Y/N) go as she started to pull away. Zenitsu still held the sleeve of her new haori, but otherwise she was free to stand properly. She looked at Mizuki, who had moved to the top of a table, and then outside.
✩☆★☆✩
The sun was setting and would soon be covered by the mountains. (Y/N) and Zenitsu, having said goodbye to Jigoro, walked together towards their first mission before they would have to go their separate ways. The chatter between them was lively as the stars revealed themselves.