Mei Hoshino grips the smooth, sweat-slick handle of her plain training sword and edges backward as moonlight cuts through the wisteria branches above the clearing. Beside her, Tanjiro Kamado steadies his breathing, eyes flicking toward the distant shriek echoing through the trees. The other candidates have already scattered into the shadowed forest, desperate to find cover or safety, but Mei stays next to Tanjiro as the sound of dragging claws grows nearer. Leaves shiver in the chill air, and a faint, iron smell rides on the wind. Mei’s heart hammers; Thorn Breathing patterns flicker in her mind, each step drilled until her legs ache. Tanjiro whispers,
“We should move, if we freeze, we’ll be caught like the others.”
Mei nods, jaw clenched, and forces her feet forward off the well-lit path into dense undergrowth. Branches snag her sleeve, and the mountain’s darkness seems to close in all at once. A heavy shadow looms between two cedars, and Mei’s pulse spikes as she braces, sword in both hands, ready for her first real demon. Distant, someone screams. A new night on Mount Fujikasane has begun.