"Total Concentration! First form! Water surface slash!" Tanjiro yelled cutting is neck clean off.
The snow was falling gently, a trail of corpses and blood splatters led to a feasting demon. There stood a young Urokodaki, his sword out of its sheath. The dim light of a burning lantern-lit his form, the red tengu mask as vibrant in the night as could be. On instinct, the demon ran at the young man, attacking him with his bloodied claws and feet. He jumped up, only to be cut by the man effortlessly. Gravely injured, he ran with his bare feet on the cold snow-covered ground.
The demon hid behind an old broken wagon, holding his bleeding arm to his chest. The demon ran into a dead end only to be met with the same fate. Jumping up, coming down at the demon with his sword raised... oh, how the student takes after the master.
The demons head landed with a thud and a couple of bounces. His large body was disintegrating before his eyes. All his hard work only to be slain by a student of the man he detested. Why?
'Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! My body's crumbling and disintegrating, I can't stop it!,"
Tanjiro put his sword back in its sheath, the girl running to her brother giving him a big hug. She let go and stared at the demon with sad eyes, her brother turning to see what she is staring at only to have the same look in his eyes.
'To think the last face of a demon hunter will be the last thing I see. How did it come to this?'
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A small boy sat there with his knees to his chest, tears in his eyes.
"I'm so scared. I'm all alone. Nii-chan, where are you? I want you to hold my hand! Like you always do!" he looked around, his face so human, so delicate, "Why? Why on earth did I bite you to death nii-chan?"
"Huh? Who is this 'Nii-chan' person?"
.
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Tanjiro and Fujiko stared at the hand, open while the rest of the body disintegrated. 'What a sad aura coming from you now... you really missed him didn't you?'
I watched as nii-san held his hand, both of his fitting with the demon's big one. The demon's fingers curled in, hold Nii-san's lightly. I looked over to his head only to see crocodile tears coming out. I clapped my hands together as I stared at his hand holding Tanjiro's. 'God, please let this man, the next time he's born human, to not turn his life into one of the demons,'.
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"Nii-chan!" the boy yelled, running to the light. There his older brother stood with a lantern in his hand. He faced his younger brother that was coming towards him. "Nii-chan! Nii-chan! Hold my hand! Please!"
The older boy sighed, holding his outstretched hand, "You're hopeless, you know? Still such a scaredy-cat,"
The two boys walked home, hand in hand, happy with such a simple act of love.
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The hand disintegrated completely, not a single piece of his ashes left. I felt tears prick my eyes, it was like I could feel their souls resting.
'Sabito, Makomo and everyone else who was killed. We won. You can rest easy now. I guess you're going now, huh? You know, we died, we would've been with you guys, huh? That wouldn't have been so bad...'
I looked over to my brother and nodded. We started running east again, knowing we can rest when the sun came up. We had seven more days. We can do this! We have to, we owe them that much...
After seven days of running and fighting, we reached the wisteria that bloomed ever so beautifully. We walked through the grove together, reaching the place where all over 20 us started, but only 6 of us waiting. I looked over to nii-san, looking for anyone else to come. I knew that no more were coming. I could no longer feel human presence beyond the wisteria, meaning that most of them were killed and most likely eaten. Even that one boy that we saved.
I looked over to see the girl in the pink kimono was here, as well at the boy who looked beaten up, even more so since after the exam. There was another boy with a snow-white haired boy standing there as well. He looked so familiar but I just couldn't piece it together...I looked over to see the boy in yellow murmuring to himself. He looked so scared...
"I'm gonna die, I'm a goner. Even if I survive now, I'm gonna die in the end anyway,"
'Well that's a very positive way of thinking,' I thought, looking at the boy with a sweatdrop. I felt the presence of the twins(?) come out, both of them walking to the covered table with a small smile like before.
"Congratulations,"
"We're pleased to see that you are safe," the boy continued, his black hair still perfect and blunt.
"So? What am I supposed to do now? Where's my sword?" a boy asked. He had a mohawk. He was wearing a sleeveless purple yukata over a long-sleeved black shirt. His aura feels a little aggressive, but there was something else...
"First, we shall issue you all uniforms," the white-haired girl said, "We will take your measurements, after which your rank will be engraved. 'Engraved?'
"There are ten ranks in all..."
"Kinoe,"
"Kinoto,"
"Hinoe,"
"Hinoto,"
"Tsuchinoe,"
"Tsuchinoto,"
"Kanoe,"
"Kanoto,"
"Mizunoe,"
"And mizunoto,"
"...You are all currently the lowest rank, mizunoto,"
"And our swords?" the mohawk guy asked again.
"Today, we will let you choose the ore for your swords. However the swords will take ten to fifteen days to complete,"
"Are you kidding me?" the boy said, looking to the side.
The white-haired girl looked ahead, "But first," she clapped twice. A group of crows came down, cawing as they descended. They landed on our shoulders, going to the person closest, for Fujiko, that was a short, chubby crow that when he landed, he made her physically sink. At first, the weight was off, making her lose her balance. She had to lean the other way to balance herself again, making the crow have a guilty look on its face. She gave him a smile, petting its head gently which seemed to cheer it up.
"We will now assign you each your own Kasugai crow,"
"Kasugai crow?" I asked, looking at the birb (yes, birb) on my shoulder, snuggling closer. The others were perched on their owner's forearms and one boy had a sparrow.
"These Kasugai crows can be used primarily for communication,"
"Did you say crow? Isn't this a sparrow?" The boy said, looking at the small bird on his hand.
"Don't give this crap!" the mohawk boy said, throwing the crow off his hand. The blonde boy picked it up and coddle it, looking at the angry boy. It was only then done I notice he had a scar from his right cheek to about his nose. He angrily stalked forward, angry. "Who the hell cares about some stupid crow?!"
He punched the girl, then grabbed her angrily by the head. Pulling her towards him, "I want a sword, you hear? Gimme one right now! The demon slayer's sword. The colour changing sword!"
I stepped in between him and the girl, Nii-san taking his hand away.
"Take your hand off her!" he said, bravely. I turned out to pat down the hair of the girl, trying to check if she was okay. I sighed in relief, seeing there was nothing wrong. I fixed her hair and took a step back, "Are you okay?"
She smiled genuinely, unlike when she didn't react to the pain at all, "Thank you very much, I'm okay," I smiled and turned to the boy, nii-san threatening him.
"Touch her again and I'll break your arm!"
"Who the hell are you?" mohawk said, looking at nii-san aggressively. The boy in the yellow was panicking, while the white-haired one was playing with his crow even though I could tell he was listening. 'Those two... they're related. It's distant but their auras are familiar to the other? Brothers...maybe cousins? But they're acting like they don't know the other...'
I glanced over to the girl, she was looking at her crow, a butterfly flying around her.
"Let's see you try," the boy said, still trying to reach for the young girl. I stood in front of her, pushing her behind me. Nii-san looked at the boy surprised, but then started tightening his grip on his harm. The boy quickly pulled away, holding his arm.
"Salty bitc-"
"Fujiko! No swearing!"
I looed at nii-san with a confused look, "fine..." I grumbled, looking to the side. Why can he break someone's arm and I can't swear? He swears all the time! Mr.Urokodaki as well! Jeez....
"Are you finished chatting?" the boy asked, standing in front of the table, his aura giving an annoyed vibe. Even though he couldn't show it, I could fell it. They revealed the table to be filled with multiple ores, all lined up. "Now please select an ore. The steel for the sword, that will annihilate demons and protect you will be of your own choosing,"
"Well I'm not going to live very long, probably," the blonde next to me said, the sparrow on his shoulder. 'They're asking us to choose the ore that will guard our life...'
I saw one that shined in the sunlight, just a bit more than the others. I stepped forward, taking it into my hands, "Scheelite? It's supposed to glow in the sunlight...May I have this one please, the boy nodded and took it into his hands. I looked over to nii-san to see he was taking the scent in, picking one.
Right after we left, getting measured and receiving our engravement of rank, I asked if I could take the crumbs that fell off the orbs. The twins agreed, so I picked off every little chunk I could find and place it with the wisteria in the cheesecloth pouch.
'Sabito, Makomo, nee-chan and everyone else. We're coming home,'
We walked back home, the sun was setting. It was only a day journey back, but it was hard. My legs were heavy like cement, my eyes threatening to close any second. We were passing the rice fields when nii-san collapsed.
"Onii-san, we're almost there," I said, nudging him. I took his uniform bag and put it on my other shoulder, the straps on either side of my body. I grabbed it his arm and slung it over my shoulder, pulling him up. He was still recovering from getting thrown into a tree by that mutant demon. I bandaged his head already, but he needed actual rest. Come on Fujiko, Mr.Urokodaki and Nee-chan are waiting for you!
"I'm sorry Fujiko, I'm supposed to be supporting you like your big brother..."
"Daijōbu, just rest nii-san, just save your energy..."
The house came into sight after the sun fell and the moon shown in the sky. If a demon were to get us now, we would be easy prey. But being so near sensei's home would be rare. It took longer since we were tired and injured, but we were home.
"Onee-chan...Mr.Urokodaki... we're home," I said, feeling my weight coming down, my knees buckling. Immediately after I said that name, I saw the door get kicked down, revealing a very much awake Nezuko. She walking out of the door.
"N-nezuko!" nii-san yelled, trying to step forward but losing balance, we both fell over. I tried to get up only to be pulled into Nezuko's chest, along with nii-san. I wrapped my arms around her and gripped her kimono, tears falling out of my eyes.
"Nee-chan! We were so worried! Why... why'd you fall asleep for so long!" I cried out. Nii-san started crying, hugging her tightly as well. Mr.Urokodaki came out to see what was the ruckus all about, only to drop his wood and slowly walk over to his students and pull them into a hug as well.
"You both came back to us alive..." he said, voice steady as tears fell down his mask.
"I see, you both killed the morphed demon," Mr.Urokodaki said by the fire, Tanjiro across from him in new clothes, "At last. I'm truly impressed that you both made it back,"
"Yes,"
"There are several different kinds of demons. The demons who use a special spell called the 'demon blood art' possess supernatural abilities. You may have to fight those demons from now on as well. Battling them will be far more difficult than anything you've known until now. Even so Tanjiro, you'll be fine. Fujiko as well," he said, looking at the girl sleeping on her older sister's lap and Nezuko undoes her braid.
"I think that Nezuko is not like other demons. Do you think it could be the whatchamacallit art?" Tanjiro asked, looking back at his sisters only to see that they're asleep in the futon, Nezuko hugging her younger sister.
"No, I don't think so. I wouldn't that an example of Demon blood art. I'm just guessing here, but Nezuko's recovering her strength by sleeping instead of consuming the flesh of humans,"
Fifteen days later...
I stood behind nii-san as a figure came towards the house. He had furins hanging around his hat, two boxes strapped to his back.
"Uh..." nii-san said as I hid behind the doorframe. "I am Haganezuka. I have forged Kamado Tanjiro and Kamada Fujiko's swords and I am here to deliver it,"
I quickly stepped out and bowed with nii-san to pay our respects to the man, "I'm Kamado Tanjiro and this is my imouto, Kamado Fujiko. Please, come inside-"
"This is the Nichirin sword. And I forged it," Haganezuka said, opening the boxes.
"Please come in, so I can serve you tea-"
"The materials for a nichirin blade can be obtained from the mountain closest to the sun. scarlet crimson iron sand and scarlet crimson ore. These produce steel that can absorb light," the man said, pointing at the sun. I watched his aura flicker around him... it was intense. Weirdly intense, he wasn't showing it.
"Wow is that right?" Tanjiro said a little awkward.
"Mt.Yoko is bathed in sunlight all day long you see. Never a cloud in the sky, nor any rain,"
"You're going to get dirty, so could you get up for a second?" nii-san asked. The man immediately turned around revealing a red hyottoko mask. He came really close to the boy's face, his furin ringing at every movement.
"You're a child of brightness, aren't you? Now that's what I call lucky," he asked Tanjiro, invading his personal space.
"Oh no, I'm the son of Tanjuro and Kie," he said, raising his hand in confusion. "That's not what I meant," the man said, "See your hair and eyes are a reddish colour? When a kid like you is born into a family that works with fire, it's considered lucky and a cause for celebration," he said, poking into his cheek. "Is that right? I had no idea,"
I sweatdropped at the scene, I didn't know what going on but I knew one thing for sure, I didn't want to be in nii-san's place right now.
"There's a good chance that your sword will turn red, right, Urokodaki?"
"Yeah," Mr.Urokodaki said from the other side of the wall. He clearly was not excited about the man's presence.
We were all seated in the house, our swords in our hands still in its sheath. "Come on, hurry up and draw it! Nichirin sword is also known as "colour changing swords". They change colour according to the bearer," Haganezuka explained. 'That's what that boy meant bu colour changing...'
Tanjiro looked at his sword, taking it out of its sheath. I watched from the base all the way to the tip of the blade that the sword turned a dark shade of black. "Black?!?" Haganezuka shouted.
"It's black, huh?"
"Is it bad or something if it turns black? Is it unlucky?"
"No, not necessarily," Mr.Urokosaki said, "but you don't see pitch black often,"
"I was so hoping I'd get to see a bright red sword! Dammit!" Haganezuka yelled, jumping in the air at Tanjiro. "Ouch! Stop! Please calm down, just how old do you think you are!?"
"I'm thirty-seven!'
As the two rustled on the ground, Mr.Urokodaki turned to me and said, "Do you want to open yours now?"
I nodded, opening my sheath trying to ignore the brawl going on behind me. The moment I pulled out my sword, Haganezuka stopped fighting Tanjiro and looked in my direction. I watched as the base turned the colour changing part into a white gradient to a lavender. It was so pretty. This made the blacksmith calm down as he admired the sword he forged turned out to a pretty colour. Thank goodness he didn't have any expectations for me...
Not too long after, our crows flew in, landing in front of us. Mine came in but tripped while landing poorly and face planted into the floor. I picked it up and hugged it to my chest. My looked so tired and worn I felt bad, bringing him to rest in my folded haori. I looked at nii-chan's crow who just started yelling,
"Kamado Tanjiro! Kamado Fujiko! Here are your orders,"
'IT TALKS!?!" I thought, looking at the crow weirdly. I looked over to my chubby crow who was snoozing off, wondering if it can talk as well. "Make your way to a town to the northeast! Young girls have been disappearing there! Hunt down the demon lurking there and kill it! Kamado Tanjiro, Kamado Fujiko, prepare yourselves well for this task! This is your first assignment as a demon hunter!"
Here's Nezuko eating noodles:
(there was no Taisho whispers or rumors in this manga chapter or anime so take this is reconciliation)