Kagami felt more prepared than ever. She thought she had been adequately trained enough by her father but his training barely skimmed the surface! Mr. Urokodaki's training made her father's seem like a run in the park. It was brutal and sometimes deadly but overall she got stronger, braver, and, more importantly, she was more confident than when she had started. She was ready to pass the Final Selection, become a Demon Slayer, and the warrior her father always she thought she was.
Except there was a slight hiccup.
Tanjiro and Kagami had finished descending the mountain one last time and arrived at the bottom, dirty and tired, in front of Mr. Urokodaki. He suddenly and simply stated, "I have nothing more to teach you."
After a year of training with him, going down the mountain, becoming one with the volcano, and nearly dying almost every single day, that was it? There was no more? But Kagami felt like she had so much left to learn! Especially about Dragon Breathing!
"The rest is up to you! Whether or not you can improve to the next level. Come with me!" he commanded and turned, walking away.
Tanjiro and Kagami caught their breaths and stood up straight before following him deeper in the forest. The cold wind blew by them and nipped at their dry skin, thousands of little snowflakes falling delicately to the ground, as their feet crushed on top of a shallow layer of snow. They had no idea where they were going or why they were being taken somewhere far away. He had nothing else to teach them but was showing them one last thing. Kagami wondered what it could be.
Then, Mr. Urokodaki revealed a large clearing to them. In that clearing stood two massive boulders that towered over them and was thick as a house. Gasps left their mouths taking in the sight.
"If you can cut these boulders, I will allow you to enter the Final Selection," Mr. Urokodaki spoke bluntly.
How... How can she slice a rock with nothing but a thin sword?! Can a sword even cut through it? Kagami's hand found the hilt of her sword and she nearly crumbled under the pressure. She was to use her mother's sword, the only thing she has left of both parents, with the fear of it breaking. Should she even bother to attempt it?
Mr. Urokodaki, without warning, just simply turned and left them alone.
"Mr. Urokodaki! Please, wait!" Tanjiro called after him but he never once looked over his shoulder to them.
He really means for them to slice through that boulder. Was it purposeful, that he would give them such an impossible task? Slowly, hesitantly, Kagami walked up to one of the boulders and unsheathed her sword. She lightly tapped her blade against it, hearing the tiniest of rings, before getting into a stance. She screamed as she charged for the boulder and sliced downwards! Her sword met stone and released the most ugliest ear-splitting ring. She cringed under the sound but nearly fell to the ground at the sick vibration that skyrocketed from the boulder throughout her body.
When she shook it off, she saw not even a dent on the boulder nor her sword. She grinned to herself and got back into a stance. As long as she kept hitting the rock straight along the blade it should be okay. Tanjiro took up the boulder beside hers, nodded his head in determination, and tried slicing it through.
Tried is the word for both of them.
Through the rest of winter and into the spring, everyday, Kagami and Tanjiro continued the practices Mr. Urokodaki had taught them. Tanjiro had wrote them all down in his journal and they were lucky he did so. Kagami kept practicing breathing, flexibility, and keeping physically fit. She held her breath, did push-ups, sit-ups, and many more trying to gather enough strength to slice the boulder. When the snow had completely melted, Tanjiro and Kagami never gave up trying to half their boulders.
Even then, after six more months, it was still impossible.
Kagami's hands burned with pain; the skin had been scraped clean off from practicing and training so hard but she wouldn't give up! She won't fail her father!
From dawn to dusk, Kagami never stopped. She continued training and slicing the boulder as much as she could. Not even when her arms felt like they were going to fall off or when her lungs were begging for air. She was slumped in front of the boulder and nearly cried seeing no dent or scratches embedded in the boulder. Nothing she ever did was good enough! How is she supposed to become a Demon Slayer?!
"I'm sorry, father. I guess I'm just not good enough," she whispered to the boulder solemnly.
"Silence!"
Kagami gasped at the sudden new voice speaking to her. She whipped her head up and saw someone sitting on her boulder! It was a boy! The sunset made his spiky peach-colored hair burn like the sun, his green and yellow hexagonal yukata flowing the wind covered by a white haori, but his face was hidden underneath a white fox mask with a scar running from the corner of its mouth. Who was this guy, and where did he come from?
"A Demon Slayer shouldn't whine, so knock it off," he scoffed down at her.
The wind didn't give her any indication someone was approaching! When did he sneak up on her?! Tanjiro ran over to where she was and was surprised himself to see someone else.
"No matter how much you suffer, bear it in silence... if you're a real Demon Slayer," he added standing from his spot.
Without warning, he jumped off and slashed down at her with the shinai she didn't notice in his hand! Kagami lifted up her arms, fighting the aching pain, and barely deflected his hit. Suddenly, he brought his knee up and jammed it into her face! Her body flung backwards, pain spiking throughout all her head, but she ignored it, her feet finding the ground and skidding to a stop.
"Slow. Weak. Immature. That's not what you call a Demon Slayer," he scoffed at her again.
Tanjiro raced to where she collapsed weakly on the ground and angrily turned to the boy. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked him in disbelief.
The boy twisted his shinai in his hand, answering, "I'd like to know what you think you're doing. The both of you."
Kagami lifted her head slightly, massaging her face, when she asked, "What do you mean? We're training!"
The boy then cock his head at them mockingly. "How long do you plan to keep your butt on the ground without even taking a stance?" he chastised her in a demanding tone.
When she tried, her legs wobbled and almost gave out on her. She was exhausted and in so much pain she didn't know whether or not she'd be able to keep up with him! Instead, Tanjiro stood in front of her with his sword ready. He got into a fighting stance and looked determinedly at the boy. When the boy beckoned for Tanjiro to charge him, he hesitated, his eyes glancing from his real sword to the wooden one in the boy's hand, before staying in his spot.
"You could get hurt!" Tanjiro had exclaimed at him.
Then, laughter pierced her ears. Both her and Tanjiro watched the boy laugh, his shoulders shaking violently, before he disappeared from his spot. Kagami only had time to gasp before rolling away on the ground. She forced herself on her feet and watched in disbelief as Tanjiro barely blocked the boy's hit who seemingly came out of nowhere.
"How thoughtful of you! Do you really think you have the capability to hurt me? Well, you have nothing to worry about!" he teased with a hard laugh and pushed Tanjiro off of him.
When his head whipped in Kagami's direction, the tiniest bit of a breeze flowing through her hair in warning, she lifted her katana up and was nearly forced off her feet by the impact of the boy's hit. She planted her feet firmly in the ground, her body straining and complaining against the pressure the boy was putting, and tried to control her breathing. His fox's mask was right up in her face, forcing her to swallow a lump, as he towered over her.
"I'm much stronger than the both of you combined... because I've sliced my boulder!" he added before jumping high up in the air.
He was able to cut his boulder? So it is possible! She couldn't think about it right then. Kagami and Tanjiro quickly went back-to-back, their eyes frantically searching the skies and trees for him, when Tanjiro exclaimed. She whipped her head and saw the boy bounce off a tree slashing downwards towards them. Tanjiro was barely able to deflect it as the boy slid across the ground. Then, he moved in between the trees around them so fast it was just a huge blur! Kagami had no idea where he was going or what direction he could possibly go in!
Suddenly, he was right beside her.
Sharp pain spiked through her head and she collapsed to the ground. Her body writhed in pain, small whimpers escaping her lips, as her face planted in the ground. She slowly turned her head to the side and saw Tanjiro sprawled on the ground beside her, the boy looming over them.
"You've learned nothing! You haven't mastered a single thing! Certainly not the breathing technique Urokodaki taught you... Total Concentration Breathing," he spoke much to their surprise. Did he know Mr. Urokodaki? "All you did was memorize it as fact. Your body has no clue what it needs to do. What the hell were you doing for a whole year and a half?!"
Kagami had gotten to her feet and deflected another blow from the boy. Her legs wobbled, her arms shook, and her lungs felt like collapsing!
"Hammer it into your flesh!" he commanded as they deflected and threw blows one after the other. Kagami tried to steady her breathing but all she could think about was deflecting his blows! "More! More! So that you'll never forget the secrets Urokodaki taught you! Pound it into the marrow of your bones!"
Kagami and the boy's swords clashed together and stayed. She growled at his accusations and screamed, "Who are you to say I haven't been trying?! Every single day I train with everything I've got! Except I'm not getting anywhere! Why should I continue when I can't go any further?!"
"You can if you man up!" he screamed at her and pushed her off him. Kagami twirled and stumbled on her feet, her eyes barely staying on the boy. "If you want to be a Demon Slayer, you have nowhere else to go but forward! Give it your all! Show me what you're capable of!" he screamed at her again as they exchanged more blows. Kagami jumped away and began to run the perimeter of the clearing, the boy hot on her heels. "Show me what you're capable of!"
Kagami screamed and turned on her heels, charging straight for him. She jabbed her sword at him, aiming straight for his chest,... when he deflected it and rammed his shinai upwards across her head.
Stars and sparks flew across her vision, and the next thing she knew she was sprawled across the ground. Then, there was darkness.
When she awoke, the sunset was gone and the sky was dark as night. Stars adorned the sky and the crescent moon lit up the world around her. What... what the hell? How long had she been laying there?
"Are you all right?" a soft, sweet voice spoke down to her.
Carefully moving her head around, a girl with long, spiky black hair and blue eyes was staring at her. It wasn't weird or uncomfortable. Kagami found gentleness, like a calm sea, in her eyes and found it pouring out of the girl. She knelt by Kagami in her pink and white flowered red yukata, her fox mask adorned with blue flowers on the side resting on her head. She was a young girl, younger than Kagami, and she was training to be a Demon Slayer like her and Tanjiro.
Kagami gasped. Tanjiro!
Bolting upright in her spot, she looked over to the side and saw Tanjiro beaten and bruised on the ground near her. Then, he woke up with a slight gasp. He quickly crawled over to Kagami and the girl, exclaiming, "Did you see that? What a strike that was! Not a single bit of wasted motion! It was really beautiful!"
Softly massaging her head, Kagami muttered ungratefully under her breath, "I definitely felt it."
"I want to become like that! You think I can become like him?" Tanjiro asked the girl excitedly.
The girl almost looked surprised at Tanjiro but it fell into a small grin. "I'm sure you can since I'll be looking after you," she answered him in a dreamy tone. Her grin widened slightly and she giggled.
Tanjiro beside Kagami blushed under her smile. "Who are you?" he asked her gently.
The girl's name was Makomo and she told them the name of the boy was Sabito. Her training was the complete opposite of Sabito's; whereas Sabito would beat them and chastise them about their sloppiness, Makomo would point out their defects, correct their unnecessary movements, and bad habits. While she was kind and very gentle, whenever Kagami and Tanjiro would pry at who she was and where she came from, she wouldn't tell them anything about her past. She would only speak about how much she loved Mr. Urokodaki. It became frequent to the point it became a catchphrase.
Although she and Sabito weren't siblings, Mr. Urokodaki had raised them after they'd been orphaned. Apparently there were other children too. Kagami found it a bit unsettling whenever Makomo would mention the children were always watching them. In the nicest way possible, both Kagami and Tanjiro agreed she was a rather strange girl.
"See, Total Concentration Breathing accelerates your blood circulation and your heart rate. That causes your body temperature to spike, making you as strong as a demon while being human. The important thing is to expand your lung capacity. When you bring lots of air into your blood, and when your blood gets excited, your bones and muscles scurry to heat up and grow stronger," Makomo had informed them... but Tanjiro and Kagami found it difficult to wrap it around their heads.
"Well, how can we do that?" Kagami asked her.
Makomo was quiet for a long moment with only a smile on her face. Then, she answered, "Train to death. At the end of the day, there's nothing else you can do."
After that, Kagami became dedicated to training, soaking it in, and mastering Total Concentration Breathing. Not even when her arms and legs felt like they were about to fall off, or when her heart and lungs were about to burst, she never stopped training. As sweat dripped down her aching body, her breathing becoming erratic at times, she fought Sabito over and over again. Every single time he would defeat her and sent her face planting into the dirt. He was just too powerful! How could she slice a boulder, let alone defeat Sabito? Everything felt hopeless... but she never gave up.
Six months later everything changed.
With snowflakes falling delicately around her once more, her feet pressed on top of a layer of snow, Kagami stared down Sabito who stood just front of her giant boulder. She pulled her extremely long black hair in a tight up knot and let out a deep breath of air, watching it softly crystallize in front of her.
Challenging Sabito to a duel seemed like suicide. Instead of wielding a shinai, he wielded a real katana. Any blow could prevent her from becoming a Demon Slayer, or out right kill her, but she was ready.
"It took you six months, but you look like you finally belong," Sabito retorted at her unsheathing his sword slowly. The steel rung and echoed through the air but she wasn't fazed.
Kagami grabbed the hilt of her sword and pulled it out of its sheath sharply, stating, "I've always belonged," before getting into a fighting stance.
Both Sabito and Kagami aimed their swords at one another, Makomo watching from the sideline, as both of them stared each other down. As always, his face was covered with his mask. She didn't know what emotions he could be feeling or revealing. She'll just have to go with her gut. Those kind of duels are simple; the stronger and faster wins. That day, she will be the stronger and faster one. Then, she'll continue on becoming a Demon Slayer.
Her promise to her dad is almost fulfilled.
She took in a deep breath and let it completely fill her body up. Her heart began to race faster, her blood circulating through her body at an abnormal speed, and all she felt was adrenaline.
Just as Sabito disappeared in an instant, so had she. Gripping her sword tightly in two hands, she charged for Sabito as he did the same. Both of their swords were raised high aiming for one another. There was no room for mistakes but she was confident she would succeed. Just as Sabito brought his sword down upon her, she had already finished slicing down across his face. It was over in an instant, less than a split of second, and the duel had concluded.
Her blow was non-lethal, and she intended it to be that way. Her slice across the face was superficial, not enough to cut his skin but deep enough to cut through his mask perfectly and cleanly.
She gasped when his face was finally revealed to her. He was handsome; he bore a gentle smile, kind silver eyes, and the scar on his mask matched the one adorning his face. She expected him to be cold, disappointed, or frustrated. He had been that way the past half year but instead he looked proud... and yet sad at the same time.
"Kagami," Makomo began to speak from her spot, "You did great. Don't forget what you just did."
Kagami stared at her and her eyes widened when she suddenly disappeared into the fog surrounding them. She turned her head back to Sabito and he just stood there with the same smile on his face. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and muttered, "Win for me, Kagami. Defeat the next one, too," before walking away deep in the forest. She watched him disappear just like Makomo and felt her heart twinge in her chest.
They were gone... and left as if they were ghosts. Came and disappeared mysteriously.
Now that she defeated him, she can now slice the boulder.
Kagami turned back to her boulder but gasped loudly. Her eyes widened, her hands shook, and her legs nearly gave out underneath her. In front of her was her sliced boulder! What she thought she cut through Sabito's mask she had actually cut through the boulder. It laid split open with her sword still hanging mid air in between the stone halves. She... She actually did it.
Crunching snow sounded from behind her.
She slowly turned and watched as Mr. Urokodaki slowly approach her. Stepping aside, she waited when he approached the split boulder and just stared at it. "I had no intention of sending you to Final Selection. I didn't want to see another child die. I was sure you wouldn't be able to slice this boulder, but..." Suddenly, he reached out a hand and plopped it on her head, rubbing it affectionately. Her heart stopped beating, the small gesture almost too much for her to bear, when he finished, "Well done, Kagami! You're truly remarkable. I'm very proud."
"Kagami, I've been proud since the moment you were born."
Her chest ached, a lump swelled up in her throat, and tears poured out of her eyes. She charged forward and wrapped her arms around Mr. Urokodaki who didn't fight the hug. He hugged her just as tightly as she hugged him. "Make sure you and Tanjiro come back alive from Final Selection. His sister and I will be waiting for you here."
Kagami let go of him and nodded her head determinedly at him. She will survive Final Selection and become a Demon Slayer. She promised her father and now she promises Mr. Urokodaki. Not just that, she promised herself she will become the best she can be.
Whatever it takes, she will be the best warrior ever seen.