Chapter 3
"Alright, Mira-chan, can you pause the screen right there?" Makarov requested, looking at Mira who nodded her head and did just that, allowing him to turn his attention back to the members of his beloved guild "There's something I want to ask you all before we can continue."
"What is it, ji-chan?" Natsu couldn't help but ask. As much as he wanted to continue watching, the pink haired dragon slayer couldn't help but have a feeling that he would want to hear what Makarov had to ask them.
"Alright everyone, I want you to have some time to think about the question I just asked Gray. Do you think Tanjiro should kill that demon now, despite knowing that it wasn't him who killed those poor people?"
"I mean… that's just his speculation, right?" Laxus pointed out as he crossed his arms on his chest and said, sitting with his teammates who all nodded their heads to agree with him "He might have a good sense of smell, but he does not possess the power to see the past, what truly happened. That demon was also eating those corpses when Tanjiro came in, so there's a small chance his scene wasn't already lingering around the place. Not to mention that that demon called the place his territory and wasn't willing to share it with Nezuko."
Laxus, and the dragon slayers, also knew that the scents of corpses could cover all other scents and deluged someone with a good scent of smell, but decided to not point it out as well.
"That's right." Bisca nodded her head in agreement, remembering what the demon said to Tanjiro when the Kamado siblings discovered them. "And if that's the case, that demon might be really responsible for all those deaths."
"Then… then he should be… killed, right?" Droy asked, looking a little nervous "I mean… Tanjiro said it himself. If he did not kill the demon now, he would certainly try to hurt other people again." His statement caused the entire guild to fall into an uncomfortable silence while looking at each other, with the only exception being Makarov, who finished his beer before asking.
"Is it because the demon used to be a human?" He asked, making the members of his guild who he saw as his own children nod their head to him finally in response.
"He didn't choose to become a demon, did he?" Mira asked, remembering how Nezuko was driven by her own instincts as a demon to attack Tajiro, her own brother.
Being a Demons Take Over mage, she knew better than anyone how crazy some of the demons she had taken over could be, and how their personalities could affect her mind and turn her into a creature just like them. Fortunately for her, however, she had her magic to make sure it would not happen, and that she would stay the person that she was even while using their powers and taking on their forms.
The demons of that world, however, did not have the same power that she did. There's still much that she and everyone still didn't know about the demons of their world, but the one that the Kamado siblings were facing might not even be a bad person when he was a human.
"Let's continue watching." Makarov then announced as he turned his head to look at Mira, bringing her out of her own thoughts. "It's no use to just sit here and think about it when we have so little information to rely on anyway."
"However, as we watch, I want you to keep everything that we have just talked about in your minds. I am sure that as the story process, Tanjiro will help you answer all of your inquiries. He's sharing the same feeling as you all are, after all." The guild master finished with a warm, comforting smile, making the members of Fairy Tail return the gesture with their own and cheer up a bit.
He was right. It's no use for them to just sit there and think about it. It's not their world. They weren't living in it. So, the best that they could do was continue watching.
"Alright, let's continue, everyone." Mira announced, and with that the footage was continued
'A tengu mask!' Tanjiro thought as he turned his head around to look at the person who had snuck up behind him without knowing 'This person walks with no sound.'
"If he can really do that, then no doubt this is the man that demon slayer swordsman talked about." Erza pointed out with a nod of her head.
"H-how can I finish him off?" He asked, fully turning around to look at the man.
"Don't ask me!" The man answered. "Can't you use your own head to figure that out?"
"So if stabbing him in the head doesn't kill him, maybe light him up on fire will?" Happy couldn't help but ask, looking at his best friend Natsu who nodded his head in agreement.
"It might not even work." Carla replied, raising her front paw up as she sat with her best friend Wendy "For all we know, there might be only a couple of specific methods that can be used to kill a demon of this world."
"We know that they hate sunlight, so maybe that's the way to go?" Wendy inquired while tapping her chin thoughtfully.
"How long till morning again?"
Although not expecting that response, the boy heeded the advice.
'If stabbing is no good, I'll have to crush his head!' The red haired boy thought, looking around until he saw a rock of an appropriate size and went to grab it.
"Hey hey hey! That's a bit overboard, you know." Natsu exclaimed, his face turning green at the prospect of Tanjiro smashing the demon's head over and over until it was nothing more than a bloody pulp.
"Even if that demon deserves to die for what it did, I think a clean, quick kill is probably the best option to put it down." Erza nodded. But if stabbing it in the head with a knife wouldn't work, then how could they possibly kill a demon without letting it suffer the pain… no matter how much they might deserve it for eating and killing humans.
With the rock in his hand, Tanjiro then went back to stand in front of the demon and looked at it, swallowing heavily.
'I need to break his bones and destroy his head completely, I guess I'm going to have to smash him with this rock continuously.' He realized. 'I bet he's going to suffer. Isn't there anything I can do to kill him with one blow?'
"There probably is. He just doesn't know about it yet." Lucy said "That masked man probably knows too."
"Then why hasn't he told Tanjiro about it yet? The quicker they put the demon down, the better, right?" Natsu couldn't help but ask. It would be so much better for him and everyone in Fairy Tail too, having one less thing to trouble their minds about.
Too much thinking made his head hurt.
"He's testing him, no doubt." Makarov answered with a serious nod of his head, making Natsu widen his eyes in realization.
As Tanjiro tried to think of a way to kill that demon without making it suffer, the man with the tengu mask simply looked on calmly at the boy before making the conclusion in his mind.
'This child isn't going to cut it. He's unable to make the decision because of consideration. The demon is right in front of him, and yet I can still smell his kindness. He actually has sympathy for even a demon.'
"See?" Makarov asked with a chuckle, making Natsu roll his eyes at him.
"But isn't having sympathy be a good thing?" Lisanna couldn't help but ask, feeling the heavy atmosphere once again returning to the guild.
"In this world that they are living, it might not." Her older sister shook her head and answered the question. In the world of demons, there was no mercy, and in this world that Tanjiro and Nezuko were living, it might follow the same principle, the same code.
"Man… this sucks." Natsu grumbled as he rested his chin on the table.
The masked man mentally sighed. 'Giyu… he's never going to make it.'
"He knows." Erza said "That swordsman must have sent him a message to inform this man of the siblings' arrival."
"I wonder if he knows Nezuko-chan is a demon too." Mira nodded her head to her best friend, while tapping her chin thoughtfully.
As Tanjiro stood there frozen in place, the demon head suddenly jolted awake, it looked around for a moment until its eyes landed on Tanjiro.
"You bastard, I'll kill you!" The demon yelled, moving its arms to try and reach him. "I swear I'll devour you! Get over here! Dammit!"
"Ugh… I think I am going to be sick." Natsu muttered while holding his mouth.
"Just how resilient are the demons of this world?" Freed asked in disbelief as he watched the head struggle. Despite looking rather uncomfortable in its current position, the head had also stopped bleeding at the neck and mouth, and overall looked completely fine.
Tanjiro wasn't listening, though, as he looked at the light on the horizon.
'I faltered too long, now the sun's coming up!' He thought, before widening in his eyes in realization when the sunlight began to shine upon the demon, making it howl in agony before quickly burning up and turning into nothing but ashes with an agonizing cry.
"What the hell!?" Natsu and Happy cried out dramatically in shock. Around the guild, everyone was also having the same feeling, not expecting sunlight to be able to kill a demon that quickly.
"So sunlight did kill them." Makarov nodded his head seriously in understanding, putting his empty mug of beer down.
"No wonder why Nezuko-chan was so uncomfortable even while hiding in that dark cave back then, if that amount of sunlight could instantly kill that demon." Mira nodded, feeling a sense of relief that the younger Kamado had dug up a hole to hide inside while waiting for her brother to return.
"Wait… isn't Nezuko-chan standing right beside Tanjiro!?" Evergreen asked, causing the entire guild to widen their eyes in shock before realizing that she was telling the truth. "She could get hurt if the sunlight get to her."
'He's gone instantly after being exposed to the sun?!' Tanjiro thought in shock, letting go of the rock without even realizing. 'No wonder why Nezuko hates it!' As he thought that, the boy finally realized his sister was missing.
"Where did she go?" Happy asked in surprise, but at the same time he was relieved that Nezuko wasn't standing around when the sun came up.
"She must have gone somewhere to hide, maybe?"
"That masked man is gone too, you think he took Nezuko with her so he could execute her somewhere else?" Gajeel asked absently with his head being probed up on one elbow, before he was hit in the back of his head by a very annoyed Levy "What?" The iron dragon slayer asked in surprise, rubbing the back of his head as he turned to look at Levy, who just continued to give him a disapproving look.
"Nezuko? Nezuko?" The boy called out as he ran around looking around for his sister. 'Where is she?!' Just as Tanjiro was about to call out again, he got to the temple earlier and saw his sister inside, hiding in the dark corner from the sun while being covered in a blanket.
He let out another sigh of relief at the sight.
And so did the mages of Fairy Tail, seeing that Nezuko was safe and sound.
"O-oh, that's right; where's that man?" Tanjiro wondered out loud.
"Yeah, where the hell is he?" Gajeel asked again, with Lily nodding his head in agreement with him this time.
"And where are the corpses?" Laxus asked, pointing out the fact that there was only puddles of blood left on the wooden floor of the temple around Nezuko.
However, it did not take long for the young man to see the masked man kneeling in prayer at one side of the temple.
'He buried the people that got killed.' The red haired boy realized, slowly walking towards him. "Excuse me…"
"I'm Urokodaki Sakonji." The man introduced himself. "I'm assuming you're the one Tomioka Giyu sent my way."
"Y-yes!" Tanjiro answered, standing straight. "My name is Kamado Tanjiro! My sister's name is Nezuko, and-"
"Tanjiro." Urokodaki interrupted calmly. "What will you do if your sister eats a human?"
"Hey! Don't ask Tanjiro some weird question like that!?" Natsu cried out furiously with his fists in the air. Around him, many of Fairy Tail also had the same thought; not to mention that they all believed that Nezuko would never eat a human.
"No, he has a good point." Makarov shook his head and said "This man has been testing Tanjiro from the moment that they met. This is probably a test too, to see and test his resolve."
"But there are other ways to do that, right master?" Elfman asked, making Makarov nod his head "What is he expecting Tanjiro to answer even?"
"Simply a quick answer." Makarov said, causing a number of Fairy Tail mages to look at in confusion.
The Kamado could only stare, his brain unable to process the question.
Noticing this, Urokodaki walked towards Tanjiro and backhanded him.
"WAH…" The mages of Fairy Tail gasped, feeling even more stunned and surprised by the slap that Urokodai had just given Tajiro than the dark red haired boy himself.
"Too slow!" He berated Tanjiro, who put a hand on his cheek and registered the pain. "You're just way too slow in making the judgement! You failed to finish off that demon before daybreak!" The masked man continued. "There are only two things to do if your sister eats a human. Kill your sister! Then kill yourself by disembowelment! If you want to bring along your sister who has become a demon, you must be aware of that."
"Oi, you bas…"
"Shh!" Before Natsu could finish another of his outbursts, the other members of Fairy Tail turned to him and shushed him instantly, wanting to hear everything that Orokodaki said before making any comment about him. The pink haired dragon slayer seemed to then understand it too, so he nodded his head apologetically to them in understanding before sitting back down his seat to continue listening to the masked man's words.
"But that's something that you could never allow to happen no matter what" Urokodaki continued. "Letting your sister take away innocent lives. You must never let that happen."
"Oh." Natsu gasped in amazement, a feeling that was shared by everyone in the guild. They could see it now. The weight that Tanjiro was carrying on his shoulder, of traveling with his sister who was a man-eating demon.
"Never be too quick to judge, especially a man as old as Urokodaki seems to be. That man has my respect." Makarov said with a warm smile. His words and his method was harsh, but Makarov had no doubt that it was necessary in the world that they were living in.
Having said his piece, Urokodaki turned away from Tanjiro. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"Yes!" He answered, his tone firm and strong.
"Now I'm going to test your suitability to become a Demon Slayer." Urokodaki then said "Get your sister and follow me!" and with that, the scene changed, with the three finally no longer standing around in the dark forest, but running together under the sunlight on another path.
"Alright!" Natsu and Happy cheered "Let's go Tanjiro! You can do it!"
"Wait a moment…" As excited as she was just like the always energetic fire dragon slayer and his Exceed, Mira found herself widening her eyes in surprise as she looked at the scene and realized the problem..
Though to say that they ran together would be wrong, as Urokodaki was the one running a long distance ahead of Tanjiro, who was struggling to keep up with him while carrying the basket with his sister inside on his back. 'He's so fast! How old is he anyway?' Tanjiro thought as he tried to keep his breathing under control while running behind the masked man. 'And he's not making any sounds at all as he runs.'
"Wa… he's good!" Erza couldn't help but say, her visible eye almost bulging out of its socket in amazement as she watched the masked man run, making absolutely no sound while he was doing so "His footwork is so good. It is also light, just like the demon slayer Giyu from earlier." She knew that carrying his sister was probably one of the reasons why Tanjiro couldn't keep up with Urokodaki, but judging from the way he was running, she knew that this wasn't even his top speed. The man could still run so much faster than he was.
"This man was for sure a demon slayer too." Makarov concluded "With how old he seems to be, he might even be the one who taught Giyu his skills and the techniques to slay demons, thus why he sent Tanjiro to his teacher."
"Heh, so this stiff Oji-san is a real deal huh?" Natsu asked with a grin, getting all excited at the thought of seeing what else Urokodaki had and watching him train Tanjiro, despite not being a sword user himself.
'Nezuko, I know it must be shaking so much right now, but please bear it with me…! You have always been patient, haven't you' Realizing that thinking about that now was useless, and all that he could do was chase after Urokodaki, his mind wandering to his siter, who was hiding inside the basket he was carrying on his shoulder 'I'll definitelyturn you back into human! One day, I'll buy a beautiful kimono for you! The things that I couldn't do for others, I'll do it all for you!'
"Tanjiro, what a man you are!" Elfman sobbed, wiping manly tears from his eyes as he listened to Tanjiro's thoughts about his sister, making Lisanna raise her hand and pat him comfortingly on his giant shoulder. Being a brother himself, Elfman understood Tanjiro's feelings toward his sister more than anyone else, knowing that the young man would do everything for his sister just as he said.
"Master, do you think that Nezuko can be turned back into human?" Mira asked, turning her attention over to Makarov to ask him after giving her younger siblings a small smile.
"If there's a way to turn a demon back to human right now, Giyu wouldn't have been set on killing Nezuko earlier. He doesn't strike me as someone who will do it for fun. His action seemed to be purely from a strong sense of duties as a demon slayer." The sixth guild master answered "However, I do believe that Tanjiro and Nezuko will figure something out together in the future. Nezuko conquering her own instincts so as not to harm her brother and isn't like any demon is definitely the first step."
"I really hope so, master." Mira smiled.
By the time that they were able to make it to their destination, a small house at the foot of Mt. Sagiri, the sun was almost set. Urokodaki looked completely fine as he walked towards the house and opened the door for Tanjiro, who was on his knees trying to catch his breath.
"Have I…" He began through pants. "…passed… the test? Will you… accept me?"
"The test probably haven't even started yet." Makarov said, pointing out the obvious fact that Urokodaki hadn't said anything about the test just yet, making his guild laugh softly alongside him.
Undoing his scarf to reveal short white hair Urokodaki spoke. "The test starts now, go climb the mountain." And Tanjiro could only give a panic scream at those words.
"Big fucking deal, I am going to go climb a mountain right now!" Natsu cried out excitedly as he raised his fists in the air and breathed out a large amount of fire that almost burnt the ceiling of the guild.
"Sure, do it, flame brain, so we don't have to worry about you interfering anymore." Gray pointed out with a smug smirk on his face, before the two butt-headed, with Gray's clothes magically disappearing as usual.
"Don't worry, she will be fine here." Urokodaki assured him as he led Tanjiro into the house so he could lay his sleeping sister down and let her rest. "Let's go."
"Sorry for troubling you, sir."
And with that, the two began to walk up the mountain, with Tanjiro doing his best to follow behind the old man with the tengu mask, no matter how exhausted he became. Soon, however, he began to lose track of how long they've been walking, but the moon was high in the sky so it was definitely late.
Then, when the two of them finally reached the top of the mountain, Urokodaki stopped walking and turned around to speak to Tanjiro.
"Now, go back to my house at the foot of the mountain from here." He said, surprising the red haired boy. "This time, however, I will not wait for you until the sun comes out!"
"Isn't that a bit too simple for a test." Elfman couldn't help but ask. The two did not look like they ran into trouble on their way up, so Tanjiro should have little problem making his way down, right?
"I highly doubt it's going to be that easy." Mira replied to her brother with a small smile.
Leaving those words behind, he seemingly blended in with the mist and disappeared from sight.
"That's so cool!" Natsu exclaimed with his eyes sparkling in excitement "We need to learn how to do that, Happy!"
"Aye sir!" The blue Exceed chirped eagerly.
"Still, why do I have a feeling that Tanjiro is going to get lost in that mist? It's so thick." Lucy pointed out. She could see how the mist was just blocking everything from view and making it hard for Tanjiro to see his surroundings.
"Not to mention that it's so dangerous if you don't know where you are going." Erza agreed with a nod of her head, knowing that if one sense wasn't sharp enough, they could easily misstep and fall over a cliff.
"Ah, I get it now" Tanjiro wondered as he looked behind his back, trying to find Urokodaki but he was long gone. "He thinks I am going to get lost in this thick mist." For the first time since meeting the man, he let out a sigh of relief. 'I'll be fine if I go back before the sun comes out. That's easy! I have a good nose, and I already memorized Urokodaki-san's scent.'
Feeling confident, Tanjiro began to make his way back down, trusting his nose to show him the way.
"With that nose, this test should be a piece of cake for Tanjiro." Natsu said a smirk as he knew how useful a good scent of smell could be, having used his own to find his friends numerous times in the past after memorizing all of their scents. With a nose like that, Tanjiro could just follow the scent that he and Urokodaki left behind as they went up the mountain and he should be able to get to the man's house in no time at all.
"Gotta admit though, having a good scent of smell sounds pretty useful." Lucy said, looking at the dragon slayers who were all known for their strong dragon-like five senses.
"It is… but don't forget that this is a test. I don't think Urokodaki is going to make it so easy for Tanjiro." Makarov pointed out and just as he said that, Tanjiro suddenly tripped on a rope. Despite not falling over, it still surprised Tanjiro enough to make him stop moving and start to look around warily. Before he could start becoming aware of his surroundings, something flew towards him, hitting him in the face.
Tanjiro winced in pain and took a few steps back to regain his balance, only to lose his footing and fall down a pitfall. 'I get it now, so there are traps on my way back."
"Now that's more like a challenge." Natsu spoke with a small smirk, remembering setting up a training ground just like that in the forest next to his house to train every day back when he was younger. Though, for the same reason, he couldn't help but feel worried for Tanjiro just like everyone else, knowing that the young man, while quite strong for someone his age, was still far from a fighter and one of the traps like that could seriously hurt him.
Climbing out of the hole, Tanjiro prepared to continue taking his own path down the mountain, being more cautious this time than before. However, just before he could go anywhere, his hand touched a rope and caused another trap to be activated.
This time, however, what came at him was a huge wooden log tied, swinging down from behind a tree and hitting him on his back before sending him flying.
"Ouch!" Some members of Fairy Tail remarked painfully as they watched Tanjiro landing heavily face first onto the ground several feet away.
"Okay, so this challenge is not as easy as Tanjiro tries to make it to be then." Lucy said with a massive sweat drop, doubting that without her spirit she would be able to overcome such a challenge herself.
"If I continue to fall for these traps, I probably won't be able to make it in time." Tanjiro muttered to himself as he picked himself up, at the same time trying to catch his breath. 'And besides, this mountain… The air is so thin here! It's thinner than the mountain where I live! I'm getting dizzy and losing visions!'
"Oi oi, don't fail your sister now, Tanjiro!" A senior member of Fairy Tail cried out, while the rest held their breaths as they watched Tanjiro return to test and run down the mountain.
"Hmmm, if he takes advantage of his good scent, then maybe he will be able to tell where the traps are and make it back in time." Makarov concluded while rubbing his chin thoughtfully, making the mages of Fairy Tail watch on with hope "It's probably not going to be that easy though."
Gritting his teeth, Tanjiro then forced his body to move despite being clearly in pain, following the trail Urokodaki left behind. 'Get your breathing under control and sniff out each of those traps!' Closing his eyes, he focused in order to smell each of the traps in his way. 'Alright!'
With a determined look, he began running away.
Soon after, the dark red haired young man tripped on another trap, activating it and causing more logs to come flying at him. This time, however, Tanjiro was fully prepared and managed to dodge them, dashing left and right to avoid the spikes even as he kept activating more and more traps.
"Watch your left!" Natsu roared as the scene switched back and forth between scenes, giving him and the mages of Fairy Tail an idea of where the traps were coming toward Tanjiro from every direction. As the members of Fairy Tail cheered for Tanjiro, they could see that despite not being able to tell the traps' exact locations, he could still tell where they would be coming from and quick enough on his feet to dodge them.
"Come on Tanjiro-kun, you can do it!" Mira said as she put her hands together and prayed for his success, just like many others in the guild. Even the likes of Laxus and his teams couldn't take their eyes away from what they were seeing on the scene and admire the burning determination in Tanjiro's eyes as he ran back down the mountain.
'I've got it! I've got it!' The red haired teen thought. 'These traps are set up by people, so I can sniff them out! The smell is slightly different' Almost as if to contradict him, a new trap went off, a bamboo that had been bended until it was touching the ground, hitting Tanjiro and swinging him into the air before smashing him into the ground.
"Incoming! Come on Tanjiro, stand up!" Gray shouted as more and more Fairy Tail members joined in on the cheer for Tanjiro, with the younger members like Wendy having to cover her eyes when several bamboo trees came crashing down on him, making him raise his arms to cover his face before getting up and ran as fast as he two feet could carry him again, having to hold onto the trees every now and then to support himself. 'I will definitely make it back!'
At the house at the foot of the mountain.
"HUH? NO!" Natsu cried out when suddenly, the scene changed, switching to Nezuko as she slept peacefully inside Urokodaki's house. "What the hell is this editing?! Did Tanjiro do it!" Everyone became silent and held their breaths, knowing that the result could be revealed at any moment now.
Urokodaki, who had long since made it back home and moved Nezuko from the floor to a futon, tucked the little girl in before looking at the window, waiting patiently for Tanjiro to come back.
'The sun is about to go up.' The old man thought.
Just as he thought that, the door of his house slowly slid open, revealing a harshly breathing Tanjiro, who looked completely beaten with his face marred in bruises, his clothes tattered and covered in dirt. He was bleeding from all over his body, but at the same time, he looked fine.
"YEAAAAHHHHH!" The members of Fairy Tail cried out in celebration, cheering so loudly everyone in Magnolia town could hear them as they threw their hands and drinks into the air. Natsu even jumped on the table and unleashed the full might of his dragon fire in excitement, but asides from a light scold from Erza, no one cared that he almost burnt down the entire guild, feeling way too happy for Tanjiro to care about collateral damage at that moment "HE DID IT!"
"Good job, Tanjiro." Makarov nodded, smiling warmly at the young man on the screen.
"I…" Tanjiro muttered. "…have… returned…" And that was the only thing he could say before collapsing
Urokodaki said nothing, but slowly he stood up from the floor and walked the older Kamado to lean down and place a hand on his back, before speaking to him in a low, but soft tone.
"I accept you as my student, Kamado Tanjiro."
"YES!" Fairy Tail cheered out once again, as the scene faded to black.
End of chapter 3
Note: Have a great time reading guys! Leave a review once you have finished reading! Check out my p/atreon and join my discord community if you can!
See you in the next chapter
