A Life Worth Living Alt.

Sanemi

Four days passed as Mira continued her training with Genya, though their meetings were about to become less frequent with the Hashira Training Program getting ready to start. However, less time training with Genya would mean more time to get to know the rest of the slayers. It was barely noon, and Mira was making her way to the main estate to do just that when a crow flew up to her. It landed on her shoulder and lifted one of its legs, which she noticed had a note around it.

"Hey there little guy, do you have a note for me?" she asked as she carefully unwrapped the letter from its foot and opened it. She stopped walking to read it and was surprised by the contents. Ubuyashiki was asking her to attend the upcoming Hashira meeting that afternoon so that she could be better in the loop about current events as well as get to meet all the Hashira in person. The crow that delivered the letter was also being permanently assigned to her.

"Kurayami," she stated, looking from the note to the crow that was still perched on her shoulder. "So that's your name." Kurayami was particularly quiet for an animal that was supposed to talk, but Mira shrugged it off and decided to head to the Hashira meeting.

When she arrived at the location, there were about 10 minutes left before the meeting was scheduled to start. She heard voices talking as she made her way to the designated room, though she did not recognize any of the voices. She had read reports on all the Hashira before, but this was her first time meeting any of them in the flesh. As soon as she opened the door, she was surprised to see that all the Hashira were already present... and staring right at her. Their conversations immediately ceased as they all carefully eyed the unexpected visitor.

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?" yelled Sanemi, the Wind Hashira, as he stood from the mat he had been sitting on and grabbed for his sword. Mira had read that he was on the more volatile side, but she still thought his tone and actions were a little violent for the situation. What if she was just a new slayer who had wandered into the wrong room or one of the attendants? She suddenly understood how it might be hard for Genya to talk to him. Ubuyashiki had wanted her to train with both the regular slayers and the Hashira to better prepare them for the battle with Muzan, and she was determined not to fail before even beginning. She knew he would not respect her if she cowered to his harsh words, so she collected all of her confidence before replying.

"No need for your sword. My name is Mira Akimoto, and I am here for the Hashira meeting. Mr. Ubuyashiki told me to come so I could meet you all. Sanemi Shinazugawa is it? You're the Wind Hashira. It would have been a pleasure to meet you." Mira quickly turned to Muichiro, the Mist Hashira, who was sitting in the spot next to the white-haired man. She crouched down to talk to him, leaving Sanemi to himself. "Oh! And you must be Tokito! Here, I heard you liked th-" Sanemi quickly interrupted her, irritation written all across his face. He didn't like being ignored, and what was up with her comment?

"'Would have been nice to meet you'? What the hell does that mean? And don't ignore me, damn it!" Mira paused, her hand still holding an origami dragon out to Muichiro. He gratefully took it from her with a quiet "thank you" as she turned to face the angry Hashira.

Maybe that should be his new title.

"I meant what I said, and I didn't ignore you. You didn't say anything else so I moved on. If you'd like to be friends, that would be great. But respect is not given out for free, especially when someone acts hostile towards you when you haven't even done anything."

"Who the hell said I wanted to be friends?"

"No one, it was just an offer. If you don't want to be friends, then I'll continue down the row to meet everyone." Mira saw the irritation on his face intensify. Before he could reply back, Tengen, the retired Sound Hashira, came up and draped his one good arm around her shoulders. Although he was no longer an active Hashira, he was still at the meetings since he was involved with the upcoming Hashira Training Program.