She saved me is all I could feel as I went to bed that night. I did believe that she rescued me, but it was difficult to picture it in my head. I was bigger than her and didn't understand how someone so gentle could lift me up and get me inside.
**Did she call for Urokodaki? But she doesn't talk... At least not to me... Or maybe she's just stronger than she looks?**
I envisioned the scene over and over again, but it still just looked weird in my head. Regardless, I owed her my life.
**Whatever. Let me just be grateful and get some rest.**
I took a moment to pray before lying down on my futon and getting ready to sleep. I saw the light from Urokodaki's main room go dark. I assumed he had put out any lamps and was preparing for bed.
I eventually fell asleep
I woke up the next morning and heard Urokodaki moving around in his living room. I got up and headed out to greet him, but he already went outside.
**I'll go see what he's up to**
It smelled good like Urokodaki had been cooking. I decided to go outside and see what he was up to. When I got outside, I saw Urokodaki stretching before picking up an axe.
Y/N: Good morning, Mr. Urokodaki.
He didn't look in my direction and had his gaze fixed on a pile of wood.
Urokodaki: Good morning. I left you breakfast inside.
Y/N: Oh, I appreciate it, sir.
He examined the pile of wood closely.
Y/N: What're you up to?
He grabbed a log of wood and placed it on an elevated platform made of stone.
Urokodaki: That door needs fixing.
He aimed his axe over at the broken door to his house. It was kind of comedic to try and imagine what way Nezuko broke the door.
**Speaking of Nezuko...**
Y/N: Where'd Nezuko head off to?
Urokodaki: She's still asleep. She's more a night-owl.
Y/N: All right. I see. Do you need help, though?
Urokodaki: No. You should get your rest.
There was something about the way he said that which made it feel like he was challenging me. I walked over anyways and picked up another wood log. I watched him cut through the first piece of wood. He sliced it with pinpoint precision and tore through it like a stick of butter.
**Wow. How impressive.**
Y/N: Mr. Urokodaki...
He paused
Y/N: You said you've never seen a sword like mine...
Urokodaki: Yes?
Y/N: I was getting a strange feeling from you, but might you be a demon slayer?
He didn't answer for a second as he brought his axe down to the wood again.
Urokodaki: No.
Y/N: But your form is... The way you cut through that wood-
Urokodaki: Not anymore.
Y/N: Anymore?
He didn't expand on that topic anymore. He thought for a bit while he continued to chop the wood.
Urokodaki: Go grab your sword.
Y/N: Okay? One second.
I went back inside and picked up my sword. It felt heavier than normal, but that's just because my body was so sore.
**Why'd Urokodaki want to see my sword?**
I went back outside and showed the sword to him. He looked at it for a while. I couldn't see his face past the mask, but I could tell he was examining it in detail.
Urokodaki: Can you even use this?
I understood his question wasn't asked because he doubted my skill. It was asked because of how large and unusually shaped my sword was. However, this sword wasn't designed for anybody to use. It was designed specifically for me.
Y/N: Yes, sir. This sword was made specifically to fit my sword style. It's unorthodox, but it works for me better than a katana or something.
Urokodaki: I want to see.
Y/N: See?
He searched through the pile of wood and logs until he found a decently large chunk. He placed it on the floor then looked at me.
Urokodaki: I want to see you cut through this.
Just a log? That was child's play. If Urokodaki could do it with an axe, there's no way I couldn't with my sword.
Y/N: Well, sure I'll show you then.
I gripped the hilt of my sword with both hands and squeezed tightly. My body was still in pain and calling for rest, but a log wasn't even a challenge.
**Here we go!**
I took a sharp, quick breath in through my nose as I raised the sword into the air. I exhaled slowly and brought the sword down quickly and sliced through the wood with ease.
I lowered my blade and looked at Urokodaki. He seemed like he was torn between impressed and confused.
Y/N: Well?
Urokodaki: I'm impressed. You move such a large sword with great speed.
Y/N: It's a self-taught breathing technique I've learned. It lets me control the momentum of my swing to cause maximum damage while maintaining speed.
Urokodaki: I understand it's self-taught. I've never heard of such a method.
Urokodaki was praising me a lot, but I knew the tone of things was about to change.
Urokodaki: However, your swing is sloppy.
He picked up the 2 halves to the log I just sliced.
Y/N: Sloppy in what way?
Urokodaki: Look.
He showed me both halves of the log. I didn't understand what he was getting at until he held the 2 pieces together.
Urokodaki: Do you see?
The 2 halves of the wood didn't fit back together. It was too damaged and it seemed that some chunks of the wood had been chipped off when I cut.
Urokodaki: You don't swing your sword with precision. You swing with raw power. You want to be a Demon Slayer, but your swordplay won't suffice.
Y/N: Then what? How do I swing with more precision?
I was getting frustrated and upset with him. I know he was just trying to give me constructive criticism, but nobody likes being told they're doing something wrong. But I guess I needed a perspective change.
Urokodaki: The direction of your blade and the direction you swing must be in absolute unison. If your momentum doesn't match your blade's direction, you run the risk of not only damaging your sword but minimizing your damage output.
He picked up a smaller piece of wood and dropped it and then asked to see my sword. I handed it to him and he lifted it up with both hands above his head. He shifted the direction of the blade slightly before taking one of his hands off of it and letting the weight of it carry it down to the wood. When it hit the wood, it split it.
Urokodaki: Do you understand?
**Amazing! How did Urokodaki know so much about swordsmanship?**
Y/N: I understand what you're saying now.
**The direction of the blade and the momentum of the swing can be more dangerous than raw power. Urokodaki put no power behind what he just did, but the wood was cut like a cake**
I picked up the 2 halves of the wood Urokodaki just cut and tried to put them back together. They fit perfectly.
Urokodaki: It's not about swinging the sword with all your might. It's about how you swing it.
He handed my sword back to me. It felt like I was holding a completely new blade. The way Urokodaki could use it made it feel brand new.
Urokodaki: Now... You want to go to the Final Selection, yes?
I stopped admiring my sword and looked at him.
Y/N: Yes. I do.
Urokodaki: Then follow me. Bring your sword.
He started to walk off into the woods. I gave my sword one more good look before following behind him. We walked a short distance until we came to an open area encircled by trees. Nothing was there aside from a large boulder that had been split in half by something.
Urokodaki: Once you can split either side of this boulder, I'll know you're all healed and ready to go to the Final Selection.
The boulder was huge and looked very sturdy. How was I to cut through that?
Y/N: With all due respect, sir, even if I was healed up, is this even possible?
Urokodaki: If you asked me a week ago I would've said no, but...
He looked at the slice in the boulder.
Urokodaki: If you can't do this, then you'll have to make it there without my help.
Urokodaki left the conversation at that as he turned around and walked back to his home.
Y/N: Urokodaki!
He didn't respond as he kept walking and vanished into the woods.
**This thing can't be cut. There's no way. I'm gonna break my sword trying to cut through this. But I have to try. It can't be impossible... It looks like somebody had already cut it once**
I spent the rest of the day trying to slice through the giant rock, but I made no progress other than chipping away at it. Nighttime rolled around and I decided to call it quits for the day. I didn't know if there were any demons potentially around, so I decided it was safest to just go back.
When I got back, I saw Urokodaki had finished repairing his door. I went inside and bowed to Urokodaki before I headed to the guest room. I was exhausted and my hands were covered in blisters.
**Sheesh. Maybe I'd be better off just trying to find the Final Selection on my own.**
There was a bowl of rice and some fish on a table in the guest room. Urokodaki had prepared some food for me when I got back and it reminded me of how hungry I was. I didn't eat breakfast and was out all day. I blessed the food and ate before lying down on a futon.
I closed my eyes and began to focus on how to put what Urokodaki told me into practice. However, I couldn't think of anything. I needed more time to think.
While I laid there, I heard the door to my room sliding open. I opened one eye and looked over, but I didn't see anybody come in. After a few seconds, though, I saw a blanket on the ground moving. It came sliding into my room before stopping.
Y/N: Nezuko?
The blanket lifted up and Nezuko poked her head out.
Y/N: Hey, Nezuko. What's up?
I sat up as she started to pull something out from underneath the blanket. It was the origami crane I made the other night. She placed it on the floor and looked at it, then at me. She pointed at the crane and waited.
Nezuko: Mmm.
She looked around the room for my notebook and pointed at it when she found it.
**I think she wants me to teach her how to make one. That or she wants to see me make something else.**
Y/N: You want to make the crane?
She didn't say anything and kept staring at me. It was hard to communicate with her since she didn't speak and just made inaudible noises, but she was a very animated girl and wore her emotions on her face. It felt like she was saying in her head, 'just shut up and show me already'. I reached for my notebook next to the futon I was sitting on and tore out 2 sheets of paper. I handed one to her and she waited for further instructions.
Y/N: Let's actually try a heart. It's a lot more beginner-friendly.
She came out from under her blanket and laid on top of it. I laid down across from her.
Y/N: Follow after me.
She watched me as I began to fold the paper. I went slow and took it one step at a time making sure she could follow me. Eventually, we finished folding and both had an origami heart in front of us.
Y/N: And done.
I looked at them for a bit. She was able to follow along very well and hers looked almost as good as mine. I picked mine up and gave it to her.
Y/N: For you.
I couldn't see her mouth too well under the bamboo, but her eyes gave away that she was smiling. She was flattered and in turn, gave hers to me.
Y/N: Oh, well thank you.
I smiled and appreciated her company. She decided to stay with me the rest of the night and I taught her a few games I knew such as Janken and Tic-Tac-Toe. She eventually took my heart and the crane and went back to her room. I put the heart she made and my notebook on the table before I went to bed. I forgot about everything I had been stressing about before.
**I don't know what it is about her. I mean, I only just met her last night. But in some way and somehow, she just helps me to...**
Calm down