Sabito and Makomo
Hi again!
First, guest reviews answer corner, remember it is answered from oldest to newest.
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Guest: I think you can guess at least one ship in this fic simply based on my one-shots. I won't reveal anything else though.
Thanks for leaving a review and for the support!
Guest: Understandable but, like I said in the previous chapter, I'm building up to it, I can't very well tell you 'go watch the anime/manga from this chapter to this chapter before reading this', that just feels wrong.
With that said, this chapter will… not exactly diverge; I think 'expand' would be a better term, you'll see what I mean as you read.
Guest: I try to post at least one chapter a month for any multi-chapter story I make but I don't have a completely fixed schedule. Depending on how much time and motivation I have, I may update twice a month or even more.
There was one time when I wrote a really long chapter and I ended up dividing it into two, adding some more to the second part and posted both within a day of each other, just to give an example.
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Once again, thank you all for the support you're giving to this fic, it's always nice to read reviews showing that you're interested in the story!
Without further ado, on with the chapter.
Disclaimer: Still don't own Kimetsu no Yaiba.
I hope you enjoy.
"No matter how many times I come back, it always brings back memories." Sabito thought out loud with a smile.
"True." The black haired girl at his side nodded. She is wearing the standard Demon Slayer uniform with a flower patterned haori on top and had a fox mask with two flowers on the right cheek resting at the left side of her head.
The two had been traveling for around three days and they could finally see Urokodaki's home at the foot of the mountain.
"The kid should be trying to go down the mountain at this hour, right Makomo?" Sabito asked.
"Unless Urokodaki-san changed his training regime, he should be, yes." She answered.
The two shared a chuckle at the thought of their master changing his training.
"Sabito, what exactly are you planning to do?" Makomo asked; her expression serious. "You said that you want to see this demon for yourself, and I agree, but you haven't told me what you plan to do exactly."
"It's simple really, I will test her." The peach haired man answered with a shrug.
"Test her?"
"To see if she will attack humans or not."
"And how, exactly, will you do that?" A new voice asked.
The two didn't even flinch as they turned around and smiled at the masked man.
"Urokodaki-san." The two bowed in unison. "It's nice to see you again."
"Likewise." The older man answered, smiling behind his mask. "Although I know you're not here just to visit." Sabito and Makomo raised their heads and nodded. "Come on then, let's talk inside."
"What about your new student?" The black haired girl asked as the three began to walk.
"Tanjiro will be training in the mountain for a while longer, enough time for us to talk." Urokodaki answered.
"How is he doing?" Sabito asked next.
"He is still just beginning so not great but he is getting better." Their master answered before opening the door to his house. "Make yourselves at home."
The two former students did as told, entered the house and sat down near the middle.
"So, back to my question." The masked man began after sitting down. "Sabito, how do you plan to test Nezuko?"
"…where is she?" He asked instead of answering.
"Sleeping in the next room." Urokodaki answered, gesturing to the door with his hand. "She has been asleep since she got here."
"It's been days." Makomo said in surprise.
"I know, I called a doctor already but he couldn't tell us what was wrong with her."
"She is a demon, of course he couldn't." Sabito chimed in. He then got up, walked to the room his master mentioned and opened the door.
Inside, Nezuko was sleeping peacefully on top of a futon with a blanket covering up to her neck.
"What do you intend to do?" The man with the tengu mask asked.
Without a word, Sabito unsheathed his sword and walked towards the sleeping demon, he stood over Nezuko, let out a wave of killing intent and raised his sword.
"Sabito!" Makomo called out just before he brought down the sword.
"…she is a heavy sleeper." The swordsman said simply, having stopped his sword just before making contact with her neck. "I apologize, Urokodaki-san, I needed to make sure."
"It's fine." The aforementioned answered. "I suppose whatever test you had in mind will have to wait then?"
"Yes, it's pointless to try anything if she is not even awake." The peach haired man answered as he sheathed his sword and walked back to his seat. "I told Giyu I will see for myself if there really is something different with these two, you know better than anyone that I don't go back on my word."
"True." Sakonji said with a chuckle. "For what it's worth, she resisted eating some corpses on the way here."
"What do you mean?" Makomo asked.
"When I encountered the two in a temple not far from here, Tanjiro and Nezuko had just fought a demon." Urokodaki began. "The fight was over by the time I arrived with the head of the demon pinned against a tree with an axe, I asked Tanjiro to tell me what happened after he passed the test and got some rest." He proceeded to re-tell what Tanjiro said to him about smelling blood, thinking that someone was injured and fighting the demon.
"So his sister protected him." Sabito said, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Are you certain he wasn't lying?"
"I am, his scent wasn't that of a liar… he did say something that got me thinking, though."
"What was that?" The only girl in the room asked.
"I asked him if he hated demons." The masked man began. "He said 'no', can you guess why?"
"Because his sister is one." Sabito answered immediately. "Hating demons would be the same as hating her."
"Correct, that's part of the reason."
"A part?" The two former students asked in unison.
"…'weren't demons human once?'"
The moment those words came out, Sabito and Makomo widened their eyes in shock.
"He asked me that when I asked about hating demons beside his sister… it's easy to forget that don't you think?"
"Demons eat people!"
"'Was it their choice to become a demon?', I said the exact same thing as you Sabito and that was his answer."
"He… has a point." Makomo admitted. "That been said, we can't just let demons go free simply because it might not have been their choice to become one, they still killed and ate people."
"And he agrees." Urokodaki said. "Like I told you before, he hesitated for too long and the sun ended up killing the demon from the temple but after the conversation I just mentioned to you he told me that he won't hesitate anymore, 'even if they have their circumstances, killing people is unforgivable' were his exact words."
"Can he really live up to those words?" Sabito asked.
"From everything you just said, he is too kind for his own good, empathizing with a demon can be lethal if it makes him hesitate." Makomo added.
"I believe he can do it, saving his sister takes priority over everything else for him." The masked man answered.
The two demon slayers exchanged a look before looking back at their master.
"We'll trust your judgement then." They said in unison, the silver haired man nodded.
"Have you told him about the Final Selection?" Sabito asked.
"I have explained the basics of the Demon Slayer corps and that the only way to join is by passing the Final Selection that I decide whether or not he is ready to go to."
"And about that demon?" Makomo asked next.
"Not yet." Their master answered. "I will tell him when and if I think he is ready to go to Mt. Fujikasane, not before."
The former students nodded in agreement.
"On to another topic, would you like to stay for dinner?" Urokodaki asked.
"Thank you for the offer but we don't want to reveal ourselves to that kid yet." Sabito answered, about to get up.
"I thought I told you, he has a good nose." His master answered. "He'll be able to tell someone came here and will recognize your scent if you ever meet each other."
"…there is no reason to deny the offer then." Makomo said with a grin while looking at her peach haired friend.
Sabito simply sighed before smiling and nodding.
'I'm finally done for the day.' Tanjiro thought, slowly and sluggishly making his way towards his master's house.
He had spent the entire day going up and down the mountain per Urokodaki's instructions; he still had a long way to go to be able to avoid all the traps but he was making progress, unlike the first few days, his worst injury was a bruise on his cheek, courtesy of a rock he was too slow to dodge. His clothes were a mess, though.
'I wonder what's for dinner.' He thought absentmindedly before sniffing the air to try and recognize what his master was cooking. 'Hmm? This smell… there are two other people in the house.'
Curious, he quickened his pace a bit and opened the door.
"I'm back." The red haired boy called out.
"Welcome back." Urokodaki answered, sitting in the middle of the room and cooking a hot-pot.
Beside him, a man and a woman were sitting around the fire.
The two were wearing the same black uniform and had a sword resting at their side but the man with grey eyes had a tri-colored haori on top while the girl with blue eyes had a flower patterned one over hers. They also had a fox mask each, the girl was wearing hers on the side of her head and it had two flowers on the right cheek while the other had his hanging from his waist and had a scar on its right cheek that matched the one the man had on his face.
"Nice to meet you." The girl said with a smile. "I'm Makomo and this is Sabito, we're former students of Urokodaki-san."
"Ah, nice to meet you, my name is Kamado Tanjiro." The red haired boy said before bowing in greeting.
"Giyu told us about your circumstances." Sabito spoke harshly, a stark contrast to Makomo's seemingly friendly disposition. "You said that you want to turn your sister back into a human."
"That's correct." Tanjiro nodded after standing upright again.
"That has never been done before." The older male continued, glaring at him. "There may not even be a way."
"I will still find it." The Kamado answered, not looking away from Sabito's stern glare despite the chill it sent down his spine.
"…"
"…"
"…we'll see." Sabito relented.
"Tanjiro." Makomo called out, earning his attention. "You're hurt." She said, pointing to his cheek.
"Ah, there was a rock that I couldn't dodge in time." He explained.
"Come with me, I'll take care of it." The black haired girl said, standing up. "Is the first aid kit still in the same place?"
"Yes." Urokodaki answered.
"Thank you very much." Tanjiro said with a smile as he followed her.
At dinner.
Tanjiro felt a little awkward as he ate, trying not to seem too conspicuous as he glanced at the two guests.
"If there is something you want to say, say it." Sabito spoke up before taking a bite of his food.
Flinching at the sudden words, the red haired boy took a deep breath to calm down and spoke.
"You two are Demon slayers, right?"
"That's right." Makomo answered.
"Thank you for not attacking Nezuko."
Those words actually made Sabito pause, his chopsticks holding a piece of food between his bowl and his mouth.
"Make no mistake." The peach haired man began. "The only reason I haven't decapitated your sister is because I told Giyu that I would wait and see for myself if she really won't attack humans, I can't test that if she is asleep so I'm simply waiting."
"Nezuko would never attack humans." Tanjiro said with certainty.
"Tanjiro." Makomo chimed in, smiling sadly. "We have heard a lot of people say that when they saw their loved ones turn into demons, each time, the demons would attack them after that claim."
"Yet she hasn't attacked anyone." The Kamado countered.
"Leave it be." Urokodaki spoke. "The fact that she hasn't attacked anyone is undeniable but that doesn't mean that she won't, either way she can't do that while she's asleep so this discussion is moot."
The other three looked at their master before nodding in agreement.
.
.
After that conversation dinner was uneventful, if a little awkward, and once he was done Tanjiro excused himself and went to the room he was sharing with Nezuko.
He spared a glance at his sister before moving to a small desk in a corner of the room, light a lamp and write.
The older Kamado had decided to keep a journal for his sister of what he had been doing that day and wrote on it every day after training and before going to sleep.
"We'll be taking our leave now." Sabito said, he and Makomo were standing outside the house, with Urokodaki at the door.
"You're welcome to spend the night, you know?" The old man said.
"Thank you, but we have to go back now." Makomo answered. "We'll visit again."
"And please send a letter if the demon regains consciousness." Sabito added.
"I will." Urokodaki said with a nod before approaching the two and placing a hand on their heads. "It fills me with pride to see how far you've come." He said, smiling behind his mask.
Sabito and Makomo smiled, letting him continue.
After Urokodaki stopped, he wished them a safe trip and the two Demon Slayers left.
.
.
"So, what's the verdict?" Makomo asked, glancing at her friend.
"He really seems to believe that he can turn his sister back into a human." Sabito answered. "Whether that's possible or not remains to be seen, but I won't question his determination."
"I think you scared him a bit, though." The girl said with a grin.
"If that was enough to make him stop, then he would have never accomplished anything."
"True."
Three months later.
As Makomo had said, Sabito and her have been visiting Urokodaki every now and then, they usually only stay a day and to eat dinner before going back, checking on Nezuko as well as listening about how Tanjiro's training was coming along from their master.
So far, he was making progress but according to Urokodaki unless Tanjiro suddenly underwent an explosive growth there was no way he was making it into the Final Selection this year.
"That's more or less the gist of it." Sabito said, having just explained this to Giyu.
The two Demon Slayers were currently on their way to headquarters for a meeting of the Pillars.
"I see." The black haired man said in monotone, looking at his slightly taller friend from the corner of his eyes. "Are you going to bring him up during the meeting?"
"No."
"Shouldn't you, as the Water Pillar?"
"As the Water Pillar, I should have cut off that girl's head when she was sleeping in Urokodaki-san's home." Sabito answered. "If I speak about her then someone, likely Shinazugawa, will surely rush there and kill her without mercy. I said that I will wait and see for myself if she truly doesn't eat humans, I have no intention of going back on my word."
"…I'm sorry." Giyu said.
"I told you repeatedly, don't worry about it." The peach haired man answered with a shrug. "On another topic, remember to pay attention to the meeting and don't be afraid to speak up if you have something to say."
"Why am I going to the meetings again?" He asked with a small frown. "I'm not a Pillar."
"No, you are my Tsuguko and I plan to prepare you in case you have to take my place." Sabito answered.
"As if that would ever happen." Giyu said back, taking it as a joke. For him, the idea of Sabito dying before him was laughable.
"I'm not invincible Giyu, I'm confident in my skills and I have no intention of dying any time soon, that doesn't mean that I won't." The man with the tri-color haori answered. "Why the reluctance, though? You used to have no problem with accompanying me to the meetings."
"Ara ara, Sabito-san, Tomioka-san." Someone called out, making the two turn around in the direction of the voice.
Calmly walking towards them was a petite woman with purple eyes and short black hair that fades to purple, fastened at the back with a white and purple butterfly ornament with two bangs framing her face. She is wearing the standard Demon Slayer uniform in a shade of dark purple and a white haori with a butterfly wing pattern.
"Shinobu-san, it's been a while." Sabito greeted amicably as the two waited for her to approach.
"Indeed it has." Shinobu answered smiling. "How have you two been?"
"Can't complain." The Pillar answered with a shrug.
"And you, Tomioka-san?"
"Kocho." Giyu said as a way of greeting before turning around again. "We should get going; we don't want to be late."
The Water Pillar could only sigh at his friend's attitude.
"You go on ahead, we'll catch up." He said to her.
"Very well, I'll see you two later." She answered, still with the same smile, before disappearing from sight.
Sabito caught up with Giyu and simply stared at him, silently asking what was wrong.
"You asked me why I've been reluctant to come to meetings lately." The Tsuguko began. "The reason just rushed ahead of us."
"You have a problem with Shinobu-san?" The black haired man nodded. "What is it?"
"I don't like her smile." He said simply.
"Her smile?" Sabito repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Why not?"
Giyu stopped walking and turned to look his friend in the eyes.
"Even I can tell that she's faking it."
The pillar widened his eyes, caught genuinely off-guard by that statement.
'I guess anyone who knew her before would be able to tell.' He thought with a sigh before the two resumed their walk. "I understand what you mean." The peach haired man said.
"I'm sure everyone else has noticed as well."
"I mean no offense but, like you said, even you noticed." Sabito said with a small grin to try and lighten the mood.
"I'm not that bad." Giyu said with a frown.
"Yes, you are." The other man answered before blinking. "Huh, feels a bit weird to say that without Makomo saying it with me, guess I got too used to it."
The black haired swordsman decided not to comment anymore, knowing how it would end up if he did.
A year has passed since Tanjiro first arrived at Mt. Sagiri.
In all that time, he has done nothing but train in order to survive the Final Selection.
Around two months after Sabito and Makomo's first visit, he had become much stronger and was able to avoid the traps with relative ease while also sniffing them out with more time to dodge and pinpoint their location more accurately; the downside, was that the traps began to go from 'painful but not lethal' to 'lethal', the rocks were now knives, the pitfalls were filled with blades at the bottom and the logs were replaced by a wood surface covered with spikes.
A month after he had managed to overcome those traps, Urokodaki gave him a training sword and told him to go down the mountain while holding it, it was the first time in a long time that he was caught in the traps thanks to not been used to the weapon and it hampering his movement; the masked man seemed to have taken that into account as he had prepared non-lethal traps that time.
After going down the mountain, Tanjiro is made to swing the sword until he feels like his arms are about to fall off, Urokodaki adding more repetitions if he thinks that the red haired kid can still go on.
After learning the basics, Urokodaki told Tanjiro to try and attack him with the sword; although hesitant at first the Kamado soon learned that he had no chance of actually hitting his master, despite his age, the old man constantly sent him flying into the ground.
Following that began the training for the ten forms of Urokodaki's style of swordsmanship, the Water Breathing Style.
To do that, Tanjiro first had to learn about Total Concentration Breathing, a breathing technique that, in Urokodaki's own words, enhances his body's natural healing power as well as stabilizing and energizing his spirit by making the oxygen flow into every cell of his body.
Since overcoming the traps, this was the first thing he has felt pain for not accomplishing, as the man with the tengu mask hit his stomach with his palm every time Tanjiro wasn't bracing it.
Afterwards, Tanjiro was thrown down a waterfall, Urokodaki telling him to 'become one with water' right before he kicked him in.
The waterfall training began six months after he arrived and it only got harder and more dangerous as he continued, Urokodaki telling him to go even higher up the mountain where the air is even thinner than where he first began his training and the way down not only had traps but also slopes and cliffs that he had no way of overcoming but by climbing down.
In all the time that Tanjiro spent training, Nezuko didn't wake up, worrying his brother.
Sabito and Makomo's visits became more frequent as time went on, stopping by at least once every two weeks but they didn't interact much; Tanjiro always made sure to greet them and Makomo greeted him back while Sabito just stared at him.
And now, a year after the red haired boy began his training.
"I have nothing more to teach you." Urokodaki said after Tanjiro had finished going down the mountain that day.
He was panting and had some dirt in his face and clothes but was fine otherwise.
"Eh?" The student said, surprised at the sudden statement.
"The rest is up to you! Whether or not you can improve to the next level."
Taking a deep breath, Tanjiro stood upright.
"Come with me!" Urokodaki said.
.
Tanjiro followed his master as the masked man calmly walked around the forest, clearly knowing where he was going.
'It's snowing.' The Kamado thought, noticing the snowflakes that where falling and looking around, unconsciously comparing this forest and mountain to the one he grew up in.
He was snapped out of his thoughts when Urokodaki stopped walking.
They had made their way to a clearing in the forest and in the middle of it was a large boulder with a rope tied around it.
"If you can slice this boulder, I will allow you to enter the Final Selection."
'Eh?' Tanjiro looked at his master and then back at the boulder. 'Slice the boulder? Can you even do that with a sword?' He wondered. 'I don't think I can, my sword will snap.'
Unaware of his student's thoughts, or maybe aware but willingly ignoring them, the masked man turned around and walked away, ignoring Tanjiro's callings.
Seeing that his master wasn't going to come back, Tanjiro did the only think he could do, face the boulder, draw his weapon and strike.
The boulder remained intact and the Kamado felt the backlash in his whole body but his sword was intact, so he simply tried again.
Three months since Tanjiro began to try to split the boulder.
"He is still out training?" Makomo asked as she saw the sun begin to set. Sabito and her were sitting with Urokodaki inside the house drinking tea.
"He has determination but at this rate, he won't make it for the Final Selection this year either." Urokodaki answered.
"Do you not want him to make it?" Sabito asked, making the older man flinch almost imperceptibly.
"He is a good kid, I already took a risk by sending Makomo at the time… I don't want to tempt fate anymore." He answered, letting out a sigh. "That been said, it isn't my choice to make, I have taught him everything the same way I thought any of my students the rest is up to him."
The peach haired man didn't reply and simply took a sip of his tea.
The next day.
"What are you doing?" Makomo asked as she walked towards Sabito.
The Water Pillar was standing between some of the trees, staring at Tanjiro swinging his sword.
"His hands are bleeding." Sabito said, noticing a few drops of blood falling to the ground. "Yet he keeps training."
"That's right." The girl agreed. "So why are you spying on him? You even made sure to stand downwind and to cover your scent so he couldn't sniff you out."
"…" The man with the tri-color haori simply turned around and walked back to Urokodaki's house.
Makomo looked at Tanjiro train a moment longer, making her smile grow slightly before also turning back and follow her friend.
Six months since Tanjiro began to try to cut the boulder.
"Hah!" The Kamado swung his sword yet the rock remained unharmed. 'Am I hopeless?' He thought, realizing that after six months he wasn't any closer to cutting the boulder than when he began.
He had been training non-stop, thinking that he only needed to try even harder but his mental fortitude was finally beginning to crumble as he saw he was running out of sunlight and the boulder was still intact.
'Is Nezuko going to die without ever waking up?' He felt like crying, he wanted to scream in frustration at his weakness. 'I'll almost give in! I'm breaking down!'
THUD
Before he could continue that line of thought, Tanjiro hit his head against the boulder.
"Keep working, me! You can do it!" He yelled at himself, head butting the boulder one more time.
"Shut up!" Someone called from behind him, making Tanjiro flinch andvturn around. "A man shouldn't whine. It's unseemly."
"Sabito-san?" The Kamado asked. "What-?"
"No matter how much you suffer, bear it in silence." Sabito continued, his mask had been moved to the side of his head and he was holding a wooden sword in his right hand while his real one was kept at its sheath. "If you call yourself a man, that is."
Without any warning, Sabito closed the distance and struck at Tanjiro, the red haired kid barely had time to move his sword in the middle, blocking the strike, only to be sent flying to the side from a kick Sabito followed with.
"Slow. Weak. Immature." The swordsman said, glaring at Tanjiro's prone form. "That's not what you call a man."
"What are you doing?" Tanjiro demanded.
"That's what I'd like to ask, what do you think you're doing?"
"What? I'm training." The Kamado answered, thinking it was obvious.
"How long are you going to stay on the ground without taking a stance?" Realizing what he meant, the red eyed boy quickly got up and prepared his sword. "Come on." Sabito said, using his free hand to make a 'bring it on' gesture. "Come at me."
"But you have a wooden sword, and I have a real one!"
The Demon Slayer let his free hand fall to his side before bursting out laughing as if he was just told a great joke.
"Well, well!" He began, getting his laughter under control and grinning a savage grin. "Thank you for worrying about me. So, you think you're actually going to injure me!" Once again, he closed the distance before Tanjiro could realize it and did a downward slash, making his wooden sword clash with the hilt of Tanjiro's weapon.
The Kamado could barely keep him at bay by focusing all his strength in pushing back against the taller male.
"Well, you have absolutely nothing to worry about! Do you think I passed the Final Selection without completing my training?"
'Does that mean… he can slice the boulder?' Tanjiro was about to voice his question when Sabito jumped behind him and used a nearby tree as a foothold to lunge towards him, this time clashing his sword with his.
Without giving Tanjiro any breathing room, Sabito began to jump around the place, using the trees and the ground to circle around the Demon Slayer in training.
'Where is he? I can't follow his movements.' The red haired boy thought, trying to predict were his opponent would appear. 'Cr-gah!'
Only for Sabito to suddenly appear at his right and hit him in the face with enough force to send him to the ground.
"You've learned nothing." The swordsman berated. "You haven't mastered a single thing!" He continued as Tanjiro tried to get up. "Particularly, the breathing technique Urokodaki-san taught you, Total Concentration Breathing."
'The breathing technique?' Tanjiro repeated, noticing how he mentioned that one thing in particular.
"All you did was memorize it as fact." Sabito didn't let up and pointed his wooden sword at him as if accusing him. "Your body has no clue what it needs to do." While listening to him, the boy with the hanafuda earrings managed to get back up. "What the hell were you doing for a whole year and a half?"
Without waiting for an answer, Sabito struck again, clashing his weapon against the younger's guard.
"Slam it into your flesh!" He said before stopping the clash and begin a flurry of attacks. "More!" The peach haired man yelled, not relenting in the slightest. "More!" He pushed Tanjiro back and the moment he had regained his footing rushed at him again, still exchanging blows. "So that you'll never forget the secrets Urokodaki-san taught you! Pound it into the marrow of your bones!"
"I'm trying!" Tanjiro answered, barely parrying a strike. "I'm trying every single day! With everything I've got!" His voice began to crack. "But I'm not making any headway! I just can't go any further!"
"Go further!" Sabito yelled in response, increasing the speed of his slashes to get past Tanjiro's defense and hitting his body. "If you call yourself a man there's no way to go but forward!" Another clash of weapons that Tanjiro barely managed to keep up with. "Bring it on!" The red haired kid jumped backwards, avoiding a downward slash. "Show me what you're capable of!" Sabito taunted, standing his ground and holding his sword parallel to the ground while pointing at Tanjiro.
Letting out a wordless battle cry, Tanjiro lunged forward, for the first time attacking since their spar began. He brought his sword up and as fast as he was able brought it down.
Only for Sabito to move slightly to the side to avoid the hit, use his left leg as a pivot to spin in place and hit him upwards on his chin, knocking him out.
Relaxing his stance, the swordsman let out a sigh.
"I'm leaving the rest to you." He said without turning backwards.
"Hm." Makomo nodded, having approached the moment the spar was over. "You could have hold back a bit more, you know?"
"I held back just enough." Answering that, Sabito took the mask from the side of his head and secured it on his hip again while walking towards the boulder, jumping on top of it and then sitting down.
.
.
"Hngg." Tanjiro opened his eyes, wondering for a moment why he was laying down in the ground before he remembered his spar against Sabito.
"Are you alright?" Makomo asked, kneeling at his side.
The red haired boy quickly moved to a sitting position and turned to her.
"Did you see that just now?"
"Hm?" The girl tilted her head slightly.
"It was an amazing strike! Not a single bit of wasted motion! It was really beautiful!"
'He just got beaten into unconsciousness and he's praising the one responsible?' Makomo thought. 'I was half expecting him to complain.'
"I want to become like that! You think I can become like him?"
Letting a smile grace her features, Makomo answered.
"I'm sure you can, I'll be looking after you." She said before turning towards the boulder. "No complaints, right Sabito?"
The Kamado turned in the same direction to see that Sabito was sitting on top of the boulder with his back at them.
"Once a week." The other Demon Slayer said before standing up. "I'll be coming here once a week to assess your progress, if any of those times I see that you haven't moved the slightest bit further since the week before I will break your bones." With that, the peach haired man disappeared.
'He is embarrassed.' Makomo thought, holding back a giggle. 'Well, I'm sure he wasn't expecting to be praised for knocking someone out.'
"Right! Thank you very much!" Tanjiro yelled, hoping Sabito could still hear him. "Makomo-san, you said that you would help me, can we begi…" In the middle of his sentence, Tanjiro suddenly felt dizzy and had to use a hand to stop himself from falling back down.
"We'll begin tomorrow." The black haired girl said. "Training is important but your body can't go on without a proper rest."
Nodding, albeit reluctantly, Tanjiro made his way back Urokodaki's home to sleep.
The next day, Makomo began helping Tanjiro with his training.
"First, we will work on your bad habits, I noticed a few during your spar with Sabito and it's better to get rid of them sooner rather than later." She explained.
"Understood." The red haired boy nodded. "But before that, can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Why are you helping me?" He asked. "I'm grateful but since Urokodaki-san said that he won't train me anymore I thought I had to manage on my own."
"There's no rule like that." Makomo answered, gently shaking her head. "As to why we're helping you… I'll tell you if you slice the boulder, is that okay?"
"Yes!"
"Take a stance."
He did as told and unsheathed his sword, paying close attention to what Makomo pointed out as his bad habits and making sure to get rid of them.
A week later.
"Gah!" Tanjiro was knocked into the ground by an horizontal strike from Sabito. "Damn it."
"That's enough." The peach haired man said moving his mask from the side of his head to his hip, turning around and walking away.
'He is not going to break my bones?'
"Do you want to call it a day?" Makomo asked, having approached the fallen boy after Sabito left.
"No, please train me." He answered immediately. "Ah, I have another question."
"Go ahead."
"I remember Sabito-san pointing out Total Concentration Breathing in particular during our first spar, why is that?"
Makomo pointed to her mouth and nose with her index and middle finger before answering.
"See, Total Concentration Breathing accelerates your blood circulation and your heart rate." She begins. "That causes your body temperature to spike, making you as strong as a demon while staying human. The important thing is to expand your lung capacity; when you bring lots of air into your blood and when your blood gets excited, your bones and muscles scurry to heat up and grow stronger."
'I'm not sure I get it.' Tanjiro thought, his expression revealing his thoughts. "How can I do that?"
Makomo smiled a smile that seemed too gentle for the next words that she spoke.
"Train to death." She said. "At the end of the day, there's nothing else you can do."
The next two months became a blur for Tanjiro, with him training until he felt like his arms and legs were about to fall off and his lungs and heart were about to burst, yet he continued to swing his sword.
Like Sabito said, he would visit every week and they would spar, every time Sabito would use a wooden sword and every time he would almost effortlessly defeat his sibling disciple.
Tanjiro was actually afraid that he would break his bones each time he declared the fight as over, thinking that he hadn't made any progress but Sabito never did. The one time he asked about it Sabito answered 'I made it clear, I would only break your bones if you hadn't made any progress since our last spar', in other words, while he couldn't defeat Sabito the older male was acknowledging that he had made progress.
Makomo stayed with him most of the time, she would go for about a day or two every once in a while, not before giving Tanjiro instructions about what he should practice and to correct certain bad habits he had picked up but she always came back and continued to help.
"Are you alright?" Makomo asked.
Tanjiro was currently laying face up on the ground, trying to catch his breath.
"I'm… fine…" He answered between pants, trying to get his breathing under control.
"Take a ten minute break and then we'll continue."
"Under…stood." The Kamado said, moving to a sitting position and managing to get his breath under control after a while. "By the way, are you and Sabito-san siblings?"
"Hmm? No, do we look alike?"
"Not exactly, I was just wondering."
"We're both orphans, our families were killed by demons." She revealed with a sad smile.
"…I'm sorry; I didn't want to make you remember that."
"It's fine." She assured him. "Urokodaki-san took us in and helped us, he had taken a lot of disciples before us too."
"Where are they now? I'd like to meet them." He asked, smiling innocently.
That was the only question Makomo didn't answer, instead she smiled and said.
"We love Urokodaki-san very much."
'This scent… sadness.' Tanjiro thought, deciding to drop the subject.
"Break is over, ready?"
"Yes!"
Four months later.
Almost an entire year has passed since Tanjiro began trying to cut the boulder and six months since Sabito and Makomo began to train him.
In that time, except for taking care of his basic needs and any rests his body demanded lest he ended up falling apart, the now fifteen year old took Makomo's advice to heart and trained himself to death.
His hair had grown and was now reaching his neck and his clothes were covered in dirt since he barely allowed himself time to wash them every few days.
"After half a year, finally, you have the face of a man." Sabito said, although his stern expression didn't change.
The two were in the clearing where they first spar, snow was covering the ground and snowflakes gently fell down on them but neither seemed to mind or feel cold.
Throwing away his wooden sword, Sabito unsheathed his real one, for the first time wielding a real weapon against Tanjiro.
The boy noticed the unusual color of the sword, it being a dark blue, but didn't pay much attention to it.
"Today, I'll win." He declared, already holding his sword with both hands in front of him.
"Bring it." Sabito answered, mirroring his stance.
During all this, Makomo stood to the side, watching the two.
'Sniff it out, the opening thread.' Tanjiro thought, using the breathing technique he had almost killed himself to learn. 'I've been noticing the scent of a thread every time I see an opening in Sabito-san's stance, find it.'
'Good.' Sabito thought, maintaining his glare despite the smile that threatened to appear. 'You have truly trained hard, Tanjiro, let's see if it was enough.'
'…there.' The moment he noticed the scent of a thread he could see an invisible thread connected from his blade to the opening in Sabito's stance growing taut. 'Here I go!'
Without any signal, Tanjiro lunged forward, his sword poised for a downward strike.
Sabito stood unmoving, waiting for him to approach and the instant just before Tanjiro's sword would have connected, he moved out of the way.
'Damn it! The thread broke!' The Kamado thought, ready to block Sabito's counter attack, but it never came.
Instead of attacking, Sabito had turned his back on him, sheathed his sword and moved his mask to his hip as he always did when they were done fighting.
"Excellent." The peach haired man said simply.
"Eh?"
"Tanjiro." Makomo called out. "Look in front of you."
He did as told and then noticed it, Sabito had been standing right in front of the boulder and waited until the last moment to dodge so the red haired teen couldn't stop his attack and instead of hitting Sabito, it hit the boulder that was now split in two halves.
Tanjiro could only stare, almost not believing that he actually managed to cut that thing but he didn't have time to process it as he heard footsteps approaching him.
Standing upright, he turned around to see the man with the tengu mask approaching him and looking at the boulder.
"Urokodaki-san…"
"I had no intention of sending you to the Final Selection." He began, surprising the red haired teen. "I didn't want to tempt fate anymore after Makomo. I was sure you wouldn't be able to slice this boulder, but…" Trailing off, the older man turned to Tanjiro and moved a hand to his head. "Well done, my boy!" He said, smiling behind his mask. "Tanjiro, you're a remarkable kid!"
It was those words that finally made him realize it, he had done it, all the training, all the pain he endured, it wasn't for nothing.
He didn't even realize when tears began to fall form his eyes but didn't bother to wipe them.
"Make sure you come back alive from the Final Selection." Urokodaki said, hugging him. "Sabito, Makomo, your sister and I will be waiting for you here."
"Y-yes!" Tanjiro answered through sobs.
"Isn't this great Sabito?" Makomo asked her taller friend.
"No, not yet at least." He answered with a melancholic expression. "It will be great when he comes back."
"…you're right, we still need to tell him." She agreed.
"But that can wait a bit." Sabito said, smiling at the sight.
"Yeah" The girl nodded. "it can wait."
Ok, so I thought about making this a bit longer but I genuinely liked this as a stopping point so I'll leave this chapter here.
Next time, the Water Breathing users talk and the Final Selection begins!
Before you go, I thought I'd take a page from the anime and share a secret with you.
Just in case, SPOILER ALERT for the manga, you have been warned.
Have you noticed that Uzui Tengen's wives each share personalities with Tanjiro, Inosuke and Zenitsu? Hinatsuru with Tanjiro, Makio with Inosuke and Suma with Zenitsu.
END OF SPOILERS
I think that's it, I hope you enjoyed and don't be shy about leaving reviews!
Until next time.
