~𝘓𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘳~ // 𝘚𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘪 𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘻𝘶𝘨𝘢𝘸𝘢 𝘹 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳

- 𝕀𝕀: Final Selection -

Another five months passed. Both you and Mitsuri had already celebrated your birthday, and her birthday. On hers, you had the pleasure of meeting a couple of other hashira. Of course, Rengoku and Kocho were there, the Serpent Hashira, Obani Igaru, and a young boy, perhaps only thirteen or fourteen. He was revealed to be the Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito.

"Oh, Y/n! I'm so proud of you!" She squeezed your cheeks, and made you bend down to be eye level with her. "You are going to do fantastic! Right? Right! And if you-" she choked back tears. "If you don't come back, well- I'll kill you, okay? So be sure to get home safely!"

She slapped your back as you were ushered out the door. "Good luck with Final Selection!"
She waved.

You followed her crow to the mountain it was hosted on. She had already explained to you the wisteria forest that surrounded the arena of demons, and the process that follows after the seven days is over, so you weren't worried about going in blind.

Having never seen wisteria before, you were of course taken aback when you saw it on the mountain a day later. "Wow..." you breathed out. You plucked one of the blossoms and smiled to yourself.

The moon shone brightly over the forest, making the bright purple of the petals seem almost iridescent. They waved good luck in the breeze to you as you continued up the path.

A small clearing was at the top of a set of stairs. Two young children stood at the front of it, a couple dozen swordsman lined up in front of them, waiting anxiously for the test to begin.

A girl stood under a tree, looking at a butterfly with an eerie smile on her face. The butterfly hairpin drew you to her, however. "Hello, you wouldn't happen to be Kanao, would you?"

She stared blankly at you, her smile never wavering. "Uh, hello? Are you Kanao? Ms. Kocho's soon-to-be tsuguko? She mentioned someone like you when she visited Mitsuri for her birthday."

She blinked.

"Um... right. Well, good luck, maybe-Kanao!" You smiled at her and walked closer to the two children.

They spoke simultaneously, startling you and all the other participants at first. They jabbered on about how it works, but you had already heard it. Multiple times. You didn't know if you were thankful or not to Mitsuri for constantly talking about the test as it drew nearer every day.

"You may begin."

Immediately, you followed the leading test takers into the dark, dank forest.

The cool of the mountain air enveloped you. You shivered and looked around. Some of the contestants had sprinted into the woods, where as you, and several other people, had just walked in.

Wary, and a little bit scared you trudged through the forest, you glanced over your shoulder every few minutes.

Getting to the other side would take about six days, so you had a full day to catch up with people if need be.

A bush rustled from behind you, and a disgusting looking demon lunged at you, drool dribbling from his mouth. You wrinkled your face in disgust, and swiftly killed it. Not even a breathing form was necessary.

Another bush rustled as you drew your blade again. It uncoiled menacingly, snapping when the top of it hit the ground like a whip. Kanao emerged from the bush and smiled at you.

"Oh, it's only you Maybe-Kanao. How are you holding up so far? It's been a couple hours. Kill any demons?" You wrapped up your sword and sheathed it again.