Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was snowing on Kumotari mountain and the Kamado family were just getting ready to sell charcoal like usual.

When suddenly a demon appeared out of the blue, it was morning but because of the weather, the sky was very clouded and there was no sunlight since it was blocked by the thick clouds.

"Tanjiro, watch out!" Nezuko warns her older brother as the demon lunges towards him.

But just before the demon could pierce it’s fangs on the tasty human’s flesh, it’s head was already rolling on the ground.

"Huh-?"

The demon was just as confused as the family was, but then a man appeared in the corner. The man had dark hair, blue eyes and a pale complexion, he looked to be in his 18’s or early 20’s, he wore a half-half haori and weilded a sword with the kanji ’ destroy all evil demons ’.

"You damn demon hunters, to interrupt my meal like this!!? Unforgivable, you-!!" the demon starts cursing the young man who kept a deadpan stare before turning into ash.

"What was that?! It was still talking, how?!" Takeo who was still shielding Rokuta and Shigeru protectively yells out in disbelief.

"That was a demon, it was a demon like the ones Saburo-san told us about!" Tanjiro says, shocking his siblings and mother.

"So demons are real!" Hanako added while hiding behind her mother, still frightened from what happened earlier.

"S-Sir, who are you...?" the mother, Kie questions the man with the sword.

Hearing that question, the man turns his attention towards the still terrified family.

"...."

"Were you the one who defeated that demon and saved us? Thank you so much..." Nezuko thanked him, earning a nod for response before he turned around to leave, but before he could...

"Wait!" Tanjiro called out to him, making the man turn to him with a look of confusion, still as silent as ever.

".....?"

"Please stay with us for a while its very cold out here, its...the least we could do for you in return..." the maroon-haired boy suggested, the man was about to decline but when he had seen the shimmering spark of kindness in their eyes there was no way he could have refused, he sighed in defeat and accepted the offer.

Chapter Text

"Here you go, sir!" Shigeru said while handing a cup of tea to the man, the man takes it hesitantly.

He had tried to help around the house but they kept saying...

"We can’t do that sir! Your our guest so we can’t have you help us with our work!" hearing this, the man was akwardly staring at all of them walk around carrying multiple stuff here and there, he had never felt so uncomfortable before since he was always used to working.

This family wasn’t rich or anything but they still did their best in giving him some hospitality.

Instead he was busy watching the young girl play with some dolls that looked very old and had lots of stiches.

"By the way sir, what’s your name?" the young girl, Hanako asks the man but he stays silent...

"...."

Just when Hanako was about to shrug it off, he spoke.

"...Giyu Tomioka..."

"Oh? Okay!"

Hanako was delighted that the man had finally spoken up, after all Giyu hasn’t spoke even once since earlier.

The siblings and their mother had already introduced themselves earlier.

Giyu was suprised at how well these siblings got along with eachother, they had a very strong bond and almost never fought, it almost reminds him of someone....

"Giyu-nii!"

Rokuta called out as he waddled his way to Giyu, making him snap out of his own thoughts.

The siblings had already gotten accustomed to him and started to call him ’Giyu-nii ’ ( Rokuta started it ), he didn’t mind the nickname though and thats because he had also started to warm up to the siblings in a short time span which is very rare.

He has been in the Demon Slayer Corps for about 7-8 years but he was still very distant even after becoming the Water Hashira, he never really got along with his comrades especially with the Wind Hashira.

But here he is, playing with the younglings like an older brother.

"Mom is making some medicinal soup for breakfast, it’s very tasty and delicious so you have to try it Giyu-nii!" Takeo shouted from the kitchen.

Earlier, Giyu saw Kie in the kitchen making some food but what really caught his attention was the spider lilies on the table, it had a such vibrant blue hue to it, he wondered if such a flower even existed but he shrugged it off since it wasn’t that important. (It is😭)

"" Itadakimasu!! "" all the siblings said before digging into the soup that had the same vibrant blue color as the flower earlier.

"Itadakimasu..." Giyu also followed before tasting the soup himself, the medicinal soup really was delicious just like Takeo had said, how he missed this feeling of warmth and comfort. It feels really similar to before...
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
"Tanjiro?" Kie called out to the maroon-haired boy who was about to descend the mountain to sell charcoal.

"You have some soot covering your face..." she said before wiping the dirt off from his face, "You should be more careful...remember what had just happened earlier?"

Kie reminded him to which Tanjiro answered, "It will be alright Okaa-san, i want everyone to have their fill this year so i’m going to work hard..." he reassured his mother before another individual spoke.

"Are you going down the mountain, Nii-chan?" Shigeru asked, followed by Hanako, "I want to go too!"

"You may not..." Kie demanded while earning pouts from the two who were upset that they couldn’t go with their older brother.

"Takeo, please cut as many wood as you can..." Tanjiro asks his other younger brother who was listening from the corner, "Sure i will, but i was hoping we could do it together..."

"There, there..." Tanjiro says as he pats him on the head, "Hey! Cut it out!"

Giyu watches from inside the house and lets out a quiet giggle at the warming scenery infront of him, he never imagined that he would be able to feel the same warmth he felt in the past again, the same warmth that was shattered by demons....

He was considering to maybe visit this family again sometime...

"Ittekimasu!!" Tanjirou yelled out while waving his hand, "Itterasshai!!" the family yelled back, also waving their own hand.

"Onii-chan!" Nezuko called out.

"Oh, Nezuko!"

"I was just putting Rokuta to sleep so that he won’t make a scene when you leave, ever since father died everyone looks up to you now...." she said while looking at Rokuta who was sleeping on her back.

"Itterasshai!" Nezuko says before Tanjirou disappears from her sight.

Chapter Text

It was already dark outside, Tanjiro had now finished selling all the charcoal and was about to climb the mountain again until...

"Tanjiro!"

"Oh, Saburo-san?"

"Its very dark already, do not go up the mountain and just stay here for the night..." Saburo suggests.

"Don’t worry Saburo-san, i have a good nose so i can tell if there’s any danger nearby-"

"No."

"But-"

"No ’buts’. Come inside now, before the demons show up."

Tanjiro’s body stiffened, he had no choice but to stay there for the night after remembering what had happen this morning. He had almost forgot about the demons lurking around at night.

"Saburo-san can’t these demons just enter people’s houses?"

"Yes, they can..."

"Then wouldn’t that mean we could be eaten anytime?"

"Yes, thats correct and thats why demon slayers hunt them down..."

’Demon hunters...just like Giyu-san...’ Tanjiro thought to himself before falling asleep.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
"Be careful on your way...."

"Yes i will. See you, Saburo-san!"

Tanjiro then rushes off to his house. A few moments later he suddenly feels off and it seems he was right.

Whenever happiness is destroyed, there’s always....

’ The scent of blood...! ’ Tanjiro catches a very thick scent of blood coming from his house and rushes there as fast as he can but when he gets there....

He sees Giyu on the ground infront of the shoji doors, he was weilding his sword and was surrounded by a massive pool of crimson blood that mixed with the snow. Some of his blood was even splattered on the trees as if he was flung around.

"GIYU-SAN!!" Tanjiro immediatly rushed to his side, "GIYU-SAN, ARE YOU OKAY?! WHAT HAPPENED HERE- "

Tanjiro’s eyes widen in horror as he looks inside the house, there were the bodies of his family. His mother’s body had a very large and deep gash on her solar plexus, Rokuta’s body was twisted in a impossible way and his spine was protruding out of his back, Shigeru’s body looked as if it was diced, his limbs were all over the place like an art macabre.

But there were some people who weren’t there and there was another scent aswell, one that he has never smelled before...

"NII-CHAN!!" Takeo called out to him crying while running towards him for a hug, followed by Hanako and Nezuko.

"ONII-CHAN!! THERE WAS SOMEONE HERE LAST NIGHT, HE KILLED EVERYONE!!" Nezuko told him as she cried.

"GIYU-NII PROTECTED US!! HE BOUGHT US SOME TIME TO HIDE IN THE CAVE NEARBY, I-IS HE ALRIGHT!!?" Hanako asks while looking at Giyu who was laying on the pool of blood on the snow.

Noticing that Giyu’s body was still warm, Tanjiro immediatly carries him on his back and says, "He’s still breathing...we need to get him to a doctor first!"

The four rush off to descend the mountain with an unconcious Giyu, but even if there were four of them to support each other there was no way kids like them could carry a wounded adolescent down the mountain, especially with a blizzard.

" "Tanjiro / Nii-chan!! " "

Huh? Why am i-

"AAAAAAHHH!!!"

Chapter Text

" "Tanjiro / Nii-chan!! " "

Huh? Why am i-

"AAAAAAHHH!!!"

* THUD *

’ The snow...saved me...but its also the reason i fell....’ Tanjiro thought to himself before realizing that Giyu had also fallen with him.

’ Giyu-san...! ’ the boy frantically looked everywhere in a panic just for his eyes to land on Giyu who was now standing up with his bangs covering his face making it hard to tell what expression he was making, his haori had also fallen off his shoulders.

But how was that possible, he was injured after all so how?

"Giyu-san!! You don’t need to get up, your hurt so i’ll carry you alright? Just hang on-"

Suddenly- Giyu looked up, he had fangs and slitted pupils in his eyes unlike the usual deep blue color it had before, he was scowling and drooling while he lunged at Tanjiro to try and eat him.

"GRAAAAHHHHH!! "

Its a good thing Tanjiro had brought the hatchet and the sword Giyu uses. He uses Giyu’s sword and puts it between his fangs to avoid being devoured by the now former human.

’ H-He....he’s a....demon...! ’ Tanjiro thought while being buried to the ground by him.

"Nii-chan!" Hanako called out.

The three younger siblings tried to pry the demon off their older brother.

"Yuu-san! Please stop, your hurting Tanjiro!" Nezuko shouted only for her words to fall on deaf ears.

"Giyu-nii, this isn’t you! You protected us, didn’t you?! Please stop this! " Takeo also yelled out to him, just for the same thing to happen.

Giyu wasn’t paying any attention to them at all, he only put his focus on the tasty human beneath him. The children’s arms were already getting sore but they had to hold on for their older brother and Giyu.

But how can mere children like them even manage to hold their own against a demon? But then Giyu started to grow larger and stronger.

"He’s....gotten bigger and stronger...!" Hanako said while struggling to keep going.

Their limbs felt like it could fall off anytime now, it was impossible to keep this up, so Tanjiro kicked them away the moment the demon had noticed them and lunged at them.

"...Onii-chan...." Nezuko muttered out before fully losing conciousness, the last thing she saw was her older brother shoving the demon to the ground with the hatchet he held.

’ Please....at least let Tanjiro survive this... ’
she prayed before her vision faded out.

"NEZUKO!!" the boy called out to his younger sister when he saw her unconcious along with the others.

"GRRAAAAHHH!!! " the demon continued to growl while attacking Tanjiro, the poor boy did his best to dodge the demon’s claws but got kicked all the way to the tree where his siblings were.

As Tanjiro lost conciousness like his siblings, the demon slowly made his way to the poor children to devour them but before it’s fangs could pierce the flesh of the boy, he froze....

It saw an haori in the distance, the haori had two sides a red side while the other had a geometric-like pattern. For some reason, the intense hunger it felt was replaced with a feeling of immense guilt.

It dropped the arm of the boy and slowly made it’s way to the haori, it grabbed the haori and felt a strong pain in it’s head. It didn’t even know when tears had started to fall from it’s eyes.

Two hands from two different people had cupped it’s cheeks, when it looked up it saw a boy with peach hair and a scar by his mouth, there was also a girl who had a red kimono, her black hair braided with a pink ribbon.

Seeing the two unknown figures infront of it, the sudden guilt it felt earlier got stronger, it wanted to scream so bad, it wanted to apologize to them but for what...?

" Please take care of those children, Yuu..."
the boy with the kitsune mask said.

" Don’t you ever hurt them or anyone else, humans...are to be protected and saved..."
the girl with the blue eyes followed, and after that sentence they vanished into thin air.

Giyu suddenly felt drowsy and fell asleep.

Chapter Text

".....!?"

Tanjiro wakes up after getting knocked out amd clutches his younger siblings.

"We’re....alive?" he asks himself as he stood up to look around.

He turns his head frantically to see if his siblings were alright, after he confirms that they are safe and with no injuries, his eyes land to the demon on the ground who is sleeping.

"Giyu-san..."

The demon slowly wakes up, it’s eyelids fluttering. As it slowly gets up, Tanjiro immediatly goes to his siblings to shield them but the demon shows no signs of attacking them, instead it stared at them with clear signs of worry.

Seeing that this demon was acting so differently from the first time, he approached it slowly and cautiously.

"G-Giyu-san...? Are you alright? " Tanjiro hesitantly asks, still a bit wary. The demon nods in answer to his question.

"Oh, i see..." Tanjiro smiles softly, relieved that the demon, no - Giyu can finally understand him.

"Giyu-san, what happened to the others, what happened to you...?" Tanjiro asks sadly as he remembers the horrible scene at his house.

As Giyu slowly but surely recalls the deaths of the mother and other children, he starts to have an overwhelming guilt wash over him.

Tanjiro senses this and tries to comfort him, "No, Giyu-san...It wasn’t your fault..."

"But...i failed you..." Giyu responded with guilt in his tone.

"But even so, this is something that nobody could have predicted and the fact that you would choose to try and protect them again despite knowing the outcome shows the type of person you are and one thing for sure is that you are an amazing person, Giyu-san... " Tanjiro continued, as his siblings had started to wake up aswell.

This statement is familliar to Giyu, he know very well that he had heard it somewhere but he doesn’t seem to remember it.

Everything is weird to him, he remembers the names of the children infront of him right now, he remembers his death as a human with so much clarity... so why can’t he remember his past...?

"Is Yuu-san alright...?" Nezuko questions as her eyes land on Giyu who is now a demon.

"Yes, i’m alright...and i’m very sorry for attacking you all..." Giyu apologizes sadly.

"By the way...the unfamilliar scent left at the house, it was perpetrator’s... right? " Tanjiro tries to confirm with a tone that sends shivers down his spine.

"What are you going to do once you find him...?"

"I’ll find a way to cure you!" Tanjiro answered loudly with determination, making him flinch a bit.

"...there is no cure..."

"Well if there’s no cure then I’ll make one!" the boy boldly retorted.

Chapter Text

"I will gladly take the mission and investigate more about Tomioka’s dissappearance, Oyakata-sama!!" the fiery-haired man, Rengoku said.

"Very well, with that, the Hashira meeting is dissmissed." ’Oyakata-sama’ or the Master, Kagaya Ubuyashiki announced.

Kyojuro grabs his sword and is about to leave, atleast until someone approaches him, "Oh my! Rengoku-san, leaving so soon?" the butterfly-looking lady spoke.

"I’m afraid yes, Kocho!"
"Well then, I wish you luck! Tomioka-san is a handful." the ’ lady ’, Kocho says cheerfully.
"I’m off!!"

After arriving on the snow-filled mountain, Kyojurou immediatly starts the search for Giyu, "So this is where Tomioka vanished?"
He questioned the crow perched atop his head, Kanzaburo, Giyu’s Kasugai crow.

"Caw! Yes! Caw!"
"Understood!"
Just before he could continue, he gets startled by something, or someone,
"!?"
"...." the person doesn’t seem to be suprised and seems to also be from the Demon Slayer Corps, but to be able to mask his presence from even a Hashira... he must be a strong individual, Kyojurou thought.

"Wait, aren’t you...?" he questions.

"Yes! I’m the Flame Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Rengoku Kyojurou! And you might be?"
"I am the Former Water Hashira, Sakonji Urokodaki, Giyu’s mentor...I apologize if I disrupted the search..."

Ah! So he’s Tomioka’s mentor and the Former Hashira, no wonder I was unable to sense his presence in the area...How astonoshing!

"I see! Do not worry about Tomioka, I am sure he is fine, he is strong afterall!"
"...." he stays silent.
"I do not mind if you to join the search, afterall he is your student!"

Now, along with Urokodaki, they both begin to investigate the area. As they do so, they also engage in a conversation.

"So....what was Tomioka like as a child?"
Kyojurou asked out of curiosity, Urokodaki, however, fell silent and froze, Kyojurou wondered if this is where Giyu had gotten his quiet demeanor from, come to think of it, Giyu kind of reminds Kyojurou of his mother, Ruka.

"He was....bright and cheerful... a wonderful student..." he answered.

"I had another student his age at the time aswell, his name was... Sabito...." Kyojuro listened attentively to Urokodaki, though he wondered if he heard his voice crack at the last part.

"Giyu and him were got along very well, they were like brothers, since they were both 13 and lost their families to demons they got along very quickly."

’They were inseprable, huh...? ’
"So where is this Sabito now?"

"....He died in the final selection..."
"Oh I’m sorry for your loss..."
"It’s alright... Giyu was affected more than I was..."
"I see..."

After the conversation about Giyu’s past, they continued to search around Mt. Kumotari. The search didn’t take long enough for them to notice a few presences in the area. Four humans and One demon, they both rushed to the scene thinking those people were in danger.

But nothing could have prepared them for what they would see. It was none other than Giyu! He became a demon, the one thing they swore to eradicate.

But for some reason he did not seem aggressive or violent, instead he was sitting across a boy with no signs of hunger. This strange phenomenon confused the pair, but nonetheless Urokodaki had moved almost in an instant with his sword aiming for the demon’s neck.

’ I’m sorry, Giyu.....’

Chapter Text

"....!"
Before Urokodaki could succeed in beheading Giyu, Tanjiro immediatly takes action and pushes him away leaving Urokodaki to slice the air instead which makes a huge gust of wind as if there were a blizzard again.

"Tanjiro" Nezuko screamed out, causing the other two to jolt awake.

’ A katana....just like...Giyu-san’s...’ Tanjiro thought to himself as he observed Urokodaki from afar.

"Why....do you protect it...?" the swordsman with the tengu mask questioned.

"F-Friend.....He’s a friend, sir!" the boy answered, for some reason....Giyu had gone feral again and began growling and thrashing around.

"You call that thing a ’ friend ’ ?" the moment Urokodaki said that, Kyojurou had dashed forward to take Giyu from Tanjiro’s grasp. To Tanjiro’s horror, Giyu was suddenly taken from him by another man he did not recognize.

"W-Wait! Please, Giyu hasn’t done anything to harm people!" Nezuko tried to defend but unfortunately, they didn’t seem to believe her.

"We don’t know how he turned into something like this....but still...!" Hanako added.

"Its quite simple young lady, you see....his wounds were exposed to demon blood. That’s how he turned." the fiery-haired man on the left explained as if it were a commonly known fact.

"And it is our job as demon hunters to slay demons, needless to say....we are going to have to decapitate this demon." Urokodaki continued, the last part of that explanation sent shiver down on each of the siblings’ spines, even himself.

"Hold on just a moment! Is there anything else you cand do besides that!? Anything other than death, like a cure...!?" Takeo suggested hoping they could reconsider, however....

"He cannot be cured. Once you turn into a demon you can never go back to being a human." Kyojurou stated as Urokodaki shifted his blade to Giyu’s shoulders, causing the four to panick,

"Then we’ll find a way to cure him! We’ll hunt down the one that killed our family! So please! Please, stop!!" Tanjiro voiced, but they remained unaffected.

Urokodaki’s blade struck Giyu making him scream in pain as the four siblings and even Kyojurou watched in horror,

"DON’T YOU TOUCH HIM!!!" just as he said that, Tanjirou made a move and hurled a few stones in Kyojurou and Urokodaki’s direction which they both managed to block.

Tanjirou then went behind a tree and threw a few more rocks and then charged straight towards them,

"RAAAAAAAGGHHH!!
’ An attack based solely on pure emotion...’ "You fool!!" Urokodaki yelled out before knocking Tanjiro unconciouss.

"Tanjiro/ Nii-chan!!" the other three yelled after he fell to the ground, Kyojurou took the initiative and knocked them unconciouss too.

’ Wait...where’s his hatchet....? ’ Urokodaki thought, suddenly he looks up and sees the hatchet hurling towards him in the air.

Just before it could hit him he dodged it by moving his head to the side. He stared at the hatchet just a few inches away from his head, if he hadn’t moved just then he could’ve gotten killed.

’ Before he moved to the tree he threw stones at my direction to act as a distraction, then he when he went behind the tree he threw the hatchet up in the air. He hid his hands behind himself so i would think he was armed, he tried to bring me down after i struck him...this kid....’ just then, the demon had been released from his grip making him snap out of his thoughts.

Giyu’s kick had sent him flying, making a very far distance between them and turned his attention to Tanjiro.

’ He’ll kill him...! ’ Kyojurou who had been watching all this time panicked, but instead of seeing bloodshed, he instead saw...

Chapter Text

i’ll try to post every weekend but im not sure if i can stick with this schedule well since im too busy with school but i’ll try anyways.😅 (sorry for the false hope of another chapter😭😭😭)

Chapter Text

’ He’ll kill him...! ’ Kyojurou who had been watching all this time panicked, but instead of seeing bloodshed, he instead saw the opposite.

Giyu had crouched down those children, not to devour them but to PROTECT them. He snarled at the two slayers to try and intimidate them but it only confused the two more.

’ Giyu, you.....’ Urokodaki thought before Giyu had rushed towards him to claw at him and Kyojurou.

Both slayers dogded the attacks with ease, but Giyu kept trying nonetheless. ’ Long ago, someone also said the same thing only to be devoured by a demon. A starving demon will eat anyone, its own brothers, sisters, parents. They’re rich in nutrients. I have seen it more times than I can count. Giyu had been badly wounded. He is using up a lot of energy to heal himself. Surely most of his strength was used during his transformation. So there is no question that he is starving right now. He must have been craving a feast from the start, even these children. But instead he protected them and turned his attention to us. ’ Urokodaki states in his thoughts all while dodging Giyu alongside Rengoku.

’ Maybe, just maybe....he is different....’ he then hand chops at the nape of the demon, making him fall unconcious.

Meanwhile, in Tanjiro’s conciousness his family surrounds them. His mother leans closer and says, "We’re sorry to leave you like this, Tanjiro. Please take care of your younger siblings and help Giyu-san."

Tanjiro’s eyes snap open as he gets up almost immediatly, getting a whiplash in the process. The first thing he does is observing his surroundings, he seems to be in his house and all the bodies and blood seem to have been cleaned off, his remaining younger siblings are all around him, still unconcious. He lets out a breath of relief as they have no scars, but slowly tenses up again as memories of what had happened earlier returned to him.
’ Giyu-san...! ’ the boy panics as he stood up, looking around for the said ’ person ’.

"Oh! You’re awake!" the same fiery-haired person from earlier says. Tanjiro takes a step back from him, "W-Where is Giyu-san!?" the boy’s voice filled with suspicion and panic. "Rest assured boy! Tomioka is alright" he said, though Tanjiro was still unsure of trusting him, his body eases up a little anyways.

"Tomioka is outside with the other man with the tengu mask. By the way, my name is Kyojurou Rengoku! What about you?"

"Um...my name is Tanjiro, Tanjiro Kamado and these are my younger siblings Nezuko, Takeo and Hanako..." he points at each of his siblings as he introduces them. "I see!"

"R-Rengoku-san...? How exactly do you know Giyu-san?"

"Curious are you now? Well, Tomioka is a comrade of mine...or was. He was known as the Water Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps just like how I am the Flame Hashira!" Kyojurou states.

"What exactly is a Hashira?"
"Hashira is the highest rank in the Demon Slayer Corps. The other man with the tengu mask is a former Hashira who retired."
"So Giyu-san was an individual with a high status in the Corps like you?"
"Why yes! Though he wasn’t really that social with the rest, haha..."
"Oh...I see"

Just then, the others stir in their ’ sleep ’. Nezuko is the first to open her eyes, followed by Takeo, then Hanako. "Onii-chan! Where is Yuu-san!"
"Its okay, you guys! Giyu-san is okay and Rengoku-san here is not gonna hurt us!"

With the reassurance of their older brother they had calmed down, still a bit wary of the other though. Suddenly, the door swings open, "!?" Rengoku immediatly sheilds the children and grabs the hilt of his sword but relaxes after seeing the ’person’ by the door. There at the door stands Giyu with a bamboo muzzle, " "Ah Tomioka/Giyu-san!!" ".

Giyu runs past Rengoku as he rushes towards the siblings, "Mhhmm!".
"Eh? Why are you wearing a muzzle!?"
"Mhhmm, Mmmm!"
"Huh....?"
"We decided that Giyu should wear a muzzle for safety purposes" the man with the tengu mask answers as he steps inside the house. "Me and Urokodaki-san here also buried the bodies and cleaned the house for you four"

"You did? Thank you so much...!" Nezuko bows her head with gratitude and nudges the others with her elbow to do the same.
"It is no big deal, after all, it is wrong to let greiving children bury the bodies of their family..." Urokodaki says but the children still bow their head nevertheless.

"U-Um...Urokodaki-san, Rengoku-san? Do you think we can train to be demon slayers like Giyu-san...?" Tanjiro asks to which Rengoku answers, "Of course you can!"

"But I do not think I have time to do so, recently, demon activities have been increasing as of now and as a Hashira I need to take on as many missions as possible, so as much as I want to train you I sadly cannot. But maybe Urokodaki can train you all!" he continues.

They all turn their heads towards the said man. Urokodaki is hesitant, he has had many students before Sabito and Giyu. They all had their own lives stolen from them and now Giyu has his humanity stolen from him, he is afraid of what could happen to these children right infront of him if also sends them to the Final Selection in Mount Fujikasane. But in the end.....he accepted to train him.

Chapter Text

Im not sure if this is gonna be an official chapter since i dont want giyu to sleep like nezuko but this is WIP anyway and an unfinished chapter.

They didn’t think Urokodaki’s training would be THIS hard, the moment they had arrived at his place they were immediatly put on a test. Luckily, all four of them passed it despite the difficulty, but they were too tired to even eat a spoon of the meal he made for them. The first days were especially grueling and unbearable, nevertheless, they pushed through it.

Rengoku had left saying he had other things to attend to but that he would visit if he had the time, and he did. Rengoku is helping them train and is also teaching them Total Concentration Constant, Tanjiro and Takeo were the first to learn, they had always been fast learners while Nezuko and Hanako had a harder time learning it, but eventually they were able to do it aswell. Nezuko and Hanako were given a more difficult training due to the fact that they were female, in the corps there are very, very few female corps members. Most of them ended up either losing their lives or gave up and became a kakushi.

It’s because of females being weaker than males that they were given more harsher and brutal training, but that isn’t the case all the time though. For example, the Love Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, she appears to have very thin arms but in reality her muscle density is 8 times stronger than an average male, she also ate quite a lot. Apparently she used to be Rengoku’s tsuguko or student but that’s a story for another time.

Now it has been 6 months since that day, the day where half of the Kamado family had been slaughtered, and the day where Giyu was stripped of his humanity. The siblings had gained some muscles during their training and had improved significantly. Meanwhile, Giyu was asleep this whole time, ever since they had arrived Giyu had apparently fallen into a deep slumber. The Kamado siblings and Urokodaki were starting to feel concerned about this matter because he was dead to the world, if it weren’t for the rising and falling of his chest then they would have assumed he was dead.

Urokodaki assumed that he gets his ability from sleeping.

And the draft ends here... should i keep it this way?

Chapter Text

Sorry once again that i haven’t been posting but i will definetly not discontinue this story. i have been busy with school again and im gonna do a presentation tomorrow too😭. But thanks to the ideas of (credits at the end notes) i will make giyu be both asleep for one year and sleepwalk sometimes❤❤❤ Thank you very much.

Chapter Text

They didn’t think Urokodaki’s training would be THIS hard, the moment they had arrived at his place they were immediatly put on a test. Luckily, all four of them passed it despite the difficulty, but they were too tired to even eat a spoon of the meal he made for them. The first days were especially grueling and unbearable, nevertheless, they pushed through it.

Rengoku had left saying he had other things to attend to but that he would visit if he had the time, and he did. Rengoku is helping them train and is also teaching them Total Concentration Constant, Tanjiro and Takeo were the first to learn, they had always been fast learners while Nezuko and Hanako had a harder time learning it, but eventually they were able to do it aswell. Nezuko and Hanako were given a more difficult training due to the fact that they were female, in the corps there are very, very few female corps members. Most of them ended up either losing their lives or gave up and became a kakushi.

It’s because of females being weaker than males that they were given more harsher and brutal training, but that isn’t the case all the time though. For example, the Love Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, she appears to have very thin arms but in reality her muscle density is 8 times stronger than an average male, she also ate quite a lot. Apparently she used to be Rengoku’s tsuguko or student but that’s a story for another time.

Now it has been 6 months since that day, the day where half of the Kamado family had been slaughtered, and the day where Giyu was stripped of his humanity. The siblings had gained some muscles during their training and had improved significantly. Meanwhile, Giyu was asleep this whole time, ever since they had arrived Giyu had apparently fallen into a deep slumber. The Kamado siblings and Urokodaki were starting to feel concerned about this matter because he seemed dead to the world, if it weren’t for the rising and falling of his chest then they would have thought he was dead.

Urokodaki just assumed that he gets his energy from sleeping. But it did not stop the feeling of dread increasing inside of him, after all, Giyu was his student, IS his student, his child, his son. And he would do anything just to bring him back. But as another six months have passed, their hope started to flicker, they grew more worried for the demon but even so, they continued to train harder.

One day, Urokodaki randomly came up to them and told the four siblings to follow him, they then hiked up the mountain and eventually reached the peak. There, stood four large boulders, the Kamado’s were very confused as to what may be happening but before one could utter a word Urokodaki spoke,

"I have nothing more to teach you four..."
"Huh...? W-What do you mean, sensei...?" Nezuko uttered in a form similaar to a whisper.
"I have nothing more to teach you four..." he repeated, leaving them more confused,

"If you four are able to cut these boulders....then, I will send you off to the Final Selection in Mt. Fujikasane..."

Chapter Text

"RAAAAAAAGHHH!!"

"Takeo...there is no use in shouting...." Nezuko scolds the younger boy who continues to strike the boulder despite.

"Nee-chan is right Takeo, we're all struggling too....you're not alone in this..." Hanako follows.

It has been 6 months since Urokodaki had given this task to them, but they still continue to fail to do so despite the countless attempts they had created. Meanwhile, Giyu was still asleep and still showed no signs of awakening, atleast until the 7th month passed. Giyu appeared to start moving in his futon, even though it was what seemed to be just a minor movement this little improvement has ignited a tiny flame of hope in the hearts of the children, including Urokodaki.

Slowly, Giyu had begun to fully awaken. Unfortunately, it started with sleepwalking, everytime he would sleepwalk he would either be found asleep by Urokodaki's futon, a pond, a tree, the siblings' boulders, the roof, and even inside the closet. But eventually, these moments led to him being completely awake and the first thing he did was try to take off his muzzle to talk to the siblings. Urokodaki allowed it since he deemed Giyu harmless, and also because he couldn't bear to see Giyu with something as hideous as that muzzle on his face. It always ends up reminding him of the reality, that Giyu was no longer human. Sometimes, he wonders what would have happened if he didn't let him take the path of a demon slayer, afterall, he was never meant to recover that day.

After he had taken Giyu in, the doctor had told him that he had damaged lungs and legs and that he may never be able to recover from such injuries. To both his and the doctor's suprise he did, but it certainly didn't fully heal though, he had a hard time breathing now and he sometimes felt a short, but painful sting when he moves his legs. At the very least, Urokodaki is extremely grateful to the gods that this child of his had not been killed off like the rest.

But while he reminisced....

"Come on, Tanjirou!! You can't give up now!!" 'said' boy was trying to push himself forward while his younger siblings just continue to watch their pitiful older brother slam his head onto the boulder over and over again. They too were on the brink of giving up.

"Silence!!" a mysterious voice yelled out, causing the four to raise their heads in alarm only to find a boy no older than them atop the boulder. "Quit whining and get on your feet!! Aren't you a man?!" the unknown boy questioned.

Suddenly, the boy pounced on Tanjirou and struck him with the bōkken/wooden sword (木剣) he weilds. "Slow! Weak! How unmanly that is!!",

"Who are you?! What do you think you're doing?!" Hanako questions, but the boy returns the question.

"What do you think you're doing? When faced with an enemy you should never let down your guard, infact, you shouldn't even waste time asking such ridiculous questions like that!!" he retorts.

"You there!!" he points at Tanjirou, "Shouldn't you be getting on your feet by now? Why is your butt still on the ground?" and almost in an instant, Tanjirou did as the boy said and rose from the ground. He raises his katana and faces it towards the boy, his younger siblings also does the same.

"That's what I like to see! Now, show me just how much you can take before being beaten to a pulp!"

"But...there are four of us, and we are weilding a real katana. You only have a bōkken, we could hurt you..." Nezuko points out but the boy doesn't seem to back off and instead laughs, confusing the four.

"I appreciate the fact that you're worried about me, but...." immediatly he dissapears from where he was standing and ran so fast around the clearing that they could only see a blur. But in a flash, he was right infront of them, "You're all no match for me!!" then he struck them all four of them one by one.

The last thing Tanjirou could see before falling unconcious was the boy speaking to another person, a girl around the boy's age it seemed.

"I'll leave the rest to you, Makomo..."

Chapter Text

.....

Quiet.

It was very quiet.

Hanako found herself standing in a void, she tried calling out to her older siblings, Urokodaki, Giyu, or anyone at all for help. Then all of a sudden the area changed, she found herself standing infront of her house or atleast what used to be her house. In the house was the same as that day. The day her family was slaughtered.

The shoji doors were broken down, the tatami mats were soiled with blood, the blood of her deceased family members that is....it appeared to be everywhere around the house. From behind, she heard footsteps shuffling towards her, however, when she turned she saw one of her younger siblings, Shigeru.

"Why is it that you are alive and we are not?" he asked with disdain in his voice.

Hanako's eyes widen at that, her younger brother had never used a tone such as that towards her or anybody at all. At the same time, she hears the cries of a child from her left, she turned to the side to find Rokuta bathed in his own blood, releasing agonizing cries and screams akin to when their father was lost.

"Why didn't you save us?!" he cried, she, however, didn't have an answer to that. Rokuta is right....why didn't she save them? And even if she couldn't, why didn't she even try?

"How could you just abandon us?" a voice, usually loving and soft, questioned with disappointment and contempt leaking from her tone. She turned her gaze away from Rokuta to look at the source of the voice, there in the doorway stood her mother with a scornful look plastered on her face.

"You are a disappointment..." she continued with the same tone. Hanako felt a chill run down her spine, she never thought her mother would say something like this to her own child. She couldn't help but tear up....I mean, who wouldn't after hearing that.

"Its all your fault we are gone." Her tears start to spill all over her face,

"You should have died instead...!"

Hanako wakes up with a sharp gasp, she looks around to find herself back in the room her with her older siblings and Giyu staring at her with palpable worry in their eyes.

"Hanako!? Are you alright!?" Tanjiro asks as he goes to check if she is alright.

"Did you have a nightmare? What happened?" Nezuko tried to comfort her. Keyword: Tried, Hanako's breaths seem to get more heavy and her tears spill over even more each passing second. She was hyperventilating, she was having a panic attack.

"H-Hanako! Calm down, its alright!" Takeo attempts to calm her down but failed to do so.

"Takeo is right, Hanako! We're here, so don't worry-" Tanjiro pauses when he hears her murmuring something to herself.

"Its all my fault...its all my fault...its all my fault..."

"Hanako, what do you mean...?"

No answer.

"Hanako?!" Nezuko called out.

Still, no answer.

"HANAKO!!" Takeo yelled out, finally she reacted, she visibly flinched and turned to face him with teary eyes.

"Knock it off and tell us what's wrong already!" he continued.

"I-I just had a nightmare...." she cried while the siblings and Giyu listened.

"I-I saw... M-Mother, Shigeru, and Rokuta. They were covered in b-blood and-"

"Shhh... It's alright Hanako we're here." Nezuko said as she hugged the younger girl to comfort her. The others followed, except Giyu. He felt as if he shouldn't join in the pile since it has something to do with their family, however, Tanjiro gestured him to come closer. He did as told and approached the pile to do the same.

The warmth that emitted from the hugs of her loved ones helped her calm down significantly and eventually she fell asleep once more, lulled by the hushed whispers surrounding her.

(NEXT DAY)

Today, it was very cloudy so Giyu insisted that he wanted to see the siblings train, yet Urokodaki didn't allow him to go out. Although he trusts Giyu to be responsible enough when going out in the day, he wanted to be selfish for once and keep him close. Not like he would admit that, though.

They were being taught how to do Total Concentration Breathing by Makomo. She explained how it worked, and how to do it. Unfortunately, all four of them were unable to understand it.

But after a few weeks, they were able to do it succesfully. Then, they sparred with Sabito. Even though they were weilding a real sword and were more in number, it didn't take much for Sabito to send them flying onto the trees.

At the end of the day, they head back to Urokodaki and Giyu to get some rest and prepare for tomorrow. As they entered the shelter, they were greeted by Urokodaki and Giyu, and the scent of freshly cooked food in the air. After eating, the siblings had gone to bed. Luckily, no one had gotten any more nightmares that night.