One day before final selection
Afternoon
(Y/n) was standing just in front of front door of Tengen's mansion, in the doorway of the household was tengen with his wives behind him
(Y/n) put the two regular katana's tengen had given him during training on his back
The mood was somber and the air was thick
Tengen:over these past 3 years you've grown from a boy into a flashy young man. I hardly recognize you.
Suma:you-you'd better come back!
She looked like she was about to cry
Makio:don't cry you idiot! No demons gonna stand a chance against him!
Hinatsuru smiled
Hinatsuru:please be careful. And I know you'll do well.
(Y/n) flinched
(Y/n):*big sis Hinatsuru is a heavenly as ever*
(Y/n) smiled like an innocent child
(Y/n):I will!
Tengen placed his hand on his tsuguko's shoulder
Tengen:Make sure you outperform everyone else, wouldn't be very flashy to be second best.
(Y/n):ri-right!
Tengen smirked as he used his freehand to grab one of the sets of gemstones hanging from his headband
Tengen:I want you to hold on to this, till you get back.
He plucked it from his headband and held it out
Tengen:you'll need something to give you some flare.
(Y/n):I can...have this?
Tengen nodded
Tengen:there's many things that separate hashira from other demon slayers.
(Y/n):but...what does this have to do with it?
Tengen:Presentation!
(Y/n) slowly took it and pierced his ear with it
He looked up at his mentor who liked how the new earring made him look
Tengen:yes that works quite nicely, you'll be the most flamboyant participant at the trials by far!
(Y/n) nodded with a smile
(Y/n):right!
He stepped back
(Y/n):I'll be off, I'll see you when I get back!
He waved and took off running down the pathway at incredible speeds
Suma burst into tears and both Makio and Hinatsuru looked upset to see him go
Tengen:*don't turn into someone else who's died because of me.*
Tengen hesitantly turned back into the house
The next day (y/n) arrived at mount fujikasane, it was late and the lower parts of the mountain was surrounded by trees with purple petals hanging from the branches
(Y/n) approached one of the trees and plucked a petal
(Y/n):*so these are the wisteria trees that demons can't stand. They're majestic.*
He continued on his walk up the mountains and came to a stone staircase, a large amount of slayers looking to take their final test were there
Many were covered and scars and looked fierce as apposed to (y/n) who hadn't one scar on his body and stuck out like a sore thumb amongst them
He began looking around and spotted Kanao in a pink kimono
(Y/n):*she was at the masters mansion.*
He continued looking around and spotted a boy with bright yellow hair, then there was one with a particularly fierce expression and a large scar going from his right ear to over the ridge of his nose
(Y/n):*theres so many here, I thought with the numbers of the corps there'd be only like 10 of us...*
As he walked around another young man with a blue haori with a cloud pattern and a mask on the side of his head
(Y/n) noticed two girls standing with lanterns, they had purple kimono's with bob cuts but their hair color was the only thing that made them different in appearance, ones was white and the others was black
Twins:good evening. Tonight you've come to enter the demon slayer course final selection. Thank you all for being here. Here on mount Fujikasane, there are demons that were captured alive by demon slayer swordsmen. They're kept here for this event. The wisteria prevent them from leaving. They bloom on this mountain year round and they cover everything from the base to halfway up the mountain. But the wisteria ends here, so demons abound from this point on and they're very hungry. In order to complete final selection...you must survive for 7 days beyond the wisteria's protection. Now...your trial begins.
They bowed their heads gracefully
Shortly later (y/n) was walking through the demons territory
(Y/n):*my hearts pounding, so I've got to last 7 days? My best shot is to wait till morning to rest. But I'd better start-*
He inhaled through his mouth and tasted something foul in the air
He suddenly turned to the left and adjusted his feet
(Y/n):*it's that same repulsive taste like 3 years ago...*
He slowly reached behind his head and grabbed the hilts of his swords
Suddenly a female demon lunged out of the tree line straight towards him as (y/n) drew his swords and blocked her attack but was sent sliding backward
(Y/n):*what?*
The demon began giggling
Demon:you look tasty! I'm so hungry!!
She dashed towards (y/n) again but (y/n) didn't move
(Y/n):*she's...so slow...*
He suddenly smirked
(Y/n):well I'm glad to see that training paid off!
He suddenly vanished and reappeared in the air above her and decapitated her followed by landing and dramatically posing
He looked at her body as it began turning to dust and he sheathed his swords
(Y/n):so these swords really can kill the demons.
He took off running again at incredible speeds
As he was running he saw a lone demon standing in a field
(Y/n) continued running as the demon turned towards him and got out of the way dodging his sword strike
As the demon moved out of the way it's left side exploded
Demon:wh-what did you do to me?!
(Y/n):that was a anti-demon bomb, they're set off by even the slightest bit of friction if not handled properly.
The demon tried to lunge for him as (y/n) decapitated it
(Y/n) almost looked sad to do it as he began walking
Hours later (y/n) was still looking for demons when he spotted Kanao knelt down in a field of flowers
(Y/n):Oi!
He continued walking towards her but she didn't respond or move from her position
(Y/n) walked up alongside her as she looked up at him for a moment
(Y/n):Kanao, was it? you shouldn't be letting your guard down, the sun hasn't come up yet.
Kanao stood up making it clear the differences in their statures
She looked him in the eyes and didn't say anything or react
Kanao pulled out a coin and flipped it
(Y/n):huh?
She caught the coin and it was tails
She didn't respond
(Y/n):what was that?
Kanao didn't respond
(Y/n) suddenly leaned down towards her face
(Y/n):Say, your pretty cute. You wouldn't happen to be single right now, would you?
Kanao blinked twice but still didn't respond
(Y/n) started to look grumpy as they continued looking at each other
(Y/n):Oi, your being very rud-
Bushes and leaves began to rustle nearby as (y/n) looked towards it
(Y/n):I can hear two demons.
Two demons stepped out of the tree line
Demon:oh please don't run, I don't wanna chase...
Demon 2:get lost! I saw them first!
The demons head butted each other as they began growling
(Y/n) drew both his swords and stepped in front of Kanao
(Y/n):I'll deal with these...
He looked over his shoulder and winked at her
(Y/n):but only because your so cute.
Kanao still didn't respond
(Y/n) put the fingers of his left hand in his mouth and whistled loud enough to get the demons attention
(Y/n):how about this! First one to me can have me!
Both demons started growling as they glanced at each other and dashed towards (y/n) as fast as they could
They both jumped into the air
(Y/n):*they're both coming from above, but I can't let this girl get covered in blood, that'd be pathetic. I've gotta take them out in a flashy way*
He began inhaling as he leapt forward and kicked the first demon back towards the tree line and in using that momentum he landed on the second demon bringing him crashing to the floor
(Y/n):Sound Breathing...first form...
He brought both swords behind his back as he tossed multiple anti demon bombs in front of him
(Y/n):...Roar!
He swung both blades downward slicing both the demon and the bombs creating a small explosion and making a large dust cloud
(Y/n) ran out of the smoke towards the second demon
Suddenly sharp bones sprung from the second demons skin like a porcupine
(Y/n):*the hell?!*
The demon began cackling as he launched those sharp bones from its body when (y/n) was less then 10 feet away and hadn't slowed down
(Y/n):*Shit! I can't dodge at this speed! Not enough time to counter either!*
One sharp bones were less than a a few inches away from his right eye
(Y/n):*Well I'm gonna get hit!*
He jerked his head downward as the bone flew into his forehead as he continued running toward the demon and slashed its head clean off
The demons head hit the ground
Demon:*wh-what? What kind of a madman would run forward into harms way like that...? What kind of swordsman would do that?*
(Y/n) the some blood out of his eye and reached for the piece of bone and yanked it out causing more blood to start gushing out of the open wound and run into his eye
(Y/n) looked back towards where Kanao was standing but she'd gone off
(Y/n) smirked
(Y/n):gone with the wind, hopefully she makes it out.
He wiped more blood from his eye but it just kept running
Several months ago
(Y/n) had a large forehead wound that was gushing blood
(Y/n):damnit why won't it stop?
He looked up at tengen who was standing before him for his sword training
Tengen:sounds above the eye bleed profusely unless you deal with it properly. But in combat that's something difficult to do.
He crossed his arms
Tengen:Take control of your breathing. Imagine the blood flowing through your body. Going from your tippy toes all the way to the top of your head.
(Y/n) began performing total concentration breathing
Tengen:I want you to follow that sensation to the torn blood vessels.
The wound continued bleeding
Tengen:do it already!
(Y/n) could see it in his mind and tengen could see the look of realization on his face
Tengen:there! Now do it!
(Y/n) gritted his teeth as the blood flow began to lessen
Tengen:not good enough!
(Y/n) continued focusing as the bleeding finally stopped
Tengen:very good. Always remember that your breathing is one thing that you'll always have at your side while you live. It'll give you the strength to see anything through, always remember that you must breath.
Present day
(Y/n) focused his breathing
(Y/n):*recovery breathing...stop the bleeding*
The bleeding slowly came to a stop
(Y/n):I've stopped it. I'd better get moving again. Once I run out of stamina the bleeding will resume since my total concentration breathing hasn't been mastered yet.
4 days into final selection
Just passing midnight (y/n) decapitated another demon, during the past few days he'd gained several new wounds
He had two slashes across his left arm, one large cut across his left side and a small gouge in his right leg
(Y/n):this one makes 35.
A loud gong echoed throughout the forest
(Y/n):huh? What was that?
A crow landed on a tree branch next to him
Crow:all demons have been eliminated! Proceed to the shrine in the morning! Proceed to the shrine in the morning!
In the morning (y/n) arrived back at the starting area with 8 others
Multiple contestants appeared incredibly shaken after the events of the final selection
(Y/n):*only 9 of us made it out, there were over 20 that went in...which means I was too slow to save everyone.
He looked at the boy with a blue cloud haori
(Y/n):*that one, with the hanafuda earrings, I saw him 2 days ago at day break, he seems hurt but fine.*
He looked at the rest of the group
(Y/n):*Kanao and that blonde one made it as well, the boy with the scar on his face also survived.*
Blonde boy:I'm gonna die...I'm a goner...I've survived for now but soon enough...dead...
The twins from prior to beginning the test arrived at their previous spot
Twins:welcome back everyone. And congratulations. We're pleased to see your safe.
The boy with the face scar stepped forward
Scarred boy:so? I made it back alive. What do I do now? Where's my sword?
Twins:patience. We must first issue you all uniforms. We'll start by taking your measurements and then your rank will be engraved on the back of your hands. For your reference there are 10 ranks in total. Kinoe, Kinoto, Hinoe, Hinoto, Tsuchinoe, tsuchinoto, Kanoe, Kanoto, Mizunoe, Mizunoto. You all start at Mizunoto, the lowest rank in the corps.
The scarred boy looked agitated
Scarred boy:and our swords?
Twins:in a moment you will be given the chance to select the ore that will be used to forge your swords. However it will be 10 to 15 days before the weapons are ready for you.
He rolled his eyes annoyed
Scarred boy:are you kidding me?
Twins:but first...
They clapped their hands together twice
Suddenly multiple crows flew down from the trees around them and landed on their shoulders, many of the new slayers were freaked out aside from the tsuguko who were familiar with these crows
All them got crows except for the blonde boy who got a sparrow
Twins:now that your each demon slayers you must each be assigned your own Kasugai crow.
The boy in the cloud haori raised his hand
Cloud haori:we each get a crow then? What for?
(Y/n) leaned down next to him
(Y/n):they tell us where the demons are, message carriers.
The blonde boy looked confused as he observed his sparrow
Blonde boy:w-wait crows? Isn't this a sparrow?
The scarred boy screamed and threw the crow off his arm but before it fell it flew off
Scarred boy:ARGH! I DON'T NEED THIS CRAP!
He stormed up towards the twins
Scarred boy:WHO THE HELL CARES ABOUT SOME STUPID CROW?!
He grabbed the white hair girl by the head
Scarred boy:I want my sword right now, give it to me before I get angry. The color changing katana! I want it now so you hear me?!
His wrist was suddenly grabbed as he jerked his head upwards and saw (y/n) was the culprit and was glaring right through him
Scarred boy:the hell you think your doing?
(Y/n):Let. Her. Go.
Scarred boy:huh?
(Y/n) started squeezing the boys wrist as his hand started turning white from no blood reaching it as his grip on the girl loosened
(Y/n):your not being very flashy right now. Let go or I'll snap this arm like a pair of chopsticks.
The scarred boy didn't back down
Scarred boy:give it your best shot.
The boy in the cloud haori walked over as well
Cloud haori:take your hand off her or I'll fight you too!
The blonde boy started panicking about what he should do, Kanao was admiring her and the other slayers were too shell shocked to react
(Y/n) continued squeezing as a loud crunch echoed from the scarred boys forearm
He screamed as (y/n) let him go causing his arm to drop like a noodle from a bowl of ramen
The scarred boy was in pain and pissed
Twins:are you finished chatting with each other? If so, then please select the ore you deem fit.
The girl with black hair pulled a cloth off a table revealing several pieces of ore
Twins:the steel you will use to protect yourself and to annihilate demons will be that of your own choosing.
Blonde boy:...I'm gonna be dead soon anyway...probably...
All the slayers approached the table
(Y/n) didn't hesitate and picked the rock that was the most shiny
Meanwhile at the mansion of Kagaya, he'd received work if the results via crow
Kagaya:oh is that so? 9 survived and the Trials ended early because a child destroyed all the present demons? That's splendid news. The number of my children continue to grow. What kinds of swordsmen will the be, I wonder?
A gentle smile crossed his ill face
———————————————————
To be continued
In a flashy manner of course!