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"... What did you do?"
The speed at which Tanjiro went from "understanding and grateful disciple" to "older brother on the verge of homicide" was, frankly, impressive.
Marcus swallowed hard.
In retrospect, maybe he should have let the emotional moment last a little longer before opening his mouth.
But the master had already confessed his part, and if Marcus kept quiet and Tanjiro found out later... the result would be considerably worse.
"Well... the thing is…"
He hugged Nezuko a little tighter.
"...I saw the master implant the suggestion…"
Tanjiro stared at him without blinking.
"...and I couldn't help myself…"
A vein appeared on Tanjiro's forehead.
"...and I also... gave her one…"
His voice trailed off into something barely more audible than an ant whispering an apology.
"WHAT DID YOU TELL HER?!"
Marcus had already shifted his gaze to a very interesting spot on the ceiling that suddenly demanded his full attention.
"Nothing important. After all, my ability isn't as powerful as the master's. He was able to change Nezuko's perception of all humans. I just... just…" He swallowed. "...changed it for one person…"
At that moment, an unease sprouted from deep within Tanjiro.
"SPIT IT OUT!"
Marcus clenched his teeth hard, activated the Breath of Desire, and blurted it all at once—like ripping off a bandage in one pull. "I just told Nezuko that the person who carries this scent is her fiancé!"
"..."
A stunned silence fell over the cabin.
Urokodaki turned to stone. Nezuko, oblivious to everything, smiled placidly.
And Tanjiro…
Tanjiro flipped the table.
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!"
Without a moment's hesitation, he grabbed his sword and lunged at Marcus.
"Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux!"
"Fuck! Tanjiro, you don't use that on family!!"
Marcus had no choice but to let go of Nezuko and run for it—he had no other option. Makomo was still in the old man's hands—he had nothing to defend himself with!
"Master, as your almost-son-in-law I demand protection!! ...No, wait, I take that back!! GIVE ME BACK MAKOMO!! At least think about your house—IT'S YOUR HOUSE THAT'S GETTING WRECKED, NOT MINE!!"
Upon hearing this, Urokodaki placed Makomo across his knees with all the calm in the world, closed his eyes, regulated his breathing, and proceeded to ignore the cries for help.
It was too much… Even he thought Marcus had crossed the line.
Who does that?
He had implanted that suggestion as a last resort—a safety measure to ensure Nezuko would never harm a human being.
And this guy assigns himself the role of fiancé!
No wonder... No wonder Nezuko had gotten so attached to Marcus from the very first time she saw him.
Tsk... shameless brat.
On top of it all, he'd had the nerve to take advantage of him!
…
"Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin!"
"MASTER, YOUR FAVORITE STUDENT IS DYING!"
"Don't you run!! Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Piercing Rain Drop!"
"AAAGH!! THE ASS, TANJIRO!? SERIOUSLY!?!! THAT'S NOT PART OF WATER BREATHING!!"
"Breath of Desire, Second Form: Fox's Walk!"
"You... you don't even have a sword!! How are you—?! OW!!"
"Don't underestimate the fury of your Senpai, you idiot!!"
"Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance!"
"…My haori."
"YOU DESERVE IT!!"
"..."
Inside the cabin, Nezuko remained seated exactly where they'd left her, watching the open door with those big eyes that blinked without the slightest urgency.
She didn't understand what was happening.
Why was her brother fighting with her fiancé?
Wasn't family supposed to get along?
…
The chase lasted the entire night.
Tanjiro hunted Marcus downhill, uphill, to the summit, back to the base of the mountain, up to the summit again, and finally back toward the cabin where it had all started.
And then, halfway through what would have been their fifth lap around the mountain, Tanjiro ran out of steam and collapsed face-first into the ground with the grace of a sack of rice.
Marcus dragged him back to the room by the scruff of his neck.
Urokodaki was already gone—he'd taken Makomo with him, most likely to the summit of the mountain.
Marcus didn't want to intrude. He drew some water from the barrel and washed up quickly.
Then he wrapped the filthy Tanjiro in his own futon like a caterpillar, tied him up with rope, and kicked him into a corner. That would prevent a morning ambush.
After that, he let himself drop down next to Nezuko, who hadn't batted an eye through the whole commotion and was sleeping peacefully. He wrapped an arm around her and closed his eyes.
He slept until noon the next day.
When he opened his eyes, Tanjiro was no longer in the corner. The futon was there, the rope was there, but the contents had vanished.
Nezuko was still asleep in his arms, curled up in her mini form because apparently that was more comfortable. He pinched her cheeks affectionately, confirmed they were indeed as soft as they looked, and got up from the futon with a touch of reluctance.
He opened the door and…
Nearly had a heart attack.
Tanjiro was planted right in front of him, as if he'd been there for hours. With a sword in one hand, a gourd in the other, and his face red as a tomato from all the blowing.
"...The old man's teaching you Total Concentration?"
Tanjiro lowered the gourd just long enough to glare daggers at him. "The master says my stamina is worse than yours because I haven't mastered Constant Concentration! The second I learn it, I'm going to cut you to pieces!"
Marcus eyed the sword Tanjiro was gripping tightly. "Then what do you have the sword for right now?"
"If I heard anything weird in there, I was going in to cut you down!"
"...And why didn't you just come inside to keep watch?"
Tanjiro clenched his teeth so hard Marcus could hear them grinding. "Because the master wouldn't let me! He said he knew me and that he wasn't going to put up with me!"
Marcus stared at him. Tanjiro stared right back.
Seems like he really was furious.
Well. If that's how things were going to be…
Stepping back inside, Marcus returned to the room and woke Nezuko. Tanjiro tensed, gripping his sword tighter. Under his murderous glare, Marcus rummaged through his things and pulled out…
A feather wand cat toy.
!
Nezuko's eyes snapped wide open.
And without a word, he started playing with her.
From the doorway, Tanjiro watched as his sister chased that toy with a joy so pure and innocent that something inside him fractured beyond repair.
"Stay! The master said you can't come in!" Marcus grinned at him shamelessly. "I'm doing this for your own good, Tanjiro. It's training."
"Total Concentration Constant means maintaining it without interruption under any circumstances, right?" He waved the feather wand without taking his eyes off him. "Well, when your emotions are running high is precisely when it's easiest to break. So technically, I'm helping you."
"LIAR!!!" Tanjiro was about to charge in—
"Don't go in." Urokodaki appeared beside Tanjiro. "The pervert has a point."
He placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "If you can maintain Constant Concentration even in the face of a provocation like this, then you'll have truly mastered it."
"Master…!" Tanjiro looked at him in desperation.
"Don't look at me—look at the gourd!" Urokodaki said sternly. "Marcus can exhaust you without touching a sword. That alone shows how wide the gap between you two is. If you went in there now, what good would it do? He'd just have you running in circles again."
Tanjiro clenched his teeth.
"If you want to beat him, if you want payback, you have to work harder than him, suffer more than him, be more consistent than him."
Urokodaki looked at Marcus. "In those areas, that guy is naturally inferior to you. He's used to doing whatever the hell he wants, and that's your only advantage. Do you have the confidence?"
"I HAVE THE CONFIDENCE!!"
"Then keep going!"
"YES, MASTER!!"
Watching Tanjiro transform into a passionate idiot, Marcus winked at Urokodaki.
"Then I'll keep going too."
"..."
Urokodaki couldn't bear to watch anymore. He turned around and left.
…
What followed were fifteen days of psychological warfare.
Marcus slept with Nezuko well into the morning.
In the afternoons, he played with her inside the house with the door strategically left open.
Tanjiro, outside: blow blow blow.
At night, it was worse.
Taking Nezuko by the hand to look at the moon—Tanjiro was behind them, blowing the gourd.
Carrying her down to stroll through town—Tanjiro was behind them, blowing the gourd.
Accompanying Nezuko through the forest to catch bugs—Tanjiro was behind them, blowing the gourd.
Fifteen whole days…
Fifteen days of Tanjiro blowing a gourd while watching another man raise his sister.
And it worked.
Under Marcus's constant and relentless stimulus, Tanjiro mastered the fundamentals of Total Concentration Constant in less time than it would have otherwise taken him. He could now maintain it almost continuously in his daily life.
As for the gourd, although he still hadn't managed to burst the biggest one, the training had brought him one step closer to fully mastering his breathing.
And just when Tanjiro felt he was finally ready to settle the score…
Two silhouettes carrying long boxes on their backs appeared at the foot of Mount Sagiri.
The swordsmiths had come to deliver the blades.
Which also meant that their first mission as members of the Demon Slayer Corps was about to arrive.
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Tanjiro spent 15 days blowing a gourd, so you can spend 5 seconds dropping a comment and your Power Stones before you leave! Hand 'em over!
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