Hinokami's Blessing

Chapter 4

12Thirtypain03

WARNING: This story is rated M for mature-rated content. If some acts of violence, blood, or anything easily triggering make you uncomfortable, please leave and do not read. Any change to a character, when introduced, killed, changed into a demon/human, or more will be labeled in the chapter of occurrence. If a character has died in a chapter, that chapter will give a cause of death to that character.


Some notable comments:

Mason C. Oury: Thanks for the personal idea of bringing Kanae into the story, I feel she was one of those characters we should have at least seen alive. As for GiyuShino, I probably won't be putting too many romance scenes, but I will emphasize the character's relationships with others. DarkestLiariat: I've already messaged you, but I will make this a mostly romance-free story, and any semblance of romance will be conventional, with relationships being the main show for that.

Urokodaki's POV


Mt. Sagiri. The homeplace of an individual, who lived by himself. He was a trainer of the water-breathing technique.

Giyu's formal trainer, he had since been living off on his own, retired as a trainer. However, there was a reason for this.

Most of the individuals Urokodaki trained never passed the Final Selection. That is if they managed to get through his ruthless training regime. For Urokodaki, these two individuals that Giyu had mentioned, it truly was nothing he thought of.

Though, the breathing technique the boy knew did intrigue Urokodaki to an extent. Regardless, he would make his assessments on the demon siblings when he met them himself. Giyu usually had a knack for predicting the true desires and motivations of others.

Therefore, if Giyu trusted the siblings, then so could he, to an extent.

When he walked down, after realizing the morning would approach within an hour, he decided to wait outside to make sure they were safe.

However, it seems that the scene he walked in on, was quite the conundrum.

There, there were two demons, a boy, and a girl, alongside another demon's head that was tied to a tree.

Almost immediately, Urokodaki was quite intrigued. However, there were some notable concerns that he could make out from the two. Almost immediately, he knew something was different between the two. Giyu was right.

He could tell the emotions of both the boy and girl as they looked at the demon. The emotions of how they were feeling during the entire ordeal.

"They're too kind, and that will make them hesitate when slaying demons." Urokodaki quickly concluded and deciphered between the two.

It took Urokodaki quite a bit to realize the siblings had fought against the demon, tying him up and leaving it to perish when the sun rises.

"With that being said, they will fight for their views and righteousness. Them struggling against a demon makes sense, but they will need some training to fight against them better." Urokodaki could notice, but he couldn't notice anything unusual with both.

While they both had their human-like traits, Urokodaki couldn't sense the unusual breathing technique the demon boy theoretically had. Perhaps it was during a stressful situation, Urokodaki was unsure.

What he did know, was that they both had already developed the basic knowledge of demons, as tying the feral demon to a tree where the sun will rise and kill the demon, was smart.

As described by Giyu, the boy was thoughtful, and tactical when he needed to be. The girl seemed strong too, but just followed orders, as if she was unable to dictate and tell her brother what she wanted, or at least she couldn't.

And that went well with what Giyu had said in her notes, in that the girl, Nezuko was unable to speak. She was effectively mute.

Almost immediately, however, both the boy and girl began to look around.

The boy began to sniff around before he turned and noticed Urokodaki staring at them from quite a distance.

The girl was equally as impressive, as she was almost seeing Urokodaki, with the clear visual angle she was in. It seemed that Giyu was right, with the demon boy being able to smell very well, no doubt even better due to being a demon.

"Perhaps he is like me, with a strong sense of smell." Urokodaki thought as he concluded the phenomenon he observed.

"Was this tied-up demon you're doing?" Urokodaki asked loudly.

The demon boy, Tanjirou nodded, "Yes." Urokodaki could tell the boy was nervous about him. For the right reason, Tanjirou could smell the power that radiated from Urokodaki.

For Urokodaki, the boy really looked nothing like a demon. By all means, the one scar on his forehead could be seen as normal. The only hint of a demonic status were his eyes, being extraordinarily orange-reddish, with a piercing glare. Even then, some humans had eyes like that.

"Why didn't you finish him off?" Urokodaki asked afterward, curious about the two's position they left the demon on, "Do you know how to kill demons?" He asked this as he walked down the hill to face the demons' face at an even elevated level.

Tanjirou nodded, "Yes, either by some poison, decapitation, or by the sun. We don't have the proper weapons to decapitate, so the sun is our best bet."

Urokodaki gave a raised eyebrow, seems Tanjirou knew enough. But not many people knew anything about demons. Whilst Urokodaki would assume that both of them would know since they both were demons, if Giyu's analysis was correct, it would've been only under a day since the two become demons, meaning they wouldn't have been able to get the experience then.

That meant that these two may have had connections to demon slaying.

"And how do you know this?" Urokodaki asked.

Tanjirou sighed, "A friend whose family was killed by demons told me. And I guess... Now ours were..."

"Very well, but do you think the demon may be able to escape?" Urokodaki asked. Tanjirou shook his head in response.

"We tied up the body as well, it's also being crushed by the shelf," Tanjirou explained. "The demon's head is facing East tied to a tree, and the sun should come up soon, burning him dead." Tanjirou was confident that he and Nezuko had managed to deal with this demon but was still showing some hesitance due to Urokodaki's strength.

Urokodaki looked a bit unsure, but knowing both the demons in front of him running the risk of also being burned up, he decided to take them in. It was notable if Giyu spared these demons, for Giyu held a firm stance on slaying demons.

"Very well, let me set you up in my house," Urokodaki told the two at last before he began to walk off, with Tanjirou and Nezuko following behind him.

The sun would be up in around half an hour, and thankfully they were close enough to his house, so he merely brought them up.

"So, what will you do if you both eventually fall to your desires?" Urokodaki asked the two.

"Our desires? What do you mean eventually?" Tanjirou asked, clearly defensive regarding the topic.

"You know what I mean," Urokodaki responded.

"Well don't say eventually, because we won't," Tanjirou remarked, holding his grasp firm.

"Is that so?" Urokodaki asked. "How will you survive with energy then? Demons only need human blood and fresh to do everything. If you did that, you have no way of getting energy. The more energy you use, the more you will want for human meat."

Tanjirou, himself was unsure about it, and Urokodaki could sense it. He was then slapped by Urokodaki, before repeating the question. "Answer quickly! Don't show hesitation!"

"I'll find a way, Nezuko and I just became demons not even two days ago, we're trying so hard right now, and we've managed to go this far," Tanjirou mumbled after the second time getting slapped, as he was holding his face in shock from the pain he was unfortunately familiar with.

"And how can I be sure you won't try in the future?" Urokodaki asked, grilling Tanjirou who was feeling the pressure.

Tanjirou stammered, looking towards Nezuko, "We both cannot think of leaving each other behind."

"Elaborate," Urokodaki responded. He could smell the determined nature in Tanjirou, however, he needed confirmation from Tanjirou's own words, himself.

"If one of us goes down that path, then we leave each other behind, which is something neither of us thinks we can do," Tanjirou explained. Urokodaki raised an eyebrow at that.

"Hmm, so if one of you goes down that path, then what will you do?" Urokodaki asked. Unlike before, Urokodaki began to grill Tanjirou about this. He needed to see if Tanjirou was certain about their fates, and the potential of the two to go down terrible routes. Both his, and Giyu's very own life depended on these two demons.

"I…" Tanjirou's mind raced as he took Urokodaki's slap into consideration, "I'd kill myself." Tanjirou responded.

It wasn't something Tanjirou didn't need to think about. If hypothetically, Nezuko went down that path, then it meant that he failed, and thus he would have to atone for his failures in moving his remaining family on the right path.

Urokodaki smiled behind his mask. "He must think highly and confidently that both he and his sister will never eat humans for him to think of that punishment. Very well, Tanjirou, I'll believe you, for now."

As Urokodaki led them into his house and gave them a room to sit on, he quickly began to cover the window with more wood, so that the sun's rays wouldn't reflect and land on the demons. The last thing he needed to do was tell Giyu that both demons he found were dead.

Once Urokodaki finished, he decided to go back to the area where they tied up the demon. As what he expected, but was a bit skeptical, the demon had indeed burned from the sun's rise.

Urokodaki merely shrugged, knowing that at least that was taken care of. Heading back, to then check up on the two demons he was to train with time.

"Seems these two may have some sort of potential, it seems." Urokodaki thought to himself. "Even if the two weren't demons, they would have alone been remarkable demon slayers..."

Once he approached his house, he could smell both demons. This makes sense due to the sun now being out.

Upon entering the house, what he was shocked about, was to see both Tanjirou and Nezuko sleeping.

"Well, that's new." Was all Urokodaki could mumble and comment on, as he had never seen demons fall asleep before. "I don't think I've ever seen demons sleep before... I guess they are restoring their energy..."

For now, Urokodaki decided to let them rest. Considering the routine they would have tonight, it made sense for them to get the rest they need. Especially since they are demons, and therefore will be trained harder to compensate for their advantage.

As Urokodaki prepared for everything, he knew he had to add to likely stuff to make sure they wouldn't be able to detect his traps. If the boy's sense of smell was as good as his own, then he would have an advantage. The girl, herself, whilst doesn't have the same sense of smell as her brother, clearly made up for that in her other senses, as she seemed to have spotted Urokodaki before Tanjirou, who had to smell the air before he managed to spot him.

And so, once the sun set, Urokodaki immediately woke up the two demon siblings.

"Wake up." Urokodaki immediately began to try and get the two demons up. Tanjirou grumbled in tiredness, whilst Nezuko woke up, not making a noise, to no one's surprise.

"W-What…" Tanjirou mumbled before he noticed Urokodaki's mask staring him down.

"Both your and Nezuko's test starts now," Urokodaki told the two before he walked out. He could hear the footsteps of the two siblings trying to catch up to him, as he made his way down the mountain.

"Normally, I would let my subordinates, descent to the house on the foot of the mountain before sunrise, but for the both of you, I've realized you both can probably notice the pathway back up," Urokodaki explained.

"And so, I've tweaked the mountain around to make it match your level of difficulty." Urokodaki explained, "I'll hopefully see you before sunrise."

With that, Urokodaki left, leaving Tanjirou and Nezuko alone to solve the puzzle on their own. To make the starting phase of their training equally as difficult for his other students, Urokodaki made sure to add some more severe punishment in his traps.

Whilst it may be brutal, it was necessary, and with the thin air that they were on due to the mountain, it made sense for them to struggle.

And so, Urokodaki waited for the two. He continued with his life as if nothing was different. Almost as if he had never met the two demon siblings, as he was debating on whether the two would be worth it.

Was it worth training demons to slay other demons?

Urokodaki wasn't sure, but if Giyu, out of all people was fine with it, then he too was fine with it.

"These two students, besides what Giyu had mentioned, don't really seem to be extraordinary. They seem above average at best, and that may be due to their demonic nature only." Urokodaki thought.

The only student, from experience who had finished the quickest, was Sabito, who finished a whopping 6 hours after the starting training.

Sabito was first by quite a margin. The only few individuals who had managed to properly succeed barely passed, just before the sun came back up.

Unfortunately for Urokodaki, the two demons failed the mission. Tanjirou and Nezuko came back the next night, after daytime, where they revealed they found some caves and thick trees that allowed them to survive the daytime. However, they still failed to make it up the mountain before sunrise...

The result was that Urokodaki would make them go back down to try and get back up the mountain before sunrise. Usually, this gave them a 12-hour time period.

All he could ask, as he watched the figures of both Tanjirou and Nezuko go down the mountain for the third time, was, "Why… Why these two…"


Nezuko's POV


There was a time in Nezuko's time when she was the one ordering Tanjirou around. Whilst normally, it was Tanjirou who would tell his siblings what to do, since he was the oldest, there were times when his mother would force Tanjirou to bow to his younger siblings' demands.

Many times, the demands were just innocent, asking to play with them or involve them in whatever he was doing.

Unfortunately, Nezuko and her siblings never had the glory of being safe, for their parents were abusive. They wanted her and her siblings to swing swords, and breathe a certain way, or else they got punished with physical abuse and harm. Tanjirou had it the hardest, as he seemed to struggle the most when it came to creating a sword style.

The only thing he was good at, was the Hinokami Kagura, and the breathing. No doubt the breathing technique was due to practicing for the Hinokami Kagura.

This was even more apparent when Father died. When father died, mother and Tanjiro took the death the hardest. The whole family did, but Kie easily had the closest bond with his father, and to watch your father's last moments alive must have been saddening. For Tanjirou, that meant he had added labor placed don't him, for he now had to burn the coal and sell it for his family. This in conjunction that he still had to swing a blade, and breathe a proper way. Needless to say, this put quite a strain on her elder brother.

But then again, so was the fate of the rest of Nezuko's family. Tanjirou didn't realize it, but Nezuko was still conscious, albeit barely when he briefly fought that monster who had ruthlessly killed the rest of her family.

She saw how Tanjirou lost his right eye and his body entirely trying to defend her. She saw how Tanjirou was desperate enough to bite down on the stranger's neck, out of pure desperation, only for the stranger to lash out barbed wires at her brother, mangling his body onto a tree, as he began to bleed out.

She saw how Tanjirou was ripped, limb by limb by the man, all of that man's satisfaction. Nezuko saw the pain her elder brother went through.

Nezuko wasn't truly sure what happened after that, as that was when she blacked out.

When she did wake up, she woke up to the smell of euphoria. The smell of instinct, of food that she desperately wanted to eat.

When she tried to get there, however, her brother, yet again blocked her. And whilst she and Tanjirou fought occasionally about preventing one another from doing something, this was one of the few times Nezuko was glad her brother had stopped her from doing what she did.

She was glad, she thanked her brother, and her siblings, for giving her a proper and fulfilling life. It may not have been all sunshine, as they had their fair share of suffering, but it was stable, and they had a job. That's all that mattered. The only thing she couldn't forgive, was her parents' abusing them, her siblings, and her garnishing scars and wounds from the training and abuse.

So, when Tanjirou was the one leading both Nezuko and himself through the mountain, both of them knew of the time limit we had. Until the sun came out, we had to make it back.

This was their fifth time climbing the mountain, and each time Urokodaki gave them the same disappointed look.

"You failed, again," Urokodaki explained to the two. She remembers the saddened look Tanjirou would give before he would go to sleep.

It was quite unfortunate Nezuko couldn't talk. While she could understand and make out everything, she couldn't give a proper sentence or even a word. Nothing was coming out of her mouth, and it scared her.

However, now was a time she had to be strong. Now was a time she had to be there for her brother. It was always her brother who took the hardship of work, whether it was humiliating, or even labour-like.

There were times when some people in the village would overwork Tanjirou when they needed him. There was a time when Tanjirou came home late every day for two weeks, at eight at night, tired and collapsing on the bed.

Tanjirou would only stress how he wanted to get the money, to be useful... Of course, this broke Nezuko, whilst, for Kie, it only angered her.

When Mother went down to the village to investigate why Tanjirou was coming home tired every day for a while, it was eventually revealed someone from the village was using Tanjirou as an animal to lift numerous objects back and forth for furniture.

To say the mother was pissed was an understatement. She angrily stormed into the house, headbutted the individual responsibly, and dragged Tanjirou back to their house, forcing him to sleep and not go back to the village for two weeks. Not to mention that afterward, she then beat Tanjirou ruthlessly for his actions. How oblivious he was.

Even when Tanjirou protested, their mother remained stern, telling him he wasn't supposed to be doing those kinds of jobs yet. She kept slapping her eldest son until Tanjirou gave up.

Tanjirou was always strong-willed, and hard-working. Now was Nezuko's time to be there for her brother, and to make sure he doesn't overwork himself, just like back home.

Just like those days when the village would call Mother down to tell them Tanjirou was resting in one of their beds, having collapsed from sheer exhaustion.

It said a lot about Tanjirou's personality, and how willing he was to work himself to the ground.

So when Tanjirou began to fall into the traps, Nezuko looked skeptical. She was sure Tanjirou could recognize where the traps were. Even his clumsiness wouldn't have caused him to get hurt that frequently for every trap.

But she couldn't talk. She knew what he was doing.

He was doing it again.

He was taking all the punches, the hard work, and the physical labor, just for his family. He was scared for the others to be as hurt as him, and so he continued to be the punching bag, just to give us some extra prestige.

He always did this, and Nezuko hated this. Tanjirou wanted to prove to Urokodaki he was useful. She knew Tanjirou was always insecure about his place in the world. He was always proving to everyone he was useful. Taking on everything, even if it was something beyond his capabilities.

Whenever their parents were angry at the lack of progress their children would show, Tanjirou was always the first to take the abuse, as he felt obligated to protect his siblings, meaning he would take most of the injuries.

So when Tanjirou walked too causally towards a trap with a knife about to pierce his side, Nezuko pounced him away.

"Nezuko! What are-"

Tanjirou couldn't finish his sentence when Nezuko slapped his face and shook her head.

"What…" Tanjirou mumbled, "Why are you angry?"

Nezuko wasn't angry, she was crying. She was getting teary. She hated seeing her brother get hurt. She hated seeing her brother collapse. She hated seeing her brother work himself to the end, just to give us some small rewards.

It was almost as if he was being a labor worker, and she didn't want that. She hated seeing her brother get the brunt of the abuse, the labor, and the pain of the world just to protect his family the best he could.

She knew that Tanjirou was even more protective of her than ever, especially after the incident with that demon. She knew Tanjirou was probably feeling like a failure.

It would have been so much easier if Nezuko was able to talk or label that she knew Tanjirou was purposely hurting himself from the traps, just so she wouldn't get hurt, but none of that mattered if Tanjirou had a say.

Nezuko clenched her hand as Tanjirou again ran into a trap, falling into a hole with a spike on the ground.

"Oww…" Tanjirou mumbled as he clenched his chest in pain, having been struck by the spikes.

Once again, Nezuko clenched her fist. If Nezuko had fallen, she would have felt better that she was protecting her brother.

However, even when she would do it, her brother's reaction to her getting hurt would have only made her feel bad about herself. No doubt, would Tanjirou get emotional, and begin to blame himself for the injury anyone from his family would sustain.

Nezuko knew that Tanjirou probably blamed himself for their family's death, and Nezuko wanted to comfort her brother, telling him it wasn't his fault, and to stop blaming himself and feeling he needed to do everything again.

As Nezuko helped her brother out the hole, she held onto his arm tightly, when he tried to run recklessly.

"Nezuko, what's wrong?" Tanjirou asked.

Nezuko clenched his hand stronger, and it was here did she know Tanjirou was getting the picture.

"You're angry with me?" Tanjirou asked. "I know, we've been doing this for over a week..."

Nezuko nodded in response, pointing to the hole down there, and the chest wound Tanjirou was now healing. There was no more blood dripping, but it was still fully recovering, as the scar tissue was still there.

"The traps?" Tanjirou asked, and Nezuko facepalmed. "Don't worry Nezuko, I'm sure everything will be alright."

She was trying so hard to not make Tanjirou be his reckless self, taking the punch for his family. He should let his family take some punches when it was needed.

But alas, Tanjirou felt obligated to protect his family, no matter the cost. And since she was his only family left, she knew Tanjirou would only be more protective of her, no matter the circumstances.

And she hated that.

She hated how her brother did this.

She wanted to tell her brother to stop. The amount of embarrassment he went through just for his family was insane. Sure, this may make for one to thrive for a protective brother like Tanjirou, but for Nezuko, it became unhealthy.

Nezuko shook her head, pointing to the trap, and then Tanjirou himself.

She was also hoping Tanjirou's sense of smell could give him the message. She was hoping he could smell the disappointment coming off of her.

She could sense that Tanjirou himself was confused or outright denying what he was thinking. She could feel the emotions of Tanjirou, due to the distribution. And so, she kicked Tanjirou in the groin.

"ACK!" Tanjirou groaned as he clutched his groin in pain, trying to alleviate the pain.

Nezuko stomped her foot on the ground and then turned back on him.

"Nezuko, what's wrong?" Tanjirou asked, as he finally got up, having managed to ease the pain.

"Are you mad about the traps?" Tanjirou asked.

Nezuko nodded, specifically pointing towards Tanjirou.

"You…" Tanjirou's eyes widened, "mad at me? You know I've been running into them intentionally?"

Nezuko nodded angrily.

Tanjirou, for his part, smiled sadly, "I'm sorry Nezuko, I just am doing my job as a big brother, I'm protecting you from the traps, even if I get hurt."

Nezuko shook her head. She didn't want this. She knew exactly what her brother was doing, and he knew what he was doing. Even when she told him not to do this, he still did it.

Why…

Why must her brother always hold the world's weight on the world? Why does he willing to go along with it? Why does he just smile at the face of everything…

If Nezuko was the one doing this, she would have lost it a while ago.

Perhaps Tanjirou just took it from his father…

Nezuko wasn't sure, but she ironically, wanted Tanjirou to be truer to his thoughts. She knew he was suffering, ever since her father died, no, even before that. She knew he was holding everything down just for the sake of his family.

And so, Nezuko stayed behind Tanjirou. Even when she wanted to protect her brother, she knew Tanjirou's guilt would make Nezuko feel bad for taking the bullet for her brother when she did.

She wished she could do more.

She watched her brother get sliced by knives that Urokodaki had put down. She watched as Tanjirou was getting hurt left and right. When a trap led to a drop in a hole, Tanjirou gripped Nezuko tightly, to protect her from the fall.

Nezuko sighed as she got up, helping her brother up, hesitantly. As much as she wanted to keep Tanjirou down there so that he wouldn't hurt himself anymore, she knew she would end up killing him once the sun came out.

They were currently halfway up the mountain, and Nezuko could tell her brother was tired. The fact that the air was getting thinner did not help matters, as it seems demons too needed oxygen, or at least was sufficient for them to move.

Nezuko wasn't sure, but she continued. But Tanjirou continued to suffer from the damages of the traps Urokodaki put down. The fact most of them had knives and other sharp objects meant to hurt her brother made her angrier.

Perhaps she should also be mad at Urokodaki, but she digressed. Hell, she could even be mad at her parents, and she was. After all, her parent caused so much fear and harm to them. Even if they had a reason, they preferred hurting their own children over the reason, and she didn't approve. Alas, there was the smallest of chances the reason was actually feasible. She wasn't sure.

At the end of the day, the only person she would be mad at was the demon that killed her entire family and turned both her and her brother into demons. They never asked for this tragedy or route in life. All they wanted to do was live peacefully on the mountain.

Who would want to ruin that? Who in their right mind would ruin a family who did nothing, but sell charcoal? Sure, the family was somewhat abusive and strenuous for sword fighting, but didn't every family have their faults?

Nezuko couldn't understand, but whenever he thought about that man, she began to feel angry, clenching her fist to the point of bleeding slightly.

However, she quickly made sure not to bleed, as her brother would worry for her wellbeing. Her brother was too careful, and seeing her brother be hurt so badly by that demon before being transformed, hurt Nezuko more than whatever she felt.

So, Nezuko decided not to worry for her brother, whatever he wanted to do, she would let him unless it got too unhealthy. For all they knew, both she and her brother wanted to get revenge on the man who killed their family.

But then again, would that suffice? Their family was dead regardless. No matter what they did, they were dead. Gone. Just like that. That man had dropped Rokuta's motionless body like nothing after he choked him to death.

Nezuko saw Takeo try to defend everyone, but he was the first to perish, as that man had thrown him and their mother, Kie across the house, with so much force, both their spines were dislocated and severed. She remembers how Takeo's neck was also dislocated to the point of decapitation as if the neck was snapped.

Nezuko growled as she thought of the man yet again.

She would kill him, that is if her brother did not first.

But that was what made them siblings.

Regardless of the conflicting views both she and Tanjirou had on how to do things, despite Nezuko wanting to hate her brother sometimes, it was how they interacted.

They were siblings, and they should care for each other. However, she wanted to be more influential on Tanjirou's opinions on how he did things. She did not want her brother to purposely get himself hurt just to protect her.

Nezuko looked around, noting the ground and the specific triggers that would cause a trap to activate. She quickly grabbed Tanjirou tightly to prevent him from activating it.

Tanjirou's face of realization, that maybe Nezuko did notice the traps like him, made him feel a bit at ease. Perhaps he thought she was at a disadvantage for seeing the traps, but he too had to remember Nezuko had her abnormal sense.

Being extra sensitive to heat, to the point of being able to see infrared light, she was able to notice even some different anomalies within the forest as both she and Tanjirou began to make progress.

It has been around seven and a half hours since they finally made the progress. The only thing that was stopping them from making it faster, was the thinning air, which did make them have to stop at some points.

For now, Nezuko was content with the progress. She was happy that Tanjirou was outright avoiding the traps he could sense, as now he knew Nezuko could detect them just as fine.

Perhaps Tanjirou had a sense that Nezuko would end up hurting herself a bit, but when he noticed that Nezuko was not as clumsy or oblivious as he thought, he too became more comfortable with avoiding some of the traps.

Perhaps Tanjirou was focused on making sure Nezuko wasn't hurt, even at the expense of completing the training regimen. Regardless, she hoped that Tanjirou could worry about himself now.

That's not to say that they didn't get hit by any traps afterward.

Tanjirou would slip up occasionally and end up getting hurt. He had one where a bunch of rocks were thrown at him. Nezuko, whenever that happened remained still, as she was still unsure about wanting to get in the way to protect her brother.

But Tanjirou never complained. He just did the work.

Once they made it up the mountain, Tanjirou dropped down, taking in some deep breaths. Again, because of the thinning air, he didn't get as much air as he was hoping for.

Nezuko went to her brother in concern, patting his back, before he calmed down.

"Thanks, Nezuko…" Tanjirou said at last. After around five attempts, they finally had done it. Even when Urokodaki had tried his hardest to make the traps as difficult as possible, they had managed to complete it after the fifth time, within nine hours.

Nezuko smiled as she then heard the footsteps. When she looked up, she saw the heat distribution of Urokodaki as he walked toward the two.

Tanjirou too could tell due to his smell. He could smell the emotion coming off of Urokodaki.

Both Nezuko and Tanjirou were somewhat confused as to why Urokodaki was feeling this way.

Urokodaki was giving a mix of surprise, and sadness.

Why was Urokodaki upset?

"Well, it seems you both made it back pretty quickly, despite making it more difficult to match both of your demonic presence…" Urokodaki sighed. "Even if it took you quite the time, and you don't have any inherent skills, your determination is formidable."

Urokodaki then approached the two, "However, that won't be enough to help you thrive in this world." Tanjirou could only look down, as he was feeling useless once again.

"Very well, I accept both of you and will now begin your demon slayer training." With that, Urokodaki went back to his house, bringing out two wooden swords.

"I have plenty of training swords for the both of you to use, however, you will only have three hours at most to start training. Therefore, we'll focus on allowing the two of you to grip the sword properly. If you both can show me some improvement and skill, then you will be able to learn further."

Both Nezuko and Tanjirou nodded, as they watched Urokodaki grip the sword in a resting manner. While it wasn't exciting, as many people associate sword training to be all about swinging, this was the final part of their training, she would assume.

"This looks familiar..." Nezuko mumbled. She turned her face to Tanjirou, who was having the exact same thoughts as her.

"This was the training their parents forced them to do continuously..."

She looked at Tanjirou and noticed he already was doing well. It did make sense. Nezuko would see Tanjirou hold and grip a wooden sword during his Hinokami Kagura whenever he was performing it.

It was the only thing Tanjirou could think of, as he fondly remembered the dance.

Therefore, Urokodaki was mildly impressed with Tanjirou's quick progress. As such, he sent Tanjirou back to start learning a breathing style.

"So he does have some inherent skills after all..." Urokodaki thought, "Very well..."

Nezuko was shocked that Tanjirou was able to learn that simple grip so quickly. As for Nezuko, she had held a sword before, but not to the extent as Tanjirou. She was only going off of what Tanjirou had told her when he described how he danced and by her own experience.

Of course, Urokodaki slapped the sword out of Nezuko's hand. Immediately, Nezuko flinched and closed her eyes in anticipation of what was next.

"Wrong." Was all he responded as he then picked the sword up, and gripped it in the way. Nezuko could tell he was giving a physical prompt, as the way he gripped the sword was rather unique. Urokodaki however, noticed the closed eye and tensed tone Nezuko was showing.

"Nezuko, watch me," Urokodaki told her, causing her to open her eyes.

Nezuko sighed in relief, as she gripped the sword in the way Urokodaki had shown her. She gripped it tight. Even if it was just, a wooden sword, she held it like it was a sword, as if she was willing to swing it down on the man responsible for killing her family.

It was similar to how Father had taught them, but it seemed more formal.

It seems Urokodaki noticed this. "Calm down." That was all he responded.

Nezuko snapped back to reality and looked at Urokodaki with a bit of shock.

"I can smell your emotions like Tanjirou, you know," Urokodaki explained, and Nezuko felt a bit embarrassed.

She nodded, as she held the sword again how he wanted her to. That was until she felt something hit her.

"Very good," Urokodaki remarked.

What.

"You kept hold of the sword despite the surprise attack, perhaps you may learn the breathing styles quickly." Urokodaki praised Nezuko. "Continue to get the grip in your mind, as the sword will act as another limb to you. I'm going to check on your brother."

Little did he know, that both she and Tanjirou were accustomed to sword swinging and breathing styles already. The only problem was that their parents knew nothing of it, and just told them to try until they saw some results. Tanjurou would sometimes buy books about sword styles and demon-slaying, but that was it.

With that, Urokodaki went off to check on her brother. While she wasn't sure how her brother was progressing, she was sure that he was at the advantage now.

Considering he knew how to hold a sword better than her, he was probably beginning to properly swing the sword. However, his issues with learning literally breathing styles may be skewed, she wasn't sure.

Nezuko sighed before she noticed the sun was rising. She quickly ran back to the house, yawning. It was almost like she was nocturnal, having to sleep during the day and be awake during the night. Tanjirou was no different, and by the time she came back to their room, she saw Tanjirou already asleep.

Nezuko couldn't help but give a small smile. No doubt did her brother suffer more, having taken some hits from the traps, and already having to swing a sword she assumed, she had it easier.

And it was all because of her brother.

She went down, gently rubbing her brother's face as he was sleeping so heavily. Light snoring was all that was audible for her as the remaining part of the house, wherever Urokodaki was, was a quiet individual.

"I'll make sure I will take my weight, starting now, brother." Nezuko thought to herself, as she was trying to say that to her brother.

Unfortunately, she still couldn't make any noise from her mouth. No growl, no noise, nothing.

It somewhat sucked that she suffered from this, but they had managed to function as a result.

Nezuko suddenly heard the door open and saw that Urokodaki was alongside another individual. This was the individual she recognized, as the one who had stabbed both her and her brother.

Almost immediately, she stood protectively over her brother, who was sleeping.

"What…" Once again, the individual seemed a bit shocked, as if to see them here.

"They passed the introduction, within nine hours," Urokodaki explained, and the slayer's eyes widened again.

"That was more than me and Makomo…"

Urokodaki sighed, "Yes, Giyu, only Sabito had done it faster than them…"

Giyu sighed alongside Urokodaki, and it was here Nezuko realized the two were pretty close in their personality.

"Very well, was there anything noteworthy you noticed about the two?"

Urokodaki looked conflicted, "The boy was able to hold a sword in the proper grip, while the girl needed a bit of work. But regardless, they were able to make some progress with gripping their swords properly. You did find some noteworthy demons, Giyu. I feel that they are somehow accustomed to demon-slaying, or at least in swinging swords properly."

Giyu, apparently the name of the demon slayer nodded. "Keep an eye on both of them. I would recognize letting the boy emphasize the breathing technique he had when he was fighting me. The girl may become a good candidate for water breathing."

"Water breathing?" Nezuko thought to herself in confusion. It sounded exactly what her father would talk to her about.

"You must be confused huh?" She looked up and she noticed Giyu was the one talking to her.

Nezuko shrugged. She couldn't talk, and so could only use her body muscles to showcase how she was feeling.

"Makes sense. Demon slayers use breathing styles to decapitate and fight demons. This means you will have to learn to breathe a certain way to utilize the true potential of demon slaying. It's not just about swinging a sword." Giyu explained.

This intrigued Nezuko.

So, was her father also a demon slayer secretly? That couldn't be the case, as her father seemed to have shown them some faulty teachings... But the fact that he made them all try this, made her wonder.

Why did he even teach them all this in the first place?

"I would explain that to your brother, but one, he's asleep, and two, he seems to understand the aspect of a breathing technique, it may be very soon until he begins to use a breathing style." Giyu added, "But you will need to put in more work and take more weight when training. Are you ready for that?"

"Yes!" Nezuko immediately said or tried to, before realizing she had to nod to get her point across. "So did Father and Mother try and train us to fight that demon? Did we fail?" Nezuko asked herself. Those were questions she would have to answer with time with her brother.

"Very well, I hope you are ready." That was all Giyu said. "Because both of you are demons, I will be coming back here to notify you and observe your progress."

Nezuko nodded in response.

"Nice to know, I will take the time to apologize now for stabbing both you and your brother. However, remember what is at stake in the event you do choose to go down that path." Giyu warned, before staring at Nezuko dead in the eye.

"For I will track both you and your brother, kill both of you and then kill myself," Giyu added, shocking Nezuko at how serious he was about it. Usually, Giyu was wearing a fox-like mask on his face, but for once, he was showing his face. Both Nezuko and Tanjirou could see the piercing blue eyes right on them.

"The same condition is here for means well," Urokodaki explained, further making Nezuko nervous. Both of them were putting their life on the line just for both her and her brother.

While Nezuko was confident she would never eat any humans, she also knew she had to make sure she held onto her humanity, for she would be the cause of three deaths if she did something unforgivable.

With that, Nezuko sighed, nodding, before going to bed. She may not have done as much as Tanjirou, but she was still very tired. She needed to regenerate her energy, and sleeping was such a nice feeling now.

As she went to sleep, she heard the voices of Urokodaki and Giyu talking.

"Are you sure?" Urokodaki asked.

Giyu nodded, "Regardless of whether or not they pass your training regiment, even if you plan to make it harder than ever, they won't be eligible for going to the Final selection."

Urokodaki responded, "I know, but we will need to find a way to properly integrate them into the demon slayer corps."

"Are you sure there's nothing else you can see them doing?"

"No," Giyu responded. "I don't. As much as I would hope they can live their lives, they are demons who run the risk of eating humans. But because they act so human-like, they cannot just live a demon lifestyle."

"I understand, very well, I'll train them as you want, but just know I can only do so much regarding them integrating into the demon lifestyle. Because they won't be going to Final Selection, they won't get their Nichiren blades or crows." Urokodaki warned.

"I'll deal with it if they get through your training, that is, if they do," Giyu explained.

Urokodaki nodded, "Indeed, for I do plan on making it hard to the point they wish they ran away in solitude."

Nezuko shivered at that, but seeing her brother, and her anger towards the individual responsible for her family's death, she knew that man brought it on himself, and whatever happened to him.

She would make that man pay, even if it meant going through hell, with her brother.


A.N / Chapter 3 is out. Tanjirou and Nezuko completed their mountain climbing initiation for demon slayer training. As for what will differ, I have said before this one will be a bit longer, as I do plan a lot of different, small conflicts within this arc. As for the training as a whole, I'll probably only make their training less than a year compared to the two years Tanjirou took. I don't want to keep it too long, because if I keep it at a specific arc, it'll feel like nothing is going.

As for the question of bringing Kanae back, seems some people are alright with that, but let this be known that I don't plan to have any romance within this story unless its characters care deeply for each other. For example, I may make Giyu and Shinobu care deeply for each other, but I won't make smut about them or any other character. The most I'll put is a mere kiss between the two, and that's it.

Finally, regarding the topic of both Tanjirou and Nezuko's own breathing styles and blood demon arts, I do have plans for what they'll be. Nezuko already has a canonical blood demon art, and I guess so does Tanjirou. However, Nezuko's blood demon art will probably be the same, albeit with some differences, whilst Tanjirou's blood demon art will be different. The reason for Tanjirou's specific differences is due to only receiving a small amount of Muzan's blood when he bit down into his neck and accidentally swallowed some of his blood without realizing it. As for breathing style, there's no surprise here, but there will be conflicts regarding both learning and using breathing styles, particularly for Tanjirou.

Anyways, that's all I have to say, take care and see you for chapter 4, I am having fun writing this.


Character Profile:


House Demon: Male, unknown age.

Status: Dead, Demon. COD: Burnt by sunlight.

Giyu Tomioka: Male, 18 years old.

Status: Alive, Human Height: 5'10" (178cm) Weight: 155Ibs

Sakonji Urokodaki: Male, 50 years old.

Status: Alive, Human Height: 5'8" (172cm) Weight: 140Ibs

Tanjirou Kamado: Male, 13 years old.

Status: Alive, Demon Height: 5'5" (165cm) Weight: 120Ibs

Nezuko Kamado: Female, 12 years old.

Status: Alive, Demon Height: 5'1" (155cm) Weight: 105Ibs

Abilities: Breathing Styles


Giyu Tomioka:

Water Breathing Style Emotional Suppression (Selfless State) Extraordinary Endurance: Giyu's water-breathing style emphasizes endurance and defense within combat, allowing him to withstand long-standing battles more than other demon slayers. Omnipresent Rage: Under the aspect of rage, Giyu is able to manifest it to the point of holding it in and preventing himself from being lost to his rage. As a result, Giyu undergoes more focus when under rage from a demon.