Breath Of The Flower

"May the light guide your unfortunate souls...", a figure in clad white could be seen in a clearing, the trees wrapped around the area like a prison and at the feet of the boy were piles of dying demons, they were crying and whimpering as their bodies faded into dust. Not a speck of blood or dirt could be seen on his pale flawless face, and his eyes remained closed.

The rustling of a bush caught his attention, his face snapped to that area and he frowned slightly.

"You... you monster!", a demon screamed, it turned and ran into the dense forest.

Enmei's frown deepened and with a flick of his katana he placed it back in the scabbard.

"That's awfully rude", he muttered running towards the sound of leaves crunching.

Upon nearing the demon, he heard a familiar sound,

"Breath of the Insect, Second form: Dance of the Butterflies: Frolic", blood sprouted from multiple places on the demon.

"You- you still haven't killed me!", It screeched at her. But Shinobu smiled at the demon,

"Yet-", she replied, revealing a vial of poison.

"Wha-Ah- arghhhhhhhhh", it started screaming, falling onto the ground it shrivelled up in pain.

"You seem against this", Shinobu said turning towards Enmei.

"A quicker death would be better..", he answered.

"But I lack the arm strength to deliver the blow"

"It's too risky coating your katana with poison"

"Maybe I'll customise a new katana when I get mine"

"Just... watch out"

The conversation ended there as they quickly ran opposite ways.

The morning sun lit up the orchard of wisteria, providing a beautiful sight. Only Shinobu and Enmei were left.

""Welcome back"", the twins greeted them.

"First, we shall issue you all uniforms. We will take your measurements, after which your rank will be engraved"

"There are ten ranks in all..."

"Kinoe"

"Kinoto"

"Hinoe"

"Hinoto"

"Tsuchinoe"

"Kanoe"

"Kanoto"

"Mizunoe"

"and Mizunoto"

"Currently, you are at the lowest rank, Mizunoto"

"Today, we will let you choose the ore for your swords, however, the swords will take ten to fifteen days to complete"

"But first" she clapped and three pure black crows came swooping in.

"We will now assign each of you your own Kasugai Crow"

"These Kasugai Crows can be used primarily for communication"

Hinaki then continued after the three slayers settled in with their birds, she lifted a piece of cloth off the table, revealing an assortment of various rocks,

"Now then, please select an ore"

"The steel for the sword that will annihilate demons and protect you will be of your own choosing"

It felt awkward to Enmei because he knew the two girls, they acted very formal even though both of them knew of all the information given, after all this is the standard procedure. He walked up to the table and tapped each one, he then chose the one producing the densest sound. Shinobu picked the lightest one. After waiting for the cleanup brigade to pack up they made their way home. Enmei followed his two nieces home.

—-

"Welcome back", Kagaya greeted Enmei with a forced smile.

"I'm bac- what happened?" He asked noticing Kagaya's weird behaviour.

"I'm afraid Yuna-san has passed away"

"A demon killed her?" Enmei mumbled, his face paled. To Enmei, Yuna seemed to be the strongest person ever, she had taught him since young, she treated him nicely she was like a mother. The same feeling enveloped him when his father died.

"What about Kanae? Is she alright?"

"Yes she thankfully survived thanks to Yuna-san and will be inheriting her position as the flower pillar".

They sat in silence, Kagaya continued working through his paperwork while Enmei digested the sudden information. A knock broke the silence and a middle aged man appeared at the door.

"Oyakata-sama, Enmei-sama", he addressed them with a hint of reverence and guilt in his tone, "I would like to step down from being the Snow Pillar and focus on raising my two children", he bowed deeply. The death of Yuna made him realise the importance of family.

"The decision is made, I wish you the best in your future endeavours, and please send my regards to Anko-san, Yui-chan and Nozomi-Chan". Kagaya bowed at the man and Enmei followed.

"Now that we have another empty seat, I wonder who we should make as a pillar", Kagaya pondered.

"How about Tengen Uzui-san?" Enmei suggested.

"Maybe... That seems to be a good choice". Kagaya agreed, he quickly flicked through the paper work and found the suitable data, he took out some paper and wrote down, 'Tengen Uzui, Sound Pillar', and summoned all the other pillars for a meeting.

—-

A man wearing a strange mask made his way to the Ubuyashiki manor. Enmei welcomed him into the house and led him to the front porch. He seemed to be overwhelmed as he was shaking,

"..I didn't think he was the second young master..." he muttered to himself.

Nonetheless, he sat down opposite to Enmei and handed him a long katana. Kagaya seemed to be interested as he was sitting down next the the masked man, who introduced himself as Reisaki. They all excitingly watched Enmei draw out his katana.

Enemy drew out his sword and admired the strong metallic sound it made. Gasps escaped the viewers when they saw the colours change.

"..purple..", Kagaya whispered.

It was a deep violet coloured sword, similar to a wisteria. A noble colour, indicating wisdom, devotion, peace and mystery. A colour suited for Enmei.