Time slows down. Blood splatters. I freeze in my steps. Sabito's crumpled body lay near Giyu, blood leaking from him. My sanity drops and falls beneath my control. Everything turns red, bodies, demons and humans became black. I no longer recognise anyone. Madness begins.
Zodiac Breathing, 1st form, Aries
Zodiac Breathing, 2nd form, Taurus
Zodiac Breathing, 3rd form, Gemini
Zodiac Breathing, 4th form, Cancer
Zodiac Breathing, 5th form, Leo
Zodiac Breathing, 6th form, Virgo
Zodiac Breathing, 7th form, Libra
Zodiac Breathing, 8th form, Scorpio
Zodiac Breathing, 9th form, Sagittarius
Zodiac Breathing, 10th form, Capricorn
Zodiac Breathing, 11th form, Aquarius
Zodiac Breathing, 12th form, Pisces
I used them over, and over again. Only after I killed nearly half of the mountain's demons, I returned to normal.
My sleeveless kimono was stained with blood from head to toe.
In a blink of an eye, the Final Selection was over. Sabito was the only one who didn't make it. Tears begin to form in my eyes. If only I was quicker, if only I was stronger, if only it didn't happen, if only...if only...
"Hey, thank you, for trying to protect me and Sabito." Giyu whispered, shaking me lightly, snapping me out of my train of thoughts. "I'm Giyu"
"(Y/N)"
"Welcome back. Congratulations, being safe and sound is better than anything else." Kiriya and Kanata spoke in perfect sync. Had they been there for the whole week!?
"Oi oi, brats, where is the katana?" a tall boy asked. In a flash, I was right next to him. It seems like I got Astraea's poisonous behaviour as I whispered, "Ara ara boy, I don't fucking care who you are and where you fucking came from, but that is not how you treat children idiot."
The boy backed up as the siblings said in union, "You must first pay for the cost of the uniform..."
"WE HAVE TO PAY!?" someone shouted.
"...Then you must get your body measured and have your rank engraved. There are 10 ranks in total known as Mizunoto, Mizunoe, Kanoto, Kanoe, Tsuchinoto, Tsuchinoe, Hinoto, Hinoe, Kinoto and Kinoe. Mizunoto being the lowest and Kinoe, also known as Hashira, being the highest..."
"I DON'T FUCKING CARE ABOUT THE RANKS." the tall boy hollered, and I slapped him to hell.
"...Today, you will each choose a chunk of Tamahagane Alloy. Your blade will be completed within 10 to 15 days. Also, from now on, Kasugaigarasu will be following you all."
I raise my hand to ask a question as a crow landed on my head, "Can I ask my swordsmith to forge a special sword for me?"
"You can write a letter to your swordsmith with the blueprint of your special swords and use your crow to send it to him, or her. Anyways, Kasugaigarasu is a crow that is primarily used for communication. Please go over to the table there, and choose the alloy that will be used to make your blade. The alloy for the blade that will be used to destroy demons and protect yourself, will be chose personally by each of you."
I stepped forward and scan the stones. Just then, a wisp of Astraea's voice was heard in my head, "Choose the one with stars, galaxy and beauty." They all looked the same to me so I closed my eyes. A few seconds later, I saw a shimmer of stars and nebula from one of the stones. Picking that up, I handed it to the sibling before I made my way to who knows where with Aki, my crow.