Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
◈━◈━◈━◈━◈
After a long walk up the mountain, the two came across a temple. There was a demon inside devouring a defenseless family but the situation was dealt with quickly.
After a long struggle, the demon's head was stuck in between a tree trunk and Tanjiro's hatchet, the body had fallen off a cliff, and the only thing that was left was to kill it properly.
Tanjiro stood in front of the demon, dagger in hand, his breath quick and uneasy as he took his time deciding what to do.
Nezuko stood by him, she had retrieved the younger demon after the fight with the larger one and was holding them protectively. Thankfully, they were still asleep, Nezuko didn't want them to see such a gruesome sight.
An old man bearing a tengu mask and a sky-blue haori snuck up behind Tanjiro, his footsteps were quiet as he placed a hand on Tanjiro's shoulder.
The boy with hanafuda earrings stood shocked, he turned around and was met with the older man, "You can't finish him off with that." The elder spoke.
Tanjiro fully turned around, still clutching his dagger, "How can I finish him off?"
"Don't ask others!" The tengu-wearing elder answered, "Can't you use your head to figure that out?"
Tanjiro faltered for a moment, would stabbing it work? He slowly glanced around the area and saw a large rock by a tree. Maybe he could try crushing it.
So that's what he did. He grabbed the rock and slowly prepared to crush the skull of the demon. Although he looked ready to crush him, his mind was all over the place, he still felt empathy towards the demon. He couldn't kill it.
The larger demon woke up shortly after and was doing his best to try and reach for Tanjiro, his eyes raging with murderous intent.
Nezuko looked to the side and sensed that the morning rays were about to peek through the forest. Acting quickly, she rushed her and the younger demon to the bamboo basket. She took it inside the temple and placed herself and the younger inside, she covered the two of them in case the sun tried to get in.
A single drop of sunlight was all it took to disintegrate the larger demon's head into nothing. Tanjiro watched in horror, that was all it took to burn demons? He dropped the rock and frantically began searching for his sister and the younger demon.
"Nezuko! [Name]! Nezuko! [Name]!"
He ran into the temple and instantly relaxed at the sight of his sister holding [Name] protectively inside the basket.
Outside, the tengu-wearing man was holding a small funeral for the people who died. Slowly, Tanjiro approached him, "Excuse me?"
The elderly man got up, "I'm Sakonji Urokodaki. I'm assuming you're the one Giyu Tomioka sent my way."
"Yes! My name is Tanjiro Kamado! My sister's name is Nezuko, and—"
"Tanjiro..." Urokodaki turned around fully and stared at him behind the mask, "What will you do when your sister devours a human? What about the younger one? What will you do then?"
Tanjiro couldn't answer, he stood there, taking his time to think about an answer. Urokodaki decided his time for answering was over, he made his way over to Tanjiro and gave him a firm slap across his face.
"Too slow! You're just too slow at making decisions! You failed to finish off that demon before daybreak! Do you know why you couldn't answer my question right away?"
Tanjiro didn't answer.
Urokodaki continued, "There are two things to do if either of them devours a human. Kill your sister and the younger demon! And slit your own belly and die! That's what it means to travel with people who've become demons!"
"But that must never happen no matter what. And you'd best not forget. Your sister, taking the life of an innocent person... That's the one thing that must never happen. Ever! Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"Yes!" Tanjiro said with determination.
"Then," Urokodaki said still looking away from him, "I'm going to test you... to see if you're fit to become a member of the Demon Slayer Corps. Carry your sister on your back and follow me!"
✎ (❁ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈) ༉‧ ♡*.✧
Tanjiro was out of breath by the time he reached Urokodaki's home, the bamboo basket being even heavier now that two people were inside it.
Urokodaki instructed him to leave the basket, it was time for Tanjiro's test and he couldn't have the basket weighing him down.
When both demons were placed onto the futon, Urokodaki stared at them intently.
Giyu only mentioned one demon, and that was his sister.
His eyes shifted to the younger one beside Nezuko, brimming with curiosity.
So where did this younger one come from? Giyu would've told me if they were two.
He closely inspected the younger while Tanjiro was fixing their clothes.
How old are they?
His eyebrows furrowed, it angered him deeply that someone so young got turned into something so cruel. People got turned into demons all the time and it never bothered him. But this time, it wasn't justifiable.
He watched from the doorway as Tanjiro stared at the two demons, "I'll make sure to take care of them for you while you're gone."
The boy looked back to face the man, "Thank you."
✎ (❁ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈) ༉‧ ♡*.✧
Later that night, Urokodaki moved the demons on the futon closer to the fire. Once it was in place, he took out a thick blanket and layered it over the two.
Nezuko instinctively pulled the demon child closer to her, trying to keep them warm.
Tanjiro arrived back at the crack of dawn, his clothes tattered and bloody while his face was covered in dirt. "I... made it... back down... the... mountain..." He collapsed onto the floor before he could utter another word.
Urokodaki looked at the boy that was breathing heavily against his doorframe, the fact that he managed to make it back down told him one thing.
