sᴀʏ ʏᴇs ᴛᴏ ʜᴇᴀᴠᴇɴ || ᴛᴏᴋɪᴛᴏ ᴍᴜɪᴄʜɪʀᴏ ||

010 - final selection

WEEKS TURN INTO MONTHS and Kaori started getting better and better at her swordsman skills. She trained relentlessly, even during harsh thunderstorms or weathers – sometimes she would vomit blood too.

She pushed every matter aside so she could train though. There was a new goal for her. It was to become a hashira so she could save everyone by being high-level, assisting others to defeat the cruel demon lord that she hated so much.

It has only been 1 month and a few days since Kaori arrived at the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters but the hashiras there were friendly beyond her expectations – especially the woman hashiras.

The insect hashira and the love hashira were nice to her, they talk to her nicely and sometimes invite her to eat and hang around with them. Kaori favors the pink-green-haired woman the most.

She felt so safe near the pretty lady – same with the butterfly lady but she didn't like the fact that she kept teasing the water hashira about having no friends. Kaori and Giyuu too have become close.

She knows some fragments of Giyuu's past that made him so distant from the other hashiras – making her pity the jet-black-haired man even more. Kaori practiced non-stop for something... a day she had been waiting for.

This particularly special day will be the day that Kaori attends the final selection of the slayers. Kaori wore her training clothes, a dark maroon loose shirt, and long black hakama pants. She borrowed a belt from Giyuu, it was quite oversized for her.

Kaori adjusted the borrowed nichirin sword from the water holder and put on her zori. Giyuu watched the little girl prepare herself, his nonchalant face staring into her soul as she looked towards him.

"I'll be going now, Tomioka-sama!!" Kaori waved, smiling as she swung her arms from side to side. "Remember to feed Sho, don't make him look skinny!!"

"Hmm... will do..." Giyuu hummed, nodding, "Stay safe... don't get hurt, Kaori."

Kaori giggles softly, "You know me, Tomioka-sama! I'll come back safe and sound~ and then I'll become a hashira so I can be at the same level and not call you Tomioka-sama anymore!!"

Giyuu furrowed his eyebrows, "Be the water hashira. I'm going  to retire."

"Nope!! Bye!!"

As she walked further away from the water estate, she was met with the bubbly love pillar and the observing serpent pillar – walking quietly while staring at his lively companion.

Mitsuri spotted Kaori's bright hair and immediately rushed to hug her tightly, "Unyu!! What are you doing today, tsugi-chan??"

"Yo." Obanai stared at Kaori, not presenting the same lively emotions as Mitsuri did. Kaori smiled, seeing the presence of the masked serpent pillar and the lively love pillar. "I'm going to go to Mount Fujikasane."

Mitsuri raised her eyebrows as she broke the hug between the two, "Mount Fujikasane? Ah~! You'll be taking the final selection test??"

Kaori nods making the pretty pillar sigh heavily, "Well... then I'll not be seeing you for the next seven days... I'll not be able to have picnics with you again!!!"

"It won't be long, Kanroji-san" Kaori looked at Obanai, "Besides, you have him. I'm pretty sure Iguro-san wants to have picnics with you." Kaori pointed at the man who looked at her when she pointed toward him.

"Really? You do, Iguro-san?" Mitsuri's eyes sparkled, staring at Obanai who avoided eye contact with the love hashira, "Alright, I'm going to go now tsugi-chan!! Stay safe!!"

"I will... take care, Kanroji-san!!"

After talking with the cheery and gloomy hashira, she continued her journey to Mount Fujikasane – she knew the path to go there as she ever accompanied Giyuu there to make sure the demons the hashiras captured stayed inside the mountains. 

Hashiras usually capture weak demons and put them in Mount Fujikasane – for the candidates who will be joining the final selection test. It was so they could test themselves to go against a real man-eating demon, of course, if they failed... they'd die.

It was a sunny day as Kaori walked underneath the cool shades of the beautiful wisteria trees, lining up as they circled the entire mountain. The wisterias give off a scent that all demons despite so it keeps the demons inside the mountain there – caging the demons.

Kaori reached her hand out, her eyes glinting while she studied the glowing purple plant that gleamed beautifully. She smiled slightly before continuing to walk up the steep hill – reaching the place immediately, it was crowded.

'So the corps is famous... I thought the existence of demons is being hidden from the civilians...' Kaori hummed as she walked further in the waiting place, 'But... that means each one of them has encountered one...'

In the past, Kaori would avoid such crowded places but since she stayed with Giyuu – she's learned how to stay composed when she's in a crowd. The hashiras practically crowd around her too so it's no different.

As she trotted further inside the waiting area, she couldn't help but feel many eyes on her. Some boy candidates were looking at her, their cheeks tinted a slight hue of red.

"Woah, who is that girl?" asked one of the boy candidates to his friend who was also staring at Kaori, "I don't know but she is so pretty!! I've never seen such a beauty!!"

Kaori shrugged it off, ignoring their whispers and stares as she swayed her hips. When she made it to the front, that's when she saw a familiar boy – dozing off in the skies.

His long black hair had a unique mint green color at the tips. She would've thought he was a girl if she hadn't met him before.

'Isn't that Kocho-san's patient? The one I met weeks ago?' She hummed, staring at the unfazed boy who didn't mind his surroundings. 'Hmm... his eyes looked so lifeless and dead. It was different back then.'

Kaori hummed, crossing her arms underneath her chest as she waited for the event to start. When all the candidates finally arrived, the two familiar ubuyashiki twins showed up.

"Dearest applicants, thank you for joining the final selection of the demon slayer corps." The two greet in sync, "Here in these mountains hold demons that have been captured by our slayers. They've been caged due to the presence of wisteria."

The two relaxed twins told the applicants that the wisteria would no longer bloom and that demons would appear – if they wanted to pass then they had to survive for seven days straight.

As they allowed the applicants to enter the forest, Muichiro's eyes adverted towards Kaori who just entered the forest. Her face looks relaxed and cold – her long eyelashes make her look more magical as she looks into the dark gloomy forest ahead of her.

'That's strange... why do I remember her name...' Muichiro hummed to himself as his eyebrows raised in a surprised manner when he still remembered her name, 'Kaori... Tsugikuni...'

He tilts his head in confusion, 'Does this mean I'm getting better? But my mind is still so hazy...'

Muichiro ignored the questions inside his head as he ran deeper inside the forest, leaving the white-haired alone to go anywhere around the mountain domains.

Muichiro glanced behind him, 'Should I go with her? No... she's trained under the water pillar... she should be fine- wait... why would I care and... how do I know this??'

'This is weird. If I survive, I'm going to ask that butterfly lady about this strange phenomenon...' He concluded.

On the other side, Kaori had already run deeper and farther away from the start – aiming to come across one of the demons who was lurking around the mountain domains.

'The aura is getting darker as I go deeper into the forest...' Kaori pointed out, giving glances to the dark bushes beside her. 'It's not like they'll be able to attack me during the day... I should find a place to rest...'

As she ran deeper into the forest, her mind couldn't help but wonder about the long-haired boy she encountered.

'I wonder...'