Chapter 2: Training Start!

Tanjuro watched, as Soren began going through each form of the dance, while correcting his mistakes as they happened, and as Soren began going through each form, he felt his breath start to increase in pace, while his body began to feel reinvigorated, and full of power, but upon stopping, all the power vanished, leaving only a small fraction left as a permanent increase in strength.

[You've done good, Soren… How about we end off today's lesson, and head inside]: tanjuro

Soren nodded towards his uncle, and quickly ran inside, as he ran up to his mother, who was currently cooking alongside a woman with black hair, and purple eyes. She wore a white bandana over her head, along with a white and purple patterned kimono, and a long sleeve smock overtop. Soren knew this woman as Aunt Kie, and this was Tanjuro's wife, and she also happened to be pregnant, and would soon have her first child in around 7 months.

'Aunt Kie will give birth to Tanjiro in about 7 months, meaning I'm still 16 years behind the plot… Though I don't know if anything will change, as Uncle Tanjuro never had a sister in the Anime, and even if he did, she never lived with him like we do now': soren

Soren was lost in thought, as he reminisced on the time his mother felt troubled to force herself and him onto Tanjuro after his father died, and though his mother refused to tell him how his father died, Soren could come up with some theories, as his father was in perfect health, so only a Demon could kill him, and just as Soren was thinking about the past, his mother, Aimi Kamado, spoke up.

[Soren… Go wash up, then come eat dinner]: aimi

Though both Soren and Aimi have begun living with Tanjuro and Kie for a few years, food was not a problem, as Tanjuro wasn't sick yet, and he caught all our food, while Soren would come along to carry some herbs and plants found in the snow.

[Yes, Mom!]: soren

Soren then ran to the bathroom, and stared at the wooden tub filled with the hot water his mother heated up around half an hour ago. He looked into the reflection on the surface, as he looked at his long red hair, while the tips of his hair were black. His eyes were a deep red color, making anyone who looked into them feel a little antsy around him, while his skin was as white as freshly fallen snow, and as he took off his black and gold haori, along with the thick rough cotton shirt, along with his thick black pants, Soren's body was put on display, as it was quite defined for that of a 5 year old, but it only looked like this due to his workout routine, along with the use of one of the Strength Pills he got from the System that opened back up just last week.

[Ahhh~!... The water feels nice]: soren

Soren let out a satisfied moan as he sunk his body into the water, and let the heat penetrate the pores of his skin, releasing the built up dirt from that morning's training, and while he was soaking, Soren called upon the System.

'Sakura… Can you display my stats?': soren

{Can do!

Status-

Name: Soren Kamado

Age: 5

Race: Human (???????)

Str: 5 (Adult Human is 20)

Dex: 6 (Adult Human is 18)

Agi: 6 (Adult Human is 18)

Int: 12 (Adult Human is 20)

Skills: Hinokami Kagura Dance

Passives: Multilingual

System Points: 1,000

This is your current status}

Soren looked over his status and nodded his head, as he seemed to be progressing, albeit slowly. Soon, Soren's bath was done, as he dried off and put on the clothes his mother laid out for him, as they were the same style as his previous clothes, while his black and gold patterned haori was just worn over the new clean set of clothes, and after dressing himself, Soren walked towards the kitchen to start eating.

[So, mom… Uncle Tanjuro said he would teach me how to perform the Hinokami Kagura Dance, that way I can appease our ancestors, and the God of Fire!]: soren

When Soren spoke, his words caught the attention of Aimi, as she knew well the real purpose for the Hinokami Kagura, and she didn't like the idea of her son becoming a Demon Slayer, as it's the profession that killed her husband, but she vowed to never tell her son this, and instead gave Tanjuro a death glare, making him sweat, as he tried to correct Soren.

[Ahaha… Yeah, I'm only teaching him the Dance, as he asked to learn after watching me perform the dance… Don't worry, it's nothing dangerous]: tanjuro

Tanjuro then watched as his sister's glare disappeared, while Soren watched the interaction with a slight smile, as watching such a strong man like Tanjuro fall before the glare of one weaker to him was funny. And like this, 5 more years passed by, as Soren turned 10, and Tanjiro was 4 and a half. Soren would practice the Hinokami Kagura Dance every day, just as Tanjuro instructed, and it was also around this time that Tanjuro began to feel sick, bringing light to his illness, as his body slowly lost its luster, and his skin began to grow pale. Soren knew that it was the effect of his Slayer Mark, as it forcefully pulled on one's lifeforce, shortening their lives to around 40, meaning Tanjuro had around 11-12 years left before he would die.

'Sakura, could you show me my stats': soren

{Come right up!

Status-

Name: Soren Kamado

Age: 10

Race: Human (???????)

Str: 20 (Adult Human is 20)

Dex: 21 (Adult Human is 18)

Agi: 21 (Adult Human is 18)

Int: 20 (Adult Human is 20)

Skills: Hinokami Kagura Dance, Basic Swordsmanship

Passives: Multilingual, Enhanced Stamina

System Points: 1,000

These are your current stats}

Soren was happy to see his stats rise to that of an adult, as he was still only a child, but he could beat an adult in a fight. Over the course of the last 5 years, Soren had started trying to practice the way of the sword, as he found a nice thick wooden branch from the forest around his home, and every day he would raise it above his head and swing down, before raising it back up and swinging it down again. Soren would do this until his arms grew tired, but upon trying to incorporate the Hinokami Kagura, Soren felt less winded, but still didn't get the result he wanted.

'Maybe I should use the Breathing Manual?': soren

Soren left the manual alone for so long, he almost forgot about it, but now that he had come across this block, it only seemed right to test it out, so he took a small book from his inventory space, and upon touching the cover of the book, a message popped up.

{Would you like to convert (Hinokami Kagura Dance) into (Breath of the Sun)?}

When Soren saw this message, his eyes shined brightly, as he immediately nodded his head, and watched as the small manual began to glow, before being etched in fire, as the words "Sun Breathing" formed upon the cover, and upon opening the manual to the first page, Soren began reading the forms.

First Form: Flash Dance

Second Form: Clear Blue Sky

Third Form: Raging Sun

Fourth Form: Fake Rainbow

Fifth Form: Fire Wheel

Sixth Form: Burning Bones, Summer Sun

Seventh Form: Sunflower Thrust

Eighth Form: Solar Heat haze

Ninth Form: Setting Sun Transformation

Tenth Form: Beneficent Radiance

Eleventh Form: Dragon Sun Halo Head Dance

Twelfth Form: Flame Dance

Thirteenth Form: Thirteenth Form

Soren was getting excited as he read through each form, as he got an in depth tutorial on how to perform the move, as the book provided by the System made a projection into Soren's mind, as it displayed each form, but it seemed hard to grasp, that was until Soren came up with an idea.

'Sakura, will one of those Body and Mind Harmonization pills help in comprehending Sun Breathing?': soren

{It should be possible… Though take them with caution, as only 1 is needed, and these pills are very expensive}

'Understood!': soren

Soren then took a pill in hand, and quickly swallowed it, before opening the manual again, and began watching with a keen interest as each form was displayed by a figureless shadow. Soren then spent what felt like hours intently watching the shadow perform each form, before he was snapped awake by the sound of his mother shouting his name.

[Soren!]: aimi

Upon waking up, Soren noticed that the sun had set, and night was approaching quickly, so without any further hesitation, Soren ran back inside, as he didn't want to become Demon Food, and upon entering the house, Soren decided it was time to let the cat out of the bag.

[Mom… Uncle Tanjuro… I want to become a Demon Slayer]: soren

After those words left his mouth, both Tanjuro and Aimi were shocked, as Aimi almost dropped the pot of food she made onto the floor, while Tanjuro was trying to find a place to hide, as he knew that this would somehow turn to bite him in the ass, leaving the room silent, before Aimi shouted.

[WHAT!!!!]: aimi

Needless to say, Soren was questioned on how he obtained the knowledge about Demons and Demon Slayers, as Aimi had a suspicion Tanjuro told him. But to her surprise, Soren said he heard talk of the Demon Slayers from the village down below, making Aimi upset as she spoke her next words.

[No… I forbid you to become a Demon Slayer, and I forbid you from going down to the village, even if Tanjuro is going]: aimi

Soren was a bit upset, as he was hoping his mother would be happy that he wanted to become a slayer, but in fact, he was now grounded.

[What!?... But, why!?... Why can't I become a Demon Slayer?]: soren

[Because I said so… Enough talking about it]: aimi

[But mom!!!]: soren

Aimi was getting angry, as she slammed her hand down on the table and spoke with anger in her tone.

[I said ENOUGH!... I will not have my son fighting those monsters, and end up dying like his father- oops!]: aimi

Aimi realized that she spoke too much, and quickly tried to cover her words, but before she could say anything else, Soren spoke.

[I already know, mom… Dad was the perfect picture of health, and him suddenly dying one day was weird, and now it make sense, as the existence of Demons would be the only possible explanation, as dad was a strong man]: soren

As Soren spoke about his father, Aimi began to tear up, as she then began to cry, before she then ran off to the room she shared with her son. Soren was left at the table to finish his food, while Tanjuro looked at him with pity in his eyes, before getting up and patting Soren's shoulder, and walking off after his sister. After dinner, everyone went to sleep, and the next morning, Soren woke up to see his mother was not asleep next to him, and upon getting up and heading outside, he saw Tanjuro standing in the snow with 2 swords in hand, as he stared at Soren and spoke.

[You want to slay Demons?... Pathetic!... You're the epitome of weak, and you'll die in your first encounter with a real demon!... But I can help you… you want to learn to fight against Demons, then come learn by fighting me!]: tanjuro

Tanjuro then tossed a simple sword towards Soren, while Tanjuro held the handle of a black katana with a completely black blade, and said a simple word while becokening with his free hand, making Soren excited.

[Come!]: tanjuro

Soren lunged towards Tanjuro in hopes to surprise him and get one over on him, but to Soren's surprise, the frail old man was quick, and simply dodged to the side, before using the back of his katana to hit Soren and bring him to the ground.

[How will you kill a Demon with such a slow speed and reaction?... Get up!... Try again]: tanjuro

Soren did as Tanjuro said, and charged once again, while Aimi and Kie watched from afar, while Kie rubbed her stomach, as she was due to give birth any day now.

[I don't like this]: aimi

[Don't worry, Aimi… Tanjuro won't truly hurt Soren, he is only trying to toughen him up a bit]: kie

[I know, but it's hard to watch your own child be beaten and told he is useless, even if it's from his own uncle… And I still don't want to see my baby go off to fight demons]: aimi

Kie only nodded, as she couldn't picture sending Tanjiro off to fight demons, but if that's what he wanted, she wanted him to be safe doing so.