Close to one year and a half had passed since the infamous incident where three young Demon Slayers encountered Upper Moon Three Akaza, the fateful night where Ali valiantly sacrificed his life to save Eira and Asumi from further harm. The night when Ali became a demon.
Little under a year had passed since Eira, Asumi and Kaze went their separate ways, all of them had made significant progress in their own goals and ambitions. All three of them had worked on themselves in many different ways, they often wondered about each other. Out of all of them, Eira was most eager to reunite with her friends, but she had a very specific plan set out in her head which she thought would be a perfect reunion party.
The girl who had started her dreams in that fateful flower field, Asumi, had come so far since the start of her journey. Asumi's growth was steady and consistent, although not changing much of her physical appearance, she had gotten in a much better state, she was much more confident in her strength and ability. She had worked on herself and excelled in her solo missions. Just as her strength and skill steadily progressed, so had her rank in the Demon Slayer Corps, through her multiple solo missions, she had progressed from Kanoe to Hinoto, placing her only three ranks away from being qualifiable for the position of Hashira.
She had gone to her hometown to celebrate her eighteenth birthday and then gotten back into the missions. Her mind often drifted to thoughts of her friends, Eira, Kaze and of course, Ali. She still wore the light blue flower in her hair, the blue flower didn't wilt or show any signs of browning. The flower of love still stood healthy and bright. Asumi smiled every time she saw it, and always had the thought of the inevitable event, "When will I meet Ali again?". After all, destiny has a plan for everyone.
The boy from the city, Kaze, was in a similar state of prosperity. Recently, he had taken upon the title of 'The Shadow' and wore it with great pride. Not only had he become an influential figure in the Demon Slayer Corps, but his name struck fear in many of the demons, Kaze had been a part of a significant mission in which two Lower Moon demons were eliminated, one being killed by Kaze himself. Since then, Kaze's name had spread like wildfire among both Demon Slayers and demons for his immense power. Kaze The Shadow, after the split, had spent a month at his mother's before getting involved in missions again.
Kaze had remained his same compassionate and kind self. In contrast to Asumi, Kaze had changed several things about his outward look. For one, he had stayed true to his word and carried both his sword and Ali's sword. He held his dark purple blade at his hip, while he left the emerald green sword in another sheath at his back. It was an uncomfortable position for a sword, but Kaze didn't mind it as he didn't plan to use the sword at all. The Shadow had regularly exercised his martial art both in practice and in battle, it was the unique fighting style that boosted his popularity. A Demon Slayer who beat demons with blades and fists, it made a good headline. Kaze often thought his popularity was exaggerated and unnecessary, but he didn't realise his popularity was close to Hashira's level of fame in the Demon Slayer Corps.
Similarly to Asumi, Kaze's rank also increased in the past year, even if he was somewhat of a celebrity, he hadn't partook in enough missions to place him above Asumi, instead, he was a rank below her, Tsuchinoe. Kaze had defeated a Lower Moon, but Asumi had defeated ten times more demons than Kaze had, so her lead in rank was justifiable.
Asumi and Kaze were both in respectable ranks in the Demon Slayer Corps. Hinoto and Tsuchinoe were both impressive positions and were no doubt a feat of hard work and strength.
It wasn't like Asumi, Kaze and Eira hadn't heard about each other since the split, Kaze's rise in popularity obviously reached Eira and Asumi, but that was trumped by a major event that occurred only six months after the split.
It was a cloudy day, quite depressing, the dark grey clouds loomed over the sun, and signs of rain were clear. Food stalls packed up early, and parents ushered their kids to come inside as the thunder boomed loudly. As normal people prepared for the storm, Demon Slayers faced it head-on. The harsh winds and rain were only a minor obstacle as Asumi trekked to her next mission, her resilience was admirable, unlike Asumi, Kaze found shelter at a Wisteria house and calmly read a newspaper as he relaxed. Two different approaches to the harsh weather, but their perspectives soon aligned as their crows dropped down on their shoulders uncannily at the same time. If it was a TV show, their reactions would be showcased on a split screen.
Their crows broke the news.
"The leader of the Demon Slayer Crops Kagaya Ubuyashiki is proud to announce that the Corps has gained a new Hashira. The Ice Hashira." The crow stated. It went on to disclose Eira's full name and her achievements that led to her reaching the Hashira rank.
Kaze and Asumi both smiled at the news, they were both extremely proud at the fact that their friend had reached the honourable title. They were not surprised, Eira was on a different level, her unique breathing style that she had grasped and perfected so skillfully was bound to gain attention. Her unique ability gave her an advantage in battle, she was a one-of-a-kind warrior who deserved to be promoted to Hashira as quick as she did.
Eira had now been a Hashira for close to half a year. Over the past year, she had grown more and more powerful, she was an integral pillar of the Hashira, and she held one thing above every other Hashira. Speed. Eira's speed was unmatched and she could often finish low-level demons in one strike. Eira had been able to showcase the extent of her capability in several missions, she had killed three Lower Moons in her entire career, Rui, Enmu and another who she hadn't bothered to learn the name of. Eira was eager to battle higher-level demons but she had not been fortunate enough to encounter any just yet. Although, she was extremely fixated on a specific rank. Lower Moon One, Ali. Even though it had been close to a year since the split and the encounter with Ali, her hatred had only grown more intense. Eira's hatred was mostly due to her instability when it came to Ali and an infamous blame game she played in her head.
In an alternate universe, maybe Eira would've met Kaze earlier and he could've taught her to deal with the loss properly. Kaze's rationality was something that could've prevented Eira's hatred for Ali, but now it had grown to a point that rationality couldn't stop. Eira had connected all her problems and issues with the image of Ali, in her mind, Ali and evil was a linear connection. If Ali was gone, so was evil. She was going to find Ali and kill him.
"I didn't think I was so admired," Eira slightly blushed as she agreed to give her autograph to two Mizunoto she had come across. They immediately ran up to her and fawned over her, they complimented her blue eyes and beautiful blonde hair, the admiration had made Eira feel good, as showcased by her growing bashfulness.
"Are you joking?! You're so cool!" The young Mizunoto spoke quite excitedly, the Mizunoto must've been around 13, it was shocking to see how young Demon Slayers could be but Eira didn't mind it.
"Thank you, it means a lot," Eira smiled as she spoke to the two Mizunoto. She felt a warm feeling in her heart, she wasn't unaware that younger Demon Slayers looked up to her in such a fond way, some Hashira were… not so role-modely.
"Do you know Kaze The Shadow?" The other Mizunoto asked. Eira couldn't help but roll her eyes as she heard Kaze's new alias, she found it humorous that Kaze was such a celebrity. Eira slowly nodded in response, the two Mizunoto immediately asked Eira to say hi to Kaze for them. Eira nodded and their conversation wrapped up slowly. Eira waved goodbye to the two young Demon Slayers as they left, she was left laughing slightly to herself thinking of Kaze's unexpected stardom.
Eira's eyes looked at the moon and her smile only grew.
"I know a perfect reunion party…" Eira's smile grew as an idea popped in her head, an idea she had for a long time but hadn't exercised the power she held to make it possible.
The following day, Asumi's crow swooped down unexpectedly onto her shoulder.
"Oh, hello," Asumi smiled and she petted the crow, the crow hopped down to her hands and looked up at her with black glistening eyes. Asumi laughed at how cute the crow was.
"The Ice Hashira sends you a message," The crow seemed to have a folded note in its talons.
Kaze had gotten the same letter.
"The Ice Hashira?" Kaze smiled as he leaned on a tree trunk, his crow stood on his shoulder as he opened the letter. "How much did Eira fold this letter?.."
Kaze laughed as the paper seemed to only unravel further and further as he opened it up.
The letter read:
"Dear Kaze and Asumi,
Yes, it's the Ice Hashira, I took the time out of my busy schedule to write this letter to you. I expect a payment for my time. That was a joke, was it funny? Back to my main point, this past year, I've become a Hashira, and I'm sure your lives have been just as progressive and successful as mine. Well, Kaze's a celebrity, and Asumi's name is very high on the records. I am very proud of both of you and have missed you this past year. I would love to return and conduct a joint mission just like before we all went our separate ways.
Since I'm a Hashira, I can personalise a mission to our level. So please write back if you're interested, I can't wait to see you two again!!
Sincerely, Eira, Ice Hashira.
P.S., I wish I had a cool title like 'The Shadow', so you know, I made my own, Eira The Blizzard! Isn't that cool? I even thought of one for Asumi, Asumi the Flower. Well… It's a work in progress… Sorry Asumi, I'll think of a better one."
Asumi found herself chuckling at the letter, she read it all in Eira's innocent voice which made it even more humorous. Asumi felt the breeze brush across her face as she stared at the letter.
"Well… I think it is about time," Asumi looked up at the blue sky. She felt stronger, she felt that she had improved enough to once again work with others and not feel like a burden.
Both Asumi and Kaze expressed agreement and wrote back to Eira with interest.
They were unaware that Eira's 'personalised mission' was going to be a hunt for the demon she despised the most, Lower Moon One, Ali.