What is this place? Where the heck am I? Hello?
I have no idea where i am. Everything is crimson red, like blood.
I'm standing on what feels like a floor. But suddenly, ahead of me, i can see it crumbling and collapsing.
Oh my god...
I began sprinting in the opposite direction for dear life. The horrid sound was only getting pounder behind me, and i seemed to be running on some type of liquid.
Is this... Blood?
I started hypoventilating at the realization. The vibrations of the ground was now below me, and before i new it, i fell. Falling into the unknown abyss. But just as my head was lowering, someone shook me awake.
I sat up straight, breathing unstable.
"Hey, hey. You ok?" My sister asked you concerningly. She rubbed her hand on the side of my head, trying to calm me down. And it worked.
Once i caught my breath, i answered. "Uh, y-yeah. I'm fine. I just had this really weird dream."
For some odd reason, i kick in my sleep. But my family has always been aware of this, so I'd didn't concern them that much anymore. But this time, i were also crying in my sleep.
I looked around the room and saw that our brother wasn't in there. "Hey, where's (brother's name)?"
"He said he was going to the lake. I don't know why, though."
" Hm."
Time skip
Urokodaki has given each of us a special sword to fight with—the only type that can behead a demon. He then taught us the breath of water and total concentration breathing. All of us had already learned the breath of the Leopard cat from our parents, but they've told us ahead of time that we'd be learning a new one.
He had us do sparring sessions against each other and himself, and was very Impressed with how well we handled hour swords. Everyone except me had defeated him.
Since we already had a lot of experienced—had a natural gift, as he said— , he only spent 5 months with us. When the time came, he wanted to spar each if us, one last time before we set off.
We both stepped back a good distance away from each other. He motioned for me to make the first move. I strided toward him. The muscles in my legs were powered up, sending me onward at a fast pace. When i got close enough to him, he dodged me, but with cat-like reflexes, i managed to reposition myself in midair.
Sakonji was taken by surprise by how quick my body was moving, and before he knew it, i knocked his sword out of his hand A grunt left his mouth from the impact.
He looked at me through the eyes of his goblin mask. "Well done." He said. "You've don't an excellent job. You're ready."
Time skip
Today was the big day. This was the day i was going to try and survive final selection. (I've said final selection so many times. Oh my gawd. )
"You'll know where it is. Good luck"
" Thank you very much." My brother thanked him.
We all said goodbye before heading up into the mountain.
He stood and watched us leave. "Please, be safe." He said to himself before heading back inside.
Right at the start of the mountain, all i saw was the purple flowers Urokodaki mentioned we'd see.
Wow.
I was absolutely mesmerized by the beauty of these plants, and could tell that the other three were having a similar thought. The violet petals felt soft as my fingers brushed under them gently.
Most of the way up, the four of us walked on a smooth dirt path, now there was also a somewhat long set of steps going up the mountain.
As the four of us kept on walking up the steps, i started seeing more young swordsmen. A few of them looked at us, but not judgmentally.
My brother grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to him. " Stay close. Ok?"
I smiled. "Of course."
Two young looking girls stepped out on a pavement. They were rather creepy. Their eyes looked like they were hypnotized or something.
"Good evening."
They explained to everyone that on this mountain were many demons that have been trapped here for a long time. We would be here for seven days, killing demons and doing our best to survive.
"In order to complete the final selection, you must survive for the next seven days and kill demons along the way.
Now, your trial begins."
As people headed up the bare part of the mountain they all split up and went their separate ways, but we stayed together. No one planned on dying tonight.
As we walked through the unsecured part of the woods, trying our best to be quiet, a rustling sound came from the bushes.
What was that? A demon? i thought. Everyone's katanas were unsheathed at this point.
But then, the sound came from in front of me, and a gross looking demon leapt out in front of me towards my sister. Unfortunately she always had a slight problem with her time of reaction. But i was the opposite.
"DIE!!!" The creature shrieked in excitement to kill her. But i launched myself just in time and sliced it's head off, as well as it's arms that he had extended.
We all watched as the head and body collapsed to the ground.
"Damn you!!! You stupid kids!!!" He cursed us out as his head and body started to turn into dust.
I was about to keep moving on, but before i did, my brother spat on it's remains before it was completely gone.
For some odd reason, his actions made me a bit uncomfortable. So i asked, "Um, why did you have to spit on him? He's already dead. See? "
Looking over, the demon was all gone. Nothing left at all.
My brother scoffed. "He deserves it. Just forget about it and c'mon."
My oldest sister walked along side him, and me and the others tailed close behind them.
It's already been hours and i've already killed a few demons. A close call came when i had almost got bitten by one. Luckily everyone all had each other's backs.
Night fall came soon, and now things were really going to be risky. Kill after kill. Ever since we got to the meeting point at the middle of the mountain, no one else has appeared. That was...
"AAAAHH!!" A male scream rang through the trees, into my ears and whoever was nearby.
"We should go help him, " said my sister. She began running ahead of us all, who quickly followed after her.
The frantic yelling could still be heard and helped lead us right go him.
There he was. Trying his best to fight off three demons. But to be honest, he was just flailing his sword around him in every direction, barely even slicing the monsters.
"Hey!" i yelled.
The demons stopped and looked my way, now focused on killing us. Or, that's what they thought.
Two of them lunged at us, but quickly had their heads cut off. Now that these ones were finished off, i'd have thought that would give the guy more courage to fight on his own now, but no. He's just that much of a coward.
This made your brother upset.
He ran up to the loser and killed the monster for him. The head and body quickly faded away and the boy looked up at him. "Ah! Thank you so much!" He threw himself on the ground below my brother. "I would have been dead if it weren't for you," he admitted.
"Then why the hell did you sign yourself up for this?! What was the point of putting your life in this much danger if you can't even kill one on your own?!" my brother yelled at him. The cowardice boy froze beneath his judgmental gaze, not knowing how to respond.
"W-well...you see, my town is scarcely short on men, and many have been killed by demons. So...I decided to try for this so that I could protect the others."
This seemed to be enough for my brother, as his demeanor settled down and his breathing went back to normal. "Y'know what? Fine. Stay with us and try to stay alive."
He was overjoyed and thanked us repeatedly.
Time skip-the last day
The now group of five had managed to survive the seven day trial. Thank God. Everyone that made it all met up back at the meeting point.
As i checked my surroundings, the fact that we were the only ones left came into realization.
What the heck? Here were so many when we first started.
Knowing that so many have died in the process hurt my soul. But no more of that, now my focus was on the two creepy girls that stood on a higher platform.
"Welcome," they said as they turned to face everyone. "Congratulations. We're pleased to see that your safe.
First, we shall you all uniforms. We will take our measurements, after which your rank will be engraved.
There are ten ranks in all:
Kinoe, Kinoto, Hinoe, Hinoto, Tsuchinoe, Tsuchinoto, Kanoe, Kanoto, Mizunoe, Mizunoto. Currently, you are at the lowest rank, Mizunoto."
"When will we get our swords though?" my brother whispered to himself.
As though they heard him, they said, "Today, we will let you choose the ore for your swords. However, the swords will take 10 to 15 days to complete.
But first..."
The one with white hair clapped her hands twice, and crows flew down from the trees and landed on our shoulders.
Then she continued to speak. "We will assign each of you your own Kasugai crow.
These crows can be used primarily communication."
Cool! We get birds! Being the absolute animal lover i am, i was stoked to have a bird follow me around.
"Now, please select an ore."
All of us walked up the concrete steps beging them. The girl with black hair pulled the purple sheet off of a small table, revealing 15 pieces of ore. "The steel for the sword that will annihilate demons and protect you, will be of your choosing."
There we stood, staring down the rocks that rested on a red surface.
Which one should I pick? They mostly look the same. Before anyone else, my brother went and grabbed a price and looked at it. After glaring at the steel played out in front of me, one seemed to be calling my attention. Bending over and really observing it up close, i decided this would be the one.
It didn't take long for my sisters to pick out theirs too.
From this day on, my new life began. New tales i could perhaps tell someday.