A Shadow's Will.

Veil

Even if you look back to those unlaughable days, even if you curse the unchangeable present, those meaningless words won't be able to save you. 

The two arrive at the edge of the wisteria forest. 

"Wow! There's so many wisteria flowers! They aren't even supposed to be in season yet." Tanjiro goes up to a tree and inspects the flowers. 

"Are you sure that's right? They seem pretty in-season to me." Akito continues to walk down a stone path. There are stairs leading up close up ahead. 

Tanjiro quickly returns to Akito and the two start walking up the stairs. "Maybe I was wrong? Or maybe since this is a different region?" Tanjiro reasons. 

They get to the top of the stairs and are met with a large group of young people, all hailing from different places. Ready to attempt the final selection. Many of them seem to be self-taught, as they lack a haori, usually given to those who were trained by a former Hashira. Tanjiro and Akito each wear a blue, cloud patterned haori given to them by Urokodaki. 

Akito looks around at the other slayers. He notices two girls standing off to the side, both wearing pink colored kimonos. One wears a green butterfly hairpin, the other with a pink hairpin. One is noticeably older than the other. The older one seems to be fairly strong, if Akito were to fight her, he doesn't know who would win. But she seems... Kinda familiar. 

Another kid stands off to the side wearing a yellow haori with a white triangle pattern all over it. He seems to be beaten up, but he doesn't seem nervous. 

Another young guy with a large scar on his face, he wears a purple uwa-obi. He has a mohawk with the rest of his hair buzzed. He wears an aggressive expression. 

A blonde-haired girl wearing a rose-petal-patterned haori seems to be lost in thought. 

Two children stand at the front of the group, one with white hair, the other with black hair. They both look identical, wearing purple kimonos. They speak in unison. 

"Everyone, we thank you for attending the Final Selection tonight. Here on Mt. Fujikasane, the demon slayers have captured a number of demons alive. They are unable to leave. That is because wisteria, which the demons hate so much, blooms year-round from halfway down the mountain. However, they don't grow from this point onward, thus there will be demons about. To pass the final selection, you will need to survive here for seven days. Now, be on your way." The two bow and wait for the recruits to enter the forest. 

Tanjiro confidently begins to enter the forest, Akito following closely behind him. The two begin to talk about their plan for passing the final selection. 

"Well, for starters, I guess our main focus would be to survive the night." Tanjiro says. 

"Yeah, you're right. I can check if any demons are close by." Akito closes his eyes, he plants his sword into the ground, focusing on his breathing. Shadow Breathing: Fifth form - Astral Graveyard. 

"There's a couple demons in our general area. It seems there's a pretty strong one up ahead. But there's lots of people also around here. We could move to a place where there's less people, that could reduce the number of demons around us." Akito opens his eyes and sheathes his sword. 

"No, I don't want to do that. Isn't it better if we help those that we can? I'm sure people will need help, many of them didn't seem very strong." Tanjiro says, clearly concerned for the wellbeing of the people around them. 

"Alright, whatever you want." Akito sighs. He understands the good nature of Tanjiro, but to go around helping people would put him at risk. 

A demon quickly approaches them. Jumping from out of the trees. Tanjiro sees it and rolls away from its attack. Akito unsheathes his sword and rushes at the demon, swiftly beheading it before it can react. A separate demon tries to attack Tanjiro, jumping out of the bushes. But Tanjiro makes quick work of it.