About two years passed since I joined the Corps with my missions getting progressively tougher as time went on. In those years, I faced many fights and regularly was attacked by demons sent by Kizan Kibutsuji. For some reason, he wanted me to be captured. I'm not sure for what reason, but it soon came into he just wanted me dead to have one of his more recent attacks sending five demons my way that were almost high enough to be one of the 12 Kizuki. Luckily for me, I was doing a mission with Shinobu at the time for it to be harder for them. While I was dealing with one though, she was able to take out the other four to show my lack of skill. It was a little frustrating, but I couldn't complain.

There was also some good things that happened. Thanks to the demons I ended, I was able to jump up the ranks to now be a Tsuchinoto. I also made friends with Kyojuro. He may have been an acquaintance before, but a profound respect between us formed after his father Uhh....almost killed me. During a time I was recovering at the Butterfly Estate, former Hashira Shinjuro Rengoku came to a Hashira meeting and got drunk after. From what I was told, he had a bad habit of drinking on the job and confused me for a demon. As such, he attacked me with a Nichirine sword and left a scar over my chest. Shinobu came shortly after with Shinjuro realizing he attacked a member. Knowing things would be worse for him, I lied about what happened and said we were training for things to get out of hand. I'm pretty sure Shinobu didn't believe me, but accepted it knowing I didn't want anyone to get into trouble. Few days after, Kyojuro came to explain his father willingly stepped down from being a swordsman after what I did and apologized on his father's behalf. To be honest though, I think Kyojuro spoke more for himself than his father, but I'm not judging right now. Since then, we'd regularly have training practices together when we could to make me feel a little happy I have a good friend that pushes me to do better. Even when I lose our sparing matches, I just wanna do better to stand on the same mantle as him.

Right now, I was standing outside of the Aokigahara forest under Mt. Fuji. "So this is Mt. Fuji? Looks bigger in pictures." I stared at the mountain to turn towards Karasu flying beside me. "Karasu. Can you tell me a little about Aokigahara and why a demon would hide here?"

"Certainly. Aokigahara or the Suicide Forest as it is more commonly known, is a forest that for some reason many people come to commit suicide. Many theorize what the reason is why this spot in general with most believing it has something to do with the electromagnetic pressure that brings those willing to commit the act here. As such, the rangers of the park put up signs everywhere trying to deter people from doing so. Along with this, the forest is very dense and hard to maneuver if you do not follow the tape."

"So that basically means this is an easy feeding ground for demons, but has anyone actually seen one here?"

"About two months ago, there had been a disappearance of a man who worked as a ranger. The incident was strange since the only remaining parts of him showed that he was ripped to shreds by something that resembled hooks. As such, we had dispatched Demon Slayers to this area with none of the two dozen sent in coming out alive to report. It is safe to assume that they are dead, but their Kasugai crows had told us that there had been notable spottings of different demons."

I thought about this as Karasu spoke about what he did. "So there's a high chance we're walking into a nest of demons."

"It is far more dangerous than that." I looked up at him as he explained. "A few of those sent in were of high rank, almost below a Hashira. This would imply that a very powerful demon had to dispose of them. It is safe to assume that this demon is a member of the 12 Kizuki. You must not let your guard down in here and whatever you do, do not allow yourself to be caught. As you already know, Muzan Kibutsuji wishes to take you for some reason that we have yet to determine. Be cautious as this could be yet another trap he has devised for you."

I held my Nichirin swords close to me before taking a deep breath. "Let him." Taking a few steps forward, I stopped to speak to Karasu. "For now, stay out here. If I don't make it out by the time the sun is fully in the sky, send a request for backup and a retrieval team to the Corps, ok?"

"Understood. But please be careful out there." I nodded as I began walking into the forest.

Upon entering, I noticed a sign that spoke of caution about suicide. 'Life is a precious thing given to us by our parents. One more time, let's calmly think about our parents, siblings and children. Don't be troubled by yourself, please confide into someone.' From what it sounded like, the people that did were notably messed up in the head before coming here. "Kinda a bad thing to tell me of all people if I was to kill myself here. I wonder if willingly going into a nest of demons would be deemed suicidal though?" I thought about this as I continued in. "Considering most of the victims were most likely committing suicide, it's probably best to head off the path markers to find the demons." I pulled the rope over my head and began walking towards the open area.

As I traveled the forest, there was an unsettling silence around me as if nothing in the world was responding. It felt creepy and almost to the point I wanted to walk away. Fortunately for me, I was able to keep my cool to keep walking. "Hello?" I spoke up trying to break the silence. "Is anyone still alive out here?" I couldn't hear anything as I tried to find some of the other Demon Slayers that were sent here. "If anyone is still alive, please tell me so I can help." I was met again with silence for this to unnerve me. "Just how many Corps members died here before it was registered to investigate?"

"Would you like to find out? *giggle*" I heard someone speak up to grip my blades. "Who's there?" I kept hearing whispers around for nobody to show themselves. "Step out so I can see you!"

"But I'm already able to be seen." I looked up where the voice was coming from to see a woman in a kunoichi outfit sitting on a tree with chains all around her. The most notable thing about her though was her one eye holding the words 'Lower Five' on them.

"You're one of the 12 Kizuki, aren't you?"

"Well, yes. And you're a new Demon Slayer I'll have the privilege of ripping their organs out and draping over a tree. That is, if you survive to reach me."

"What are you talking about?"

The demon began to giggle as she explained. "In this forest, there are several demons ready to help me. In exchange, I offer them food and power. A fair trade if you ask me."

"Well it ends here. I'm going to end you and bring at least some order back to this forest." I pulled my Nichirin swords out with the demon now on the verge of laughing hysterically.

"Do you honestly think you can restore order to this place. Take a look at the signs outside and tell me if there is any order. People come here to die. If that's the case, we're just simply helping those that want to disappear from the world. Some even helping end their lives. Accept it. No matter how hard you try, you won't be able to restore anything in this forest. People will still die and you'll be joining that death total here, just like the other Demon Slayers before you." The demon disappeared for a moment with the strange sense of danger coming behind me to turn and see a hook coming near me. I blocked it and tried to determine where the demon's attack came from. "But if you're so insistent on trying to kill me, then try it if you dare." I heard her voice right next to my ear to slash towards it and have the demon jump back.

'I didn't even know she was there. This demon's not only strong from what I can tell, but also quiet. So this is one of the 12 Kizuki.' I glanced at the demon with my eyes to see a thick sludge of human souls tied to the demon reaching their hands out to ask for my help. 'Far too many died at her hands. I need to do something about this.'

"I'll be heading into the forest. If you want to find me, reach the base of Mt. Fuji. There, you'll find a cave I made as my home. Farewell, Demon Slayer. I hope you'll put up more of a fight than the others before you." The demon disappeared as fast as she came to give me an incentive to try and chase after.

"The base of the mountain is where she is, huh? Is...is she that confident I can't kill her?" I couldn't help but think what was going on before shaking my head. "Focus on the task at hand. Get to the base, slay the demon, and leave. That's all you should focus on."

"Funny, coming from a dead man!" A demon came out of nowhere for me to dodge them and slice their head off with a single slash.

"That demon wasn't that strong. Was there some reason why?"

"Smart of you to tell. Too bad you're dead meat!" Another demon came at me for it to force me to dodge by jumping backwards. "There's a status quote here. The weaker and newer demons are near the front of the forest, while the stronger are deeper in towards the back. Not that it'll do you any good as you're gonna die here!" It came at me again for me to use Curse Breathing's Third Form to slice it's neck and kill the demon.

"So the only demon's I'll face here are fodder demons basically. The deeper I'll go, the stronger the demons I'll face will be. I've got no choice, I'll have to make a B-line to the mountain and kill any demon that crosses me." I began running towards the mountain with more demons coming towards me. I made quick work of them with the amount of skill needed to take them out as I kept going was getting more nd more. Fortunately for me, I was able to take these out with no effort before getting to about a midway point between the entrance and the mountain. I sat down and tried to calm down and focus a little better.

I leaned back and took a moment to catch my breath. As I did, my mind started to remember some of my past and an old dance that I saw from my mother in my mind. One that seemed strange to me since we did it in the middle of the winter. My mind was so caught up in it that I couldn't hear the demon that came towards me to just barely sense it's presence before it went and crushed my head. I jumped away with it smiling at me. "You're fast. Not bad for a brat."

I took a deep breath and used Total Concentration. "Cursed Breathing, 7th Form: God's Judgement!" I was able to slice into the demon's neck. However, he was able to push the blade downwards with brute strength before laughing at me.

"Did you honestly think that would work-" It stopped mid sentence before having it's own head fall off. "What!? I pushed the blade away from my spine before it could decapitate me! HOW THE HELL DID YOU DO THIS!?"

"7th Form: God's Judgement doesn't work the same way as some of my others. Thanks to it, I'm able to slice a demon's neck off if I'm only an inch off. In short, you lost before you could deflect my attack."

"YOU BASTARD!" The demon disappeared with it giving me a bit of a breather.

"I need to head to the mountain's foot now." I continued to head towards the direction with hopes to take out the demon quickly and get out of the area as soon as possible.

As Izuku began his fight, Ubuyashiki had taken actions in response to his most recent reports of Mt. Fuji. "Thank you both for coming. It has come to my attention that the matter at Mt. Fuji has taken far too many of our Demon Slayers and would require Hashira level help. Being the most recent to join our ranks, I hope you two are aware that I had only requested you since you are both between missions and are on standby." In front of him, two people wearing white haoris over the Demon Slayer uniform. The first was a small slender man with dark hair, a face covering for his mouth and a snake around his neck. The more notable thing about him was his heterochromia eyes that resembled a snakes. The second was a rather developed woman that held uniquely pink hair with the ends being green. Her uniform was a slight variant that helped emphasize her features.

"It is no trouble at all, master. We only hope that you are doing well right now." The man spoke with Ubuyashiki smiling at them.

"Iguro. Mitsuri. Inside the forest, there is a boy named Izuku Midoriya. Though he does not seem like much, he has proven time and time again in the two years he's been in the Corps that he is determined to our cause. If at all possible, I'd like you to keep him safe if you can."

"Yes, sir. But what does he look like?" One of the children beside Ubuyashiki passed a picture to the two to show Izuku sitting beside their master enjoying a snack that was taken about a few months back. 'Oh my gosh, HE'S ADORABLE!' Mitsuri thought to herself as Iguro stared at it blankly.

"....Why is this...child, so important?"

"You will know when you see him, Iguro." Both understood to bow before leaving for Mt. Fuji. "I do not know what you are doing on Mt. Fuji at this moment, but please stay strong Izuku. Shinobu and Kyojuro would feel terrible heartache if you were to leave us."

And that finishes this chapter. See what happens next time with Izuku facing a Lower Rank. Hope you all enjoyed and thanks for reading.