ABLAZE | demon slayer

iv.

after a day or two of resting, [name] had thrown herself into training. it was currently the fifteenth day since final selection, and tanjirō was watching as she practiced her forms for sun breathing. the boy suddenly turned as the sound of wind chimes echoed in the air.

the girl stopped what she was doing and turned towards the cabin. the two entered the house and tanjirō poked his head out the front door.

"urokodaki-sensei, is that the person we're expecting?" he asked, tilting his head. [name], knowing what was about to happen, turned her attention to the smaller figure next to
haganezuka. the two swordsmiths stopped, standing still.

haganezuka spoke first, "my name is haganezuka. i am the one that has forged the blade that will be used by kamado tanjirō."

"i am kamado tanjirō, please come in and have a seat-"

"this is the "nichirin blade." i forged the blade. the nichirin blade's 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." they are metals that have absorbed the sunlight." as haganezuka continued rambling, the other swordsmith sighed and shook their head.

"apologies for him. my name is matsuzaki. i have forged tsugikuni [name]'s blade," they spoke. "i hope it will be sufficient enough to slay demons."

[name] smiled. "i'm sure it will be, matsuzaki-san. please, come in."

the swordsmith did as asked, stepping into the cabin. once all five (six, if yoriichi counted) of them were sat, the swordsmiths handed the katanas to their respective owners.

haganezuka began doing weird movements with his arms. "alright, try and pull the blade out of its scabbard. nichirin blade's other name is the blade of color change. the blade changes color based on each individual owner."

tanjirō did as asked, pulling it out slowly. as he held it up, the blade began to shift into a dark black color.

"black!!" haganezuka shouted.

"it's black..."

"eh, black feels really ominous. is this a bad sign?!" tanjirō exclaimed, worried.

"no it's not like that. i've never seen a blade this dark of a shade of black."

"i thought i could finally witness a bright crimson blade this time. dammit!" haganezuka launched at tanjirō, beginning to wrestle him.

"ow, ow, ow! that's dangerous! please calm down! how old are you anyways?!"

"thirty-seven!"

[name] watched with dotted eyes before turning her attention to the katana sat on her lap. she went next, sliding the beautifully crafted blade out of its sheathe.

"what breath style do you use, tsugikuni-san?" matsuzaki asked.

"sun breathing." she watched as the blade turned into an inky black with a red hue. "it's beautiful, thank you."

"it truly is a wonderful sight. i don't believe i've seen two black blades at the same time. is it a sign of something to come?" they pondered aloud, clapping their hands together. "i thank you for allowing me to see such beautiful blades."

they stood, grabbing haganezuka and beginning to drag him out just as a crow flew in. they paused, watching as the crow landed on the ground and began speaking.

"caww, cawwamado tanjirō, hurry and go to the northwest town caww!! hurry up and go hunt demons! this is your first assignment. remember this well, in the northwest town, young girls are constantly disappearing! every night, every night. there are girls, there are girls, constantly disappearing!" the crow fluttered its wings, preening.