Teiichi stood quietly where he was, his gaze fixed on the Hand Demon's head as he watched it gradually turn to ash in the firelight. Every speck of dust seemed to bear the sins of the past before finally fading into nothingness.
Clap, clap-
A burst of crisp applause broke the surrounding silence. Teiichi looked toward the sound and saw that Kanae Kocho's tall figure had quietly appeared beside him at some point. Her arrival was like a spring breeze brushing his face, bringing a barely perceptible warmth.
Only now did Teiichi finally have a chance to take a close look at Kanae Kocho's appearance.
She was like a blooming moth orchid, beautiful and elegant, giving off a faint fragrance. Her long, jet-black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, and her pale purple eyes were clear and bright, as though they could see into people's hearts, revealing an indescribable gentleness and kindness. The emerald-green butterfly hair clips she wore complemented her name, swaying gently with her movements like dancing butterflies. She wore a haori with a colorful butterfly pattern over black inner clothing, looking both mysterious and full of vitality.
The girl's appearance made Teiichi's pupils widen slightly, and his heartbeat involuntarily quickened.
Looking at the boy staring blankly at her, Kanae could not help smiling. She reached out a slender, fair hand and waved it before his eyes, saying softly:
"Um, you're even stronger than I thought!"
The slender, fair hand waving before his eyes brought Teiichi back to his senses. Suppressing the flutter in his heart, he asked curiously after hearing Kanae's words:
Kanae shook her head and smiled. "No, we don't know each other!"
"Then what do you mean by stronger than you thought?" Teiichi asked, puzzled.
Kanae explained, "Because you'd already been watching from the sidelines for a long time, hadn't you? After watching for so long, you must have known how strong the Hand Demon was. If you still dared to come over knowing its strength, then you must have been able to deal with it."
At this point, Kanae paused, glanced at Teiichi, and continued, "I just didn't expect you to be this strong. The Hand Demon was already very powerful, far beyond what a beginner could handle, but it couldn't fight back against you at all."
Teiichi was a little surprised to hear that Kanae had actually noticed him watching from the sidelines. Was that only to be expected of a future Hashira? He remarked:
"You're very strong too, to have the attention to spare for your surroundings while fighting. I was still some distance from the fight, yet you noticed me anyway."
Kanae chuckled. "I didn't notice you at first. But after dodging the Hand Demon's attacks for a while, I started getting a little used to them, so I relaxed a bit and had more attention to spare for my surroundings! That also meant that by the time I noticed you, you were already sitting in a tree. I don't know when you arrived."
At this, Kanae looked into Teiichi's eyes and asked, "So, when did you get here?"
Without giving it much thought, Teiichi replied, "Me? Probably when you charged at the Hand Demon."
"Huh? Wasn't that quite a while ago? You were sitting there all that time?" Kanae said in some surprise, a hint of teasing in her eyes. Teiichi, however, did not notice it.
"Ahem..."
Teiichi coughed somewhat awkwardly and explained:
"Uh... I had faith in your strength, so I wanted to study whether the Hand Demon had any weaknesses."
Hearing this, Kanae leaned forward slightly, bringing her head a little closer to Teiichi, and continued asking as she stared into his eyes:
"Then when I saved someone the night before last, the person watching nearby must have been you too, right? Were you also studying whether that demon had any weaknesses?"
Kanae's stare made Teiichi a little uncomfortable. He turned his head slightly and forced himself to answer, "Uh... yes!"
"Hahaha..." Kanae suddenly let out a string of laughter like silver bells. Straightening up, she said:
"All right, I'll stop teasing you!"
With that, she turned to look at the sky. Light had already begun to appear on the horizon. Although the sun had not fully risen, sunlight was already spilling over the mountaintop, dyeing the entire world golden.
"The trial's more or less over. Let's head down the mountain together," Kanae invited Teiichi.
"Sure."
Teiichi nodded, and the two walked side by side onto the path down the mountain.
On the way down, the morning mist gradually dispersed, and sunlight filtered through the sparse trees to cast dappled patches of light and shadow on the ground. Walking beside Teiichi, Kanae tilted her head and looked at him with a hint of curiosity.
"Say, since you're so strong, have you ever considered helping the other members pass the trial more safely?" Kanae asked softly, her voice as clear and pleasant as a mountain stream.
Teiichi turned to glance at Kanae. "You want to know why I kept watching from the sidelines today, but came out to save you in the end?"
"Yes, I'd like to know," came Kanae's calm reply.
Teiichi stopped walking down the mountain and slowly turned to face Kanae, beginning to speak at an unhurried pace:
"This is a trial."
"The purpose of the trial is to select members who are strong enough to protect more people in the future."
"Of course, I could lead them through this trial more safely. But if I did that, this trial would lose its meaning."
"If they were ordinary civilians, I would come out and save them right away. But they aren't. They're future members of the Demon Slayer Corps."
"I can help them once, twice, even eight or ten times without any problem. But I can't help them for their entire lives. Sooner or later, they'll have to fight demons themselves."
"Helping them directly now and letting them pass this trial easily would not only be irresponsible toward the trial, but even more so toward their future."
"The demons on Mount Fujikasane are already generally quite weak. If they can't even pass a test like this, should we let them pass the trial and become official members of the Demon Slayer Corps, then face potentially stronger demons?"
"So whenever I've encountered a member fighting a demon here on Mount Fujikasane, I've watched from the sidelines. If he could defeat the demon, I would leave quietly. If he couldn't, I would only step in when he was about to be defeated."
Hearing Teiichi's words, Kanae Kocho lowered her head and fell silent, the smile on her face fading as well.
Only after a while did she slowly raise her head and say with a wry smile, "It seems I was being foolish."
Teiichi glanced at the girl before him. "Come on, let's keep going down. Otherwise, the others might think we've both been eaten."
With that, he took the lead and continued down the mountain.
Kanae followed. Looking at the sword-bearing figure of the boy before her, she asked curiously, "Why do you carry one sword on your back and another in your hand?"
Teiichi explained, "Oh, the one on my back is my Nichirin Blade. It's for fighting. The one in my hand is for training. It's just an ordinary heavy sword, not a Nichirin Blade."
His explanation made Kanae even more curious. Her eyes widened as she asked, "For training?"
"Yes."
"But didn't you come to Mount Fujikasane to take the Final Selection?"
"Ah... well..." At this point, Teiichi was not sure how to continue. Would it sound too arrogant to say outright that he thought the demons on Mount Fujikasane were too weak to interfere with his training? He began searching his mind for a reason to bring his heavy training sword.
While Teiichi was thinking of a reason, Kanae Kocho's eyes suddenly lit up beside him, and she said:
"Ah! I know! You must think the demons on Mount Fujikasane are too weak, so you brought your training sword along. That way, taking the trial wouldn't get in the way of your training, right?"
"Uh... more or less."
Before Teiichi could think of another reason, Kanae had already voiced his original thoughts, leaving him no choice but to give a vague reply.
Kanae Kocho continued, "Then why don't you just train with an ordinary Nichirin Blade?"
"An ordinary Nichirin Blade is too light, so it isn't very effective for training. This one was specially made. It weighs 110 jin."
As Teiichi explained, he pondered to himself.
Carrying two swords really is a hassle. Everyone who sees me has to ask about it. Could I have the swordsmith make me a heavier blade when it's time to forge my Nichirin Blade?
Hearing that the heavy training sword weighed 110 jin, Kanae Kocho's eyes lit up. She extended her right hand toward Teiichi, indicating that she wanted to try it.
Teiichi handed over the heavy training sword.
Kanae took it, and her right hand dipped slightly. Her left hand immediately came up to stop it from sinking farther, and she swung the heavy training sword through the air with both hands.
Kanae glanced at Teiichi and asked curiously, "It really is heavy! You don't look very old. How old are you? How can you already use such a heavy sword?"
Teiichi replied, "I should be twelve, I think. What about you?"
Hearing that Teiichi was only twelve, Kanae Kocho immediately broke into a smile. "Ah, I'm fourteen, two years older than you. You'll have to call me big sister from now on."
At this, Kanae Kocho looked at the boy beside her and asked:
"Oh, right, we've been talking all this time, and I still don't know your name!"
"My name is Kato Teiichi. What about you?"
Teiichi gave his name, then asked Kanae hers. Although he already knew her name, he still had to ask. Otherwise, how would he explain knowing it?
"My name is Kanae Kocho. You can call me Big Sister Kanae from now on."
Ignoring her words, Teiichi said, "Then I'll call you Kanae from now on. You can call me Teiichi too."
Kanae looked a little disappointed. She raised a hand and pretended to wipe the corner of her eye, feigning sadness as she said, "Boo-hoo, how cruel! You're younger than me, yet you won't even call me big sister. You just call me by my name."
Teiichi was speechless and paid her little heed. Seeing this, Kanae could only shake her head helplessly. "All right, then I'll call you Teiichi-kun from now on!"
With that, she stopped, turned to look at Teiichi beside her, and said with a smile, "Teiichi-kun, I look forward to getting along with you."
Dawn was just breaking, and sunlight gently caressed the girl's face, her smile blooming like a flower.