Chapter 3: The swords' arrival
The trip back home was made in a companionable and relative silence, as Kanao traveled with him.
Since they lived in the same area – just half an hour away from each other – Tanjirou invited her to join him on the way.
He also got to know his crow a bit. His name is Tennouji Matsuemon and Tanjirou hopes they'll get along.
They reached the Butterfly Estate first.
"Ah, Tanjirou-san. Hello." Aoi-san greeted him.
"Hello, Aoi-san." he smiled tiredly.
"I'm glad to see you both passed." she said, as Kanao made her way inside, "Do you wish to rest before continuing?"
"No, I'm almost home. But thank you, Aoi-san." he bowed in thanks.
"I'll let Shinobu-sama know you've returned home then."
"I'll be waiting for her visit!" he waved.
He continued down the road.
"NIII-SAAAN!" Hanako ran up to him, having been the one to wait for him.
Four more children spilled out of the Kamado Residence, all crashing into their big brother's arms, holding him tightly.
Once inside, their parents greeted him with warm smiles.
"Welcome home, Tanjirou." his father said.
Tanjirou cried.
That night, Tanjirou was sitting on the roof, staring at the stars, as sleep eluded him.
"The moon looks beautiful tonight." a voice said softly next to his ear.
Tanjirou yelped softly in surprise, falling on his back on the roof.
"Shinobu!" he exclaimed.
The young woman leaned over him with an amused smile on her lips.
"Hello, Tanjirou-kun." she greeted him.
Tanjirou took a deep breath, trying to calm his heart, and sat up.
"Hello, Shinobu-san."
"I wanted to congratulate you on making it through Final Selection. I wanted to give you a present, too."
"You know you don't have to, Shinobu."
Shinobu hummed beside him.
"I assumed you'd say something like that." she smiled at him, "But, since you are one of the two Mizunoto I am very fond of, you don't get to tell me I didn't have to get you a present."
Tanjirou chuckled.
"Well, I can not deny Shinobu-san's wishes. That would be rude of me."
"Mmm, it would." she said, leaning close.
"Shi-Shinobu?" he blushed.
Shinobu pressed her lips to his cheek.
"Congratulations, Tanjirou." she said softly, "I'm glad you made it out alive."
Tanjirou's eyes grew wide for a second, before he pulled Shinobu in his arms and held her close.
There was no need for him to reply. Shinobu's arms wrapped around him as well, holding him just as tightly.
Fifteen days later, Takeo called Tanjirou to the door.
"Is this the man you're expecting?" he asked his brother.
A man wearing a hat with wind chimes was walking towards their home, carrying a long parcel on his back.
Tanjirou got out to greet him.
"My name is Haganezuka. I am the one that has forged the sword that will be used by Kamado Tanjirou."
"I am Kamado Tanjirou." naively, Tanjirou replied, "Please, come in and have a seat."
Haganezuka-san sat down in the middle of the road.
"This is the nichirin blade." the swordsmith started, unwrapping the box
"Um…Please come in and have a seat…" Tanjirou repeated weakly.
"I forged this blade." he opened the box.
"Please come in and have some tea." Tanjirou said once more.
"The nichirin blade's raw materials are iron sand and ore from the highest mountain that is closest to the sun, 'scarlet crimson iron sand' and 'scarlet crimson ore'. They are metals that have absorbed the sunlight."
"I'm pretty sure your furoshiki wrap is going to get mud on it." Tanjirou said. He could smell his family's amusement.
"The mountain the materials are from, the sunlight mountain, is bathed in sunlight all year round. Never troubled by clouds or rain."
"Hold on a minute first! Please, won't you get up…off the ground? The way you're crouching on the ground is a bit…"
The swordsmith raised his head to reveal he was wearing a hyottoko mask.
"Wha…" Tanjirou drew back a bit, surprised by the sudden movement.
"Hm? Hmm?" Haganezuka-san looked closely at Tanjirou, "Ah you're a child of burning crimson, of brightness! This is most auspicious for us to meet."
"We are a family of coal burners and we work closely with fire, so…Red eyes are very common in our family, while red hair is weirdly passed down to the firstborn only."
"Yes, yes. That's a very lucky thing. Be happy. For your family and me. Looks like the blade might turn a flaming red." he said, poking Tanjirou's cheek.
"Haganezuka-san. Please, come inside. I have prepared tea." Kie said, taking pity on her son.
"Ah, thank you very much."
Soon they were seated around the table and the swordsmith handed the sword over to Tanjirou.
"Alright. Go on, draw the blade out of its scabbard."
"Okay." the young slayer nodded, 'Finally he decided to come inside the house. I should thank mother properly later.'
"Nichirin's other name is the 'color changing katana'. The blade changes color based on each individual owner." he explained, "By the way, the ore you chose was too much for a katana and so I created a wakizashi as well."
Tanjirou watched transfixed as both his swords turned a beautiful – in his opinion – deep shade of black.
"Black!" Haganezuka-san exclaimed.
"Black." Tanjuurou said serenely.
"WHYYYYYY?" the swordsmith lamented, "I thought I could finally witness a bright crimson colored blade this time. Dammit––" he shouted, pinching Tanjirou's cheek in retaliation.
"Ow, ow, ow, that's dangerous!" he called out, moving his swords as far from the enraged swordsmith as possible, "Please calm down! How old are you anyways?!"
"I'm thirty seven!"
"Black swords are common in our family." Tanjuurou said calmly, "We use Sun Breathing, that's why." he explained.
In the moment of silence that followed, Tanjirou's crow landed on the table.
"Caw! Kamado Tanjirou! Hurry up and go to the northwest town! Hurry up and go hunt demons! This is your first assignment. Remember this well, in the northwest town, young girls are constantly disappearing. Every night. There are girls, there are girls that are constantly disappearing!"
Tanjirou frowned.
He stood up and bowed to his family and swordsmith, sheathing his swords.
"I'll go get dressed." he said, "Here, Tennouji, thank you for the message." he gave his crow some seeds.
He is soon ready, wearing the Corps' uniform, wearing his checkered haori over it and fastening his swords at the belt.
"I'm ready." he said to his family.
"Stay safe, Tanjirou." his mother said.
"Be careful, nii-san!" his siblings called.
"Tanjirou. Breathe." his father smiled.
With a nod, a determined smile and a bow, Tanjirou left for his first mission, Tennouji following him.
Notes: In the manganime, the town's at the northeast of mount Sagiri, but since Tanjirou is at his home here, I'm placing the town sort of between the two.