15 Encounter

"What do you think you're doing, going after my prey?!" I heard one of the Demons shout.

"What do you mean your prey? I saw her first!" Another with spikes on his shoulder shouted.

"Aghh! I haven't eaten in forever!" The third one shouted, before jumping towards the girl"

I narrow my eyes seeing this, and before jumping in to help the girl in the pink kimono moved. Severing the head of the Demon rushing her.

'Quite fast.' I thought about looking at her. Looking closer to her face, she still has that same smile and her eyes seem to hold almost no emotion.

"Screw this! Just kill her first!" The rest of the Demons yelled. They start jumping towards her from different directions.

The girl sidestepped away and slashed a Demons neck before blocking a strike coming to her side.

'It's boring just to watch.' I thought, before deciding to step in to test out if all Demons were of the same strength on this mountain.

I drew my katana, and dash towards the Demon in front of the girl before cutting his head off as quick as I arrived. *shing* The Demon, not realizing it had been decapitated, stood confused before dropping to the ground *thud*

Turning to the girl she just looks at me with the same smile on her face. "I'm Kamado Hiroto, can I ask you some questions?" I said to her, not knowing how to react being stared at by her.

The girl didn't respond for a moment, still looking at me. She then takes out a coin and then *ting* flips it into the air before catching it over her hand. Revealing the result, tails, she looked up again and said.

"I'm Tsuyuri Kanao, nice to meet you. Thank you for your assistance." She said staring at me again.

*shing* I swung my blade at a Demon that was trying to sneak up on us and cut its head off before sheathing it. "Aggh"

"Nice to meet you, Kanao. Can I ask, what was that thing you just did with the coin?" Hiroto asked, pointing to her hand.

"I flip this coin to decide what I haven't been ordered to do by my teacher. I decided if I wanted to respond to you or not just now. Heads I do, tails I don't. It came up tails, so I spoke." She said, with the same smile on her face with her eyes closed.

"Hmmm, I won't pry into why you do that but you should decide things on your own," I said crossing my arms.

"It doesn't matter. My choice and actions are not for me to choose from. I only follow the instructions of my teacher or the coin." Kanao said with no change to her tone.

Looking into her eyes, I noticed something peculiar about them. "You have the same eyes as I do."

Tilting her head in confusion she didn't know how to react.

I explained to her, "What I mean is the way you look at your surroundings. Although your eyes seem to be still and calm, it always has a calculative feel to it. As though you were looking for little subtle movements around you.

Pointing to the decaying Demons, I continued. "Before you killed this one I could see how your eyes started reacting before they moved themselves. You can also notice muscle movements, can't you." I said leaning closer to her face to study her eyes.

Kanao stayed silent with a faint blush appearing on her face as she looked towards me. Taking the coin from her hand again preparing to flip it into the sky. However, before she did so I clasped her hands.

"Let me borrow that for a second," I said to her. Reacting only slightly before nodding slowly she agreed.

"For the duration of the exam, if the coin lands on tails, you will answer all of my questions without the coin, but by what you feel is right to you, your own voice," I said before taking the coin and flipping it into the air.

I study Kanao's reaction from the corner of my eyes. 'She's anxious. She wants to be released and able to talk with her own voice but is shackled down by it. Past trauma perhaps? *sigh* Tanjiro is better at feelings than me' I thought to myself.

As it came down, I caught it in my hand. Turning towards her, she looks at my hand, wondering what the results were. Instead of showing her, I asked her. "Open your hands for me."

She complied and stretched her hand up. I put the coin in her hand and closed it. 'Soft' I thought.

Without a second notice, I turn to walk away.

Confused with what I did, she turned to look at my back questioningly before speaking up. "Why didn't you look at what it was?"

I glance back to her slightly, before turning back. "I already know the results." walking away again.

"How?" she said, with a bit of agitation.

"Gut feeling," I replied walking off.

[Third person perspective]

Looking at her enclosed hand clutching the coin, Kanao didn't know what to do. 'If I see the result, would I be disappointed if it was heads? What's this?' She thought to herself, putting two fingers onto her irregular pulse. 'Heatstroke?'

Staring towards the direction that Hiroto walked to, Kanao decided to look at the coin. Opening her hand and glancing down, a glimmer of light could be seen present in her once dead eyes. Pocketing the coin away, she turned and walked towards the direction that Hiroto left.

[Hiroto POV]

'Oh man, I have no idea what the result of the coin was.' Thought to himself, sweating a bit. 'Gut feeling? No way. I was so nervous that I didn't dare to look at what it was.' I wipe my forehead before continuing on.

So, I'm supposed to survive here for 7 days. And that way, I passed the Final Selection. Quite an interesting test I have to say. I wonder how strong the other examinees are. Kanao was quite fast, but nothing that I can't match up to. What was interesting were her eyes. She seems to have enhanced eyesight like me. Similar to how Tanjiro's nose is similar to Urokodaki.

"Raggh!" A Demon jumped out of the bush from my right, raising it's abnormally long nails towards me.

*shing* "eh?" The Demon muttered before falling to my feet.

'I didn't even get to ask her my questions, *sigh* I'll do that another time. We would probably meet again at the end of the examination.' I thought, sheathing my katana.

'Are all Demons this weak? I should be able to relax and fly through this test then.'

"AHHHHH!!! HELP ME!!!!! SOMEBODY!!!!" An absurdly loud voice sounded out from the distance.

'Seems like someone needs help.'

I run off towards the direction of the scream and can see a faint figure of someone running away as three-legged Demon chases after him.

"AHHH THAT DAMN OLD MAN! I'M GOING TO DIE!! HELP!!" The boy shouted.

Getting a closer look, I recognized him as the person he saw before coming into the forest. 'It's the blonde guy.' I thought. "But… Why is he crying?"

I said looking at the scene questioningly.

The boy, as though he could hear my words, turned towards me and ran my way. "AHH! PLEASE SAVE!!" He shouted towards me with his arms stretched out towards me.

I run past him in a flash, leaving him confused as to where I go before cutting the Demon down in once slice *Shing*

Throwing the blade off to the side to shake off the blood, I put away the katana before looking back towards the blonde guy.

"Wahhhh! Thank you for saving me!" He said, running and jumping towards me trying to hug me with his face full of tears and snot.

I sidestep out of the way, looking down at him is repulsion. Seeing my face he says, "Why do you look at me like that! I'm not a bug! Don't look at me in disgust! I didn't even want to come to this test! That damn old man forced me to come here! If I didn't go he would've killed me!" The kid yelled.

"..." I continue looking down at him before sighing *sigh* "What's your name." I asked him with a tired tone.

"Zenitsu Agatsuma, you can call me Zenitsu." The blondie said, pointing at himself.

"Alright Zenitsu, since I've saved you I'll be leaving then. Farewell," I said before turning around to walk away again.

"Ahh nooo! Don't leave me! Take me with you! You know what they say, 2 is better than 1! I can watch your back, there's no I in team!" Zenitsu said running after my back.

Shaking my head, I said back. "And how are you able to help me? You were just running away before from a Demon yelling for help."

"I have really good ears! I can detect when Demons come close and warn you!" Zenitsu said pleadingly.

Shaking my head, I replied. "Sorry, but maybe next time." I then run away at 80% of my full speed, disappearing from his sight kicking up the dust and leaving a brief afterimage.

Stopping a distance away, I begin looking for a good place to gather food. Since Demons don't come out at night I might do it now. 'Wait, what was that?' I thought to myself, as I looked towards where I just saw a faint shadow pass.

'Hmm, must have been my imagination. I said shaking my head before jumping up onto a tree to rest for a bit.

[Third Person Perspective]

Unknown to Hiroto, he seems to be followed by another figure. As the moonlight passes through the treetop, cascading down to the figure, a faint pink could be seen reflected off of the eyes of the figure as it stares at the tree Hiroto perched on.