Quiescent | Dororo X KnY

Training Interlude #2 - Urokodaki's Observations

Timeskip: 3 months (again)

...This is going to be a challenge…

Urokodaki could only sigh at the responsibility that was now resting on his shoulders; not only does he have to train the young girl, Kamado Nezuko, who desires to become a Demon Slayer for her brother, Kamado Tanjiro, but he also has to take care of said brother and investigate his demi-demon condition further as inquired by his previous student:

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Forgive my abruptness, Mr. Sakonji Urokodaki.

I am sending a girl your way who wants to become a Demon Slayer swordsman. She was brazen enough to attack me while unarmed.

Her family was slaughtered by a demon, with both the girl and her older brother surviving. While the girl did survive the attack with injuries, the brother was turned into a demon but I have determined that he will not attack humans.

I can sense something different about these two. Like you, the girl has a keen instinct towards her surroundings. Perhaps she will find a way to break through and become your heir apparent.

I ask you to train her. I realize that this is a self-serving request but forgive me.

Another inquiry I would like you to look into is the boy’s condition; the boy was turned into a demon but he does not attain prominent features that is of demons, yet not of humans either. When I first fought him, I found that he does not seem to sense anything related to touch and sight, yet he was able to pinpoint my location even without these senses.

Forgive me for this strange request but I sense that this boy could hold many answers to our questions about the nature of the demons.

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

Yours Truly, 

Giyu Tomioka.

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The challenge was not, in fact, taking care of Tanjiro; the latter was soft-spoken and ‘will always do his best to maintain his responsibilities’, as Nezuko put lightly.

Instead, he has encountered an issue when trying to attempt a diagnosis on the boy:

His inability to take in certain information.

Or, to be more precise, the demi-demon doesn't seem to attain the ability to take in the sounds that were normally too loud for normal humans, nevertheless a demon.

Kamado Tanjiro is not only blind to certain elements, but he was deaf as well.

So not only is Tanjiro blind and his pain receptors are practically dead, but his hearing has also been taken from him… this task is certainly going to cause a bit of difficulty…

Because how are they supposed to gather information on Tanjiro's condition if the latter himself cannot provide them with results?

He could only move around in the shade, and he could only glance at his surroundings with little to no interest or vigilance; definitely not befitting of a Slayer like his younger sister. Neither is he the bloodthirsty demon Urokodaki was used to back in his prime.

Urokodaki rubbed his temple underneath his mask; he thought that teaching other students the Water Breathing style was already a challenge… 

Considering what he just previously saw (perhaps even as far as the first day when the Kamado siblings came), Urokodaki thought it was time to sit down and actually take the time to enter his mid-life crisis; there’s always time for an existential/mid-life crisis when you have a young girl as a student with a demon older brother who wanted to know how to swing a demon slaying sword.

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The first few signs that there was something unnatural about Tanjiro’s behaviour was that he twitched even more than usual. Or, to be more accurate, Tanjiro looked ready to become reckless with his actions under the noses of Urokodaki and Nezuko.

From Urokodaki’s past endeavors with captive demons, he initially thought that Tanjiro was about to finally snap after being derived from human flesh for so long. 

But he had faith.

After all, Tanjiro is one of the few demons to regain full recognition of his actions and held himself back for the sake of his little sister, who knew it was absolutely stupid of her to even attempt to reason with her transformed older brother. 

But it worked, and clearly this was the work of a miracle between their tight bond as brother and sister.

So Urokodaki decided to observe the twitching demi-demon further, while he tasked Nezuko with a variety of other exercises to give her body necessary muscle memory for the rest of the Water forms.

He knew it was pointless to observe within Tanjiro’s ‘sight’ range. Though it was never spelt out to him, Urokodaki observed Tanjiro long enough to understand that he could very well ‘see’ things normal people (including him, a demon slayer) normally wouldn’t be able to see the first time.

Nezuko? Tanjiro was practically burning holes in her back everytime she went out to train.

Urokodaki himself? Even he had to admit that the stare from the demon was unsettling after a long uncomfortable silence.

Small critters like roaches? Urokodaki swore he saw the demon playing with some of them while crawling on all fours like a toddler would when said demon first laid eyes on them.

The sun? The vast amount of times the overly-curious demon almost always dips his toes into the sunlight was enough to make the normally tranquil and calm Urokodaki fear for his life for a while before forcefully pulling the demon back.

In conclusion, Tanjiro is still blind, but not blind enough to call it a complete handicap…

Maybe that’s why he’s also pushing himself.

Urokodaki thought to himself as he observed the demon under the shade, hiding just above him as to not make himself visible in Tanjiro’s ‘vision’.

To his surprise, Tanjiro was a natural in evasion and agility; being able to hop on one branch to the other while running is a feat when a lower ranked slayer does it, but a demon only transformed for half a year being able to do it in only a few tries?

Of course, Urokodaki had to commend Nezuko for being able to make it so far as she did when she literally throws herself into training her body to learn the Breath of water, but for Tanjiro to be determined enough to train himself when he has a lot of handicaps?

If what Tanjiro is doing was not dedication and effort, then Urokodaki couldn’t think of a better example for the words themselves.

As with all handicaps, however, Urokodaki noticed many holes in Tanjiro’s private training sessions when understanding what exactly he has to do with his body’s instincts:

With his inability to hear or sense anything coming towards him, Tanjiro is placing himself in a very vulnerable position to defend when he does go on the defensive against enemy offense.

He thought to himself, watching the demon train under the summer shade while ultimately underestimating the deeper instincts of the handi-capped demon.

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Quick Taisho Secret for Last Chapter (and this one too):

The only refreshment Tanjiro is trusted to make is tea. He could tell if it’s well made by the colour of the brewing tea with the green silhouette as a helpful indication. Urokodaki caught on quickly by the scent and, ever since, Tanjiro is improving the tea with a variety of leaves Urokodaki occasionally gives the blind demon.

Quick Notice:
- Something is absolutely wrong with my school's Wifi when it comes to Wattpad. This means I can't exactly update during weekdays so- I am so sorry to everyone who wanted to talk to me at a certain time, I won't be able to respond due to the Wifi which blocked me ;;;;