A/N: Ah! Gomen to everyone who has been waiting for the update! I thought I had post an explanation for why I didn't update!! Anyways, as an apology, I will try my very best to post at least 2 chapters this weekend! Again, Gomen!!! Let's begin now, shall we?
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As Tanjiro closes and sets down the journal, he looks over at his sleeping sister, worry showing clearer than water across his face as Giyu enters the room. "She's perfectly fine, so I suggest you finish getting ready." The older boy quickly leaves the room, not giving the younger enough time to say anything, though he hasn't spoken much at all since the day when his family was slaughtered. "Let's go." The voice of the older man snaps Tanjiro from his thoughts, and he stands up, leaving the room quietly and closing the door behind him.
"The Demon Slayer Corps has around several hundred members. It is an organization unrecognized by the government, yet it has existed since ancient times, and we continue to hunt the oni today. But as for who's leading the Demon Slayer Corps, that remains a mystery." Urokodaki explains how the D.S.C.(Demon Slayer Corps) works, as though testing the young oni for a reaction that would prove he is just like the other oni in the world. "Oni. Staple food... Humans! They kill humans and feed on them," This causes Tanjiro to shiver, the mere thought of eating a human disturbing him, "No one knows when and where they first appeared. Their physical prowess is remarkable. Wounds heal in the blink of an eye. Flesh is restored after being hacked off, and limbs can be newly regenerated. Some oni can shape-shift. Others have otherworldly powers. They can only be killed by sunlight or by decapitation with a special sword. The Demon Slayers battle the oni with their own mortal bodies. Since they're human, their wounds are slow to heal, and, once lost, their limbs don't grow back! Even so, they battle the oni... to protect other humans."
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"I am a trainer. I literally train swordsmen. There are many trainers, and each of them trains their pupils with their own regimen in their location. To join the D.S.C., you must survive the Final Selection process help on Mt. Fujikasane. Whether or not you're eligible for Final Selection is up to me." The distaste in the man's voice is obvious, seeing as he is training one of the species he has sworn to destroy. Tanjiro doesn't miss the obvious scent of distaste radiating from the man, making him begin to question if he made the right choice or not. However, he pushes on, not for himself, but for his slumbering sister.
'Starting today, I'm going to keep a journal for Nezuko. I am descending the mountain again tonight. I'm going to train my hardest so I won't die during Final Selection.' Tanjiro hears the whoosh that he has come to identify as the sound of a log swinging towards him, aiming to cause him harm. He gasps out in shock, dodging barely fast enough that it doesn't take off his head. Leaping at least three feet into the air to dodge a trap, the oni's face scrunches in concentration. 'After repeatedly descending the mountain, night after night, I'm starting to learn how to avoid most of the traps. It's because I'm much stronger now, and because I've become even more adept at detecting scents than before.' Tanjiro sprints as fast as he can, avoiding as many of the traps as he can detect.
'Even so...' Multiple extremely sharp blades shoot out of the surrounding environment, barely missing the boy and digging into a tree directly behind him, making him gasp out in surprise. '..The traps are getting more and more difficult. He may really want to kill me!' In the following weeks of training, Tanjiro narrowly avoids death on multiple occasions, keeping a journal for his sister all the while.
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'I made my decent tonight, sword in hand, but it really hampered my movement.' Tanjiro leaps over a trap, detecting the presence of his teacher and Giyu nearby. The sudden recognition of being observed makes him hesitate, which leads to the young oni being caught in a trap that yanks him into the air by one foot, a shout of surprise echoing out through the dead quiet forest. 'With the sword, I can't stop getting ensnared in all of the traps!' The boy flails, frustration evident from the noises he makes. "991! 992! 993!" 'I swing the sword tonight. Well, it's not just tonight. I've been swinging the sword every single night. After descending the mountain, I swing my sword until my arms nearly fall off.' "1,000!" Urokodaki appears behind the boy silently, arms crossed over his chest, "500 more!" The young oni gasps in despair, already panting from his constant over exertion.
As he writes out his training in his journal, Tanjiro begins falling asleep, the sun slowly beginning to rise and making him tired. Giyu takes notice of the overexertion, though it seems as though he says nothing. That is until the next night when Urokodaki doesn't make him do his usual training, instead teaching him about the sword. "Swords break easily." 'That's what he told me beforehand. Though it's strong vertically, it's weak horizontally, so... you need to apply the force straight along the blade.' As an example, the man in the tengu mask slices through rolled up mats, cutting them clean diagonally. 'The blade's direction and the direction in which you apply the force must be exactly the same. And he also added, "If you ever damage the blade, in other words, break it, I'll snap your bones, as well" in a threatening tone of voice which I am all too familiar with at this point.' Tanjiro wakes up, realizing he fell asleep while writing, and wipes his eyes with one hand, "N-Nezuko... I-I'll keep working hard, okay?" The girl in question has yet to wake up, but Giyu constantly reassures the younger boy that she is perfectly fine and safe, which keeps him from worrying too much.
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As the moon begins rising, Tanjiro stands before Urokodaki, blade drawn, as Giyu watches silently from the side. He seems to always be there when the young oni is training, though not always within sight. The burgundy haired boy's eyebrows furrow in concentration, focusing only on the grown man before him, though all of the he is tilting over, his side hitting the ground hard as the man in the tengu mask knocks him off his feet with one fluid motion. 'Tonight, I did nothing but fall. Training to break my fall and get up quickly from any position.' The boy lunges at the man, sword pulled above his head in an attempt to attack. 'I wield my sword, and I charge Urokodaki-san really trying to kill him. In contrast, Urokodaki-san is bare-handed and unarmed.' Urokodaki shifts, his arms raised to deflect the incoming attack. He then lunges forwards, grasping Tanjiro's haori, the boy's eyes widening as he gets thrown, a noise of anic escaping his lips. 'But he's ridiculously powerful! He flings me away to roll on the ground every time.'
"I'm home, Nezuko." Tanjiro stands before his sister, who has still not yet awoken, his anxiety worsening every day she doesn't open her eyes, despite Giyu's attempts to keep him calm. He continues to write out every detail of everything that happens to him, awaiting the day Nezuko will be able to read the journal.
'Tonight, I learned breathing techniques and some forms.' "T-Total Concentration Breathing?" Tanjiro tilts his head slightly in confusion, his pink eyes glowing softly in the moonlight. "That's right. And I'm going to teach you all ten of the Water Breathing forms." Urokodaki's voice has lost a large amount of the distaste directed at the boy, but it is still there. "Remember to take a long breath so the oxygen flows into every cell in your body. Though unnecessary for an oni such as yourself who has inhuman strengths and abilities already, this will enhance your body's natural healing power, and both stabilize and energize your spirit. Relax your upper body while bracing your lower half." Tanjiro tries his hardest to follow the instructions he is given, trying his best to ignore the stab at him being an oni.
"All right, breathe!" The man's instructions, though sounding more like orders, are followed almost instantly, the boy taking a deep breath, eyes closed, and exhaling, feeling his built up anxiety loosen slightly, right as he gets hit in the stomach, making him gasp out and double over, holding his stomach in pain and trying not to lose his footing. "Wrong!" The attacker steps back, though remaining close enough that if he so desires he will be able to smack the boy again. "Next! Forms!" Tanjiro ignores the pain in his stomach and stands up, "R-right! Like this?" He poses, as though about to fight someone. "Wrong!" He switches positions, "L-like this?" The man's arms are crossed, but Tanjiro is wary of being hit again. "Wrong!" He swaps positions again, "This?" "Wrong!" and again, "This?" "Wrong!" and again, "T-this?" "Wrong!" The inevitable onslaught of being slapped on his stomach comes, Tanjiro wincing at every one.
'I get yelled at for not bracing my stomach and clobbered to a pulp. Next, he told me to become one with the water.' Tanjiro looks over the edge of the cliff at the waterfall, nervous about the drop. "Get in there!" Urokodaki kicks the boy off the edge, making him panic and flail in an attempt to stay in the air, though his attempt ultimately fails as he falls into the water, letting out a yelp of panic (he calls out for nezuko here but that doesn't make sense to me). A loud splash sounds from below, and when Urokodaki looks over the ledge, even in the dark, he can see Tanjiro floating in the water, his back up. Giyu, though having stayed back and just observing before, now goes to check if the young oni is still alive, nervousness biting at him.
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A/N: ACK GOMEN GOMEN GOMEN!! I FORGOT TO FINISH THE UPDATE UNTIL JUST NOW!! THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE A LOT LONGER I PROMISE!!! SAYONARA EVERYONE!!
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Demon-Slaying Demons
FanfictionWhat if Tanjiro had gone home on that life-changing night? What if he and Nezuko had both been turned into demons? This is what I believe would happen with my own personal twist to it, so if you don't like it then please don't read it! (also i drew...
