Final Selection

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Guest: Hello.

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Wow, I'll be honest here, I did not expect this much support for the story.

I did think that it would get a good amount of it, just not this much, really, thank you for all the reviews, favs and follows.

Without further ado, on with the chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kimetsu no Yaiba.

I hope you enjoy!


After Tanjiro calmed down, he was told to take a bath and get changed and then go to the house.

When he arrived, Urokodaki was cooking a lot of food in the grill in the middle of the living room, there were several fish and a hot pot filled with meat and vegetables.

Sabito and Makomo were sitting around it, waiting for the red haired teen to arrive.

"Whoa." He let out, as he saw the amount of food before taking a seat. "What's the occasion? There's so much."

"You've completed all your training, so we're celebrating." His master answered, his tone giving away the smile that his mask hid, as he served him a bowl of the hot pot and offered it to him. "Don't be shy, eat up."

"Thank you very much!" The Kamado said smiling before beginning to eat with gusto.

Unbeknownst to him, the other three exchanged glances in a silent conversation and, without giving so much as a nod to each other, thought the same thing.

'It can wait a bit longer.'

"Seconds please!"

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After the feast was over.

"Urokodaki-san, do you have a pair of scissors that I can borrow?" The youngest in the room asked.

"Hm? Yes, Sabito, could you get them?"

The aforementioned nodded and got up from the floor, went to a closet drawer and took a pair of scissors that he then gave to Tanjiro.

"What are you using them for?" Sabito asked.

"I want to cut my hair, it's gotten too long." He answered.

"I can do it if you want." Makomo offered. "I cut Sabito and Giyu's hair from time to time so I have some practice."

"Really? Thank you." Tanjiro accepted, giving the scissors to the girl.

Meanwhile, Sabito began to clean up what they used for the food.

"Hey, Tanjiro…" The oldest in the room called out.

"Yes?" He asked, not moving his head to not bother Makomo.

"Did you enjoy the hot pot?"

"Yes! I haven't had such a feast in so long!"

"A growing boy like you with a hearty appetite should get stronger the more he eats, as well as grow bigger in size." Sakonji began. "But that goes for demons, too." The smile in the teen's face vanished as he heard this. "Remember this; basically, a demon is as strong as the number of humans he's devoured."

"So, the more they eat, the stronger they get?"

"That's right." His master confirmed. "There are demons who gain power, become able to transform their bodies, and even use strange spells."

"And there is such a demon in the Final Selection." Sabito continued, earning the attention of the younger male. "Tanjiro, I'm sure you've noticed the masks Makomo and I always carry."

"Yes." He answered.

"They were a gift from Urokodaki-san after we completed our training." Makomo said, still cutting his hair.

"Oh, am I getting one too then?"

"No." The three said at the same time, surprising the Kamado.

"There is a reason for it." Sabito continued, taking his own mask in his hand and showing it. "This is the second mask Urokodaki-san has given me, the first one I lost it during the Final Selection… after almost dying to a demon that shouldn't have been there."

"What… what do you mean?" Tanjiro asked, a bit fearfully.

"They will tell you some of this when you arrive at Mt. Fujikasane but we need to tell you now because you are one of Urokodaki-san's disciples." The girl behind him said, still cutting his hair.

"Mt. Fujikasane is covered in Wisteria flowers all year round and that prevents demons from approaching it and from leaving it, Demon Slayers capture demons and trap them inside for the Final Selection." The masked man began. "When I was active, I captured a few demons and sent them there; one of them, one that I captured 47 years ago, has managed to survive all this time."

"47 years ago?!" Tanjiro repeated.

"Yes." Sakonji nodded. "Before Sabito and Giyu underwent the Final Selection, every disciple I sent there… died." He said, scowling behind his mask.

"That demon has a grudge against Urokodaki-san and since he can't get out, it tries to kill any disciples he sends." Sabito continued. "That's not to say he won't kill others but he targets us in particular."

"I went to the Final Selection the year after Sabito and Giyu, I didn't take a mask since Sabito had informed us about that demon and he said it recognized him because of it." Makomo chimed in. "I ran into him by chance and it recognized the Water Breathing Style, marking me as a student of Urokodaki-san and chasing after me, I had to escape from him for two days."

"Two days?!"

"I had a break when the sun was up but I could always feel it watching me." She answered.

"I already made a mask for you Tanjiro, but I will only give it to you once you come back from the Final Selection." Urokodaki spoke again.

"But wait, if that demon is that strong, shouldn't they send someone to kill it?"

"That's the first thing I brought up when I became a Pillar but you see Tanjiro." Sabito said. "That demon is weak." The peach haired man sighed. "The 'us' from back then couldn't have defeated him, heck my sword snapped when I tried to cut his neck but if we were to face it now, it wouldn't even be a fight, his head would fall before he can even realize it."

'…he is not exaggerating.' Tanjiro noticed. 'His tone and scent… he knows how strong that demon is and that, when compared to other demons, it is weak.'

"Despite the name, the Final Selection is nothing but the starting line, the demons you encounter after it will almost always be stronger." Makomo spoke again. "You don't have to defeat that demon, technically, you don't even have to defeat any demons, all you have to do is survive and you pass."

"Tanjiro, that goes double for you." The masked man said, moving towards him and kneeling so they were at both eye-level. "Your objective is to turn your sister back into a human and no one can take that burden from you so, no matter what, focus on surviving first and foremost."

The Kamado gulped.

"I understand."

"I'm done." Makomo declared.

"Thank you, Makomo-san." Tanjiro answered.

"Just Makomo is fine." The girl said smiling.

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Later that night.

Tanjiro had listened to the description his master and sibling disciples gave of the demon to know what to avoid and after that, they all went to sleep.

'Hngg… bathroom.' The red haired teen thought, groggily removing the blankets on top of him and getting up from the futon.

As carefully and silently as possible, he exited the house to the outdoor bathroom and when he went back he noticed something.

"Sabito-san?" More precisely, someone, Sabito was sitting on the roof of the house staring at the night sky. 'What is he doing there?' Tanjiro wondered before moving closer to the house and jumping on top of the roof.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Sabito asked the moment Tanjiro landed on the roof.

"I had to use the bathroom and then I saw you here." The red haired teen answered honestly. "What are you doing?"

"Just reminiscing." He answered, still looking at the sky.

"Reminiscing?" The Kamado repeated, tilting his head slightly.

"About the Final Selection." The Demon Slayer disclosed. "I wouldn't say that it hunts me but remembering the time that you almost died tends to make you think… not that I haven't had any close calls since but…" He shrugged as if dismissing the topic.

"How was the Final Selection?" Tanjiro asked, sitting beside him. "For you, at least."

"Difficult, fighting for your life against demons is different from training in these mountains." The peach haired man answered. "Some of the traps may be lethal but Urokodaki-san makes sure to only move to those once he is sure you can handle them, demons aren't that kind." He then let out a sigh. "Then again, I did make things more difficult than necessary for myself."

"Eh, what do you mean?"

"In my arrogance, I vowed to myself to save everyone during the Final Selection." Sabito answered with an unreadable look.

"And… you couldn't?" He guessed.

"Oh no, I did, if only barely."

"Really?" The Kamado asked in astonishment. "That's amazing!"

"Not really." The quiet answer sapped any excitement from the younger's face and replaced it with a dubious look. "Tanjiro, almost every person that took the Final Selection alongside me, is dead." Sabito said, looking down. "Don't get me wrong, I don't regret saving them, I would never regret saving someone, but… the Demon Slayers are supposed to protect people from demons because they can't protect themselves, we can't afford to also protect other Demon Slayers… it's simply not possible to protect everyone."

"…Why not?" He asked after a small pause, earning the grey eyed man's attention. "I mean, I agree that it's impossible on your own but, if there is someone you can't save alone you just have to get help." The red haired teen continued unaware of how Sabito's eyes had widened at his statement. "And Urokodaki-san said that the Demon Slayer corps is a few hundred in numbers, so if one Demon Slayer can protect the people, two could protect the people and each other, right?"

"…"

"…"

"Pff… hahahaha." Out of nowhere, Sabito began to laugh heartily. 'It's absurdly naïve to think that just numbers would be enough… but maybe…' "I will bring that up during the next Pillar meeting." He said between chuckles.

"You mentioned that before, what's a Pillar?"

"'Pillar' is a title given to the best nine Demon Slayers, I hold the position of the Water Pillar, Giyu is my Tsuguko, my successor." He let out a chuckle. "Although in terms of skill, he is already Pillar level."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he won't get the position until I retire or die, though, and I have no intention of doing either any time soon but I've been preparing him just in case."

"Oh…"

"Demon Slayers aren't guaranteed a long life, it's always better to be prepared for the worse." His expression suddenly turned serious. "Tanjiro, don't be like me."

"Eh, what do you mean?" He asked, surprised at the sudden change in topic.

"Makomo already said this but the Final Selection is nothing but the starting line, especially for you." The peach haired man locked gazes with him. "I won't tell you to not help others but don't put someone else's life above your own, if not for yourself then for your sister."

"…I understand." Tanjiro nodded, matching his gaze.

"And since it was brought up, I should remind you, I still plan to test your sister and should she fail, I will cut off her head."

"Nezuko would never eat humans." The Kamado answered, completely confident in his answer.

The staring match continued for a few seconds before Sabito's expression softened.

"I genuinely hope you're right." He said, before looking back at the sky.

"…can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Why did you and Makomo help me?"

"…because we can see ourselves in you, I guess." He answered with a small smile. "We watched you train for six months after Urokodaki-san told you to cut the boulder, you were in pain, you were frustrated, it's normal to feel that way, but that only made you train harder, we can relate to that… plus, you have a chance that a lot of Demon Slayers would give almost anything to have."

At the Kamado's confused expression, Sabito elaborated.

"Having your family killed by demons or a member of your family turn into one is not a strange story among Demon Slayers." His small smile turned into one filled with sadness. "Having the chance to turn a member of your family back into a human, on the other hand, I am almost completely certain that you're the first to have that." He turned towards him once again. "Make sure you succeed."

"I will." Tanjiro answered, his eyes filled with determination. "Thank you for everything Sabito-san."

"I've been pummeling you into the ground for six months." He said with a grin. "You can take out the 'san'."


Sabito and Makomo left the day after the feast; the two wished him luck and promised to visit after he passed the Final Selection.

Three days later, Tanjiro was about to leave Mt. Sagiri so he could make it in time for the Final Selection.

He had dressed in his usual outfit of grey kimono top and baggy black pants but left his haori behind.

'Just one thing to do before going.' With that thought, he walked towards Nezuko's room and opened the door.

Every time he did this, he hoped to see his sister awake but for two years now, the sight of his sister sleeping hasn't changed. Today was no exception.

Kneeling besides her, he grabbed one of her hands with both of his.

"Nezuko, I promise I'll come back here." He vowed to her.

After a few seconds, he moved her hand back to the futon, left the room and grabbed the sword his master lent him.

"Are you ready?" Urokodaki asked.

"Yes." Tanjiro answered and the two exited the house.

"Don't worry about your sister, I'll take good care of her." The masked man promised.

"All right!" The Kamado nodded. "Thank you very much." With that he began to walk away. "I'll be going, then, Urokodaki-san!" He said, waving with his right hand.

The older man imitated the gesture and stood in place until his disciple was out of sight.

"I pray that you come back unharmed, Tanjiro."


The travel to Mt. Fujikasane was uneventful and by the time he made it night had settled in.

'I'm finally here.' The Kamado thought as he walked along the path of the mountain.

The area was covered in trees that had wisteria flowers around them to the point they seemed to glow, giving the entire area a purple tint.

'It's amazing that there are so many even when they're out of season.' He thought to himself looking around as he continued walking forward.

Not much later he saw a large staircase that, according to his master, would get him to the starting area of the Final Selection and began to climb.

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When Tanjiro reached the top of the stairs, he saw a clearing where the others that were going to undergo the Final Selection were.

There were two red poles acting as a gate right after the stairs and a path made of rock to a small shrine a few feet forward with two other red poles acting as a gate for it.

At each side of the shrine there was a set of stairs leading further up the mountain and several rocks at the sides of the clearing that some people were sitting on or leaning against.

'There are so many.' The red haired teen thought, looking around at the people gathered. 'They all seem to be around my age.'

"Everyone…" Two voices called out in unison.

'Those girls… no, one is a boy.' Tanjiro corrected himself, noticing their scents.

Most people there probably made the same mistake when they saw the two, they looked like almost identical twins wearing the same purple kimono with flower patterns and a green obi, the only real difference between the two was the color of their hair, the boy having black hair and the girl white hair and a headpiece in the form of a wisteria flower placed on the boy's left side and the girl's right.

"We thank you for coming here tonight to the Demon Slayer Corps Final Selection." The two continued, still talking at the same time.

"There are demons imprisoned here on Mt. Fujikasane, captured alive by the Demon Slayer swordsmen, and unable to leave." The girl explained.

"That is because wisteria, which demons hate so much, blooms year-round from the bottom to halfway up the mountain." The boy continued.

"However, there is no wisteria from this point on, and so demons abound."

"You'll need to survive here for seven days to pass the Final Selection."

"And now, be on your way." The two finished in unison, giving a small bow.

Without exchanging words, everyone began to climb up the stairs to the testing area.

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In a lot of ways, Mt. Fujikasane was almost identical to Mt. Sagiri, trees covered most of the area, the grass was high enough to reach a person's ankles, and large rocks were strewn around.

The two major differences Tanjiro could notice at first glance were that the air was nowhere near as thin as in the mountain he trained in and that there weren't any traps around.

Of course, even without traps, this mountain was far more dangerous.

'Survive for seven days… that's all I'm going to think about.' The red haired teen thought as he moved around the forest, making sure to pay attention to his surroundings. 'First, I'm going to survive tonight. Once the sun comes up, the demons won't be able to do anything, so I can get some rest then.' He wasn't tired at the moment but if he had to survive seven days then he'll have to get as much sleep as he can during the day, not to mention find a source of water and food. 'So, I'll have to head east, I'm gonna make my way to where the sunlight will hit first!' With those thoughts, he began running in a straight line towards the east.

He had been moving for some time when his nose picked up a certain scent.

The Kamado immediately stopped moving and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

'This smell… it's a demon! And it's nearby' There was no way he wouldn't notice it. While certainly different, it was too similar to the smell of the demon he encountered two years ago in that temple for him not to realize what it was. 'Where is it? Where's it coming from?' He continued to look around but, try as he might, he couldn't see the demon or pinpoint its location with his sense of smell.

Not until it got closer.

"From above?" He had already looked up before those words left his mouth and a moment later he jumped to the side, rolling on the ground a few times before correcting his posture, moving to a kneeled position with one knee on the ground and his hand once again on his sword, ready to draw.

The small cloud of smoke that the demon created with its landing dissipated to reveal his enemy.

It was a male demon wearing a sleeveless yellow shirt and black pants, he didn't have anything on his feet and his hair was blue and reached past his neck, he had his tongue out and was at least three times the size of a human with a hole near the tip and his eyes were wide open and the pupils slit; aside from that, his skin was an unnatural shade of gray with veins bulging across his arms and forehead, he had three horns protruding from his head, two on the right side and one on the left and his arms seemed to have grown an extra bone as there was a blade-like protuberance starting from his wrists and dividing from the rest of the arm.

But Tanjiro didn't have time to focus on that demon as a second one tried to attack him from behind, swinging a claw-like hand at him, he managed to draw his sword and block the attack but was sent skidding backwards from the sheer strength behind it.

This new demon was a lot more human-like than the first, the only thing that he shared with the first one being the skin color, the slit eyes and the veins bulging.

Aside from that, the new demon had short brown hair, black pants and was wearing a two-colored kimono top, its left side been a dark green and the right side a light green.

"You bastard!" The first demon said, lunging against the second one, trying to stab him with the protuberance in his arm.

The second one managed to react in time and use his hands to block the arm, putting the two at a deadlock.

"Don't even try to grab my prey, man!" The horned demon yelled. "Get off my turf, dammit!"

"The hell with you! Just beat it!" The more human-like demon yelled back.

But Tanjiro didn't pay attention to their bickering; he had other things to worry about.

'Two of them right from the get-go?' He gulped, his body trembling slightly against his will. 'Can I take them?'

The Kamado didn't have any time to doubt himself as the two demons decided to attack him, the second one yelling 'it's first come, first served!', although they will probably fight each other to see who eats him after killing him.

If they get to kill him, that is.

Seeing the two demons lunge at him, Tanjiro raised his sword, blocking the first attack and parrying the follow-up by the other demon.

The brown haired demon took the chance to kick Tanjiro, making him move his sword to block and jump backwards to soften the blow.

'I'm okay! Just calm down and watch their movements!' The red haired teen thought calming down his breathing. 'Remember the training!'

Ignoring whatever the demons were saying, Tanjiro took a deep breath.

'Total Concentration! Water Breathing!' The world seemed to slow down and the scent of the thread appeared. 'Not yet, they're loose, wait for it.' Moving his sword down, he waited a moment longer and the threads grew taut. 'Now! Fourth Form!' Charging against the demons the sword suddenly looked like it was gushing out water as Tanjiro moved his entire body in an upwards motion with the sword aimed at the neck and cut the head of the more humanoid demon before his attack could connect; not stopping, he then spun his body to dodge the second's attack and cut his head at the same time. 'Striking Tide!'

The two headless bodies fell to the ground and began to turn to ash, as Tanjiro landed on his feet and turn around to see if he had done it.

Taking a moment to get his breathing under control again, the teen relaxed his posture.

'I did it! I defeated demons!' He thought, almost not believing it but the sight in front of him didn't lie. 'I've grown stronger! All that training wasn't for nothing! I've mastered it!' The Kamado felt a few tears fall from his eyes as he realized this but quickly wiped them away and approached the two quickly vanishing bodies, remembering the words of his master when he first began to learn how to use a sword.

'A demon's weak point is its neck! But you can't kill it with a normal sword even if you slash its neck. The swords wielded by the Demon Slayer Corps were forged with a special kind of steel, that's the only way to kill a demon. They're called Nichirin Swords'

'When I cut them with the sword Urokodaki-san lent me, even the bones and the clothes disintegrate.' He thought, looking at the last remnants of the bodies. Sheathing his sword with practiced ease, he placed his hands together in prayer. 'Rest in peace.'

He was still in mid-prayer when his nose caught a new scent, one so disgusting that he covered his nose out of reflex.

"What's this rotten smell?" He thought out loud.

A second later, he heard someone yell and saw another participant running.

"No one ever told me! I never signed up for this!" He yelled as he kept running away while glancing behind.

Tanjiro quickly moved behind a tree and peeked around it to see what had that person running away-

He immediately moved behind the tree, his expression morphing into one of horror and his breath becoming shallow.

'Listen Tanjiro, while I'm certain you will find some demons that have mutated to a less human appearance, the demon we're talking about is on another level.' Sabito's words passed through his mind as he remembered the description he was given.

This demon that was currently marching towards the running participant matched it to a T.

"What's this morphed demon doing here anyway?" The participant said out loud before tripping on the root of a tree. "They didn't tell us!"

The only word that could describe the demon was monstrous; his skin was green and he looked like a giant, fleshy, moving boulder with multiple pair of arms wrapped around himself and a few of those been used to walk instead of its legs, assuming it still had legs, there was no way to tell among the various arms that covered his body.

In one of its many arms, he was holding the body of a dead boy, probably a year or two older than Tanjiro. Slowly, he raised the dead body and opened his mouth, a maw proportional to its size with jagged teeth, and devoured the human.

'He got eaten!' Tanjiro thought in horror as the demon chewed his food and, once he finished, grew slightly bigger.

Screaming in terror, the downed participant got to his feet and made a run for it.

The demon didn't have any intention of letting him get away, though. He extended some of its arms forward and they seemed to merge together before shooting off against their target.

One of them caught the boy by his ankle and pulled him back, lifting him off the ground.

The Kamado watched all of this with trembling eyes.

'Tanjiro, if you encounter that demon, unless you have no other choice, run.' Makomo's warning sounded in his mind.

Yet, he couldn't bring himself to abide by it.

'Save him! Save him! Save him!' His entire body seemed to scream for him to help, finding the idea of even considering letting the boy be eaten and run disgusting. 'I'm not powerless anymore, move!'

Forcing his body to stop trembling, Tanjiro unsheathed his sword and jumped towards the arm that was lowering the human towards the demon's mouth.

'Water Breathing, Second Form!' Using Total Concentration Breathing, he poised his sword to strike as it once again was enveloped in water and when he reached his objective he spun in mid-air using his sword to cut off all the arms the mutated demon had shot against the participant. 'Water Wheel!'

Tanjiro landed easily on the ground while the boy he just saved fell on his back a few feet from him, he quickly moved towards him.

"Stand up, we need to go!" The Kamado said helping the boy to his feet and the two began to run away.

"That move…" The hand demon thought out loud, looking at the two fleeing swordsmen. "Another sweet little fox has come to me." He said, the various arms covering the monstrous grin on his face.

His arms regenerated and he quickly began to pursue the two.

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"What the hell is a demon like that doing here?!" The boy Tanjiro just saved yelled.

He looks about Tanjiro's age with short black hair, wearing a buttoned up white shirt with a green kimono jacket on top and grey baggy pants.

"There shouldn't be any demons like that in this mountain!"

"Calm d- move!" Tanjiro was about to try and calm him but pushed him away and then jumped to the opposite side.

A moment later the hand demon fell from the sky, making a small crater where he landed.

"Hello, little fox." The demon said with sadistic glee.

Letting out another whimper, the black haired boy ran away.

'It's not chasing him.' Tanjiro thought, noticing that the demon didn't even bother looking in the direction of the fleeing swordsman. 'That means it's focused on me, in that case…'

"Tell me little fox cub- get back here!"

Ignoring the screams from behind him, Tanjiro ran in the opposite direction of the other participant.

'I don't need to fight; if it's going to chase me then I can just keep it busy by making it chase me around.' The red haired teen thought as he made his way through the forest.

"You're not escaping." The hand demon declared, the arms that he was using to move bending until the lower part of his body was touching the ground and then using them to jump, easily passing the surrounding trees' height and then coming down like a boulder almost on top of the Water Breath user.

Tanjiro noticed that the demon was coming from above thanks to his sense of smell and quickly jumped to the side to avoid been crushed.

Not giving him a chance to relax, the demon's many arms shot towards the red haired teen.

Tanjiro side-stepped the first two and cut a third one before jumping to the side to avoid a fourth one.

'I can see them, they're fast but it's not a speed I can't react to.' The swordsman thought, cutting off another pair of arms before they could reach him. 'But they just keep coming; he is not even flinching from having his arms cut off.'

"Did you really think I would let you run away?" The demon asked, his tone conveying the smile that his arms covered. "You're one of Urokodaki's students, aren't you? I would recognize his swordsmanship anywhere."

"That's right!" Tanjiro answered, slicing off another arm.

"Hehe, he must have grown conceited after those cowards, numbers twelve and thirteen, managed to survive." The monster said in a mocking tone, momentarily stopping his rampage.

"What? Twelve and thirteen?"

"The two little foxes that came here before you, they were the first to escape from me." The demon elaborated. "The eleven brats before them already faded from my memory but I remember those two very well; the brat with the pinkish hair and the scar near his mouth, his blade broke when he tried to cut my neck." His expression suddenly turned into a rage filled one. "And yet he was so lucky, the fragments of his sword stabbed me in the eyes and I ended up getting his mask instead of his head!" The demon yelled and began to scratch his own skin with his many arms to the point it drew blood. "He was the first one to escape, even after promising myself that I would get all of Urokodaki's disciples! Then there is the girl with the flowery kimono, she wasn't wearing a mask since the other brat must have told them about me but her swordsmanship gave her away and she just ran for two entire days! If only I had caught sight of her sooner, I would have definitely killed her!" His rage seemed to slowly subside after that sentence as its yellow eyes fixated on Tanjiro. "But you just got here, that means you have seven more days to go before you can leave." Once again, his eyes conveyed the smile his arms covered. "Even if you run like those two cowards I have plenty of time to catch you!" With those words he began to hurl more arms against the red haired teen, making him start dodging and slashing once again.

'Don't let him get to you.' The Kamado thought, grinding his teeth to keep his anger in check. 'It's just like Makomo said, he is just trying to make me angry so I will do something rash, calm down.' Another pair of arms tried to grab him and once again they were sliced off, only for more to follow. 'For now I'll just escape, if it's focusing on me then the rest of the participants will be safe from him.' With that, Tanjiro began to retreat as he cut off the arms, slowly but surely getting more distance and moving to an area where he saw the foliage was thicker and he could hide in order to lose the demon.

"Are you thinking of escaping?" The demon asked. "Are you going to do the same thing the girl did and run? I'll go hunt some of the other brats, if you do."

That one sentence made the Kamado stop his retreat.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

The Hand demon stopped his attacks once again before chuckling.

"I thought about this after that girl kept running away from me." He began, spreading some of his arms for emphasis. "The next time Urokodaki sends one of his disciples here, if they run away, I'll just go catch some of the other participants." This time, the demon let the maw that it had for a mouth open showing a toothy grin with its jagged teeth. "Then I'll tear their limbs one by one so you can hear their screams as they die, hahaha!" He ended his explanation with a laugh that sent chills down Tanjiro's spine.

'Sabito, Makomo, Urokodaki-san… this is what you meant wasn't it?'


"Tanjiro." Urokodaki called out after they finished explaining about the hand demon and giving him a warning about running away from him. "I know that we warned you not to take unnecessary risks but you must not misunderstand, when fighting demons, you are always risking your life."

"I can guarantee you that this demon won't be the strongest demon you will face." Sabito continued. "But, regardless of that, if your objective is survival then it's fine to escape; sometimes it's better to bring information about a demon you can't defeat so that a stronger Demon Slayer can have an easier time by already knowing its abilities."

"But there will also be times when retreat isn't an option." Makomo said next. "And there is a chance that you will find yourself in such a situation during the Final Selection."

"But, if you two couldn't manage-"

"You're wrong." Makomo interrupted calmly. "Tanjiro, while it's true that we had to cut a boulder to complete our training, ours were smaller than the one you had to cut."

"Eh?"

"To be exact, my boulder and Giyu's were smaller." The peach haired man chimed in. "I'd say about half the size of yours."

"My boulder was about the same size as yours but I don't have enough strength to actually cut the boulder with one strike." The cyan eyed girl continued. "I was able to cut it by using the tenth form and I needed a lot of rotations, when I encountered that demon I judged that I couldn't manage enough rotations while simultaneously avoiding all of its attacks so I decided to escape instead."

"From everything we told you before, we may have given you the idea that escaping is your only option if you were to find that demon." The masked man spoke. "If you judge that you can't defeat it then by all means, retreat."

"But if you can't retreat then know this…"


'…you are already stronger than we were when we took the Final Selection.' Sabito's words rang through his mind, dissipating any doubts he may have had.

'If you can't retreat… win!'

Tightening the grip on his sword, Tanjiro charged against the still laughing demon.

His enemy covered his mouth with the arms before once again beginning his rampage, sending arm after arm against the swordsman.

Tanjiro continued his advance, slashing and dodging the appendages as he charged.

One arm tried to get him just after he sidestepped but was sliced off before it could reach, he jumped over the next one and then rolled to the side to avoid a third one.

'Get closer, aim for his neck!' The Kamado thought to himself.

Keeping his distance was useless now, if he wanted to retreat then step back and gain distance while avoiding the attacks was the obvious choice but after deciding to fight the only way for him to win is by going forward and get in range to cut off the demon's head.

'Keep going, move forward!' Tanjiro sliced off another pair of arms and took four steps forward before having to jump to the side to avoid another ar- 'Wh-?!'

Before he could react, the red haired teen got hit by several smaller arms that seemed to extend from the length of the one he had just side-stepped, sending him flying to the side, hitting the ground a few times and eventually crashing against a tree before falling to the ground unconscious.

The demon, noticing how the human wasn't moving, began to slowly move towards him while chuckling.

"Another of Urokodaki's brats is dying." He said gleefully. "I wonder how he's gonna feel when he realizes those two were a fluke, what kind of look he'll have on his face. Oh, I wish I could see it." The demon said as he extended one arm towards Tanjiro. "I really do."

.

.

'…where am I…?' The Kamado wondered. 'My body feels heavy… I can't move? Is this a dream?'

'…an!'

'Who?'

'…i-chan!'

'Someone is calling me.'

'Nii-chan!'

'Shigeru!'

Tanjiro's eyes snapped open to the sight of a green fist about to crush his head and reacting on instinct more than anything, he kicked the ground and pushed himself backwards, rolling twice before standing upright.

'I can feel blood dripping from the left side of my forehead down my cheek.' Tanjiro thought, even before he finished taking his stance. 'But I don't feel dizzy and my balance isn't off, I can still fight!'

"So, you can still move?" The demon asked, more to himself than the swordsman before his body seemed to convulse and eight arms shot off simultaneously. "Great! I can have some fun!"

Tanjiro managed to cut the first four limbs before jumping backward to avoid a fifth and run from the remaining appendages, although they were soon back to their original number.

'Damn! I know cutting the arms won't bring him down but they grow back in a second!'

"You can't defeat me just by slashing off my arms." The green monster mocked. "Then again, even the twelfth brat couldn't slice off my head! He just ran away and doesn't even have the guts to come back and face me after all these years, no matter how many brats I eat in these mountains!"

Gritting his teeth once more, Tanjiro sliced off another set of arms, gaining a momentary reprieve as the demon called back all of his appendages, probably to send them all together when Tanjiro rushes at him.

'I was wrong; Sabito, Makomo, Urokodaki-san, I understand why you told me not to face demons if I didn't have to but… I can't just let this one go! Even if he hadn't threatened me like he did, before any more lives are sacrificed, I gotta bring him down now!'

With his mind set, Tanjiro once again began his charge and in turn, the demon began to send more arms to intercept him.

'Don't just dodge the arms, he could curve them to hit me, cut them all.' He thought as he quickly closed the distance. 'This scent… from the ground?' Knowing better than to doubt his nose, Tanjiro jumped and a moment later four arms erupted from where he stood a moment ago. 'They can't reach me at this height!'

'H-he jumped! Dammit, I missed him!' The demon thought, the first signs of fear, an emotion he hasn't felt in a long time, appearing at the corner of his mind. 'Yeah, but no way can he dodge this attack in mid-air!' He fused a few of his arms together forming a new, bigger arm and then shot it at the Kamado.

'I can't cut it, I don't have a solid footing to swing my sword!' The swordsman thought. 'Then!' Gritting his teeth, Tanjiro reared his head back end then forward, head-butting the arm and performing a somersault with the momentum.

'He deflected me!' The green skinned demon realized as he saw Urokodaki's student land on his extended arm and quickly run on top of it towards him. 'Take this!' He made more arms appear from the length of the one the human was using as a foothold as well as send one of his many right arms, trying to catch him.

'Total Concentration! Water Breathing!' Tanjiro didn't stop, using the breathing technique to increase his strength, he cut each and every appendage that stood in his way and, once he was in range, jumped from the arm and towards the demon's neck.

'He got too close to me!' The demon thought; fear once again threatening to invade his body.

He may have survived in this mountain forty-seven years but, since his body mutated, he could count the amount of times a sword has gotten close to his neck with just one hand and he is very much aware that if that sword cuts his head, he will die.

'Not to worry, my neck is tough! He can't slash it!' He thought, reassuring himself that he was in no danger. 'As soon as he fails to cut my neck, I'm going to crush his head, don't think that I will miss like with that pinkish haired brat!' Having convinced himself of this, he discarded any attempt at defense and instead sent an arm towards Tanjiro, ready to kill him as soon as his sword breaks.

'There it is, the opening thread!' Holding his sword with just his right hand and having both arms cross over his chest, Tanjiro aimed at the demon's weak point. 'He is not defending!' A sliver of doubt entered his head as he saw his opponent ignore all defense and send an arm towards him but it was swiftly crushed by the memories of his training.

Urokodaki making him run down the mountain, the spars with Sabito, Makomo's instructions and last but not least, the moment he cut the boulder in half.

'There is no time to doubt! Move forward!' Letting out a wordless battle cry his sword was completely engulfed in water as Tanjiro let his momentum get him closer until he was in range. 'First Form!' He began the strike. 'Water Surface Slash!' And his sword swiftly severed the demon's head.

'Urokodaki!' The hand demon said in his mind, as the visage of the demon slayer in his memory overlapped with the swordsman in front of him just before he felt the cold steel pass through his neck.

The demon's head fell, rolling a few times until it stopped on its side looking at his body.

'Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! My body's crumbling and disappearing.' He tried to regenerate but it was useless. 'I can't stop it!' Just as he thought that, Tanjiro walked and stood between the head and its body, looking at the latter while sheathing his sword with practiced ease.

'Dammit!' He cursed again. 'To think that the face of a Demon Slayer will be the last thing I'll ever see.' Just then, Tanjiro turned around to look at the head. 'Eh? What's that? Why are you looking at me like that?' There was no disgust or contempt in those red eyes as he expected to see, on the contrary he looked like he felt sad for him. 'How did it come to this?' He thought as his vision blurred before everything went dark. 'Wait, it's dark, no I don't want to be in the dark! Nii-chan, where are you? I want you to hold my hand! Like you always do! Why? Why did I bite you to death, Nii-chan?' Unconsciously, the demon extended his last remaining arm, not in an attack but as if asking someone to hold his hand. 'Wait, who's this 'Nii-chan' person?'

"What a sad scent." Tanjiro thought out loud, approaching the last remnants of the demon's body and using both hands to hold the extended hand that closed around his.

'What's this? I remember this feeling.' The demon thought, tears falling from his eyes. 'It's warm.'

"God." The Kamado said, placing his forehead against the demon's hand's fingers. "Please, the next time he is reborn, please make sure he doesn't turn into a demon."

Just as he finished his prayer, the body finished crumbling apart and disappeared.

'…it's over.' He thought, letting his arms fall to his side with a sigh.

His relief was short-lived when he heard a creak from behind him and immediately turned around, a hand in his sword.

This was not only because he was still full of adrenaline after his fight with the hand demon but because whatever approached him did so without him being able to smell it. Whether human or demon, he should have picked up a scent long before he was able to hear someone get close to him.

"Don't worry, we don't mean any harm." A voice called out, unperturbed by the teen's actions.

Tanjiro blinked a few times before letting go of his sword and just stare.

In front of him there were eleven people, looking to be about his age based on height and all of them wearing a fox mask similar to the ones Sabito and Makomo always carry with them.

"You are…"

"Thank you for defeating that demon." Another one said.

"Now we can finally rest." A third one commented.

"…I hope your next life will be happier." The Kamado answered with a small smile.

"And we that your current one will be, especially if you really intend to turn your sister back into a human." A fourth one said, surprising the red haired teen.

"How…?"

"We were in Mt. Sagiri." Yet another one answered.

"We all promised Urokodaki-san to go back there after all, you shouldn't break a promise."

"I see." The newest of Urokodaki's disciples answered before bowing. "Thank you."

"No, thank you." The first voice answered before they all began to turn around. "Goodbye."

And just like that, they disappeared among the trees.

'I guess that if I'd ended up dead my soul would've returned there, too.' Allowing himself a few moments to rest, Tanjiro turned towards the east and began to move once again.

The Hand Demon may have been defeated but the Final Selection had just begun.


Ok, I'm going to end it here for now.

There was another thing I would have liked to include but I felt it would get too long and this felt like a good place to finish the chapter so it will go on the next one.

Let me know if you liked it, reviews are always welcome.

I hope you enjoyed, until next time.