Kiyo's POV
I watch as Zenitsu slowly climb up the stairs, my eyes not leaving him until he's at the top.
Time to head.. somewhere.
I start to jog in a random direction. I see some people going for the final selection. It's sad to see that some of these people won't make it out of that mountain.
I look ahead, seeing another person with a sword coming towards me.
I observe him closely; he has some unique features.
A red-haired boy with a scar-like thing on his forehead. He has some sort of cloud haori on. The look of determination is on his face.
He notices me observing from a few feet away. His expression changes from determination to confusion, making him slow down. He looks kind of.. terrified? His face is pale.
He stops fully as I jog past him. That was weird.
I look back while jogging. He's still standing there, looking at me.
Is he a creep or something??
Next thing you know, he's shaking his head and jogging towards the mountain again.
Okay then. Maybe he'll live, and I'll meet him to ask what that was all about.
---
It has been a week and a half, and I didn't encounter any demons. I have been running around so much. Thankfully I found a town to get some rest. The sun has already started to set.
Which means those stupid demons will come out. Or maybe I'll be unlucky again and not meet any.
This town is surrounded by mountains, which means it has the best hiding spots for demons to hide during the day.
"Young lady?" A voice pipes up from behind, and I turn around to face an old woman looking at me with curiosity.
"Yes, Ma'am? Do you need anything?"
She looks around and looks back at me worriedly. "You should probably go to some other town. Weird things have been happening."
Weird things? "Ma'am, if it doesn't bother you, could you maybe specify that a little more?"
"If it makes you leave for your own safety, yes."
"I will leave after you tell me."
"Well.." She thinks for a while. "People have been going missing. The bodies were all found with their eyes- their eyes-"
"It's okay, ma'am. I think I get it now." I say calmly. "I will leave. Thank you for informing me."
The lady smiles. "You're welcome. Please, be safe."
I pretend to walk out of town, but when I see that the lady has went inside her home, I stay inside the main road.
Or maybe I should wait in the forest-
"AHHH!" A scream was heard from far away. I looked around town. No one was coming out to help.
Figured.
I dash toward the noise, scanning my right and left. Empty.
Into the mountain I go.
I slow down as I enter the bushes, trying to make myself unnoticeable as much as I can.
"Shut up, woman! Gosh, why are humans so annoying? Can't you see that nobody is coming to save you?" A demonic voice hisses.
I hide behind a tree, peaking out just enough to see the two beings tangled up with one trying to escape.
A tear rolls down the poor lady's cheeks as she desperately tries to get out of the demon's death grip.
If I just can-
I freeze.
Lowermoon two.
I blink, sweat rolling down my forehead. Lowermoon? Already?
Some demon slayers might already be on their way.
I take a deep breath. I can do this.
I grip my sword, keeping my eye on the demon.
Thunder breathing, first form; Thunderclap and Flash
Slash!
The demon backs up quickly, and I only manage to cut his arm off.
Dang it.. it would've been much easier if I haven't missed.
"A demon slayer?" The demon gets up as his arm regenerates quite fast. "No.. you don't have their uniform! But how-"
Thunder breathing, first form; Thunderclap and Flash
I slice the demon's neck as he stood there in confusion.
"What a dumb lowermoon. Didn't you learn not to give your opponent any time to attack you?" I shake my head, putting my sword back.
The demon flies away into ashes. Ha. If lowermoons are this weak, I can't imagine how weak the uppermoons are.
How lame.
"T-t-t---" The lady stutters as she slumps onto the ground.
I crouch down next to her. "You've got some injuries, but they're not very big. If you head to the doctor now you'll be good in about 3 days."
"T-thank- y-y-you.." The lady blinks in confusion.
I smile. "Of course. I hope you know your way down."
She nods slowly, getting up. She flinches a little, looks at me, then flushes. "I-I'm sorry, but could you help me get into town?"
"Oh no, you must've twisted your ankle pretty bad." I say worriedly. "Don't worry, I gotchu."
In one swift movement, I pick up the lady like I'm picking up a feather.
Training helps.
"W-wahh?!" The lady gasps as I run outside of the mountain.
In a blink we're in the middle of town with people murmuring. They all turn to see who just came, and screams.
"My-! Is- Is that you, Nariko?" One lady comes running, hugging the other lady- Narkio- tightly.
"Yeah, yeah." Nariko sighs in relief.
"You went missing and- and I was so guilty-" The lady sniffles. "Who- who is this girl?"
Nariko turns to me. I wave. "Hi, my name is Kiyo."
"She saved me." Nariko says. "I owe you my life."
"Nahh," I shake my head. "Don't even mention it. It's my job."
"Thank you so much." The friend of Narkio's smiles softly. "I don't know how to express-"
"Kiyo??" A familiar voice chimes in, and I turn around.
My eyes widen. "Zen!!"
Running up, I hug him tight. He stumbles back a little, but keeps his balance.
"I was supposed to come here for my mission.. I was terrified! But you're here so I'm okay." Zenitsu sighs.
"I killed it, I think." I mention.
He stays silent, then jumps up. "HOORAY!!!!!"
-
"How was the final selection?" I ask, sitting below the tree.
"I don't remember." Zenitsu blinks. "I encountered some demons, but when I blinked they were all gone."
"Strange," I frown, but brighten up the next second. "Where's your crow??"
He pauses, then laughs nervously. "Uhmm surprise? I got a sparrow.."
"SPARROW!! Where is it?!" I screech as the sparrow flies out of Zenitsu's pocket. "OH, ZEN!! YOU SUFFOCATED IT!!"
"I didn't-"
"POOR SPARROW!! C'MERE, LIL' BABEHHHH" I cry, holding the sparrow hostage.
Zenitsu stays silent, but I know he's thinking about something.
"Is something the matter?" I ask, letting the sparrow free. It lands onto the grass, looking at both of us curiously.
"Well.. I've met the slayers and everything and heard some stuff about people who works outside of the corps. Like you. They don't really like them- and I mean like they're worried so they don't like it."
"It's not their problem, is it?"
He sighs. "Yeah, but you're still a human being, and if you're in the corps at least people can help you. They don't allow these to happen, Kiyo."
"It's simple." I grab a rock and toss it up, catching it. "Just don't tell anyone."
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New scene unlocked!
-Town #2
-Random mountain #1
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New characters unlocked!
-Nariko
-Chuntaro
-Kamado Tanjiro
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