koi no yokan | inosuke hashibira

𝟑.𝟔

The Wind Piller stood tall with his arms crossed as he placed them high on his scarred chest, a frown furrowed on his face as he stared down at me. His body still, I swore I was staring at a statue. His chin was held up high, his shadow spread across me, and his hair flowing graciously with the soft breeze.

Biting the inside of my mouth, I awaited the next instruction from my new mentor. At least, he'd be my mentor until I hear another word from Tomioka. I can deal with either mentors, but I can't always switch off from them back and forward.

It was a beautiful day today. Winter was closing into the region soon. The air was starting to give off a cool tint. The nights were colder as well, having me use at least two blankets to get the right comfy and content position. There were no signs of snow, though I'd know we'll see them soon enough. The trees had lost its color as well, faded and wilted leaves left on its bare branches.

It's been a two months since Kyojuro Rengoku died and here I was standing and waiting for the words of my next mission from my new mentor.

"(Y/N) Yoshioka." Sanemi stated in his matter of fact tone of voice.

I straightened my posture, sticking my hands to my side. I was now in full uniform, wearing my haori, which I missed dearly after the long time its taken for it to be stitched back up.

"Your first mission is a joint mission, one with a partner that will meet you halfway. They might be a high rank or a low. Whatever comes across, you still work with them." Sanemi nodded, a gesture to ask me if I was responsive in his words. "You'll be sent East towards the ocean, not to close to where you can smell it but close enough to see its horizon."

I nodded back at his words, a quick bite of energy bursting into me as he told me about its location. I've never seen the ocean. Only in my mother's paintings and hearing about it in books.

"There's word of a demon rummaging through a village near that area. Just like always, your job is to find that demon and eliminate it. If possible, find survivors if the demon attacked or took hostages." Sanemi nodded back down to me. "Do you understand?"

"Yes!" I exclaimed as I tried to force my lips into a straight line, fighting the excited smile that was about to rip my mouth open at any given moment. "I understand! But-"

"No questions!" Sanemi shook his head. "As a demon slayer, you must be prepared for the unknown at all times."

Right after he said that, he whipped out his nichirin sword. A slick noise of a sword rubbing friction against its sheath was loudly echoed through the training ground.

I could see his hand race to his sheath just at the last second, giving me half a second to react. He sliced upwards, right where my chin was before I leaned behind my back.

Raising my own sword, Sanemi jumped back as he saw me react. He let out a sharp chuckle, shaking his sword in a circular motion as we mirrored our walks.

"You're not bad, (Y/N). Tomioka trained you well."

"Well, I learn from the best." I shrugged one of my shoulders. Seeing that Sanemi had started to place his sword back into his sheath, I decided to do that as well.

"Glad to know I'm the best then." He chuckled lowly as he leaned down just to match my height. His eyes were something to behold. Veiny, large, and his pupils were small as well, giving him a terrifying look.

Yet, like this, I could actually see the human in him. His iris and pupil had actually enlarged, a soft look coming across his face.

"You look like your uncle, or rather, your dad." He sighed, shaking his head. His eyes returned to their normal state. "I knew your dad too, well, kind of."