𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐘𝐎𝐔 | TOMIOKA GIYUU

02 | THE FINAL SELECTION

akari waited, she waited until she had to pry her own eyes open at night. she did as she promised, training until she can barely move a muscle. although urokodaki-san is a man of few words, he did well to keep her company.

it was almost sunset when akari heard heavy footsteps approaching the house. the peach haired girl wiped her hands quickly before getting out of the house.

"giyuu!" akari yelled, excitement filling her veins and before she knew it, she was sprinting towards the older boy.

giyuu fell onto his knees. he couldn't face her, how was he supposed to tell the girl he loves that her brother was dead?

"what's wrong?" akari asked, cupping his cheeks. akari frowned when she felts wetness on the palm of her hands. why was giyuu crying? and where was her brother?

"giyuu-kun... where is sabito?"

giyuu's tears fell even harder, akari can feel urokodaki-san hugging the two of them.

"i'm sorry akari... i couldn't protect sabito-kun. i'm sorry, i'm sorry." giyuu said, repeating his sorry like a prayer.

akari could feel her heart breaking. no. they couldn't have. they couldn't have took him away. she couldn't lose sabito, not him, not the only family member that she had.

that day, as she felt her heart shatter into pieces, she promised to be better. she promised to train harder, she promised to work her ass off until she couldn't anymore. because akari promised that she  will become a demon slayer, she will pass the exam and she will kill the demon that killed her nii-chan. akari promised that she will live her life for sabito.

—

it has been a painful year, with giyuu leaving the house for his missions, akari's days were filled with training, doing chores, more training, cooking dinner, more training, and this goes on and on every single day until finally, akari has mastered the water breathing style.

other than spending her days with urokodaki-san, sabito and makomo have been appearing from time to time, constantly helping akari to train and master her breathing style.

"woaah. what's the occasion? these looks amazing!" akari asked, eyes glimmering as she watch the delicious meal in front of her.

"akari, you have finished your training. so i'm doing all this to celebrate your graduation." urokodaki said, filling your bowl up with some soup. "there's nothing more i can do for you. please don't mention it. just eat."

"thank you, master!" you grinned, eating happily.

"akari, just like you, demons will get stronger the bigger their meals are." he explained. "as it gains strength, a demon experiences bodily changes and may even gain magical powers."

"here. this is called a talisman mask." master urokodaki said, handing over a mask almost identical to sabito's. "i've cast it with a spell to keep you away from calamity."

"a talisman mask." akari smiled. holding tight onto the white mask.

"you've worked hard." urokodaki-san whispered, rubbing the top of your head in an affectionate manner. "akari, you're an amazing kid. promise me you'll survive the final selection."

tears welled up in akari's eyes. she promised to do her best. she wanted to make giyuu proud. she wanted to make her nii-chan proud. she wanted to make makomo proud. she wanted to make urokodaki-san proud. and she wanted to make herself proud.

—

akari made her way through the wisteria filled forest. it was beautiful. akari was often found speechless in the midst of purple hues. 

"amazing!" akari sighed, it wasn't blooming season and yet, there were so many wisteria trees around. 

sure, akari was nervous and scared, but she was determined to pass this exam. the exam will only last for seven days. she just need to find a way to kill the hand demon and survive the rest of the exam. first, akari need to head east, where the sun will shine the earliest. she knew she wasn't the strongest person around so she had to think strategically to survive.