Disclaimer: Demon Slayer is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
---
Time passed.
The sun fell in the west. The melancholy orange gradually became the oppressive night.
The candles of the Butterfly Mansion were lit up along with a bonfire at the entrance, illuminating Zenitsu's form.
Zenitsu never moved from his place at the gate ever since Aoi's news about Kaigaku. He looked on at the dark road outside.
Suddenly, his ears twitched slightly.
"!!"
Zenitsu's dull eyes moved, and he saw a figure staggering toward him in the distance.
His heart dropped a beat, anxious about whether it was who he thought it was.
'Anideshi?'
His eyes were blurry from unspilled tears, making it difficult to see the figures down the road.
But he had high hope that it must be the person he was thinking of.
However,
The person who came staggered into his vision while leaning on a cane. His body and face were finally revealed by the bonfire's light at the entrance of the mansion.
The gray hair swaying in the wind reflected the light. The tired old man leaned on his crutches and stared at Zenitsu, who was walking toward him with eyes of sorrow.
Zenitsu stopped in his tracks as he took in Grandpa Jigoro's appearance.
"Grandpa..." He called out in a daze.
The two of them were tired from waiting for their brother/disciple to come home. Neither of them moved from their location for breaks or food.
Jigoro shook his head at Zenitsu, confirming Zenitsu's worst fear.
The kid couldn't hold back the tears that were threatening to spill out anymore. He ran toward his grandpa and hugged him tightly. Crying his eyes out and bawling for all to hear.
Jigoro embraced the hug as his cane was thrown aside to catch his last precious disciple. Tears spilled out silently from his eyes.
No words were exchanged as they mourned and wept for their lost family member.
---
-Location: Mt. Fujikasane-
A kakushi guard was patrolling the wisteria mountain. He was holding a cylindrical lantern in his hand.
"It's finally over... I wonder how many people have died in the exam for this batch..."
Shin's eyes were tired as he looked around.
"Poor children, everyone is fighting the demons with their lives... while I can only do logistics at my old age." His murmured a little self-depreciatingly.
The fire in his lantern flickered slightly, as if agreeing with his mediocrity.
Shin is one of many kakushi members who also patrols Mt. Fujikasane on a daily basis.
Swish!
All of a sudden, a black shadow flashed past him, producing a breeze that blew his face mask and almost took out his lantern.
"Wha—" Shin was stunned. He quickly turned his head to look at where the culprit was fleeing but found nothing there.
"What was that?" His face was pale from the unexpected surprise.
He got up and moved his lantern in the direction of the culprit running away.
He swallowed his saliva as he felt creeped out.
"Could it be... a ghost~!?"
He broke out into a cold sweat as he frantically looked around in horror.
He breathed a sigh of relief when he found nothing seemed to be attacking him or happening.
He took a step and began to run down the mountain quickly.
'I should run.'
Even his own inspection work became an afterthought.
Shin stopped in his tracks at the thought. The fire in his lantern dances wildly, almost putting it out.
That last thought kept ringing in his mind.
"I...am running away?"
His pupils trembling nonstop, cold sweat broke all over his body, and his breathing became rapid.
The screams that he had heard over the past seven days still haunt his dreams.
"Yes, I'm running."
With that, Shin continued his walk down the mountain. At the same time, he swiped off a wisteria branch and stuffed it into his arms.
He's a coward, but he also knew his limits. He didn't look back toward the mountain and focused on the road.
---
Up on the mountain.
In the clearing where there are no wisteria flowers growing.
Thump.
Giyu appeared silently in a kneeling position. His haori flowing behind him.
He had been running around the edge of the wisteria forest continuously, gradually narrowing his search area as he moved inward.
Until he found his target.
He gripped the nichirin blade at his waist and took a deep breath. His eyes seem to view beyond his target in front of him.
Yes.
The dark shadow that flashed past the patrols was him.
When he heard Aoi's story about a powerful demon in Mt. Fujikasane, he had an inkling about which demon she was talking about.
And now that demon has eaten more than 50 people; Giyu knew that something was wrong.
Unwanted memories surged to the forefront of his mind.
Six years ago.
That was the time when Giyu participated in the final selection exam.
On the first day of the exam, he was seriously injured by a demon and fell into a coma. He was taken care of by his friend and others until the exam was over, which is when he woke up.
However, tragedy struck as his friend, Sabito, died in the exam to save other participants and almost single-handedly wiped out all the demons in the entire mountain.
That year, none of the swordsmen who participated in the final selection died, except for Sabito.
Giyu walked straight at the demon silently.
For six years he had thought himself undeserving.
He didn't manage to kill a single demon, fell into a coma, and was saved by others. In his mind, he didn't pass the final selection exam at all.
Such a man was unworthy of being a swordsman, let alone being called a Hashira.
The real Water Hashira should be his friend.
—Sabito!
His best friend who died fighting the most powerful demon in this final exam.
Now.
Giyu raised his head as he looked ahead. His eyes were full of fury, yet still calm as a still lake. He caught sight of the huge green demon in the distance.
Now he knew why.
Click.
Giyu brandishes his weapon from its scabbard. The engraving of kanji at the base says "Exterminate All Demons," and the blue colors reflected the moonlight.
Like the ocean, Giyu's emotion was raging under the waves that was his stoic face.
)—Water Breathing Tenth Form!—(
Whoosh!
The sound of waves crashing into each other one after another rose from the blade and turned into a tsunami that surged up toward his target.
Giyu's eyes were firm, and white steam filled the corners of his mouth.
)—Seisei Ruten!—(
(tr. Constant Flux)
---
Chime!
The sound of the bell rang out through the mountain of Sagiri.
The mist descended down a huge round stone with a thick shimenawa rope tied around it like a sacred artifact.
Thirteen indistinct human-shaped figures slowly emerged from the mist.
They all wore the warding mask carved by their teacher, Urokodaki Sakonji, on their faces or their waists.
Among them was a young man with long, peach-colored hair and a large scar running from the right corner of his mouth to his right ear. He was sitting on the boulder.
All of them stared in one direction in particular.
Sabito reached up and took off his mask, revealing his silver eyes and his hair fluttering slightly. He murmured with a smile.
"...You've gotten stronger, Giyu."