Set Your Heart Ablaze

Chapter 2

"So your father was the Flame Hashira, that's amazing." (Y/N) spoke, a smile on her face. She has quickly grown comfortable with Kyojuro, his friendly attitude putting her at ease.

"Yes, he was an amazing swordsman. I hope to be just like him" the man told her with a smile still on his face.

"What about your family?" He asked, his question made (Y/N)'s expression drop as she quickly looked away. She wiped a tear from her face, Kyojuro noticed this, his smile briefly disappearing when he did.

"I apologize, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable" he began to speak, but (Y/N) stopped him after a moment.

"No, it's fine. My family was normal. My father was a wood cutter. I also had my mom and younger brother but-" she cut herself off, staring off into the distance as she sucked in a deep breath, trying to keep her composure.

"They were killed by a demon, that's why I want to become a demon slayer. I want to save people, to prevent people from going through what I did" she explained, a sad smile on her face as she looked back over at Kyojuro.

"I'm sure you'll do just that. I know what you went through must be difficult, you seem like a strong person." He told her, his words struck a cord with (Y/N),

"You really think so?" She asked, her voice hopeful. There was always a part of her that doubted she was good enough to be a demon slayer, even with the intense training she had gone through. Kyojuro nodded,

"of course! You should never doubt yourself!" He encouraged the young woman. He then brought up a hand to her face, wiping away a stray tear. (Y/N)'s face did turn red, but she paid no mind to that as she stood there, still smiling.

"Thank you Rengoku, that means a lot." She said before the pair noticed that they had arrived at the location of the final selection.

"Huh? We're already here, that was fast" (Y/N) said.

"It appears we are, are you ready?" (Y/N) nodded, she and Kyojuro made their way to where the rest of the participants were standing.

----------------------------------------------------

"Good luck Rengoku, though I doubt you'll need it" (Y/N) spoke as both of them stood at the edge of the forest. The inside was infested with demons, the very ones that would have to face in order to pass the final selection.

"Good luck to you as well, I hope to see you again once it's all over" Kyojuro responded, and with that he was gone. His figure disappearing deeper into the woods, still standing there, (Y/N) took a deep breath. Her hand went down to the sword that rested on her hip, after finally gathering as much bravery as she could, the young woman entered the forest. Running down the winding dirt paths, (Y/N) soon found that it was quickly becoming night time. The sun was disappearing behind the horizon, and soon, the demons would emerge from their hiding places. As the last of the sunlight disappeared, (Y/N) heard the sound of rustling from somewhere behind her. Quickly pulling out her sword, (Y/N) spun around to face whatever it was.

As soon as she did, a large figure jumped down from a tree branch. Acting quickly, the young woman jumped to the side, dodging the demon's attack.

"Finally, a human! I haven't eaten in so long" the creature cheered, his lips pulled into a smirk as he stared at (Y/N). His eyes were filled with hunger as he licked his lips, the sight made (Y/N) shudder as she gripped her sword tightly. The demon looked mostly human except for the snake-like tail he had. Large fangs poked out from his smile as he once again lunged at (Y/N). The young woman let out a high-pitched help as she once again jumped to the side. She successfully dodged the demon's attack, landing on her feet.

"Stop avoiding me and just let me kill you, it would be much easier" the demon taunted her, but (Y/N) didn't let his words affect her.

"I'm going to kill you" she stared, a determined look on her face. The demon lunged at her for a third time and she stood there, waiting. And as he got closer, the young woman took a deep breath.

"Storm breathing, first form; lightning cloud" she stated, swinging her sword. The sound of lightning striking could be heard as her sword made contact with the demon's neck, slicing through it. The demon's eyes went wide as his head was quickly separated from its body, falling to the forest floor. (Y/N) watched with a calm expression as the demon's body and head turned into dust. Letting out a sigh of relief, (Y/N) put her sword away and smiled, feeling a bit more confident.