'I'm finally here.' Kaze thought while looking at the Wisteria trees, enjoying the beautiful sight.

On his way here, which took a week, it was rather...

Uneventful.

Nothing crazy like encountering a demon happened, or something memorable happening.

But still, such calming times were something Kaze was grateful for.

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Kaze seemed to be the last person to arrive, and saw there were 15 other people already here. Some were standing by themselves, while even less were grouped up with another person.

 

Out of all of them, Kaze took note of two people.

 

It was two young boys who had fox masks, conversing. He wore a fox mask which had a scar on its right side. He had thick, spiked, peach-colored hair of varying lengths, wearing a green kimono, and a pair of tattsuke-hakama pants under a plain white haori. He wore a fox mask which had a scar on its right side.

The other one, wearing a white fox mask with light blue eyes, had black unruly hair that was tied in a ponytail and somewhat of the same clothing as the other boy except he was sporting a red haori. The difference between the two were that this one chose to wear his fox mask on the side, allowing Kaze to see that his pupils were bluish-black and irises that were deep sapphire that would slowly transition and fade away into a lighter shade.

 

As for Kaze himself, he was wearing a white robe, paired up with hakama pants which almost everyone else wore. Over all of this, is a plain black kimono . A katana, which was sheathed, could be seen held on his left arm.

 

 

'They seem to have potential, I wonder how far they'll go.' Kaze thought with a cheerful expression, wanting to converse with all of them to hear their breathing styles.

Unfortunately for him, he could feel the Final Selection about to start as he stared at the torii in front of him, where the two young girls who he guessed would be the curators arrived and started to speak.

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"A week, huh? Doesn't seem so bad." Kaze mumbled while closing his eyes.

All he needed to do was survive for a week according to the two young girls, and honestly, he believed that he could do better than just survive. He believed...

 

...He would be able to slay all the demons here.

 

And he even believed he could have done so a year prior to when he finished training, which meant only after 6 months he decided to start to become a Demon Slayer.

 

 

 

Was it foolish thinking? Arrogance in himself? Or pride that swelled in him for the achievement he had done only 6 months after he trained?

 

Since, after all, in just 6 months...

 

 

 

 

 

 

He had already learned all of the forms of Wind Breathing, and mastered them to the point of contending against Kanoe-ranked Demon Slayers, something Atsuko told him with great surprise and fondness.

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[ Breeze Breathing – Fourth Form:  ]

Kaze then took note of what his intuition told him, helping him feel if things were safe, dangerous, or neutral.

A few things his intuition alarmed of were trees, the animals, the other participants, but most importantly...

'Found you.' Kaze smiled, as he was thinking so.

[Demons.]

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"Please, take care of him." The same boy who wore the scarred fox mask said to another participant, while leaving behind an injured person, bleeding, who was the other boy who had a fox mask and placed it on the side of his head. However, it seemed like he had lost it as it wasn't on his person anymore.

 

The other participant could only nod his head at the empty air, where once was the the peach-colored hair boy.

As for where he was...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ Water Breathing – Third Form: Flowing Dance ]

As if the young masked boy was flowing water, his body bended while his footwork was graceful and precise. His sword slashing cleanly at the multiple gigantic arms he dodged that had hit the ground instead.

"Not bad, brat! Out of all of them, you're certainly the strongest so far." A gigantic figure, dozens of feet away said to the young boy in an amused manner.

The gigantic size for a figure was practically consumed in varying sizes of hands. The only thing left that could be seen of its body was the half upper portion of its head.

Laughing in a sadistic and mocking manner while a few of its hands on where its mouth should be, he pointed at the small and young boy who dared to face it, him...

 

A demon.

 

"I can't wait to eat you, and see another person trained by that damn piece of shit! Ahh~ I bet he's already made another mask for my next meal.~" The demon said, further mocking the young boy who wore the mask that while different from the others he had eaten due to the scar design, still resembled the same craftsmanship of the Slayer who trapped him here.

It was the person who trapped him here, the ~former Water Hashira, Sakonji Urokodaki.~

 

The hands that gripped on the katana that had a blue blade tightened even more, blood slipping due to how hard the boy was doing so.

 

He quietly rushed at the demon multiple times bigger than him, his breathing changing once more and was loud enough for someone to hear. The veins in his arm could now be clearly seen.

 

『 If there was someone who would kill this demon... 』

 

『 It would be him. 』

 

『 Since if he didn't... 』

 

[ Water Breathing – Tenth Form: Constant Flux ]

 

『 Then the boy named Sabito, wouldn't be a man. 』

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Two nights had passed since the start of the Final Selection. Meaning, it would be the third night currently. Kaze had encountered other participants, like the boys with the masks. The name of the one who wore the mask with a scar was apparently, "Sabito." While the other boy who wore the mask on the side of his face was "Giyu." Both used Water Breathing which coincidentally enough, Kaze met another person who used the same breathing as them, being a young man named "Murata."

‌ 

 

 

 

'Two... Just two more.' Kaze thought, while brandishing his blade, looking at the fading body of the wide-eyed decapitated demon.

 

The current katana in his possession was gifted to him by his grandma and trainer, a ~former Wind Hashira, Atsuko.~ What made it differ from most katanas was the fact that the katana's blade was colored in a beautiful green.

 

Kaze just finished using his Third Form of Breeze Breathing to sense the presence of things around him. He then sheathed his katana back, closed his eyes, and focused.

 

 

 

He immediately changed his stance into one where you would quickly draw your sheathed blade, Kaze's eyes having opened and slightly narrowed. He placed more strength on his feet and dashed forward at speeds faster than what humans should be capable of doing, no matter how much training one had.

 

[ Breeze Breathing – Seventh Form: The Calm-  ]

Kaze immediately pulled out his katana, light green wind following both his blade and his right arm.

[-And The Storm.]

 

His blade collided with something, and yet, it slashed through as if he was cutting butter, as if, there was nothing there in the first place.

 

'How?!'

The demon, whose neck was cleanly cut, only realized he had been defeated when he saw his body without its head, upside down. He could see his own body start to slowly become dust. He quickly lost the ability to speak, his vision, and finally who he was as even his head had faded away.

However, what shocked him even more was the breeze that burst forth. The surroundings clearly being affected with how much the leaves gently swayed.

While Kaze, who was still moving and going even faster thought,

'Faster! Quicker! That masked boy is in danger!'

 

This time, it wasn't his intuition that kicked in. But it was just a feeling that he had, that something was wrong.

 

He had no idea if it was right, but for some odd reason, he believed it was true.

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In the far future, that was now the current time,

"Once."

"Kaze-san?"

"Twice."

"Kaze-san, what do you mean?"

"Thrice."

"Hanafuda-kun, that's how many times I've felt weak in my entire life."

Kaze said calmly, his cheerful disposition that he was known for in the Demon Slayer Corps gone for the first time. What replaced it was a more sadder and vulnerable mood. But even so, he continued to speak not minding the surprised expression on the other Hashiras' faces.

 

The other Hashiras, never thought they would ever see Kaze like this. I mean, at one point, they did think about a Kaze much more serious than the one they all know, but they thought it would be against an Upper Moon, or when he was in a battlefield against demons, or even... The death of a loved one.

 

They didn't think it was due to a boy who broke the rules set in the Demon Slayer Corps for centuries, which was not killing a demon and for sparing it.

 

 

 

"The first, was on the night my big sister was murdered."

Kaze said in a tone where regret was evident,

『 As if following "this" Kaze that almost no one had ever seen, a hairpin attached to his white belt, stopped swaying as well. The hairpin of his older sister.』

 

"The second, was on the dawn of the fourth day when I participated the Final Selection."

『 The ~Water Hashira, Giyu,~ who was by himself, could be seen wearing a fox mask on the side of his face, its right cheek having a scar. Giyu decided to wear it as a constant reminder of Sabito, something that reminds Kaze of that day as well. 』

"The third, was the time when I fought an Upper Moon and could only stall for time until sunrise alongside Kanae-chan."

『 As if agreeing with Kaze, Kanae looked down at the ground for a few moments with a somber look. 』

"In all of them, I lived. But when I thought I had become stronger, someone who could help others more, those moments of my past make me remember my weakness."

While placing down Tanjiro in a seiza position gently on the ground, which was made of stone, he patted Tanjiro's head while crouching down.

A small gust of gentle wind, a breeze, enveloped the area as Kaze's usual smile came back.

"While you are far away from the place me and the Hashira fight, you have certainly worked hard."

"For that, all I can say is... Well done, Tanjiro-kun... I have decided to believe in you and your sister. On what Giyu-kun saw in both of you."

While Tanjiro didn't know how strong Kaze was compared to the other Hashira, it didn't change the fact that he was complemented by one.

And as much as he wanted to not cry, Tanjiro couldn't help but start waterworks with his eyes, tears streaming down on his face at the fact that his hard work was appreciated by someone he knew was still far stronger than him.

As for the other Hashiras, most were shocked and surprised to hear Kaze's decision. Some of course couldn't believe what they had just heard but they couldn't help but think that while this was a Kaze that no one had ever seen, his gentleness was still something present.

 

 

"Tanjiro-kun, the events of last night should have made you understand how weak you are. So keep that feeling within your heart to make yourself never grow complacent."

 

"Everyone here, while stronger than you, is but just a cog in the grand scheme of things. But you, as well, are a part of it. And I!"

Kaze's smile turns into one of smugness, and proudly proclaims,

"I will be the breeze that pushes things forth, the cog that will help all of you turn when any of you freeze or even dare to slow down. So fight! Since if I have to, I'll train you until you wished you would have never became a Slayer!"

 

 

 

*Cough*

"Anyway, that's all for my inspirational big brother moment.~ From now on, I won't be doing anything significant starting now or during the meeting. I hope everyone gets along well like always."

Kaze said with his carefree smile back on his face. He then stood up and went back to his position which was close to the Flower Hashira, Kanae Kocho, not speaking anymore as if a brick wall and ignoring the visible protest of a few of the Hashiras who were confused by his decision with his smile while closing his eyes.

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[Word Count: 2119 Words]

A/N: Omake coming soon! So, did you like the surprise? Kanae is alive! And I'm damn sure going to be writing [Romance] with her!

And a couple of characters might even get some as well.~

Ah, by the way, while writing this, I was only running on caffeine so I was honestly exhausted by the time I finished writing. (Which would be a few minutes after I publish this, with the time being quite late for me.) So, if you guys see any mistakes, I would be grateful if you guys could tell me.

Also, did you like the fact I tried brackets and such? Do tell me all of your opinions on them with a comment.

Random Fun Fact About Kaze #2: The Breeze Hashira actually does have a last name. However, he decided to not tell most people with only a few certain people who he considered very, very close.

Examples would be: Atsuko and-

*Kuek!*

Kaze: Sorry everyone, what the Author meant to say was that due to being exhausted, he would be sleeping. Have a good day, everyone!

H-help me...

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Not much of a rewrite but more of polishing a few things here and there, I'm sure there are mistakes still and I hope that is fine with you all. Thank you for your time.