The person at the door knocked again. "Wh-who is it?" Tanjiro called nervously. "My name is Giyu Tomioka. I'm a Demon Slayer" the man replied. The younger children all panicked, and the two oldest boys tried to calm them down. "Is everything alright in there? Do you need help?" Giyu called through the door. Gyutaro and Tanjiro stared at each other, trying to decide what to do. "What do we do?! If he's really a Demon Slayer, he'll kill our Sister's!" the green-haired 25-year-old hissed. "Why are you asking me Big Brother? You're the one who usually has a plan?!" Tanjiro whispered back fiercely. Meanwhile, their other Siblings had been carefully covering the forms of Ume and Nezuko from view with their bodies. "If you're thinking of lying to me, don't bother. I can sense the presence of Demons in this house" Giyu called, making everyone freeze. The door opened, revealing a man a bit younger than Gyutaro standing there. He looked over the Siblings tense forms, then his eyes fell onto Ume and Nezuko.
Takeo immediately noticed where the man's gaze fell and moved to shield his Older Sister's with his body, "you're not killing them! They aren't bad and haven't even tried to hurt us! Yes, they freaked out a bit when they first transformed or whatever and accidentally hit us when they were trying to get out of the Cart, but they didn't try to eat us!" the 11-year-old boy cried in defense of his sisters. The other children ran out in front of them as well, "don't hurt out big Sisters!" Shigeru yelled, while Rokuta and Hanako clung onto Ume and Nezuko. Giyu looked down at them, "I'm afraid they aren't your Sister's anymore. These are Demons now. They must be trying to make you lower your guard. But either way, there has never been a record of Demons not eating humans" he explained. Nezuko couldn't really understand what was being said, but her little brother was between her and the threat to them. She couldn't let them get hurt. The young Demon bent down and gently picked up the 3-year-old.
The Demon Slayer tensed, but found himself confused when all she did was hand the toddler to the second oldest teen. Then she turned back to him and held her arms out to the side in a protective stance, baring her fangs in a deep growl. Ume gently pushed Hanako back behind her Older Brother, before turning and lunging at the Demon Slayer. Giyu dodged the attacks, trying to lead her out of the house into the sunlight. But the white and green-haired Demon stopped at the door, growling threateningly. 'She's smart' the Demon Slayer thought, having to move in to attack again, otherwise be stuck in a stalemate. He dodged attacks and swiped at her neck with his sword. "Ume!" Gyutaro cried. Her instincts screamed at her: 'don't let it cut your neck!' Ume used her arm to block, the blade slicing through her flesh easily. The Older Demon screamed in pain as her right forearm landed on the ground. Gyutaro saw red, "DON'T YOU HURT MY LITTLE SISTER!" He screamed furiously, taking the Hatchet on his belt and rushing at the Demon Slayer. Now, here came the problem. Gyutaro was strong, but he'd never learned to fight.
Giyu would have been able to dodge or block the attack easily, but it had more strength behind it than he'd expected. The 25-year-old barreled into him, knocking the Demon Slayer out of the house. That was where his luck ended. The younger man's hand scythed out and smacked him on the back with the but end of his sword, knocking Gyutaro out. "!" 'big brother!' Ume thought, unable to concentrate enough to speak, or move beyond the doorway with the sun out. In her fury though, her arm grew back instantly. Ume growled, watching and waiting. When the area outside became heavily shaded by the clouds, the white and green-haired Demon shot out of the house and kicked Giyu away from the unconscious Gyutaro, then leapt back towards him. 'Damn, she'll devour him!' Giyu thought. But Ume stood protectively in front of her Older Brother. That was when the Demon Slayer decided that these two Demons weren't threats to these people. Both had protected their Siblings instead of trying to eat them. He sheathed his sword.
Ư*Ğ.Ķ
Gyutaro was unconscious in a dark void. His parents knelt next to him. Kie leaned down, "I'm so sorry Gyutaro, but I have to leave you all now. Please, look after you Siblings for me" she said with tears in her eyes. Tanjuro looked down at his oldest Son, "you've made me so proud Gyutaro. You've grown up so much. Please. I know it'll be hard. You'll face a lot of pain and suffering on your journey, but please Son. Keep fighting to stay the kind, loving Older Brother you've become. We both love you so much. Goodbye Son" he said softly.
Ư*Ğ.Ķ
When Gyutaro woke up, he found all of his younger Siblings around him. Ume and Nezuko had a bamboo muzzle in each of their mouths. "Big Brother!" Shigeru cried. He was abruptly dog-piled by all eight of his Siblings. "Woah, hey! Heavy!" Gyutaro yelped. Ume cuddled him close, moaning through her gag. He sighed, "it's okay. I'm alright" he soothed. Everyone sat up, and he looked around, finding the Demon Slayer, Giyu Tomioka leaning in the doorway. "Glad to see your awake. Your Siblings were almost panicking after I knocked you out" he said. The green-haired young man quickly grabbed his Sisters, holding them close. "Get to Mt Sagiri as soon as possible. There, you'll find an old man named Sakonji Urokodaki. Tell him Giyu Tomioka sent you. They seem to be alright, since it's cloudy right now. But never let your Sister's be exposed to Sunlight" he said, before vanishing into thin air. Gyutaro let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding, and wrapped his arms around as many of his Siblings as he could.
Then, for the first time since he was 10, he began to cry quietly. He was feeling so many things, heartbreak, relief, sadness, loneliness, fear. He just couldn't keep in all in anymore. Everyone soon broke down with him, everyone except Nezuko, who seemed more out of it than Ume. Finally, after exhausting themselves emotionally, Tanjiro and Gyutaro worked together to pack up the rest of their food into the two baskets and everyone else climbed into the cart. They had a long journey ahead of them.
Ư*Ğ.Ķ
It was thankfully cloudy for a while, so the two Demons could sit with the rest of their Siblings in the Cart. They were just passing a cave when the clouds began to clear up. As they did, Ume and Nezuko tensed up, their instincts going haywire: "get away from the sun now!" both girls scrambled to get out of the cart, being much more mindful of their Brothers and Sisters this time. "Ume?! Nezuko?!" Tanjiro cried, afraid that their Sister's were losing control of themselves again. But the two Demons only climbed out of the cart and ran as fast as they could back to the cave. "Where did they go?!" Hanako cried, worried that her Older Sisters had run away. "I can smell them both close by. Come on!" Tanjiro called, and the group hurried after their Sisters.
Ư*Ğ.Ķ
They found the two Demons huddled together in the small cave, hiding from the sunlight. "What do we do now?" Takeo asked, looking from his two Demon Sisters to the rest of his family. "Are we going to have to wait here until the sun goes down again?" Shigeru asked his Older Brothers. "What about the baskets? Gyutaro and Tanjiro could carry them in those" Hanako suggested. "But they're too big, they won't fit" Gyutaro replied, shaking his head. "let's try asking" their little Sister suggested. Hanako looked into the cave at her Older Sisters, "Ume, Nezuko, can you get in the baskets?" she asked. Hanako patted one of them, "in these. Get in the basket Big Sister" she coaxed. Ume looked down at the basket, then back up at Hanako, then she stepped into it. "Um, maybe they are too big" Tanjiro said with an awkward smile. "Big Sisters can get smaller!" Rokuta cried suddenly. Everyone looked down at him. "Hey, yeah! They got bigger, they can get smaller" Takeo agreed. Gyutaro blinked, thinking it over, "sure, let's try it" he decided.
He turned to his younger Sisters again, "hey Ume, Nezuko, can you two try and shrink? You know, get smaller? So you can fit in the baskets" he asked, pointing at the objects. Ume and Nezuko stared at the baskets. Then Ume began to shrink. Soon she was the size of Rokuta. After watching her older Sister's action, Nezuko concentrated and soon began to shrink as well. Eventually, both Demons were sitting comfortably in each basket. Gyutaro wrapped two of the blankets that they'd brought along for the younger kids to cover themselves with when they spent the night in the cart around the baskets so that no sunlight could reach them. Then the two Oldest boys pulled the baskets onto their backs. "Good. Okay, now the next order of business is to find some breakfast. Let's get to foraging and hunting everyone!" Tanjiro called. "Yeah!" the younger kids cheered.
Ư*Ğ.Ķ
Together, the Kamado children gathered all the edible plants and nuts they could find. The only ones not helping were Shigeru and Rokuta, who stayed in the cave with their two Demon Sisters. On returning, Tanjiro built a fire and they roasted the nuts and ate until they were full. "Why don't we all get some rest while we can? It's been a very long couple of days" Gyutaro suggested. Everyone nodded, and sleeping areas were made up with the blankets. Soon everyone was falling into a dreamless sleep, utterly exhausted by the devastation of the past days.
Ư*Ğ.Ķ
That night, the Siblings were on the move again, Ume and Nezuko out of their baskets and walking hand-in-hand with their Older Brothers. Or Nezuko was at least. Ume was walking beside Gyutaro, who was once again pulling the Cart. Tanjiro looked at his Older Brother with a frown, "I really don't mind pulling the Cart for a while Gyutaro. If you want a rest" he said again. But the green-haired Kamado shook his head, "I'm the strongest one here. It's only right that I put that strength to good use for my family Brother" he replied with a smile, breathing slightly harder than normal. Still not what you would expect from someone who'd pulled a cart filled with four children for hours, surprising Tanjiro. The 13-year-old looked up as they reached a set of stairs. "What's that?" Shigeru asked curiously. "It's a Temple," Tanjiro explained, looking up at the building himself.
"The light is still on. I wonder if someone went to do a late-night prayer" Gyutaro suggested, before seeing his younger Brother's expression change, "I smell blood. Someone must be hurt!" he cried, rushing up the steps. Ume and Gyutaro stayed down with the younger children while Tanjiro and Nezuko left. Scared, Hanako reached out to cling onto Ume's Haori, "Big Brother, will Tanjiro and Nezuko be alright?" she asked, as Rokuta hugged her tightly. "Of course they will. Don't worry about it, okay?" Gyutaro replied, trying to sound reassuring. It was an hour before Tanjiro came back. This time a man in a red Tengu mask was with him. "This is Mr Urokodaki, the man we were sent to find. These are my Older and Younger Siblings" he explained and grabbed Nezuko's basket, "the sun rose, so I need Nezuko's basket to bring her back down. I'll be back in a minute" he said.
They were left with the older man, who eyed, or seemed to eye (it was hard to tell with that Tengu mask covering his face) the other Kamado's, but especially Ume, who was hugging Hanako and Rokuta. The other two young boys were nervously staying close to the Oldest of the group, a young man with green hair. A few minutes later, Tanjiro came back down the stairs with Nezuko in her basket on his back. "I'll introduce everyone. These are our Older Siblings, Gyutaro and Ume. My name is Tanjiro, and these are our younger Siblings, my little Sisters Nezuko, who is in her basket right now, and Hanako. And our younger brothers Takeo, Shigeru and Rokuta" each of the children made a gesture when they were mentioned. "We are the Kamado family," Tanjiro said, "I know there are a lot of us, but thank you so much for taking us in" he said with a grateful bow.
"My name is Sakonji Urokodaki. Gyutaro, what will you do if your younger Sister's eat someone?" Urokodaki asked, looking at the oldest of the group. "Our Sister's would never do that!" Takeo cried, incensed. "Takeo!" Tanjiro hissed, "don't be rude" he reprimanded. He looked up at the masked man, "but I agree, Ume and Nezuko would never eat humans Sir." He replied. Gyutaro took a deep breath, "in the unlikely scenario that Ume or Nezuko lose control of themselves and eat someone- I will die alongside them" he continued. Shigeru gasped, "big Brother-" he muttered quietly, scared. "I made Ume a promise before our parents adopted us. "I'm never going to leave your side". I will keep that promise. If my Sister is to die for the Sin of taking another's life, I will take responsibility for her and die alongside her. Nezuko is also my younger Sister, so that promise extends to her now too. Just please, don't punish my family for that" he stated firmly.
"Gyutaro" Tanjiro muttered softly, in awe of his Older Brother's resolve. After staring deep into the green-haired young man's eyes, the masked man nodded, "good answer. Gyutaro, Tanjiro, I will test you both to see if you are worthy of joining the Demon Slayer Corps" he said firmly.
Ư*Ğ.Ķ
It took a day and a half to reach Urokodaki's house. The man watched as the two Oldest Boys put their Siblings to bed. "When are you coming back?" Hanako asked sleepily. "Soon. Just get some sleep now Hanako" Gyutaro said softly, gently stroking his little Sister's hair. The young girl slowly fell asleep, curling up in her Futon. Soon almost all of their Siblings were asleep, with Hanako, Shigeru and Rokuta curled up with Ume and Nezuko. The only one still awake was Takeo. Well, partially. His head kept bobbing forwards as he sat up against the wall, watching them through lidded eyes. Tanjiro knelt next to his younger Brother. "Hey Takeo, you can get some sleep now. We're safe here" he promised. But the spikey-haired boy shook his head stubbornly, "no. That guy's a Demon Slayer. What if he tries to kill Ume and Nezuko while we're all asleep? *yawn* I'm the third oldest Son. So I- *yawn* have to protect them while you're not here" Takeo said, rubbing his eyes.
Tanjiro's face softened, "Mr Urokodaki isn't going to try and kill our Sisters. He would have done it already if he were. He smells trustworthy Takeo. He'll take care of all of you while we're gone. I promise it's safe, so can you please get some sleep? Otherwise Mom will be annoyed" he asked. The 11-year-old sighed, "fine. But you *yawn* better get back soon big Brother" he replied, crawling into a futon next to Ume and Shigeru. In only two minutes his breathing had evened out into soft snores. Tanjiro stood up and looked over their Younger and older Siblings for a moment. "Let's go. It's time for your test" Urokodaki said softly, leading Gyutaro and Tanjiro up the mountain after they'd left the house. The two boys were quickly exhausted, even though it was more manageable than they thought it would be. 'Probably because we didn't run all the way here like Mr Urokodaki wanted us to' Gyutaro thought, gasping with the effort of continuing to walk.
Suddenly the man turned to them, "now, make your way back to my house at the foot of the mountain. This time I won't wait for you!" He ordered, before walking back down the mountain. Gyutaro and Tanjiro watched the older man disappear into the mist with open mouths. Tanjiro shook himself from his stupor, "let's go Big Brother!" he cried, beginning to run down the mountain. "Wait, hold on Tanjiro!" the green-haired 25-year-old called to his younger Brother. The Burgundy-haired teenager turned to look back at the young man, "what is it Gyutaro?" he asked curiously. "This is *pant* training to, become a Demon Slayer. I doubt it's gonna be *gasp* as easy as that. See if you can pick up any weird scents *pant* around here, so we aren't caught off guard" the oldest of the Kamado Siblings suggested. Tanjiro nodded, it made sense. So he focused on his sense of smell, closing his eyes to concentrate more. After a moment Tanjiro opened his eyes again, "I can s-smell the faint *gasp* scent of *pant* Urokodaki all over the place. It *pant* most likely will be traps, so *gasp* let's be careful as we go down" the younger teen replied.
Gyutaro noticed how hard they were both still breathing, despite having been able to rest for a few minutes now. They should have been able to catch their breath by now, unless- "Ta-Tanjiro *pant* the air. It's too thin for *pant* us to breathe easier. *gasp* W-we have to *pant* try to con-control our breath-ing *gasp*" he pointed out. His younger brother nodded. Both Kamado brothers focused on their breathing, trying to take in as much oxygen as possible. "Let's go!" Gyutaro called, as they began their decent. They barely managed to avoid a lot of the traps. Some of them still got them, like the pitfalls, or the swinging logs. Sometimes only one of them got caught, and that was only because the other Brother reacted quick enough to shove to other out of the way.
"We have to make it down in time. For our Siblings. But most importantly for Ume and Nezuko! *pant, pant* If we don't become Urokodaki's Students, we won't be able to stay here. *gasp* We know that he's tolerant of our Sisters, but other people who could train us might not be! For their safety, *pant* we have to pass this test!" Tanjiro cried in determination. Gyutaro nodded, before he nearly tripped over a wire, knocking into his brother and sending them both crashing into a Tiger pit. "S-sorry!" the green-haired young man cried, forcing his body up off the younger boy. "Come on! Let's go! Tanjiro cried, seemingly unaware of what had just happened. The two continued on before, finally, they were nearly back at Urokodaki's house.
Ư*Ğ.Ķ
The sun was now slowly starting to rise, and all the younger Kamado children were asleep, exhausted once again from everything that had happened to them. Suddenly, Urokodaki heard a sound at his front door. Looking up at it, he saw the two oldest boys stumble into the house, "w-we made it, back down" Tanjiro muttered, before he fell asleep right in the doorway. Guytaro faired a little better, "are they, a-alright?" he asked shakily, seeming to hardly be able to keep himself awake, let alone stand up for much longer. The older man nodded, "all of your Younger Siblings are alright. They are sleeping now" he reassured. The green-haired young man smiled in relief, "oh, thank God" he muttered, before collapsing into unconsciousness as well. The Demon Slayer Trainer looked the two boys over, "Gyutaro and Tanjiro Kamado. You are now my new Students" he said.
To Be Continued