Well-Adjusted Barely Traumatized Demon Slayer (Murata SI-ish)

[TheDanny]

Murata grabbed Obanai and jumped as far as possible up the stairs. Hearing a biwa sound, Murata immediately unleashed his full speed.

Being carried by Murata, Obanai watched the demon fall into a shifting expanse of castles. The sliding doors that covered the ground slowly disappeared.

Click to shrink...

Huh, was this a trap by Muzan against someone who he blames for the death of his former upper moon?

 

[DeeplyoftheWorld]

At the Ice Estate, Yuichiro sparred with Murata.

Yuichiro, by this point, had already surpassed Murata in terms of swordsmanship. However, Murata's strength and experience closed the distance between them. His own ability in Wind Breathing also served to disturb Yuichiro's rhythm.

Dodging a swift strike, Murata threw his sword at Yuichiro. He blocked it then got punched in the gut.

"That's cheating!" Yuichiro complained.

Sanemi, sitting at the engawa, laughed. Cracking his knuckles, he jumped in, itching for his own fight. Nursing his bruise, Yuichiro rested while observing the two hashira fight.

Murata did his best, but Sanemi was too violent. His stubbornness proved to be his greatest strength.

They laid on the ground, panting heavily while bruised, sweaty, and tired. The stars in the sky twinkled, and the clean air invigorated their lungs. Several broken training swords were sprawled out in the courtyard as a cool breeze swept around them.

"Any new signs of the Infinity Castle?" Sanemi asked, patting down his clothes.

Murata, sweeping up the remains of the swords, shook his head. "Not since Obanai and I found it."

The newly dubbed 'Infinity Castle' brought up concerning implications for the Demon Slayer Corps. If this blood demon art served as Muzan's base of operations, then it would be nearly impossible to corner him naturally.

In a worst case scenario, he could hide in there as long as he wished. Then, after the hashira died of old age, he could step out and continue with his unnatural existence.

Unfortunately, even with months of searching, Murata and Obanai were the only ones to witness the Infinity Castle. The demon and her snake also vanished. Despite this, demon activity remained as high as ever.

"You're lucky as hell, you know? You attract strong demons like a magnet. Maybe I'll request to go on a mission with you," Sanemi said.

Murata sincerely wished he wouldn't. Only someone like Sanemi would grumble about not finding demon moons to fight.

They spoke and shared memories as battle-hardened friends, enjoying the brief peace in the estate.

-

When Yuichiro and Sanemi left, Murata had a new guest, one he was eager to get more information from.

Giyu walked in, his silent and urgent stride propelling him towards a dining room.

Murata prepared the meal as Giyu rested from his journey.

"I sent the kakushi away, and I had extra time," Murata explained, setting down the plates.

Giyu nodded, and they ate together. Wasting no time, Murata began his barrage of questions.

"The siblings you saved, how are they doing?"

After gulping, Giyu answered. "They are fine. However, Urokodaki has told me that Nezuko has been sleeping for nearly a year now."

"She is the demon, right?" Murata confirmed.

Giyu responded positively. "Besides her, Tanjiro is doing well. Unfortunately, since he missed Final Selection this year, he will have to wait until after the winter to take the next one."

It made sense. Though, even with this setback, Tanjiro would be taking Final Selection about half a year, at the earliest.

"Does anyone else know about Nezuko?"

Giyu shook his head. "As hashira, Makomo and Sabito have been extremely busy. Demon attacks have been rising, so they haven't had the chance to visit Urokodaki this year. I do visit occasionally in place of them. Luckily, Urokodaki has shared your same resolve, and offered his life to defend me."

"I actually owe you a lot more," Murata said. "After all, I didn't expect you to keep this a secret."

"That is true," Giyu admitted. "I wanted to talk to Makomo about it, but you seem to understand the situation better than I do. And, she will be more angry with you than me, seeing as how this was an order from a hashira."

"If you want to spin it that way, I don't mind," Murata said.

Murata listened as he drank, letting Giyu fill the space with his words.

"His younger brother, Takeo, has also been training to be a demon slayer," Giyu said.

Murata choked, thumping his chest as he swallowed the last of his tea. Going through his memories, Murata tried to remember his letters with Giyu.

Now that he was thinking about it, Giyu never specified names in his letters, and only referred to them as the Kamado siblings.

Giyu, noticing the strange outburst, looked on with confusion. "You seem surprised? I mentioned siblings in my letters, so I thought you knew."

"I assumed there were only two."

Shaking his head, Giyu corrected him and counted with his fingers. "There are four. Tanjiro, Nezuko, Takeo, and Hanako."

The fact that half the Kamado family were alive made Murata feel happy. Tanjiro did not lose as much as he originally did.

"How are the other two?"

"Takeo is training. While I do not doubt his ability to pass Final Selection, I doubt his compatibility with Water Breathing. Hanako is still young, so she has been helping Urokodaki. Actually, Tanjiro forbid Hanako from becoming a demon slayer."

"But he allowed his brother?"

"Takeo was persistent, starving himself until Tanjiro budged."

Murata raised his brow. It was a stubborn thing, especially when facing Tanjiro, a boy with an extreme amount of stubbornness himself.

"While I did ask for you to come here to spar and exchange information, I had another purpose in mind. Would I be able to visit the Kamado siblings myself?"

Giyu stopped for a few moments, thinking about the request.

"I'll ask Urokodaki. If he accepts, then I do not mind," he said. Writing a letter, he gave it to his crow.

-

A couple weeks later, Murata and Giyu found themselves at Urokodaki's humble abode. It was early in the morning, and they could already hear two boys training in the clearing behind the home.

Urokodaki, with his signature tengu mask, walked up to them. He nodded at Giyu and looked at Murata.

"So, you are the Ice Hashira," Urokodaki remarked, showing them inside his house.

"I thank you for your hospitality," Murata said.

Urokodaki waved him off. Hanako greeted them, and she began preparing refreshments.

"Any friend of my students is a friend of mine. Though, I presume you have a reason, going out of your way to be here."

Murata thanked Hanako for the drink and addressed Urokodaki. "I wanted to personally thank you for taking care of the Kamado family. Especially Nezuko."

"I was concerned at first, even with Giyu's conviction. But, the master has sanctioned this situation, and he trusts that you will be able to handle it," Urokodaki said.

"Do not worry about their safety. I'm prepared for any backlash I'll receive from the others," Murata stated.

"I pray that you will. Now, did you come here just to visit, or did you have something else in mind?"

"I want to observe Nezuko and help out both Tanjiro and Takeo, if I can. It won't be long, since I'll have to return to my duties."

Urokodaki understood. They got up, and he led Murata to a dark room.

Inside, Nezuko was sleeping peacefully as Hanako watched over her.

"Has she been like this the whole time?" Murata asked Hanako.

She answered quietly. "Yes. It's been a year."

"And she has not eaten any humans, is that right?"

Urokodaki spoke up. "Despite being a new demon, Nezuko has not consumed a single human. It is my theory that she gains her energy through sleeping."

It made sense, yet Murata has always wondered about how simple it seemed. Even if Nezuko had incredible willpower and love for her family, that alone couldn't force a demon to change their entire physiology.

If that was all it took, it would be raise more questinos. For instance, Murata remembered how Sanemi described his mother. Yet, his mother attacked her own children, so what made Nezuko unique?

Murata's lack of skill or knowledge in science meant he couldn't pursue this curiosity on his own.

Stepping outside, he watched Giyu correct Tanjiro's and Takeo's movements.

Even with Giyu's guidance, Murata could see the slight hesitation in Tanjiro's strikes and the lack of comfort in Takeo's swings.

Giyu left them to practice on their own as he reached Murata.

"Tanjiro can use Water Breathing, but Takeo seems to struggle with it," Murata concluded. Giyu agreed with him, watching the two struggle.

"I think they would appreciate your help," Giyu said. He went inside without further explanation.

Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust

Tanjiro performed a thrust with his sword. The form, while slow, did not have terrible execution. But, it was obvious to Murata that Tanjiro would never truly master Water Breathing.

It was even worse for Takeo, who tried performing the seventh form but overexerted himself on the last segment of the movement. He fell to the ground.

Murata popped his neck and hands. If he wanted to help things along, then who could blame him?

 

[Jubjub3000]

Thank you for the chapter, tanjiro is going to become a beast isn't he? And with murata training against sun breath users I could see him growing even more than he currently is.