The seven nights in the Wisteria prison were hell and absolutely a nightmare. Every night, I fought for my life with several demons trying to kill me. On the morning after the last night, I made my exit out of the mountains to the entrance to see Amane waiting as well as two others who were with us at the start. 'So counting me, only three of the thirty that entered came back alive.'

"Congratulations to you all on passing the Final Selection. As of right now, you all are official members of the Demon Slayer Corps."

"So what now?" One of the survivors asked.

"First off, we shall have your measurements taken for your uniforms and have your ranks embroidered on your hand with Wisteria. If you ever wish to find out what your rank is, all you would have to do is hold your Nichirin sword over your palm while reciting a password you are given and it will present your rank. From lowest to highest, the ranks are as followed. Mizunoto Mizunoe Kanoto Kanoe Tsuchinoto Tsuchinoe Hinoto Hinoe Kinoto and Kinoe. You will also be given a Kusagai Crow to give your missions."

Out of nowhere, a crow came towards me to roost on my head. It seemed smaller than the ones that rested on the other two's arms for me to believe it was still kinda young. "Now if you three will kindly come up one by one, I shall take the measurements for your uniforms." we did as Amane asked for the two others to walk in front and go first.

"So what now? When do we get the color changing katanas?"

"Patience. First you must pick an ore that will be a baseline for your Nichirin swords." Amane presented to us a table holding several different types of ores on it for the three of us to look at them not sure what to choose.

"I've never even seen ore to know what I'm picking."

"How the heck are we supposed to make a good judgement on this if we don't know what we're picking?"

"A powerful Demon Slayer will choose from what their instincts tell them to. If you cannot do that, then you will not advance far in the Demon Slayer Corps." Amane's words made me think of how judgement calls should be for a Demon Slayer and what I should do.

'If a Demon Slayer can choose from their instincts in this situation, then I should follow mine.' I glanced at each of the ores before closing my eyes and invisioning my own blades in my hands. I held my hands out and subconsciously moved my hand over the ores to have a feel the metal and move towards a specific one. I opened my eyes to lift the ore up and hold it in my hands. 'This one should work.'

After being released from the Final Selection, I was told that the blades I requested won't be ready for at least two weeks. The uniform however was finished and ready in a matter of minutes for it to fit perfectly on me and able to be extended when I start going through a growth spurt. 'Finally. Back home.' I walked up to the entrance of the Butterfly Mansion to see all the lights out. "Hello?" I walked in to see nobody in the common areas. "Ms. Kanae? Shinobu? Kanao? I'm back." Nobody answered back for me to check outside near the garden to see several Demon Slayers and Hashira in front of something. "Excuse me, but does anyone know where Ms. Kanae and Shinobu are?" Everyone stared at me before opening up for me to see Shinobu in front of something.

I walked towards her to look over and see her crying. "Why....Why couldn't I help her?"

"Shinobu. Where's Ms. Kanae?" Shinobu looked over to me with tears running down her face. I glanced at what she was in front of to see it was an urn with a picture of Ms. Kanae in front of it. My eyes widened at this before dropping to my knees. "There's no way. She....she can't be dead. She's too strong." I started to get hysterical at this. "She's a Hashira! She can't die! SHE'S STRONGER THAN ANY DEMON! SHE CAN'T BE *hic*....She just can't." I shook seeing this before being hugged by Shinobu. "Ms. Kanae....*hic* Ms. Kanae!" I cried into Shinobu's shoulder for her to comfort me.

"I'm sorry. I should've been stronger. If I was, maybe she..." I couldn't stop crying as once again, someone I loved was taken from me.

'Why...WHY CAN'T I HAVE PEOPLE WHO CARE FOR ME IN THIS WORLD!? WHY DO THEY HAVE TO BE TAKEN AWAY!? WHY GOD!? WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME!?' I felt as if I failed Ms. Kanae when this was found out. All I could do at that point, was cry and cry until I couldn't anymore.

"So...that's what happened."

"Yeah." Shinobu pointed out what happened to explain it was upper 2 of the Twelve Kizuki. They're some of the most powerful demons that work directly under Muzan Kibutsuji. They're known by the numbers written on their eyeballs to indicate their status. This made things harder for me as now I'm back to where I was 5 years ago. Alone in this world. "Before she died, Kanae made me promise something to myself as well as give you her final words to you." I listened carefully to what she was saying to have Shinobu clear her throat. "I'm sorry I couldn't welcome you back. Do not hold grief for what happened to me. Let it guide you as your past has guided you to this point. Whenever you are in a state in thinking you are alone, understand that you are never alone, for I shall be there for you, Shinobu and everyone in the Butterfly Mansion to give the strength you need when you need it. I know you'll do great things in the future, Izuku. I have faith in that and always have."

Hearing this, I felt loved knowing Ms. Kanae had so much faith in me. "Ms. Kanae...had faith...in me?"

"Yes. She always believed you'd do amazing things as who you are. All you just have to do is press on and keep doing what you are doing. So long as you don't let what happened bring you down, you should be able to do as my sister wished." Shinobu smiled at me before continuing. "And if you need someone to help, I'll still be on your side able to help where I can."

"Thanks."

After the wake and burial of Kanae, Shinobu was given her title as a Hashira. For the time being though, she was given a leave of absence so she could handle the affairs of her sister's death and some other things. Right now, we're sitting in the middle of the dinning area watching the news. From what it said, All Might was on a morning talk show in a fancy suit talking about heroism and how anyone could be one.

"Somewhat astounding the world doesn't see what we do. If they did, that top ten pro ranking could actually be extremely different."

Shinobu took a sip of her tea before responding. "You know, top ranked pros actually do know of the Demon Slayers. I also had the luxury of meeting All Might in person. I must say, he's a lot more muscular under that suit." We laughed a bit before seeing Kanao walk in.

"Hey, Kanao. Want some breakfast?" She stared at me blankly before flipping a coin Ms. Kanae gave her to catch it and nod after seeing what it was. From what I was told about her from Shinobu, she was given her name by both her and Ms. Kanae and is about my age. Unfortunately, she can't make decisions for herself and hardly ever speaks. To be honest, I think I heard her speak over the few years I've known her probably only a handful of times.

*knock* *knock* "Izuku. Can you get that? I'm almost positive it is your swords." Hearing this, I almost immediately got up and ran to the door to open it and see a man wearing a hyottoko mask.

"Hello. My name is Tecchin Techikawahara. I have come to bestow on the Demon Slayer Izuku Midoriya his swords."

"That's me. Would you like to come in, sir?"

"Why yes. That would be lovely." I allowed the man inside to have Shinobu notice and smile. "It has been a while, Shinobu Kocho. I hope you are doing well."

"Yes I am. I hope everything is alright at the village, head chief." I stared at the man in shock before bowing to show my respect.

"Y-you're the head chief of the Swordsmith Village!?"

"Why yes. I am also quite a skilled swordsmith. Now, would you like to see your Nichirin swords?"

"Y-yes. I would very much like to." The chief sat down on the ground before pulling out two katanas out of a container he had to hand them to me.

"The ore used in it was taken from a cave mentioned to be an amazing spot for stargazing. It also held the legend of the moon god Tsukuyomi blessing the land with prosperity due to it's beautiful land. Not many Demon Slayers pick this ore, but those that do are never steered wrong with it's power." I unsheathed the blades to notice something unique happen. The color of the blade itself turned from it's normal greyish color to a dark purple.

"Woah....That is so cool!"

"Yes. It's quite rare to see a color like this. Thank you for allowing me to see such a momentous sight. Also, what do you think of the handle guards?" I glanced at the handle guards to see their different depending on what side you see. "From what I had learned of you son of Muzan, you have the ability to change your eye color if I am correct."

"Yes. I was able to find a way to do this about two years ago. When I'm not fighting, I try to keep it green and no different than a normal human's to avoid stares. But when I fight, that tends to no longer be the case with it being red like a normal demon's."

"Well I had taken that into consideration as when it is sheathed, the handguard looks almost as if a normal human's eye if you are looking at it with the bottom of the blade frontwards. If you unsheath it and show the tip of the blade first, it would look more like a demon's eye though."

I sheathed both blades before immediately bowing to the man. "Thank you, chief Techikawahara."

"Why thank you." The chief got up to pat my head and speak kindly to me. "You truly are a nice kid and it was an honor for me to make the first actual demon that's become a Demon Slayer's blades. But with that in mind....

"YES SIR!" I panicked and spoke louder than I should've.

"Good. Then I'll be on my way." The chief left rather fast with the three of us staring at the door somewhat in awe at this action.

"Well...Why don't you put on your uniform, Izuku. I also have a gift me and Kanae had made personally for you."

"Ok." I walked into the other room where I had my uniform kept until the day I got my blades. I immediately placed it on and came outside with my swords on my sides.

Once I came out, both Shinobu and Kanao smiled at me with joy plastered on their faces. "Now that you're officially a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, this is sorta a congratulatory gift from me and Kanae." Shinobu gave me a Haori that was black with parts that were grey to almost look like a grey butterfly. "That Haori was made to replicate mine and my sister's, but more darker since your breathing style is far different than ours. Consider yourself a black butterfly."

I glanced at the Haori in the mirror to smile at how it looked. "Thank you. It looks amazing." Before we could get any farther in our moment, my crow came in through a window to perch on my head.

"KAW! Izuku! You must go Southwest of here to vanquish a demon! Children are disappearing! Every night, a child disappears, never to be seen again! You must hurry!"

"Well. I guess this is now your first mission as a Demon Slayer." I headed out of the mansion to try and get to the area my crow was talking about. "Wait, Izuku." I stopped a moment for Shinobu to button one of my buttons and adjusting how my Haori was placed. "I can't always be part of your job, but the least I can do is make sure you leave on the right foot."

"Thank you." Shinobu pulled away and smiled at me before allowing me off. "Thanks for everything." I ran out as fast as I could with my crow following me.

"Hurry! You must go Southwest!"

"Ok! I'm going!" With that, my journey began as quickly as my life in the Butterfly Mansion ended. Little did I know, my war with the demons would begin here as well with me at the center.