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Щん乇尺乇 ﾉｲ ﾑﾚﾚ 乃乇Ǥﾉ刀ㄎ.

├┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┤

'K̶̪̻̿́̅̿ë̴̤̘́̃͝ę̷̣̣̓̓ͅp̶̬͑͘ ̵̛̗̺̈́̔̎g̵̹̝̫͋ơ̷̮̺̔͋͠i̶̲̫͊n̴͉̬̩̎̓̌g̷̛͇̜͊.̴̨̥͋͘'

'̶͎̜̜̗̇̋̕N̵͇̼̈́͜ͅö̴͍̞̿ ̴̮͍̟͇́̓̌̈́t̴͔̣̃͒̍͝ì̸͇̲̗̔m̵̨͇͍̘̍̑ë̸̡̻͍̌͘ ̸̬͂̎f̷͔̘͔̑́͑o̸̹͖̐̏̊͘r̷̮̝͚̈͘ ̵͎̜̓̽͊͋b̴̧̃̿͝͠r̴̼̹͍̮̋ẹ̵͆̓̀a̶̝̤͊̿̒͆k̷̢̥̲͎̀̔s̶̞̺̖͈̀̋̕͝!̸̰͖͚̯̓͋̀͆'̶͈͇̪̽

Ȳ̴͔͎͍͛͒̀o̶̧̞̭̹̪̺̝̽̉̽̈́́͘ü̴̢̧͚͈̲̳̜̥͙ ̸̧̦͓̞͈͖̦̉͒̽̈́̎̇͋͝͠ḩ̴̖̟͔̀̎̅͋̄̔͛̚͜a̵̹͉̺̘̭̙͉͇͂́̀̄̅̊̉͑ͅv̵̡̭͔̹̠̈̉̈̅̇͛̐͌̌͊͘e̷̳̩͙͔͚̠͐̄̎͋͋͆̐̈́ ̶̱͕̦̩̼̫̮̼̈́̃̾̆̇́n̷̰̩̋͛͂̒͊̐̽̊͝ŏ̶̧̘͎̄͛͋̄͗̊̆̉̈́͘t̷̡̡̧̨̳̺̖͖̳͗̊̓͒̓̏̓̓̔͒ͅ ̸̛̛̩͍͚̟̯̯͖́̇̎́͂̓͋͆ị̶̣̦̤̣̗͍̩̀̆͛̎́̚m̸̡̨͙͕̳͓̲̼̰̦̞̓̿̅̚p̵̻̼̝̩͛̾̒̊r̶̝͎̲̹̰̻̳̻̭̘̽̿ố̵͎̿̅̿͐͋͘v̷̬̫̐̀͐̐̐͐̔͠e̵̡̠̬̘̬̼̘̯̣͙̘͌̌̓͛̐̓̕̕̕d̴̻̻̼̜̓̓̒̓͘͝͠ ̶͚̑̎̇͐̈́̎͋̇̌̚͝ã̴̢̞̙͉̘̣̬̜͊͂͂̌͋̓͝͝t̵̫̯̘͍̟̫̗̖͛̏̉͋ ̷̢̯͙͇̊̑͝ͅa̴͔͎̩̘͐̑̑͆̈́̊̋̇ͅl̵̢̨̡͙̯̹̤̇͊̔̀̾l̷̰̪͖̠͎͚͇̇͋͝.̸͈̻͑͋̂̑̂͆̃̚͝

'̵̘̱̿̂͘Y̷̳͓̓̎̌̑o̸͈̜̱̬̔͌ų̶̮̑̄'̸̳̉̓̔̏r̸̙̈́̋̈́̈́e̸̛̦̫̓͒̎͝ ̸̰̼́̐͜ă̴̹̟͑̔š̴̙̣̔̎̀̚ ̴͒̌ͅu̷̡̘͓̱͎͘̕͝s̸̛͓̮̯̖̖̀̅̍e̷̞̎̆͝͠l̴̻̏ȅ̶̜̗̩̗͓͆̚s̴͉̹̈̓͂̎s̵̪̍̓́ ̶̢̬̗̙̹̆͐ǎ̸̰̜̬͐s̴̨̯̩̔̈̈́̇ ̴̮̄͆ȩ̵̲̺̒̀̈́̓v̸̼̎͂e̸̙̳͊̏̌̿͝r̶̯͌̆̈́.̸̣͉̈́̏͂'̶̼̻̤͇̋̎͋͌

!

卂ERA's eyes widened as they swallowed the lump in their throat, gripping the halt of their sheathed Katana harder than need be.

The dark memories of the rough training which they’d had to bear snuck their way back into their train of thought.

Shakily exhaling, they tried to calm down their nerves and the sudden feeling of adrenaline, and their muscles relaxed as their grip loosened.

As AERA composed themself, their regular obnoxious expression returned. Continuing their way to the final selection, AERA kept encouraging thoughts flowing in their mind, hoping for the best.

Finally arriving before some of the other soon-to-be Slayers, AERA noticed a woman who was older than the others there. She was talking to some other younger Corps members, keeping a solid poker face facade.

Their brow furrowed as they figured out soon enough who that was, and that they had to wait for now. Something they dreaded the most.

╭─━━━━─╯♫♡ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ╰─━━━━─╮
︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿

ㄒhe Final Selection was finally over.

AERA struggled to walk, dragging their legs on the ground. They’d received quite a few blows, and with their somewhat fragile stature, the injuries were showing rather severe effects.

The demon that was kept as a test was no weakling, at least for their rank and experience.

Though they had to push themself harder, they knew they were close. Close to the Demon Slayer Corps area from what they knew, and most importantly, the Flower Estate.

They needed aid so as to not faint repeatedly for the next few minutes, and to get their wounds ameliorated and bandaged.

Keeping their breath firm, they sped up towards the roof of the mansion that was in view from above the hill.

Sweat ran down their temples as they struggled up the hill. They fell down to their knees for a quick second before begrudgingly getting back to their feet, going faster this time.

An idea popped up, and they just went with it, having no more energy to think, much less attempt to go down the hill without falling face flat.

They slid down the hill, stopping directly in front of the mansion. They were beyond annoyed, confused, and tired. They’d thought that someone would guide them here, or at least serve the purpose of an arm rest.

Slamming the door open with no regard for the sleeping patients there, a boy—or a man, for that matter—immediately exited to see what the commotion was. He had jet-black hair, and narrow hazel eyes.

He seemed angered by the disturbance, and he only spared AERA a nasty look. They had no choice but to venture further in search of another worker around the estate. Someone who would actually help them.

Fortunately for them, at that moment, a girl popped her head out of a room, where a strong smell of various herbs mixed together reached AERA's nose.

“Hey! We’d appreciate it if you don't wake up everyone here. People need their rest, and you aren’t really helping. Just say so if you need assistance!”

The girl lectured AERA, wearing a worried expression on her face. Despite the talking-to that AERA rightfully deserved, the girl still approached them, leading them quickly to an empty room and forcing them to rest on the white bed.

Quickly but neatly removing the haori, the girl got to work on the wounds, and she nudged a small cup towards them, which was filled with some herbs alongside some water, which was prepared in a mortar.

AERA cringed at the smell, but for the sake of their wellbeing, they sucked it up, stopped breathing for a second, and then swallowed the creamy yet watery mix, their taste buds immediately protesting.

The other smiled as, in the blink of an eye, AERA's injuries were disinfected and bandaged up.

“You were so focused on the medicine that you forgot about the pain! Isn't that so great?” the girl told AERA, as they just stood there stunned, for a second.

“You look so clueless. Well, let's get acquainted. My name is Yumeko. Yumeko Nakamura, to be exact. And I’m twenty-five years old. Nice to meet you...?”

AERA sweatdropped for a moment. Twenty five? Yumeko looked roughly about eighteen. Shaking their head, AERA hesitated on telling Yumeko their own name.

“My name is Aera,” they finally spat out, with a hiss.

They didn't bother with their last name, as it was simply irrelevant to them throughout their entire life, to this day.

“As I said before, nice meeting you. Or not… That was kind of a rude entrance.”

AERA sulked in the bed, feeling embarrassed about their brash actions. Hell, they were flustered even, as the consciousness settled in, with how entitled that was.

Yumeko exhaled softly, standing up from the seat next to the bed. Come to think of it, AERA never actually saw Yumeko sit down on, but they weren't about to question it.

“I have others to take care of, so make sure to stay here and rest for at least the next few hours, okay? I'll be back sooner or later, to see if you can leave.”

AERA nodded, not bothering with a reply. They still felt an ounce of shame, so maybe they should just be nice right now.

╭─━━━━─╯♫♡ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ╰─━━━━─╮
︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿

卂 few hours later, and no one had entered the room that AERA was currently residing in. They were progressively getting more and more bored, and tired as well. They had no time for just waiting around.

And so, they got off of the bed, picked up their Katana that was leaning against the little nightstand, and made their way to the door.

As soon as they twisted the door knob, they came face-to-chest with a taller man. Looking up, they noticed it was the guy they saw a few hours prior to arriving. They furrowed their brow, merely sparing him a single glance, before trying to force their way out of the room.

He, however, blocked the way.

“What do you think you're doing? From what I’ve been told, no one has come to tell you that you're fit to leave.”

AERA sighed mentally, and scoffed.

“I don't need someone to tell me I'm okay to leave. So now, get out of the way.”

He didn't budge, despite their request (well, it was more of an order).

“Get back to bed.”

AERA figured that it was better to listen than start a fight, since this was basically their first day as an official Demon Slayer.

And so they did, laying down with their head propped up by the pillows set down.

The man stood tall in front of the bed, his arms crossed. He didn’t really look angry…more like concerned.

“Yumeko told me to check up on you, since a Slayer specifically asked for her to assist. I was also informed that you only had minor injuries, but your body is still frail. So, I will let you leave. But don't you ever take fighting lightly.”

AERA almost felt touched by his words. As he said, their body was a lot...weaker than other Demon Slayers, which led to such small injuries being so effective.

They stood up and walked a bit, stopping by his side. He was still facing the bed, and they looked past him.

“...Thanks,” they said simply, before hastily opening the door and quickly exiting the room, making their way out of the mansion.

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

卂ERA looked around. Currently, they were at Mount Fujikasane. It was a beautiful place, coincidentally guarded by the wisteria surrounding it.

Behind them, they heard footsteps.

Shifting their gaze there, they saw the backs of two people. They had been so focused on the beauty of this place that they didn’t notice the two walking past them.

It was a girl with medium-length pink hair, and a boy with short blond hair.

From what AERA could tell, they were just chatting as they walked, occasionally admiring the landscape around them when something unique struck their eye.

AERA pouted. They felt so unbelievably lonely already. They had not only not made any friends, but had even screwed up their first impression on the Flower Estate workers.

Unfortunately for them, their resting face was anything but friendly. Their big eyes were seemingly able to stare holes through people, and their aura in general was just nothing people wanted to do with.

Even if they tried to be friendlier than they were right now (which wouldn’t take a lot, considering how they were right now), they would feel mushy and weak.

They despised these thoughts, so they cut them off with, 'If someone really wanted to befriend me, they would because of who I am.'

Which they could be right about, but nonetheless, who would want put up with such a hassle...

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

几ight was approaching, and AERA still hadn't received a mission. Not that they desperately wanted one, but…it did get boring simply walking and laying down most of the day.

Their first thought was to train of course, but with who? That's how they usually did it, by sparing with others, but they knew practically no one here beside Yumeko, who merely worked at the estate.

Laying down on a futon, they stared blankly up at the ceiling, with only their racing thoughts for company as the moon shone through the windows, lighting up their face.

They put an arm over their now-closed eyes, aiming to get as much sleep as they could.

Not even their first day, and they’d heard that Demon Slayers would get awoken sometimes by their Kasugai Crows, in order to go on last minute missions, due to sudden danger in various areas.

Speaking of the crows, their’s was...as normal as one could be, actually. It wasn’t old or young, big or small, or anything relatively better or worse than any other crow. It was perfectly average. It had flown away a few hours ago, and AERA didn't dare to question the crow, letting it do its own thing.

Finally, after all their tiring thoughts, they drifted off to sleep, their arm slipping off of their face and onto the space beside their head.

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌
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HI GUYS!!!
I KNIW THERE'S NOT MUCH ACTION,BUT IT'S WHAT I'VE PLANNED FOR THE FIRST ARC.
IT'S BASICALLY GONNA BE FILLER,WHERE ALL THE CHARACTERS WILL BE INTRODUCED SLOWLY!

Please tell me your opinions on the story so far,I always take them into account<3