"Hah—"
"Clang—"
"An opening, right here!"
Tanjiro aimed for the moment Takeshi turned around, the wooden sword in his hand slicing through the air as he swung it down with a fierce strike.
However, Takeshi's movements were even faster; he held his wooden sword behind his back with a reverse grip, perfectly blocking Tanjiro's attack.
"How?!" Tanjiro's face was filled with disbelief. Even from such a tricky angle, Takeshi could still react?
Wasn't his flexibility just too good?
After blocking Tanjiro's attack, Takeshi kept the wooden sword steady while exerting force through his body, turning around to repel him with his own strength.
"Alright, let's stop here."
Takeshi put away the wooden sword.
Tanjiro didn't feel much dejection, instead looking at Takeshi with admiration: "Takeshi, you're just too strong! I almost want to call you Big Brother!"
Takeshi smiled and flicked Tanjiro's forehead... Hiss?
Why was he the one in pain?
"Why do you always shout so loudly when you attack? Doesn't that just let your opponent know your intentions?"
Tanjiro scratched his head sheepishly.
"Forget it. There's less than a month left. You remember Mr. Urokodaki's trial for you, right?"
"Mm, of course!"
Tanjiro's expression became much more serious. "Yeah! I'll definitely split that stone today. I have to find a way to restore Nezuko!"
"Mm, I'll go watch today too!"
Takeshi and Tanjiro chatted as they returned to the wooden cabin.
Mr. Urokodaki wasn't home; it seemed he had gone out for something.
"Mmu!"
"Nezuko!"
Seeing that Nezuko had woken up, Tanjiro said with a look of pleasant surprise, "You're awake!"
"Mmu—"
"Ah! Nezuko, you're drooling!"
Tanjiro gently wiped it away with a handkerchief.
During this time, whenever Takeshi returned, Nezuko would always wake up immediately and watch him while drooling.
However, she had already overcome the habit of pouncing on Takeshi as soon as she saw him.
On one hand, it was because of the constant suggestions from Tanjiro and Mr. Urokodaki that humans were her friends.
On the other hand, it was because Nezuko herself suppressed the desire to eat humans.
Kanae looked at Nezuko's well-behaved appearance, still finding it incredible: "It's shocking. I never expected that after a human turns into a demon, they could actually suppress the urge to harm people. This is the first time I've seen it!"
"After all, the essence of a demon still comes from a human."
"Mmu!"
After Tanjiro finished wiping away Nezuko's drool, Nezuko reached out her hand toward Takeshi.
"Hmm? What does this mean?"
Tanjiro saw this and said with a smile, "It seems Nezuko is very attached to you, Takeshi!"
"I feel like she's just craving me, isn't she?" Takeshi had a line of black dots over his head. But that was fine too; it proved his blood didn't smell bad... Wait, why was he always obsessing over that?!
Takeshi reached out and stroked Nezuko's smooth hair, and Nezuko made a blissful expression like a kitten.
She really is cute.
It felt as if he truly had a younger sister.
"Waa, so cute! Takeshi-kun, I want to pet her too! Could I trouble you to fall unconscious again? Or let Tanjiro headbutt you once more?" Seeing the adorable Nezuko, Kanae's maternal instincts as a woman instantly overflowed.
"...?"
Are you even human?
"Mmu!"
"Ah, Nezuko, you can't sneak-attack Takeshi! Takeshi isn't food, he's family!"
Tanjiro hurriedly hugged Nezuko, who was trying to launch a sneak attack, to prevent her from biting Takeshi.
After the little interlude ended, evening arrived.
After settling Nezuko in, Takeshi and Tanjiro went together to the training spot near the back mountain.
This training ground was covered in gravel and wood chips left over from being struck by swords.
The ground was also pitted and uneven.
It was clear how hard the person training here had worked.
Takeshi looked at Tanjiro's persevering back, a sense of admiration welling up within him.
Tanjiro's talent as a swordsman might not be the highest, but he was definitely the most hardworking.
"You've come!"
Sabito appeared before them without warning.
"Sabito! Please, fight with me one more time!" Tanjiro said in a serious tone.
"Heh! Bring it on!"
This time, both of them switched to steel swords.
Because Tanjiro's sword had been broken during his training, Takeshi lent him his own, while he himself held a wooden sword.
Tanjiro lowered his center of gravity slightly, took a deep breath, and stared at Sabito with burning eyes.
"Hah—" Sabito was the first to charge at Tanjiro.
Tanjiro remained unmoved until Sabito was right in front of him.
Tanjiro seemed to see a thread—a thread that could seemingly be cut!
"Swish—"
A flash of sword light passed, and with a "clack," the mask on Sabito's face split in two.
Tanjiro stared blankly at the face beneath the mask.
It was warm and soft, like the sun.
Sabito spoke slowly, his voice no longer serious and disdainful, but incredibly warm: "Tanjiro, I'm leaving everything to you!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Tanjiro felt a momentary blur before his eyes.
There was no Sabito in front of him anymore; the giant boulder, which was even taller than him, had split into two!
"I really... split it?"
Urokodaki Sakonji walked over step by step, as if he had known all along. "I originally didn't want you to participate in the Final Selection. I didn't want to see any more children die..."
"But, Tanjiro, you did it. You've worked hard enough." For the first time, Urokodaki Sakonji stroked his hair so gently before pulling him into an embrace.
The warmth between Master and disciple erupted at this moment.
"Tanjiro, you must come back alive from the Final Selection!"
...By the time they were leaving the next day, Tanjiro and Takeshi had changed into new clothes.
Nezuko was temporarily being looked after by Urokodaki Sakonji.
Upon leaving, Tanjiro waved his hand to say goodbye to his Master: "Master Urokodaki! Please take good care of yourself. I will definitely come back alive!"
Tanjiro wore a "Warding Mask" specially made for him by Urokodaki Sakonji, and Takeshi had one as well.
"Ah, right, Master Urokodaki, please thank Sabito and Makomo for me!"
Hearing these words, Urokodaki Sakonji was plunged into an indescribable state of shock:
"Why does Tanjiro know the names of the children who died?"
After seeing the two of them off, Urokodaki Sakonji went to the back mountain, to the place where Tanjiro had split the stone.
"I hope everything goes smoothly..." Urokodaki Sakonji happened to place his hand on one half of the stone—
"Crack—Boom!"
The two halves of the boulder instantly disintegrated into small pieces of rock!
"This is—" Urokodaki Sakonji's hand trembled as he took off his mask, his eyes flashing with disbelief.
He still remembered that yesterday before leaving, Takeshi had held a wooden sword and said he wanted to try as well... with a wooden sword...