𝐁𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 ✓

chapter 5 :: my steel and sword

WARNINGS the following chapter contains

foul language ,, slight mentions of blood

I'll never take advantage of sleeping ever again, she thought, taking refuge behind a tree. She'd lost track of how long she'd been in the selection, but she prayed it would be more than five days, or at the very least four. She wasn't picky.

In the span of days she'd been there, she hadn't seen her friend. She encountered various other participants, one being a rather graceful girl who gave her a simple smile before walking away to find other demons. She was beautiful, she would give her that, but her mind was more on her missing friend.

Slow your breathing, she sighed, removing herself from the trunk. She looked around her surroundings, her eyes squinted to spot any inhumane movement. Her eyes caught a shadowy movement from the corner and she turned almost immediately, her sword drawn and prepared. A demon ran out from the bushes, it's head twisting at the sight of her.

"Now now―" she tried to negotiate with the demon. "If you can help me out with a favor, I'll let you go! Do you think you can do that?" She yelped and docked when it launched itself towards her. "Jeez, could've just said no asshole," she retorted, blocking his attacks with her sword. She frowned, kicking him into the clearing and following behind. "Look, could you just tell me whether or not it's possible―" she dodged one of his attacks. "―for a demon―" She slashed at him, cutting off one of his arms. "―to become a human again?"

No response. In reply, the demon growled and slashed at her arm, tearing through the right half of her kimono. She scowled, and in an instant the demon's head was on the floor, it's body turning to ashes. She frowned as she sheathed her sword, muttering a quiet prayer under her breath and moving on. There was no point in standing in spot and she was growing more and more weary as she walked.

She felt something wet on her forehead, and almost screamed at the thought of a demon licking at her head. As she stepped back, sword in arm to attack, she frowned. There was nothing above her, and she was certain there was nothing in the surroundings at the moment. Confused, she touched the wet spot on her head and blinked.

Blood. She was bleeding.

Perfect. Just perfect, amazing, great. What a wonderful thing to see while you're running on 3 hours of sleep.

She knew there was a point in crying, so she continued to move forward despite her consciousness waning every couple of seconds.

A wave of relief rushed over her as the familiar smell of wisteria flooded her senses. She sighed, finally sheathing her sword as she made her way down, following her dampening senses and the beautiful sight of purple.

She almost cried at the sight of blue in her line of version.

"Tamashii!" Tanjiro called out, smiling ecstatically. "Thank god, you're okay!"

"Tanjiro," she breathed, pulling him into a tight hug, burying her head in his chest. "You're alive." She pulled away for a moment, smiling tiredly. "Of course, I didn't doubt you for a second."

His quiet chuckle was like music to her ears as he patted her head. She sighed, feeling like a heavy weight had just been lifted from her shoulders. She glanced at the other candidates and frowned: only three, excluding herself and Tanjiro, had survived. She was sure there had been more, or perhaps she'd miscalculated.

"I'm gonna die," a yellow haired boy murmured. "I'm...I'm done for." He looked horrified. "Even if I survive now, I'm gonna end up dying anyway."

"Welcome back." The twins she'd seen at the start were standing before them, their smiles plastered onto their faces. It unnerved her how anyone could look so casual when lives were lost, but she supposed it should've been expected.