Choice

Inei cursed inwardly as he departed. His assigned destination was very, very far away to the north.

The worst part was, he was not familiar with such a cold climate. Raiken village mostly stayed hot and cozy, so Inei had poor resistance to cold.

Even if winter fell, his parents would not let him wander elsewhere, firmly keeping him inside with a blanket wrapped or near the fireplace.

The tension built up inside his mind faded away as he reminiscent of the past, a subtle, gentle smile crept up his face.

Shaking his head, Inei took one last glance at the village before departing. He began his venture with a haircut. He raised the amethyst blade and cut his hair to his shoulder, and tied it into a low ponytail.

The highlighted red strands in his hair beautifully danced in the wind with the black strands.

Planting his feet on the ground, Inei shot off with a burst of speed. The cold breeze caressed his cheeks as he sprinted through the vast field.

...

'Inei...'

Gazing at the burning star in the cloudless sky, Urokodaki recalled his memories with his disciple.

"Haa!!"

Snapping out of his trance, his eyes landed on a young man with waist-length red, tangled hair with matching eyes.

His other disciple, Tanjiro Kamado. He was a kid with a kind heart... Maybe the kindest. He showed plenty of potential, his hard steel will also drove him to train to the utmost extreme.

His efforts were by no means short, his tenacity to prevail proved beared much fruit. His ability to adapt and learn was second to none.

However, he lacked something... something Urokodaki only found in Inei.

He did not know what that had been, the question seem to linger for a while, but answers were never found.

But, it was crystal clear that Inei and Tanjiro had a wide gap between them, no matter how Urokodaki tried to imagine it, he simply could not place this student of his above Inei.

'He did not need anything other than a simple sword'

Tanjiro gave out complaints about the difficulty of his training, whereas Inei did not utter a word bathing in ice-cold water... With that frail body of his.

Urokodaki chuckled, the answer was right in front of him this entire time.

'Conviction... His conviction far surpasses every man I have met in my whole life as a Demon Slayer'

Feeling a tinge of pride at the fact that he had gotten the opportunity to train such a youth, a tear ran down his old and wrinkled cheek.

"M.. Haa... Master"

Hearing Tanjiro's voice, Urokodaki twisted his neck to see his disciple.

"What is it?"

Catching his breath, the young Kamado stared intently into his master's eyes, the latter felt unease by the look of Tanjiro.

"Am I... Am I doing better than Inei?"

Holding a scoff, his gaze lingered on the green grass ahead before replying in a flat tone.

"No... Nobody can"

Tanjiro felt dejected, however, he decided to change the question.

"Why can't anybody? Is he that special"

Urokodaki walked into his house without giving a reply, Tanjiro gaped at his back before continuing his training.

...

Walking inside, Urokodaki's gaze fell on the demon named Nezuko, Tanjiro's younger sister he's trying to recover back into a human.

A tinge of guilt washed over him as he sat down on the cold, wooden surface.

His eyes fell on the sleeping figure on the mattress.

'You sought to kill every Demon... How will you act when faced with this one, Inei? Would you be willing to go that far?'

Clear of his disciple's goal, Urokodaki felt his shoulders turn heavy from even the thought of it, he knew all too well what would be the outcome if the two met.

He gazed at the wall in Tanjiro's direction.

'I'm sorry, young one. If the two of you siblings were to ever meet him, I am afraid you will experience the death of your sister'

Even though he felt it was the right thing to protect Nezuko, he could not bring himself to reveal anything about Inei's ambition to Tanjiro... He was going to get her killed by Inei's hands if not so.

But despite that, betraying his beloved Inei hurt and felt more wrong than caring for Nezuko, so he chose... He chose to abandon the dream of Tanjiro Kamado.

"Master Urokodaki, I'm done"

The door slid open to reveal the battered and sweaty Tanjiro, his carefree smile still plastered on his face.

Urokodaki could not bring himself eye-to-eye with his disciple, he stood up, made an excuse, and walked away.

'What's up with him?'

Scratching his head, Tanjiro kneeled to caress his sister's face, he felt the fatigue fade away as he gazed at the petite face of Nezuko.

"Rest well"

Kissing her forehead, Tanjiro smiled before heading to freshen himself up.