With a Flame in my Heart [Rengoku x Fem Reader] -DISCONTINUED-

Two - に

After a few hours of traveling, Y/N reached Final Selection. She saw her childhood friend, Tanjiro, a few feet away.

"Tanjiro-kun? Is that you?" she asked, and he looked back at her.

'He looks so different,' she thought. 'He looks battle-hardened and tough. It has been two years, after all. Did the same thing happen to him?' she wondered. Tanjiro looked slightly surprised.

"Y/N-chan?" he said, confused. She desperately nodded.

"Let's team up. That way, we can both survive!" she offered, and Tanjiro was quick to accept her alliance. Then, Final Selection started.

"We can survive during the night, then get rest during the day!" Tanjiro said while running. Y/N noticed that he wasn't using Total Concentration, Constant. Well, he'll learn someday. Now's not the time to tutor the fourteen-year-old boy.

The pair came across two demons. Tanjiro sliced the first demon's head off with the first form of Water Breathing. Y/N recognized the forms instantly. She was told to learn the basic breathing styles as well, just in case. She learned a bit of Water, Wind, Thunder, Flame. It was almost impossible for her to learn Stone, though. 

"You use Water Breathing? Were you trained by Sakonji-jiichan?" Y/N asked while slashing the other demon's head off. Tanjiro was shocked.

"He's your grandpa?" he asked, completely dumbfounded. Y/N explained how she was related to Urokodaki on her mom's side. Tanjiro listened intently while running beside her.

The two cut through the forest quickly, though Tanjiro could barely keep up with his fellow Demon Slayer. They stumbled across a giant demon who seemed to be only made of giant arms. It carried a suffocating boy in its arms, and got ready to eat it when another boy came out of nowhere and started running. The arms of the demon seemed to grow and stretch, reaching for the running boy. Tanjiro and Y/N ran towards the giant demon and cut off the arms just before they grabbed the boy. He stumbled and tried to catch his breath. Tanjiro ran to the boy, checking to see if he was okay, while Y/N fended off the stretching arms. The giant demon seemed to be annoyed by her until she jumped up and brought her sword towards its neck.

"Music Breathing, Second Form- Grand Staff!" Y/N yelled, and sliced her sword horizontally several times. The slash marks resembled the staff lines, and they stayed in the air for a little bit. Tanjiro looked up in awe while tending to the boy. Y/N landed on the ground, her breathing getting quicker and more unstable. She calmed down and stood up.

"Are you two alright?" she asked Tanjiro and the other boy. They both nodded with gleaming eyes, admiring the woman and her drawn sword.

"What?" she asked. They both blushed and shook their heads. They stood up and the other boy thanked Tanjiro and Y/N. He ran off, and Y/N laughed.

"Well, he's dead!" she said, and started walking away from the battle sight. Tanjiro followed her with a disturbed look on his face.

"Why...?" he muttered, questioning his life decisions. Sunrise came, and the demons hid. Tanjiro and Y/N both got some rest.

At the end of Final Selection, there were only 3 other people. There was a yellow haired boy who looked like he wanted to die. His hair looked like those cut potatoes in the West. What were they called... fries? Something like that. Then there was a silent girl with a butterfly on her finger. She looked like she didn't have any soul. She had lavender eyes and a side ponytail that was held by a large pink and green butterfly bow. There was also a small boy who was demanding a sword from the poor little girl who was talking to the group. 

She and her twin told them about the Demon Slayer Rankings and how they were all Mizunoto, the very bottom rank. They told them to choose an ore to craft their Nichirin katanas. These swords were especially suited to each of their breathing style and personality overall. They each picked their ores. The two girls called for birds, and five of them flew down to each one of the new Demon Slayers. Most got a crow, with the exception of the yellow-haired boy. The yellow boy got a tiny sparrow, who was chirping cutely. The boy was surprised and started going crazy over the fact that he got a sparrow instead of a crow. Saito laughed a little bit. 

The group of Demon Slayers started making their way down the mountain and back to their respective trainers.