Y/N checked one more time to make sure she had all the necessary things packed, before heading for Fujikasane mountain. She was afraid that she would be late for exam, so she left too early, knowing herself, she could zone out and end up going somewhere else, so she needed some extra time.
Of course, she got lost at least thrice on her way, but she managed to notice it and change direction before it was too late. Finally, she arrived, but then she lost some more time just standing there and staring at wisteria flowers in awe before remembering why did she get there in the first place. She blushed with embarrassment, hoping that no one could see her standing there like a total idiot. She hid herself behind wisteria trees, tightening her restraints and making sure they worked right before proceeding to climb stairs. Now that she arrived, she was unsure what to expect, so she felt tense and extremely anxious. Of course Hideo talked to her about exam, but she could not be sure that nothing changed, besides, she forgot most of the things she was told already. Her heart was racing and at this point she was so overwhelmed, that she merely hoped she would not puke in front of examiners. She covered her mouth with one hand, while another one grasped hilt of the sword Kenichi lent her, before she could get her own. He asked her to not break it, because it belonged to some deceased demon hunter, who used to be his apprentice.
Y/N noticed small group of people gathered, chatting, all of them turned around to give her judgmental or curious glances.
„Umm... am I late?"
„A bit, but that is okay!" Examiner stated, smiling. Y/N guessed that she was one of the examiners, because she was one of the rare people around, who did not look as nervous as a chicken who is about to lay her first egg. Her calm smile slightly irritated Y/N, even though she was relieved to see that examiners did not appear to be too strict.
Examiners then began explaining what people needed to do to pass.
„So, demons cannot leave this place because of the flowers, huh?! That is something new... can it actually harm them, though?" She asked when the examiner finished her speech. She was far too curious to learn more ways to take down demons, since her breathing techniques were not the best, so she ignored her shyness, social anxiety and fear to irritate examiners and get kicked out.
„Yes, it can be harmful... now, go ahead."
Y/N turned around, shrugged and picked random direction. Everyone else was already far away.
„They have to be kidding. Just coming all the way here and then having enough strength left to climb those stairs, was exhausting enough. Part of me thought that was all we needed to do for passing exam... but here we are, served to the group of starved demons. Yay..." She mumbled to herself.
Y/N shrugged again and looked around to see if she could find any food or water sources in the forest, in case she would run out of the food she brought with her. Suddenly, she felt the ground shaking.
„What the hell is this? Earthquake? It better not be a volcano. As if demons are not enough..."
Y/N heard screaming and she hesitantly went to check what was happening. Maybe she would have fun watching fight from afar, or even help either a human or a demon, whoever she would feel like helping. If she were lucky, she would memorize useful fighting strategies or take a note of other people's mistakes and avoid repeating them.
However, when she reached the place where fight occurred, she saw that battle was already over and a really ugly looking demon was swallowing several dead bodies.
Y/N froze for a few seconds, staring at it full of disgust, fear and awe.
„So many hands, man! So many hands! All these possibilities! So many middle fingers for his opponents to face! Part of me wishes I were him, another part of me is sane." She mumbled to herself before retreating. She knew that currently she would be no match for that demon. She barely had enough strength left to walk, if he noticed her, she would be done for.
That night she stayed hidden in a tree, sleeping and looking for food could wait until sunrise.
* * *
On the second day, Y/N left her hiding spot few minutes after sunrise. She headed for the nearest open place she noticed while she was hiding, since shadowy areas would not be completely safe, even in the morning. Y/N gathered leaves in the middle of a small field, for making a bed of sorts, then covered her whole body with a large fabric to avoid sunburn or breeze. After taking a nap, she looked around to find fruit and maybe some water as well. Of course, she had plenty of it taken with her, but she wanted to find more, in case something unexpected would happen, her belongings could have been destroyed during demon's attack, or she could need to share food with someone injured she would come across (though if she would actually manage to become a demon, she might have regretted it later).
Y/N gathered some fruit, she could not find any water sources around, so if she would run out of water, she could only hope it would rain.
Seeing that sun would set soon, she looked around to find a good hiding place, like a very tall tree with a lot of leaves and easily reachable branches. Demons would have a hard time feeling her presence in distance, her scent and body would be difficult to detect as well.
Finally, she found a perfect tree and began climbing. A twig snapped beneath her foot, but she managed to stop herself from falling. Eventually, she made it as high as she could and stopped. She heard noises nearby and felt her heart racing. She hoped that demons would not be able to find her, since hiding there meant having no opportunity to flee if she would be spotted, unless she would risk jumping to the next tree like a monkey.
Y/N noticed a small demon with red hair... actually, it was a demon of normal size, but he looked small because of the distance between them. The demon was inhaling air deeply, trying to figure out where he could find his meal. He got close to her hiding spot. Y/N froze, watching him attentively. The demon searched for her around seventeen minutes before shrugging and walking away.
„Phew, that was clo..." Y/N words were replaced by her shrill scream, because a huge grasshopper jumped on her hand.
Y/N swiftly swung her arms, getting rid of the insect. She was holding onto a branch with her legs, so she would not fall, however, her violent movements caused the branch to snap and she began falling, wishing she did not climb so high, but it was too late.
„Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Hm? It is over? I cannot feel pain. Am I dead?" She questioned, blinking.
„Not yet." Replied the voice.
„Did I hit my head? Because I am hearing voices..."
„No."
„Uh–Oh!" Y/N realized just now that a demon who was looking for her recently, was now holding her into his arms. „Oh, you saved me! Thank you!"
„You do not have to thank me, I would hate to pick my food's remains from this dirty ground." Demon replied, putting her down. He was still holding her arms painfully tightly, forbidding her from escaping or using her sword.
„Hey, you! Let go of her, now!" Another voice demanded. „I am your opponent!"
„Hold on!" Y/N screamed angrily, looking at the brunet human boy with a sword in his hand. „They said we have to survive on our own. Go away! I will not let you show off by making me fail the exam!!! Play hero somewhere else, with someone who actually needs it! Silly child!"
„How do you plan to survive on your own in this situation?" Boy and demon asked at the same time.
„He is holding you tightly and you will not be able to grab your sword."
„He has a point, besides even if you will manage to get away from me, I already saved you from falling, so you cannot say that you survived independently. Not that you should allow him to help you, though..."
„That is a load of dog crap! Falling into a hungry demon's arms does not count as being saved, therefore if I will be able to defeat you, it will count as surviving independently."
„You want to defeat me right after I saved your life?!"
„It will not be very saved, if you will eat me, do not you think so?"
„You cannot escape my grip anyway!"
„She can, with my help!"
„I said go away!"
„You heard her!" Demon said, glaring at the boy. It looked like he was not ready to face two opponents at the same time in his starved state. He needed to eat in peace, without interruption.
„Are you serious?! Do you really plan to get yourself killed while playing a strong, independent woman?!"
„Shut up you nosy little nuisance, do not make me decapitate you right after I am done with this demon!" Y/N cried out.
„Exactly how do you plan to decapitate me? You cannot move your arms in this position!" The demon chuckled.
„What about this one?" Y/N questioned, kicking him below his waist.
Of course, it was not as effective against a demon as it would be against a human, but it inflicted enough pain on the opponent to loosen his grip. Y/N quickly grabbed her sword and sliced his neck, kicking demon's head towards the boy.
„Ouch!" The boy stared in horror.
„Take that, white knight!"
„Yikes! You are worse than a demon, I swear!"
„Why, thank you!"
„That was not a compliment!"
„I know. But I can choose to take it as one, right?" Y/N said, distancing herself further from him. It was dark and she needed to find a new hiding spot, after all the chaos she caused at the current place, it was no longer safe to stay here, though wandering around in darkness was not any less risky either.
„You raised a big ruckus here. Soon this place will be swarming with demons."
„Then hurry up and leave. Why are you following me around?" She snapped, turning around quickly.
„We have more chance of survival if we will stick together."
„We have to survive on our own, without any help! Are you deaf, kid?! I do not need your help. Perhaps you expect me to babysit you, after realizing that I am stronger than I look... if you are so scared that you are ready to give up on the exam, then stay close, I might protect you."
„Do not be stupid! We will equally need each other's help if we will be surrounded. Also, do not take examiners seriously, they will not know whether we helped each other or not, as long as we stay alive for 7 days, we will pass."
„Huh?!"
„Yeah, my older sister was saved by someone two years ago, but she still passed."
„Really?"
„Mhm."
„Well, that does not matter. I will know it anyway and it will make me feel pathetic."
„Do you prefer dying?"
„No, but I may have a chance to survive without cheating."
„You could increase the chance of survival with cheating."
„You are annoying. Go away! All the demons shall learn my whereabouts, because of certain chatty brat following me around like a stray puppy!"
„Fine, I will be quiet. My name is Hotaru, by the way."
„I am not keeping you, either way! I did not come here to adopt babies."
„I am not a baby! If you will let me stay, we can take turns sleeping at night, while another one will watch out for enemies."
„I am perfectly fine with sleeping in the morning."
Y/N finally shooed him away, continuing her journey alone. She somehow managed to move without encountering more demons on her way. Y/N climbed another tree, this time she sat down on the branch only after attaching rope to another branch, making sure to avoid falling and easily flee if another demon would emerge from the shadows. In the morning she slept warily on her freshly made bed of leaves. She was getting enough rest, yet still sensing what was going on around her. She only feared insects: She could not detect their presence easily and she was worried that they would climb into her ears or something. Days passed without any remarkable events. On the fourth day it rained, so Y/N stopped worrying about running out of water. She managed to stay dry, since she waited under a massive tree. Other than its leaves, her poorly made tent was protecting her as well, but she was still shivering and wondering if she made stupid decision chasing after the secrets of immortality just to freeze to death right here and now and die even faster than other humans. She would be easy prey for even the weakest demons, if they were to find her while her whole body trembled. She chuckled, thinking how funny it would be if she were to become a victim of bad weather, in a place full of hungry demons.
* * *
On the fifth day Y/N could not stop thinking about going far enough to reach a place with wisteria flowers and either stay there after sunset, or grab some flowers and carry them around with her, for dispelling demons, but she was afraid of crossing the long path ahead, so she continued her regular routine, hoping that it would be enough for staying safe, now that the exam was getting closer to the end. Still, in a way it was probably even more dangerous now, since at this point every demon would be aware of invaders and they would actively look for remaining prey, also, with less people around, Y/N had more chance of being chased down. She collected water when it rained so she had plenty of it left, however she was running out of food, so she decided to find some fruit again, it was morning, so she was less careful, unless she was going in too shadowy areas. She also looked around for traps or snakes, but she did not really notice animals around, it appeared like demons were too desperate to be picky eaters.
Finally she found a fruit tree. Y/N headed towards it, just to fall into a moderately deep pit.
„Ow! Why do I keep falling?! First I fell from a tree, now I fell into a pit... I hate heights so much, ugh! Good thing I am not hurt. Wait... Why am I unharmed? This pit is pretty deep... ah! So, this is a trap, eh? It is full of hay and leaves. Looks like this demon does not want to lick blood from the ground either. Well, silly me! Of course it is a trap, how else would it be disguised so well? It does not matter, it is still morning, so I have time to climb out of this somehow..."
„Do not raise your hopes." Chuckle was heard from the shadows.
„Eh? Why not? How are you going to stop me, I am still standing under sunlight, idiot."
„That is true, but soon I shall begin throwing stones at you until you will give up, drop your weapon and come closer, begging for me to grant you quick and painless death, or you can try dodging and die slow and painful death, then I will pull your fractured body towards me using rope. Even if you will dodge each and every stone, you will only prolong your life until dusk, when I will be able to approach you without that stupid sunlight getting in my way."
„How about this: I will come now and kick your ass!"
„Sure, come at me, darling."
„Do not be so cocky, you overconfident bas... ah! I see now. I see why are you so confident." Y/N's eyes got more used to darkness and much to her horror, she noticed that he had four heads, as well as four necks. It was hard to tell how to kill someone like that by decapitation. Was she supposed to slice one specific neck? If so, which one? Perhaps, all of them at the same time? There was no way she could do that. She was not strong enough to cut more than one neck with single attack. Her only option was to somehow push him towards the sunlight, but he looked too heavy and strong. If only she could cause the pit to crumble and let more light in its shadowy areas... but the pit seemed rather tough, besides it would be extremely hard thing to do while dodging his attacks, let alone the risk of getting crushed in process. No wonder the demon did not bother to put less hay at the bottom of a pit to immobilize the target, he seemed almost invincible, at least to inexperienced trainees like Y/N.
„I am still going to try cutting off your heads." Y/N said, smiling mischievously as she pulled out her sword.
„Sure thing! Come to me! I cannot wait!"
„Did you know that this sword once belonged to my master Kenichi's former apprentice, Akihito? Kenichi loved him so much, just like a decent father would love his son... he was polishing this weapon daily after Akihito's death... it is quite shiny, is not it? Look how it reflects sunlight..."
„Bitch!" The demon yelped in horror and shock, beginning to disintegrate.
„Come up with more creative insult, I hear that one more often than I hear my name!" Y/N shrugged. „Anyway, how am I supposed to get out of here? I do not have any food left, at this point longer I will stay, less power I will have left for climbing. I am already exhausted after falling."
It was pointless to dig holes in the walls and try climbing that way, since the pit was funnel–shaped, so Y/N gathered stones and hay in the center and stepped on the pile, but she still could not reach the narrow part of a pit, close to the surface. She could scream, but there was a big chance that demons would hear it, besides, even if she would be found by a human, her pride would not take it well.
„Uuuuugh! I am hungry! I am stuck! I want to get out!" She whined. Y/N felt weak so she hid herself away from the opening to take a nap for recovery, this way she would not be found by a demon if she overslept and an enemy passed by the pit.
When she woke up, she was not feeling much stronger, however. She was cold, hungry and unsure how long she slept, for a few hours or possibly even for days. Her stomach began to grumble and she started to regret killing the demon. Being killed by him would feel far better than dying by starvation or being forced to kill herself for easing her suffering.
Y/N sighed, grabbing her sword and using it to dig holes and gather soil and rocks in the center of a pit.
Finally, she managed to climb out, first thing she did was collecting fruits of the tree which got her in trouble and eating them like there was no tomorrow. It was dark, so she stayed there until dawn, then tried to remember correct way.
„Damn it! I am so lost. I would mark trees to find my way, but I did not want to be found by demons. Ugh. Did I stay alive for 7 days? How long did I sleep? Can I scream for help now? Because I want to leave this labyrinth of a forest. Then again, if 7 days passed, no one else will be here, except demons. Well, I just need to choose any direction and move towards it, eventually the forest will end and even if it will be a wrong way, it will be easier to notice the right one."
Y/N began walking, when she was too tired to walk, she was just crawling on the ground because she wanted to leave forest as soon as possible. Yes, it might have been only sixth day, but it probably would be seventh or eight by the time she would manage to get out, that is, if she would ever leave that place. She imagined staying there until the next exam when somebody would find her and shivered.
* * *
Examiner looked at the small group of survivors, chatting with each other.
„What are we waiting for?" One girl asked, impatiently.
„That is what I was thinking!" Hotaru, the boy from earlier replied, „We are the only survivors, it is not like someone else will join... that stupid woman! I offered her help, but she refused, she thought she could make it alone. Now I'm here, almost unscratched and she is dead."
„Maybe she is late again." Examiner smiled.
„Sure..."
„Hey! Am I late again?" Y/N peeked out from a bush, her face was scratched and her outfit was dirty, tattered mess, full of leaves, but her eyes were sparkling and she had confident and relieved smile plastered on her face.
„Seriously?! She is still alive?!"
„Do I look like yokai to you, kid?"
„Well... I will be lying if I will say no."
„Enough chatting! Now that everybody is here, please pay for your uniform and get your body measured..."
„It better not be too expensive, because I am not the richest girl in Japan, you know?" Y/N mumbled to herself.
„Then have your rank engraved."
„Wait, what?"
„No need to worry, it will not be visible all the time. There are ten ranks in total: Mizunoto, Mizunoe, Kanoto, Kanoe, Tsuchinoto, Tsuchinoe, Hinoto, Hinoe, Kinoto and the highest, Kinoe. Of course, your ranks are the lowest right now, since you just passed."
„So, we're all Mizunotos?" Hotaru questioned.
„Correct." Examiner nodded, waiting till everyone had their body measurements taken before continuing, „Now, each of you will choose ore for your blade. It will be ready from ten to fifteen days. Oh, also you will be assigned a Kasugai Crow."
„A what?" Y/N questioned, she was still staring at ores, unable to decide which one she should have chosen. „Wah! Cute! I am going to have a pet crow! How cool is that?!"
„I would rather not be considered as a pet!"
„Yikes! It talked!!! I changed my mind, I do not want to own a pet crow anymore, they sound horrible when they speak like humans!"
„Why you! Can I be assigned to someone else, please?"
„No, sorry. Try to get along. I am sure you will get used to each other." Examiner smiled.
Y/N learned that her crow was male and his name was Shou. She picked medium sized ore, to avoid trouble of carrying heavy sword, or getting way too thin and fragile one. She then headed back home, since there was nothing else to do. She decided to get some rest and clean herself before returning blade to Kenichi. Shou quietly sat on her shoulder, he refused to talk to Y/N unless it would be necessary, after she warned him to not shit on her shoulder, he became even more upset than before.