Solar Blade

Mt Sagiri

[Name] gazed at the man before them. A red mask covered his face, and it was hard to discern anything about him. Was this Sakonji Urokodaki? The same man that Tomioka wants them to find? He certainly didn't look all that impressive, but  that mask was unsettling.

“If I can't kill it with a dagger… how do I kill it?” Tanjiro asks, looking at the dagger in his hands.

“Don't ask me. Use your head,” the man speaks gruffly.

Tanjiro and [Name] thought for a while. It came to [Name] much quicker than it did Tanjiro. Once they figured it out, they looked to Tanjiro, seeing if he also knew how to kill it. That was when Tanjiro's eyes widened. So he’d also come to figure it out.

“If stabbing it is no good…” Tanjiro started.

[Name] suspended their answer by a few seconds before finishing Tanjiro's sentence, “...Then we’ll have to crush it's head.”

As soon as they finished their sentence, [Name] looked around the ground. They found a large rock by the tree. That could work. The Tengu masked man nodded as [Name] picked up the rock. The demon’s head squirmed around on the tree trunk, watching as [Name] held up the rock. Before the brought it down, the Tengu masked man stopped them.

“Give the rock to your brother. You’ve already showcased much strength,” he spoke.

Not giving much thought to it, they gave the rock to Tanjiro. How did the man know that they were siblings? Tanjiro took the rock, and saw how big it was. As [Name] let go of it, the rock seemed much heavier, and his arms sagged. Why was this rock so heavy? [Name] looked as if they were only holding up another needle.

Tanjiro hesitantly lifted the rock up. Could he do it? Would he do it? His fingers trembled as he held the large rock. The demon was trying to escape the hatchet’s clutch. His eyes trembled. He couldn't, could he? It felt a wrong to him. He didn't understand how [Name] could torture it mercilessly.

As Tanjiro lifted the rock, [Name] saw the sun rising. As soon as the sunlight hit the demon, it began to shrivel, reducing to ash. The demon screamed and squirmed in agony as it soon ceased to exist. The sun had beat Tanjiro to it.

“That's all it takes to kill a demon? Just a sliver of sunlight?” Tanjiro thinks as he drops the rock.

Suddenly, Nezuko comes to his mind. She was a demon too, wasn't she? The sun was going to kill her! He turned around, looking frantically for her. [Name] noticed too, and ran back in the direction of the temple. They opened the door, and found Nezuko sitting safely in her basket, holding [Name] bag of sewing materials.

Tanjiro joined [Name], seeing that Nezuko was safe. Thank goodness. The thought of that man returned to him. [Name] and Tanjiro went around to the side of the temple, where they found the man squatting by a group of graves. He had buried the dead bodies. He then stands up.

“My name is Sakonji Urokodaki,” he says.

“I assume you two are the ones that Tomioka sent my way?” he continued.

“Tomioka?” Tanjiro asks, looking at [Name].

They had mentioned the name earlier as well. But he never actually found it who ‘Tomioka’ was.

“The man who stabbed Nezuko and knocked you out,” [Name] explained bluntly.

“Oh… him,” Tanjiro spoke.

“Yes. That's us. This is Tanjiro Kamado. I’m [Name] Kamado, his younger sibling. And the demon is Ne-” [Name] starts, before being cut off by Urokodaki.

“[Name], Tanjiro, what will you two do in the event that Nezuko devours someone?” Urokodaki questions.

[Name] and Tanjiro looked at each other. They never really thought about it. It was hard to imagine Nezuko eating a human. As far as they knew, neither of them would ever let Nezuko have a taste of human flesh.

“You first kill Nezuko. Then Tanjiro must decapitate [Name] before committing seppuku; the slitting of one's own stomach. Is this understood?” Urokodaki spat.

“Why must I kill [Name]? Why can't we both just commit seppuku?” Tanjiro asks.

“Because you are the oldest sibling. It is you who must harbour the guilt for Nezuko's unforgivable sin,” Urokodaki answers coldly.

[Name] shivered. The thought of dying always scared them. Their father died of illness, and their mother, three of their brothers and one of their sisters had died brutally. The thought of joining them was pleasant, but it scared them. But the fact that Tanjiro would be the one to kill them was heartbreaking.

“That is the result of travelling with a demon…” Urokodaki finishes.

“Now, Tomioka sent you two to me to test whether or not you are capable of joining the Demon Slayer Corps. I will test your abilities and push you harder than you have ever worked,” Urokodaki speaks.

The Demon Slayer Corps? What was that? The name seemed very self-explanatory, but [Name] had never come to hear of it. Tomioka seemed intent on killing Nezuko when he first saw her. Was he a member of this mysterious organisation? Probably.

“Collect your sister and follow me,” Urokodaki speaks.

𐙚˙⋆.˚

The three of them were running across a long dirt path. This old man was much quicker than he made himself out to be. [Name] was running a few metres ahead of Tanjiro, Nezuko's basket on their back. Why was he so fast? They had been running for about an hour now.

Urokodaki didn't make a sound as he ran, while Tanjiro was puffing and [Name] was trying to imitate Urokodaki’s silent, breathless act. They wondered how Nezuko was doing inside the basket. Probably being thrown around like a ragdoll.

Not long after, all of them reached a small house in the distance. Urokodaki opened the sliding door, letting [Name] and Tanjiro inside. Even though they were on the verge of collapsing, they found the strength to remove their shoes and bow towards Urokodaki. What would training for the Demon Slayer Corps feel like? How long would it go for.

[Name] placed Nezuko's basket inside, keeping it out of the sun’s rays. “So… have we passed?” [Name] asked.

“Not at all. Your test starts very soon,” Urokodaki speaks.

With this, Tanjiro and [Name] dropped their jaws. It hadn't even started yet?! They both felt as if they had run a marathon, and they desperately needed water.

“I will tell you what the test is. But first, you must follow me up Mt Sagiri,” he answers.

So they hadn't even reached Mt Sagiri?! Where had they been wandering around then? Urokodaki reassured them that Nezuko would be safe in his house. Hopefully that was true, because they all set out shortly after.

Urokodaki lead them though the trees of Nt Sagiri as they ascended the mountain. The air was much thinner, probably because Mt Sagiri was much taller than the mountain they had lived on. By the time they reached the top of the mountain, [Name] almost collapsed into Tanjiro's arms.

They looked at Urokodaki, their vision blurry. Had they done it? Had they passed the test? Were they worthy of joining the Demon Slayer Corps? The sun was already beginning to set, showing the two of them how long they must've taken to get to the mountain's peak. It was misty, so it was hard to discern the surroundings.

“Are we done?” Tanjiro asked.

“Nowhere close. Your task is to return to the house, alive. But this time, I won't wait until sunrise,” Urokodaki responded sharply.

Only a second later, he disappeared, leaving the two at the top of the mountain…

A/N

Damn, now that I'm rewatching the episodes to write this, I'm only realising how dang cool Urokodaki was. Bro's like 'kid, climb down a mountain,' and 'bro, kill yo sis then yoself'. Also, the part where he's like “You first kill Nezuko. Then Tanjiro must decapitate [Name] before committing seppuku; the slitting of one's own stomach", I was like DANG imagine if KNY was this dark. I'm glad that none of Tanjiro's other siblings survived... wait not in that way!-

Taisho Era Secret: When [Name] was born, their left eye wasn't functional, but a strange doctor came and patched it up like it was nothing...