Found Family (OC x Demon Slayer)

32

The next day, Tanjiro and Asami still trained. The pair had gotten stronger physically and mentally; Asami had started fighting for herself and took another step closer to becoming a Hashira, and Tanjiro had gotten better at recognizing the dolls movements. As a result of their improvements, Kotetsu allowed them to eat and drink more regularly. Eventually, the boy got tired of Asami constantly glaring at him for not giving her enough food and finally gave her all the food she wanted. When he did, Asami was satisfied and very happy with the food.

Right now, it was Tanjiro's turn to train with the doll. He was moving a lot faster and more fluidly than he was when they first arrived. Asami watched him train with a big smile. She was proud of how far he's come in this training session alone.

Tanjiro had gotten an opening where he could cut off the doll's head, but he froze.

"Cut it down!! I don't care if you break it! I can fix it for sure!" Kotetsu bellowed. Tanjiro then sliced off the head with a loud grunt. He came crashing down to the floor, landing on his butt. Kotetsu and Asami rushed after their friend, asking if he was alright. Asami helped Tanjiro sit up and pat his back with a big smile.

"S-Sorry, I broke the blade I borrowed." Tanjiro apologized.

"It's fine, don't worry." Kotetsu reassured.

"Great job, Tanjiro!" Asami grinned. A cracking sound came from the doll, the trio looking over at it. The head and body of the doll fell apart, leaving behind a super old sword in the middle of the doll's gears. The old wrappings on the handle were worn and torn in some places.

"Something came out!! Kotetsu, something came out!" Tanjiro pointed out. He held Kotetsu above him in excitement.

"What is it?" The boy in the air asked.

"I have no idea either. What is it!!" Tanjiro shouted. Asami approached the sword lodged in the broken doll and observed it closely.

"It must be a 300-year-old blade or something!" She concluded. "Just look at how worn it is!" Asami pointed. Behind her, Tanjiro and Kotetsu were freaking out, both extremely excited about this new find.

"I can't stop getting excited!" Tanjiro panted.

"You guys should take it. P-Please take it!" Kotetsu insisted.

"No no, no no we can't. The doll took years' worth of blows, and it just happened to break when I used it." Tanjiro deflected.

"Tanjiro, you were in trouble since your sword wasn't getting forged, right? Then go ahead. I own it, so I get the say!" Kotetsu said.

"Metal forged during the Sengoku Era is of really high quality. Take it." Asami added. Tanjiro finally caved.

"Should I pull it out?"

"Yeah! Let's see it!" Kotetsu and Asami jumped. Tanjiro's face was very red due to his excitement. He took the sword from the doll and unsheathed it. Asami held her breath, wanting to see the craftsmanship on it. When Tanjiro unsheathed a little bit of the sword, rust was all that could be seen.

The three plopped down to the ground in disappointment.

"Well, it has been 300 years, and nobody got their hands on it." Asami tried to reason. "And nobody knew about it." She added.

"Sorry for getting you guys worked up over nothing." Kotetsu apologized.

"It's ok! Don't worry about it!" Tanjiro cried, tears streaming down his face and a little bit of snot dripping down his nose.

"Tanjiro! I'm sorry!" Kotetsu yelped.

Loud stomping quickly grew louder as a large, muscular, shirtless man approached the trio. He wore a similar mask to Kotetsu and had a little, spotted sash wrapped around his head.

"AHH!!" Tanjiro and Asami screamed.

"Haganezuka?!" Kotetsu identified the man.

"I heard everything. Leave it to me." Haganezuka said.

"Leave what to you?!" Asami demanded. The large man tried to take the sword away from Tanjiro, Asami, and Kotetsu, but the three of them fought back for the sword. It was a tug of war match.

"Please let go! Wait- why are you even trying to take it!?" Tanjiro demanded as they struggled against the giant man.

"Leave it to me." Haganezuka replied.

"No! This is Kotetsu's!" Asami denied.

"Please explain, Haganezuka." Kotetsu said.

"Leave it-"

"No! Leave what?"

"I'm telling you, leave it to me!!" Haganezuka swung the blade and knocked Tanjiro, Asami, and Kotetsu away.

"I don't think this is what adults do!" Asami coughed. A second man came up behind Haganezuka and started tickling his sides. The muscular man laughed boisterously and fell to the ground.

"Children, Haganezuka's weakpoint is his sides. Go for these parts." The second man said.

"Kanamori! It's been a while." Asami said.

"Hello there, Tanjiro and Asami." Kanamori greeted. "Haganezuka will just fall limp when you tickle him, so I'll do the explaining. Please forgive the man. He was training in the mountains."

"Training?" Tanjiro and Asami blinked.

"Yeah. He wanted to make a strong sword so you wouldn't die. He also wanted to gift Asami a new pair of fans. He won't be honest about it thought." Kanamori chuckled.

"For us?" The pair blushed lightly, happy to know that the usually angry man actually secretly cared for their well-being.

"And you keep asking him to make blades for you, so I think he's happy. Every other swordsman hated him, and he's lost a lot of clients." Kanamori said.

"Oh, really?" Tanjiro murmured.

"And he's really bad at dealing with people. That's why he's not married yet." Kotetsu chimed in. Suddenly, Haganezuka launched himself upwards.

"I will deal with the rusted blade. Allow me yo refine it with my nichirin polishing skills that have been passed down the Haganezuka line for generations." The large man said, waving his arms for dramatic effect.

"Then you coulda said that from the get-go." Asami muttered.

"You keep saying 'Trust me' even though you don't try and establish mutual trust. You just repeat that on and on." Kotetsu said. Haganezuka didn't seem to pleased with the boy, and grabbed him by the collar harshly. He held the poor boy up in the air.

"Sides! Sides! Sides!" Kotetsu yelled. Asami, Tanjiro, and Kanamori rushed to aid the young boy.

sorry its been so long! i suddenly got a burst of motivation so i'll be doing another chapter today and maybe two tomorrow.

have a wonderful morning/day/afternoon/evening/night!! <3