The Demon's head hit the ground and rolled along it, while his body began to disappear. Meanwhile, Tanjiro caught a new scent from the Demon. He was shocked to find that, along with the scent of blood and ash, the new smell was- human. Looking down at the Demon's head, he found a wide-eyed fear in them, making his look so much like their little Brother Shigeru whenever he was scared. Tanjiro's eyes softened in sympathy. Had this Demon only been a child when he was turned? Just a child and so very scared, just like Nezuko would have been? His Brother's watched as he walked over to the Demons disintegrating body. "Tanjiro? What are you doing?" Gyutaro asked in confusion. "This Demon used to be human, just like us. He smells human now, even though his body mostly gives off the scent of ash. I think he remembers his past now, and he was a child. Like Shigeru. He's scared. So-" Tanjiro reached up and took the Demon's remaining hand with both of his.
Both of his Brother's eyes widened when the Demon held his hands and started crying, before softening. 'Of course Tanjiro would empathize with a Demon. He's the kindest person I've ever known besides Father, and our own Sister's are Demons. So of course this one would have been human too. No matter whet he's done, my little Brother would never allow a child to cry alone.' Gyutaro thought to himself with a small smile. As the Hand Demon fully died, Tanjiro put his hands together to pray, "rest in peace" he said softly. At that moment, Takeo collapsed to the ground. "Takeo! Are you alright?!" the burgundy-haired teen cried, both Brother's turning to check on the 13-year-old. "I'm fine, I'm fine. But they'll be able to rest in peace now, right? Sabito and Makomo and all of Master's old Students?" he asked. Gyutaro smiled and nodded, "I think so Takeo" he replied softly. The 13-year-old sighed in relief, "that's a relief. I'm glad that they can all go back to Urokodaki instead of hanging around that boulder all day and night.
They deserve it" he said with a small smile. "We're not done here yet. I can already smell Demons coming after us, now that the Hand Demon is gone. And if he'd been eating all of the applicants, all of those Demons will be ravenous' Tanjiro explained. The Brother's managed to escape before the hoard of Demons showed up.
Ư*Ğ.Ķ
The next seven days weren't as bad as that first night. None of the Demons they encountered were anywhere close to being as strong as the Hand Demon. They were so weak, not only could Takeo take them out by himself with no problem, one of them even got caught behind a wall of thin sticks and struggled to break them. After Tanjiro beheaded it, Takeo snorted. "Dangerous? The only dangerous Demon we've encountered was that Hand Demon right at the start. Why are all of these Demons so weak?" he asked, in both mocking and confusion. "It seems like that Hand Demon might have been eating all the humans for the tests for a while. After it became strong enough of course. So for a long time, that Demon was the only one that had any food and was getting stronger, while all the other Demons on the mountain starved" Gyutaro suggested.
It makes sense. And it's good for us, don't you both think?" Tanjiro asked his Brother's. "Well, mostly. Don't forget Big Brother, you weren't the one that that Hand Demon was after" Takeo reminded him with a shudder. "Oh yeah, now that you remind me, why did you come back" I thought you were too scared to fight it?" Gyutaro asked. Takeo flushed, but looked down. "After I ran away, all I could do was sit there and cry, I was so scared. I asked or family who had died to help me, our Father, Mom and Grandma. I didn't expect to actually feel them there. It was like, a warmth, wrapping around me- like they were all hugging me. And just like that, I felt all my fear melt away. And I knew that I had to go back and help you two." Takeo explained. He looked up, expecting laughter and mocking retorts about him being a baby and still believing in childish things. But both his Brothers looked at him with wide eyes instead.
Takeo shifted in his spot, "what's wrong?" he asked. "You've been visited by our family too?" Tanjiro asked in awe. Gyutaro turned to his younger Brother, "wait, you too Tanjiro?" he wondered. Tanjiro nodded, "when I was knocked out by the Hand Demon, Mom came to me and told me to keep fighting. That I couldn't leave everyone alone" he replied. Gyutaro blinked, "back when that Demon Slayer, Giyu, found us and attacked our Sisters before knocking me out, Father and Mom spoke to me, and told me to protect everyone for them, and they also said that they believed in me" he explained. All three Kamado's looked at each other in awe. Tanjiro began to tear up, "our family is still protecting us and looking out for us! That's- so amazing!" he whimpered, rubbing his eyes to get rid of the tears.
"Yeah, and I guess this is proof that the Afterlife exists. I wonder if any of the Demons we've killed have ended up there. After all, if the Demons return to themselves after they die, like Tanjiro said, then those Demons must now be there too, right" Takeo asked. Tanjiro frowned but didn't say anything. He wasn't so sure. The first two Demons they'd fought here didn't have the same smell as the Hand Demon when they were dying. But it's not like they could know for sure either way. "Come on, we need to find food. The sun will be up soon, and then we can get some sleep" Gyutaro said. The younger Kamado's nodded.
Ư*Ğ.Ķ
Over the next Six days and nights, the three Brothers focused on surviving. Sometimes they had to fight Demons, but mostly they were able to escape safely. Finally, on the Seventh day, the small group made it back to the safety of the Wisteria trees. "We made it!" Takeo cried with relief. Gyutaro looked around. It seemed like they were the last ones to get there. Along with them were four other people, including the girl with the white eyes and scar he'd seen before the Selection started. But still, the fact that so few of them passed- "only 7 of us? We started with over 20" Tanjiro said, frowning in sadness at the deaths of so many people. Gyutaro looked down. It was unfortunately a concept he was already familiar with.
Survival of the fittest rung supreme in the Entertainment District. And though it had been 17 years since he'd lived there, some things were just harder to forget. "Welcome back everyone" the twins spoke up, drawing everyone's attention to where they now stood once again. "And congratulations" the girl began. "We're glad to see you're safe" Kiriya added. "So? What happens now? Where's my sword?" the teen with the Mowhawk asked impatiently. "Patients, we must first issue you all Uniforms. Next, you rank will be engraved on the back of your hand" the girl said. "For your reference, there are 10 ranks in total," the boy continued. "Kinoe" "Kinoto" "Hinoe" "Hinoto" "Tsuchinoe" "Tsuchinoto" "Kanoe" "Kanoto" "Mizunoe" "Mizunoto" the twins took turns saying.
"You are currently all Mizunoto." "This is the lowest rank in the Demon Slayer Corps." The boy said. "And our swords?" the teen with the mowhawk asked impatiently. "In a moment, you will be given the chance to select the Ore that will be used to forge your swords" "However, it will be 10 to 15 days before the weapons are ready for you" the twins explained. "Urgh, really" the teen groaned in an annoyed voice as he rolled his eyes. Tanjiro sniffed the scent coming from the other teen, and found himself surprised. "He may sound annoyed, but if his scent is correct, the emotions he's feeling are worry, protectiveness and determination" he muttered to himself, but Gyutaro heard.
The white-haired girl clapped twice and a cawing of Crows could be heard. 7 birds descended from the sky and landed on the new Demon Slayers. Gyutaro held his arm out for his Crow, who landed on it lithely, "these Kasugai Crows are used mainly for communication" her Brother explained. "Crow? Isn't this a Sparrow?" the blond asked, pointing at it. "I DON'T NEED THIS CRAP!" the scarred teen cried, flinging the Crow off his arm violently. "Who the hell cares about some stupid Crow?" the mowhawk teen growled. He walked up to the white-haired child with an angry look on his face and slammed his hand onto her head, gripping her hair tightly. Gyutaro gasped in horror. Then fury course through his veins. He didn't care how worried the guy was, that was a child. One only a little bit older than Rokuta! He and Tanjiro stormed up to the teen. Gyutaro pushed the scarred boy away from the little girl, while Tanjiro pulled her close protectively.
"Hey! What's the big idea?!" the angry teen demanded. But Gyutaro now ignored him, and instead knelt down in front of the little girl with a gentle smile, "hey. Are you alright? How's your neck?" he asked. He hoped she was, that kid had been pulling on her head hard. He guessed that being part of such a large family had changed his view of the world. Before being adopted, Gyutaro wouldn't have cared about anyone but Ume. Since no one else had cared about them, after all. But after the Kamado's took them in, for no reason other than that they were two children who were in danger and they wanted to help, Gyutaro started to think like them. It took a while, and he wasn't the perfect Son and Older Brother, but he tried harder, for the sake of the people who'd saved them, and for their younger Siblings. And now, seeing a young child being hurt like that brought forth a righteous fury from deep within him that he never knew he could feel.
The girl nodded lightly, making int almost impossible to see, "I'm fine" she said softly. "Are you finished chatting?" Kiriya asked calmly. He removed a cloth from over the table he had been standing in front of to reveal several chunks of Ore, "now, the time has come. Please select an Ore to use for your sword," he said. "The steel that will protect yourself and others and slay Demons will be of your own choosing" he told them. Gyutaro looked over the different chunks of metal. 'How are we supposed to choose between them? Are we just supposed to pick one at random?' he wondered. Closing his eyes, the green-haired 27-year-old reached out his hand. 'Don't overthink it. whatever I pick will be right for me, I'm sure' he thought to himself. His hand landed on a piece of Ore. After that, Tanjiro chose his one through smell, and Takeo copied his method. After all of them had chosen their Ore, they were measured and special ink was used to write their Rank onto the back of their hand.
The ink vanished as it was applied. It was another two days before everyone was measured and their Uniforms completed. Thankfully, the Demon Slayer Corps Seamstresses worked very fast, considering. After that, the group of new Demon Slayers dispersed back to their own homes. "Master told us that he would bring everyone directly to our new house in the Corps Headquarters. So we should head directly there" Takeo told his two Older Brothers. "What about Ume and Nezuko. Is he bringing them as well?" Tanjiro asked tiredly, as the exhaustion from the last week began to catch up with him. The Oldest Kamado looked down, "the Corps Master said they would, but I'm worried. I just hope they'll be safe when they get there" he replied.
Ư*Ğ.Ķ
Once they reached the halfway point back to the Headquarters, the Kakushi met them, they blocked the three's senses again and took them back to the Headquarters. For the rest of the time, the Kamado's slept to recover. After a few hours, they were woken, deposited on the ground and had their senses unblocked. They were on a roadside in the dark, and the three looked around. Tanjiro's eyes suddenly widened as he caught a collection of scents that he hadn't smelt in 2 years! He teared up, before running off. Gyutaro and Takeo followed him. It was night, several days after they'd started to head home, when Tanjiro reached their family's new house. His tears spilled over when he saw a 12-year-old Hanako, who was wearing a bigger version of her old clothes and had her now long hair tied into a plait. She was taking a basket of washing inside the house, when she turned and saw them standing there.
Hanako paused, staring in shock, "Gyutaro, Tanjiro-" she muttered, tears coming to her eyes as the basket slipped from her grip and landed on the ground. Both Gyutaro and Tanjiro raced over to their youngest Sister and wrapped their arms around her. "We missed you so much! All of you! *sob* Tanjiro cried, as the 12-year-old girl sobbed, clinging onto her Older Brothers. Hanako had always been like Nezuko, very mature for her age. But Tanjiro knew that she wasn't as mature as he liked to try to be. Shigeru came out of the house next, confused about what was taking so long to bring in the washing, "hey Hanako, what's-" the younger boy paused, eyes widening at the sight of his Older Brothers. Takeo turned to look at him from where he was standing back a bit and smiled. Gyutaro looked up, sobbing, and managed to choke out: "Shigeru!" before he broke down again. Hey, he'd missed them!
The now 11-year-old boy ran over. He'd grown his hair out. Where it had previously been a Crew Cut, so short that the boy was almost bald, now Shigeru had grown his hair out into a spiky hairdo, like Takeo's previous style. "Tanjiro! Gyutaro!" he cried, running over and joining the family hug, Tanjiro sobbed as he held his younger Siblings close. Gyutaro felt a couple of tears fall from his eyes in pure joy. He'd missed them all so much. Even with Rokuta here. Ume and Nezuko too. "You're all here! *sob* I missed you all so much!" Tanjiro cried. After what felt like hours of crying happy tears, the family entered the house. "Rokuta's asleep right now, but Ume and Nezuko-" Hanako began, before both Demons came running out of a room towards them. "Ume! Nezuko!" Gyutaro and Tanjiro cried together.
The Demon Sister's ran towards them and wrapped their arms around them. The Brother's burst into renewed tears of joy, gripping onto their Sister's in a death-grip. "We were so worried about you two!" Tanjiro sobbed. "Why did you have to do that? *SOB* Why did you sleep for so long?!" he wailed. Gyutaro just held unto Ume tightly, sobbing quietly. This was some night.
Ư*Ğ.Ķ
After treating their wounds and washing up, the Kamado Siblings all worked together to make dinner. Everyone except Ume, who sat at the table silently, bamboo gag still in place, and Nezuko, who also still had her gag, but chose to lay down on the floor. "They don't act very different, do they?" Gyutaro asked, watching his younger Demon Sisters. "They only woke up about two days ago, after we arrived here. We were so glad to see them both awake again. And they still didn't attack us" Hanako explained, as Takeo set the table. Tanjiro nodded, before looking around, "where's Rokuta? He needs dinner too" he asked. "Rokuta's already asleep. He had dinner and went to bed earlier, since he's only 6" Hanako explained.
Tanjiro nodded in understanding. As the group continued to male dinner, both Gyutaro and Tanjiro couldn't help but stare in awe at how much their younger Siblings had grown. Thinking about that, Rokuta was 6 now. They really needed to break him of his habit of crying so much. It was fine when he was a Toddler, but he was almost 7-years-old now. He was a child. Crying a bit is okay, crying for Tanjiro at his age was too much. Especially when he and Tanjiro would be leaving to go on missions eventually. The five of them sat down to eat, while Ume and Nezuko went to sleep. The food was delicious, as it was their first meal as a family in two years.
Ư*Ğ.Ķ
After dinner, Hanako showed them the rest of the house. It was much bigger than their old one, big enough for each of them to have their own Bedroom if they wanted. But none of the Kamado's were eager to be alone for a long time, not even Takeo. So, after setting all the Futon's up in one of the big rooms, everyone went to sleep together. However, at some point in the night, Hanako, Shigeru and Rokuta ended up moving their Futon''s closer to their Brothers. Takeo and Shigeru sleeping with Gyutaro and Hanako and Rokuta sleeping with Tanjiro. Ume and Nezuko had their own room with no windows for Sunlight to get in. The two Demons slept soundly for the whole night and didn't move at all.
Ư*Ğ.Ķ
The next 15 days went by in a flash. Between healing, decorating their new home, doing chores with their Siblings, playing with them, sending letters to their respective Masters to let them know they'd gotten home safe and were with everyone, and even visiting Kagaya to thank him for the house, the next this Gyutaro, Tanjiro and Takeo knew, three men, who introduced themselves as their Swordsmiths had arrived at their house. Given the weapon Gyutaro wanted, Gyomei had enlisted his own Weaponsmith, who specialized in making unorthodox Nicherin weapons. After some commotion when Tanjiro's Sword turned out to be black, Takeo decided to go next. He drew the sword with his Siblings watching in awe and curiosity. The colour of the blade slowly changed to blue.
"Wow, I guess you're more suited to Water-Breathing than we thought Takeo" Tanjiro said with a smile. Next, Gyutaro's Swordsmith who'd introduced himself as Kyo Namura, held out the box with his newly reforged Sickle and weight. "I know you like how heavy the weight was, and it was specially made to be heavier than normal, Master Gyutaro, however, it would not have done much against Demons. So I reforged he weight as well, by mixing the Ore you'd chosen into it. I hope you don't mind" Namura asked. Gyutaro picked up his new weapon and tested it out. "I made the chain stronger too, so it wouldn't break easily" the Weaponsmith continued Gyutaro looked down at the Scythe and weight, both of which had turned grey. "Well, that's to be expected pf a wielder of Stone-Breathing.
I was surprised when I heard that Master Himejima had gotten himself a Tsuguko, and that said Tsuguko had survived that man's training regime. You must be extremely strong Gyutaro Kamado" Namura said in awe. Gyutaro gripped the handle of his Scythe tighter as his Siblings chatted about how cool their weapons were. Images of what happened to their Mother and Sister's flashed in his mind. No, he wasn't strong. But he would be.
Ư*Ğ.Ķ
The Siblings saw the Weaponsmiths off, except Ume and Nezuko, who were hiding in their Bedroom. Once they were gone, Shigeru realised something, "we forgot! I can't believe it!" he moaned, surprising and confusing their Oldest Brothers. "What did you forget?" Tanjiro asked. "We'll get them for you" Hanako said, as she and her young Brother went off somewhere in the house. When they came back, they were each carrying a small wooden box. "Mr Urokodaki made these for Ume and Nezuko. We told him that neither of you would want to leave our Sisters in the place where discovery would mean death, so he made you these boxes for you both to carry them in during the day and on Missions" Hanako explained. Gyutaro looked at the boxes, "he made these for us, and our Sisters?" he asked softly. Tanjiro picked up Nezuko's box, which had been decorated with pink Hemp leaf patterns. "I decorated the boxes, so you could tell which one was which" Shigeru said with pride.
Gyutaro looked Ume's box over, which he saw, was decorated with the same pink butterflies that her favorite Haori was. He smiled warmly, "wow, this is great. So much detail. Maybe you should become an Artist when you grow up Shigeru!" he said, rubbing his head fondly. He turned to Ume, who had come out of their Bedroom along with Nezuko after the Swordsmiths were gone. "Hey Ume. Wanna climb in and see how you like it?" he asked gently. The 22-year-old Demon woman looked at the box, before shrinking herself to fit in it. She sat inside the box, and pulled her hair and clothes into it, so they wrapped around her. She looked up at her Older Brother and hummed through her gag. Gyutaro smiled and kissed his little Sister's head, I'm glad you like it Ume. This way, we'll never be apart again" he said, as he closed the door of the box.
Tanjiro was just doing the same for Nezuko's box, when three Crow's flew in through the window of the main room. "Big Brother, there are Crows!" Shigeru said, looking at the two Birds curiously. Everyone went back into the main room to see the Crows. Two of them cawed, "I am Tanjiro Kamado's Kasugai Crow, Matsuemon Tenoji! Caw! I have orders for Tanjiro Kamado!" One said. The other nodded at Takeo, "I am Takeo Kamado's Crow. My job is to deliver letters for you" he said. The last Crow looked up at Gyutaro, "I am the Crow assigned to Gyutaro Kamado. I am a female and don't have a name. Please give me one and the I shall give you your orders" the now know female Crow said. Gyutaro closed his eyes to think. The perfect name came to him in a flash. He opened his eyes and looked down at his Crow with a sad smile, "I'll name you after our Mother. Your name is now Kie" he said.
The newly named Kie nodded, "Kie. Good name" she said. Then she hopped up onto his hands, "your orders are to go to a town to the South, near a forest. There are rumors of a Demon kidnapping people from the town as well as travelers on the road!" Kie explained. Gyutaro nodded in understanding, turning to Tanjiro, who'd also gotten his first Mission. Now, it was time to start their new lives as Demon Slayers. Their younger Siblings frowned in worry.
To Be Continued