Kagami Yamato had been trained to be a warrior ever since she could walk, talk, or barely make coherent sentences. She didn't know which came first but either way it all started out the same. A shinai, a Japanese sword made of bamboo, was placed in her tiny hands that can barely wrap themselves around the tsuka, the hilt of the sword. It was rather big and extremely heavy for her size. She remembered grunting, sweating, and panting trying to lift it. Planting her feet against the ground firmly, she strained to pick it up. The muscles in her arms ached but she wouldn't give up! She managed to lift the tsuka but the rest of the sword still laid heavily against the ground. There was no way she would be able to lift it up. It was much too heavy and much too hard!
Dropping the sword on the ground, Kagami fell backwards on her butt and wailed, her little fists rubbing against her eyes. She wanted to be strong, she wanted to be strong enough to lift it off the ground and wave it around in the air but couldn't. She was too small and too weak to even lift the saki-gawa. She'll never be strong enough. She continued crying and crying in her fists, never letting up.
Soon, a pair of feet stopped in front of her and the person slowly knelt down towards her. Her wailing continued even when their hands softly pried hers away from her face, holding them in his. Peering into her blurry eyes was her father. His black hair was tousled all around his head, his green eyes full of softness and pride, and a small smile revealed itself. Her father was so gentle with her vulnerable state it baffled Kagami. What baffled her even more was the pride and proud in his eyes when he looked at her. How could he be so happy looking at her? She failed at even lifting the shinai. What more embarrassment could she be to him?
Kagami turned her head away from him in shame. She didn't want her father to see her in that sorry state. She was a failure and nothing more.
Then, he slowly stood bringing her with him gently. He brushed the dirt off her red kimono and her eyes widened when he effortlessly picked up the shinai from the ground. Walking a few paces away from her towards the center of a dirt clearing, she watched him swing the sword around in the air. He glided it across and through the air, his stances changing, his breathing and chest moving evenly, and his face bore no emotion. Kagami watched every single step he took, every slice of the sword made in the air, the muscles of her father's arm flexing and relaxing, until he finally stopped.
"Wow," she gasped out as he approached her again.
Her father chuckle and softly spoke, "One day, you'll be able to do something just like that. Something even greater. First, you must get big and strong in order to wield a fine sword like this." He laid his palms upwards toward the sky and let the sword balance in his hands.
She withered under his words and slouched her shoulders forward. "But... I'm not strong," she nearly cried.
He knelt in front of her again and laid a hand on her shoulder. Kagami gasped and looked into her father's warm eyes. "You are already strong, my little dragon. You just need to be stronger here-" he softly poked her head, "-and here." He laid his hand against her chest above her small beating heart. "Getting a little stronger here wouldn't hurt either," he joked poking his fingers at her arms and tickling her stomach.
Kagami giggled hysterically and fell into her father's arms in bliss, hugging him tightly around his neck with a large smile on her face. She let out a deep sigh and melted in his embrace, letting him wrap his arms around her and picking her up, taking her inside their home, the shinai forgotten on the ground. From that day forward, she promised herself she would get stronger in her mind, heart, and physical body. She wanted to make her father proud of her.
She trained with the shinai for many years. The bamboo sword that was once too heavy to be lifted was now perfectly balanced in her hands. She huffed, grunted, and panted as she swung the sword through the air, across the sky, and all around her. Her father who was gentle to her learning became a tough critique. He always criticized her stance, her sloppy technique, and her incorrect grip on the tsuka. At first, Kagami couldn't understand why he was being so tough on her. She was just doing what he wanted her to do and thought he'd be proud at the fact she was accomplishing the one thing he set on her when she was a child.
Some days, she couldn't handle it. She'd throw the shinai on the ground, letting it clank and bounce, and run off into the forest surrounding their home. She'd run as far as she could until she found the familiar tree that always comforted her in her dire time of need. She'd sit there for hours calming herself down, letting the wind softly blow through her black hair and watching the birds chirping above her. She wanted to stay there forever-but knew she couldn't.
When she was done acting like a child, at dusk, Kagami would return home and sit on her knees begging for her father's forgiveness. He wouldn't say or do anything but motion his head towards the shinai still thrown on the ground from hours earlier. Nodding her head, she picked up the sword and exhaled a large deep breath. Then she'd continue practicing all night long to make up for her rebellion against her father and the dishonor she brought to the shinai. When her father was satisfied, he'd let her rest for a couple of hours or so before forcing her to continue practicing.
After a few more years, Kagami was upgraded to a katana. The sleek, curved, single-edged blade shone in the sunlight and sung when she did a practice swing through the air. The beautiful blade was perfectly balanced in her hands and seemed to have taken a liking to her just as she did with it.
"It was your mother's," her father softly spoke leaning against his crutch.
Kagami's heart fell at the mention of her mother. For many, many years he never spoke of her. There were no portraits of her in their home, not that she knew of, and she never knew what became of her. It was big mystery Kagami didn't try to solve. It had been just her and her father her entire life. She wished she had a mother but her father raised her, fed her, and gave her a home. He was all the family she ever needed and wanted. She would continue to make him proud no matter what.
Then, one day, she realized she didn't have time to do that anymore.
She and her father were sparring, their katanas clinking against each other, sparks flying as the sound of metal rang in the air, when her father suddenly collapsed to the ground.
"Father?!" Kagami screamed dropping her katana on the ground and racing to his side. His face was pale, his body was quivering, and small groans of pain escaped his lips. His breathing became ragged; his chest was barely lifting and falling, it was out of rhythm, and it sounded like it hurt for him to breathe in a small bit of air.
That night, she knelt by his bedside holding his hand tightly.
She left the doors of their minka home open, the heavy rain pattering against their roof and the world outside accompanied with the soft rumbling of thunder. Surrounding his bed were the candles she lit, flowers she picked from their garden, and the many portraits they took together throughout the years. He looked so young and carefree, their smiles always so big and so genuine, even as he was getting tougher and stricter with her training.
The lump in her throat got heavier and the tears in her eyes threatened to fall when she laid them on her father. He was barely breathing, he looked pale as death, and he was sweating profusely. The cold damp towel she laid on his fore-head and the herb concoctions she made did no good to still his fever. He was... He was going to leave her soon...
"K-Kagami," her father suddenly croaked out.
She gasped and her hold on his hand tightened. "I'm here, father. I'm right here," she choked out.
His eyes weakly fluttered open and they landed on hers. She nearly cried looking into them. His eyes that were once so bright were dim. Darkness was floating across them threatening to take him away. His grip on her hand was weak but she felt the slightest pressure in them. "K-Kagami. You grew up... to be the woman I always hoped... you would," he weakly spoke.
A single tear streamed down her cheek when she shook her head. "I'm not, father," she softly cried out. "You wanted me to be strong, capable, courageous, and more. I am neither of them. All I wanted was to make you proud, and I failed."
Kagami shut her eyes because she could no longer look at him. Shame pierced her heart. She was unworthy of his kind words and she couldn't bear to look at the man who raised her when all she did was bring shame and dishonor to him. She didn't deserve him, his love, or his home. She was unworthy of the gentle and strong man he was. Suddenly, she felt a cold hand press against her face. Her eyes flung open and she realized her father placed his hand against her cheek, a small and weak but warm smile on his face.
"Kagami, I've been proud since the moment you were born."
Not a second later did a waterfall of tears stream down her cheeks. Her heart ached, a cry fell from her lips, and her body trembled at his words. He was always proud of her? Even when she was weak, small, and incapable of picking up a shinai? His love for her was so strong it baffled her and left her completely speechless.
Her hands softly cradled his hand against her cheek and she cried into it softly. "Father, please don't leave me. I'm not ready yet," she whimpered into his hand.
A terrifying cough spewed from his mouth and she watched his body gasp for air. His mouth was wide open, his chest wheezing for air, but he forced out, "You're ready. You're so strong. Never forget how strong you are. Your mother... she would be as proud as I am right now seeing the woman you've become."
"Father..." she mumbled out and sniffed, crying out, "I love you, father! Please stay and never leave my side!"
Her father's warm smile never fell when his eyes began to slowly close. "I love you, my little dragon. I will... always be by... your side," he softly spoke and released his last bit of air, never inhaling again.
Kagami screamed out in agony, keeping her father's hand close to her cheek, as more waves of tears spilled out of her eyes. She screamed for him to stay with her, to never leave her side, and that she wasn't ready to be alone in the world. She still needed him, she still needed her father now more than ever. Her heart was hurting so badly she thought it would burst, her body was shaking so hard she wanted to send herself toppling to the side, and her eyes began to sting from the waves of fresh tears that wouldn't stop falling. The thunder that rumbled softly was now so loud it masked her screams, lightning streaking across the sky, and the rain harder than ever. She didn't want to leave him. She didn't want to leave his side, but knew she had to.
When the storm passed, Kagami buried her father in the garden they grew together. She laid on her knees and silently wept for him, clutching her mother's katana close to her chest. The red, pink, and blue flowers softly swayed around her lighting up her father's grave. She felt their whispers and the soft promises of taking care of him while she's away.
Wiping her eyes, she slowly stood from her spot, brushed off the dirt from her kimono, and began to slowly walk away from her childhood home, her father, and her previous life. She couldn't stay there and rot until death took her too. Her father trained her the best he could into the warrior she was meant to be. She was strong, courageous, and capable of defending herself and others. Her father had spoke of rumors on demon ranks increasing at an abnormal rate. People were dying to these demons. She couldn't just sit there and do nothing. This was what she was trained for; to kill demons and save humanity.
Steeling her resolve, Kagami's face hardened and she began to make her way towards Mount Fujikasane. The thought of ascending the mountain and taking the Final Selection exam terrified her to the core but it was what she was meant to do.
She was meant to become a Demon Slayer.