The Water Tsuguko

Chapter 7

After what felt like an eternity, the seventh day was finally complete and all the remaining applicants were free to return to the base of the mountain where the two girls were waiting for them.

By the time Aoi and Takeo made it down to the clearing surrounded by wisteria flowers once more, they were shocked at how few people there were now compared to how many there were at the start.

The girls began talking about the responsibilities of a demon slayer now that the remaining applicants have passed the final selection and were ready for the next step in their journey. They listened carefully as the girls assigned them kasugai crows that would inform them of missions and deliver letters within the demon slayer corps.

Takeo’s crow seemed pretty nice, landing gently on the boy’s head and resting there as if it were a nest. Uniforms were also handed out to each of the applicants in a small white bag, and despite the fact that it was just clothing, it was extremely heavy.

Finally, the last thing that the remaining eight applicants had left to do was choose an ore that would be used to make their nichirin katanas. When it was Takeo’s turn to pick, he looked at the young girls.

“Um,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Is it okay if I request to use a nichirin ax rather than a katana?”

“We will be sure to put that request in for the swordsmiths,” the young girl with the black hair said in a monotone voice.

Takeo nodded, and looked over the table covered with different kinds of rock. From the surface, he couldn’t tell the difference between any of them- except for the unique shape of each one. He leaned over and put his hand out, closing his eyes and letting his subconscious choose the right ore for his nichirin weapon.

His fingertips touched the top of one of the ores and he felt some sort of connection- a spark- and knew that it was the one. It felt cool and light in his hand, the roughness feeling nice against his calloused palm.

“This is the ore I choose,” Takeo informed the two girls, gently placing the ore back onto the table. They nodded, and once everyone chose their ore, they were free to head home, back to whoever trained them and was desperately waiting for their return.

Somewhere along the road, Aoi and Takeo went their separate paths- one to the Butterfly Mansion and the other to the Water Estate- wishing each other luck as they turned away.

Takeo’s leg was weak, and he couldn’t help but limp with all the weight and pressure put on his poor leg. The weight of the uniform was enough on its own, but walking with it while he was exhausted and injured made it seem like he was carrying the giant stone hashira himself. The weight of the borrowed sword was unpleasant as well, dragging him down even more.

The kasugai crow was nowhere to be seen at the moment, and if it hadn’t been for how often Giyuu’s old crow is out and about, he would have been worried. By the time he finally was able to see the Water Estate in the distance, it had already been nightfall, and the boy had been praying that no demons were out and tried to attack him. He was too tired to be able to defend himself at the moment. He stumbled a little bit, but kept pushing forward, no matter the pain he felt. Soon, he could see the figure of his master sitting on the outdoor step, holding a small object and his haori in his hands, looking down.

“Giyuu-san,” Takeo yelled, so relieved to see his master. He began walking faster and faster once the attention of Giyuu was caught, almost breaking out into a run.

Giyuu looked up, and as Takeo got closer, he could see that the man had tears running down his cheeks as he set aside the objects and ran towards the boy.