Sun Breathing : First Form

6

-Demon slayers. They number in the hundreds. Their organisation is not recognised by the authorities, but they have been around for a long time, hunting demons relentlessly. Nothing is known about their leader. The demons feed mainly on human flesh, killing human beings and devouring them. It is not known when or how they first appeared. They have powerful physical abilities and their wounds heal almost instantly, so when a limb is cut off, they can glue it back together or regrow it. Some of them even have the ability to transform their bodies. They can only be killed by cutting off their head with a special blade or by exposing them to sunlight. The role of the slayers is to fight them, but slayers are human, their wounds don't heal quickly, and if they lose a limb, it's permanent. Yet they fight relentlessly, they do it to protect other humans. Urokodaki said, instructing Tanjiro and Miyuki about slayers and demons.

-I'm a weapon master, in other words, I'm here to train the troops. There are many other masters of arms like me. Everyone has their own methods. Urokodaki continued. At the end of your training, you must pass a final test on Mount Fujikasane. Only survivors are allowed to join the ranks of the slayers. I'll tell you when you're ready to take it.

Tanjiro had made enormous progress; by dint of doing the same thing every day, he'd managed to avoid the traps better and better, he'd improved physically and his sense of smell had sharpened. Unfortunately for him, as his weapon master had noticed that he'd improved enormously, he'd replaced the wooden traps with traps that could be lethal. He'd been training recently with a katana, which hindered his movements and he had to train himself to handle it in such a way as not to break it in real combat.

For her part, Miyuki was doing almost the same training, coming down from the mountain every morning without a katana so that she didn't use her breath, then she had to work on her muscles, practising how to handle her katana so as not to break it in combat against real demons. She sometimes fought with wooden swords against Urokodaki when he had the time. Urokodaki also taught her the breath of absolute concentration.

-This breath accelerates the circulation of the blood and the beating of the heart. This causes a sharp increase in body heat, making it possible to become strong enough to stand up to demons! But I'm not going to give you the answer on a silver platter, you'll have to work it out for yourself. Urokodaki informed Miyuki.

She nodded with difficulty, too exhausted to answer. She was so exhausted, she was lying on the ground, her body and clothes dirty from the dust of the leaves in the earth and the blood from the few wounds she'd made during her hard training.

Urokodaki had gone off to check on Tanjiro's efforts, leaving Miyuki lying on the ground.

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A few days had passed since then, Tanjiro was arriving more and more injured, Urokodaki had stopped training the two brother and sister, coming in a few times just to see if they were improving. The two apprentice slayers trained separately. Miyuki wasn't too worried about Tanjiro's condition, he was making a lot of effort to improve, so it was a good sign if he arrived in this state. Right?

-Come Tanjiro, I'll dress your wounds! Miyuki said.

 Tanjiro refused politely:

-Go train instead, I'll do it alone, don't worry about me. But despite his words Miyuki insisted, she was happy to take care of her brother, because they were training on their own, they didn't see much of each other.

-Did you manage to cut through the rock? Miyuki asked her brother.

-No, not really, but I'm going to succeed, I can feel it, I'll get there in no time! affirmed Tanjiro with a determined look that made his sister smile.

-I'm sure you'll make it, I believe in you! And when you do, we'll be able to go to the exam, at which point we'll undoubtedly pass, and then we'll travel the world to eliminate all the demons and avenge our family. The same determined gleam shone in Miyuki's eyes, they both had the same goal, and they would achieve it no matter what.

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-You've done it! Miyuki ran into her brother's arms to hug him, she was happy, they were on the way to fulfilling their dream, You've cut through the rock!

-Miyuki, calm down, you're hurting me! Tanjiro said with a laugh, he was in pain, his body was aching from all the effort he'd put in over the last few days but he was happy and relieved, he'd passed the first stage in becoming a powerful slayer.

-Stay here, I'll go and get Urokodaki and then I'll make you something to eat, I'll be quick! Miyuki left at full speed.

-A real storm of energy, that girl... Tanjiro said. He closed his eyes to rest and when he opened them again Urokodaki was standing in front of him, Miyuki hadn't lied, it had been fast.

-I have to tell you one thing, I never really intended for you to take the final test. I've already seen so many of my children die... I thought you'd never be able to cut the rock, so I can only congratulate you. Urokodaki put his hand on Tanjiro's head. I can only congratulate you. Tanjiro, you're an incredible kid.

With these words, a few tears escaped Tanjiro's eyes.

Urokodaki took Tanjiro in his arms. Go and pass the test and come back alive, I'll be waiting for you here.

Everything happened quickly, Tanjiro went to the wooden hut to warn his sister of their imminent departure, they got ready very quickly: they cut their hair which had grown a lot since they had left home, they packed their bags and retrieved the conjuration masks that Urokodaki had given them with gratitude. then they left without forgetting to say goodbye to their master-at-arms. So much for the food Miyuki had prepared, Urokodaki would be the only one to enjoy it.

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They had finally arrived at the examination site, at the top of a mountain surrounded by wisteria in bloom despite the fact that it was not the right season.

There were lots of people, all different and in the middle, there were two girls in traditional dress.

-Welcome to everyone. Thank you for joining us tonight for the final. Mount Fujikasane is populated by demons that have been captured alive by your ancestors. These demons can't get out... the black-haired girl informed us.

the white-haired girl standing next to her continued: Because at the foot of the mountain, wisteria blooms all year round... And demons hate wisteria flowers. She stopped talking and the black-haired girl spoke again.

-But inside this enclosure, they are completely free to move. You'll have to survive for seven days.

-If you succeed, you will have passed the test. Good luck.

With these words, all the participants entered the forest enclosure.

-See you at the end! Whoever kills the most demons wins! Miyuki shouted at Tanjiro.

-It's not a competition, the most important thing is to survive... But too late, she had already disappeared into the trees.

-_-

Yo

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

See you next time!

Glawdys_chan