The Water Tsuguko

Chapter 2

Takeo slowly opened his eyes, an achened pain in his temple, and it seemed that he was being carried, from the soft, yet slow motions taken and the loose grip on him. Groggily, he looked up and saw the swordsman from earlier looking ahead, not even paying any mind to the ten year old that had just woken up.

After the wave of grogginess, Takeo finally was able to remember what had happened earlier, and began to struggle against the man’s grip.

“Let go of me,” the boy demanded, wiggling around, though the man just looked at him with a blank expression.

“Takeo,” the ten-year-old turned his head to the calming voice and saw Tanjiro carrying Nezuko, who was currently passed out on his back, her face buried in his neck. “It’s okay. Giyuu-san won’t hurt you.”

Takeo looked up at the man, and remembered the words that he yelled at Tanjiro, though Takeo didn’t know exactly how long ago that was. It seemed more and more likely that the man- Giyuu-san- was just scared. Maybe he lost someone too, maybe there was someone who attacked him and his family. Maybe that’s why he appears so cold and emotionless as he is.

“I can still walk,” Takeo rolled his eyes, though the hostility left no traces in his words. Giyuu let the boy down, and immediately, Takeo stumbled as his legs were fast asleep, though in a few steps, he was able to walk normally once again.

They walked down to a nice and shaded area, with a cave shallow enough to not expect any surprises, but deep enough to protect Nezuko- a freshly-turned demon- from the sun.

Tanjiro and Giyuu each sat down, Takeo following along as he did not want to come off awkward.

“So I told your older brother that I would explain what happened to the best of my ability,” Giyuu explained. “As you probably suspected, your little sister was transformed into a demon, and your family was slaughtered by the same demon. But the only demon who can turn humans, is the creator of them all.” His face tightened up in disgust for a quick second before returning to his normal emotionless gaze. “A man by the name of Muzan Kibusuji. He was the first ever demon to be created over a thousand years ago. And from there on, he created an army of demons, meant to eat humans and caused despair across all of Japan.”

“So the first, and strongest demon killed my family,” Takeo asked, trying his hardest to avoid tears from falling down his face. “And turned Nezuko into something that thrives off of human flesh?”

“Yes,” Giyuu said. “Though I have a feeling that your sister could be different. When the both of you were knocked out, rather than attacking or eating you, she protected you from what she thought was a threat from me.”

Takeo and Tanjiro gazed at each other for a second before Giyuu continued. “I am a demon slayer. Using a special breathing style that enhances my physical abilities and a special nichirin katana, I have the ability to match my strength with that of a demon’s and kill them.”

“Breathing?” Tanjiro questioned before Takeo had a chance to. “There’s a certain way to breathe to make you stronger.”

Giyuu nodded, and it caused Takeo to think. He remembered their father, and how he could dance throughout the night, without being tired or taking a break though his body was frail and weak. Maybe he knew something about this. Regular breathing wouldn’t prevent tiredness. He knew this for a fact. So he concluded that his father must have known about this.

“Father used it,” Takeo said aloud, causing both Tanjiro and Giyuu to look over at him.

“Your father was a demon slayer?” Giyuu looked a bit confused. Typically, parents who were demon slayers taught their children breaths and how to slaughter demons.