Final selection arc: old enemies, old allies.
~~~~~1909~~~~~
Another year had passed and Tanya was finally ready to head off to the final selection, but there was one more thing she was doing before that. One last spar, not with Rengoku this time but with his former student Mitsuri Kanroji, someone not only passed the aforementioned final selection but had done so in record time. Tanya was impressed by that to say the very least, though she was less than impressed by the name of Mitsuri's unique breathing style, that being Love breathing.
'Her skill is undeniable still though…' Tanya's eyes narrowed as she could see the fluttering face of Mitsuri 'I wish she would stop looking at me like that.' meanwhile Mitsuri was thinking to herself 'every time I look at Tanya I forgot how cute she is. I can see why Rengoku took a liking to her' she fidgets a little, thinking maybe if she went with Tanya somewhere with both of them dressed up in Yukata's she could have extra luck in finding a marriage partner.
Her thoughts were cut off by Rengoku who suddenly shouted "all right, are you two ready?!" The two girls nodded as they readied their Nichirin swords. Mitsuri, her own personally sword and Tanya one that was given to her for her upcoming final selection. Rengoku raised his hand and shouted, "Begin!"
The two ran at each other, Tanya raised her blade and shouted "Fifth form; Flame tiger!" Mitsuri smiled, she was starting off strong. She extended her whip blade and said in a serene voice "Love breathing, Second form; love pangs~" with this when Tanya tried to use her multiple tiger-like strikes at Mitsuri, the pink-haired Hashira spun around and her whip sword not only countered it but also managed to get a hit on the other girls left arm.
Tanya backed up, 'guess not underestimating her is not enough. Still, though, such a strong attack, and I still cringe at the sound of its name.' her eyes narrowed as she lifted her blade up she ran at Mitsuri, doing a zig-zag in her run to confused her and then jumped up high "Third form; blazing universe!" the moment Tanya started to slash downward Mitsuri jumped backward, yelling "Fifth form; swaying love, wildcat!" her blade spun with her in her somersaults in the air, creating a long stream of pinkish slashes that Tanya was not prepared for, it knocked her blade away and her along with it. She landed on her back and grunted.
Rengoku raised his hand "that is two hits, Mitsuri is the winner!"
Mitsuri sheathed her blade, twirling it to make it fit. Tanya sighed and got up, picking up her blade as she did. "Well, I guess you win." she put out her hand for Mitsuri to shake, but instead she was pulled in for a hug by the other girl. She was squished slightly between the woman's breasts "gah!" she yelled. Mitsuri, after she let go, said "I hope you are okay Tanya, don't worry I am sure you will do well in the final selection. When are you leaving by the way?"
Tanya caught her own breath, then replied "soon. Rengoku just insisted I do this before I do. Thankfully nothing was hurt too badly, otherwise I would not have been able to go." she glared at Rengoku, who sweated slightly. He cleared his throat "well you see, I just needed to stall for time. For the SURPRISE!" he shouted the last word particularly loudly. Tanya of course grumbled, "surprise? What could it possibly be?"
Senjuro was seen running out holding something in his hands "s-sorry it took a little while. I should have finished it last night." his older patted his head "it is alright, here let me take it." Tanya was not really sure what was going on. Kyojuro unfolded what his younger gave him, it was just a simple plain white Haori. It was similar to the one Kyojuro first had before he started wearing his father Haori and similar to the one Mitsuri wore. "Here Kocho, this is for you Senjuro sewed it himself."
Tanya blinked as she took a hold of it, the fabric felt soft and warm somehow. "Rengoku gave me one a while back as well, supposedly it is made out of a type of fabric that does not burn easily. Perfect for a flame breather!" the little blonde girl was not sure what to say, but she put it on, letting it drape itself over her clothes as she put her arms through it. She grinned at the three "thank you." she had given gratitudes to the Rengoku's many times, but for some reason this time they felt she meant it fully.
Another hour passed as Tanya had her things packed, she was heading to the Butterfly mansion first and officially heading to the final selection tomorrow. "See you later Tanya." Mitsuri said as she waved. "Good luck at the final selection!" Kyojuro yelled loudly, for once it did not seem to bother Tanya all that much. "Make it back safe…" Senjuro said softly. Tanya nodded and then left after saying her own goodbyes.
A couple of moments passed after Tanya left. "Hmm, maybe I should think of something for when she gets back." Kyojuro had his finger to his chin. "Still haven't figured out what to get for that bet you guys made almost a year ago?" Mitsuri asked as the beaming demon slayer nodded. "She probably forgot by now, which to be fair she did lose the bet so she had no reason to remember." Kyojuro shook his head "maybe, but it has been bothering me for quite some time."
Mitsuri smiled, he truly cared a lot for Tanya. "Well, I can help you. She will only be gone for two weeks. We can figure something out by then." Kyojuro looked at Mitsuri and yelled "REALLY?! THAT WOULD BE PERFECT KANROJI! THANK YOU SO MUCH!" has gotten used to his loud way of speaking she nodded slightly. Their crows flew over them and then yelled out "mission! Join a group of demon slayers to investigate demons sighting in Tokyo, there is a suspect that not only are demons there but there is a possible lower moon as well!" the two look at each other, that was series. "We can think of it during or after," Mitsuri said and Kyojuro nodded in agreement.
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Tanya stared at the gate of the butterfly mansion, it has been a while since she was here. Of course, Kanae sent her letters all the time and she would respond on occasion. Through those letters, she learned Aoi had done the final selection last year, but unlike Shinobu, she did not take part in missions opting to help more out in the clinic, which Tanya thought was a better fit for her anyways. She also learned Kanae had taken in more girls, not that she was shocked her 'older sister' was always too kind for her own good. She entered the Mansion. As she walked in she ran into Shinobu who was sitting outside. The two stared at each other
"Tanya…"
"Shinobu…."
The two walked up to each other. Tanya smirked and held out her hand "been a while sis." Shinobu frowned and took the hand to shake "you could at least use the proper honorifics." after they were done Tanya suddenly heard a 'gasp' noise followed by herself being pulled into a hug. "Gah!" she yelped, if she had 100 yen for every hug she was forced into today she would have 200 yen, which is not a lot but its weird it happened twice on the same day. Not that she did not expect a hug from the person doing it.
Kanae was hugging Tanya very close, it had been so long since she had been able to after all. After she let go she patted Tanya on the head, something which the girl let slide for now. "Welcome back Tanya! Oh man, you've grown so much!" she said with a large smile on her face. Shinobu chuckled, she knew Tanya had not grown that much more from when she was last at the mansion. "Oh and this is Kanao." Kanae turned at introduced the small girl in a pink outfit. She girl stared blank eyes at Tanya and said nothing. 'What is with this kid?' she wondered "well…hello Kanao. Names Tanya." she held her hand out to Kanao, who just stared at it. 'The heck?'
Kanae sighed "do not take it personally, she just has to warm up to you. Oh by the way Tanya. There are others here as well. I believe they will be joining you in the final selection this year." Tanya raised an eyebrow, who? Could she mean those two? Her suspicions were confirmed when both Viktoria and Granz walked out of the butterfly mansion along with Aoi. "yo, Tanya, nice to see you!" Granz yelled put, he had grown up as well, something stood out to Tanya though. On his Haori which was black in color, one single shoulder had green and yellow on it, it reminded her of that orange-haired boy that left with Shinobu and that quiet guy when she went to her own final selection, he also had a fox-like mask hanging from the top of his head. Viktoria was smiling widely as well, she had grown up and now look exactly like she did in her previous life, something which made Tanya smile slightly. "Yeah, we have a lot to catch up on."
That night at dinner they all talked and hung out. They discussed all that happened, apparently, Viktoria learned flower breathing and leaned into it more than her previous water training. Granz kept on with his water breathing training. He also filled Tanya in on how that orange-haired boy, Sabito died at the final selection. She was never good at consulting, but she gave her best sympathetic look "I am sorry you two. I did not know him, but I am sure he was a good guy." Granz and Viktoria nodded, the former placing a hand by the patch on his shoulder "when Giyu told me that Sabito did not make it I was devastated. He planned on combining Sabito's Yukata with his old red one to make a Haori but gave me a piece as well." he smiled slightly, it was a smile of sadness.
Viktoria patted The boy and looked at Tanya "so how was Fire breathing? I heard from Kanae that you were able to use fire breathing quite well." Tanya nodded, and after sighing "yeah, but it was not easy. The 'master' stopped training after his wife died. I of course can't fully blame him. Thankfully Rengoku was there, he may irritate me but without him, I definitely would not have mastered Fire breathing by now." The two of them smiled at her, with Viktoria saying "I am sorry about their loss, and yours." Tanya was going to say 'they were not close' but held her tung, best not to speak ill of the dead. Besides, she can at least admit she respected the woman a lot.
After that Aoi filled her in on the final selection, on how she would have to survive 7 nights on an area of Fujikasane Mountain where the demon slayers had trapped many demons inside. She told her to be careful, and to avoid conflict when she could. Tanya nodded, as that was the logical thing to do. Not that she was too worried, Being Z had promised her a guaranteed passing of the final selection. But she knew Being X was still going to make it hell for her one way or another. But she was going to pass, one way or another.
It was the next day, Tanya huffed as her older sister Kanae hummed and brushed her hair. "You know, I only agreed to this because you promised it would be fast." Kanae just kept humming and did not acknowledge the girl's complaints. It took a whole two minutes later before the flower Hashira exclaimed "done! You look so cute and beautiful Tanya." that comment just received an annoyed grumbled from the girl. Kanae handed her a hand mirror, Tanya's mouth went agape. She brushed and cut it short and back to how she looked when she left, with two strands of hair going down, and the long piece of hair was back as well. And of course her ponytail. Though what stood out to Tanya the most was the small Chinese yellow swallowtail hairpin now poking from where her ponytail stuck out of her hair.
Tanya gave the best smile she could. "T-thank you. But I am not sure the pin fits me." hearing this Kanae gave a small giggle "well, everyone else in the family has one. I figured it would not hurt for you to have one." from the tell in her tone of voice Tanya sighed and agreed to the hairpin "fine." she could both see Kanae smiling with glee and squealing. 'She probably thinks I look cuter with it in my hair.' she thought frustratingly to herself.
Finally, Tanya, Viktoriya, and Vouren all waved as they left the butterfly mansion. Aoi looked at Shinobu and Kanae and asked "do you think they will be alright?" she shook slightly as remembering her own final selection brought back bad memories. Kanae warmly hugged her from behind "I am sure she will be fine. She is to stubborn to die after all." she said with a tone of confidence.
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Soon the three travelers after spending the whole day walking had made it near the base of Fujikasane mountain, only about an hour from both it and the final selection sight. They still had a few hours left of daylight and the final selection would not start till sundown. So they, or rather Viktoriya decided they should stop by the local village for a nice warm meal, since they will be surviving on a cold mountain for a while.
The three entered the village, it was a simple one and the only restaurant they could find was a small ramen cart, which was fine by them. After their food was ready they sat down and began to eat and chat. "So, are you two worried as well?" Granz asked with a slightly sunken face. Viktoriya slightly hit him on the head "hey, I told you to stop being such a downer. You are good enough to take part in the final selection. Otherwise, my grandpa would not have allowed you to take part." Tanya's hair twitched, she had forgotten that in this universe Viktoriya's last name was the same as the water cultivators.
Granz rubbed the back of his head "maybe, but if someone like Sabito died, what chance do I have?" his eyes shifted to look at the patch on his Haori that was sown in. Tanya swallowed some noodles she had been slurping up, "if you are so worried about dying then head back, even if you survive the final selection you will likely fight demons after as well." Granz's eyes widened and he lowered his head. "T-tanya, you did not have to say it like that." the other girl at the table said as sweat went down her head.
Tanya sighed "I was saying the truth." she always was blunt back when she was a salaryman in her first life and as a soldier and commander in her previous life. But she also said it bluntly as she remembered when Granz was hesitant, and even begged her that their unit stop attacking others in a town. If she had not pushed him harshly back then who knows what would have become of him in the war. Her eyes narrowed 'well, I suppose he died' she thought to herself. Granz shook his head "no she is right. But I will not give up, Sabito would have beaten me up if I said this in front of him. So for him, Giyu, and master Urokodaki, I will pass the exam."
The three of them suddenly heard the sound of something hitting the ground, followed by someone with a feminine voice saying "w-wait I needed that to eat." and then followed by another voice saying "sorry girly, but I did not appreciate ya ignoring me!" they turned to see on a bench was a girl with and a man standing over her, and a big white spoon on the ground. The girl had brownish hair and two braided twin tails that went down the side of her head. She had a dark blue Haori over her other clothes and a sword on the side of her hip. "I-I wasn't ignoring you I was busy eating!"
Viktoriya's eyes narrowed "I think that guy is harassing that girl. Maybe we should help?" Granz nodded and got up "hey Tanya- huh?" he noticed a very strong and intense look of hatred on her face, pointed in the same direction as the girl and the man, Tanya had a stiff grip on the hilt of her blade. "i-I think she might kill that man if I do not stop him first!" he quickly ran off to the man and the girl. But it was not the harassing man she was glaring at, it was the girl.
The face and voice swirled around in her head. It was possible for someone to mistake a person for someone else due to the lowering sun. but even if it had been night time Tanya would never mistake her for anyone else. 'Mary Sue… the valkyrie.' her hands shook, remembering the girl that was ultimately responsible for her death, even if the girl had died before her. Of course, Being X reincarnated her in this world as well, Of course!
While Tanya was calculating the number of cuts she should make on the girl Granz ran up to the man and Mary and shouted "hey leave her alone!" the man stared back and grinned deviously. "Oh I am supposed to listen to you?" he grabbed Mary's arms, pulling her up and making her drop the rest of her ramen, she yelped "hey, let me go!" the man laughed as Granz frowned "sorry but a man like you looks too weak to stop me- ACK!" he was suddenly elbowed by Mary, who then pick him up and flipped him onto his back. "That was for my ramen!" Granz and Viktoria were shocked, the sudden show of combat skill shook Tanya out of her furious state.
The man got up and held his back "t-this girl is crazy, I am out of here!" he ran off as best as he could. Mary looked down at her ramen "oh man, I only ate half of it." she muttered. Granz walks over "sorry about that. I do not think I can finish mine if you want you can have the rest of it." he pointed back at the table. Viktoriya giggled "seems she had it handled I think it is okay Tanya." The girl's eyebrows furrowed "yeah…good."
After Mary joined the three they soon found out she to was on her way to the final selection. "Wow, with skills like that you'll do great Mary!" Viktoriya gave a large thumbs up. Mary nodded "t-thank you. I hope so as well, I can't let my master down after making my own style through his teachings, and I cannot let my Father down either." Tanya's eyes widened slightly, her father? She saw him as a demon. "I have to pass so that I can one day avenge him." the brown-haired girl said as she clenched a locket that was laced around her neck. Granz gave a sympathetic look "I see, so your father was killed by a demon. Sorry about that."
Tanya sat still, her eyes staring dead long at Mary as she talked with the other two. 'Dead? No, I saw him at the shrine a while back and as a demon no less. Does she know? Does she think he died and is unaware of her father's actual situation?' Tanya wondered to herself why Being X would not only reincarnate her most hated foe, and put her on the same "side" as her and not her father. Something did not add up, either Mary was lying, or Being X was playing games with her. It was probably the latter option.
"U-um Tanya was it? Why are you looking at me like that?" Mary asked nervously, as for the last few minutes the blonde girl had remained silent and in a deadlock glare at Mary. Tanya coughed and cleared her throat a little " no reason. And call me Kocho, we don't know each other enough for you to call me Tanya." she crossed her arms after that. Mary looked sadly at the table "oh right. I am Mary Sue by the way, but you all can just call me Mary"
The other two introduced themselves as Viktoriya Urokodaki, and Vouren Granz. They finished their meal, Mary even went to say sorry to the ramen cart owner for the broken Bowl and spoon, but the man brushed her off to say it was fine.
The four of them headed out to Fujikasane Mountain once more. As they walked Tanya went slightly ahead of the others. Mary stared at the girl ahead of them and held her right arm and turned to the others "does Tanya have a problem with me? If so I do not understand why." Granz and Viktoriya looked at each other, not really sure how to answer her since they did not feel any animosity towards the new girl. Viktoriya put a soft hand on Mary's shoulder "I am sure it is nothing, she probably just needs to calm down after seeing what happened to you."
Mary once again looked ahead at Tanya. She nodded but she felt that Tanya more so was angered with her rather than with whoever that man was. She hoped to find out why and fix it later. When they both /hopefully/ survive the final selection. She placed her hand together and did what her father and mother had told her to do whenever she needed help, pray.
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Near sundown, the group of four trainees made it to the gate where the final selection would start, near the top of Fujikasane Mountain. They looked around and noticed the many people waiting as well. "There is more than I expected," Mary said as she was overwhelmed looking at the large group of possible future Demon slayers.
Granz scratched his forehead "I wonder how many there are…" he said as he started pointing around "let's see, one, two, three, four-" he was suddenly cut off by another person coming up to them and saying "counting you four there are now 29 candidates here and present." Granz smiled widely "oh thank you, sir, I was going to lose count before long." the man nodded.
Tanya looked up at the new man, she had to physically hold her hands by her mouth to keep it from dropping open. 'N-no way. Koenig?!' she of course thought that exclaims to herself, she did not want to use a psychic excuse if she said his name without him saying it. He had his combed-haired and logical straight face just as she remembered it. He seemed to be dressed in a white and black outfit with a gray bow tied around his waist. Her eyes did a quick scan of the rest of the remaining twenty-four candidates but saw no one else from her old battalion. But she saw none. 'I suppose it would be shocking if they all happened to be here as well.' she thought to herself, a part of her was disappointed.
"Name is Wilibald Koenni, but you can call me Koe, it is what my master called me," he said with a small smile. Tanya frowned 'what an odd way to rename him.' she thought to herself, she just turned to him after he was done shaking everyone else's hand she held her hand out, which he shook "that butterfly in your hair, are you perhaps related to or a student of Kanae Kocho?" he asked with a tilted head. She nodded "yeah to both, though I only learned her style a little bit. My name is Tanya Kocho." Wilibald grinned "my master's other protege, Sanemi, is close to Kanae, at least according to him. So I am glad to meet another Kocho myself."
Tanya had never heard of this 'Sanemi', not even in her letters. But she simple smiled back. Wilibald looked over as the sun was almost fully set "the overseers will probably start soon, guess 29 is the max this- oh never mind guess it is 30" he said as he saw one last man running up the large stairwell. Tanya once again had to keep her mouth from opening. 'Another one? Weiss is here as well?'
"Hell yeah, I made it just in time!" The new man, who Tanya knew in her old life was now joining the crowd of potential demon slayers. He had baggy but steady pants and green boots, he did not wear a short but had a black undershirt on, as well as arm guards, finally, a black jacket that look like an imperial army jacket was hanging from his shoulders. The man that joined the crowd exuberated the kind of man Weiss was when he was drunk, mess less what Tanya remembered the stern and hardened soldier from when she originally knew him. She did not go up to introduce herself, nor did any of the others.
The sun finally set and after a little time two girls with gray hair walked up near the gate. The air seemed to get more intense. "Welcome to the final selection that will decide if you are to join the demon slayer corps or not, and thank you all for making the trek here," they spoke in perfect unison, it was sorta creepy. But Tanya kept listening.
The final selection was starting.