"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Breathing style or blood demon art"
Urokodaki read the letter Kanzaburou had just delivered. The old crow was currently passed out in a corner on the floor, dozing after his long flight.
The old man turned the letter over in his hands for a moment before he slid a finger under the seal and opened the envelope then he drew out the sheet of paper inside.
The letter was short only a full page,
Dear Urokodaki Sir,
Forgive the intrusion.
There's a boy headed your way in need of instruction. He wants to be a demon slayer. He was fearless enough to fight me. A demon attacked his family. They are all dead, except for his younger sister who has been turned, but I am certain she will not attack a human.
They are different. I can sense something about these two.
The boy has a keen sense of smell much like yourself and a he uses a flame breathing style unlike any I have seen before .He also seems to move faster and is stronger then most. So maybe, just maybe, he'll be able to find a way through.
I am asking for you to train this boy. This may seem like a frivolous request, but please, humor me. If am not mistaken, this will all make sense one day.
Take care of yourself.
I am fine.
Yours truly,
Giyuu Tomioka
Urokodaki smiled beneath his mask. From that last line, it seemed the boy got the letter he sent last New Year's, though, why he waited nearly an entire year to answer was anyone's guess. The smile faded and Urokodaki ran a finger along the line about the request. The only thing rarer then a letter from Giyuu was for Giyuu to ask for a favor. The last one he'd asked for was shortly after Sabito died...that too he only asked for half of Sabito's haori and some needle and thread.
"The boy must be special indeed," Urokodaki mused
After setting the letter down, Urokodaki grabbed his scarf then wrapped it around his head. He picked up his sword and, pausing briefly to set Kanzaburou down on some old blankets, proceeded out the door to meet the boy
Tanjiro pointed to a basket lying next to a hut.
"Would you mind if I took that basket and some straw and bamboo?" He asked.
The farmer squinted at him and scratched one ear. The basket was no use to him, sure, but the blank look on the boy's face was strange. What did he want with a basket like that anyway? And bamboo and straw?
"You can have the basket," the farmer said at last "and all the bamboo and straw you want."
Tanjiro bowed. "Thank you. I'll gladly pay you for it."
"No, it's fine that basket is useless to me "
"But let me pay you," Tanjiro insisted.
"I said_" the man began, but was interrupted as Tanjiro slammed several coins into his palm.
The farmer was still holding his wrist as Tanjiro thanked him again and headed off with the basket, bamboo, and straw.
"Crazy, stubborn kid," the farmer complained
When Tanjiro found Nezuko, she was deep in a hole she'd dug in the cave Tanjiro had left her in.
"Seems you already know what to do," Tanjiro mused. "Maybe all demons now instinctively the sun will kill them."
"Hang on just a second," Tanjiro said.
Using his ax, Tanjiro split the bamboo and wove it tightly around the basket. He packed straw in every crevice and put some in the bottom of the basket so Nezuko would be comfortable.
When he finished Tanjiro entered the cave with the basket.
"Nezuko, do you think you could fit in here?" Tanjiro asked.
Nezuko looked back it him with confused pink eyes.
'Does she understand what I am saying' Tanjiro wondered 'How much can demons understand?'
He'd never really talked much with a demon most of the time either he was killing them or they tried to kill him not really the best situation to have a conversation the ones that did talk were only three (Muzan,Tamayo and his brother)
he knew some demons were intelligent and understood words, but how much did they understand? Where did Nezuko, a recently made demon, fall on that scale?
Tanjiro tried again.
"In here, bas-ket" he said slowly.
Nezuko nodded in understanding and climbed out of the hole then shoved herself face first into the basket. Right away Tanjiro could see a problem. Only half of Nezuko fit. Then Tanjiro remembered how Nezuko had grown bigger all of sudden when attacking him.
"Nezko you think you can get smaller?" Tanjiro
Nezuko twitched in response and shoved herself into the basket, shrinking as she went, and it tipped upright. Soon she was sitting curled up inside it with her knees against her chest.
"Nice job, Nezuko ,good girl Nezuko! " Tanjiro said patting her head
Nezuko made a pleased sounds and closing her eyes. It seemed he would have to keep talking to her like that until she changed back into a human
"It reminds me of the time when she was three to four years old " Tanjiro smiled at the memory
Tanjiro pulled out a cloth and wrapped around the basket like a top. After making sure it was tight, he carried the basket from the cave and continued on his way towards Mount Sagiri.
Now that the problem of Nezuko and the sun was solved for the moment, he found himself thinking about the demon slayer corps.
It was ironic that after being excommunicated from the core in his first life, he was about to try to join it again. Should he even be allowed to join again? Did excommunication extend beyond death to rebirth? Yoriichi decided he should just go by his new name, Tanjiro Kamado, and pretend not to be a reincarnation. Not like the excommunication would come up if he did that way. It also reduced the chances of Muzan finding him while he was still weak.
Muzan Kibutsuji, progenitor of demons If Yoriichi had killed him in his last life, then his second family would still be alive. The sins of his past life had followed him through to his new one and now others had paid the price. Maybe his reincarnation was a punishment from whatever gods existed, for failing his purpose before and letting the demon get away.
Yoriichi would kill him, needed to kill him in order to atone and that meant joining the demon slayer core. It also meant hiding his identity. Partly because Muzan was cowardly and would go into hiding if he thought a threat to his life had appeared. Also, because Muzan was clever enough to have Yoriichi hunted down by the Upper Moons before he could reach full strength again. The thought of seeing Michatsu again made Yoriichi's heart wrench. He couldn't face him again. Not now.
So it was settled, Yoriichi would be Tanjiro Kamado and no one would be the wiser. It would mean hiding his ability to see the transparent world, no one else had that ability as far as he knew, and learning the breathing techniques like a novice would. He had no choice, though.
"I must get stronger..." his current abilities were a far cry from his peak even so he was confident that a few years of training would be enough to kill Muzan...no maybe he should train an extra year or two to make sure he complete destroys ever single bit of Muzan if he pulls that spitting trick again
Unknown location
For some reason Muzan suddenly felt his five hearts beat wildly and a chill running down his spin
At the same time all the twelve moons felt a short passing sensation of fear for no explainable reason
Towards evening, Tanjiro stopped and asked a woman standing outside a house for directions.
"Mount Sagiri? If you really want to go there the fastest way is over that mountain," she said pointing. "but sun's about to set and you're hauling an awful lot of luggage. It's dangerous."
"Please don't worry. I'll be careful," Tanjiro said.
"A lot of people have been going missing on that mountain lately. Don't get lost, ok," the woman called.
Night fell. Nezuko climbed out of the basket and took Tanjiro's hand. Tanjiro was startled and didn't know what to do at first and few seconds later they made their way up while swinging their joined hands cheerfully.
"This smell" Tanjiro smelt the presence of a demon. The scent wasn't large, no where close to an hogh level demon it was rather small and weak
Warily, Tanjiro gripped his ax and asked Nezuko to be quiet. A temple appeared and together, they creeped up to the door of it and looked in.
A demon crouched on the floor of the temple, feasting from several corpses. It has long, human like hair. Pale skin, and stripes on both arms.
Tanjiro calmly shifted his grip on the ax.
The ax was ordinary iron, not Nichirin. He didn't know he'd be able to hurt the demon at all with it, much less kill it. But he had to try didn't he? For the sake of those lying dead on the floor?
Nezuko took a step forward and a floorboard creaked. The demon froze and looked over it's shoulders.
"What do you think you're doing? This is my territory," the demon said. "Anyone who set foot on my territory is going to have to pay."
Out of the corner of his eye, Tanjiro could Nezuko staring the bodies. Drool began to run in small rivulets beneath her muzzle. She was starving and what was on the floor was a feast.
"Huh?" the demon said, getting to it's feet. "Something is not quite right about you. Wait, are you two human?"
Tanjiro tightened his grip on the ax. Without warning, the candle, the only light in the temple, went out and the demon flung itself at him. Tanjiro leaped back landed on the ground outside the temple and the demon followed.
"Huhu, a hatchett," the demon noted as he touched down. "how..."
"!" the demon blinked as the world turned upside down no his head has been cut
Tanjiro eyed the currently headless body and wondered if this would be enough to kill the demon. It hadn't been a Nichirin sword, after all, so maybe_
The body stood up and tried to attack again when Nezuko kicked the demon's body and sent it flying up against another tree far away from it's head.
"You bastards," the demon head shouted. "So the girl's a demon after all, huh. I couldn't tell with that weird vibe you gave off. But what are you doing teaming up with a human?"
He's still talking, Tanjiro noted.
"And why is your face so blank? Don't you feel anything at all," the demon demanded, glaring at Tanjiro.
Tanjiro blinked. He'd forgotten about that. Smiling had been so easy when he was Tanjiro that he hadn't realized he wasn't doing it any more.
"This is just my face," Yoriichi said.
The demon snarled and it's body leaped from the tree to attack Nezuko
"Sun breathing First Form: Dance" using a singular downwards vertical slash in an arcing motion he chopped the body into two
Sensing the demon head making a move. He turned around just in time to see that the head had grown two stubby arms and was flying through the air towards him.
After pulling back his arm, Tanjiro swung and hit the head, sending it flying like a ball in a children's game. It fetched up against a tree for the second time. Before the head could fall to the ground, though, Tanjiro threw the ax. The blade dug through the newly grown arms and neck of the demon and into the wood , pinning the head to the trunk
Tanjiro pulled out his knife while eyeing the head that was still struggling to pull the ax out of it's neck with it's small arms and hands. It didn't appear to be escaping anytime soon so Tanjiro calmly walked towards it, Nezuko trailing behind him.
Half-way to the head, Tanjiro felt a presence, calm and quiet but awash with power and confidence. A quick glance out of the corner of his eye revealed a brain, heart, lungs and other internal organs of a human being. The lungs were big and muscular. Definitely a slayer, if not a former Hashira. So he was hiding behind a tree. That must mean he wanted to see what Tanjiro would do.
Tanjiro reached the head. Sheathing his knife, he reached down to grab a rock. He bowed his head for a moment.
"No," the demon's head said. "Please, I'll be good...I"
The rock slammed into the demon's skull, three times on each side. Reducing him to bloody pulp
In that moment, Tanjiro dearly missed his sword with it he could have killed the demon quickly in a single move granting him a painless death
A hand far larger then Nezuko's fell on Tanjiro's shoulders. Tanjiro turned to see a man in a blue kimono embroidered with clouds and came face to face with the red tengu mask he was wearing.
"That moment before you crushed it. The one where you bowed your head. What were you doing?" Urokodaki asked
"I was praying for his soul. He was human once so I wished for it to rest in peace," Yoriichi said.
"Why did you kill it?" Urokodaki asked "if you are so sympathetic, why kill it when it was begging for mercy."
Tanjiro met his eyes and Urokodaki almost thought for a moment that the boy could see through the mask.
"Letting it live wouldn't have been a mercy...that demon will continue to kill humans besides, it is almost sunrise," Yoriichi said. He pointed behind the temple to where the rosy pink of dawn was beginning to lighten the sky. "Leaving him to burn would have been far worse."
Urokodaki had guessed something like that already. The overwhelming scent of kindness coming off of the boy in that moment had made him worry that the boy wouldn't be able to go through with the kill. When the demon began to beg, Urokodaki was almost sure that the boy would let it go.
The boy's words now confirmed Urokodaki's opinion,Mercy? That fit with his kindness, but few people had… quite that perspective. This boy he is kind but he did not let it interfere with his judgement
His nose and instincts normally didn't lie.
'Just who did you send me, Giyuu?' Urokodaki wondered.
Tanjiro looked away and then blinked.
"Nezuko? Where are you?" he asked.
He had to be worried, but his tone and face were blank. Yet another oddity to add to the growing tally.
Tanjiro's eyes landed on the open temple doors and he relaxed. Nezuko was inside the temple, curled up in her basket with the blanket draped over her head like a hood. That wasn't the only thing that was off, though.
"Where are the bodies?" Yoriichi asked.
Urokodaki gestured for Tanjiro to follow him.
Around the back of the temple were three fresh graves without headstones or markers. Tanjiro realized that Urokodaki must have buried them while he and Nezuko had been by the cliff.
'He could've killed the demon at any time,' Tanjiro realized, 'but he left it for me to deal with, to test me.'
Staring down at the graves, Tanjiro remembered Uta's grave, the one Rengoku had helped him dig and then decorate with flowers. More recently, he remembered the graves he'd dug for his family.
Getting on to his knees, Tanjiro folded his hands and prayed for a peaceful afterlife for the victims. One without pain or sorrow of any kind.
A rustle in the grass a moment later showed him that Urokodaki was doing the same.
When they had both finished, they rose and Urokodaki turned to Tanjiro.
"My name is Sakonji Urokodaki. You are the one that Giyuu Tomioka sent to my way. Correct."
It wasn't a question. Not really. Tanjiro wasn't surprised at the revelation either. Some answer was clearly expected, though.
"I am. I'm Tanjiro Kamado," Tanjiro said and then he pointed towards the temple. "And my sister's name is Nezuko."
"Tanjiro," Urokodaki said, his voice flat. "What do you intend to do if your sister eats a human?"
Tanjiro didn't flinch or hesitate. He'd been thinking about it for a while. What he would do if he failed again and his sibling turned into a monster for the second time.
"I'll kill her," Tanjiro responded. "and then commit sepeku."
The masked head tilted slightly in a clear question.
"Nezuko would never want me to let her live if it meant others died. As for myself, my life would be forfeit in exchange for the one's taken. I don't believe it will ever come to that, but if it does…then I will do what has to be done." Tanjiro finished.
"You must never allow that to happen, no matter the cost," Urokodaki said. "Traveling alongside a demon like your sister means that you are not only risking your life and her's but that of everyone around you. Your sister eating an innocent human is the one thing that must never happen, ever. Have I made myself clear?"
Tanjiro dipped his head in response. In spite of the heaviness of the topic, of the discussion of losing the only family he had left, the boy hadn't shed a tear or even frowned.
Urokodaki couldn't help, but compare Tanjiro's expression to Giyuu's constant mask of indifference. No, Giyuu's indifference always had a a range of emotions behind it. The emotions were clearly there, just hidden out of sight. Tanjiro Kamado, though. The serene blankness on his face obscured all traces of emotion. Either the boy felt nothing or that he had been through so much and was hiding so much that he had learned to seamlessly make all signs of emotion disappear.
"Very well, I will test you to see if you are worthy to become a member of the demon slayer corps. Carry your sister and follow me."
The rest of the day was a blur for Tanjiro. Urokodaki ran at a pace that couldn't have been his fastest, Tanjiro knew he was holding back, but was still a bit harsh. Every time he gained a little bit of ground, Urokodaki sped up more, forcing him to run harder.
Soon they they reached the small house with the wooden roof at the foot of the mountain.
"This is only the start of the test. We'll be climbing a mountain," he said.
Tanjiro took a couple deep breaths and then asked. "Do I bring Nezuko with me?"
"No," Urokodaki said. He pulled off his head scarf, revealing short silver-white hair, then opened the door to the house.
"She will stay here," he said.
Tanjiro hesitated. Separating him from Nezuko was the easiest way to kill her, after all. There'd be nothing he could do until to late
"I promise I will look after her," Urokodaki said.
Tanjiro entered the house and set Nezuko's basket down on the floor. He took off the cloth and found her fast asleep. She didn't stir as he picked her up and laid her down on the floor with a nearby folded cloth to serve as a pillow.
When Nezuko was comfortable, Tanjiro rose and followed Urokodaki outside, onto the mountain.
Unlike earlier, Urokodaki went at an easy pace. He probably didn't want to tire Tanjiro out too much before the test started.
Near the top of the mountain, Urokodaki halted. Night had long since fallen and mists swirled around him and his prospective student. What little light from the stars came on this moonless night was almost entirely obscured by the trees.
"Now, find your way back to my house at the foot of the mountain," Urokodaki instructed. "This time. I won't wait until daybreak."
He stepped back into the mists and disappeared from view. Ordinary view, anyway. Through the transparent world, Yoriichi could still see him
'I could follow him' Tanjiro thought' but it would be pointless then '
In the end, Tanjiro decided that his best move was to wait until he couldn't see Urokodaki and then make his own way. He needed to train to be stronger, not take the easy way out at every opportunity. Nezuko was counting on him to do more than test well, after all.
He started to head down, at a fast, but easily maintainable pace. That was why when he tripped over the first rope. He didn't fall forward and managed to dodge the rocks rather than taking them to the face.
'Traps'Tanjiro thought. 'There must traps all over the mountain.'
Insight into the transparent world gave Yoriichi advantages at so many things, but detecting traps wasn't one. Traps weren't alive so there was nothing for him to see in the transparent world. No clear give away.
While his senses were keen, he had the extremely sensitive nose which smelled Urokodaki's scent on the traps, but it would be pointless then '
How to explain it, though. Could he say he smelled Urokodaki and used that to track him?
In the end, Tanjiro decided that his best move was to wait until he couldn't see Urokodaki and then make his own way. He needed to train to be stronger, not take the easy way out at every opportunity. Nezuko was counting on him to do more than test well, after all.
He started to head down, at a fast, but easily maintainable pace. That was why when he tripped over the first rope. He didn't fall forward and managed to dodge the rocks rather than taking them to the face.
Traps, Tanjiro thought. There must traps all over the mountain.
Insight into the transparent world gave Yoriichi advantages at so many things, but detecting traps wasn't one. Traps weren't alive so there was nothing for him to see in the transparent world. No clear give away.
While his senses were keen, he had the extremely sensitive nose which smelled Urokodaki's scent on the traps, but with only the scent he couldn't overcome the test
He took a deep breath and recalled the words of sealing off his other senses and turning his mind "invisible" his father had taught him it helped him access the selfless state much faster than ever (the only thing that he surpassed his past self in)
He was never more thankful for the fact that he showcased all forms of Sun breathing and explained the transparent world and selfless state to Sumiyoshi who had preserved it in his family till his reincarnation...was that also fate?
completely erasing his fighting spirit ,will to fight, bloodlust, anger, hatred, malevolence, drive and animosity.
Once in this state, behavior becomes incredibly tranquil and focused with this he was ready
The method saved him from several pit falls, bamboo traps and a swinging log, soon he recognized the small house, light flickering in it's windows.
The moon was much closer to the horizon then it had been, but it still hung in the sky. He had passed Urokodaki's test and done so with several hours to spare.
Tanjiro the pushed open the door. Urokodaki was inside with a cauldron of something over a fire. He'd put Nezuko on a futon and tucked a blanket around her. Urokodaki said nothing as Tanjiro entered and then shut the door behind him.
He sat down by Nezuko and propped his back up against the wall.
"You've passed," Urokodaki informed him finally. "You are now my new student, Tanjiro Kamado."
Tanjiro nodded. His face could have been made of stone for all the emotion he showed.
As Urokodaki looked at him, he knew he was looking at another tragic mistake or the one deed that would make up for that great mistake he had made in the past
A/N after watching the Hashira training arc I realised that the Hashira's have a vast amount of skills and knowledge beyond just knowing a breathing style as such it is possible that even if Tanjiro uses a different breathing style Urokodaki can still teach him other things for one The trap training will definitely benifit Tanjiro
Also Muzan will be experiencing some PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) as comedic relief