𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡 ╱ please don't go 

     "I've never seen wisteria so close, it's beautiful," Sayuri runs her fingers against the soft velvet of the flowering tree, lips upturned. Their vibrant purple hue under the full moon reflects against her blue eyes, making them turn into almost that exact color. Sabito and Giyuu watch for a moment in awe themselves, never having witnessed such a beautiful sight of nature.

     Leaving two days prior to the current, Sayuri, Sabito, and Giyuu had made the journey to Final Selection. With butterflies in their stomachs and shaking hands, they talked through everything that could go wrong and how it could be solved. They wished to stick together no matter what, because their synchronization from training for seven months beside one another was possibly their greatest strength.

     Urokodaki was hesitant to send them off that morning even though each rock had been sliced, all but begging them to come back alive. If the children had paid more attention they would've spotted the tears running past his mask. Sakonji Urokodaki would refuse to ever send another one of his children to that damned demon again.

     Now, the trio ascends stone stairs into an area shrouded by the wisteria, at least fifteen other children of their age group waiting around. Nerve radiated like sun rays from each and every contender, knowing across a blockade of pretty trees contained starving demons. Ones who were so starved that they even resorted to feasting upon one another.

Sayuri remembers the only two occasions on which she's witnessed one of those creatures. The one of whom she still carried its red rope, and the other her teacher had slain in a test of trust. It would be hard for her not to freeze up when coming across one in Final Selection, but from intense mental training, she wished to still perform at the top of her game. These weren't strong demons, of course she could slay them with her borrowed nichirin sword. Cloud Breathing would take her through the test, it had to.

     Too distracted by her surroundings and the sickening aura fogging the crowd, Sayuri doesn't notice she's bumping into someone until her body smacks against another and she tumbles back. She flushes uncontrollably and waves her hands in apology,

     "I'm so sorry! I should've paid more attention!"

    A pale boy with short dark hair spins to spot the culprit. His panicked doe eyes almost make it seem as if he was the one to cause the collision,

     "Oh no it was my fault for loitering here! Please don't apologize, it's my bad!"

     Both pause in horrendous awkwardness, unsure of what to do or even say. Sayuri was really only comfortable around Sabito and Giyuu from living together, so her social skills weren't necessarily at their peak anymore. She used to love conversing, but now it was impossible to find the right words.

     "I'm Murata, by the way!" The boy, Murata, introduces himself shyly. Sayuri squinches her eyes to study him curiously, the poor kid shriveling under her stare. Sensing a strong wave of calm behind his stuttering exterior, she can pick up his technique,

     "You use Water Breathing?"

     "Wha- Huh?" Murata raises an eyebrow before his shoulders ease out of their tense position, knowing why he'd been stared down moments before, "I do, could you sense that? Uhhh... what's your name?"

     "Sayuri. I could feel a still lake inside of you."

     "Yuri! That's creepy, please don't scare him!" Giyuu worries and clasps his hands down on her shoulders, bowing his head to Murata, "Sorry! We're not used to other people!"

     "Eh?"

     "Giyuu don't put it like that! I'm sorry for the both of them," Sabito is the next to apologize and drag both of his practical siblings away by the scruffs of their haori.

     "Eh?" They leave Murata to his own devices, confused, to situate themselves in an empty part of the clearing. Sabito's ears were red in embarrassment, both Sayuri and Giyuu's heads tilted in wonder of what they did wrong. They'd really have to work on greeting strangers after Final Selection.

     "Are you feeling okay?" Sayuri presses her hand to Sabito's forehead checking for high temperatures. She just gets laughter as a response,

     "I think you two properly frightened that kid away."

     "Oh no..." Sayuri searches for Murata in the crowd. He chats familiarly with others he already seemed to have a background with. Surely she didn't actually scare him!

     "No need to bother with that for now. We should focus on the road ahead."

    Yes, the huge elephant in the room. A rather large elephant that could bring about death if not skilled or careful enough. The start of it? Twins of black and white hair lightly walking to the front of the crowd. Each dressed in a purple uchikake kimono with a green obi, wisteria headpieces adorning their heads, and holding a lantern in the opposite hand of one another. They speak in unison,

     "Good evening. Tonight, you've come to enter the Demon Slayer Corps' Final Selection. Thank you all for being here."

    Sayuri feels goosebumps across her skin from the eerie pair of youth, partially relieved when they begin speaking back and forth to finish sentences rather than together.

    "Here on Mt. Fujikasane, there are several demons that were captured alive by demon slayer swordsman. They are kept here for this event."

     "The wisteria blossoms prevent them from leaving, they bloom on this mountain year-round and they cover everything from the bottom to the top."

    "But the wisteria end here, so demons are bound from this point on and they're very hungry."

    "In order to complete Final Selection, you must survive for seven days beyond the wisteria's protection."

     They join together one last time in a bow,

     "Now, your trial begins."

      The contestants begin to walk past the wisteria, some much slower than others, and sniffles can be heard every so often. Sabito takes the lead for Sayuri and Giyuu as he races beyond the barrier and into the grey mountain. The glowing purple of wisteria fades from view while rustling trees shroud the testing grounds in darkness. Very rarely did the moon decide to peek through, and demons avoided it at all costs.

     "They're not very strong, so they'll try to use stealth to their advantage," Sabito explains as they cross as much ground as possible. There were no demons yet, it wasn't even a couple of minutes. Every snapping branch or chirping bird had Sayuri flicking her head in preparation, knuckles white from her grip upon her sword. Giyuu was directly behind her, sweating and much greener than when they had arrived. She holds out a free hand for him to grab, keeping him close if he were to hesitate when the first fight arrived,

     "Water Breathing, First Form-" Before the first hour was close to being finished, Sabito was leaping for a slobbering demon. He takes its life swiftly and without struggle then begins to set the running pace again. He wasn't aiming for the end of the test and rather making sure every monster was slain before it could take the life of anyone in the selection.

     Hours were passing by swiftly with the added distractions blurring time into a meaningless concept. Sabito had saved at least two others who cracked under fear, concentration unbreakable. Sayuri couldn't help but admire his strength, of course, she supposed she always had in the first place,

     "I don't know how you excelled so much further than me, I thought I could keep up," She playfully banters to keep the pressure eased and manageable, though her blood pounded inside her ears. Her sight catches a glimpse of feet atop a tree branch and immediately she forces herself into a powerful jump to land on the same platform. A long breath and foul scent lead her on a high-speed chase, ignorant of Sabito and Giyuu's shouts. Unsheathing her sword, Sayuri dives back to the ground and toward a ferocious snarl of teeth. Cloud Breathing, First Form; Stream Slash. Similar to Water Breathing as it had become her inspiration, and easy to cut the flesh of a weak demon who would never regenerate again.

     "Sayuri! You idiot! Stay with us!" Sabito's anger vanishes in an intense hug, the boy embracing her so tightly she thought her eyes might pop out of her head. Giyuu smacks her arm curtly,

    "Everything changes once you're alone. There's no one to cover your back."

     "I won't leave you two again, I'm sorry. I didn't think."

     "You definitely didn't! I forgive you because we need to keep moving," Marching onward to locate another demon, Sabito doesn't wait around for any more conversation. He wanted to kill every demon in as little time as possible before exhaustion started to take its toll. He, Sayuri, and Giyuu would be at their peak condition in the first couple of days and trudging along in the remainder of the week. It would only make sense to clear out the herd now.

     The thing was, Sabito had practically wiped out the entirety of this month's Final Selection. The putrid feeling of murderous monsters faded almost completely by the fifth day. Over half of their time beyond the wisteria and everyone could vouch for a boy with peach hair either saving them or stealing their kill. It's not that the talent majorly lacked, but Sabito was simply powerful. Nothing could get in his path, except when it came to saving his friends. Sayuri and Giyuu would prove to be his greatest weakness.

     It was the sixth day when searching for the end of the protected area that disaster hit. No one had been hurt so far and Sabito was greeted with praise from every person they crossed paths with. Murata had even been one of them, as he had been on the run from an unfortunate demon. Giyuu had stayed mostly silent the whole time, except when pointing out the direction he believed the trio should take. Sayuri hadn't swung her sword once more and was beginning to believe she wouldn't have to again. If this was her test to become an official member of the Demon Slayer Corps, it didn't prove much of her talent when she wasn't the one killing. Not that she was upset with Sabito, in fact, she couldn't try to express her admiration. He felt truly like an older brother protecting her during the test, a smile falling on her lips with every compliment she told him.

     So why did it all have to go wrong?

      "One day left, do you think they'll let us out early?" Giyuu questions, kicking the same stone he'd been for the last hour. There wasn't much in the dense woods anymore as the sweet wisteria scent became more powerful with every step they took.

     "I would think so, if there are no demons then what's the point in staying. Sabito worked hard enough, he's so tired he can't even hear us!" Loose arms from Sayuri lurch over to their yawning sibling, cooing affirmations sweetly. He blushes ferociously and flicks her forehead,

     "I'm sleepy, not hard of hearing. Those are two very different things."

     "They can go hand-in-hand if you think about it!" Giyuu presses a finger to his grimy chin (they were all filthy with sweat and dirt at this point) in thought, "If you're worn down from working so hard, all your senses slow."

     "I'm fin-"

     "Don't worry Sabito, we'll be your senses!" Sayuri stops their traveling to squeeze her eyes shut in concentration. She listens far and wide, takes a long breath, and wriggles her fingers. She had expected nothing, but that wasn't the case as a small tremor thudded rapidly against the forest floor accompanied by a much more prominent and demanding stomp.

     "Yuri?"

     "Something's not right, another contestant is in trouble," Her eyes pop open to face the direction of the conflict, breaking out into a sprint. Sabito and Giyuu stay by her side, all three aware of the sluggishness poisoning their movements. Yet it doesn't take their legs long to catch up to a male tripping upon a fallen branch, labored breaths rendering his voice useless.

     Giyuu is the first to act, lunging forward to shove the kid away from a detected attack incoming. Unfortunately, when he shoves his smaller body into the other, it only puts him directly in the way of an extending hand. A large and ugly green hand with hideous red fingernails. That of a demon.

    "Giyuu!" Sayuri yelps as a black ponytail goes flying into a nearby tree, a direct blow to Giyuu's head because of the angle he was smacked at. He slumps to the floor in a temporary daze, warding mask cracking and swinging broken around his neck. Sayuri tenses at the sight of blood on her loved one.

    Help, you idiot. Move!

     "Yuri, take this and wrap his head! Don't you dare freeze up!" Sabito orders and his haori is thrown into her chest, setting the brunette back on track. No, she wasn't little Sayuri Fukunaga anymore, she knew what she was doing! The demon wasn't too far away if his hand could extend to Giyuu.

     Sayuri gets herself beside the bleeding boy and gently wraps his head in Sabito's cloth. Giyuu winces at the pressure and wipes some dribbling red from his eyelid,

     "I'm sorry I didn't move fast enough."

     "You saved me," The kid from earlier was beside Sayuri with determination furrowing into his eyebrows, taking Giyuu into his arms, "-I'm the sorry one. Let me take care of him while you help the peach swordsman."

     "Thank you," Sayuri kisses Giyuu's forehead before turning to face the demon entering their cover amongst the trees. Many were already knocked down in its wake, because the demon was enormous. With at least fifteen hands protruding from its body the size of a full-grown elephant, four protected its neck from view and bulging yellow eyes stared down at the humans.

     "Are those... more of Urokodaki's little foxes?" The demon garbles at the sight of Urokodaki's warding masks, "That bastard still lives while I am stuck here!"

     "How do you know Urokodaki-sensei?" Sabito holds his blade toward the demon in rage. Just who did this blubbering monster think it was?

     "He's the swordsmen who captured me! Back when he was young and I was weak! Damn that man!" Losing itself to rage, fingernails claw away at green skin until the thing bleeds from ripping flesh. The ground tremors with stomps similar to a tantrum. Sayuri grits her teeth angrily,

     "Stop speaking ill of Urokodaki-sensei!" Her voice flew into irate hysterics, Giyuu and the other boy watching with slack jaws, "I see no difference if you were weak compared to now! Sensei is a wonderful elder man who thrives while you can't pass the wisteria!"

     "You... You stupid brat! You honestly think I'm weak when I've killed over 50 people?" Sabito and Sayuri falter at this, considering they've never experienced demons of such a high caliber, "You know what? You'll be... thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen of those little foxes I've killed! The last one was that agile little flowery kimono girl! What a pathetic excuse for a swordsman!"

     "Makomo... you killed Makomo!?" Sayuri's voice was breaking, a weakness she didn't quite understand. Why had Makomo been the one to train her on Sagiri Mountain if she was dead? Sayuri recalls asking the young girl to come home with her one night, how Makomo spoke sweetly of Urokodaki as an excuse to leave out her past.

     Tears fell in a fury of emotions as Sayuri went in for her first strike, Sabito yelling somewhere in the back of her one-track mind. She only knew two versions of her breath style, so the first protruding arm she could slice from the demon. The second was from behind and blocked by Sabito. The third and fourth knocked the children into each other in a lack of coordination. They toppled to the ground in a mess of limbs.

      "Heh, you call yourselves Demon Slayers? Look at you, weak and consumed by rage!" This demon wasn't scared, giggling and sending out attack after attack without fear of blades getting near his neck.

     Sayuri and Sabito tried again, silent and seeing red. How dare this pathetic thing talk bad about their sensei, their father, and all the children he taught in the past. How dare it kill all those bearing the warding mask and take them away from Urokodaki, breaking apart family year after year? Giyuu was wounded because of it, Sabito and Sayuri were both worn down from persistent attacks bruising and beating their bodies. Sabito who had worked so hard to save everyone, and who deserved life the most, at the verge of passing out from the weight of the past six days.

     Sayuri hadn't felt the fingers wrap around her neck in the desperate slicing of another hand, a frantic yowl cut in half when her windpipe is squeezed down upon. Sabito's attention snaps over so quickly he is taken by surprise, jabbed in the ribcage by yet another green fist. He collapses against the dirt, blood spraying from his mouth as he hacks air back into his lungs.

    Now they were face to face with death, for something none of them wanted. They desired so greatly to live side by side and conquer the future together. Why had one demon taken so much away from them? Waterfalls of tears exit Sayuri's eyes, making no sound in their departure.

     "Water Breathing... Third Form; Flowing Duh-Dance... Shadows of Dawn!" Sabito forces his heavy body up to take off the limb crushing the life from Sayuri. The girl hits the ground hard and blinks black and white from her vision, shaking at the sudden burst of oxygen she now had access to. Sabito lands clumsily in front of her, snarling like a mother bear protecting her young. He was angry, but most importantly he was tired. Blood dripped from his chin and his body swayed against an invisible breeze. His head turns only slightly so Sayuri knew he was talking to her,

    "Go."

   "Sabito-"

     "I'm not ah-asking again! Take Giyuu... and go! You're not dying huh-here." Sabito was finding it hard to speak, and Sayuri's stubbornness was making his head spin. He wondered why this had to be the time for her to be ignorant when he wanted so bad to just get it over with. He was too tired for this. So tired.

    "Shut up!" Sayuri forced a voice to speak, though it was shaky and weak and probably not as commanding as she hoped, "Don't speak like you're going to sacrifice yourself! You're the strongest... you need to come with us you... you-"

     "It's okay. Please don't cry for me. I love you and Giyuu so much, I'm not going to forget our little family just because of a demon. If you want to be mad, be mad once you make it out of Final Selection."

    Sayuri wails with a million stabs to her healing heart when Sabito smiles so peacefully. He re-enforces his stance with trembling legs and hands, each passing breath harder to maintain than the last. The kid who had been witnessing the fight respects Sabito's final wish and grabs a clawing and fighting Sayuri, bringing her away from the multitude of passionate shouts coming from Sabito's last attempts at stalling. Giyuu had passed out from his head injury, so all the nameless contestant could do was drag the both of them with much struggle.

     Sayuri felt anguish and exhaustion conquer what fight she had last, wails turned into whimpers as she attempts to keep her gaze on Sabito for longer. Just a bit longer, as much as she could see she had to study. The scar, sparkling lavender eyes, fluffy peach hair, gentle fingers that always braided her own hair. One last time does Sabito catch Sayuri's eyes, offering a warm and drowsy smile that only met his eyes. He had made his final stand and let his siblings escape. Escape as a duo that would forever be missing their third piece. Giyuu and Sayuri were going to be okay on their own, he knew this. They'd have to take time to heal, but they could grow to live happy lives in a world of beauty. Sabito let himself drop his sword and fall into a permanent slumber with these gracious thoughts.

     In Sayuri's last moments of consciousness, she couldn't help but wish she weren't the one making it out of the woods.

☁️

𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘 ╱    wait did i convey sadness
enough i gotta work on emotions fr ,,
listening to a sad playlist made this
way more depressing in my mind </3

i'm posting this a day early bc it's
my love's birthday and sayuri's 
love as well so we're celebrating 
kyojuro <3 

when sayuri first meets tanjiro she
fr gets so blubbery bc he did what
she couldn't </3

" the saddest part is when the person who gave you the best memories, becomes a memory " 
(⌣_⌣")