My Brightest Flame (Rengoku X Reader)

Chapter 3 - Final Selection

A/N: Hello! I hope you are enjoying the story so far, it does have a little bit of a slow start but things will pick up soon I swear!

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Y/N pushed through the bushes as she focused on her breathing, making sure to have good distance between herself and anyone else. She was better off alone for her sake and the other training demon slayers. She couldn't save them, and she feared being near another human would mean that they would have even less of a chance to survive the demons. So she continued on her own as fast as her legs could carry her. The persons at the beginning who allowed her to continue in had explained to her how the whole thing worked and in doing so gave her her new goal. To become a Hashira. She could do it, maybe no one around her tended to survive but she knew that if she tried hard enough, she could come quite close to the highest rank. So that was her target.

As demons leapt in front of her attempting to attack she sliced through their necks with ease, killing them effectively without even needing to really try. She had a higher advantage than most during this event as she had been killing demons for years compared to the rest. She got looks, not only because she looked different but also because she was slightly older than the rest. The way she looked and held herself made them think she should be in a higher rank already, not doing this. But they didn't know that she had never been a demon slayer, at least not yet. She was about to be. And as she kept killing demons easily she smiled to herself, sure of the breeze she felt this would be.

However that changed within a few days as the demons seemed to gradually become tougher. But not only did the demons appear harder to fight, the loneliness of being alone and surviving by herself was getting to her. But she understood why they did it. She would be on the road a lot, most likely alone on missions to prevent unnecessary loss of life.

While she was spending time examining the trees and bushes, she tried to figure out which berries were edible. It wasn't like she didn't have a good supply, but she could just use a snack. She smiled when she settled on some red berries that were both sweet and bitter to the taste, grateful she had learned about survival in the woods beforehand. Oh how she missed those lessons, and lessons in general. Her time being spent studying Japanese and learning how to survive in the wild felt like a nightmare then, when all she wanted was to practice breathing. But now she wished she could go back, maybe even learned multiple other languages too. She doubted she'd ever have time to learn a language again. That being said, her confidence with words in this country still weren't the strongest, she'd have to get used to it. There was nothing she could go back to anymore.

The days went by quickly and she was left alone with her thoughts. The demons started to ease off and things seemed to be getting quieter, but she couldn't trust that. Seven days were almost up and it had been one whole day since she had saw anyone or anything living. She had a sinking feeling in her chest as she wondered if anyone else had survived this test. She chewed on some berries as she watched the glistening of a small pond, searching for fish or frogs. She doubted she would see anything, but it passed the time.

"Well, well, well..." At the sound of someone speaking she leapt to her feet, turning to the source of the voice. She grew confused as this was the first demon she had sensed that actually said words. Talking demons were uncommon in c/n. That was why the demon child who had lured her away from the town had worked so well, because she wasn't aware that they could speak. From that moment she knew, demons able to speak were the ones she hated the most. "You look a little bit more mature than the rest don't you think?" The creature chuckled, drooling as it set it's demonic gaze on her.

"I bet your blood will taste even better." He pounced within seconds of his sentence, not expecting such a fast dodge from the woman. But then again, he should have expected it. For she appeared more capable than the other demon slayers he had eaten.