Moonlight

One

12 year old Yuhiko Sara sat with her knees to her chest, and her body half buried in the deep snow. She just witnessed the murder of her entire family after she had gone out to pick flowers for her little sister's birthday.

Now, she could do nothing but shiver in the cold.

But about half an hour later, a young lady with a butterfly Haori extended a hand out to her. Sara looked up at the lady; she had purple eyes and purple tips at her hair as well as a butterfly hairpin at the back of her hair.

"My, my, you look like you're almost frozen!" The lady said with a smile, but her tone was laced with worry, and Sara could tell.

"Sorry I didn't arrive fast enough. If I did, your family wouldn't be dead." Her smile disappeared momentarily, before reappearing again. "I'm Kocho Shinobu, what's your name?"

"Sara... Yuhiko Sara." Sara spoke softly as a tear trickled down her cheek. She lowered her head. It wasn't Kocho-san's fault. It was mine. I'm the eldest daughter, I should have been there when they got eaten up. They suffered while I was carelessly admiring the daisies. They were being ruthlessly eaten up by a monster while I was choosing the prettiest flowers to make a bouquet.

Why wasn't it me? Why were they the ones who had to suffer? Hyuna, Misako, Chisuto... they all had such a long life left to live.

"Sara-chan, please don't feel upset." Shinobu smiled kindly, "It's not your fault. If you're sad, I'll feel guilty too. So keep your chin up and come with me!"

꧁☯︎︎꧂

Yuhiko Sara gave one of her rare smiles at the dinner table with her sisters - well, they were not related by blood, but Shinobu had taken her in after her family had been slaughtered by a demon. Now, she lived in the Butterfly Estate with Shinobu, Aoi, Kanao, and the triplets Sumi, Kiyo and Naho

Sara started her training two months after she arrived at the Butterfly Estate. Shinobu had her hands full with her missions and training Kanao, so Sara looked at the list of trainers and chose Urokodaki Sakonji. She had completed his training and sliced the boulder on top of Mount Sagiri in merely 3 and a half months, and now she was scheduled to attend Final Selection in 4 days.

"Sara, are you scared?" a voice suddenly asked. It was Naho.

Sara sighed. "Yes, actually, I am. I thought I wouldn't be scared. Urokodaki-san said I could do it, but now, I'm not sure."

"It'll be alright, Sara! You trained really hard on top of Mount Sagiri. If you could slice a boulder that big, you'll definitely be able to cut off a demon's neck!" Kiyo joined in the conversation.

"Yeah! We agree with Urokodaki-san. If he said you can do it, you can definitely do it!" Sumi added.

Sara nodded at the triplets gratefully. "Thank you all.  I will try my best at Final Selection. I suppose even if I don't make it, I'll die knowing I tried my best."

"Yuhiko Sara, stop spouting nonsense!" Sara turned her head in surprise to see Aoi emerging from the kitchen. "Stop doubting whether or not you'll make it. You can do it, I know you can. You've always been a brave girl, Sara. Even when you haven't even officially become a demon slayer, you've already mastered Total Concentration Breathing: Constant. That is something even Kanao-chan could not do when she first started."

Sara had to stop her tears from falling. Aoi was always strict and busy with all the chores around the house, so she rarely ever heard Aoi speak like this. But the pigtail girl had even more to say.

"And besides... I only passed Final Selection by pure luck. Since then, I've been too scared to go to battle." Aoi looked down at the floor when she talked about herself, but she met Sara's eyes with her next words. "But... I know you're different, Sara! Unlike me, you're strong. No matter how strong your opponent is, I know you can come out alive!"

Sara hadn't even noticed yet that Kanao had also arrived, and was nodding her head determinedly while holding Sara's hand.

The tears that Sara had been holding back finally fell now. "Thank you all... I promise, I will return to you. Alive."

Behind the walls, Shinobu listened to the girls' conversations with a small smile. And it was a genuine smile.

꧁☯︎︎꧂

On the day of the long anticipated Final Selection, Sara stepped nervously into the area at the base of Fujikasane Mountain and silently admired the wisteria.

Around her were many fellow swordsmen, all wanting to become demon slayers. In front of her, two girls stepped out.

Sara's eyes widened slightly. She remembered meeting Ubuyashiki Kagaya, the head of the Demon Slayer Corps the day she arrived at the Butterfly Estate. He had come to welcome her to the headquarters and wish her a quick recovery, for she had caught a bad cold from being out in the snow for so long.

Welcoming them to the beginning of Final Selection now were two of his children. When everyone's attention was on the two girls, they spoke in unison.

"Welcome to the Final Selection. The base of Mount Fujikasane is protected by wisteria flowers. Therefore, demons cannot reach this place, but near the top of this mountain are demons who have been taken and trapped there by the Demon Slayers. To pass, you must survive for seven days on this mountain."

Sara's breath hitched for the moment she had been waiting for.

"Final Selection will now begin."

____________________________________

Word count: 947