^ Chapter 41 - Calm before the Storm ^
"Come on my boy, you're keeping everyone waiting out here!" Kyōjurō said with a laugh while waiting on the Corps' newly named Hashira to come out from Shinobu's room.
He was joined by Nezuko, an overly anxious Mitsuri, as well as Shinobu and the rest of Tanjirō's friends. Zenitsu was too busy ogling Nezuko to really pay too much attention about the wait on his friend, it being a nasty habit that he's fallen prey to even more now that Nezuko no longer had her mouth piece and could walk outside and be with them. Inosuke was huffing under his mask with his arms crossed, but underneath it he was actually both jealous as hell and amazed.
He had known for a long time that his friend was incredibly special and talented, which had made him all the more amped up to train and try to match him because he saw themselves as rivals still. This was noticed by Kyōjurō and the other Hashira present there, which renewed their hope in the next generation of slayers they were supporting. Keeping good on his promise, now that Tanjirō had fully ascended the ladder to reach the top, the Flame Hashira had made both Zenitsu and Inosuke his new students and had already started training their hearts out.
Using the same techniques that his father had learned from his father and so forth, he had beaten the two young slayers down with how rigorous his exercises were. As soon as that had occurred though, he was right there by their side, picking them back up and building them to let them reach new and greater heights.
Finally the door unlocked and out stepped Tanjirō, a brilliant smile shining on his face as he rested a hand on the hilt of his new sword. In becoming a Hashira, he was allowed to specially request the Kakushi to tailor him a new uniform if he wanted and a new haori, one unique only to him, if he so wished. Encouraged by Shinobu and Kyōjurō, he had taken them up on their offer and now stood before his friends in the fruits of their labor. Wearing a now paler red version of the standard Demon Slayer uniform, complete with a white belt around his waist, the differences from his original uniform started with his new white tabi socks that had red flames erupting from the bottom-up, and white zōri with red straps.
Replacing his iconic checkered haori was a new one made with pieces of the old one, where the sleeves up to the shoulder were that of the original with its green checkered design, and the rest was white with red flame-like ridges exactly like Kyōjurō's haori.
"Haha! I can see you took some inspiration from me, my boy!" Kyōjurō said with a laugh as he clapped a hand on Tanjirō's shoulder and gave him a thumbs up, grinning ear to ear. "It's a pass from me, hmn! Befitting of the Blaze Dance Hashira!"
"Whooooa! You look so cool, Tanjirō-kun~! You're even cooler than you were before, with the horns and everything!" squealed Mitsuri while jumping up and down excitedly.
"There's one other thing that you guys don't see yet either, actually. One is here…" Tanjirō remarked as he turned around to show them his back and pointed with a thumb over his shoulder. There emblazoned in the center of his haori above the flames was the same character that was engraved in his sword, replacing the typical character each uniform had.
"To think I'd see the same person ridiculed by almost all the Hashira raise themselves up to become one of them…" Shinobu murmured as she approached Tanjirō and hugged him happily when he turned back around.
He blushed at the feeling of her chest pressing against his, but he pushed that aside to smile and hug her back with a feeling of joy radiating throughout his whole body. That tender moment was short lived when he saw Zenitsu ogling his sister and he reacted by quickly bonking the end of his sword right onto his friend's skull, knocking him flat on his ass and immediately creating a typical Zenitsu angry tantrum.
Tanjirō had none of it and barked back at Zenitsu for acting that way around his sister, the two friends and their bickering making everyone else around them, including Nezuko, laugh at them. Deep down behind the light-hearted and jovial exterior they all displayed, everyone knew that moments like these were going to become rare over the next few days or weeks.
At the conclusion of the Hashira meeting earlier that day, Amane had proclaimed that everyone who had manifested a mark like Tanjirō's had to participate in training with no exceptions. She also ordered on behalf of her husband that regardless of what kind of regimen the Hashira came up with, each of them had to participate in the training the others organized.
For whatever reason this was met with a cold rejection by Giyū, who despite being threatened by an angry Sanemi, flatly stated he just wasn't like them before attempting to leave. His personality confused a lot of the Hashira there, and it took a resounding clap and a firm statement from the usually gentle giant Gyōmei to convince him to stay.
Afterwards, with their plan ready to put into place the following day after preparations were completed, Tanjirō, Kyōjurō, Shinobu and Mitsuri all went together to give their respects to Tengen and his three widows. Zenitsu and Inosuke had come back around that time as well, and they were deeply shaken by the news of the flamboyant Hashira's passing, since they had worked side by side with him to rescue his wives from the Red Light District and its ruler, the former Upper Moon Six.
What unsettled them even more than his untimely death was not the grieving of his three wives, but of the manner in which he had perished. When Shinobu was met with his body as she desperately tried to save him with Aoi's help, they encountered the same kind of black substance that they had seen before. Michael had instantly come to mind upon seeing it, and it worried them. Had Kyōjurō not actually killed the deranged priest? Or were there more of his kind out there lurking in the shadows?
They dared not think about it right now, because they had bigger issues to worry about. But because tomorrow was the first day of training, they were going to take as much of the time they had left to mentally prepare themselves and to relax as best as they could.
"Come on, Bonbitsu, we're going to get an early head start! I don't want to be lagging behind all the other chumps!" snorted Inosuke as he snagged Zenitsu by the back of his haori and sprinted off while he was still arguing with Tanjirō.
"Waaagh! Inosuke you dumbaaaass! I wasn't done yet!" he shouted while thrashing his arms left and right, until they eventually disappeared around the corner.
"Haha, I love their enthusiasm. I'm going to watch over them! Their spirit ignites my heart, hmn!" exclaimed Kyōjurō proudly. He gave Tanjirō another thumbs up and his former short-lived Tsuguko gave him a smile back as he held Shinobu close to him. "Perhaps spending some time together wouldn't be that bad of an idea, right? Blaze Dance Hashira?"
"H-Hey, what's that supposed to mean?! R-Rengoku-san! Rengoku-san!" cried out Tanjirō, flustered by his mentor's words, as the latter waved and was gone in a flash to chase after Inosuke and Zenitsu. "Guh...he doesn't have to say it outloud…"
"I'll leave you both alone then, hehe. Have a good time together Tanjirō-kun, Shinobu-san~!"
Mitsuri said farewell to both of them by giving Shinobu a tight hug and a bright smile, following up with the same thing to Tanjirō as well as a light, teasing kiss on his cheek that made his face turn as red as the flames on his haori. Shinobu giggled at his embarrassment as her friend skipped away, leaving just the two of them alone with the observant Nezuko.
Looking back and forth between the two of them, she puffed her cheeks out and grabbed both of their hands so that she could put them on top of her head. Tanjirō and Shinobu then laughed together as they rubbed Nezuko's hair as if she were a toddler, which she essentially was because of her still-recovering mental state. Unbeknownst to the trio, they were being watched by the shy gaze of a certain Insect Hashira's Tsugoku, her head barely peeking out around the corner of the adjacent hallway.
"Why am I acting like this...I've never been like this before. What kind of feeling is this even…? I...don't know…" thought Kanao to herself as she watched them silently, trying to make as little to no noise as possible.
A couple of seconds passed before she felt someone tap her on the back and nearly startle her to the point of giving away her position to who she was spying on. It was Aoi with a confused expression.
"Kanao-san? What're you doing peeking around the corner?" she asked, Kanao's ears turning red before she quickly shushed Aoi and took her back a few steps away from the corner. "E-Eh, Kanao-san?!"
"Ssh! I'm...um...I…" Kanao responded, with her words coming out jumbled and disorganized.
"You're...what?"
Kanao couldn't get the words to come out properly and she just lowered her gaze while blushing again, eventually just walking right past Aoi and leaving her standing there utterly confused. Having no real idea of what to do with herself, she kept on walking until she knew she was by herself
Only then did she take her head into her hands and blushed profusely with her heart practically beating out of her chance. Even when she was a Tsuguko, she had neither the strength nor will to tell a friend that she had been spying on Tanjirō and Shinobu. What was she going to do with herself?
As she struggled with coming to terms with learning to think and act for herself, and the emotions that came along with that decision, Tanjirō and Shinobu had led Nezuko into their room to let her take a nap and saw her off. Walking hand in hand as two Hashira in arms, they went outside to the Butterfly Mansion's front entrance and looked skyward.
"It looks like we have about half the day left...what should we do, Shinobu?" asked Tanjirō with a slight squeeze around Shinobu's hand.
"I want to go on a walk with you, Tanjirō...It's been a while since you and I last talked with one another alone too. So…" Shinobu replied with a tiny blush as she then gently pressed herself against his arm and looked into his eyes once he brought his gaze down from the touch. "Could we do that please?"
"Sure thing! I've been kind of wanting to do that myself too, eheh…" said Tanjirō. He scratched his cheek and blushed from Shinobu's soft smile and touch, the Insect Hashira giggling and giving him a peck on the cheek.
"Lead the way then, Blaze Dance Hashira...san~"
Tanjirō's blushe intensified slightly from the kiss and tease that Shinobu had given him, but he soon laughed it off and went on his way with Shinobu. He shared with her what had happened at the Swordsmith village and all of the details of it, down to even the grittiest of experiences.
Nezuko's near-death experience with the sun and the awakening of Mitsuri's demon heritage were of course the highlights for Tanjirō. Remembering these events reminded Tanjirō about Genya, so he asked Shinobu if he was doing okay after coming back from the battle two weeks ago. It brought him relief to know he had checked out the day before he had woken up for the second time, and that he had told Shinobu to say thank you to Tanjirō.
"Haha, Genya...say, did you know that he can gain demonic powers by ingesting the flesh of other demons?" Tanjirō asked.
"I did. In fact, he comes in for regular check-ups with me, to ensure nothing serious is happening with his body." said Shinobu while watching a couple birds fly by, admiring how they flew together almost mimicked the way she walked with Tanjirō.
"Oooh, that makes sense...well, I'm glad to know that Genya is doing much better now! He really helped Nezuko and I out a lot when we were fighting that Upper Moon!"
Tanjirō's positive attitude and the way he praised others over himself reminded Shinobu of one of the reasons why she fell so hard for him, and she giggled from his statement before hugging his arm even more. She had never felt more safe than when she was right there next to him, not because she was weak, but because Tanjirō was just that dependable.
Shinobu had also heard from Mitsuri's point of view of her boyfriend since they had spent some brief time together at the Swordsmith Village, even before the attack of the two Upper Moon demons. The way Mitsuri talked about him and their closeness as friends made her wonder if something else had awoken inside of the Love Hashira that was different from her usual happy-go-lucky nature and admiration of everyone close to her.
Those thoughts were eventually put to bed for the foreseeable future when they found themselves a comfortable spot outside of the Demon Slayer HQ among the forest of Wisteria trees that protected it from wondering demons. Of course they did nothing to Tanjirō, so the young lovers were able to nestle themselves at the base of a tree and hold one another's hands.
Shinobu sat herself down in Tanjirō's lap facing him and leaned against him, putting her arms around his neck and closing her eyes to snuggle. Tanjirō did the same with hugging her closer to his body, the warmth of his heart reaching her through their chests. It felt good for both of them to be in one another's arms, and they wished it could stay like this forever.
"Tanjirō, you know that after today...we might not be able to do this with one another again...something big is going to happen soon…" murmured Shinobu softly during their embrace.
"I know...it's got me feeling worried too. With what happened to Uzui-san...I don't want any more people to die…" Tanjirō replied in a low tone, not wanting to raise his voice and disturb the serenity of their surroundings.
Shinobu bit her lip lightly and pulled her eyelids shut a little bit tighter, a passing thought going through her mind as fast as a bullet, before her expression softened and she opened her eyes. Leaning back she looked Tanjirō right in the eyes and adjusted his haori for him a tiny bit as if they were already married.
A moment of silence persisted between the two of them when Shinobu finished fiddling with his clothes, before lightly tugging on the edges of his haori's cuff. Tanjirō then noticed her cheeks turn a light shade of red and he felt a sensation stir inside of him.
"Tanjirō…" Shinobu uttered in almost a whisper. The Hashira lightly tugged on his haori, and Tanjirō knew almost instantly what she was getting at. "Can we…?"
Rather than ruin the moment by saying anything, Tanjirō simply nodded his head to her request. Shinobu then leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips, the tingle of wisteria that was circulating on his body present when their lips connected.
Wisteria trees merged with the surrounding landscape as the young lovers began to sink into their passions, driven by their hope to live long enough to see each other each and every day and their worry for what's to come. Shinobu kept her fingers lightly pinched around the edges of his haori, before she started to slide it off from Tanjirō's shoulders. She didn't stop until his arms were free from the sleeves, which Tanjirō then used to take off her haori in return. When her butterfly haori was draped over his outstretched legs, their gentle kiss became a little more heated.
On their own, Tanjirō's hands reached up to the collar of Shinobu's uniform and went down her abdomen, undoing each button clasp one by one. Eventually he reached her belt and it was there when she finally separated from the kiss and sat on the haunches of her legs, straddling his waist.
Not saying anything she picked up where he left off, undoing her belt and sliding it off, then pulling apart her uniform to take it off entirely. Her big, perky breasts were bound in a sarashi that immediately caught Tanjirō's attention, judging by the way his eyes dropped from her face down to her chest. She giggled knowing that her body was able to entice him in such a manner, and to tease him she used her arms to squish them together beneath the wrappings.
"He's so honest with his looks...it makes me want to do this more for him...I want him to see me like this more and more…" Shinobu thought after Tanjirō blushed at the action.
Leaning forward he thought that she was going to kiss him again, but instead she grabbed his nichirin blade and giggled again to herself as she then quickly unsheathed it. Turning the blade towards herself, she then carefully ran the tip up along the bandages directly over the valley of her breasts, cutting through the bandages with ease.
"W-Whoa...when did she get so...provocative…" Tanjirō thought with a gulp as Shinobu put then set his sword and sheath down and reached up to the cut bandages. With one tug the wrappings gave away and her full, perky breasts bounced free, fully exposed for Tanjirō to take in as much as he wanted. "Ahh! This is too much for me to handle…!"
"Do you like them, Tanjirō…? I may be smaller than most girls, but...I am quite happy to have boobs this big…" Shinobu asked in a low tone as she cupped the underside of her breasts and bounced them lightly, a light giggle following after.
"Y...Yeah...they are...really nice…" uttered Tanjirō. It was already hard enough to control himself with Shinobu sitting the way she was on his lap, but now that she was totally topless, it was practically impossible. He blushed when his lower half thought for him and a light little yelp escaped Shinobu's lips when his manhood pressed against her rear from beneath his pants. "A-Ah, I'm sorry Shinobu...I'm still not-"
"It's fine...I feel the same way, honestly...this would only be our third time...to do it…" Shinobu said to cut him off as he dropped her breasts, the round pink orbs jiggling lightly. "Please, allow me…"
Scooting down off to the side, she looked Tanjirō in the eyes as she undid his belt and took it off, then moved to his pants to pull them down. As soon as his hakama pants passed by his hips Tanjirō blushed as his erect member sprung upward right in front of Shinobu's face, reminding her of when they had sex the first time and turning her cheeks red from embarrassment.
When she saw Tanjirō had the same expression on his face she leaned back up and unbuttoned his uniform, pulling it open to expose his fit, training body that included the abs he had developed from his training in the mountains with his first master.
"Shinobu, I-" Tanjirō was stopped by Shinobu gently placing a finger to his lips, before replacing it with her mouth as she kissed him again.
Gently their tongues touched one another as Tanjirō managed to find her chest with his left hand and started groping her, a single hanging fruit big enough to fill the palm of his hand with its size. It was true, even with her body size, her breasts were still large, enough to fill Tanjirō's hands with ease. They had to be just slightly smaller than Mitsuri's, he thought.
Shinobu's soft, muffled moans were the only sounds he heard as he kneaded her two precious fruits, and that alone was enough to turn him on even more. Wanting him to feel good too she reached back with a hand and found his member, her fingers wrapping around the shaft and beginning to stroke it at a steady pace.
A slight spasm in the hips told Shinobu that what she was doing was right, so as they kissed she kept rubbing him off up and down, from the head down to the very base. At the same time she was feeling waves of pleasure through her body as her large breasts were fondled and squeezed by the more experienced Tanjirō, who had learned what her weakness was. A slight pressing of her nipples inward by his thumb was enough to make her pull away from their kiss and make a cuter moan than before, a soft cry of pleasure that made her cheeks turn a darker shade of red.
"Mou...you jerk...I'll make you pay for that…" Shinobu said with a tiny smile as she stroked him off at a faster pace, making Tanjirō's body stiffen up a little more.
"Ahh...Shinobu...you're...your hand…" he uttered, but she only stuck her tongue out lightly and giggled.
"I'm not stopping, Tanjirō...not until I teach you a lesson…~"
Tanjirō gulped nervously at the twinkle his girlfriend had in her eye, so he held on and dug his fingers into the grass to try and keep himself sane as she kept working her hand. Up and down it went, for what felt like an eternity to him, before his crotch started to tighten up and his hips shook lightly.
He throbbed in her hand and Shinobu knew that he was about to climax, so thinking almost on instinct she bent down and took his shaft into her mouth. Unable to keep it in, his hands held onto Shinobu's head as he let go of his load with a groan. A muffled gasp escaped her lips when she felt his semen shoot past her tongue and down her throat, the amount surprising her.
The primary reaction she had was to jerk back away, but her own lust overrode those base feelings and led her to instead swallow everything that Tanjirō let out. Tanjirō put a hand on his forehead once he finally stopped and let the other fall away to his side so Shinobu could be free to pull away from his crotch.
Her lips slipped off of his cock and she sat up with her eyes and mouth closed, a hand lifted up to her chin to wipe away a stray remnant from her skin as she finished swallowing.
"Ah...a little too bitter, but past that...it's actually not so bad…" Shinobu murmured to herself before finally opening her eyes and giggling at an utterly flabbergasted Tanjirō. She'd never seen him look this shocked at her, and to be fair she was a little surprised with herself as well. She wasn't planning on doing that, it had just happened. "I wouldn't mind doing that again in the future…~"
"Shinobu...when did...when did you get so...so…" said Tanjirō with wide eyes, still unable to get the proper words out before he was kissed again by her.
"So lewd…? I don't know the answer myself, Tanjirō...but maybe it's because I missed you so much when you left…"
"Gah...Shinobu...you…"
Tanjirō's hips quivered again when Shinobu began tracing kisses down from his neck and across his chest, showing off a side of herself that not even he could have seen coming. She eventually was satisfied with teasing him enough and got off him in order to take off the rest of her clothes, then got down on all fours facing Tanjirō.
His heart skipped a beat when she presented her shapely ass so freely to him, giving him a perfect view of her most precious treasure. The beautiful pink valley of her folds beckoned him up off the ground and onto his knees as he scrambled to remove his own pants. Wearing only his unbuttoned uniform top he got into position behind his petite lover, her body visibly quivering slightly just from knowing he was behind her, about to rock her world with a feeling she'd experience only twice before.
Being outside in the open among nature added an extra layer of excitement to the mix. There were no walls to hide their naked bodies, no doors to shut out any onlookers. Just the thought of being seen doing something so naughty as having sex like this excited Shinobu to the point it felt like her heart was beating out of her chest.
Her name was uttered by Tanjirō, and she answered him in a way that ignited his heart in a far different way than when he was fighting. Expecting him to spear her, she got quite a different sensation as two of his fingers entered her and started exploring the recesses of her uterus. She squealed and instinctively clamped down her inner walls around his digits, making it harder for him to delve deeper past the entrance.
He didn't give up though, and with more force behind his thrusts he had loosened her up again enough for him to really make her moan. When the pleasure resonating through her body down to the very cells of her muscles got too much for her, the cutest sound she could possibly make escaped her lips as an orgasm came on her like a lightning bolt. Body spasms rocked her from head to toe, and it wasn't until a couple seconds later did they stop as her arms buckled.
Her cheek pressed against the grass, she breathed heavily as she passed into a post-orgasm high. Shinobu, inexperienced with sex, had nearly blacked out from being assaulted by Tanjirō's fingers. It embarrassed her, but enthralled her at the same time. Like a beast in heat, she wanted to be ravaged, and she made sure he knew by pressing her ass cheeks firmly against his crotch. Her desires had fully taken control of her body, mind, and soul. Deep down there was that fear of her never being able to see Tanjirō again, a fear that had manifested itself once again in an unspeakable secret she dared not tell him.
Shinobu got her wish when Tanjirō, understanding her desire, matched it with his own as he wasted no time in taking hold of her hips and plunging in deep. Her back arched and a yelp escaped her lungs from feeling him reach her innermost chamber, the lightning bolts of pleasure making her skin tingle. The first time had been wonderful, the second time even better. But the third time was no contest.
With restraint thrown aside just like their clothes, they proceeded to fuck like two love-stricken animals attempting to to keep their species alive. It was incredibly embarrassing, but also incredibly exciting.
Her fingers were dug into the ground and her toes were curled up so tightly she thought she'd get a cramp just from that alone. She felt her hips rock back and forth heavily from his thrusts, and with each time his pelvis met her ample rear, her grip on rationality lessened.
He wanted her just as much as she wanted him, and it was that mutual lust that lit a fire of passion in their bellies. The only cure that could satisfy them was to give in to their carnal desires.
With her love tunnel flooded with enough juices to make the ripest of peaches blushed, Tanjirō couldn't stop his hips from gyrating back and forth. Instinctually the animal-side of his brain made him lean forward and grab onto the closest thing to a hand-hold, which for him were the low-hanging flesh orbs that Shinobu took pride in. Her mind went wild when his fingers dug into her breasts, squishing them between his digits and out towards the sides like fresh bread dough.
If this was what heaven felt like, she never wanted to ever leave it. Tightening around his shaft, her body urged him, begged him, to keep going. With the audible "slap" of his pelvis, Tanjirō fully gave in and started to pound her as hard as he could. Her inner thighs were soaked with fluids dripping from her honeypot, and her hips were shaking so bad that she really had to concentrate on not falling over completely.
Seconds turned to minutes, and the minutes felt like hours as time slowed around them. By that time Shinobu had already been driven to orgasm for a second time, and like a machine piston, Tanjirō had barely stopped his hip thrusts.
All good things couldn't last forever, though, and as Shinobu begged him to finish, in the middle of a grunt he asked her outside or inside.
"I-Inside, Tanjirō, insiiiide!" she cried, her panting loud enough to be heard over the sound of nearby insects. "If this...if this would be the last time...we do this...then I want...to feel you inside of me…! P-Pleaaaase~!"
"S-Shinobu! I c-can't hold it...back...much longer…!" grunted back Tanjirō while gritting his teeth.
"D-Do it! L-L-Let it all out~!"
Like a dam bursting from the pressure, Tanjirō squeezed Shinobu's breasts tightly as he let go of everything he had built up and painted the walls of Shinobu's womb white with his seed.
A high-pitched squeal, followed by one of the lewdest sounding moans she'd ever made, came out of Shinobu's pursed lips when that happened. The sudden warmth in the bottom of her belly made her back arch and the way her breasts were squeezed by Tanjirō sent her over the edge, a third orgasm ravaging her petite body in such a way that as soon as Tanjirō finished, she collapsed.
Tanjirō fell on top of her and grunted a little, the two lovebirds panting heavily almost in sync. He was able to regain some strength first before Shinobu and he used it to push himself up and pull out of Shinobu, before falling flat on his back to her left.
"Shi...Shinobu….I didn't know...you could be...so expressive like that…" Tanjirō said while out of breath, his chest rising and falling while his hands rested on it. Sweat dotted his exposed skin and he wiped some away from his forehead before he was hit with the realization of what he had done. "W-Wait, Shinobu! What were we thinking, I-!"
"I know...I know...but it was my choice…" she said softly while moving herself on top of him, her breasts flattening against his chest as she hugged him.
"It's because...its what you said, isn't it...about it being the last time we'll do this…?"
"Yes...I know it's not something you want to hear, but-"
Shinobu's eyes widened when Tanjirō's arms found their way around her back, squeezing her nude body against his even more firmly, to a point where they could feel one another's beating hearts.
"I'm not going to let this be a last time...there never will be a last time, not as long as I have that promise to keep…"
Bringing up the promise again in front of her made Shinobu realize how scared she really was of losing everything that she had gained. Tengen's sudden death at the hands of a mysterious attacker reminded how fragile their lives were when compared to their enemy.
With all of those emotions welling up inside of her, she buried her face into Tanjirō's neck and began to weep softly just so she could get it all out of her system. He smiled softly and he held her for as long as she needed, since he knew how important it was to let go of worries and frustrations.
Unfortunately she wasn't the only one that was worried about what's to come. Everything felt as if it were starting to move too quickly, with the Upper Moons attacking the Swordsmith Village to Tengen losing his life so suddenly. Something bad was coming.
The next day, after all the preparations had been put into place, a special training session for the Demon Slayer Corps began. It was simply named "Hashira Training". Those in the Corps who ranked lower than Hashira training with them one by one.
Usually the Hashira would only train their Tsuguko and no one else, and that was because Hashira were always busy. From protecting their assigned regions, gathering information on the demons, to simple tasks like improving their own swordsmanship, Hashira never sat still in one place for too long. But ever since Nezuko had conquered the sun, joining her brother in that regard, the demons suddenly stopped appearing.
It was like the calm before the storm. And because of that, Hashira only had to focus on night patrol and day training now. Tanjirō, having just been appointed to the Hashira and filling the role that Tengen had left with his untimely death, was now one of those individuals. With his case, rather than be given his own task, he was attached to another Hashira's, with said task being helping Kyōjurō in the first stage of the training.
"Come on no, all of you! Ignite those hearts of yours and push past your limits, hmn! To defeat Muzan you have to go beyond what you think you are capable of and even further beyond that!" bellowed Kyōjurō at the top of his lungs, his booming voice echoing across the field of dozens of slayers currently having one of the worst days of their lives.
"You can do it everyone! Listen to Rengoku-san and I, we can help everyone get better than they were before! Suck up the pain, and push forward!" added Tanjirō with a confident smile, which to many was the only thing giving anybody strength to keep going.
Push-ups, sit-ups, any single kind of aerobatic or strength-training exercise basic enough to be repeated many times over was performed by those working with the Flame and Blaze Dance Hashiras.
When they saw someone slacking and in need of some encouragement, Kyōjurō was quick to be there by their side to give them some encouragement. Tanjirō was the same way, and despite the rigorous nature of the basic training trial, none of it could compare to what lay ahead for those who passed them.
As agreed upon by the Hashira in their discussion after their meeting with Amane, their training regimen would consist of several trials that everyone would have to go through. First, Kyōjurō and Tanjirō did the initial hazing via Basic Stamina Training. Next was Mitsuri with the subjectively hellish flexibility training she would excel at, and then Muichirō would deal with quick movement training.
Following those three trials would be Obanai with sword skill revision, focusing on one of the practical and most essential parts of being a swordsman for the Demon Slayer Corps. Sanemi the Wind Hashira would handle the Infinite Pounding Training, aiming to build up their resilience to taking hits, and lastly Gyōmei would round off the training with muscle reinforcement. The beauty of this system was that like Amane had stated, the Hashira would be joining in on one another's own training and would benefit by facing waves upon waves of swordsmen.
If anyone's heart rate and temperature got high enough for the mark to appear, then everyone wins. Those who had already gained the mark will take it one step further and train to continuously stay in the so-called "Marked State".
Once every member of the Demon Slayers received this information, they all become more motivated than ever before to prepare for the upcoming fight. Everyone except for one man.
"Excuse me, Kamado-sama. Would you please come with me for a second?" asked a Kakushi who had come to Tanjirō and Kyōjurō while in the midst of training their next batch of slayers.
"Go on, Tanjirō my boy, I can handle it from here! Hmn!" Kyōjurō said with a thumbs up.
"Alright, I'll be back then Rengoku-san!"
Tanjirō bid farewell to him and the other slayers with a wave and goodbye, before he was taken by the Kakushi to the Ubuyashiki compound and shown to one of the inner rooms. Upon the door being opened his optimistic attitude was wiped away when he saw the decrepit state Kagaya was in. Laying down on his back on a futon, he was in the process of having his entire body getting bandaged up by Amane, who noticed his entrance and paused for a moment.
"Kagaya. Kamado-san is here." she whispered, Kagaya turning his head slightly and coughing. "He just walked in."
"Good, good...Kamado Tanjirō...I hope you can pity me for being in such a state as this. I also wish I could have been the one to promote you to Hashira, but...as you can see, I'm rather indisposed at this point."
"Please, think nothing of it Oyakata-sama. There was no trouble at all, and I'm really happy to see you." said Tanjirō as he sat down close by to his bed, putting on a soft smile for Amane.
Kagaya's visible mouth upturned itself into a little smile at those words and he coughed one more time before turning towards the sound of Tanjirō's voice in order to confide in him the reason he called him.
The issue did not lie with him and his condition, it had to do with Giyū. Not understanding what he meant, Kagaya explained to Tanjirō that it was a very important time and that everyone cooperating with one another was essential to improving their chances over Muzan and the demons. This was why he wanted Tanjirō to go and talk to the Water Hashira.
Kagaya wanted him to stop turning his back on us all alone and face forward with us toward whatever obstacle the Corps may encounter.
"Please, Tanjirō...could you have a serious talk with him…?" Kagaya asked while reaching out a hand for him, grasping in the dark for his hand.
"I'll do it, Oyakata-sama...you can count on me!" Tanjirō replied, taking hold of the master's hand and holding it gently because of his fragile state.
When the meeting was over, Tanjirō found his way to the Water Hashira's residence within the Demon Slayer Corps HQ and approached the front doors through the plain garden out front. Everything about the home was plain, from the lack of vegetation to the building itself. It was strangely fitting for Giyū, Tanjirō thought, before he lifted up a hand in order to knock on the door.
"Excuse me? Tomioka-san, are you home? Can I come in? It's me, Kamado Tanjirō!" he announced with a smile on his face, hoping to be allowed in soon after. When no answer came back, he knocked once more with renewed vigor and called out again. "Tomioka-saaaan! I know you're home, I can smell you!"
Inside of the barren home the man himself was sitting by himself in seiza trying to block out the ruckus Tanjirō was making at the front door. His concentration would have remained solid if it was just the knocking, but because of his calls and the way he made his voice louder than it needed to be, it started to grind away at that focus.
"If you won't answer then I'll let myself in!" Tanjirō announced as he opened the doors himself, causing Giyū's eyes to actually widen at how he followed through on his statement.
"There you are! You're so lonely in here, Tomioka-san! Here, I'll join you and we can talk since it's been such a long time!"
Tanjirō then sat himself down on the hardwood floor almost right on top of the Water Hashira, a mere foot of space separating their folded uo knees. Wanting to be a good friend and fellow Hashira, he started by giving Giyū a status update on the training they had come up for with a smile on his face.
Soon after starting though he was shut down by Giyū, who told him that he already knew what everyone was doing and what everyone's progress was so far. Not to be discouraged, Tanjirō chose a different approach and asked if he could join them so that everyone could get even better.
"No." Giyū said flatly without hardly any emotion on his face.
"Why not, though? Also, I can smell the anger in your body, but why're you mad?" asked Tanjirō innocently as Giyū stared into his eyes, seeing the innocence behind the Upper Moon Six markings he still had from his trip to the dark side.
"I'm mad because you didn't master Water Breathing. You needed to become the Water Hashira, not an entirely new one similar to Rengoku-san."
"Ahh, I'm really sorry about that. I remember talking with Urokodaki-san before though, he said it's not rare to change breaths or create an offshoot of one." remarked Tanjirō while rubbing the back of his neck and laughing a little awkwardly. "And Water Breathing is one of the basic breaths too, so there are a lot of derivatives!"
"That's not what I was talking about. Someone has to be the Water Hashira right now because the Water Hashira seat is vacant."
Tanjirō stopped rubbing the back of his neck and gave Giyū a pensive look, the words he just said to him not fully registering with him. The Water Hashira seat? Vacant? That couldn't be possible, because he was looking at the man who occupied it right in the face.
He was thrown for a loop when with a blank tone, devoid of any kind of feeling, Giyū told him straight up that he was not the Water Hashira at all. At a loss for words, Tanjirō was then left by his senior and told to go away.
He remembered what he had just recently discussed with Kagaya and with a determined expression he got up and chased after Giyū, determined to fulfill his promise to the weakened master of the Corps.
Tanjirō kept talking with Giyū about anything and everything, even the dullest of things, all afternoon and night. He always kept a smile on his face, and whenever Giyū tried to run away or lose him, he would just sniff him out and continue to pester him. He kept talking and talking and talking, not relenting in the slightest.
When the day finally ended Tanjirō was forced to retire from his efforts and returned to the Butterfly Mansion, meeting Zenitsu on the way there who looked about as irate as the guy could be.
"Oh, hey Zenitsu! How was the training today? Before I had to go do something, I actually had a lot of fun helping out Rengoku-san and-" he started to say with a wave before Zenitsu grabbed him by the collar and looked him dead in the eyes. Mixed feelings of anger, depression and exhaustion swam in his empty-looking eyes, and it made Tanjirō sweat a little.
"It was terrible. Horrible. Hell even. You helped come up with this crap right? You piece of shit, you should die." murmured Zenitsu in a deadpan tone, his grip tightening.
"Maybe you should use this secret trick! Partner with people who are stronger with you! Confronting the strong will make you use your breaths more and make you even stronger!"
"If you're gonna be that forward-looking and positive, then our friendship ends today! You're lucky you got promoted to Hashira so you don't have to go through nearly as much of the shut that we have to do! I'm the only one that has to deal with this shit now! You get what I'm feeling here?!"
"Ahh! Zenitsu, you're gonna tear my clothes if you shake me that hard!"
Tanjirō's eyes were spinning after being thrashed around left and right by the enraged Thunder Breathing user, who finally let him go and stormed off while hiding the tears of suffering he was now shedding.
"Oh, wait, Zenitsu! I forgot to say thanks for something!"
"Don't talk to me, Bub!"
"No, no, wait, seriously. This is important to me." Tanjirō said with a warm smile after he fixed his checkered flame haori. Zenitsu stopped and turned while drying his eyes, staring at him expectantly for whatever he was wanting to say. "When I was fighting Upper Moon Four, he still managed to be faster than me. But I managed to cut his head off thanks to the Thunder Breathing trick you taught me before."
"What does this have to do with me? It was nothing special." rebuked Zenitsu, who was clearly still miffed about the whole training situation.
"I wasn't as fast as you are, of course. But really, thank you for that. Something like that is why having connections with other people actually does help us out. I'm sure everything you'll learn in Hashira Training will help you reach a great future."
Zenitsu's left eye twitched a little as a warm sensation spread through his body as a result of his friend's sincerity and the warm smile he had, even though at that moment he had wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face. A second later he tried to sound angry and curse him out, but it hardly worked as he planned when he was actually smiling ear to ear.
When Zenitsu finally walked away Tanjirō entered the Butterfly Mansion and was met by Nezuko and the girls who greeted him at the door as if he were living there now. For all intents and purposes he was living there now, since he didn't have his own home to go to despite being a Hashira now. It didn't matter to him though, because of who came next to welcome him.
Smiling softly, Shinobu hugged him on the spot, to the cooing of the girls, and she took a few steps back while holding her hands behind her back in a way that made Tanjirō blush at just how cute she was.
"Notice anything different, Tanjirō~? If you want a hint, just ask~" Shinobu asked with a giggle before leaning forward, even turning her head slightly so that he had a clear view of a pair of new objects hanging from her earlobes.
"Huh? What do you...wait! Shinobu, your ears! You got Hanafuda earrings like mine!?" exclaimed Tanjirō, the Insect Hashira nodding and showing him one of the earrings she now wore.
"I thought now would be the best time to get them, since I remember telling you that I should get some at one point...since when you were gone, Nezuko let me wear yours to hold onto them~"
"They look almost exactly like mine, but they're purple...and they have a butterfly on them!"
"Do you like them?"
"Like them? They look amazing on you Shinobu!"
Blushing profusely, she showed her appreciation for his kind words by hugging Tanjirō and kissing him square on the lips, forgetting for a moment that the girls and Nezuko were still right there next to them. They cooed and Aoi happened to enter at that exact moment as well, her face turning as red as a tomato.
Her exclamation about them kissing separated them and both Shinobu and Tanjirō laughed at how flustered she was, that being the last thing they did before they went and retired for the night. Only one day of Hashira Training had gone by. There were still plenty more to come, and Tanjirō still had a duty to fulfill.
It was after the fourth day of bugging Giyū did Tanjirō finally get the Water Hashira to crack and give in to the pressure. They had arrived at a bridge over a river close by to the HQ on a night patrol Tanjirō had inserted himself on when Giyū stopped halfway across and sighed, finding it pointless to continue dodging him forever.
"I never actually passed the Final Selection, for your information." Giyū remarked without turning around, the revelation actually surprising the slightly younger Hashira.
"Eh? You mean the one where you fight demons on the Wisteria Flower Mountain? That Final Selection?" asked Tanjirō, puzzled.
"Yes. Back then, there was a boy whose family got killed by demons, just like me. His name was Sabito. I went into the selection with that orange-haired boy."
Tanjirō's eyes widened considerably when that name rang a bell in the back of his head, sparking a chain of memories that brought him back to his initial days training under Urokodaki. The boulder, the boy and the girl with the fox masks.
It all came rushing back to him, ending with the smiling face of the boy who he knew as Sabito after he had cut through his mask, as well as the boulder that he had strived to crack throughout his days training upon that mountain top.
"I was thirteen at the time," continued Giyū, not even pausing to consider if Tanjirō knew who he was talking about or not. "We got along right away because we both lost our families and we were of the same age. Sabito had a strong sense of justice, and he was a very kind boy."
"And...what happened to him, Tomioka-san? Did he-"
"He was the only one who died in the selection that year."
Tanjirō grew silent as flashes of the giant, misshapen hand demon entered his mind, coming back to haunt him and taunt him as the killer of every single student that Urokodaki had sent up onto that mountain.
He remembered the anger and the drive to kill him that he had felt that night. He remembered the burning in his chest and his hands as he attacked that demon with everything he had. Unconsciously a hand lifted up to his mark that used to be his scar, and he blinked when he recognized what he did.
"He pretty much single-handedly defeated every demon on that mountain. Everyone aside from Sabito got accepted in that selection. I was injured by a demon who attacked me in the beginning, so I was fading in and out. Then Sabito came and saved me." Giyū said while his eyes remained firmly looking forward, his face not betraying a single hint of emotion even though his heart was beginning to ache. "He entrusted me to another boy, then headed toward another voice crying for help. When I came to, the selection was over. I was selected for surviving the seven days."
"Well, I mean...you were able to survive, Tomioka-san...when I came back to Urokodaki-san, he told me that every one of his students after you never came back, so-"
"But I am a human who couldn't beat a single demon, and I was bailed out. Can I really say I passed?"
"But Tomioka-san-"
"I am not worthy of being called the Water Hashira. I am not worthy of standing with the other Hashira as equals. I'm not like them. I never should've had a place among the Demon Slayers to begin with."
Tanjirō was unable to say anything after being hit with so many negative comments from somebody he had looked up to growing as a slayer. Seeing him speak so pessimistically of himself, coupled with the stench of sorrow and anger emanating from Giyū's whole body, he couldn't stop himself from shedding tears.
It was almost like he was talking to Shinobu again before he had gotten her to open up. To be able to hear what was troubling Giyū, he wasn't entirely prepared to hear all of these revelations. And he was paying for it by the sadness in his heart manifesting in the tears he was now letting out for the man standing in front of him.
"Just go back to helping Rengoku-san with the training. That's the best option for you, because you were able to obtain that mark. I'll never get it...maybe Sabito would've gotten it"
Giyū then started walking again, leaving a frozen Tanjirō behind on that bridge so that he didn't have to show him the look of defeat he had on his face.
"Don't concern yourself with me anymore. It's just a waste of time."
A/N Heyo! It's me, your boy, back with an upload of a new chapter as a thank you for sticking with me while I had schooling to do! I can see that a handful of you have answered my poll, I really appreciate that! Some of you answered in reviews too! Thanks!
But please, can you answer the poll directly! REMINDER! It's at the top of my user page here on Fanfiction! It stars with "What pairing..." and it has four options! There are hundreds of you out there reading this story (which is totally mind blowing still to this day!) so please, please reply to the poll! I would really appreciate it!
EDIT: Some people said they couldnt find the poll, so here is where I can dispell that claim! I think you cant find the poll on mobile or the app, you can see it though on PC / the desktop site for Fanfiction!
Moving on, this chapter was a SPICY meatball wasn't it? I wonder why...huehuehue. But with the good, comes the bad. Shit's gonna hit the fan reaaaaal soon. So lets try to enjoy these peaceful? times as much as we can.
Please leave a fav and a follow if you havn't already, and also leave a review telling me what you think! Thank you guys so much for reading my story, I really really appreciate it! I'll see you guys in the next one, hopefully soon! :DDD