𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐌𝐘 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 | 𝑺.𝑺𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒛𝒖𝒈𝒂𝒘𝒂

𝟐𝟐 | 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬

~*~

"Almost there......"

The six of us ran at a speed that was stealthy to not alarm the village, that resides near the foot of the mountain. My hometown. It feels too fast to acknowledge the nostalgia of this place, only remembering being confined within the walls of my clan's walls. This place only brought back memories, that I didn't want to relive again. The guilt I felt, the guilt I carried that I couldn't save of what's left of my home.

We all soon perch ourselves on top of the branches of the trees, finally reaching the edge of the mountain.

"So.......what's the real plan?" Akio questions quietly, as he was the closet to me. 

Asahi's eyes widen, "What?! We haven't come up with a---" 

Botan slams a hand over his mouth, raising a finger to his lips with a scolding look. "Keep it down, we don't know the numbers.....or what we're running into if it's this serious...." he whispers harshly, before turning to me. "Shall we just go out on a whim, or should we--"

"Go out on a whim?" Yaeko nervously spoke, finally seeing the fear surfacing from her stoic expression. "Mizutsuki, please? There's a better way to think this through..."

Sighing heavily I close my eyes, "We don't know the numbers, let alone how strong these demons are," I spoke up, in a hush tone. "However, we know this mission was reported that our group will be the last before a Hashira might need to be our last resort. So, Botan......" turning to him, as his green eyes widen.

"What is it?" He questions, leaning forward to listen to my instruction.

"I know you have incredible hearing, so I trust that your able to detect any infrequent sounds," tapping my ears, to gesture what I'm talking about. ".....then Akio, I know you're very good at having high stamina. Yaeko you're very flexible, Hina you've got good eyesight in the night, and Asahi......."

Struggling for a moment to think of something, causing him to give me his usual deadpanned expression. "Come on Hayami, seriously?" He pouts with a groan, arms folded in disappointment. "I'm a very skilled Demon Slayer......."

Botan scoffs, "Okay, tell us.......what will you contribute to this mission?" teasingly, with a smirk curling upon the young boys lips.

"Shut it, dumbass," Asahi grumbles, whacking the back of Botan's head sharply.

"Excuse me, I think you're the dumbass of this group--" Botan argues back, before I slam my fist against the trunk of the tree with a heavy crunch. They all freeze on the spot, alarmed by my severity.

"Enough you two!" I hiss under my breath, keeping our voices down. Turning to Asahi, "You're just a skilled swordsman, that is able to decapitate a demon. There, we all can do that.....and right now they can probably sense us by smell. So be on guard, okay?"

Eyeing them all I see them nodding their heads, finally paying attention. This mission was dangerous beyond all levels, but yet my memory is hazy on the terrain. We stood at the foot where my family used to exit and enter up the mountain, seeing a dark bushy path leading up through the thick foliage.

Without another word we all disperse, with only Botan following behind me as I stealthily glide through the heavy growth of trees. It lead straight to a growth of bamboo trees, which made our swings limited. 

"Shit," cursing under my breath, I change my course allowing Botan to be my ear. 

Running fast through the growth I couldn't see a single demon, which was unusual. Either they've discovered us already, and planning an ambush or they're afraid. We didn't know for sure why the mountain is subdued into nothing. While running across the branches we both land on the ground weightlessly, before raising my fist in the air to halt.