░『Zephyr』░(KNY OC STORY/ KNY OC X KNY-OLD/DISCONTINUED)

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟺: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚆𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚊 𝙼𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗

'Mount Fujikasane is the location where many future Demon Slayers either succeed or perish. For seven days, candidates sent by their trainers will be placed into a wisteria-surrounded forest infested with demons previously captured by already-existing Demon Slayers.'

'Most of the demons there are relatively weak, as they have only killed two or three humans. Despite this fact, said demons are presented to the candidates to test both their swordsmanship skills and survival skills.'

'The goals of these candidates are simple; survive.'

* * * 

Fukurō stares in awe at the scenery in front of her, mouth open in shock. Behind the bright red poles in front of her, vibrant wisteria hangs from the branches, the moonlight illuminated by the crescent moon above making it look almost angelic. It was fascinating, as wisteria usually wouldn't bloom during this time of the season. If only she could stay on these stairs forever, gazing amazingly at the wisteria.

One step after another, her heart hammers against her chest more and more. Her nerves were bursting with anticipation. She never felt so excited in her life.

She tugs on her hair, only a few steps away from the top of the staircase. 'Just breathe, Fukurō. Don't worry about the others, just focus on making it out.' She reassured herself, finally looking up from the ground to the other Demon Slayers-to-be. She freezes in place, a hint of panic looming on her face. 'Too many people.. Too many.. Too many...'

She could count maybe twenty different people, but didn't get an exact number as she flicks her gaze back to the ground. Creeping herself to a nearby wisteria tree, she takes a few peeks at the crowd in front of her; Some kid with lemon-yellow hair, another with hair pulled back with into a ponytail. Many faces looked the same, while others were more memorable. Such as a guy with a unique sense of style who had just walked into the area, who wore a fox mask, earrings, and blue  haori.

Unfortunately, none of these contestants were the face of Inosuke. Fukurō believed that his unusual boar head would stick out from the crowd. 'Didn't he say he would attend Final Selection as well? Did he decide against it last minute?' Fukurō wonders, trailing her nail along the edges of the handguard of her temporary Nichirin Sword. While wondering where Inosuke might be, she tries to make herself as unapproachable as possible.

The hushed chatter around her begins to die down when a young, innocent voice speaks. The voice belongs to a black-haired child in a purple kimono, holding a glowing lantern. She looked a few years younger than Fukurō herself. 

"Greetings, everyone." The girl welcomes, "Thank you all for joining us for the Final Selection tonight. There are a lot of demons held captive on this mountain brought back by demon killing swordsmen. They are unable to leave."

Another girl, who looks identical to the black-haired girl beside her, is instead blessed with snow-white hair, and is decorated with a wisteria accessory that her twin also possesses. Fukurō assumes that these are the guides, as they both are not dressed for demon-slaying and movement, and they sound like they know a lot about the test. The white-haired twin continues the speech in the same tone, "Because from the mountain foot to half way up, there are a lot of demon-repelling wisteria that bloom all year long. But the wisteria ends here. Demons abound from this point on, and they're very hungry." The black-haired girl begins to speak once again,"In order to complete Final Selection, you must survive for seven days beyond the wisteria's protection."

"Now, your trail begins." The two guides say in unison.

Fukurō turns her head towards two more cases of stairs behind the girls, and watches as the other sword-wielders make their way up either one of the staircases. Out of instinct, Fukurō decides to follow the crowd to the right. Nodding a slight thanks to the guides, she takes a deep breath, attempting to calm her nervousness. No extra help from the guides other than information about the trail leaves Fukurō needing to fend for food or water herself, if she even chooses to search for it.