The night stretched longer and as the snow began to sting needles at my thighs I opened my eyes and looked at the tree stump, the boy and girl weren't there, I turned my head and saw the boy running, putting the girl on his back, I sighed…
"Works never over…"
I disappeared from my spot and appeared before the boy, letting his momentum from the running to speed up and hit the hilt of my katana, making the boy double over and hit the ground on all fours his sister rolling away.
"Boy, if we were to kill you we would have done it when you were asleep-"
I was distracted for a moment, he jumped in the air and pulled his head back, just as I was about to doges, he turned and struck my forehead with his, "gaghck."
What the fuck was this kids forehead made out of? I regained my senses, tied the girl up and smacked the boy upside down before lugging them both over my shoulder and running back to Giyu San who was now awake and standing.
I dropped the siblings like a sack of potatoes. Idiot.
"What's your name?" Giyu asked as I deadpanned at him, now is when you ask???
"Kamado Tanjiro! And this is my sibling Kamado Nezuko!"
He held himself over her, hatchet in hand protecting her…
I sighed once again "Boy are you retarded? I told you if we were to kill you, we would've done it yesterday," it finally seemed to seep into his head that he was safe.
Giyu San spoke, "Go to Mount Sagiri, find Urokodaki sensei, he will teach you. Tell him, Tomioka Giyu and Arakawa Itsuya sent you…"
Then Giyu once again had a funny face on as he turned to me, "Itsuya, I think you should travel with the Kamado siblings, get them to Urokodaki sensei safe and sound, you'd get to see him as well…"
I deadpanned again, "what about my duties as your tsuguko? Besides, the old man probably wants to be left alone…"
"Go with them."
I sighed, "fine."
I sheathed my katana, and made the boy stand, I picked up the girl, and threw her over my shoulder,
"Oh and Giyu San-"
He was gone, without a fucking word.
I sighed and began walking, "come on, whatever your name was again, Benjiro"
The boy followed me sighing, "Tanjiro."
"Aah yeah whatever Tanjiro…"
I set off at a run and let the boy keep up, Urukodaki sensei will make him run anyway so might as well prepare the boys weak lungs.
We ran through the forest clearings and eventually found a snowy mountain trail that soon turned into a mud trail, demons appeared but none worth more than a slash from my blade.
Soon we approached a temple, and at the foot of it was a demon. Feasting in three bodies, slurping and drinking blood, it disgusted me.
"Oi Tanjiro, put your sister in the temple, the suns nearly up… and also go buy a basket," I tossed the boy a gold coin and he took off running.
The demon turned to me in all its ugliness before baring its fangs, "do you know who I am, I was chosen by Lord Muzak himself to be a twelve-"
"Mizu no Kokyu, Ichi no Kata, Water surface slash"
I disappeared from my spot and beheaded the demon, before obliterating into a million tiny pieces.
"Liar," I spat.
"Fast, very fast, but too emotional, you are too reckless boy, forgotten all I've taught you?"
I turned at the old man's voice, "still sneaking up at people in your old age?" I sneered.
"Who are you calling old boy? I'm still young enough to obliterate you, I'll prove it when we get back to my hut, where's the boy Hiuu mentioned?"
"Gone to get a bucket."
As if on cue the boy ran into the temple and scooped his sister into the bucket and brought it out into the sunlight and the girl was safe in the box, the tenth make wearing old man's began sniffing Tanjiro and eventually stopped in front of him?
"What would you do if your sister ever bit and killed a human?"
Tanjiro flustered at the sudden emotional question and just as I expected, I saw Urokodaki's right arm tense before a massive resonating slap hit Tanjiro across the face.
"Too SLOW! If your sister ever bites a human, you must kill her and then slit your belly and die!"
Tanjiro stepped back in shock.
"But it is your sacred responsibility to make sure that never happens!"
Tanjiro visibly relaxed as I sighed, "boy, I'll carry your sis-"
I felt a stick mash against my head and break in half and I grit my teeth turning to the old man, "the boys been thro-"
Another stick broke against cranium and I shut my mouth before a third one hit it, the old man smirked before turning to the boy, "shoulder your sister and follow me," and with that the man disappeared from his spot and Tanjiro ran after him, I sighed before walking leisurely in the direction they ran…
When I saw they were getting rather far, I sank once again, knees pumping my valves before shooting off after them, racing past a wheezing Tanjiro and racing alongside Urokodaki, "old man you're killing him…"
"Don't you remember how I trained you? This is nothing?"
I sighed as we ran, "but I was a passionate young boy, he saw his entire family get slaughtered just a day ago, and he got a beating from Giyu too,"
The old man somehow picked up another stick and whilst still running smashed it against my head, I snarled, "dammit old man you're pissing me off!"
"This is when he should be trained to the brink, whilst he still clutching to the rage and despair, this is the turning point, for him"
I shut myself and ran, occasionally looking back, Tanjiro seemed to be saying something, I perked my ears up to listen,
"I'll buy you that new kimono one day Nezuko!"
I sighed as I saw his determination and continued to run, before long we were at Urokodaki's hut and Tanjiro collapsed in a heap as me and the old man stood, no more winded we were before the run.
"Boy keep your sister inside, she's safe here."
I watched him as he laid his sister on a futon, covering her with a. Blanket before closing sliding doors and coming out…
"So have I passed your test?" The boy wheezed.
The old man smirked and I knew it was going to be a hellish day for Tanjiro, I watched as they climbed the mountain, I sat on the steps to the hut and waited for Urokodaki to return.
He was back in ten minutes. "You gave me until sunrise, how long did you give him?"
The old man smirked, "I was easy on you, he only has until tonight when the sunsets!"
I nodded, slightly shocked at the old man's cruelty, the mountain obstacle course was no joke, it took me time to tune my ears to the frequency of the sound the traps made and my eyes to spit all the details.
I sat inside, "old man where's the food, your pupil returns and you do not feed him?"
"Shut up you insolent brat, shouldn't you be gifting your teacher?" I smirked as he brought out some fried fish anyway, I took it from him like a starved man, "ITADAKIMASU!"
I dived in devouring it.
"Do you have to be so noisy Brat"