Summary: There is no training montage In this chapter... I tried.

Yuichiro

Muichiro and I, despite being identical, and sharing the same DNA, are very different in terms of personality.

And it's true, we seem to be polar opposites on a lot of things. But the one area where we are most different by far is that in contrast to Muichiro, I hate animals. Especially big ones that tackle and slobber all over you when they first meet you.

As soon as I open the door to Kobe's house. Three Tosas jump all over me! They're licking me! Slobbering all over me, and each of them weighs about three times as much as I do!

"Ahhhhh! Get them off of me! Kobe, help!"

"You were pretending to be asleep the entire car ride here, why don't you try that?" He says as he walks through the front gate.

As soon as he does, however, his mutts leave me and tackle him, which he handles much better than I do.

"How are my boys!? Did ya miss me while I was gone? Come here! Awwww! What good boys!"

And as I lay there on the floor, covered in thick gooey drool, and being forced to listen to a grown man tumble around with his three giant mutts, I'm so disgusted that I almost forget the pain in my arm… Almost.

I lay awake that night, unable to sleep. It's not just cause of the pain that I'm in, I'm worried about Muichiro. It occurs to me then that we've never been so far away from each other before. I don't even know what part of Japan Kochi is in… How big is this country anyways?

And then I remember how Mui probably would have enjoyed playing with Kobe's mutts. He probably wouldn't even mind getting drenched with drool.

"He's stronger than you think," I tell myself. Before I finally drift off to sleep.

I'm dreaming… Yeah, It's that reoccurring dream again. The morning after Muichiro and I were attacked by that demon.

The funny thing is, don't remember the fight at all. It all went by in a blur.

But I remember… after the adrenaline had left my body, the sensation of dying.

I'm being reminded of it in my dream.

Muichiro and I lay there… Maggots crawling all over us,

drilling into our putrid wounds.

"Muichiro!" I wake up out of breath. I'm covered in sweat. The pain in my arm is still there.

"Ahh, your finally awake, Yuichiro-sanyo" Kobe is squatting by the Irori, making fried eggs.

"I'm only eleven ya'know" I tell him.

"Okay then, Yuichiro-chan."

Tch, I wish I had kept my mouth shut.

I also don't wanna admit it, but those fried eggs smell delicious, and I'm really hungry. My mouth is starting to water.

I see Kobe take out one of the eggs with his chopsticks… and then throw it to his dogs.

One by one his damn mutts get those delicious-looking eggs.

Words cannot begin to describe how upset I am now.

Kobe now turns to me, and his look tells me that the dejected look on my face has indeed betray me. I can feel my face turning red.

"If you can't hunt yourself breakfast then how are you going to hunt demons? Eh Yuichiro-chanyo?"

The sun has gone down. I'm holding a spear that would have gone through my lung had I fallen into one of the pits Kobe dug for me. He sent me into a forest with no water, with no supplies, and full of deadly booby traps which got worse and worse the deeper into the woods I went.

And now I'm here, exhausted, cut, bloody, bruised, and even still, none of the injuries I've sustained hurt as badly as the chronic pain that's been in my arm… But a wild boar is dead at my feat.

"Im quite impressed Yuichiro-chanyo"

I whirl around and take a defensive stance. Kobe came out of nowhere!

"Hey, hey, relax," he says. "It's not like I came to eat for free. I brought water and firewood. Besides that, most adults couldn't even do what you just did, even experienced hunters (and your little brother already blabbed that the two of you have never hunted before) you've earned a break."

"I pray my brother's teacher isn't as psychotic as you."

"Who? Tetsuido-san? All I know is that he used to be a slayer and now works as a swordsmith for the corps. But I can't honestly say what his teaching style is. Why don't start cutting up the meat as I get a fire set up?"

It's not a bad deal so I get to work, and soon we're both sitting around the fire eating. I'm still not taking my eyes off of Kobe, though I will admit, I've warmed up to him just a little now that we're eating a dinner that he cooked. I'm still pissed off about what he said earlier, but I think I've calmed down enough to ask him.

"So who the hell is Tsugikuni? And why are you people so interested in my brother and me?"

Without actually answering my question, Kobe just responds; "I was only interested in you boy. Your brother was something of a disappointment."

I resist the urge to throw the butcher knife at him.

"Sure he has excellent instincts. I saw how diligently he trains. By now he's probably stronger than you since you've been asleep for so long, and you're going to have to train extra hard if you want to catch up with him in time to join him for the final selection."

I nod.

"However," he continues, "the type of anger he has is different from what you have. You… should have died that night. Yet you survived, seemingly motivated by pure sourness. And moreover, you hated me from the moment you met me, because I was a stranger. I could sense your breathing on that day when you were awake and pretended to be asleep. All of that was good."

I can't tell if Kobe is really explaining why he likes me, or trying to toy with me the way he was toying with my brother. Or maybe it's both.

"To be a good demon slayer," he continues, "you have to have a couple of screws loose, but you… You're only eleven years old, and you think like someone who's already been in the corps for a few years. That's why I'm going to help you master this."

Kobe tosses me a scroll, which I catch. "I take it you can read?" he asks.

My face grows hot. "My brother and I are just the orphaned sons of a woodcutter."

"So you can't read it then?"

"N- no," I admit with more shame than I can hide. And don't get me wrong! I'm not ashamed of the fact that I can't read yet. Most adults in Japan at this time can't even read. I'm chagrined by the fact that Kobe can read and I can't.

"Well," he says, "I guess that's what I'm here for. That's a scroll on the technique known as 'moon breathing'. Even most of the pillars in the organization don't know about it, or even know where to get books on it."

"That's great, but what's it have to do with me?"

Kobe gives a wicked grin before for the first time, he directly answers one of my questions. "You're going to be the first person in almost a thousand years to master it. How does that sound? Yuichiro-chanyo."

"Why didn't you master it then? Kobe-sanyo." I say imitating him.

"My little brother isn't taking the final selection exams in a month."

A month!? I don't have any time at all then. I grip my left arm. Between that and swallowing my pride before Kobe, the thought of Muichiro taking the final selection, scared, alone, or worse… dead. That's far worse.

I follow Kobe back to his house and select my Katana. I don't care about this organization. I don't care about my damn ancestors. I never wanted to be a samurai or anything like that. What I'm going to do is this; keep my little brother safe. That's the only job I've got.

That month was absolute hell. Kobe is a harsh, condescending and outright insane man. But he was a good teacher, and I've accomplished things that surprise even myself. I feel confident, even proud. But I still have a lot to learn. Kobe probably knows more about moon breathing than anyone else in the corps, and he only knows about the first five forms. The fifth one I can't even replicate.

I'm still mediocre on the first four forms, but Kobe says that it's more than he, or anyone he's ever taught can do, and that I'll learn to perfect them as I get experience.

Of course Kobe would do something like that!

Throw an eleven-year-old out into the battlefield with insufficient skills. "Yuichiro" he told me as he saw me off, (looking serious for the first time) "You are an extremely bitter guy. The pain in your arm constantly reminds you how powerless you once were, and what the demons are capable of. Use that. Use that anger. That is what it takes to master the breath of the moon. That constant pain of yours reminds you of the worse day of your life. It reminds you what's at stake."

Kobe was right about that. I am in constant pain. I barely even notice the countless minor injuries that still haven't healed yet. I'm bandaged up as I walk around the base of Mount Fujikasane, and I'm getting lots of odd looks from the other people there.

"Tch, you got a problem?" I say to one of the brutes who is eyeballing me particularly hard. He backs off. All of the people here have swords, and most of them have scars. But I'm by far the youngest person here.

"Nii-san!" I hear a familiar voice cry out to me.

Make that second youngest.

Muichiro .

Nii-san has often told me that I'm slow sometimes. But I know how to read a room. It's incredibly sad here. They make me nervous, but I don't blame those people for looking at me angrily. They're probably thinking 'What is that kid doing here?'

All of these people here have suffered because of the demons, and they all look much stronger than me.

I'm having doubts as to whether or not I can do this until I see him. "Nii-san!" I can't stop myself from crying out. He's even still bandaged up like me. We both have new swords, and we even have Haoris with the same patterns as our old Yukatas. But when he turns around to see me, I freeze. His eyes are bloodshot.

"Nii-san, are you…"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He interrupts me. "How about you?"

I actually feel really strong, and I'm hoping he'll notice. "I'm fine Nii-san, I've been training really hard, I am s-"

"Muichiro, It's not too late to turn back."

"I won't do it Nii-san, but what about you? Your eyes are-"

"I'm fine," he says, interrupting me again. "But if you're absolutely sure about this, then stick close to me, and stay where I can see you. Got it?"

I nod and look down. I want him to be proud of me. I want him to praise me. Suddenly, I'm itching to get in there. I want to show him what I've learned. That I'm not just his helpless baby brother. I've grown much stronger! I'll definitely stay where he can see me. I want him to see how strong I've become.

But I also worry about him too. I don't remember anything from the night we were attacked. All I remember was when he jumped in front of the demon to protect me. That's how he got the wound on his arm. That horrible nasty gash that ran from his shoulder to his elbow.

Had Yui-nii been holding his arm at a different angle he would have lost it. That was the last thing I remember. Everything after that is just darkness. But lying on the bloody bed with him… That I remember. That plays in my nightmares over and over. The fear I lived with every waking moment when his life was in the balance, how indescribably scary it was when he went into convulsions. How I couldn't eat for a week after I saw him rip his IV out, and saw the blood puddle around him.

Yuichiro is mean, and he's callous, but he's my big brother, and I love him from the bottom of my heart. He's also all I have left. If anything were to happen to him, I wouldn't be able to go on. He's my Nii-san.

I'll protect him too!

"Oi, Mui." He snaps me back to reality when he puts his hands on my shoulders. "If we're going to do this, we're doing it right. You got that?"

I nod in the affirmative.

"Good."

He isn't smiling, but that isn't a bad sign. Yui-Nii has a determined look on his face and with his blood-shot eyes…

"Muichiro, what's wrong?"

"Nothing you… Nii-san you look really scary." I then make myself smile. "I think the demons will run away from us when they see you."

Nii-san gives a slight smile, but he also looks pained. His eyes must be like that because it's even harder for him to sleep at night than me. I won't forgive the demons who did that to him. It makes me sick to my stomach. How many others are out there just like us? How many others didn't make it? I know I'm just a kid, but I have strength, and I swear I'll use it to save those who can't help themselves.

I don't want those evil demons to hurt anyone else, and I'll prove to Nii-san and the corps that I can.

I grip the hilt of my Katana, and I mirror Nii-san's look. I'm determined to do this.

We're deep in the mountain. It's our first night, and we'll be here for a week. I'm nervous, and there is a huge demon standing in front of us.

"What's this?" it says, "Lucky me! I've just eaten a demon slayer, and now I get two little runts for desert. The demon slayer corps really is generous."

There is blood dripping from his mouth, and his hands are already starting to morph. My heart starts to race, and I'm even angrier than I am scared… The image of the demon who attacked us at our home comes back… These horrible demons talk about us like we're their toys!

"Muichiro" Nii-san says to me as he steps forward. "Stay back. I got this"

"No Nii-san! I can do this!" I want to show him what I've learned.

There is no time for us to argue. The demon lunges at us, and we strike simultaneously.

Mist breathing, Third Form: Scattering Mist Splash

Moon breathing, Second Form: Pearl Flower Moongazing

I am absolutely dazzled as we fly past the now-headless demon. Nii-san's skills are magnificent! I don't think that I'm so bad myself either. But I'm also awash with relief. As we land on our feet, and the demon crumples behind us, I can feel my eyes get wet. I turn away to hide it from Nii-san… all that training, all that pain… it worked. I'm not a weakling anymore!

But I still want Yui-Nii to notice... Nii-san, why are you so quiet?

That's when the smell assaults my nostrils. Nii-san already sees it. In the bushes where that demon came from, there is what's left of the kid he killed… You couldn't even discern what his victim looked like. It's just an awful mess of blood, torn clothes, and pieces of bones and intestines.

I can't control myself. I fall to my knees sobbing.

"Why!? Why!? What did this poor kid do!? Why!?" It's so horrible. A second ago I was so pleased with myself that I killed this demon. There is not even enough left of this kid to bury.

"Muichiro," Nii-san begins to say; "this final selection test exists for this sole purpose. To weed out the weak. The Demon Slayer Corps doesn't want weak links, because on real missions, in real fights, they drag everyone else down. That's how more people die."

Right now, I'm trying my best to keep it together. I hate it when Nii-san talks like this, but by crying I'm only proving his point. But no matter how hard I try I can't control myself, and what he's saying is making me cry even harder.

"Why would you say that… " I ask as I try to stop the flow of my tears with the sleeve of my Haori, "...at a time like this?"

"Because this is the organization we're joining" he answers. "The organization you wanted to join. They are not heroes Muichiro. To them, we are just soldiers who deserve to die if we can't make the cut, like this poor bastard"

I want to tell him that he's wrong. I know in my heart that he's wrong. Amane-san and Oyakata-sama were genuinely warm and loving to us. They were like a mother and father to me, and even their children!

I want to tell Nii-san that even though he didn't see it, they were genuinely concerned for him, and even on top of taking care of her sick husband, Amane-san worked tirelessly to save his life.

I want to tell him, but I can't.

I've never been sharp with my words the way he is.

I manage to get myself mostly under control. I stand up and dry my eyes.

I turn to Nii-san. And when I do, he softens his gaze. He almost looks like he's about to apologize when I see it coming in fast from behind him.

"Nii-san! Watch out!?"

In an instant, I redraw my Katana and attack! Fourth Form: Shifting Flow Slash!

But I miscalculated my swing.

I sash the demon's torso instead of his neck, and it's not deep enough! The demon screams in pain as he tackles me.

I go down, I could still probably fight him, but I don't have to. Because the next thing I see is that demon's head on the tip of Nii-san's sword. Nii-san looks absolutely terrifying.

The demon is still alive, and there is definitely fear in his eyes as they meet Yui's.

"You dare to touch my brother with your filthy hands?" Before the demon can even scream, Nii-san cuts his head into a thousand pieces and sheaths his sword.

I pull my knees towards my chest, and I can feel my eyes getting wet again. "I feel so stupid. These were supposed to be easy demons, and I almost ruined it for us because I let my guard down. I'm sorry Nii-san."

"Get up Mui."

I wipe away my tears and steadily get to my feet, but Yui-Nii never calls me 'Mui' when he's upset with me.

I look at him, and he's not smiling, but he's not frowning either.

"You noticed that demon before I did," he says.

"But that's only because I was looking that way," I say. I'm still confused. Nii-san isn't the type to compliment me just to make me feel better.

"That's true, but you didn't freeze up either like I might have done." (I'm still confused. I don't think I've ever seen Nii-san freeze up to anything.) "You saw the threat, and you jumped in to protect me. You've gotten stronger Mui, even If you're still a crybaby."

"Yui-Nii, I…"

"C'mon," He says motioning for me to move forward, "let's get this damn selection over with."

"O-okay!"

I say a quick prayer for the kid who died here, and then run to catch up with Nii-san.