"Excuse me." Tanjiro gets the attention of a farmer and his wife. He points over to a basket. "Would it be okay if I took that basket, straw and some bamboo?"

"Sure, you're welcome to it, and that basket's full of holes." The man says. 

"And of course I'll pay for them."

The man waves his hand. "No, that's all right. I mean, it's a basket with holes."

"Please, I insist!"

"No, it's all right. You can have the bamboo and straw for free, too."

Tanjiro reaches into his shirt. "But I'm still paying you!"

"I said it's okay! You're one stubborn kid!"

Tanjiro grabs the man's hand and roughly slaps some coins into his palm. "Please accept this, although it's just small change!" He grabs the items and runs off before the farmer can complain. "Thank you very much!"

The man screams in pain from how rough Tanjiro slapped his palm.

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Tanjiro sits outside a small cave, with the items beside him on the ground.

"Nezuko? Sakura?" Tanjiro calls out, he looks closer in the cave. "Huh? Girls?" The cave is empty. "They're gone!"

Suddenly Nezuko's head pops out from a hole in the ground, then another pair of pink eyes peers over the hole. Tanjiro sighs in relief and he rubs the Sakura petal hairpin that's still in his hair. 

CHAPTER 2:
TRAINER SAKONJI UROKODAKI

"Sakura, Nezuko..." Tanjiro calls out to them. 'They dug a hole. My kid sisters' turned into moles.'

Both the girls look outside the cave with worry on their face. A frown is on Nezuko's face.

'And she's frowning! They must really want to avoid the sunlight.' Tanjiro stands up. "Wait there for a second!" 

Tanjiro starts to repair the basket.

Nezuko wraps her arms around Sukura and puts her chin on top of her sister's head.

"Hmph." Nezuko makes noise.

Sakura looks up to her sister. "Hmph!"

Nezuko closes her eyes and hugs her sister tightly. "Hmmm."

Sakura closes her eyes and leans back into Nezuko. "Mhmmm."

A little while later.

Tanjiro enters the cave with the repaired basket and he crawls over to the hole. "Nezuko? Sakura?" Both the girls open their pink eyes and look up at their brother. "Think you two can fit inside this? I want to keep moving during the day, too. I'll carry you, okay?" Both the girls groan and Tanjiro points to the basket. "Can you fit? In here? Basket?"

Nezuko helps Sakura out of the hole and the demon girl sits on the ground as Nezuko gets out of the hole and crawls head first into the basket, but she's too big for it. Sakura crawls onto Nezuko's back and lays down with her head inside the basket.

"You're too big, huh?" Tanjiro smiles. 'They've both grown so much. Seems like yesterday she was a little girl. Well, Sakura is still a little girl.' Then Tanjiro gets an idea. "Nezuko? Sakura? Remember how you both became big like an adult the other day? Do you think you can do the opposite? Get smaller?" Tenjiro pats them on the back. "Small, girls. Get smaller!"

Nezuko flips up and into the basket, bringing Sakura with her. Tanjiro yells out in shock. Nezuko's head pops out of the basket and Sakura's does as well, They've both gotten smaller, with Sakura sitting on Nezuko's lap.

"Nice job."  Tanjiro pats the two demons on the head and they close their eyes. "Good girls, Nezuko, Sakura! I'm impressed!"

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"Mount Sagiri?" A woman asks.

Tanjiro's stop at the side of a road and he's talking to a woman as he son runs around Tanjiro a couple times.

"If you want to go to Mount Sagiri, you'll have to cross over that mountain, but... The sun's about to set. Are you really heading there with all that luggage? It's dangerous, you know."

"I'll be careful." Tanjiro says to the mother and he bows. "Thank you very much." He walks off.

"People have gone missing lately!" The woman yells out to Tanjiro. "Try not to lose your way!" Tanjiro waves to her.

Later that night

Nezuko and Sakura are out of the baskets and walking beside him. Nezuko is holding his hand while Sakura stands beside Nezuko, holding her hand.

Tanjiro gasps as he spots a temple, with a light inside.

"There's a temple over there." Tanjiro looks to his sisters. "There's light leaking through, so someone must be there. Let's check it out." His eyes widen as he gasps. "I smell blood! The mountain path is pretty rough! Someone must've gotten hurt!" He drags his sister up the steps and they run towards the temple.

Tanjiro slides the doors open quickly. "Are you all right?" he gasps and the basket falls off his back.

Inside the temple are multiple bloody bodies with a demon kneeling over them, eating.

"What the hell?" The demon questions. "This is my turf. If you break into my territory, I'll make you pay!"

'It's a man-eating demon!' Tanjiro shouts in his head.

Nezuko and Sakura stare at the bloody bodies as drool starts to drip from their mouths.

"Huh?" The demon slurps some blood from his fingers. "There's something off about two of you. Are all of you humans?" The demon stands up and turns to them, causing Tanjiro to gasp and take a step back.

The candle goes out and Tanjiro's tackled out of the temple by the demon and they go flying. Tanjiro manages to take his hatchet out and slices the demons neck.

Tanjiro lands on the ground and the demon flips back and lands on his feet.

The demon laughs and brings a hand up to his bleeding neck. "A hatchet, huh? Not bad. But a scratch like this... should heal in no time." The wound heals with a squelch and the bleeding stops. "See that? The bleeding's stopped already." Tanjiro gasps in shock.

Nezuko pants a few times as she stares at the human bodies. Her eyes are shaking. Sakura groans a few times as she shakily reaches a hand out and takes a step forward, veins bulging on her hand.

With Tanjiro he grunts and suddenly the demon vanishes and it's suddenly on top of him, with a hand around his neck and the other holding the hand with the hatch. 

'He's so fast!' Tanjiro says in thought. 'And he's unbelievably strong!'

"You won't get me twice!" The demon says as he strangle Tanjiro. "All right! I'm gonna snap your neck!"

Sakura's leg shakily lifts up and slowly moves forward. She grunts and drools more.

Nezuko hasn't moved an inch since she's got to the door. But then Tanjiro yelps and her pupil go slit. 

And she runs towards Tanjiro and kicks the demons head off.

The demon's head goes flying and it slams into a tree, then lands on the ground with a thud. Tanjiro gasps and looks back to the body and he pushes it off with him with a wail.

Nezuko pants a few times as she just stares off in front of her.

'Sh-She killed him!' Tanjiro shouts in his head. 'Wait, where's Sakura?!' 

Tanjiro looks back to the temple, only to see the demon's body reaching towards him. Nezuko kicks the demons body away and it slams into a tree and lands on the ground with a thud.

'I don't believe this!' Tanjiro says in thought as he looks to the body with a scared look on his face. 'Did he just move without his head?

"You bastard!" The demon yells and Tanjiro looks to the head.

"One of you is a demon after all?" The demon asks. "Does that mean the other girl is also a demon? What's a human and a couple of demons doing teaming up?'

'He's actually talking!'

Suddenly the demon's body jumps up into the air and axe kicks the ground in front of Nezuko, sending a bunch of dirt into the air. The demon's body begins to punch Nezuko as she tries to back away.

Tanjiro picks up his axe. "Stop it!" He yells and runs towards the demon's beheaded body, only for the head to have grown arms and sue them to run towards him.

The demon's head jumps towards Tanjiro and he swigs his hatchet at the demon, for him to catch the blade with his mouth, and he grabs Tanjiro's shoulders.

With Sakura. Veins are bulging and twitching on her head and arms as she slowly takes another step towards the bodies. Her eyes shake as pools of drool drip from her chin. She's only a couple meters from the bodies.

Sakura's right hands shakily turns her hand and aims her sharp tails towards her stomach.

Back with Tanjiro and Nezuko.

The demon's body picks up Nezuko and throws her deep into the forest, and it follows after her.

"Nezuko!" Tanjiro shouts and the demon's hair starts to wrap around the handle of the hatchet. "Sakura!" He looks towards the temple. "Sakura! Snap out of it!"

Sakura's takes another step towards the bodies as she lets out a loud growl. "Sakura!" Her brother's voice rings out. "Snap out of it!" Sakura stabs her sharp nails into her stomach and she shakes her heard.

Her pupils go slit as she jumps out of the temple and runs towards Tanjiro. Tanjiro yells and headbutts the demon, making it loosen his grip against his shoulders.

Sakura reaches Tanjiro and she grabs the hatchet and throws it off to the side and it lodges itself and the demon into a tree.

"Sakura!" Tanjiro says in relief. "AH! You're bleeding. Are you okay?" Sakura just blinks at him. "Okay, then! We gotta save Nezuko!" He points to where Nezuko and the demon's body went off. 

Sakura looks in the directions Tanjiro pointed and she runs off. 

"Don't run off without me!" Tanjiro shouts as he chases after Sakura.

Sakura runs through the forest and she looks around as she does. Her pink eyes frantically looking around. Then she feels a joint to her left and she slides to a stop and takes off in that direction. 

"Sakura!" Tanjiro is not to far behind Sakura and he slides to a stop and follows her.

Sakura comes out of a tree line, with a cliff just past it. And past the tree line is the demon's body kicking Nezuko.

Vein's bulge on Sakura's head as she growls and tackles the demon off of Nezuko; sending her and the body off the side of the cliff.

"Sakura!" Tanjiro shouts in worry.

Sakura growls as she looks down at the demon's body, but stops as Nezuko reaches out and grabs the back of her kimono. The body falls to the rocky river below and slams neck first into the ground.

Nezuko pulls up Sakura and sets her on the ground as Tanjiro runs up and hugs the two. "Oh, I'm glad you're both okay." The two girls hug him back.

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Tanjiro, Nezuko and Sakura stand in front of the demon head, which he's knocked out. Tanjiro pulls a knife out from a bamboo sheath. 

Sakura and Nezuko just stare out in front of them, with blank looks on their faces. Both are holding hands and Sakura's self inflicted wound is healed.

'I wonder if there are a ton of demons out there.' Tanjiro questions in thought as he takes deep breaths. 'This isn't the scent that was lingering in my house. That was a different demon... But... I gotta finish him off... or he'll attack more people! So... I gotta do it!' Tanjiro doesn't move and just keeps panting. 'Do it!' A hand is placed on his shoulder, causing him to gasp.

"You can't finish him off with that." The old man in the tengu mask says.

'A tengu masks! I didn't hear his footsteps!' Tanjiro turns around. "H-How can I finish him off?"

"Don't ask others! Can't you use your own head to figure that out?"

Tanjiro gasps then looks down. 'If stabbing's no good, I'll have to crush is head!' Tanjiro looks over to some nearby rocks.

Tanjiro puts his knife away and goes to a rock at the base of a tree and picks it up, then heads back over to the demon head. He takes a step towards the demon head.

'To crush his skull and smash it completely, I guess I'm going to have to pound him with this rock many times. I bet he's going to suffer. Isn't there anything I can use to kill him with one blow?'

The demon grunts as it wakes up and looks around. Then it spots Tanjiro and he swipes his claws towards him. "You bastard, I'll kill you! I swear I'll devour you! Get over here! Dammit!" The demon keeps yelling at Tanjiro.

With the two Demon girls.

The old man puts hand on their shoulders and they look to him. "Follow me." The old man walks towards the temple and the two girls follow him.

The old man stands at the doorway and motions them to go inside. The demons go inside and notice there are no more bodies. "Stay." The old man then walks off as the sun starts to come over the horizon.

Nezuko walks over to the basket and Sakura follows her. Both Sakura and Nezuko go chibi and they get into the basket, with Sakura sitting on Nezuko's lap.

"Hmph?" Sakura makes a sound.

"Mmmp." Nezuko answers Sakura's sound.

"Mmmm." Sakura hugs Nezuko and Nezuko hugs back.

A couple of minutes later Tanjiro appears in the doorway. "Nezuko... Sakura..." He remembers the old man. "O-Oh, that's right. Where's the man?"

Tanjiro walks around the side of the temple, and sees the old man kneeling and praying in front of some freshly dug graves. 'He buried the people who got killed.' He takes a couple steps towards the old man. "Um..."

The old man stands up. "I'm Sakonji Urokodaki. I'm assuming you're the one Giyu Tomioka sent my way."

"Yes! My name is Tanjiro Kamado! My sisters' names are Nezuko and Sakura, and..."

"Tanjiro." Urokodaki turns around. "What will you do when either of your sisters devours a human?" Tanjiro's eyes widen and he gasps.  Urokodaki walks over to Tanjiro and slaps him across the face. Tanjiro brings a hand up to where he was slapped.

"Too slow!"Urokodaki yells. "You're just too slow at making decisions! You failed to finish off that demon before daybreak! Do you know why you couldn't answer my questions right away? It's because your resolve is too weak! There are two things to do if your sisters devour a human. Kill both your sisters! And slit your own belly and die! That's what it means to travel with your sister who's become a demon! But that must never happen no matter what. And you'd best not forget. Your sisters, taking the life of an innocent person... That's the one thing that must never happen. Ever!" He turns away. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes!" Tanjiro shouts as he straightens up.

"Then, I'm going to test you... to see if you're fit to become a member of the Demon Slayer Corps." He looks to Tanjiro. "Carry your sisters on your back and follow me!"

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Urokodaki is running down a road with Tanjiro slightly struggling to keep up as he lets out a series of pants. 

'He's so fast!' Tanjiro says in thought. 'Just how old is he anyway? And, like earlier, I'm not hearing any footsteps at all! Nezuko, Sakura,  I know this must be jarring, but hang on! Well, enduring is all that you've both ever known.'

A memory plays through Tanjiro's head about Nezuko, then one plays about Sakura.

Flashback.

Sakura is holding a large pouch.

"What do you have in there?" Tanjiro asks.

"My savings!" Sakura says with a smile. "I've been doing a bunch of small jobs around the village and I've been saving up. Since Mother's birthday is around the corner, I want her to have a feast." Her stomach growls. "I also may have been skipping out on eating so we can save a little more money."

"Sakura, you need to eat. If you don't you won't go up big and strong."

"I know, but nothing's gonna stop me from growing up strong like you, Onii-chan!"

Back to Reality.

'I swear I'll turn you both back into humans! I sweat I'll buy you a beautiful kimono, Nezuko! And I'll treat you to a large feast, Sakura! Everything that I couldn't do for the others... I'll do it all for you two!'

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Tanjiro is on his knees panting, out side of Urokodaki's home.

"N-Now, have I..." Tanjiro pants. "Passed the test?"

Urokodaki doesn't say anything as he opens the door to his home, then he takes off his hood. "The test starts now. We're going to climb the mountain."

Tanjiro screams.

A few minutes later.

Tanjiro puts a couple of pillows under both his sister's sleeping heads.

"I'll make sure to take care of your sisters for you." Urokodaki says.

"Thank you." Tanjiro stands up and the two leave.

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Few hours later.

Sakura, still chibi, lets out a grunt as she wakes up and rubs her eyes. Sakura looks around and spots Nezuko.

"Mmmm." Sakura pokes Nezuko in the cheek, but she doesn't respond. "Mmmm?" Sakura pokes her in the cheek again and nothing happens. 

Sakura then just flops back onto the floor and stares up to the ceiling. After a few seconds she rolls onto her side and stares at the wall. Then after a couple of seconds she lays on her stomach and looks at another wall.

"MMM!!!" Sakura lets out an annoyed growl and she rolls around on the floor till she hits head head against the wall, and she stops. "mmmm." A bump appears on her head and she taps on her hanafunda earring a couple times.

Sakura grows back to her regular size and closes her eyes, but then she opens them back up as the door opens.

Urokodaki walks into the house and he spots Sakura laying against a wall. "You're awake." She just stares at him and he walks over to a cabinet and opens it. "I've sent your brother up the mountain, to make a long trek back." He pulls out a few blankets and a couple of pillows.

Urokodaki makes a bed next to Nezuko and he picks her up and sets her under it. Then he makes another bed beside it. During the whole thing Sakura just stares at him, unmoving.

Urokodaki then taps the empty bed. "Lay here, it's comfortable."

Sakura flops onto her stomach and crawls over to the bed and lays down. Urokodaki then puts a blanket over her. "For some reason, you remind me of my Daughter and Granddaughter." He sighs and looks towards the ceiling. 

Sakura closes her eyes.

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Urokodaki is sitting by a fight and Sakura opens her eyes and sits up as she looks to the door. Urokodaki notices and turns to the door.

The door opens up to reveal a battered Tanjiro.

"I... have... returned." Tanjiro collapses and Sakura stands up and goes over to her brother. "Sakura." Sakura picks her brother up, very easily, and holds him above her head. "Huh?" 

 Sakura walks over to Urokodaki and lays Tanjiro next to him, then she walks over to her bed and lays down, and falls back to sleep.

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01-13-2023

3401 words