Tanjuro took Yuto and the twins to Urokodaki's house. It took several nights, especially since they were travelling along the road. Several Demons attacked them, but Tanjuro took care of them before they could hurt the Tokito family. Yuto watched in awe as the Demon took care of their attackers in the blink of an eye. Yuichiro and Muichiro hid behind their Father when he fought. Despite being terrified, Yuto seemed intrigued with the ability of the Demon Demon Slayer. The next night when his Sons were asleep and Tanjuro was on watch, Yuto walked over to the Demon and sat down next to him.
"Tired?" he asked. "No. I never get tired anymore. And when I get hungry it's barely noticeable. I don't mind being a Demon that much, because it gave me more time with my family. But sometimes I miss it. Being human" Tanjuro explained, staring up at the sky. Yuto watched him for a while, before looking over at the twins. "Hey, Tanjuro. What would I have to do if, I, wanted to be a Demon Slayer too?" Yuto asked. "Well, it would take a lot of training, if you could find someone willing to train you in the first place. Probably 2 or 3 years worth, considering you're an adult" Tanjuro replied. Yuto bit his lip. "I want to protect my boys. But I can't do that as I am. I don't care how hard it will be, or how long it takes.I will not lose my Son's the same way I lost my Wife!" Yuto said in determination.
Tanjuro smiled at him warmly, "I think you're a wonderful Father. And you're determined enough to become a strong Demon Slayer. The fact that you're willing to put yourself in danger to be able to protect your children, means that you are stronger than you think." He said. Yuto looked down at Muichiro and Yuichiro sleeping wrapped up in blankets on the ground. "You really think I can become strong enough to protect them?" he asked, "but I'm just a Woodcutter. I can't fight" Yuto protested, feeling discouraged.
"Hey, come on. You'll never be able to protect your Son's with that attitude! Do you think I knew how to fight before I trained? I was just a Charcoal merchant. But I trained and learned. It came easier for me because I was a Demon, with more strength and stamina than a human. Even so, I needed to work hard to learn how to fight and use a Sword" Tanjuro explained. Yuto looked down in thought. "I understand. Could you train me Sir?" he asked. Tanjuro frowned, "I did train my Son in how to use the Hinokami Kagura, but as for the rest of the training, Mr Urokodaki taught me that" he replied.
"So you can't?" the Tokito Patriarch asked. "Maybe Mr Urokodaki is the best one to ask about training." Tanjuro suggested. Yuto nodded, "alright, I'll make sure to ask him when we get there" he replied. After that he curled up next to Muichiro and Yuichiro, smiling when they turned and clung onto him. The man soon fell asleep, knowing that his children were safe. Tanjuro looked over the three of them for a moment, before looking into the fire. The flames danced in his bright red eyes, making them glow more than normal. Right now, all he could think about was Tanjiro and Nezuko. Were Kie and Yukito keeping them safe? Were they healing well?
He wondered if they'd written any letters home by now. Tanjuro sighed and grabbed his Sword, his unblinking eyes scanning the trees. He couldn't feel any Demonic presences nearby, but even so, he felt restless. The Kamado stayed up all night keeping watch for enemy Demons, until the first rays of sunlight lit up the clearing. Tanjuro sighed in relief, about to relax, before a presence hit his senses. The Demon sat bolt upright, already halfway to his feet, before he saw a pair of golden eyes glinting at him from the shadows. Tanjuro tensed, feeling an extremely powerful aura.
It felt similar to Muzan's, and he felt his Demonic features peek through his disguise, as a growl sounded from his throat. His eyes slid over to the family sleeping nearby, completely oblivious to the danger a mere couple of meter's away from them. Tanjuro bared his teeth in warning, stepping in front of the Father and his two Sons protectively, as he drew his Sword. The golden eyes glinted with intrigue and amusement, before Demon stepped forwards. Tanjuro instantly shot towards the threat, swinging his sword faster than a human eye could see with a snarl.
But the Demon dodged out of the way with ease. Tanjuro paused to examine his opponent, the shadows of the trees not obscuring his vision at all. Short cropped pink hair, grey skin with blue lines all over it, and bright yellow eyes, with the Kanji for Upper Three in them. He remembered what Tamayo had told them before they'd left her Clinic: "Tanjuro, Tanjiro. If you ever get the chance to fight them, the Demons with numbers engraved on their eyeballs are called the 12 Kizuki. They are Kibutsuji's most powerful subordinates. It will be difficult, but they should have the highest concentration of Kibutsuji's blood. If you can collect their blood and send it to me, it would help me create a cure faster" Tamayo explained.
Tanjuro grit his teeth and clenched his fists. 'A 12 Kizuki? Here? Why? This is not good. I have to protect the Tokito's!' he thought. The Demon grinned, "So, you're the Demon with the Hanafuda earrings! Lord Muzan has given us all orders to kill you if we find you. But I would like to fight you first. My name is Akaza" the Demon, Akaza said. Tanjuro narrowed his eyes, "Why would the Demon who created me want me to die?" he asked, gripping the handle of his sword tighter. "Something about you being a threat to him, I don't really care. All I care about is if you can give me a good fight before you die!" Akaza replied with a grin. Tanjuro stayed firmly in the lightening clearing, the faint sunlight baring the other Demon from getting closer.
"Wow! You really are immune to the sun! Lord Muzan suspected something like that! He said that if you were, my orders were different. He wanted me to capture you alive!" the Upper 3 growled. Tanjuro ignited his body with his flames, "tell that monster that if he wants me I'll be happy to burn him to ashes myself!" he snarled, veins bulging on his body, before he shot forwards, trying to cut Akaza off with a wall of flames, as he dodged his Sword swing. "Hah! You're pretty smart!" the other Demon purred, before kicking him in the chest faster than he could react, and shattering his ribs. Tanjuro coughed up a mouthful of blood as he flew back into the clearing with a slam.
The three Tokito's woke with panicked screams, as the Demon pushed himself up to his feet, his ribs and organs healing as he did so. "Tanjuro, what is happening?!" Yuto cried, gripping the twins tightly in his arms. "Don't run! Upper Rank 3 is attacking me. If you run into the shadows of the forest, he can go after you! Don't leave this clearing!" Tanjuro ordered, shooting back towards the other Demon, feeling his muscles burn slightly, before his body healed itself. Akaza met him with a fist to the face, but Tanjuro exploded into flames once again, making the other Demon let out a panicked and agonized shriek, as his arm was burned by sunlit flames.
Akaza managed to save his arm by punching towards him and letting lose a shockwave, the force of which put out the flames. Tanjuro was slammed into the ground again, completely unprepared for the invisible attack, coughing out another mouthful of blood, as his body dug a furrow in the dirt. "Mr Tanjuro!" one of the Tokito twins shrieked from somewhere nearby. 'So he can let lose shockwaves as a ranged attack. I've never tried to shoot my flames, so I have to get close to burn or cut him. Damn it, even if he can't kill me, he can still go after Yuto and the twins if I let my guard down. With that shockwave, he can hit and knock them into the shadows, probably fatally injuring them in the process. I won't let him hurt them!' Tanjuro bared his fangs in a snarl, getting to his feet as his wounds healed themselves.
Tanjuro shot towards Akaza, Sword poised to attack, 'I need to make an opening for myself! And inflict a wound he can't recover from instantly. Then I can go for his head!' he thought furiously. "Haha! You're pretty good! Why not leave these weak humans and come with me! We could fight for eternity, and I could help you get stronger too! I'm sure I could convince Lord Muzan to spare you" Akaza asked excitedly. Tanjuro narrowed his eyes, "never! That Bastard tried to kill my Wife and I, and I'm sure he would have killed our children had they been home that night. I would never serve a monster like that!" He snarled furiously.
Akaza narrowed his eyes, "too bad. I would have enjoyed fighting you more" he replied, before kneeling down, a blue snowflake-like pattern appearing at his feet. "Destructive Death: Compass Needle!" he cried, before shooting towards him once again. Tanjuro powered up his own Blood Demon Art, enshrouding his body in the flames of the sun. The fight became a battle of Akaza trying to hit him with his shockwaves from a distance to avoid his flames, while Tanjuro continued to try and close the distance to deal some real damage, as the shockwaves kept him from getting close, and he had to try and hit Akaza with fire balls from a distance.
Each time Akaza's shockwaves approached him, Tanjuro would either block them with a wall of flames, or simply take the hits, healing an instant after. "I'm not getting anywhere, I need to find a weak point!" Tanjuro muttered as he grew more frustrated at their stalemate. He continued to fight, before something caught his attention. As he dodged a shockwave that would have taken off his arm, a flash of Akaza's muscles appeared in his vision. 'This is-' he thought, managing to lop off his opponents arm. Tanjuro watched as the muscles inside Akaza's arm writhed at the burn of the flames.
'I haven't managed to do this since I became a Demon. I thought I had lost the ability. The Transparent World. This will help with this fight!' the Kamado thought in determination. He set his stance, 'Hinokami Kagura: Dragon Sun Halo Dance!' Tanjuro thought, shooting towards his enemy, the flames around his Sword taking on the shape of a dragon. "Haha! Incredible Tanjuro! You are absolutely incredible!" Akaza cried, despite the fear churning in his stomach, it was waring with the delight and elation at fighting such an incredible Demon. Tanjuro noticed the Upper Three beginning to draw a lot of energy into his fists.
He used the swift movements of the Kagura form to dodge around the energy attacks, the dragon roaring on his sword. Tanjuro aimed for Akaza's neck, making the other Demon's eyes widen in fear, as his attacks were avoided so easily. Suddenly, before the other Demon could decapitate him, he was shut behind a sliding paper door. Tanjuro's attack sliced through the door, only for the pieces to fade into nothing, not even burning away. The Kamdao Demon stood up after a moment of examining the area for any sign of the Upper Three Demon. No traces were left. Tanjuro sighed and released his Blood Demon Art, the flames fading away. He sheathed his Sword, before hurrying back to the clearing to check on the Tokito's.
าข
"Are you all alright?!" Tanjuro called, as he reached the sunlit clearing again. Yuto was kneeling on the grass, wrapping his arms around his two Sons, and he looked up as the Demon ran up to them. "Tanjuro, thank goodness. We were worried. Did you kill that Demon?" he asked. Tanjuro sighed, relaxing now that they were no longer in danger, "no, he escaped. At least I was able to protect you three" he replied with a smile. Muichiro broke away from his Father and Brother and wrapped his arms around Tanjuro in a hug, "thank you for protecting us!" he cried gratefully, as his body trembled in the Kamado's arms.
Tanjuro wrapped his arms gently around the black and turquoise-haired boy, patting his head, "of course I would. Not only is that my job, but it's just the right thing to do" he said kindly. "Well, we should probably get going now, right? While the sun is up" Yuichiro asked, standing up. Tanjuro nodded, "right, let's go" he agreed. The group packed up quickly, before hurrying away from the clearing, glad that they had escaped unscathed from that confrontation.