Kagaya Ubuyashiki

"No, no one bullied her." Kanae hurriedly caught Rokuya's arm. Feeling his taut muscles, she felt warmth well up inside her. "She's... angry with herself."

"Angry with herself?" Rokuya frowned.

"Yes..." Kanae lowered her head, her voice tinged with bitterness. "Rokuya, you know Shinobu has never been very strong. These past few months, she's been learning Flower Breathing with me under a Cultivator. But no matter how hard she tries, no matter how she swings her sword day and night without rest, her strength never reaches the level needed to sever a demon's neck. The Cultivator said... she might never be suited to using a sword for Demon-Slaying."

Kanae's voice gradually began to choke up. "That silly girl practices desperately in the courtyard every night. The blisters on her palms burst and form again, over and over, until her hands shake even when she holds chopsticks. But... during the test the day before yesterday, a slash with all her strength couldn't even cut into the surface of the wooden post."

Rokuya fell silent. In his mind, he saw that short-haired, prickly little girl who always liked to glare at him with her purple eyes and poke him in the waist at the slightest provocation.

He knew Shinobu Kocho's personality all too well. That sharp-tongued little devil with her outwardly scheming manner was, deep down, fiercely determined to excel. Having her pride trampled on over and over like that was worse than death to her.

"What happened to her afterward?" Rokuya asked in a low voice.

"She shut herself in her room and hasn't eaten for two whole days and nights." Kanae raised her head and looked at Rokuya, her eyes filled with worry. "She told me that if she couldn't even kill demons, she was useless and would never be anything but a burden. Right now... she's frantically going through all kinds of books on medicine and toxicology. She says she wants to try creating a Breathing Style that can kill demons without cutting off their heads... but creating your own Breathing Style isn't that easy. I'm really worried she'll become dangerously obsessed..."

"Toxicology..." A glint flashed through Rokuya's eyes.

"Rokuya, do you have a way to help?" Noticing the change in his expression, Kanae looked at him as though grasping at a lifeline.

"Once this selection is over, I'll go see her myself." Rokuya took a deep breath and patted Kanae's shoulder. "So what if she's not strong? So what if she can't cut through a neck? Who says you have to cut off a demon's head for Demon-Slaying? If she wants to study poison, I'll find her the best poisonous herbs in the whole damn world and make the deadliest poison there is! If she can't be a blade, I'll be her blade! Let's see who dares call her a burden!"

Kanae froze at Rokuya's forceful declaration, so fiercely protective of Shinobu. Then two trails of clear tears slid uncontrollably down her cheeks, but her lips curved into the most radiant smile.

"Yes! Shinobu will definitely listen to you, Rokuya!"

"All right, stop crying. You won't look pretty if you keep that up." Rokuya clumsily wiped the tears from Kanae's face with his rough thumb. "For now, let's deal with the trouble in front of us. For these seven days, you stay right beside me and don't go anywhere. Understood?"

"Yes, Captain!" Kanae broke into a smile through her tears and gave him a playful salute.

While the two were talking, a rustling suddenly came from the wisteria bushes ahead of the clearing.

The noisy crowd instantly fell silent. Everyone tightened their grip on their sword hilts and held their breath.

"Is it starting?" Rokuya rested his hand on his sword hilt, his gaze instantly becoming as sharp as a hawk's.

However, what emerged from the flowers was not a demon, but two little girls in kimonos carrying paper lanterns. They looked identical, their faces as expressionless as exquisite porcelain dolls.

Then, between the two girls, a thin figure slowly emerged.

He was a boy who looked no more than fourteen or fifteen. He wore a purple kimono with a white haori over it. His face was extraordinarily handsome, but its upper half was covered in dreadful purplish-red scars that looked like some kind of spreading curse.

Though he was almost blind, as he stood there, an invisible field seemed to spread from him, instantly soothing the fear and agitation in everyone's hearts.

"Good evening, everyone..."

The boy spoke slowly. His voice was not loud, but it had a peculiar, ethereal quality, like a clear spring flowing through the heart, or a breeze brushing over a mountain ridge. There was a strange rhythm and cadence to it that made people instinctively want to listen and obey.

Rokuya was inwardly astonished. This sickly-looking boy was none other than the ninety-seventh and current head of the Demon Slayer Corps-Kagaya Ubuyashiki!

"Thank you all for gathering here tonight to take part in the Demon Slayer Corps' Final Selection." Kagaya Ubuyashiki smiled, a smile that embraced all the suffering in the world. "On Mount Fujikasane, we confine demons captured alive by the Demon Slayer Corps' swordsmen. From halfway down the mountain to its foot, the wisteria that demons loathe blooms all year round, so they cannot leave this mountain."

A wave of stifled gasps broke out among the crowd. Although they had long known the rules, hearing them from Oyakata-sama himself still sent chills down their spines.

"However..." Kagaya paused briefly, a trace of grim severity entering his previously gentle tone. "Beyond this point, there will be no more wisteria. Only endless darkness and hungry demons."

"There is only one condition for passing the Final Selection-survive for seven days on this demon-infested Mount Fujikasane."

Kagaya raised his head. Though he could not see, he seemed to look into every person's face.

"Everyone, please be sure to return alive. I will be here, waiting for your good news. Now... may your journey go well."

As Kagaya's words fell, the two girls carrying lanterns bowed slightly, then stepped aside to clear the path into the mountain's depths.

The crowd, which Kagaya's voice had soothed, fell into panic again at the sight of those dark stone steps that seemed to lead into hell.

"Survive seven days... how is that possible... in a place like this..." someone muttered in despair.

"Let's go." Rokuya ignored the frightened people around him and turned to Kanae beside him. "Stay close. Remember, when we run into a demon, let me cut it down first. No kill stealing."

"Huh? Kill stealing?" Kanae stared for a moment, not understanding the strange term.

"It means I have to be the one to take every demon's head. Unless I can't handle them all, you're not allowed to draw your sword." Rokuya laid down the rules imperiously, then stepped forward without hesitation, crossing that boundary between life and death.

Watching Rokuya's broad back, Kanae took a deep breath, gripped the Nichirin Blade at her waist tightly with both hands, and hurried after him.

As long as I'm with Rokuya, there's nothing to fear, even in hell.

One behind the other, the two stepped into the depths of Mount Fujikasane.

Their surroundings changed drastically almost in an instant.

The comforting fragrance of wisteria abruptly vanished the moment they crossed the boundary, replaced by a nauseating stench of decay and the heavy reek of blood. The air grew cold and damp, and withered branches clawed at the moonlight like pairs of shriveled hands.

It was terrifyingly quiet all around, with only the rustle of their footsteps on fallen leaves.

"Grrrrumble..."

Suddenly, an extremely ill-timed sound rang out through the silent woods.

Rokuya, walking in front, stopped in his tracks, looking a little embarrassed. He rubbed his stomach and sighed.