Sun Breathing : First Form

7

Miyuki and Tanjiro had just passed through the gate of Mount Fujikasane. Now, the slightest mistake meant death.

-Miyuki! We mustn't get separated.

The young girl nodded, finally wanting to be there to protect her brother if necessary.

Suddenly she stopped.

-What's the matter? Tanjiro asked, worried.

-I feel the presence of demons a few steps ahead of us.

This was confirmed by the appearance of two demons. They had obviously sensed the siblings.

-Hey there! Go away! I saw it first!

- No, it was me!

The two monsters were fighting over the right to eat them.

Two demons at once... ! Will I be up to it? Tanjiro thought.

His sister put a hand on his brother's arm.

-Don't panic," the young girl ordered him in a low voice. When they attack, I'll take the one on the right and you the one on the left.

The young boy nodded, reassured.

Driven by hunger, the two man-eaters immediately attacked.

-May the fastest man win!

- It's been so long since we've eaten human flesh!

-Breath of water: third movement, breaking tide!

-Breath of the sun: first movement, waltz!

The demons' heads separate from their bodies and they disintegrate almost immediately.

-We've done it, we've beaten them!" exclaimed Miyuki, ecstatic, raising her arms in the air.

-Our training's paying off, we're stronger now!

Tanjiro turned back to where the bodies of their enemies had been.

Wow! When I cut off their heads with the katana given to me by Master Urokodaki, even their bones disappear!

The young boy and his sister began to pray.

Peace be to their souls, they thought in unison.

Suddenly the eldest of the siblings plugged his nose.

-Yuck! What's that putrid smell? he exclaimed.

Miyuki looked at him without understanding.

Then suddenly a blood-curdling scream rang out, making them jump:

-AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!

A young boy they had seen at the entrance to the final selection ran past them.

-They didn't tell me there'd be big deformed ones like that! he shouted.

The ground shook to the right of the siblings, who turned around in unison.

A huge demon covered in multiple hands. It was strangling a boy, who by the amount of blood pouring from his mouth was dead.

Suddenly, the monster stretched out one of its arms, which reached out without warning to grab the screaming boy.

And he succeeded - his leg had been caught between the demon's fingers.

Tanjiro braced himself.

Don't be afraid! You've got to help him. You MUST help him! Come on, Tanjiro! You're not weak like you were before, act!

-Breath of water: second movement, wheel of water!

The monster's arm holding the boy was cut off, causing him to fall to the ground.

The young Kamado stood in front of his colleague, protecting him.

As soon as he saw Tanjiro and Miyuki, the demon began to exult.

-Oh, what do I see? I see... Two of those little foxes I love so much!

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In the mist were some teenagers wearing fox masks. The first, a boy, was sitting on a huge cut rock.

The second, a girl, was standing by the rock. She was looking at the boy with concern.

-Sabito, do you think Tanjiro and Miyuki can get out of this alive?

-I don't know," replied the boy. Making an effort is all very well, but it's never enough. You know that as well as I do.

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-Little foxes, what year of the Meiji era is it?

Miyuki smirked:

-We're not in Meiji any more, we're in Taisho air.

The monster froze for a moment, then shouted:

-WHAT?!? Japan... So Japan has a new emperor?!

The three apprentice slayers looked at him in a mixture of fear and disgust.

-Japan has changed emperors again and I'm still stuck in this prison! One day you'll pay for this, Urokodaki! Curse you! Curse you Urokodaki !

-How do you know him? Miyuki asked curtly.

-He's the one who locked me up here 47 years ago! Back when he was still hunting, at the end of the Edo era! shouted the monster.

Tanjiro recoiled, the end of the Edo era?!?

-You're a liar! exclaimed the boy behind the two siblings. No demon could have survived that long on this mountain! There are only demons here who have devoured two or three people at most! Between those who get killed during the final selection and those who kill each other to eat each other!

-Well, yes, there's me," said the monster with the hands. In this prison of wisteria, I devoured 50 kids like you two.

50 ?! Miyuki thought, taken aback.

Suddenly Master Urokodaki's words came back to her.

-Remember this well. The power of demons is proportional to the number of humans they have devoured.

-You mean... The more they eat, the stronger they are," Tanjiro asked.

-That's right. Not only do they become stronger, but some of them metamorphose and acquire strange powers. With experience, one day you'll be able to tell by smell, Tanjiro, and by feel, Miyuki, how many of their victims there are.

In the meantime, the monster had continued to monologue, now reaching a key point.

-Twelve, thirteen, yes! Fourteen and fifteen! You'll be my fourteenth and my fifteenth.

-Your fourteenth what? Tanjiro asked, worried about the meaning, standing in front of Miyuki just in case.

-The fourteenth and fifteenth disciplines of Urokodaki that I'm going to eat. I've decided to exterminate every last one of you.

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Tanjiro and Miyuki's first real fight against a demon. Miyuki will soon be able to use her genius with a sword! I hope you're still enjoying the story 😊.

Bye!

Elaine 😘