Sachiko woke up to someone lightly shaking her shoulder. Opening her eyes, she looked up to see Tanjiro infront of her and holding his hand out. She took it and they both walked out of the temple.
Urokodaki turned around to see that Sachiko was out, in broad daylight, not perishing. He nodded, not going to ask why she hasn't faded away yet, and then took off.
Tanjiro started running after him, Sachiko being dragged for a little bit before running with Tanjiro.
Tanjiro looked distressed, a bit sad, and bit guilty.
Sachiko frowned a little and squeezed his hand lightly, trying to comfort him. Her hand was squeezed lightly in response, Tanjiro looking at her with a smile.
~
After finally reaching the top of the mountain, Tanjiro let go of Sachiko's hand, putting both of his hands on his knees as he bent down, out of breath.
"D-did I pass the test?.."
Sachiko just stood there, not panting whatsoever, observing her surroundings. The sun was setting by the time they arrived at the estate.
Urokodaki slid open the door and stood at the entrance, not turning around to speak to Tanjiro.
"The test has started, We're going to climb a mountain."
Tanjiro shrieked in surprise and exhaustion.
While Urokodaki stood by the doorway, Tanjiro set up a futon for Nezuko, setting her down on it while she sleeps. Sachiko was about to walk towards Tanjiro to join them but Urokodaki shook his head. She then laid down next to Nezuko and fell asleep.
Tanjiro smiled at the sight of them sleeping next to each other, patting both of their heads before standing up.
"I'll take care of both your sister and friend. I promise."
Urokodaki stated before walking away, Tanjiro giving them one last look before sliding the door closed and catching up with Urokodaki.
~
Sachiko stood up, bored. She looked over at Nezuko, who was still asleep. Sachiko put her hand on Nezuko's head, petting her. When she heard a hum comming from Nezuko, she felt relieved and just kept petting her.
Urokodaki opened the door and entered, before closing it. He looked over at Sachiko who was petting Nezuko. He sat infront of her and turned his gaze somewhere else before speaking, preparing a meal for Tanjiro.
"Do you know how to fight, Sachiko?"
Sachiko turned her head towards him, looking at him blankly before shaking her head. He nodded in response.
"I'll teach you how fight, but right now, I'm going to cast a.. 'spell' on you, ok?"
He turned towards her, putting the plate of food down on the table. He looked at her for approval and she nodded her head in agreement to the action.
He laid her down and started the process. By the time he was done, she was asleep, next to Nezuko.
Tanjiro opened the door, all beat up, panting.
He looked over at Nezuko and Sachiko sleeping and smiled. He sat down next to Urokodaki, who explained to him about the Hypnosis he used on Sachiko and Nezuko.
~
Sachiko sat up and noticed it was morning. She turned to look at Nezuko, who was still asleep. She pat Nezuko's head before standing up and sliding the door open and walking out, closing the door behind her.
She walked outside and followed Tanjiro's scent, seeing him practice swinging his sword. She stood by a tree next to him and observed him.
Sachiko turned around, noticing that there was someone else in the area, seeing Urokodaki gesture her towards him. She gave the boy one last glance before walking towards Urokodaki.
"Alright Sachiko, I'll be teaching you a few moves so that when it comes to the situation, you can help defend Tanjiro and Nezuko."
Sachiko nodded in acknowledgement, listening closely to her instructor.
"But before we start, I'm going to need you to try and land a hit on me. Don't worry about hurting me, I'll be fine. I just want to see how you fight."
The male stated before walking a few feet away from her and then stood silently.
Sachiko then ran up to him, trying to kick him in the stomach, only for her foot to be caught by and him and then let go. She stepped back before trying to punch him, switching sides every so often.
Left, right, left, right, left, right.
She growled in frustration and then raised her fist and aimed straight for his face, only to be blocked, him pushing her fist towards the left, causing her to lose balance.
She took that opportunity and put her left hand on the ground and stuck her right leg out, succesfully kicking his right foot, causing him to lose balance and fall to the right.
She smiled under her muzzle as she stood up, swirling herself back up, landing on her feet. Urkodaki picked himself up, shocked and impressed that she was able to kick him off balance.
They kept training until it was night, in which they both entered the house. Sachiko entered their room and sat next to Nezuko, petting her. She turned her gaze to the direction of the door as she heard someone enter the room.
Tanjiro walked in, looking tired and all beat up. He gave her a small smile before walking towards the desk. He pulled out the chair a little and sat down, starting to write down in his journal.
Sachiko popped up next to him, watching him as he started to write. Tanjiro stopped and looked at Sachiko, smiling and petting her, her eyes closing in content and humming a little.
Tanjiro noticed that Sachiko had fallen asleep and put her on her futon, covering her with the blanket. He pat her head a few more times before leaving to train some more.
~
They both kept training hard. Tanjiro working on the breathing techniques and Sachiko working on her close combat skills. They would also check up on Nezuko after they finished training.
Sachiko just finished her training, walking over to where Tanjiro and Urokodaki was. She sat over and under a tree.
"Now, if you want to participate in the test, there's only one last thing you need to do."
Tanjiro nodded as he listened carefully. He watched as the male pointed towards a boulder wrapped in some rope.
"You need to slice this rock in half."
Tanjiro's jaw dropped as he analyzed the size of the boulder. Urokodaki walked away, ignoring Tanjiro's questions. He looked over at Sachiko and motioned her to follow him.
Sachiko gave a quick glance towards Tanjiro and then followed Urokodaki. Tanjiro tried slicing the boulder a few times but failed instantly.
Tanjiro groaned in frustration and kept slashing at the boulder, occasionally taking a few breaks to try and come up with a strategy to slice it in half.
~
As days went on, they both trained hard, and Tanjiro struggled to slice the boulder in half.
"Keep Working Tanjiro!! You can do it!!"
He kept slamming his head against the boulder, frustrated at the fact that he couldn't figure out a way to break it.
"Urusai! (Shut Up!)"
Tanjiro flinched and looked up. A male wearing a white and red fox mask with reddish salmon hair was sitting on the boulder in a slouched manner.
~
Sachiko was resting against a tree, when she heard someone shout. Curious, she stood up and ran towards the direction, noticing that she was running towards Tanjiro since she recognized his scent. Worried, she ran faster.
Once she got there, she saw a male figure standing infront of Tanjiro, who was laying on his back on the ground, seeming to pass out.
She looked up and down and noticed that the mysterious male figure was holding a wooden sword, looking down at Tanjiro. She felt herself bubble up in anger as she ran towards them.
He seemed to notice her and stood in a defensive stance, raising the wooden sword infront of him, he was about to strike, before stopping himself.
He watched as she stood protectively infront of Tanjiro, grrowling at him. He shook his head, and Sachiko took this as a message saying 'I'm not a Threat.' She stopped and walked up to the male figure, looking up at him.
He looked down at her, confused, until he felt a hand pat him on the head. He awkwardly waited until she was done and turned towards another person, a girl.
"I'm leaving the rest up to you."
Then he disappeared. The girl nodded before walking towards Tanjiro. Sachiko watched, making sure that she didn't hurt Tanjiro.
The girl laid Tanjiro infront of the boulder, and kept watch on him. She looked over to Sachiko and patted the ground next to her. Sachiko walked and sat down next to her.
The girl watched as Sachiko pat Tanjiro on the head, lots of questions filling her mind.
How come this demon hasn't perished in the sun yet? Why is she treating this human with kindness rather than eating him? Seems like they know each other..
The girl smiled as she saw Sachiko fall asleep against the Boulder, Tanjiro's head on her lap.