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contains manga spoilers!
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Before she left the butterfly estate, she had left her goodbyes to the young girls she treasured. Kiyo, Sumi, Naho, and especially Aoi.
"Take care of each other alright?" Hayami said softly as she caressed each and every one of their heads close to her body.
"Hayami-san. . . Please stay safe" Aoi muttered as she too wrapped her arms around the peace hashira.
"I can't guarantee that Aoi. . . If the battle is much more than what we expected-"
Before she could even explain her worries to the young teenager, Aoi had cut her off. "Then, do your absolute best. I believe in you, Hayami-san. . . Thank you for everything"
She really had grown up. She was no longer the little scrawny girl Hayami found in the forest years ago with Gyomei. She was now her own person, and Hayami couldn't help but smile at the sight of her trying to hold back her tears in front of the peace hashira.
Hayami hugged her closer ━ if that was even possible. Her hand gave the back of Aoi's head a soft pat before pulling away.
"I'm proud of you. . . Aoi, keep growing like this okay?" She whispered.
With a nod in response, Hayami bowed before the four of them. Only afterward did she turn to walk out of the estate. At that moment, Nakamura Hayami turned her back on the few people she deeply cared about, and the place she was able to call home for nearly six years. Not knowing if she will be able to make it out alive after this battle.
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The night was quiet. The air was dull ━ yet breezy. To the people on the outside, it seemed to be a perfect night to either go out or stay in, whichever you prefer. But for the demon slayer corps, everyone had their guards up. Including the board of hashiras wandering around the woods.
Everyone had split up on their own, at first, it was quite risky to have demon slayers besides the hashiras deep in the woods. But after seeing that Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke along with Kanao have achieved many skills after succeeding in difficult missions ━ they all tagged along.
Hayami had absolutely no idea where everyone would be, the plan was to merely patrol around the Ubuyashiki estate. Surprisingly enough, although the family was an important one, they had absolutely no guards.
Earlier in the day, the hashiras had gathered to discuss the meetings prior to the evening. The wind hashira himself proposed to have at least two hashiras guarding Kagaya at a minimum. All this form of protection, really was because they had their speculations that the demon king himself might appear at any given moment.
Her mentor, the stone hashira, was the one hashira that has had the title for years now. And even when everyone turned to him for his point of view on what they all should do, all he said was that it was impossible. Ubuyashiki Kagaya insists that someone as strong as a hashira, shouldn't be wasting their abilities for him. The hashiras being ━ hashiras. They all still decided to patrol around the estate. That decision would soon be a good call, the minute all their Kasugai crows called for them from every part of the woods.
