The snow continued to fall.
It drifted downward in slow, unhurried patterns, soft and delicate. The sky was a pale, unbroken sheet of gray, neither storm-dark nor bright, simply present.
Akuru stood still for a moment. Snow gathered on his shoulders, clung to the edge of his haori, and threaded itself into his hair without asking permission. He did not brush it away. He enjoyed the quiet fall of snow.
He looked up into the thick branches that grew like roots across the cloudy sky. Every leaf looked like it had been painted with snow, and every single arm stood still in the calm fall of snowflakes. All of it rested on the warm brown trunks that were wider than two of him. They were all lined up to the side of him; it looked like he was standing inside some unnaturally tall corridor.
He breathed in the scenery.
Snow and nature was always calming to him; he definitely preferred the cold more than anything else. His appreciation for the cold started when he was younger, and his love for snow came from the last few memories he had with his father.
His mind and body started to wander in the snow.
He had heard news days ago, passed in murmurs between slayers he met in missions. When he first heard it, it sounded rather exaggerated.
But it was true.
The most recent Final Selection had ended with every single participant alive.
Not a single life lost.
The thought returned to him now, unbidden, as persistent as the snow itself. Akuru exhaled slowly, watching the white cloud of his breath dissolve into the air.
Final selections were merciless. He knew. Even his best attempt at saving as many lives as possible still led to people passing away. Heck, his selection exam had him and Kanae, and they still couldn't keep everyone alive. This final selection was during winter as well. If demons didn't get you, the wait till night with barely any food would. Akuru had been hungry out of his mind one of the nights, and that was in spring; trying to imagine people hunting for food in winter was hard.
And yet.
All of them had lived.
Akuru felt something warm stir beneath the layers of wool.
Pride.
Not personal pride, but pride in the Corps itself. The people who staked their lives for others fighting horrors beyond most people's comprehension were getting stronger.
It meant the new generation was ready.
It meant they were ready.
Akuru had fought alongside enough slayers to know how thin the line could be. One more blade at the right moment could mean the difference between a long night and the last one. One extra slayer could very much help anchor humanities attack against demons.
He found himself imagining them without meaning to. Faces still unformed in his mind, but movements clearer, determined steps, cautious grips on new swords, eyes still learning how to read the dark. He imagined them standing at the end of the selection, battered and shaking, realizing together that they had made it.
The image made his chest ache in a way he welcomed.
"We're getting closer," he murmured quietly, though there was no one nearby to hear him.
Just then, a sharp flutter of wings cut through the stillness.
Huginn landed on a snow-laden root that escaped the ground, scattering flakes in a brief cascade. The crow shook himself once, feathers settling back into place with practiced ease.
Huginn tilted his head at him, confused.
Akuru smiled faintly, "Just thinking."
Huginn gave a loud caw in understanding. The crow had been flying around constantly as the corps took the recent news. Huginn had been forced to fly around due the situation. His wings definitely knew how much people had been thinking about what had happened.
Akuru walked over to Huginn as the snow was crushed under his feet. He gently petted the crow's obsidian feathers. He could never help himself; Huginn was just that adorable. With a gentle smile, Akuru spoke up.
"I'm guessing you have a new mission for me, Huginn."
"Yes!"
Akuru straightened as Huginn suddenly launched into the sky, wings snapping open with a rush of cold air. Snow scattered where the crow had been perched.
"North!" Huginn cried, voice harsh and cutting, "Mountains!"
Akuru's hand brushed off the extra snow of his body, "North," he echoed, already turning his body in that direction.
Huginn circled once overhead, "Ice. Storm."
"An ice storm?" Akuru murmured. That didn't seem to be out of the ordinary during this time of the year.
Huginn screamed again, sharper this time, "Wrong. Wrong."
Akuru frowned. Was the weather bad? He followed as Huginn swept forward, black wings slicing through the falling snow.
"Village," Huginn called. "Frozen!"
Akuru's breath fogged thick in his chest, "A demon, huh?"
Huginn did not answer that directly. He only cried out again, louder now, "Go! Now!"
"Another day without pause," Akuru said under his breath.
The crow banked hard in the air, feathers rattling, "Not alone," Huginn shrieked.
Akuru looked up into the falling snow at Huginn. Was the demon not alone? No, Huginn wouldn't know, meaning, "I'm not alone?"
Huginn rose higher, voice breaking through the wind, "Three. New."
Akuru stopped fully now in surprise, "Three rookies?"
The crow wheeled back toward him, landing on his shoulder, briefly nodding, and taking a quick snack from Akuru's hands before taking off again.
Akuru felt it then, a sudden warmth that had nothing to do with the cold.
"That's incredible," he said quietly, then caught himself and looked away, "I mean. That's good."
Akuru swallowed. He had been the senior in rank in every single mission he had completed up till now, but that type of seniority didn't really make Akuru feel any type of way. He had always known he was stronger than most people, and that type of thinking led him to not really care about rank. But to lead rookies, that was a new feeling that he hasn't had the chance to feel yet. He was oddly excited.
Huginn flew on, calling directions in broken sounds and sharp warnings.
Akuru ran.
At first, it was a steady pace, measured and economical, getting used to the way his feet struck the snow. His footsteps landed quietly, with deliberate rhythm. The snow beneath his steps was compressed from fresh powder into darker impressions that were quickly softened again by the falling flakes. Each breath filled his lungs with cold so clean it almost stung, the air sharp enough to keep his mind clear as Huginn flew ahead, a dark silhouette against the pale sky.
Snow blurred the edges of the world. Trees rose like silent sentinels, and blurred into a single wall as he ran faster and faster. Akuru moved between them with practiced ease, his body adjusting instinctively to uneven ground hidden beneath the snow. Roots, stones, frozen streams, all of it lay concealed, but his stride never truly faltered. He had learned long ago how to trust the ground even when he couldn't see it beneath the snow.
Akuru followed Huginn without question. Trying his best to stray away from complete wilderness, finding any path that had at least a semblance of human activity.
Hours passed like this, the day dimming almost imperceptibly as clouds thickened overhead. When dusk came, it did not announce itself with color, only with a subtle deepening of gray. Akuru did not stop. He ate sparingly while moving, out of habit rather than hunger, and drank melted snow that looked clean after it was warmed slightly against his body. Akuru could run for hours without pause, a benefit he had gained after honing his body for years.
Though eventually night finally pressed down fully, travelling in the completely dark night that hid all forms of moonlight was impossible. He found a small opening in a rock face that shielded against the wind and quickly got ready to rest. Trying to light a flame now was difficult but not impossible; eventually, he got it to ignite after a few minutes. He pulled Huginn inside his clothes, letting him peek his head out from his collar. Both of them stared at the flame until the wind eventually peeled from the corner of the rock and extinguished it. But by then, both of them had gotten sleepy enough that the cold couldn't keep them awake.
By the second day, the land began to rise.
The trees thinned, trunks growing shorter and more twisted, their bark split by ice and age. Wind became a constant companion, threading through Akuru's clothes, slipping beneath layers, and testing his resolve. He adjusted his breathing, shortened his stride, conserving strength. The mountains Huginn had spoken of loomed somewhere ahead, unseen but felt in the way the ground slanted upward and the air grew thinner.
There was a profound loneliness to the landscape. Snowfields spread wide and unbroken, untouched by footprints but his own. Frozen rivers lay trapped beneath thick ice, their currents silent, as if the world itself had paused to listen. Sometimes Akuru would stop, just for a moment, and let the stillness wash over him. No demons stirred. No humans cried out. Even animals were scarce, hiding from the unforgiving cold.
His second night was spent beneath a sky he could barely see, guided by Huginn's calls and the faint light of snow reflecting what little brightness the sky offered. Wilderness stretched endlessly in every direction under the charcoal sky.
He slept briefly when he could, mostly beneath dense clusters of pine, Huginn stood watch nearby. One rest he fell into deep sleep. His dreams were light and fleeting, more flashes of past memories than stories. Broken blades. Burning up under a blanket. Blue skies that took up everything he saw.
He woke up with a gasp. His breathing came out wrong for a few seconds, and the cold air made it feel like he had plunged under a pool.
He took a deep breath, and did his best to forget what he just saw.
When he finally got his breathing in control, he fixed his posture and looked out to see the sun was yet to rise, and so all Akuru could do was stare at the dark wilderness with the only sound being the rustling of feathers.
"I'm alright Huginn," he whispered quietly as he stroked the concerned crows head that had flew towards him the moment he woke up. The whistle of wind sweeping through some crack in the rock nearby echoing right as he finished talking.
Huginn nestled in closer to his body for comfort, and for that Akuru was touched.
Silence filled the time between then till morning. By the time the sun rose, Akuru was back to normal, a bit tired but nonetheless ready to move.
So he began his journey once again. Doing his best to keep his mind fresh.
On the third day, fatigue began to settle deeper into his muscles. Combined with the cold, his body began to feel more dull than alert. Everything felt slower to him as the day continued on.
During a brief rest near a frozen ridge, he paused longer than usual. The wind was calmer here, shielded by jagged stone, and the snowfall had eased into a thin, drifting veil. Akuru knelt, setting his pack down carefully. He began stretching out the drowsiness that had built up in his body. As he clenched and flexed his muscles around his body to get some extra blood pumping, the familiar ache in the back of his palm drew his attention.
He clenched his fist further, out of curiosity for his rank.
For a moment, nothing seemed different. Then he felt it, a subtle but undeniable shift, like pressure settling into place. Akuru loosened his grip and looked down at the back of his palm.
The kanji was there.
Hinoe.
He stared at it in silence, snow collecting on his lashes as the realization settled slowly. There was no rush of disbelief, no sudden surge of triumph. Instead, a quiet certainty took root in his chest. Of course. That was the only thought that came to him. Not arrogance, but acceptance.
Akuru exhaled, a breath he had not realized he was holding.
"Well, would you look at that," he murmured softly.
He could allow himself a small indulgence, right? From his food supply, he took an extra dumpling, still firm despite the cold, and ate it slowly. The warmth of it spread through him, modest but comforting. It was enough of a celebration for him. When he had first been promoted and gotten the rank Hinoto, it had been a surprise to him then; it was the first time someone had trusted him with a title.
But now, now he had gotten used to it. He was already ready to keep moving up.
With some positive news to air out the negative vibes that he had built up last night, his steps on the snow were lighter now. The exhaustion that had started to creep in, disappeared.
He was ready to move.
He rose soon after loosening up a bit more and resting his feet; he tightened the straps of his pack and set off again without ceremony. The mountains continued to stretch before him.
As the days went on, subtle changes began to appear in the landscape.
At first, it was barely noticeable. A path, faint and half-buried beneath snow, curving between trees. The remains of an old fence post, gray and splintered. Akuru slowed slightly, his senses sharpening. Huginn flew around him more frequently now, less directionally and more urgently, as if the crow himself could feel the shift.
Human habitation was near.
The fourth day brought clearer signs. Stone markers half-sunk into drifts. A narrow road packed harder than the surrounding snow, shaped by repeated travel even if no one walked it now. Akuru followed it instinctively, his steps aligning with grooves carved by sleds and carts long gone.
The weather, too, began to change.
The snow fell thicker, heavier, clinging to his clothes and weighing down his hair. Wind rose in uneven gusts, cutting across open stretches with enough force to make him brace himself. It was not a full storm, not yet, but it carried an edge that unsettled him. The cold felt sharper here, more invasive, as though something beneath the surface was wrong.
Huginn circled lower now, his cries carrying a different tone.
"Near!" he called. "Near!"
Akuru nodded, though his eyes never stopped scanning the horizon. Shapes began to emerge through the snowfall. Low rooftops, barely visible, their outlines softened by layers of white. Chimneys stood silent, no smoke rising to greet the sky. The town lay ahead like something frozen mid-breath.
As Akuru approached, the unnatural quiet became impossible to ignore. Snow muffled sound, yes, but this was deeper than that. No dogs barked. No doors creaked. Even the wind seemed to hesitate as it moved between buildings.
He had gotten used to silence in winter. He had gotten used to the silence in the journey here. The absence of sounds wasn't the same. This quiet was unnatural. The unheard noise was a felt pressure that seemed to seep through the town, it was the silence before the storm. Akuru could feel it, this mission was going to get loud.
He just hoped it was the weather that kept everything indoors. He didn't want to imagine the alternative.
The weather worsened as he crossed into the outskirts. Snowfall thickened into a relentless curtain, and the wind began to coil through streets and alleys, tugging at loose boards and rattling shutters that should have been closed. Ice clung to eaves and windows, delicate and dangerous in equal measure.
Akuru moved carefully now, every sense alert. He could feel it beneath his skin, the tension that preceded violence.
Huginn swooped down, landing briefly on a signpost crusted with frost.
"Teammate, wait!" the crow called.
Akuru paused, absorbing the words. His teammates were here. The rookies. He straightened, adjusting his grip on his sword, grounding himself. He wanted a good first impression, whatever awaited them in this town, they would face it together, so why not set himself up to look dependable.
Snow continued to fall, thick and unyielding, as Akuru stepped deeper into the frozen streets, ready to meet the others and whatever darkness had claimed this place.
He exhaled, steadying himself.
Then.
He saw them.
Three figures stood near the center of the main road. They all stood under a small shed that had no walls, it kept the worst of the weather out but he could see that they were partially dusted with snow. All three of them were turning slowly as if trying to take everything in at once. They didn't huddle or rush. They simply observed.
One stood awkwardly doing his best to showcase a front calm. He was slightly tall for his age, shorter than him but it was close. Dark blue-black hair framed his face in uneven strands, falling just short of his eyes. His posture straight as possible, unnaturally so, which let Akuru know he was nervous. The haori he wore was a plain and undecorated, a deep maroon that blended that stood out in the winter background, it hanged a little too large on his narrow frame. But his square shoulders made up for it, not once did he shiver or let his eyes droop once even despite the cold weather.
Another moved with restless energy, shifting weight from foot to foot. His hair was a vivid, warm red perhaps even a hint of pink, untamed and spiked in every direction as if it refused to obey even the cold. A scar ran through the right side of his cheek to his mouth, standing out against skin flushed from excitement rather than chill. His haori plain white, which let his eyes slip to bright yellow and green patterned shirt underneath, the fabric swaying as he hopped around. There was something infectious in the brightness of his eyes, a mixture of awe and anticipation that made it clear he was taking in everything at once. The other two huddled close to him, so he was most likely the de facto leader of the three.
The third lingered slightly behind the others, head tilted, expression soft with wonder rather than alarm. Her black hair fell to her shoulders, spiking outward at the ends, dusted with snow that clung to it without complaint. Short micro bangs rested neatly across her forehead, framing her face. She wore a red yukata patterned with small pink and white flowers, while a paler brown piece of fabric was tied securely around her waist. She looked the most curious out of the the three, her cyan eyes reflect excitement even with the snow raging around her.
They did not notice Akuru yet.
He watched them for a moment, something quiet and certain settling into his chest.
The storm loomed.
But so did the future.
He was excited to lead these rookies.