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It's been 3 days since mitsuri has been promoted to hashira, it hasn't been too bad so far, she sometimes struggles to find her way around the Ubuyashiki mansion, luckly for her Obanai has been nice enough to guide her and show her around. But now its time to start her first mission. Urara, her crow, flies in landing on the bamboo she just split in half.
"New mission from the master"
Mitsuri is immediately intrigued and has her full attention on the crow.
"A demon has attacked a small village in the Hakugamine mountains, a team of slayers was sent to eliminate the demon but haven't reported back in days. You are asked to go and kill the demon at any and all costs"
Mitsuri places a hand to her mouth in shock.
"Oh no, what demon could possibly take down an entire team of slayers?" she wonders, mainly to herself.
"Well let's leave right away and save that village as soon as we can"
Her spirits pick up slightly at the thought of saving innocent people.
Before long the new hashira was speeding away, so fast regular people would hardly be able to see her. After a short while she reached the Hakugamine mountains and from there she had to follow Urara to the village as she was not familiar with this area or this terrain at all. She finally reached the village but unfortunately by now it had just gone midday and no sane demon would show themselves in the light at all, so she would have to wait until nightfall to actually start her mission. Mitsuri wonders around the village for a bit wondering what to fill the next few hours with, after a bit of thinking she decides to roam around the outskirts of the village where all the caves are to see if she can find any clues about the demon or the missing slayers.
After walking for what feels like hours, she finally stumbles upon a cave. Not very big only about 3m across and 4m up, but nothing will happen if she stays out here, mitsuri confidently enters the cave and and a few bats fly out in shock of someone entering their home, but when they clear her vision mitsuri is awe of the beauty hidden away from the world. Stalactites look down to the hashira daring her to walk beneath them, ancient moss in the crevices covering any light that might illuminate the cave. In the background the small drip, drip, drip of a water source can be heard, although she may be in the cold harsh mountains somehow water is still present, although not in copious amounts it's still there waiting for something to disturb the peace.
After a little bit of investigating, or just sitting enjoying the peace, it finally is starting to hey dark and mitsuri leaves the heaven like cave to search for the demon and the slayers. The moment mitsuri leaves the cave she's slammed into the side of the mountain and left stunned for half a second. Mitsuri coughs as a spray of powdered snow falls over her, the cold stinging against her cheeks. She blinks through the haze to see a tall figure emerging from the drifting snow. Its skin is the color of frostbitten flesh, and its mouth stretches unnaturally wide in a grin far too sharp for a human face. Icy steam coils from its hands, the air around them shimmering with unnatural cold.
“Well well" the demon’s voice is like cracking ice, “another warm little lamb sent to slaughter.” Mitsuri pushes herself up, planting her feet firmly in the snow. "I’m not here to be slaughtered,” she says, her breath puffing in the freezing air. Her hand tightens around her sword hilt. “I’m here to stop you." The demon laughs, and the sound echoes unnaturally in the mountains. “You think you can stop me? My Blood Demon Art freezes even the blood in your veins. The last slayers here died shivering before they could lift their swords." This angers Mitsuri greatly, how dare he talk about slayers as if they're worthless! But before she can respond the ground beneath her erupts in jagged spears of ice. She leaps sideways, barely avoiding one that explodes upward where she stood, shattering against the cliff face. The shockwave sends shards of ice and waves of snow tumbling down.“Love Breathing, Second Form: Love Pangs!" Mitsuri whips her blade in a spiraling slash, slicing through an incoming wall of razor-sharp ice shards. They scatter like broken glass in the wind, glittering briefly before vanishing into the snow.
The demon’s grin widens. With a single flick of it's hand the air fills with dozens of spinning ice discs each one whistling as it flies toward her. Mitsuri darts through them, her movements so fast they blur, hair whipping wildly behind her. “You move well,” the demon says, voice almost admiring. “But the cold slows everyone eventually.”Mitsuri’s fingers are already numb, but her determination burns hotter than the freezing wind. She narrows her eyes. “Then I’ll just have to end this before you can slow me down.” The demon roars, sending a blizzard’s worth of snow and ice surging forward. Mitsuri charges straight into it, her blade flashing in arcs of silver and pink.“Love Breathing, Fifth Form: Swaying Love, Wildclaw!” Her blade bends and dances through the storm, each strike cutting through the ice like paper. She bursts through the flurry and closes the gap in a heartbeat, slashing deep across the demon’s chest. Black blood sprays into the snow staining it like a poisoned heart, sizzling where it lands.
The demon staggers but snarls, ice forming again at its fingertips. “Not… enough.” Mitsuri’s heart begins to hammer in her chest. She pivots, hair fanning out behind her. “Love Breathing, Final Form: Catlove Shower!” She unleashes a whirlwind of relentless, overlapping strikes, her sword carving arcs of pink light through the air. The demon is engulfes it's ice defenses shattering with every blow until, finally, her blade cleaves clean through its neck. The head tumbles into the snow, steam rising from the body as it crumbles.
Mitsuri breathes heavily, cheeks flushed against the cold. She lowers her sword and closes her eyes for a moment, feeling the wind ease around her. The snow falls softly now, the only sound her steady breathing. Opening her eyes, she glances toward the dark treeline. “The villagers are safe now,” she whispers to herself, a small smile tugging at her lips before she turns back toward the path down the mountain. Although a deep pang of sadness remains at the bottom of her heart for all the lost demon slayers who will never get a proper burial, but she heads back to the mansion with her head held high knowing she has done right by them and avenged their untimely deaths.