Solar Blade

Checkmate

[Name] is quite the strange child, were they not? They don't care for themselves in the most dire situations, but they can also prove to be very apathetic towards others. He didn't know if they were selfless or self-protective. Urokodaki sits on the floor, observing [Name]'s bag of needles and threads. Tanjiro told him that [Name] was a sewist, and was deft with a needle.

He found it quite impressive, how easily [Name] could pick up things. He picked up a particular needle. It was stained and gave off a familiar, subtle scent. Tomioka's blood. This was the needle that they had used to cut Tomioka's hand, before cutting their own palms open on his blade. Tanjiro or Nezuko hadn't been able to land a hit on Tomioka, but [Name] did.

Earlier, Tomioka had sent Urokodaki a letter. It reached him by Kasugai Crow, birds used by the Demon Slayer Corps to deliver messages and assignments. The letter read;

Forgive my abruptness, Mr. Sakonji Urokodaki.

I'm sending two children your way who want to become Demon Slayer swordsmen. One of them was brazen enough to attack me unarmed, the other managing to harm me.

They are siblings and their family was slaughtered by a demon, and the surviving younger sister has become one, but I have determined that she will not attack humans. I can sense something different about these two. Like yourself, one of them seems to have a keen sense of smell. The other reminds me of one of the Hashira.

I am asking you to train them. Perhaps they'll find a way to break through and become your heir apparent. I realize that this is a self-serving request, but please forgive me.

I hope that you will take good care of yourself in your endeavours.

Yours truly, Giyuu Tomioka,

He could tell which one of them was able to harm Tomioka. Looking at [Name], they just looked like an innocent face, someone who would only know the basics of life. But when they were investigated further, one could find something that could shock someone terribly. He knew exactly what Hashira reminded Tomioka of [Name]. Sudden, deadly bursts of aggression when fighting. These two siblings had the opposite skills to another.

Tanjiro was smart and strategic, yet his attacks were compassionate and soft. [Name] was more on the impulsive, merciless side, and needed battle strategies. It would be challenging to train these two.

He sighed as he saw the sun beginning to set. These three siblings had slept until the evening. Of course they did, they were tired and lonely. He walked over to the shoji door, before sliding it open. Inside, he found Tanjiro sleeping on the futon and Nezuko asleep next to him.

But where was [Name]'s futon? Wasn't it next to Tanjiro's like he had put it?

He found [Name]'s futon pushed to the corner of the room, much further from Tanjiro. And on the futon, they found [Name] sitting upright, holding something. He perked his head up as he saw a blade in their hands. The same blade that they were going to use to stab that demon earlier. Urokodaki walked over to [Name], sitting down

"Oh, sir! I'm sorry, I didn't notice y-" [Name] stammered, hiding the blade.

"No need to apologise, child," Urokodaki answered.

[Name]'s eyes widened. He was being... genuine. But why? Was this just an attempt to get [Name]'s trust? After all, they were feeling pretty vulnerable, and comfort was all they needed. There were definitely those who would take advantage of that.

"Sir, when does training start?" [Name] asked.

"How about we start yours now? Tanjiro and you need to undergo different kinds of training. You need to work on battle strategies, while Tanjiro must develop his strength. Would you like to guess what your training may look like?" Urokodaki asked.

"Um, fight a demon?" [Name] asked.

"No, no. You've shown me that you can take on a lower-ranked demon," he answered.

"Then... I don't know what my training will be," [Name] concluded.

"You... will start with a game of chess."

𐙚˙⋆.˚

Tanjiro woke to a strange sight. He saw [Name] sitting by a small table, their face scrunched up tightly. But their fists were clenched even tighter. He blinked his eyes to unblur his vision. As he stood up, [Name] didn't even turn their head to acknowledge him. What was happening? As he looked at the table, he noticed a very familiar checkered surface and different blocks placed upon it.

"Checkmate, again," Urokodaki grunted as [Name] moaned.

"How?! It's impossible!" [Name] complained as Urokodaki set up the pieces again.

"No food until you win at least one game," Urokodaki spoke.

He had said that for the last 42 games. [Name] nodded, before taking a good look at the pieces. Urokodaki placed his hand on Pawn G2, before moving it forward once. [Name] responded by moving their Pawn E7 to E6. [Name] had a plan, and they didn't know if Urokodaki knew what it was. Urokodaki grasped Pawn F2 and moved it forward again. [Name] held back a smile as they saw a path was opened for their queen. [Name]'s eyes lit up as they made their final move. They grasped their queen and moved it to 4H. They smirked as Urokodaki's body froze, his mask facing towards [Name]'s queen.

"Checkmate..."

A/N

Hello! I felt a little weird today, so I just decided to have a pretty chill chapter If it was boring, I'll amp it up for Tanjiro's training! Also, chess is one of my favourite hobbies and I thought that having [Name] do it made them more relatable for some people. But even if you aren't good at chess, remember that [Name] lost 42 times earlier. If I were [Name], I wouldn't have lost so often. Also, I posted today's two chapters in quite a long period because, for chapter whatever-was-before-this, I wrote it while I was on an excursion! I hope you liked this chapter. Btw, this was basically what [Name]'s win looked like.

Taisho Era Secret: When [Name] was younger, they were amazing at strategy games. However, in the village, they always got teased for their intelligence. After that, they forgot all of their skills.