Two days passed, and soon the third began — though the trees wouldn't let me see the sun, the cold morning breeze told me it was day.
I had faced two more demons during those two days. One had four arms and stood over two meters tall — that one was tough. It managed to scratch my shoulder. The other was much faster, crawling across the ground like a lizard. Easier than the first, but it left me exhausted.
As I walked through the forest, I kept finding bodies.
Some were missing parts.
Others were intact, as if the demon had killed them just for fun.
It made me feel frustrated.
I gently closed their eyes and said a small prayer.
They didn't deserve to die here.
But that was the reality of the path I'd chosen.
At any moment, luck or skill might not be enough — and I could end up in their place.
---
I was sitting on a large, old tree, my mask covering my face.
The wind blew against my body, bringing a small sense of relief in the middle of this tormenting trial.
But that moment didn't last long.
Another sound came — but it wasn't a demon hunting.
It was a battle. A fight happening not far from me.
I stood up and moved quickly — but silently — toward the source of the sound.
And there she was.
A small girl in a white haori, with a large butterfly ornament in her hair.
She looked no older than thirteen or fourteen, and she was fighting three demons.
Fighting might be an overstatement — she already had a wound on her leg and was being overwhelmed.
— "What do I do? Should I help her? I want to… but there are three of them. I'm not sure I'm ready…"
I thought, hidden behind a tree, my hands trembling.
But in the middle of that fear, I remembered what Urokodaki told me in the beginning.
— "I will train you. Not for revenge. Not for strength. But so that one day, you can save others in despair."
That line he said to me before my training began.
Urokodaki never wanted me to be strong for pride or anger.
He wanted me to help people.
I took a deep breath, calmed the shaking in my hands, and readied my swords.
I stepped out from behind the tree and jumped into the fight.
Breath of Snow – First Form: Snow Blossom!
I spun in the air with both blades.
Snow rose with the strike, swirling like petals in the wind.
The impact pushed the smallest demon away, creating space between them and the girl.
She turned, startled.
— "Who…?"
— "Stay behind me!" — I shouted, moving back into a combat stance.
— "Idiot!" — she snapped, panting. — "There's three of them!"
— "I know!" — I answered.
The demons surrounded us again.
The one with the human-like face laughed.
— "Two weak little kids? What is this, a circus?"
He came first.
Fast as a spear.
But I moved before his charge even finished.
— "Second Form: White Wind!"
I dropped low and slid across the ground, blades crossed.
One sliced his thigh, the other grazed his arm.
It didn't kill him — but it made him step back.
The girl rushed forward with a short sword and slashed the lizard-like demon's arm.
— "What is this?! Poison?!" — he screamed.
— "Exactly," — she replied with a smile.
She spun with surprising agility, even while limping.
I smiled under my mask.
I was still worried —
But we were definitely going to win.
---
The last demon — the biggest — charged straight at me.
But I was ready.
— "Third Form: Frozen Interval."
I paused for an instant.
Let silence take over.
Then struck — sharp, erratic angles.
He staggered back, bleeding from the shoulder.
— "You…" — he growled — "you're just a brat!"
— "And you're gonna die to that brat," I replied.
— "Like hell, you little shit!" he roared, preparing to attack.
— "Fourth Form: Avalanche Melody!"
I spun both swords in an alternating rhythm —
One blade struck the shoulder, the other the leg, then the torso, and so on.
I was pressing him — wearing him down.
He tried to counter, but his claws only cut through air.
The girl seized the opening and leapt onto the demon's shoulder.
One clean strike.
Fast.
Precise.
Lethal.
The lizard demon's head fell without a sound.
The biggest one, injured, tried to flee.
— "Fifth Form: Silent Snow."
I stood still.
For just a moment.
Then surged forward with precision.
One slash — straight across the neck.
He didn't even have time to scream.
---
Only the human-faced demon remained.
He stood, staggering.
Fear had taken over his expression.
He wanted to run.
He tried to.
The girl drove her blade into his back.
He dropped to his knees.
She finished it — severing his head.
Silence.
The snow began to fall slowly again.
---
I was out of breath for a moment.
Then I walked over to her.
She was already sitting down, pressing her leg wound with one hand.
— "You're good," — she said, looking at me. — "But you're reckless."
— "Thanks… I guess," — I replied.
— "Shinobu. Shinobu Kocho." — she introduced herself.
— "Fubuki," — I said, my voice muffled by the mask.
She looked at me for a few seconds, then extended her hand.
I took it.
— "Thank you. I thought I was going to die."
— "You helped a lot too."
She chuckled softly.
— "Then we're even," — she said.
We stood up.
Two young warriors.
Covered in blood.
But alive.