Late at night Tanjiro is sitting at a table, writing with a single candle next to him. Then he looks to his left and looks at his two sleeping sisters.

Tanjiro then closes the book he's writing in, it's a journal and he blows the candle out. Then he grabs his checkered haori and opens the door and walks out of the room, but he glances back at his sisters.

"Let's go." Urokodaki says from behind Tanjiro.

Tanjiro shuts the door.

CHAPTER 3:
TRAINING

It's a cloudy morning and Sakura exits the shack. Her pink eyes look around and she spots Urokodaki and Tanjiro standing near the entrance to the forest.

Sakura takes a few steps towards them and just stands there, staring at the two.

"I am a trainer." Urokodaki assures Tanjiro. "I literally train swordsmen and each of them trains their pupils with their own regimen at their location. To join the Demon Slayer Corps, you must survive the Final Selection at Mount Fujikasane. I will decide whether or not you're eligible for Final Selection."

The two then walk into the forest and up the mountain. Sakura just watches them walk off before she just plops herself onto the ground and stares into the forest.

"Starting today, I'm going to keep a journal for Nezuko and Sakura." Tanjiro narrates. "I'm descending the mountain again today. I'm going to train my hardest, so I won't die during Final Selection. After repeatedly descending the mountain, day after day, I'm starting to learn how to avoid most of the traps. It's because I'm much stronger now, and because I'm even more adept at detecting scents than before. Even so... the traps are getting more and more difficult. As if he'[s actually trying to kill me."

After many hours the sun's starting to set and Sakura has a blanket covering her, with her eyes peering out from a small hole and she sees Tanjiro and Urokodaki come out of the forest, with Tanjiro looking exhausted and a little battered. 

Sakura stands up and runs over to Tanjiro and he smiles as he sees his sister run towards him. Sakura stops right in front of him and he puts his hand on top of her head.

"Have you been waiting all day for me again?" Tanjiro asks and Sakura just stares up at him.

Later that night Tanjiro is writing in his journal again as his two sisters sleep. He looks back to Nezuko and Sakura.

The next day Sakura is sitting on the ground again, with a blanket over her since the sun's out.

"I made my descent today, sword in hand, but the sword really hampered my movement. With the sword, I can't stop getting ensnared in all the traps!"

Then a couple days later, later in the evening.

Tanjiro is swinging his sword up and down while counting. Sakura is sitting in the shade of a tree with a blanket covering her body, except her head, and she stares at Tanjiro.

"991!" Tanjiro yells and he swings again. 

"I swung the sword today. Well, it's not just today. I've been swinging the sword every single day. After descending the mountain, I swing my sword until my arms nearly fall off."

"1,000!" Tanjiro yells with the last swing. 

Urokodaki slides in behind him. "500 more!"

Tanjiro gasps in shock.

Sakura looks at the blade and tilts her head.

Later that night.

Nezuko is still sleeping and Sakura is sleeping beside her. Tanjiro is nodding off as he's writing in his journal. Then after a minute Tanjiro falls asleep and Sakura groans and she slowly opens her eyes.

She stares up at the ceiling for a few minutes before she sits up and looks at Tanjiro. She goes over to him and picks him up and brings him over to his bed, and lays him down.

Sakura pulls a blanket over her older brother then goes over to the candle and puts it out by pinching the flame. She then looks toward the door and spots Tanjiro's sword, resting on the door-frame.

Sakura walks over to the sword and looks at it for a minute before reaching her hand out and grabbing the scabbard and she picks up the sword. Sakura then silently opens the door to the room and exits the room. Then she walks to the exit of the house and silently opens the door and heads outside, not noticing Urokodaki silently watching her from the shadows.

Sakura walks into a little open area behind the small house and she takes the sword out of its scabbard. And she holds it out in front of her, like her brother did.

She brings the sword up and then brings it down and lets out a muffled noise. Then she brings the sword up and then swings it down, letting out another muffled noise. She continues to repeat this.

Urokodaki is watching from the side of the house. "Hmmm."

The next day.

Urokodaki and Tanjiro are outside, with Sakura hiding in the shadows of a tree with a blanket.

"Swords break easily." Urokodaki states.

"That's what he told me first. Though it's strong vertically, it's weak horizontally, so... you need to apply the force straight along the blade."

Urokodaki slices the bamboo with a clean vertical slice. 

Sakura watches intently.

"The blade's direction and the direction in which you apply the force must be exactly the same. And he added, 'If you ever damage the blade, in other words, break it, I'll snap your bones, as well,' in a threatening tone of voice."

It's late at night and Sakura is out swinging Tanjiro's sword again, with Urokodaki watching from the shadows.

The next day Tanjiro is standing across from Urokodaki, with a sword in his hand. Suddenly Tanjiro's world gets flipped upside down as Urokodaki flips Tanjiro onto his back.

Sakura is in the shadow of a tree, with her blanket covering her head this time.

"Today, I did nothing but fall. Training to break my fall and get up quickly from any position." Tanjiro gets back up and charges towards Urokodaki, with his sword held high. "I wield my sword, and I charge at Urokodaki, really trying to kill him. In contrast, Urokodaki is bare-handed and unarmed."

Urokodaki jumps forward and grabs Tanjiro's kimono and throws him back behind him.

"But he's ridiculously powerful. He flings me away to roll on the ground every time."

A couple days later.

Tanjiro enters his room and walks over to his sleeping sisters. "I'm home, Nezuko, Sakura." He walks over to his little desk and starts writing in his journal.

The next day.

"Today, I learned breathing techniques and some forms."

Sakura is not with them today, as she's still sleeping.

"Total Concentration Breathing?" Tanjiro questions.

"That's right." Urokodaki says. "And I'm going to teach you all ten of the Water Breathing forms. Remember to take a long breath, so the oxygen flows into every cell in your body. This will enhance your body's natural healing power, and both stabilize and energize your spirit. Relax your upper body... while bracing your lower half." Tanjiro does just that. "All right, breathe!"

Tanjiro inhales sharply, then exhales sharply. Urokodaki then punches Tanjiro in the stomach.

"Wrong!" Urokodaki states as Tanjiro holds his stomach and moans in pain. "Next! Forms!"

"Right!" Tanjiro yells. "Like this?" He does a pose.

"Wrong!" Urokodaki yells.

"Like this?"

"Wrong!"

"Like this?"

"Wrong!"

"This?"

"Wrong!" Urokodaki then slaps Tanjiro in the stomach multiple times.

"I get yelled at for not bracing my stomach... and clobbered to a pulp."

Then Taniro, Urokodaki and Sakura, with a blanket covering her, are on a cliff that overlooks a waterfall that leads into a river.

"Next, he told me to become one with water."

"Get in there!" Urokodaki orders and he kicks Tanjiro off the cliff.

Tanjiro screams as he falls down towards the water. "Sakura! Nezuko!" Splash.

Sakura turns to Urokodaki with a deadpan look. Urokodaki just looks over the edge and sees Tanjiro get carried away with the current.

Later that day.

Tanjiro is at the bottom of the water fall.

"Sakura!" Tanjiro screams. "I am water!" The force of the water coming down pushes him into the water and his gurgling screams are heard.

Later that night.

Tanjiro is writing in his journal as his two sisters sleep.

"It's been nearly a month since I've started training, Nezuko, Sakura. My dear sister, Sakura, a couple weeks ago was your birthday. We would usually wake up early and watch the sunrise together, but we can't now. I'm sad you weren't awake to celebrate it, but I'm just happy that you're with me."

Tanjiro looks back to his sisters before he closes her journal and goes to bed.

The next night.

It's near midnight and everyone is asleep, except our dear little demon, Sakura. 

Sakura is outside, laying on the grass with a hand on her stomach. She grunts a few times as her stomach growls. She growls as she grips some grass out of the ground and unties her muzzle and shoves the grass into her mouth and chews it.

Then she swallows and grabs more grass and shoves it into her mouth and swallows. She blinks a few times and looks down at the grass and tilts her head. 

A lady bug flies past Sakura and her eyes snap to it. The bug lands on a leaf of a nearby branch and a small hand grabs it. Sakura shoves the beetle into her mouth and chews on it. 

Sakura then rips some leaves off the bush and shoves them into her mouth and chews on them.

A small thud is heard a few meters from Sakura and her head snaps to the sound and she sees a white rabbit hopping out of the forest. The rabbit hops to a bush and nibbles on the leaves.

Sakura stands up and stares at the rabbit with hunger in her eyes. Her pupils go slit as some drool falls from her mouth. 

The rabbit stops eating and looks at her. Then suddenly its head falls to the ground as Sakura appears in front of the rabbit and starts to eat away at the corpse. 

"Sakura?" Urokodaki's voice is heard from behind her and her eyes go beady, she freezes like a deer caught in headlights.

Sakura drops what's left of the rabbit onto the ground, and she turns to Urokodaki with blood dripping down her mouth.

"What are you doing?" Urokodaki asks and Sakura stares out him. "Is this your way of regaining energy?"

Sakura just blinks and tilts her head to the side. She just stares at him with an innocent look, still with blood dripping from her face. "A." She says.

"Hmmm." Urokodaki throws a sword in front of her. "Pick it up." Sakura just stares at him. "I've seen you this past week imitating what Tanjiro does, so I'm gonna actually train you." 'Who knows, maybe she'll turn into a great swords-woman. A demon becoming a Demon Slayer

Sakura grabs the handle of the sword and lifts it up.

"Good, know let's begin."

Couple nights later.

Urokodaki is sitting in front of Sakura, her bamboo muzzle is off. A basket rests next to Urokodaki and he reaches into it and pulls out two apples.

Urokodaki sets both apples in front of Sakura and she quickly grabs one and swiftly eats it. Then Urokodaki grabs the second apple and sets it beside him. He reaches back into the basket and pulls out two turnips in front of Sakura and she grabs one and swiftly eats it.

Then Urokodaki pulls out two pieces of raw meat and sets them in front of Sakura and she swiftly grabs one and eats it. Once she finishes she stares at Urokodaki, seemingly waiting for more.

'She only seems to eat fresh items. Each piece of food she grabs was picked and killed this morning, the others are a couple days old.' Urokodaki says in thought as he pulls out a couple more apples and hands them to Sakura.

Sakura's eyes shine and she grabs the apples and swiftly eats them.

'This is excellent. She seems to regain energy by eating fresh fruits, vegetables and meat, instead of humans.'

Sakura finishes the apples and she looks at Urokodaki. "A." Sakura holds her hands out, asking for more and Urokodaki gives her some fresh meat.

.

.

.

.

.

"And now it's been six months since you were last awake, Nezuko." Tanjiro writes into his journal. "Urokodaki summoned the doctor right away and had him examine you, but he found nothing wrong. But it's not normal for you to stay asleep like this. There are a few times where Sakura sleeps for multiple days, but she always wakes up, so why are you sleeping."

Sakura is sitting next to her sleeping sister, seemingly staring at nothing. Tanjiro walks over and kneels down next to Nezuko.

"I was scared. I worry that one morning, I'll wake up to find you dead. Not a day goes by that I don't worry."

Couple days later.

Sakura is sitting in front of the forest, with a blanket covering her. Her pinks eyes staring out into the forest, waiting for Tanjiro.

"My descents are getting more dangerous, and the air's even thinner where I train. Time and time again, I think I might die."

Later that night.

Sakura is running down the mountain, sword in hand. She jumps over a log that swings by, then she twists her body and avoids some knives shooting towards her. Using her blade to deflect a couple.

She keeps running, her eyes trained forward. She jumps over a pit fall and rolls under a couple of arrows.

Then she finally reaches the bottom of the mountain and looks to her left as Urokodaki walks towards her.

"Good." Urokodaki nod and Sakura nods back.

.

.

.

.

Tanjiro is standing in front of Urokodaki.

"I have nothing more to teach you." Urokodaki states.

"A year after I arrived at Mount Sagiri, he told me all of a sudden..."

"The rest is up to you!" Urokodaki informs. "Whether or not you can improve to the next level. Come with me!"

Urokodaki walks deeper into the forest, with Tanjiro following. Snow starts to fall around them.

Urokodaki stops in front of a large boulder, causing Tanjiro to gasp.

"If you slice through this boulder, I will allow you to enter the Final Selection." Urokodaki says.

Tanjrio looks at Urokodaki then back to the boulder. 'Is a boulder... something you slice?' Tanjiro questions in thought. 'Something you can slice with a sword? I don't think I can do it.' He puts a hand on the end of his scabbard, with a thumb on the handle of his blade. 'My sword will snap!'

Urokodaki the turns around and walks off.

"Urokodaki, please wait!" Tanjiro calls out. "Urokodaki!" Urokodaki just keeps walking away.

"After that, Urokodaki never taught me anything again."

Back at the house.

Sakura is sitting outside, without her blanket since it's cloudy. She's holding her hand out and snow falls into it. Her other hand is touching her hanafunda earring.

Sakura falls onto her back and holds her arms out into the powdery snow on the ground. Sakura then spreads her legs out then moves them together while bringing her arms to her body. Then she repeats this action multiple times.

She stops when footsteps approach and she tilts her head to the side as sees Urokodaki approaching with her training sword in his hand.

"Your brother is gonna be a while." Urokodaki says to the little demon girl. "So let's get some training in while he's busy."

He tosses the sword to her and she quickly catches it.

.

.

.

.

.

It's been nearly two years since the siblings arrived at Urokodaki's. It's late at night, yet Sakura's waiting outside. She's eating fresh meat while waiting for Urokodaki and Tanjiro to return home. 

She hears footsteps and she quickly finishes eating and puts on her bamboo muzzle. She looks to the side and sees Tanjiro and Urokodaki returning from the forest.

A little bit later.

Urokodaki is making a large meal for Tanjiro, since he cut the boulder in half.

Sakura sits beside Tanjiro, watching the food cook with interest.

"What's the occasion?" Tanjiro asks. "There's so much.

Urokodaki puts some soup into a bowl. "You've completed all your training, so we're celebrating." He holds out the bowl to Tanjiro. "Don't be shy. Eat up." 

Tanjiro smiles and chuckles. "Thank you very much!" He grabs the bowl from Urokodaki and starts eating.

Sakura leans onto her brother as she stares at the wall.

After the meal.

Tanjiro is cutting his hair, and the Hairpin is on his leg. Sakura is off to the side slowly nodding off to sleep.

"Hey, Tanjiro..." Urokodaki calls out from behind him. 

"Eh? Yes?"

"Did you enjoy the hot pot?"

Tanjiro nods. "Yes! I haven't had such a feast in so long!"

"A growing boy like you with a hearty appetite should get stronger the more he eats, as well as grow bigger in size. But that goes for demons, too. Remember this. basically, a demon is as strong as the number of humans he's devoured."

"So, the more they eat, the stronger they get?"

"That's right. There are demons who grow stronger, transform themselves, and even gain strange powers." Urokodaki opens up a cubbored and pulls out a kitsune mask. "When your sense of smell becomes keener, you'll be able to tell how many humans a demon's consumed."

Urokodaki walks over to Tanjiro and hands him the kitsune mask.

Tanjiro grabs the mask and looks at it. "What's this?"

"It's called a 'warding mask.' I've charged it with a spell to protect you from harm."

"Warding Mask..."

The next morning.

Tanjiro's getting ready to leave and he opens the door to his room. Nezuko's still sleeping with Sakura sitting beside her.

"Nezuko..." Tanjiro mutters.

Tanjiro walks over and kneels down to Nezuko and Sakura and grabs both their hands.

"I'm coming back here no matter what, all right?"

Tanjiro starts to stand up, but Sakura holds his hand tightly and he looks to her, only to see her with a worried face.

Tanjiro smiles. "I'll be all right." He points to Sakura hairpink in his hair. "I have my lucky hairpin in."

Sakura stares at him for a few seconds before she lets of of his hand and looks at Nezuko.

Tanjiro then walks out of the room and shuts the door, then heads outside; where Urokodaki is waiting for him.

"Don't worry about your sisters." Urokodaki says. "I'll take good care of them."

Tanjiro nods. "All right! Thank you very much!" Then he waves as he runs off. "I'll be going, then, Urokodaki!"

Urokodaki holds up his hand.

"Tell Sabito and Makomo thanks!" He runs off.

"Huh? Tanjiro... How do you..." 'Know the names of those dead children?'

Later that night.

Sakura is standing outside with her sword in hand.

Urokodaki walks up to her. "We have seven days to get you trained as best we can before your brother returns."

Sakura stares at Urokodaki.

Days later.

Sakura and Urokodaki stand in front of a boulder.

"I want you to cut the boulder." Urokodaki states.

Sakura slowly looks to Urokodaki with a deadpan look.

"Your brother was able to slice a boulder about the same size." Urokodaki walks a few meters away. "I know you'll be able too."

Sakura stares at Urokodaki for a few seconds before she turns to the boulder and takes her sword out.

"Imagine that the boulder is the demon that killed your family." Urokodaki states.

Sakura stares at the boulder and then it's suddenly replaced by a tall and muscular man, with an unnaturally pale skin complexion that can be easily confused as being unhealthy and sickly. He has curly black hair, and sharp, almond-shaped eyes. His irises are cat-like in appearance and colored plum red. He also possesses sharp, blue nails on his hands. He appears to be in his twenties, wearing a white fedora with a red ribbon and a somewhat extravagant outfit. The outfit consisted of an embroidered black tuxedo and a white tie over a black dress shirt and white dress pants. He also wore black loafers.

Sakura's eyes goes slit and she starts to growl and pant in anger.

"Imagine the pain he made you and your sister feel." Urokodaki says and Sakura's grip on her sword tightens. "Remember how he hurt you and your family."

Sakura lets out a muffled roar in anger as veins bulge on her head and hands.

"Now kill him."

Sakura gets into an offensive stance, then she charges at the demon, then she uses her momentum to swing herself forward into a circular motion, creating a large slash, that cuts the demon in half.

The demon disappears and in its place is the boulder, cut in half. Sakura petals float past our little demon.

Urokodaki gasps.

Sakura looks to Urokodaki and points to the boulder while letting out a muffled sound, with stars in her eyes.

In Urokodaki's vision two other girls are standing beside Sakura, in the same pose as her and they have stars in their eyes.  The two girls look nearly identical, both have long black hair and shining green eyes.

"Look, Dad/Grandpa!" The two girls say. "I did it! I cut the boulder using my own/mom's breathing technique!"

A tear falls down Urokodaki's cheek as he smiles under his mask. 'Breath of the Blossoming Sakura. A style that specializes in speed, precision, and swift killing blows to quick opponents in the most efficient and energy conservative way. A style that was created by my daughter and was used by her own daughter.'

Suddenly Sakura starts to sway back and forth and she starts to fall face first towards the ground, but Urokodaki swiftly catches her before she hits the ground. Then he turns her over and Sakura's eyes slowly start to close.

"Sakura, I have one request of you." Urokodaki says down at the demon. "If you ever find the demons that killed my daughter and grandchild, please, avenge them."

Sakura falls asleep.

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01-15-2023

3811 words