The Pursuit Of Power

The moment they left, Nezuko showed signs of falling back to sleep, her eyes closed and it seemed as though she woke momentarily to congratulate her brother's success. Anyway, the group of now 3, left for the Final Selection.

Before they left, Sakonji gifted them masks.

A Kitsune mask for Tanjirou with a sun on the mask in the same place as the mark he had on his forehead.

For Yuuki, a Kirin mask with lightning surrounding the eyes, somewhat resembling Yuuki's elemental prowess and favorite Magic Type. He had no clue how Sakonji knew.

And another Kitsune mask for Hana, sporting flowers along the left cheek.

They had a group hug with Sakonji after receiving his gifts.

"They are called disaster prevention masks. I sincerely hope that you will remain okay. Yuuki, I may not have known you two for as long as I have known Tanjirou but know that you were as much a teacher to me as I was to you. I feel an innate closeness with you two the moment I saw you. It was rather strange. Anyway, I wish you three the best of luck. Stay alive, please..." Sakonji's last words were inaudible to Tanjirou and Hana, but Yuuki heard them.

---

"Yuuki, why do you sometimes just go absentminded? I can see that your eyes go still for a moment before you come back to normal." Tanjirou pointed out somewhere along the way. Upon hearing him, Hana nodded in agreement as she also looked at Yuuki.

"Umm, I don't know. It's just been happening for a while. It doesn't negatively affect me at all. (I will explain later.)" Yuuki gazed into Hana's eyes as he spoke.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, it is pretty normal for you isn't it. (It better be a good explanation.)" She 'smiled' back. Her instincts were telling her that it was something that she was not going to like.

Tanjirou shrugged after hearing the two and they continued going.

"Remember to slice the neck of the Demon, okay? You can either use the blade given to us by Sakonji or the Leviathan Dagger." Yuuki kept pestering Hana over and over as he would separate from her to ensure that she did not rely on him constantly as she needed to grow. Of course, he would be watching her from afar, however, Hana did not know this.

Tanjirou witnessed the two's interactions and thought they were similar to siblings. That was before he remembered that Hana was Yuuki's lover and he shook his head. It was not like they were siblings, right? Right?

Suddenly, the smell of a flower entered their nose.

The pungent smell was rather soothing.

"Wisteria..." Yuuki identified the plants from Sakonji's teachings. Specifically, at this mountain where the Final Selection would take place, the Wisteria is in full bloom all year long. He touched the petals of the lilac plant as his gaze once again became absent-minded before he quickly came back.

'Hina, you don't know how much I wish you were able to see this with your own eyes.'

{I can already see it from your eyes.}

'Would it not be better for you to be able to witness everything from your perspective?' He exhaled in real-time. 'It's a shame that Chad and the others can't come out of the Beast Dimension. They would love this place and this World.'

{Yuuki. Believe me, I am fine seeing things like this. Just focus on more important things.}

They had said the same things in different ways multiple times. Yuuki suggesting getting Hina a body and Hina then rejecting the idea entirely.

"Well guys, welcome to Mount Fujikasane, the only place where Wisteria is in full bloom all year," Yuuki said as they walked up some wooden planks towards two wooden poles that marked the entry place for the Selection. The Kirin mask was strapped to the side of his face so that it would be on him but not in the way.

As the three walked through the two wooden poles, twenty other people entered their vision before they noticed the twins with unique hair.

The twenty people had an assortment of scars and visible marks left from their training. Yuuki's gaze went over all of them and found that apart from 3 people, none stood out from the rest. They were ordinary. He could understand that they had put in the time and effort but had not enough talent, these people were doomed if they overestimated their capabilities.

Those 3 people who stood out were 2 boys and 1 girl.

The girl had a unique disposition he could feel from far away with her hair in a ponytail on the right side of her head. Her eyes were also unique, they were gentle eyes with a pink-lilac color matching the Wisteria.

One boy was wearing a yellow kimono who had yellow hair and an aura resembling that of lightning.

Finally, the seemingly aggressive young man with a mohawk-stye hair with a scar extending halfway across his face from his right cheek.

"Greetings everyone." The black-haired twin spoke. "Thank you all for joining the Final Selection tonight. There are a lot of Demons held captive on this mountain by Demon Slayers. They are unable to leave."

"Because from the mountain foot to half-way up, Wisteria are in full bloom all year round." The white-haired twin, spoke at the exact moment that the other twin stopped.

They then spoke in sync.

"However, from here on out. There are no more Wisteria, only Demons. If you can survive for 7 days then you pass the Final Selection.

With that said...

Let the Final Selection begin!"

Yuuki turned to Hana and Tanjirou, the lax expression on Yuuki's face calmed them slightly but they still felt some pressure.

"Go. Stay safe and don't fight any demons you might not be able to slay. Don't underestimate them. Use your full power against your enemies or you will regret it. Tanjirou, you must kill them. I understand your sentiments and your values but you must never let a bad Demon remain alive. Nezuko is an example of a good Demon."

Not long after entering, Hana already encountered 3 Demons.