Chapter Text
The walk was long, painful and boring to say the least.
Tanjiro and you were currently at a farm on the outskirts of town, buying supplies to make a basket for Nezuko. Tanjiro was communicating with a farmer, asking for bamboo and such for his journey ahead.
The farmer happily obliged and gave him bamboo and other items he would need. The farmer had told Tanjiro that they had a basket, but it was broken and he could have it for free. He had offered the other items for free as well since he had so much of them, but Tanjiro being the kind but hard headed boy he was quickly declined that offer and paid the man with brute force.
Lets just say it made you laugh hysterically and earn a few awkward glances from the other farmers scattering over the land.
You walk besides him, swaying your arms back and forth as the two of you make your way over to a cave Nezuko resided in for the time being. “Nezuko, I’m back—“
Tanjiro looked inside the cave and tilted his head in confusion. She wasn’t there.
”Nezu—“
Nezuko’s head slowly rises from a hole in the ground, her eyebrows furrowed and her expression seemingly gloomy. She didn’t look too good.
Tanjiro walks up to her and pats her head. “There you are. I got supplies to make you a basket so I can carry you in daytime.” He plops down and starts weaving the bamboo together.
”[Surname]?”
You look over at Tanjiro and sit down; criss cross. Rude gesture but you didn’t care.
”What?”
He looks up at you momentarily before looking back down at the soon to be basket. “Why did you decide to follow Nezuko and I?”
A soft smile caressed his face. Despite losing his family, he could still smile. The smile wasn’t even wrenched in the slightest; it was pure, cultivating.
It shocked you on how he could do it.
You shrug to his question and lean back until your back touched the rocky cave wall behind you. “Dunno, got nothing else to do. Plus, my only friend decided to ditch me sooo...” You purse your lips and watch his hands intently.
He worked fast, that was for sure. Over a quarter of the basket was done and it hasn’t even been five minutes.
”They ditched you..?” His ministrations stopped momentarily before speeding back up.
”Yeah, he got scared because of that Tomioka kid I’m guessing. Anyway,” you lean forward, a sly smile playing at your lips. You didn’t feel like talking about yourself just yet. “Tell me about yourself, Kamado.”
Tanjiro blinks, looking at you before down at the basket once more. “Please, call me Tanjiro..! What do you want to know..?”
His tone was soft, it sounded nice. Smooth, reassuring. Comforting.
”Everything, anything. How old are you? How old’s Nezuko? Ever dated someone? And feel free to call me [Name] then.” You lean forward slightly more.
”I’m thirteen, Nezuko is twelve, and no. I have no interest in dating anyone, I need to turn Nezuko back into a human first.” His voice didn’t waver one bit when speaking.
You nod. “Alright,” you lean backwards instead. “Are you planning on becoming a Demon Slayer?”
This was a question you had been dwelling on walking here with him. You didn’t have the guts to tell him, you were too nervous. It was out of character for you, you knew that much, but you couldn’t control how you felt.
Tanjiro looks straight into your eyes. You already knew his answer just by the determined glint in his captivating eyes. Man they’re pretty.
”Yes. It’s the only way I can turn Nezuko back and avenge my family. I’m going to slaughter the demon who murdered my family.”
”And how are you going to find the demon who did it, huh?”
He points at his nose, “I have a keen sense of smell, everyone smells different. The demon smelt like.. burnt wood. I’ll just have to find the right scent and then I’ll know!” He smiles.
You forced an awkward smile on your face, your eyelids drooping over your eyes.
”That’s all I wanted to know,” you yawn quietly. You didn’t know why you asked if he dated anyone, he was cute so you just assumed he must have someone.
Guess he’s a loner.
”How old are you?” Tanjiro asks suddenly, weaving in more bamboo before tying a knot out of it. He was done with the basket. It looked sloppy, but hey, it was good for his first time.
”Fourteen.”
It wasn’t necessarily a lie, you are fourteen. At least that’s what Hiroto had told you.
Tanjiro’s eyes sparkled.
”Can I call you Senpai?”
”No.”
Tanjiro’s eyes continued to sparkle though, despite you flat out saying no to his question. You had a feeling he was going to call you Senpai either way.
”Do you have any siblings?” He placed the basket down besides him. He would see if Nezuko fit in it later on, he wanted to get to know you a little bit better if you two were going to stick together.
You place your finger against your lips in thought. Did you have siblings? You couldn’t remember, it felt like so long ago since you last saw your family.
”I don’t know, I don’t remember my family. I haven’t seen them since I was eleven. Probably not anyway,” you reply.
Tanjiro nods and shifts in his spot a bit. Caves sure are uncomfortable.
”Are you planning on becoming a Demon Slayer?” He asked.
You tensed up ever so slightly. Could you become a Demon Slayer? Probably not, you’re a demon. Not a human. And the fact that you heard that Wisteria Petals littered the grounds of Final Selection. Hiroto told you that, actually.
But the real question is; did you want to be a Demon Slayer?
You scratch the back of your head. “I don’t know,” your voice was quiet. You really missed Hiroto, even if he was annoying and controlling. Just thinking about him made your heart ache.
You missed the many tales he would tell you about when he was a Demon Slayer, or about his wife that became a demon before he did, or how his child ended up liking the opposite gender.
His child ended up committing suicide after being tormented and being called a witch.
That story you didn’t miss was for sure.
”Oh!” Tanjiro smiles brightly. “We could be Demon Slayer’s together! If you do decide to be one.” His cheery voice echoed around in the cave.
Nezuko makes a small noise to catch Tanjiro’s attention—which she does. Tanjiro smiles at her, “we’ll try out the basket now, okay?” He places the basket down in front of her. “Come on Nezuko, get in!”
Nezuko looked at the basket wearily. She looked comfortable in the small hole she was in, so, Tanjiro angled the basket so she could slide in it without having to move much. Nezuko shifted upwards and pushed her way in the basket, groaning softly when she didn’t fit all the way.
”Can you shrink, Nezuko?” Tanjiro asks. She was able to grow in size when she tried to eat him, so why couldn’t she shrink too?
Doing as said, she shrunk down enough to fit in the basket. Tanjiro placed the basket upright and pats Nezuko’s head. “Good girl!”
”GooD GIRL—“
You hunch over; laughing. Your depressing mood was gone and it was placed with your usual loud, obnoxious one that you couldn’t seem to control.
Tanjiro looks over at you and gives you a confused stare. “What...?” He peers outside. It was getting dark. “Ah... Senpai, we’re going to have to leave soon.”
”What did I say about calling me Senpai.”
”A-Ah, I’m sorry!!”
——
Soon enough, you and Tanjiro had set off to find Mountain Saigiri. A kind lady had told you directions of where it was exactly, which you were very thankful for internally. You had no idea where you were going and didn’t feel like getting lost and possibly encountering your own kind. She, of course, had warned you both about the disappearances that were going on up there.
”We’ll be safe,” Tanjiro bows, you awkwardly doing the same. You hated bowing. “Thank you very much!”
Tanjiro adjusts the basket on his back so it was in front of him before opening the lid open. It was pretty dark, so Nezuko was able to come out of the basket now. Tanjiro grabbed Nezuko’s hand and led her up the many hills that were in front of you two.
Eventually, you three stumble across a way station. Tanjiro points at it. “There’s a light on,” he says with tired eyes. “Someone must be there. Let’s go.” As Tanjiro and you walked up to the building, he stopped suddenly.
”... I smell blood..!”
Tanjiro let’s go of Nezuko‘a hand in worry. “These paths are dangerous, that traveler may be injured!” He walked up to the door, slid it open and peered inside. “Are you alright—“
His expression blanked for a moment, the feeling of fear and dread rising in his stomach. You grimaced at the gross sight in front of you. You hadn’t seen dead bodies—besides Tanjiro’s family—for awhile so this was fairly new again for you.
There were bodies leaning against a wall, blood splattered everywhere along with organs and body parts. A man’s stomach was shredded open; revealing his intestines and other vital organs that should have never been touched. There was another corpse besides him; this one only had a gash where his heart would be, so it wasn’t that bad compared to the other poor soul.
The demon held onto a dead woman’s arm. The flesh was teared and her muscle was protruding from her demolished arm. The demon glares at the three of you.
”Hey..! This is my territory! Get away from my feeding ground!”
You look at the humans. Your mouth started to drool.
Shit..
You look over at Nezuko and also see drool was dripping from her muzzle; splatting against the floor with small thuds. Tanjiro’s expression of horror never changed one bit.
The demon shifted. “Something's not right here...”
You tense up and scratch your wrist vigorously. Dammit, you need to sleep. Now. You need to control these urges.
”Are you three human?”
No one answered, instead, the demon jumped on top of Tanjiro; sending him colliding against you and taking you both down. You heard a slash, gushing and a small gasp.
You groan when you slam against the ground, Tanjiro on top of you and the demon on top of him. You try your best to peer over your shoulder to see what exactly that sound was.
Tanjiro had pulled out his hatchet and slashed the demon’s neck. The demon jumped back, his sickening face portraying a smile of pure blood lust.
”A hatchet..? Ha, not bad!” He removes his hand away from his neck to reveal the wound was already healed. “But a wound like this would already heal! See? It’s already going away.”
Tanjiro’s eyes widen in horror. They can regenerate!? Shit!
The two stood there for awhile, simply staring at one another, before the demon pounced on you. You had finally stood up only to be knocked down again. Wow.
Your own [e/c] eyes widen this time, finally taking in the situation whole. He thought you were a human, he was going to eat you alive. Right here, right now.
”I’ll make sure you never see the light of day again,” his hand goes up to your throat. “I’m going to snap your neck.”
Raising your hand up, you allow your nails to grow sharp and pointy. You dig your nails into his side viciously, gasping when Nezuko had ran over and kicked his head straight off.
”Holy shit—!” You panted out.
Nezuko looked down at you with a dripping chin before helping you up. She had more self control than you ever did. It was nice.
You ripped your hand out of his bodies side and watch as his detached head slammed against a tree. His expression held one of pure shock. You turn to look at Nezuko in amazement at her strength. “Good job—“
Nezuko kicked the demon’s body before it could touch you, sending it stumbling back and onto the ground. You whip around and see Tanjiro look at the demon in shock. Right, he didn’t know they could interact without their head. He has a lot to learn..
The demon’s expression turned into one of a bittersweet taste. Like he had eaten something sour and was retaliating from it. “I KNEW IT!” He screamed out, his mouth flapping about carelessly. “ONE OF YOU IS A DEMON! SOMETHING DIDN’T SEEM RIGHT! WHAT ARE A DEMON AND HUMANS DOING TOGETHER!?”
You feel a huge weight fall right off your shoulders. He didn’t know about you being a demon, great. One less thing to worry about at the moment.
The body suddenly regained itself, charging at you with no remorse. You sigh lowly and kick the body to the side easily; watching as it was sent towards Nezuko before she put her hands up to defend herself. Her eyes looked calm though. It was weird.
Tanjiro furrows his eyebrows in anger. “STOP!” He raises his hatchet to swing at the demon’s body, successfully hitting it in the side. While he was doing this, you were struggling with the demon’s head. He has latched down onto your arm, and good god did it fucking hurt. The head suddenly grew arms, grabbing onto the arm he was biting into before beginning to slowly rip it in half.
”GET OFF OF HER!” Tanjiro swung his hatchet down on the demon’s head. It barely pierced its skull as it decided to focus on Tanjiro instead. The demon bit down on the hatchet right before it could slice him into two. “LEAVE US ALONE!!” Tanjiro screams, raising his head back before slamming his forehead against the demon’s violently.
The demon goes cross eyed, choking on his own words just from the brute force of his forehead. “GaH—“ He winced when Tanjiro repeated his actions.
Seeing the demon in a seemingly dazed state, Tanjiro takes action and swings his hatchet between the demon’s arms and head so when it hit a tree the demon was pinned.
Meanwhile, you had ran over to Nezuko in time to see the body kicking her harshly. “Nezuko!!” You seethe at the body before lunging at it. Unbeknownst to you, Tanjiro had done the same thing so you both collided with the demon’s body and were sent spiraling down the hill. You look down in shock.
This was how you were going to die.
You clench your eyes shut, feeling someone grab onto your ankle. A sudden jerk was made to your body and the grip on your ankle slipped a bit. You tried your best to look up—you were upside down—and saw Tanjiro was barely holding onto your ankle.
You hear a splat, look down and gag. The demon hit the ground neck first, just like you were about to do. You were glad you didn’t though, that wouldn’t been fucking painful. You look back up, “Who’s holding you!?” You screamed.
Another scream sounded out throughout the forest; it was the demon feeling the affect from his body getting destroyed. “Nezuko is!” He yelled back, wincing when she finally pulled the two of you up and onto the safety of the ground.
You get up and nearly fall off the cliff side again. Tanjiro had grabbed your ankle, and when Nezuko had grabbed onto him you were both jerked. You mainly. “Shit.. I think my ankle is dislocated..” You grumble in displeasure and watch as Nezuko gives you sympathetic eyes, just like Tanjiro.
”I’m sorry...! I was just trying to save you.. here,” he turns around and bends down a little bit. “Get on my back. We’ll see if the demon’s dead and then we’ll venture off towards Mountain Sagiri.”
You let your eyelids go over your eyes and shake your head. “No, I’ll walk. I’ll be fine,” you reassure him, walking towards the demon’s head. Limping obviously.
Tanjiro worriedly glances at your ankle and then back up at the demon’s head that was still pinned to the tree. Blood was leaking out from its mouth.
Tanjiro sniffs the air around him, suddenly becoming a sweaty mess as he pulled out a shiv from his checkered haori. He was going to attempt to kill the demon. He shakily raises his hand that grasped the shiv, going to strike the demon till he existed no more. That is, until a hand landed on his shoulder.
Tanjiro flinched back, looking at the man in shock. “You can’t kill it with that,” the gruff voice spoke. He sounded old, wise even. Actually, his whole aura screamed ‘educated and wise.’ Damn, he sure was intimidating.
You turned to get a better look at him and study his mask. You had recognized it to be a Tengu mask; one usually worn by people who believe that the masks bring fear to demon’s and peace to humans.
Tanjiro pants heavily, lowering his shiv a bit. “How can I finish it off...?”
The man never budged a bit, instead, he cleared his throat ever so quietly. “Don’t trust what others say,” he began. “Can’t you solve this riddle yourself?”
You and Tanjiro looked at each other; seemingly thinking of the exact same thing. This man had moved in complete silence and went undetected by both of you.
You already knew the answer on what he had to do; crush the head. You watched as he put his shiv back, wobbly walking over to pick up a nearby rock that would surely finish the job if he repeatedly smashed the demon’s skull in.
Your ears perk up; hearing a small sniff as Tanjiro hesitated to kill the wretched being. You had looked over at the Tengu wielder. You couldn’t hear what he was thinking, but it was probably around the lines of how Tanjiro was hesitating.
The demon’s head groans lowly, peeking its eyes open and coming face to face with you. You had grabbed the rock from Tanjiro. You raised your hands up, and smashed it against the demon’s skull; hearing as it screeched out in horror and agony. You repeated your actions till his head was nothing but brain matter and some flesh and hair.
”Oh..!” Tanjiro looks over to his side. The sun had begun to rise. “I guess while I was stalling it became morning..” The sunlight had hit the demon’s demolished head; setting it ablaze and burning it to smithereens.
Tanjiro brought his hand up to his mouth to cover it in horror. “No wonder Nezuko fears the sun so much..!”
Tanjiro looked over at you, asking if you were alright, before going over to the Tengu masked man. You lied and said you were fine of course, but in reality your ankle hurt like hell. Tanjiro watched as the man buried the victims bodies, kneeling down and praying for them. Just like Tanjiro had done for his family.
Talk about Deja Vu.
The man turns around and stands up, watching as you limped over with a scowl. You didn’t like this guy one bit, he screamed strict and rude to you.
”I am Urokodaki Sakonji, you must be the one Giyuu told me about.” Urokodaki says with his usual calm tone, waiting for Tanjiro and you to introduce yourselves as well.
”I-I’m Kamado Tanjiro, my sister is Nezuko.” Tanjiro says while pointing at the house Nezuko was in, sweat still cascading down his face. “[Surname] Name].” You say.
Urokodaki turns and looks over at Tanjiro, his voice becoming a bit darker and more threatening sounding. “Tell me Tanjiro...” He starts off, his head leaning downwards so he could look directly at Tanjiro.
”... What will you do when your sister eats someone?”
Tanjiro looks at Urokodaki in shock. It seemed like an eternity before he had opened his mouth to speak, only to be slapped across the face by Urokodaki. You wince. Damn, you disliked him even more now.
”You think too slowly!!”
Tanjiro cups his burning cheek with his hand, listening to what Urokodaki had to say. You shuffled awkwardly over to Tanjiro and gazed at his slightly exposed cheek. You couldn’t really see how bad of a mark he left since he was covering it too much with his hand.
”You struggle over the simplest decisions,” Urokodaki’s voice had hushed into his calm one once more. “You could never finish off a demon before the morning light. [Name] had to do it for you.” Tanjiro stood there in silence. He soaked all his words in, only for more to spew right out of Urokodaki’s mouth.
”Why couldn’t you answer that question completely?” He glares under his mask, “you’re too soft!”
You purse your lips and agree silently in your head. He was pretty soft, honestly. But you liked that about him so far, being soft isn’t necessarily a bad thing nor a good thing.
“When your sister decides to eat someone, there are two things you have to do. Kill your sister, and then slit your own stomach and bleed out! That is what it means to travel with your demon sister!” His voice had raised up once more. It sent shivers of unease down your spine. This man knew how to intimidate people for sure.
Tanjiro slowly let his hand fall down to his side, letting you get the opportunity to peer at his cheek and frown. Urokodaki had left a red, dirty marked hand print. It was nasty looking, must’ve stung like a bitch.
”But, it is your sacred duty to ensure that this never happens. Your sister must never take a life of an innocent person! Don’t allow her to fully become a demon!”
Tanjiro looks at Urokodaki blankly. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Tanjiro flinched, “yes!”
Urokodaki turns to the side. “Very well... I will test you to see if you have what it takes to be a demon-slaying swordsmen.” He looked over at you. “As for you, you will be tested as well. Giyuu had mentioned you in the letter and how you gave off a distinct aura he couldn’t figure out quite well. He had described it as fear, determination and confusion.”
He turns around completely. “Three traits that are often found in Demon Slayers. Shoulder your sister and follow me,” he took off at a slow pace.
Tanjiro scrambled inside the now empty, blood soaked house and grabbed the basket Nezuko was residing in. He slung it over his shoulder and went outside in a hurry. You had picked up your pace to match Urokodaki’s. Even if your ankle hurt like hell, you still wanted to follow them.
You had made up your mind.
After fighting one of your own kind, witnessing Nezuko’s self control, seeing Tanjiro’s kindness against you, it made you rethink everything you were once against.
You decided you were going to become a Demon Slayer.
You would just have to endure the wisteria flowers at Final Selection—if you even made it there—and act as if you were allergic to it or something like that. Since you were only partially a demon, the flowers didn’t affect you as much as they should, so it shouldn’t be too hard faking an allergy.
Urokodaki suddenly picked up his pace; running as fast as he could towards Mountain Sagiri. You winced and bolted as fast as you could; hearing Tanjiro pant heavily as he desperately tried to keep up with the old man.
”How is he not making a sound!?” You scream out your thoughts, biting down on your lip hard when feeling your
ankle bone wobble uncontrollably underneath you. Ouch.
You and Tanjiro had ran after the man for what felt like hours on end, when in reality it was only about twenty to thirty minutes.
Urokodaki slid open a door to what seemed to be his old house. He listened to Tanjiro pant heavily, and you collapse to the ground in a futile attempt to regain your breath.
“S-So—“ Tanjiro wheezed. “Did [Name] a-and I pa-pass the test?!” He coughed out violently.
Urokodaki turns to look at you two. “The test begins now. Climb the mountain.”
——
Urokodaki had guided you up the sloped mountain and you and stopped at a specific spot where the air was barely breathable.
Tanjiro was still wheezing painfully and you had finally begun to regain your breath ever so slowly. It was quite difficult though considering the air was so dense up here.
”Now you must descend down to the house at the foot of the mountain. This time I will not wait until sunrise.”
You blinked, and he was gone. Just like Giyuu the other day. Tanjiro looked at you and then the fog surrounding the two of you.
”He probably thinks we’ll get lost from the thick fog..” he said in a weak voice. You nor and start trekking downwards. “Yeah, most likely.”
Meanwhile, Urokodaki was already at his house, watching over Nezuko as you two began your training.
He sat down on his knees in front of a small fire, feeling reassured when feeling the warmth hit his skin. He sighed and slouched slightly.
”That girl...” he glares down at the floor from his mask, intently thinking about you.
“Has a unique smell.”