Hard Training and Work To Do////

The Demon Slayer Corps has around several hundred members and is an organization unrecognized by the government.

Yet, it has existed since ancient times, and we continue to hunt demons today, but as for who's leading the Demon Slayer Corps, that remains a mystery.

Demons;

Their Main source of food: humans!

They kill humans and feed on them.

No one knows when and where they first appeared.

Their physical prowess is remarkable and their wounds heal in the blink of an eye.

Body parts hacked off still have some sort of connection, and their libs can be newly regenerated.

Some demons can shapeshift while others have otherworldly powers.

They can only be killed by sunlight or by decapitation with a special sword.

The Demon Slayers battle the demons 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 demons... to protect other humans.

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The boys stand there as they listen to their Sensei's explanation.

"I am a cultivator myself and as the name suggests, I train future swordsmen like you."

"There are many trainers, and each of them train their pupils with their own regimen in their location."

"If one wants to join the Demon Slayer Corps, they must survive the "Final Selection" process held on Mt. Fujikasane. But whether or not you're eligible for the Final Selection is up to me."

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Tanjiro and Yumeharu both jump over the tripwires similar to the first test and avoid all traps along the way, as part of their training for the Final Selection. As they continue to train hard every day, they both write all their progress in a journal in hopes that their demons would read them.

Tanjiro's entry;

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The training has become more and more difficult as the level of the traps increases slowly everyday. The traps becoming filled with the intent of murder behind them and I feel like Urokodaki really just wants me dead at this point. 

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Today we had to descend the mountain with a blade in hand. Which was annoying for us both, since it was easy to get tangled in the traps and we would have to free the other if we got caught in them. 

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Today we are sword swinging.

However, compared to today, we recently do more sword swinging everyday. After descending the mountain, we must continue to use our drop dead hands to swing repeatedly.

"Seven hundred thirteen, seven hundred fourteen, seven hundred fifthteen, seven hundred sixteen!"

At the beginning, he told us that the blades can be easily snapped. Even though the force of the strike of swinging vertically is strong, the force of swinging horizontally is weak. When using the blade, one must swing along with the blade. The position of the blade and the direction one applies the force to swing the blade must be the same.

Also, the blades can be worn down as well. Which means that if our blades snap, so will our bones... that's the slight threat I got from him anyways. 

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Today is the wrassle season. A training devised to allow one to get up quickly no matter what position you fall on. 

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I held my blade and swung at Urokodaki and he was only using his hands without any weapons. But he is really strong and he flings me away to the ground.

Yumeharu-san wasn't doing too bad though, in fact, he seemed to be getting the hang of it a lot more than me. He couldn't really land a hit on Urokodaki Sensei but he is fast on his feet. He has been giving me a lot of good advice over these past few months of training and now I'm realizing how strong he is too. I guess that's to be expected since he is 4 years older than me but I'm sure I'll be able to catch up to him in no time. 

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Today we are learning about breathing techniques and forms. Urokodaki would get mad if we weren't putting any strength in our abdomen then he would start hitting our stomachs if we didn't do it correctly. I have no clue how Yumeharu is progressing faster than I am but I will still do my best. 

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Next, we were told to become one with water. 

Urokodaki kicks Tanjiro off the cliff and into the waterfall.

"AH!" Tanjiro then starts running in the air as he falls down.

"FOR NEZUKOOOO!"

Yumeharu looks down and back at Urokodaki before going after Tanjiro, in the form of a cannonball.

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Tanjiro and Yumeharu are then under a waterfall, trying to stand still under it as the pressure of the water weighs on them constantly, Tanjiro continuously screaming, "NEEEEZUKOOOOO, I AM WATTEEEEEEERRRR!"

Yumeharu thought that he should be used to this by now, having dealt with someone similar before Tanjiro, quite the determined and positive type of person, but he was way too tired.

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As time went on, both Nezuko and Shouku lost consciousness for almost half a year. Urokodaki Sensei immediately called in a doctor to check up on them but the doctor found nothing wrong with them, despite the fact they were still asleep after all that time.

This worried Tanjiro as it meant that one day he might wake up and Nezuko would be dead any day but Yumeharu knew that it was just them regaining their lost "energy" since he could feel their strengths "recharging".

He didn't dare to say it though, their presence alone affected the timeline enough anyway and it wasn't possible to predict the outcome if he did say anything.

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The training of descending the mountain was getting a bit more dangerous, as the air around became thinner than normal every time and I thought that we were going to die every time.

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A year has gone by since they started their training, Urokodaki suddenly comes up to the two and says, "I have nothing more to teach you two."

They were surprised, even though they had already mastered the basics, they thought that their training wouldn't end from there.

"From now on, you two will have to prove yourself to me. See if you can improve yourself upon learning the basics that I have taught you."

"Come with me." he motions them to follow and they do.

They follow him towards a different part of the forest and they are met with two boulders in front of them. One being bigger than the other, a thick rope surrounding it.

"Tanjiro, if you can cut this boulder in half, I will allow you to enter "Final Selection"."

He pointed at the bigger boulder. "-And if you can cut this boulder as well, you may also be allowed to participate," he said as he pointed to the other boulder.

They couldn't believe what they were hearing. The boulders didn't look like it could be cut with just one swing and the biggest one didn't look doable, which worried Tanjiro.

'Is that even able to be hacked apart? Can I really do it with just a blade? I don't think I can do it. The blade will snap if I do...' thought Tanjiro.

As they were trying to process the whole situation, Urokodaki began to walk away from them.

"Sensei?" Yumeharu turned to him.

"Urokodaki-Sensei, please wait! Sensei!" Tanjiro shouted out, but Urokodaki didn't turn back and continued walking until he disappeared from their sight.

From that day on, Urokodaki didn't teach them anything else anymore. They continued practicing all the things they learned from Urokodaki, every single day. Jotting down the basics all those months by all that journal writing they did.

After half another year passed, they weren't having much success and they started getting anxious. No matter how hard they trained, it wasn't enough for them.

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As they were, once again, trying to cut the boulder in half, a lot of thoughts were going through their head. Filled with nothing more than desperation to do better.

'I can't do it... Are Nezuko.. And Shouku.. just going to die like this, without ever waking up...?'

'Ah... I'm almost giving in... I'm breaking down...'

Tanjiro, feeling very hopeless at the moment, bashed his hard head on the boulder, "I need... to work harder! Harder!!"

"SHUT UP!" shouted a mysterious voice.

Startled, Tanjirou looked up from his boulder while Yumeharu looked away from his own and turned his gaze around to see a teenager, who they assume is a guy by his voice, sitting on Tanjiro's boulder, holding a wooden sword by his right side. The boy was wearing a fox mask with white eyes and a scar on the right side of it. His haori was a weird yellow and green pattern and his hair was peach coloured.

"Such a shamefur dispray of a man shouting nonsense." he finally spoke out.

'When did he appear there?! He has no scent and... a fox mask?' Tanjiro continues staring in surprise as the peach boy continues talking.

"No matter how difficult and painful it may be, you will shut your mouth and deal with it. If you call yourself a man, if you are a true man," the mysterious boy then jumps off the boulder and swings his sword at Tanjiro. Tanjiro manages to block the attack but the masked boy is quick to kick him off his feet.

Yumeharu stands there incredibly stiff as it happens. As if something or someone was stopping him from moving, but it was mostly him trying to understand what was happening right now, feeling confused.

"Slow, weak, rusty, your state is not one of a man by any definition." taunted the boy.

"What are you doing? Jumping out like that all of a sudden!" He said he looked at the person standing in front of him.

"I should be the one asking that, what do you think you're doing?" Surprised by the sudden question, Tanjiro answers him in a bewildered tone.

"What am I doing? I'm training." the boy in front of him scoffed as he heard his answer.

"Then how long are you planning to sit on the ground like that? Stand up."

Realizing that he was sitting on the ground, he stands up and faces the boy.

"Alright, bring it on." Declared the boy behind the mask.

Tanjiro looked stunned, if anything, "but...you're holding a wooden sword while I have a real one, you might get hurt."

There was a moment of silence between everyone in the area until the boy started laughing, almost like he couldn't believe what he had heard from Tanjiro's mouth.

"You flatter me! Thank you for the care you've shown me, you really think you're able to injure me!" The boy swung his sword at Tanjiro as he was almost unable to attack.

"You don't have to worry about me at all! I am much stronger than you, because I was able to slice my rock open!"

'He can.. slice the rock open?!' Yumeharu and Tanjiro thought, sweating a bit.

"You haven't learned anything. None of you have even turned anything you've been shown into your own skills!" He said as he flipped over Tanjiro off his feet again.

"Especially the breathing technique Urokodaki-sensei has taught you both. Concentrated Breathing."

'He knows who Urokodaki is?! And the breathing style too...?'

"You've only memorized it as if it was some trivial fact, but your body hasn't even experienced it!" The man does his continuous slashing attacks, trying to break through to Tanjiro. Yumeharu is still frozen in place but he feels as if something strange was up and if it wasn't for the presence he didn't feel approaching, behind him, he would have doubted himself and his instincts.

"I'll make your flesh and blood remember it well. All of it, all of it, all of it!!" He says as his attacks become even faster than before.

"I'll implant them inside your bone marrow."

"I am learning! I'm trying to learn every day, and I'm doing my best to learn with my life!!" Tanjiro says, as he recalls all his failures to cut open the rock.

"But right now, I don't know what to do at all. I can't move forward!"

"Then move forward! If you are a man. If you're a true man, you don't have any other choice except moving forward!!" The boy with the mask makes continuous attacks on Tanjiro and hits his shoulder, left leg and forearms.

"BRING IT ON! Let me witness your power!!" he says. As Tanjiro screams trying to attack him, the boy manages to knock out Tanjiro by striking him with an uppercut to the chin, knocking him out unconscious.

Yumeharu is speechless as he tries to understand the situation and goes to check on Tanjiro. He suddenly feels a hand on his shoulder. A girl with a flower kimono with black hair and cyan eyes standing at his left side was stopping him from going further. She has a calm expression on her face and seems to also have a fox mask, as the mist that was around her slowly disappears, the boy then starts speaking to the girl.

"I'll leave this to you then." he says after a few seconds of silence of Tanjiro being knocked out.

"Mhm." she nods her head.

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Tanjiro's eyes slowly open, the first thing he sees is the girl in the flower kimono and then Yumeharu, who has a very concerned expression on his face.

"Tanjiro!" shouts Yumeharu in a distressed tone.

"Are you alright?" the girl says calmly. Tanjiro looks at the girl and Yumeharu in disbelief.

"DID YOU SEE THAT MOVE JUST NOW?" he says with a surprise expression as the two look at him in confusion.

"THAT WAS AN AWESOME STRIKE! No hesitating or unnecessary moves at all and very clean!" Tanjiro was flabbergasted and Yumeharu silently nodded while listening to him.

"I want to be like that too! I can do that, that move just now, right!?"

'Nope'

"Of course you can. I'll be there to witness it." the girl says while smiling.

'She's really cute' Tanjiro blushes a little, Yumeharu looks at him weirdly but he doesn't notice it at all.

"Who are you?" he asks.

The girl introduces herself as Makomo and tells the two that the masked boy's name is Sabito.

They continue their training and Makomo helps them out, pointing out the places that are lacking in their swordsmanship. She helps Tanjiro adjust his unnecessary moves and bad personal habits, and helps Yumeharu with his grip on the blade since he is more familiar with his grip of a bow.

As to why she was willingly to help them or where she had come from, they were unable to get a straight answer even after Tanjiro had asked.

"We all adore Urokodaki-Sensei." and that sentence was Makomo's repeated answer when asked a question. As far as they were concerned, Sabito and Makomo were not siblings but seemed to be adoptive students of Urokodaki through Tanjiro's speculation.

"There are other children here too. They've been watching you two, you know." Her words confuse Tanjiro very much, as if they were riddles within a riddle but Yumeharu takes that as a reminder of the secret he chooses to keep quiet till the end...

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""Concentrated breathing", is the acceleration of the blood flowing and the beating of the heart, that way your body temperature rises. So you'll be able to maintain a human form but be as powerful as a demon."

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"You have to increase your lung capacity, and allow the maximum amount of air that you are able to hold to enter your bloodstream."

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"When your blood is quickened, your bones and muscles will go into panic mode, and when your blood runs hot, then you will become strong."

'I..don't completely understand.' Tanjiro looks at her dumbfounded and confused, while Yumeharu seems to be understanding what she is saying, not saying a word.

"How do I do that?.." asked Tanjiro.

Makomo looks at him before calmly smiling at him. "Do your best to train, because the way I see it, there's no other way except for that."

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Tanjiro's wrists, legs and feet feel as if they are torn off his body after training so much with Yumeharu, who was used to the pain when training but was still exhausted, his lungs and heart felt like damaged blades beyond repair but still being swung continuously. Even so, Tanjiro was still not able to defeat Sabito in a duel as Yumeharu still couldn't slice the boulder completely.

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Until half a year later, Tanjiro's hair had grown to reach his shoulders, face covered in dirt from his continuous training. One day he decided to challenge Sabito once more, but this time he was wielding a real sword.

"After a year, you finally began to have the appearance of a man." Sabito says, unsheathing his sword from the scabbard.

"I will win today!" declared Tanjiro.

They both rush forward to one another, as Yumeharu sits on his boulder that he had sliced in half just before the declaration of the duel, his now very long hair swaying in the breeze, and Makomo, who stands in the side lines next to Yumeharu, both watching them.

Victory and defeat were decided in an instant, but on that day, that was the first time Tanjiro's blade had struck Sabito before his sword did, using his excellent sense of smell to sniff out the "Opening Thread" to know where to cut. Sabito's fox mask is sliced down the middle, he stands still with the blade above his head as if he was about to swing it first before smiling at Tanjiro, a smile filled with mourning but also joy and a measure of peace to it.

Makomo smiles as well with the same smile, "You must win, Tanjiro, Yumeharu. Against that person too." And then disappears in the mist, along with Sabito.

As Tanjiro comes back to his senses, where Sabito used to be at, is the ginormous boulder in his place and sliced open in half. As Yumeharu applauds him from afar, Urokodaki appears behind him and examines Tanjiro's boulder.

"The reason I didn't want you to join the final selection was because I didn't want to see any more children die of it anymore. So I didn't count on you to be able to slice the boulder." Urokodaki reaches his hand out to Tanjiro and pats him on the head.

"You did well, Tanjiro. You are... an impressive child." After hearing that, Tanjiro sheds some tears and Yumeharu jumps off his boulder, hugging Tanjiro with one arm, smiling at him with happiness.

Urokodaki then hugs them both, "You both must come back alive from the final selection. This old man and your demons will be here waiting for you."

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Back at Urokodaki's hut, he prepares dinner for the boys.

"Wow... what's the occasion? There's so much." asked Tanjiro.

"You guys have completed all your training, so we're going to celebrate." he says as he grabs a bowl and uses the ladle to scoop up the food in the hot pot, placing a small quantity in their bowls.

"Don't be shy. Eat up," he offers one of the bowls to Tanjiro.

"Ah, thank you very much!" Tanjiro takes the bowl and Urokodaki offers a bowl to Yumeharu, which he takes as well.

As they are both happily eating their meals, Urokodaki can't help but be a bit sad.

'There's nothing more that I can do for you both. From here on out, you'll be going through such hardship and strife. Your training will seem like nothing in comparison, so for now, at least, you should rest well while you can.'

Later into the night, Tanjiro is cutting his hair while Yumeharu is tying his up into a messy bun with how long it has grown.

"Tanjiro, Yumeharu."

"Yes?" they say in unison.

"Did you guys enjoy the hot pot?"

"Why yes actually! It was amazing." Yumeharu happily says.

"Yeah! I haven't had a feast in so long!" he says, holding the shears

"Well, you boys are still growing and with that appetite, you'll need to eat a lot to become stronger the more you eat as well as grow bigger in size. But that goes for demons too, since a demon is as strong as the number of humans they have eaten."

"So, the more they eat, the stronger they get?" asked Tanjiro.

"That's right. There are demons who gain power, being able to transform their bodies and even use strange spells." he says, then reaches into his cabinet and takes out a fox mask with red eyes and spirals, black nose, red circles at the edges of the mouth and a red circle on the left ear surrounded by small red rectangles

He then grabs another similar mask for Yumeharu without the spiral eyes and hands the masks to the boys.

"What's this?" asked Tanjiro.

"It's called a "warding mask" and it will protect you from being plagued by bad luck."

"I see..."

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The next morning, as they are preparing to set off to the final selection, Tanjiro and Yumeharu go to the back room where Nezuko and Shouku are sleeping.

"Nezuko..." Tanjiro takes her hand, "I'll come back no matter what, all right?"

"Take care while we are gone..." Yumeharu says and whispers something else that Tanjiro can't hear, in english. They then put on a blue haori with clouds given to them by Urokodaki and put on the masks as well.

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"Don't worry about them while you're gone. I'll take very good care of them."

"Thank you Master, for everything you've done!" Yumeharu bowed.

Tanjiro and Yumeharu walk off a bit from the hut before turning around to wave at him, "We'll be going then, Urokodaki-Sensei!" they say in unison as Urokodaki waves back.

They then run off far from the house and as Tanjiro turns around to wave at him again with Yumeharu, he says "Say hello to Sabito and Makomo for me!"

Urokodaki stands there motionlessly as they continue to walk away, "Tanjiro... how do you know...

the names of those dead children..?"

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After traveling for so long to Mount. Fujikasa, nighttime falls and they finally make it, walking through the path of wisteria.

"Wow, look at all these wisteria flowers!" exclaimed Tanjiro, as he touched one of them.

"It's amazing how they have bloomed even in this season," said Yumeharu. They make their way to the head of what they assume is a shrine and see multiple kids with nichirin blades, some having visible scars on their faces.

'Look at all those poor children... there's so many who have gone through such hardship.' Yumeharu thought, as he looked around.

"Greetings everyone," all of the participants turn towards the black and white haired twins from the entrance to the exam, "We thank you for coming here tonight to the Demon Slayers Corps Final Selection."

The white haired twin then starts speaking, "there are a lot of demons held captive on this mountain that were brought back by the demon slayers, and unable to leave."

The black haired twin continues, "this is because of the wisteria, which demons hate so much, that blooms all year round from the bottom to halfway up the mountain."

"However, there is no wisteria from this point on, and so demons abound," said the white haired twin.

"You must survive here for seven days and only then will you pass the final selection," said the black haired twin.

"So let the Final selection begin," they say at the same time, bowing to all the participants as they walk past them, through the entrance to the forest and their significant exam.

Tanjiro and Yumeharu both run through the forest by each other's side before stopping by a rock to look around.

"We should head east from here, where the sun will shine first," said Tanjiro, before he and Yumeharu both sprinted again.

"I suppose, the demons won't be able to do anything when the sun rises so it'd be wise to head east of all places," said Yumeharu. They both suddenly stop as they sense the presence of not one but two demons in the area and prepare to draw their swords out. Tanjiro can smell the demons nearby but can't pinpoint where they are while Yumeharu is eyeing their auras' but is trying to keep Tanjiro safe at the same time.

"Above!" shouted Tanjiro. The demon then jumps from the treetops and aims for them both to attack them but he and Yumeharu manage to dodge out of the way. As the demon is laughing with its long tail out, another demon comes out behind Tanjiro to attack. Tanjiro notices this right away but before he can deflect the attack, Yumeharu runs up to that demon and slices its neck off. The beheaded demon screeches and the demon in front of Tanjiro then chuckles.

"I haven't eaten good in so... long!... And there's two of you here!" The demon then lunges at Tanjiro to attack, Tanjiro hesitates a bit before sniffing out the opening thread and also running up to it to attack.

'Total concentration, Water breathing!

Fourth form, Striking Tide!' with just one attack, the demon's head is sliced off as the water surrounding the blade swirls around it before disappearing.

'I did it... I defeated a demon! I've grown stronger!' Yumeharu applauds him as the demon disintegrates, Tanjiro then sheaths his sword and presses his hands together, wishing for the demons and all its victims to rest in peace..

"You did a great job, Tanjiro!" Yumeharu cheered.

"Oh please, you did better than I could-" Tanjiro stops, sniffing something rotten in the air before pinching his nose shut along with Yumeharu who has a look of disgust on his face.

"What is that smell?!" Tanjiro looks to the side and they see a participant running away from something, saying something about how 'no one had told him something about this and how he didn't sign up for something like this'. They look towards the direction that the boy had come from and see a large crocodile green demon with multiple arms surrounding its body, holding another candidate, who has blood dripping from their eyes that may mean they are dead, with one of them, and chasing after the running boy. The boys who were hiding behind the tree gasp, not believing what they are seeing right now.

The running participant then trips and falls, "What's this morphed demon doing here anyway? They didn't tell us about this!" said the boy in a terrified voice.

The candidate then gets up as the hand demon eats the boy in one of his hands, opening his mouth widely. Before they can get far, the candidate gets grabbed by the ankle by the hand demon, who is pulling him back, screaming out in horror as the hand demon opens his mouth again. Tanjiro, shaking in fear is almost paralyzed to do anything, holds onto the grip of his blade as Yumeharu gasps in horror.

'Don't wimp out!

Save him... Save him! Save him! You're not powerless anymore,' Tanjiro jumps out from behind the tree, using Water Wheel, the second form of water breathing, to cut down the hand holding the hostage, preventing him from getting eaten. Before they can hit the ground, Yumeharu jumps out and manages to catch them safely as Tanjiro takes a defensive stance in front of them.

"Well...would you look at that? Even more of you sweet little foxes have come to me.." said the Hand Demon, his expression of surprise turning sadistic seeing them with their fox masks.

""Even more?"" Tanjiro said, puzzled, just as he said that the hand he cut off grows back.

"Tell me little fox, what year of the Meiji Era (1868-1912) are we in?" asked the Hand Oni.

"We are in the Taisho Period (1912–1926)!" answered a confused Tanjiro.

The hand demon then starts screaming in anger, "Taisho? Ahhh!! Holy crap!! Even the period has changed?!

Again! While I've been held prisoner inside this place! Ahhh!! Unforgivable! Unforgivable!! Damn you, Urokodaki! Damn you!!"

'How does he know who Urokodaki is?' Yumeharu kept his guard up.

"Why do you hate Urokodaki sensei so much..?" asked a stunned Tanjiro.

"You know why!! Because Urokodaki is the one who captured me!

I'll never forget that day from 47 years ago! Back when he was still hunting demons. It was the Edo Period (1603-1867) during the Keio Era (1865-1868)."

"You're lying, there's no such demon that has ever lived that long! The only demons in here should be the ones who've eaten just two or three humans but even they don't live long because they're killed during the Final Selection, they eat their own kind too, which makes this impossible!" yelled the man behind them.

"Yeah, but I've survived all this time inside this wisteria prison, I've eaten a total of fifty of you brats during my time here." said the Hand Demon.

"FIFTY..?" Yumeharu and Tanjiro speak in unison, remembering what Urokodaki said about a demon's strength increasing overtime depending on the amount of humans that they have eating.

"-..Eleven...Twelve...Thirteen..and you guys are Fourteen and Fifteen.." says the Hand Demon, holding up their fingers as he counts.

"What are you talking about?" asked Tanjiro.

"I'm counting the number of Urokodaki's disciples that I've eaten. I promised myself that I'd kill every one of his disciples."

"What..?" muttered a shocked Yumeharu.

"Speaking of which, the ones who particularly stood out to me...were this pair of kids and of those two...The brat with the unusual peach hair color was the strongest of them all, who had a scar on his mouth. The other one was a little girl in a flowery kimono, even though she was small and lacking in power, she was awfully agile." The Hand Demon reveals to them the secret of the two children that Yumeharu was keeping to himself in order to avoid any suspicions about his identity and abilities.

'What...They had already been killed by this demon? But I was with them this whole time during my training.' thought Tanjiro.

"That mask is a mark. I remember the style of the masks that Urokodaki uses when carving them, the tengu mask he wears is carved the same way," the Hand Demon points at their masks with multiple hands. "They are called "Warding masks", right? It's because they were wearing them that they got eaten. They're all here inside my stomach. It's as if Urokodaki killed them himself!" the demon laughed. Tanjiro looks at the demon with rage, trembling in anger and breathing heavily.

"Fufufufufufu, When I said those words to that girl...she was so angry, she had tears flowing down the corners of her eyes, and right after that, she lost control of her movements and I ripped her limb from limb..." The Hand Demon laughed once more and Tanjiro snapped at that moment.

"Tanjiro! Control yourself-" yelled Yumeharu but Tanjiro lunges forward towards the demon. The Hand Demon then shoots out numerous arms at him, Tanjiro slices each one but as he closes in on him, one of the Hand Demon's arms punches him into a tree and knocks him out unconscious. Yumeharu turns to see the helpless participant take this as a chance to leave the scene and then turns back at the demon to see them about to reach their hands out to kill Tanjiro.

He runs up to the extended arms and slices up most of them except one that heads towards Tanjiro but before Yumeharu could run back to slice that one, Tanjiro wakes up immediately and slices the arm. As soon as he does, more are extending towards them with the intention to murder them. They slice all the demon's arms as more continue to grow and regenerate but Tanjiro smells something from beneath the ground and the two jump away from the arms that sprouted out from the ground.

'T-they jumped! Dammit, I missed them!'

'But there's no way he can dodge this attack in mid-air!' One of the Hand Demon's arms extends and reaches out to grab Tanjirou's head as he is in the air. But before he could actually kill him, Tanjiro headbutts the hand, deflecting the attack. Using 'Total Concentration Water Breathing' to cut the multiple arms that were sent towards Tanjiro he also runs on the arm. As he approaches the head, one arm tries to kill Tanjiro as jumps off the arm to cut off the demon's head.

'He got too close. I don't have any more hands to use and I can't grow them back immediately. Not to worry, my neck's defenses are tough. He won't be able to slash it, not even that boy was able to cut it.'

'Water Breathing, First Form; Water Surface Slash!' He takes a breath and at that moment, the opening thread appears in front of Tanjiro, meanwhile Yumeharu jumps from the ground after cutting some of the arms that had sprouted from the ground and goes to slice off the arm intending to kill Tanjiro if he had failed to cut the neck. Thanks to the opening thread, Tanjiro manages to cut off the head and Yumeharu sees the head fall to the ground rolling, finally using this as an opportunity to relax for now and sits down.

As the head was cut off, a memory of the Hand Demon from when he had first met Urokodaki in his demon slayer years starts playing, the head falls to ground, tumbling away from his body and now facing his slowly disintegrating corpse.

'Dammit, Dammit!! I'm going to die! My body is gradually falling apart and I am too late to stop it.'

'In the end, he'll gaze upon me with eyes that are as if he is looking at filth.' Tanjiro sheaths his sword as Yumeharu runs up to him, asking if he is alright and checking for any wounds on him as Tanjiro stands still.

'Damn it, I'm so afraid to close my eyes but I can't turn my head away. I can't believe the last scene I look upon before dying is the face of these demon slayer--' Tanjiro turns his head around with a sad expression on his face.

'Why do you have that look on your face..?'

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In the darkness of what seems to be an endless void, a young child is squatting, head to his knees and face in his hands. Crying as little tears form in his eyes and blood all around his mouth.

'Big brother, I'm all alone in the dark. I'm scared.

Big Brother, hold my hand like you always do.

why ....

Why did I devour my big brother...?"

The boy suddenly lifts his head, his eyes are Xs like that of the Hand Demon.

"Eh? Who is this 'brother' I'm talking about?"

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Tanjiro and Yumeharu stare down at one of the arms of what was left of the Hand Demon, the palm facing the beautiful night sky as it was disintegrating. Tanjiro smells the scent of sorrow coming from its hand and holds that hand along with Yumeharu who hesitated before doing it. The Hand Demon who was watching all that begins to cry, the warmth of their touch soothing them in a way that was familiar to them somehow. The hand closes slowly and they hold the hand to their head, they both pray to the gods for the demon to never become a demon like before once he is reincarnated, wishing him to rest in peace as well.

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"Big Brother..." a man holding a lantern walks away from the young boy with terrible hair, who runs up to him, reaching his hand out to him.

"BIG BROTHER! Will you hold my hand, please?" the brother with also horrible hair offers his hand to the little brother.

"Alright, alright, you're such a scaredy-cat." the brother takes his hand as they walk towards a house in the distance.

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With the Demon's body now fully disintegrated, the boys hold onto nothing as they continue to stay in that position for a few moments.

'Sabito... Makomo... We've won. You guys can rest now, you and the others that were killed may also return back to Urokodaki-Sensei back at the mountains.' He lifts his head front and an image of Sabito and Makomo appears in front of them as well as the other killed children who are all wearing a similar fox mask, Sabito sitting on a boulder as the others are standing. The children then begin to walk away from the scene and disappear into the fog, Sabito being the only one to jump off the bouder as Makomo is the last one to disappear into the fog.

The two then finally look away from the area from where the Demon's body used to be to look at each other, Yumeharu puts his hand on Tanjro's shoulder to comfort him a bit, before they start sprinting away from the scene, setting their course to the location in mind, which was to head east of the forest then back to the entrance of the exam again.

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They fight against many of the other demons in the forest, most of which weren't as powerful as the Hand Demon but have probably killed more than 3 humans that participated in the Final Selection. During the last seven days of the exam, Tanjiro questions every demon of that forest for answers on the cure to turn a demon back into a human.

The demons, as Tomioka had put it to Tanjiro before, were not willing to give him any answers to his question, trying to kill them in the process.

On the final day, they reach the location from where they had first started, the sun rising at the peaks of the mountain.

At the site, Yumeharu notices that there was only one girl, who was wearing a pink kimono, that had survived the Final Selection and was preoccupied with looking at a butterfly. One of the candidates mutters to himself about them 'dying soon anyway' and has a very distinct hair colour that was very different from the rest, not counting Yumeharu with his own hair colour. The other guy had a scar across half of the side of his face, a Mohawk and no eyebrows. The participants then face the twins who begin to talk to the candidates.

"Welcome back. Congratulations to all of you, being safe and sound is better than anything else after all." The twins speak at the same time.

The boys noticed that there were only 3 people left aside from them, who were at the exam site, they recall that there were at least 20 people or so. They also notice that the guy they had saved from the Hand Demon wasn't there either, feeling a sort of regret for not saving him while they were busy with the demon.

"You must first pay for the uniform, have your body measured and then have your rank engraved." Said the one with white hair.

"There are ten ranks in total, Kinoe, Kinoto, Hinoe, Hinoto, Tsuchinoe, Tsuchinoto, Kanoe, Kanoto, Mizunoe and Mizunoto. From here on out, you are at the lowest rank, Mizunoto." Said the twin with Black hair.

The Mohawk kid suddenly asks about their blades in an impatient tone, the twins continue talking.

"Today, you will choose the ore for your sword, but the swords will take 10 to 15 days to complete." The no eyebrows kid groans after hearing what the white haired twin said.

"From now on, you will also have your own Kasugai crows who will be following you all." The white haired twin claps her hands and 5 crows and a sparrow come flying from out of nowhere and land on the shoulder of the participants.

"Your Kasugai crows are primarily used for communication and assigning you your missions." Tanjiro stares in wonder at the crow on his shoulders as the blonde kid with the sparrow looks at his bird confused. Yumeharu then sees the no eyebrows kid shake his crow off his arm in frustration.

"I don't care about some stupid crow?!" No eyebrows grab the hair of the white haired twin, "What I want is the blade! Give me the sword right now!! The blade of the Demon slayer corps, the color changing blade!" Yelled no eyebrows. While the blond kid is freaking out, Tanjiro grabs the guy by the arm that is holding onto the twin.

"Let go of her this instant! If you don't let go, I'll break your arm!!" Threatened Tanjiro.

"Huh? Who are you? Said a pissed off Mohawk kid. "You can try it if you dare!"

Without hesitation, Tanjiro begins to squeeze the guy's wrist tight, causing the guy to let go of the twin's hair as he groans in pain, stepping away from the girl. The twin stays silent and unbothered while the blondes were standing there shocked, one of them tending for the No eyebrows' crow. Tanjiro stands in front of the white haired twin, staring back at the guy with no eyebrows.

"Are you done?" Asked the black haired twin, who everyone turns to listen to. "If so, then please go over there and choose the ore that will be used to create your blade." Beside the twin was a table with multiple ores on them, some bigger than the rest but all the same colour.

They gathered around the table, the No Eyebrows kid groaning again, not knowing what type of ore to pick, a bit more pissed off than before. Yumeharu looks at the ores carefully, sensing for the ore with a more spiritual connection to him as Tanjiro sniffs out for his own ore and reaches out for one of them.

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Somewhere in a mansion, a person with straight black, shoulder length hair, was sitting on the patio of their garden as if they were gazing out in adoration at the moment. A crow lands on their hand as they caress them gently with one finger, and the crow begins talking to him.

"Is that so?" They said in a gentle soothing voice, the crow whispering to them.

"There are 6 people remaining. Excellent. The number of my children have increased.. I wonder what kind of swordsmen they will become."

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"Are you sure you don't want my help?" Asked the only scratched Yumeharu to the almost crippled Tanjiro walking with a long stick, leaning on it as they travel along. Despite the fact that he had protected Tanjiro from most dangers, Tanjiro was really reckless with his actions during the Final Selection and nearly got himself killed multiple times if it weren't for his protagonist's armor.

"I-I'm okay, don't worry about me." He says as he struggles to stand up and barely even walking properly, sweating so much and only thinking about his sister at home. He doesn't want to admit it to the empath that he is in so much pain but because he can sense it, Yumeharu stops listening to Tanjiro's rejection for help and puts himself in a piggyback position before picking him up.

"You don't have to-" Yumeharu cuts him off.

"Don't talk right now, you'll hurt yourself even more if you do." They continue walking towards the mountain as their crow flies above them and the sun sets over the horizon.

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At the strike of midnight, they finally reach the hut, where Yumeharu lets Tanjiro walk on the path to the hut so that Tanjiro would get used to the pain.

Suddenly, the door to the hut is knocked down by a kick and an awakened Nezuko walks out of the hut, not really noticing them until Tanjiro screams, "Nezuko! You're finally awake!!"

Nezuko runs up to the injured boy as Tanjiro ops to do the same but trips and falls while doing so. Yumeharu speed walks up to him to help him up until Nezuko hugs the downed Tanjiro, his eyes filling up with tears of happiness when he hugs back.

"Why did you have to suddenly fall into a coma like that?! You laid there in your bed and wouldn't wake up, I thought you were going to die!" Said the crying Tanjiro. Urokodaki drops the firewood in his arms, and he and Yumeharu go up to them for a hug as well.

Their sensei cries through the mask, "You both finally came back alive!"

As they stay in that position, Yumeharu lifts his head up and sees Shouku standing there by the door, smiling softly at them in a new outfit with the same raggedy scarf.

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As Tanjiro was recovering from his injuries, they tell Urokodaki about the morphed Hand Demon they encountered in the Final Selection, and how they had defeated the demon together. Which made Urokodaki smile, despite the fact that they couldn't see it but feel it coming from him.

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The sound of wind chimes echoed from the pathway to the hut, Tanjiro pokes his head out the door. Yumeharu was already outside, sitting in a newly made chair, looking at the figure of a person walking up to them.

The figure was wearing a straw/ bamboo hat with multiple windchimes, they were wearing a sunflower haori with their head hung low. They stop at the front door as the two greet the stranger.

"My name is Haganezuka, I am the one that has forged the blades that will be used by Kamado Tanjiro and Yutaki Yumeharu." Said the stranger with a very deep voice.

"Hello sir, I am Kamado Tanjiro and this is my friend, Yutaki Yumeharu, please come in." said Tanjiro to the stranger.

The man however, doesn't go inside but instead, puts down two boxes and begins to take off the cover of one of the boxes. "This is the "Nichirin sword" I have forged for you two."

"Sir please come inside and have some tea." The man ignores Tanjiro's request.

"The Nichirin blades' raw materials are Iron sand and ore from the highest mountain that is closest to the sun. "Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand" and "Scarlet Crimson Ore" are metals that can absorb sunlight." he continues to talk as the boys are trying to get him inside.

"Mister, I think your bag is going to get covered in mud. Please come inside," asked Yumeharu.

"Mt. Yoko is bathed in sunlight all year long, you see. Never a cloud in the sky, nor any rain."

Inside the hut, Urokodaki and Shouku are listening to the man's rambling, "There he goes again, never listening to what others say..." sighed the old man. Nezuko hides under the covers of a futon with no expression on her face, next to her is Urokodaki sitting cross legged

and Shouku is leaning against the wall that Urokodaki's back is facing, sitting on the floor as well.

"Hold on a minute first, could you please stand up? The way you're crouching on the ground is a bit-" Tanjiro stops talking as the man raises his head, revealing a Hyottoko mask on his face, a polka dotted scarf surrounds his head with no hair out in the open.

'What a weird mask !'

"Hmm? Hmm~? Hey, you're a Child of Brightness, aren't you? Now that's what I call lucky." the weird man says.

'What?' Yumeharu, despite the fact that he is confused by his words, has an aloof expression on his face.

"No no, I'm Tanjuro and Kie's son." Tanjiro shakes his head.

"That's not what I meant. Your hair and eyes are a reddish color, right? When a kid like you is born into a family that works with fire, they will have a child like you. So I mean to say that it's considered lucky, so be happy." The masked man reaches his index finger to Tanjiro's cheek, twisting it.

"Is that so? I don't really understand..." Tanjiro tries to turn his head away from the guy's hand.

"There's a good chance that this sword will turn red! Right, Urokodaki?" the man pokes his head out the door.

'"Yeah." he says in a stern voice.

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The man finally enters the house and they all sit down with tea, on the floor, Tanjiro and Yumeharu hold the blades with both hands.

"Come on, hurry up and draw it. Nichirin Swords are also known as "Color Changing Swords" that change color depending on the bearer." said the swordsmith.

They look at each other before slowly unsheathing their blades from the scabbard at the same time revealing the long Nichirin sword. Tanjiro's blade, that was originally a light gray, changes to a jetblack colour, everyone around the room stares in awe. Yumeharu's blade turns into a cyan colour before becoming blue like all the water breathers of the Demon Slayer corps which catches him by surprise but the rest were all too focused on Tanjiro's blade to notice that change.

"It's black." said a surprised Urokodaki.

"Huh? Is it bad or something if it turns black? Is it unlucky?" asked a worried Tanjiro to Urokodaki.

"No, not necessarily, it's just that you don't see this pitch black too often." he reassures Tanjiro.

The man with the Hyottoko mask twinches in frustration.

"And here I was hoping I'd get to see a blade turn bright red! Dammit!!" He jumps on Tanjiro, wrestling him to the floor, pinning Tanjiro into an uncomfortable position.

"OW, Stop! Please calm down! How old are you?!" he asked in pain.

"I'm 37!" the man says, angry, as Yumeharu goes up to them to try to get the man off of Tanjiro. Suddenly two Kasugai Crows come flying in from above, landing right next to Tanjiro.

Tanjiro's crow then starts talking, "Tanjiro Kamado! Here are your orders!"

"It can talk?" said a confused Tanjiro, who is still in the uncomfortable position.

"Make your way to a town in the northwest! Northwest! Young girls have been vanishing there, night after night! You must hunt down the demon lurking there and kill it! Tanjirou Kamado, prepare yourself well for this task! This is your first assignment as a Demon Hunter!" The crow's wings held up high as it yelled out its message.

Yumeharu's crow just whispers into his ear softly as it rests on his arm, "Yumeharu Yutaki must head down Southeast from here to a village near a mysterious forest, the people have gone missing, this situation must be dealt with immediately. Yumeharu Yutaki must head Southeast."

"Our very first...assignment.." Haganezuka finally lets go of Tanjiro as he stares at the crow.

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The two put on their Demon Slayer uniforms, Tanjiro putting his checkered haori on top of it, as Yumeharu puts on his "crown" and newly made haori by Shouku.

"Are you both done now?" asked Urokodaki, still sitting down in the same spot.

"Yes," they say as they turn around.

"Alright," he motions the boys to sit down, they sit on their legs, both facing Urokodaki.

"Tanjirou, Yumeharu. Now that you're starting out as Demon slayers, I'd like to explain a few things to you guys." said Urokodaki.

"Right." they say at the same time.

"That Demon Slayer Corps outfit you're wearing right now is made of a special kind of fiber.

The fabric is quite breathable, and repels moisture and won't burn easily. A low-level demon's talons or fangs wouldn't even be able to tear that uniform."

"Is it that strong?" said Tanjiro.

"Also, that Nichirin sword of yours... The color varies from owner to owner and each hue has unique properties." As Urokodaki says that, Yumeharu thinks back at the colour change of his Nichirin blade from cyan to blue and wonders what the meaning behind it is. "But since not many people end up with black blades, little is known about them. So little, in fact, that -" he cuts himself off, going a bit silent.

"So little is known that...what, Mr. Urokodaki?" asked Tanjiro.

"-Since so little is known about them, black blades are said to be wielded by swordsmen who don't make it far." he says.

Despite how that sounds, Tanjiro doesn't react much at all, "I don't know how I'll do in the Demon Slayer Corps, but I'm going to turn Nezuko back into a human, no matter what." he says with determination, which Yumeharu can't help but admire about him ever since he met him in the mountains on that day...

Urokodaki then takes out some things from his left, a box and a straw basket with a silk sheet covering it, handing the box to Tanjiro and the basket to Yumeharu. Thanking their Sensei for his gifts, they go into the other room where the demons are, Tanjiro having Nezuko to enter inside the box for the mission as she was still under the futon. Yumeharu takes out some stuff from the old basket to put in the new but then realizes that despite the fact that it is bigger than the previous one, "Shouku" however, manages to slip perfectly inside the basket in a way that even he didn't know he could do.

Putting the basket and box on their back, they head outside of the hut and say their goodbyes to Urokodaki, but before they could leave, he stops them for a moment.

"Hold on. Do you mind?" Urokodaki then begins to fasten the top button of their uniform, adjusting the strap of Tanjiro's box and fixing up Yumeharu's haori before placing his hands on their heads.

Saying nothing else to them but an "Alright," as he nods at the boys, to which they nod back at him. Tanjiro and Yumeharu then go off into two different directions as their missions were on different sides but not before promising to meet up at the location of Tanjiro's second mission to keep in touch with their progress for the cure for Nezuko and maybe Shouku.

They swore to be by the other's side no matter the distance, and that they'd stay alive for each other as well. Yumeharu and Tanjiro both smile at one another as they continue walking towards their first assignment.

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((Little Author's Message: I am sorry to anyone and everyone that have read my discontinued books and I apologize for doing that with most of my books this month or so, I hope you understand that it was for good reasons and I hope you guys have/ will enjoy this story as I will continue this story with very slow updates. Now that I have school out of the way I will try to complete this story as much as I can while I spend my summer and I wish you guys have a great day.))