It only took 5 days for Tanjiro to complete the Mist Hashira's training. "Heh, you really are something Tanjiro. After everything is over, could I come and visit you and your family?" Muichiro asked. "Of course! we'd be happy to have you!" Tanjiro replied with a bright smile. "I'll look forward to it" the Mist Hashira replied with a happy smile of his own. He waved to his friend as he left the other Hashira's Estate. "Next is Mitsuri's training. I hope she's doing okay with training everyone" Tanjiro said to himself as they ran to the Love Estate.
'My family is okay, aren't they? Maybe I should go check on them first' he thought, slowing down. Then he shook those thoughts away, "they're all fine. They're all fine. They're being guarded and they're all strong enough to protect themselves" Tanjiro said firmly. 'My family are powerful, immortal Demon's, who nearly killed Muzan Kibutsuji right after they turned. I should focus on mastering the Mark!'
ĐŚ·ĂÙ
Once he reached Mitsuri's Estate, the Love Hashira met him outside, "Tanjiro! Welcome back!" she called cheerfully. Thank you, it's good to be back!" she called cheerfully. "Thank you, it's good to be back Mitsuri" Tanjiro replied with a smile. "How are things going at your Estate? And how are your family doing? Any new developments since they conquered the sun?" the pink and green-haired young woman asked.
"Well, my family can all eat human food now. I've limited their diet to cooked pain rice for now, since I don't know if they can handle other foods. But yes, they have been eating since they all conquered the sun" Tanjiro explained. "How exciting! You said Nezuko liked to eat Konpeito as a human, right? Do you think she'd still like it now?" Mitsuri asked. "I'm not sure. I've been sticking to very plain foods to be safe. I don't want to make them stick after all. And I don't want to make them sick after all. And I don't know what it is about being immune to the sunlight that even allows them to eat human food in the first place. So I think I'll wait until they're human again before giving them any other human foods" Tanjiro replied thoughtfully.
"That makes sense. You care for your family so much and look after them so well Tanjiro. Despite my physical strength, if my family had been attacked and turned into Demons when I was 13, I don't know if I could have done as well as you," she began. "Of course, I'd hope they could restrain themselves like your Mother and Siblings have, and they would refuse to eat humans, so they wouldn't be killed. But just the fact that they were attacked at all, and hurt so badly that they could have died, without becoming potentially human-eating monsters, who could only barely control themselves at first, would have broken my heart" Mitsuri said sadly.
"Do you have Siblings?" Tanjiro asked, as they reached the Kamado's old room, and Tanjiro set down his bag. "Oh yes, I'm the oldest of five Siblings. I have two younger Brother's and two Sister's. They did live here with me, but since the Hashira Training started, they moved into another house to make room for all of the Demon Slayers who'll be staying here to train" the Love Hashira explained. "They must be very proud of you" Tanjiro said happily. "They are. Despite knowing how strong I am, they still worry though. I love when I get letters about that, because it shows that they're still thinking about me.
Once this training is over, I'm going to visit them before the battle against Muzan and the rest of the Demons start. Because the love of everyone precious to me is what gives me strength" Mitsuri agreed. "Well, you can get ready in here. I'll bring you to the Dojo in bit. Here, get changed into this!" she said, giving him a pink something, before leaving him to change into it.
ĐŚ·ĂÙ
Tanjiro was noplussed when he saw the pink thing was a leotard, and it also had a yellow sash tied around it. Shrugging, the teen got changed before folding his Uniform up neatly and putting it on his Futon. "Alright, let's go!" Tanjiro headed towards the Dojo, where he found the other Demon Slayers also dressed in the leotards and looking very red-faced. Mitsuri handed out ribbons on sticks as her Crow perched on a record player.
"Okay everyone! Let's start!" she called. The Love Hashira began spinning around and twirling her ribbon, "make sure you rrally bed with your movements! That'll make you harder to capture by a Demon!" Mitsuri called. While the other Slayers struggled with the ribbon, Tanjiro twirled and spun around the room. "Great job Tanjiro! But try to bend your body more!" the other Hashira called approvingly. Several Demon Slayers tripped on their ribbons and fell over. After half an hour of that, Mitsuri called them to sit on the ground in pairs, "okay everyone! We're doing stretches now!" she said cheerfully.
Tanjiro was paired with another young man, they held each other's hands and pushed their legs out against each other. "That's it! Stretch those legs out! Great job!" Finally the other young man fell backwards, "I can't move them any further! Ow! Ow! Ow!" he groaned as he turned on his side and carefully moved his legs back together. Tanjiro himself was rubbing his thighs in pain.
"I think I'm stuck!" another trainee called. 'Mitsuri is really flexible, to be able to do stuff like this easily!' "Great job! But don't stop! You have to keep going until the pain goes away! Otherwise you won't be flexible enough!" the other Hashira said. Everyone groaned at that. Even Tanjiro agreed. Flexibility training was hell!
ĐŚ·ĂÙ
The next day they were given a sweet Westurn dish called "pan cakes" for Breakfast. Then it was right back to training. By the time the month had passed, Tanjiro felt like a limp noodle. "Thank you for your training Mitsuri" he said as he staggered away. "Take care of yourself Tanjiro! Good luck with Iguro's training!" the pink and green-haired called with a wave. Unfortunately his next training was with the Serpent Hashira. One of the ones he knew didn't like him.
He could also smell how much he and Mitsuri loved each other. And how angry he was that he'd been with the Love Hashira. That hatred was compounded by the fact that he hated his family. An aura of rage emanated from the man as he stared at him. "Tanjiro Kamado" he growled darkly. "Uh, yes?" Tanjiro asked nervously. "It sounds like you had a fun time with Kanroji, huh?" he hissed. Tanjiro laughed awkwardly. "I'll have you know I have no intention of going easy on you because you're a Hashira. In fact I expect you to be stronger than the rest of the Corps Members" Iguro said, leading him inside the Dojo of his Estate.
Tanjiro blanched when he saw the other Demon Slayers gabbed and tied to the wooden obstacle course. "Why are the Corps Members tied up? They can't exactly train like this?" Tanjiro asked. "They're all so weak, there's no point having them train. They're better off as obstacles to train with" the Serpent Hashira replied. Tanjiro sweat-dropped, 'I might have to tell the Master or Lady Amane about this' he thought. "Let's get started" Iguro said suddenly. 'R-right now?' Tanjiro thought in surprise. Then he steeled his resolve. Anything for his family. "Right!" he said.
ĐŚ·ĂÙ
Tanjiro was taken off guard by the bizarre way the other Hashira's Sword twisted and seemed to slither like a real snake. Tanjiro barely managed to avoid the strike, but the next one smacked him across the face. 'How can he get a wooden Sword to do that?!' Tanjiro thought, bewildered. Hours later the beaten and sore Demon Slayers returned to their staying quarters, and went to bathe. Tanjiro hissed in pain as he sank into the water. "Urgh! My bruises are so tender" he groaned. Around him the other Demon Slayers sank into the water as well. "Sorry about today everyone. There's not much space to move in that maze" Tanjiro said apologetically.
"It's okay. You did you best Lord Tanjiro" another Slayer replied with a sigh. "The Serpent Hashira really seems to hate you Lord Tanjiro" one of the young men said. Tanjiro sighed, "he hates my family because they're all Demon's. So I guess he's going harder on me because of it" he explained. "Well that's not fair! Aren't your family all good Demons?" another Demon Slayer asked. "They are. And none of them eat humans. But I don't blame Mr Iguro. I'm sure he must have gone through a lot due to Demons in the past. And I know the Wind Hashira has.
That doesn't mean I forgive him for stabbing my Mother and Sister's!" "Well yeah. If someone hurt my family on purpose, I'd be furious too. Hey Tanjiro, is it true that your family is strong enough to beat the Demon King?" the young man asked. "It's true. they're so strong!" Tanjiro replied cheerfully, so proud of his family. "Heh, I wish I was as lucky as you Tanjiro. I lost my Sister to a Demon" the other Demon Slayer replied sadly. "I'm so sorry" Tanjiro said with a frown. "Well, as long as we end Muzan and the other Demon's, my Sister will be able to rest in peace. Right?" the young man asked.
Tanjiro smiled, "yeah" he agreed. "Well, we'll have to keep training soon. All we can do is get stronger" the other Demon Slayer agreed. "Right! So let's keep training!"
ĐŚ·ĂÙ
Tanjiro continued to train against Iguro. He managed to dodge some of the attacks again, but still got hit. The other Hashira's Sword style continued to throw Tanjiro off, and he could barely avoid the attacks and the bound Demon Slayers. 'I have to figure out how to dodge the attacks and manoeuvre around the obstacles without hurting the other Demon Slayers'. "Pay attention!" Iguro snapped, his blade snaking out and barely missing Tanjiro's cheek as he dodged. 'Despite the circumstances, I feel like I've been in this situation before. In an enclosed space, dodging attacks coming at me from every angle' the younger Hashira thought. His eyes widened, 'I have! Back on Mount Sagiri, with all the trees and traps.'
In his mind's eye, the tied Demon Slayers became the trees on Mount Sagiri. 'I just have to remember my initial training. Focus!' Tanjiro thought. He ran around the Demon Slayers, dodging the Serpent Hashira's attacks like he did those traps, moving his Sword through the gaps like the spaces between tree branches. 'I just have to find an opportunity to strike- there!' the Sun God Hashira saw the Opening Thread, and swung his Sword, first avoiding the bound Demon Slayers, then striking with all his speed.
The Sword moved so fast that he sliced right through the sleeve of Iguro's striped Haori. Tanjiro lit up, "I did it!" he cried, elated. "Fine, you hit me. Your training is now over. So get out!" the other Hashira growled. Tanjiro sweat-dropped and left the Dojo to grab his things. "Thank you for the training!" he called as he ran.
ĐŚ·ĂÙ
"Next up is the Wind Hashira. This is going to be fun" Tanjiro groaned sarcastically. 'Hopefully I can at least learn from him, even if he hates me' he thought. His Crow led him to the Wind Estate. "Now, where's the Dojo?" he asked himself. "You damn weaklings! I'm never going to get my temperature and heartrate up fighting you!" a familiar voice yelled. Tanjiro rounded a corner and saw all of the Demon Slayers laying on the ground in pain, with Sanemi standing over them with a Bokken.
'Well, here we go' before he could do anything else, a blonde blur shot out from under the Estate, "TANJIRO! SAVE ME!" Zenitsu shrieked at him, utterly traumatized. A hand grabbed the other teen's head, "what do you think you're doing you worm. Get back to training" Sanemi said darkly. His gaze moved up to Tanjiro, and veins pulsed on his face, "Kamado. So, you survived Iguro huh, you brat?" he asked. "I did" Tanjiro replied. At this point Zenitsu started screaming again, "NOOOOOOO! I CAN'T GO BACK! I'LL DIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE! LET ME GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" "Shut up!" Sanemi yelled, punching the other teen on the head and knocking him out.
Tanjiro watched this with a sad look on his face, 'I feel bad for Zenitsu' he thought. "Hey! Just 'cause the Master made you a Hashira, don't think I accept you or your family you damn brat. So don't get cocky!" Sanemi said. "That's fine. Because I don't respect you enough to care what you think. You stabbed my Mom and Sister's!" Tanjiro said confidently, before he picked Zenitsu up on his back and carried him down the road. The white-haired man's eye twitched, 'you damn brat!' he thought angrily. But also slightly impressed with his bravery to speak to him like that.