_________________________________________________________

"Do you think she'll be waking up soon?"

Tanjiro opened the sliding door, revealing Nezuko sleeping peacefully atop the small bed.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with her. I've already checked. It's just like she's asleep," Rimuru answered.

Tanjiro looked back at Nezuko. She had slept through the entire day, not even once waking up or showing any signs of life.

Urokodaki slowly stood up from where he was sitting.

"Let's go."

~

"The Demon Slayer Corps has around several hundred members."

"It's an organization unrecognized by the government."

"Yet it's existed since ancient times, and we continue to hunt demons today."

"But as for who's leading the Demon Slayer Corps, that remains a mystery."

"...Demons."

"Staple food... Humans!"

"They kill humans and feed on them. No one knows when and where they first appeared."

"Their physical prowess is remarkable. Wounds heal in the blink of an eye. Flesh is restored after being hacked off, and limbs can newly be regenerated."

"Some demons can shape-shift. Others have other-worldly powers."

"They can only be killed by sunlight or decapitation with a special sword."

"The Demon Slayers battle the demons with their own mortal bodies. Since they're human, their wounds are slow to heal, and, once lost, their limbs won't grow back!"

"Even so, they battle the demons..."

"To protect other humans."

~

Rimuru sped through the forest, avoiding every single trap that came his way.

Tanjiro tried to follow behind but was easily out-speeded by Rimuru who only seemed like a blur as he descended the mountain.

"I am a trainer."

Urokodaki stared at his two new students.

"I literally train swordsmen."

"There are many trainers, and each of them train their pupils with their own regimen in their location."

"To join the Demon Slayer Corps, you must survive the Final Selection process held on Mt. Fujikasane. Whether or not your eligible for the Final Selection is up to me."

Tanjiro jumped over a tripwire. 'Starting today, I'm going to keep a journal for Nezuko. I remember that Rimuru has one, and I think that it's a great idea.'

'I'm descending the mountain again today. I'm going to train my hardest so I won't die during the Final Selection, and...'

He looked up as Rimuru jumped off the trunk of a tree to avoid several wooden darts. He then landed with a roll and wasted no time moving forward.

'I'll be able to catch up with Rimuru!'

Tanjiro jumped over a tripwire that had popped out of the ground.

'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...'

Tanjiro turned to the left to see several kitchen knives being launched at him. He only barely side-stepped in time so that the knives would miss his face and stick to the stem of a tree. He grimaced at what could've been him.

'The traps are getting more and more difficult.'

Tanjiro could be seen barely avoiding becoming swiss-cheese via pitfall trap with sharp spikes at the bottom.

'He may really want to kill me!'

~

Tanjiro wrote that sentence on the smooth paper of his journal. He glanced over at Nezuko to see that she was still fine and sleeping.

He continued writing.

~

Tanjiro ran down the mountain, sword in hand.

'I made my descent today, sword in hand, but the sword really hampered my movement.'

Tanjiro suddenly stepped on a snare, sending him straight up into the sky as he screamed.

Urokodaki stared in amusement.

'With the sword, I can't stop ensnared in all the traps!'

Tanjiro waved his arms frantically, desperately trying to wiggle his way out of the trap as he swung back and forth.

~

Tanjiro could be seen standing next to Rimuru, swinging a sword.

"991!"

'I swing the sword today.'

'After descending the mountain, I swing my sword until my arms nearly fall off.'

'This really is cheating,' Rimuru thought. Not only did he have practically infinite stamina, he had already received rigorous sword training from Hakurou. This practically made the sword lessons here pointless.

Though, Rimuru stuck around. He needed to stick with Tanjiro and Nezuko. He needed to protect what he failed to protect.

Plus, he was curious about breathing techniques.

With a slime body, the breathing techniques really didn't help him in any way. He didn't have muscles or the anatomy of a human which practically renders breathing techniques useless.

That sounds bad, but in the end, he could just make up for the lack of not being able to use a breathing technique with his superior strength, speed, and skills.

"Ah, what a problem...' Rimuru thought.

"1,000!" Rimuru and Tanjiro both finished simultaneously.

Urokodaki appeared behind them, "500 more!"

Tanjiro froze in disbelief.

~

The moon shined brightly, lighting up the night.

Tanjiro finished let his hand rest for a while. He let his brush fall to the table as he slowly nodded in and out.

He was tired.

~

"Swords break easily-"

Rimuru stared at the blade in his hand. It was a fine blade. It was sharp, light, and durable. It was no Veldanava sword, but it would do.

Urokodaki stood in front of three bamboo shoots, holding a sword at his side. Tanjiro stood next to Rimuru, also having a sword in his hand.

'That's what he told me beforehand.'

'Though it's strong vertically, it's weak horizontally, so... you need to apply the force straight along the blade.'

'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.

~

Tanjiro rubbed his tired eyes as he, once again, started writing in his journal.

"Nezuko..." He murmured. "I'll keep working hard, okay?"

Tanjiro continued writing.

~

The Sun had just risen and the sound of birds chirping had filled the forest.

In front of Urokodaki, stood Tanjiro holding a sword in a stance. Tanjiro only stared before he realized that he was falling.

"Eh?"

He fell down to the ground painfully. The culprit being Urokodaki, as he flipped Tanjiro over.

'Today, I did nothing but fall.'

'Training to break my fall and get up quickly from any position.'

Tanjiro got up, determined. He grasped his sword and charged Urokodaki with a battle cry.

'I wield my sword, and I charge Mr. Urokodaki really trying to kill him.'

Urokodaki took a stance in response.

'In contrast, Mr. Urokodaki is bare-handed and unarmed.'

Urokodaki quickly dashed forward, grabbing Tanjiro by his kimono. Tanjiro couldn't even react before he was thrown over Urokodaki's head in a flip.

'But he's ridiculously powerful!'

'He flings me away to roll on the ground every time.'

~

Just as he was about to succumb to exhaustion, he heard a voice behind him.

"You're still awake?"

He turned around to see familiar blue hair and eyes.

Tanjiro smiled.

"Rimuru," he said. Rimuru sat down next to him. "Are you writing in your journal?"

Tanjiro nodded. "When Nezuko wakes up, I want her to be able to read all about what she's missed."

"That's a good idea." Rimuru nodded back.

Tanjiro looked down slightly. He had a question.

"Rimuru?"

"Yeah?"

"How did you become so strong?"

"Uhhh..." Rimuru looked up in thought. How did he become strong?

He had lived his life in Japan as Satoru Mikami, he died in a stabbing incident protecting his co-worker, and then he got reincarnated as a Slime. After that, he did his best to try and establish peace which got himself into one too many situations. He smiled as he remembered all the situations that he had managed to get himself into. In the end, he had his friends with him.

Though, after the Great Tenma War, it all goes blank.

There, Rimuru truly became strong.

Rimuru turned to Tanjiro who was sitting there, waiting for an answer.

"Lots of effort and lots of pain."

Tanjiro blinked.

"O-Oh, alright."

Rimuru stood up. "Alright then, I'm going to rest for a bit. You should get to sleep, too."

Tanjiro yawned, closing his journal. "That might not be such a bad idea." His eyes slowly closed and he fell asleep sitting up.

Rimuru waited for a bit before walking over to wall next to Nezuko. Slowly, he propped himself against the wall in a comfortable position. Usually, he would be working right now because a slime doesn't need sleep.

Though, because he didn't have any paperwork or meetings to attend in this world, he would just sit in thought the entire night.

'I wonder what's going to happen tomorrow,' Rimuru smiled.

1361 Words

_________________________________________________________