The next day, Mr. Urokodaki brought Tanjiro and Kagami near the top of Mount Sagiri. Tanjiro looked like he was dreading what was coming next while poor Kagami had no idea what was in store for them.
"I am a trainer. My job is to teach new swordsmen," Mr. Urokodaki started with his hands behind his back, "There are many trainers, and each of them trains their pupils with their own regimen at their location. To join the Demon Slayer Corp, you must survive the Final Selection at Mount Fujikasane. I will decide whether or not you're eligible for Final Selection. You will go down the slope of this mountain and find your way back to the cabin by yourself. I expect nothing less than survival."
Kagami cocked her head in confusion at him. Going down the slope of the mountain seemed pretty easy enough to her. Finding her way back felt like the trickier part.
Then, they began to run down the slope. Tanjiro looked like he was being careful where he stepped and constantly took a big whiff of the air with his nose. It seemed strange and unnecessary to her. Her mindset was to just keep going and hope not to trip over a rock or a tree root piercing the world.
Just as she thought that, she was too late to see the trip wire on the ground attached to a pair of trees on either side of her. She gasped when her foot made contact and snapped the rope in half. A large log fell from the sky in front of her, ramming itself hard in her abdomen. A cry of pain spilled from her lips, her organs feeling they were about to burst, as she fell against the ground. She then felt something click underneath her. Straining her eyes open, horror coursed through her veins seeing arrows beginning to rain down on her. Ignoring her pain, Kagami quickly rolled to the side and heard the arrows pierce the ground harmlessly.
She wanted to breathe heavily, she needed to catch her breath, but the pain made it hurt too much. She finally had the bright idea to look through the forest, noticing the logs, arrows, and trip wires placed delicately throughout.
The whole place is booby trapped! How the hell was she supposed to survive?!
As if on cue, a small gust of wind blew by her, ruffling her hair and senses. A sense of urgency flowed through her body and Kagami forced herself on her feet, jumping away from her spot on the ground. Something sharp whizzed by her head and impaled the earth where she previously laid. A spear?! Further down the slope, she watched Tanjiro barely miss a rain of machetes and catch himself before he could fall into a pit dug in the ground, where more machetes could've impaled him!
Is Mr. Urokodaki trying to kill them?! What kind of training involves them almost dying to arrows, spears, and machetes?!
The urgent blow of the wind was back and blew right into her face. Kagami yelped and sidestepped when another large log almost slammed right into her again. She watched it hang uselessly in the air before continuing her way down the slope.
It seemed every time she was near a trap, the wind would blow in whichever direction the trap would be coming from. Just from that day, Kagami quickly got used to it and adjusted every single time she felt it. She almost avoided all the traps! Except the ones where she thought there were traps because a regular gust of wind blew in resulting her in getting cut, scraped, and bruised all over her body. When there was multiple traps in one area, it was also hard to discern which trap was going to hit her first. Luckily, she avoided all the lethal ones. The non-lethal ones... she wasn't so lucky.
Nightfall, back at the cabin, Kagami collapsed against her bed with a loud painful groan. Her body ached, her head was pounding, and all she wanted to do was sleep. Although, the flickering flame from the lantern nearby kept her from doing so. She turned over in her bed and watched as Tanjiro wrote in his journals. He had a small sad smile every time he glanced at Nezuko who was still fast asleep in her bed. He told Kagami he was going to write journals for Nezuko to read whenever she woke up.
It had been 24 hours since she's last woken up and she showed no signs she was going to. Mr. Urokodaki said she was alive but... it was still worrying.
Ever since that day, Tanjiro and Kagami had been descending the mountain daily avoiding traps with his keen sense of smell and her following the breaths of the wind. She was getting better at discerning the different types of wind, adjusting to the new traps Mr. Urokodaki laid out, and becoming stronger than ever. She expertly jumped over a wire trap, ducked her head from the oncoming hail of machetes, but almost fell into a pit of machetes. Not again! If it hadn't been for Tanjiro, she would've been dead! Maybe Mr. Urokodaki does want them dead.
Then, they were finally allowed to carry their sword as they descended the mountain.
With her sword in hand, Kagami descended the slope, thinking it would be just as easy without it, but found it to be a lot harder. The weight of it made her unbalanced and would cause her to get caught in almost all the snares! She screamed when a piece of rope tightened around her ankle and she suddenly found her feet above her head, the rope hauling her in the air to hang.
With the sun setting, Kagami and Tanjiro were forced to swing their swords through the air 1000 times every single time they descended the mountain!
"997! 998! 999! 1,000!" Tanjiro screamed as they swung their last slice through the air.
Kagami let out a sigh of relief and nearly dropped her sword in sheer exhaustion. Her arms felt like they were about to fall off and she needed water desperately.
"Good! Now do 500 more!" Mr. Urokodaki suddenly commanded them.
Tanjiro screamed in disbelief and Kagami almost tore her hair out. No, not more swinging! Anything but that!
That night, the flame from Tanjiro's lantern didn't bother her. As soon as her head hit the pillow, darkness and exhaustion overtook her.
After they were deemed strong and capable enough by Mr. Urokodaki, he laid out some bamboos tied together sitting on stacks on hay. Tanjiro and Kagami stood side by side as Mr. Urokodaki walked up to the haystack. Without saying anything, he expertly whipped out his sword and sliced through the bamboo diagonally. He made it look so easy!
"Swords break easily. They're strong vertically but weak horizontally. 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. Otherwise, it'll be break. If you ever damage the blade, in other words, break it, I'll snap your bones as well," Mr. Urokodaki informed them in a threatening tone of voice pointing an accusing finger in their direction.
Tanjiro and Kagami nodded their head frantically, understanding. Would he... actually? She is not about to find out!
Soon, Kagami and Tanjiro were given one-on-one training with Mr. Urokodaki. They were to practice breaking their fall and getting up quickly from any position. They are to raise their sword and charge at him, really trying to kill him. He will be unarmed and bare-handed. It didn't seem like a fair fight to Kagami but she will not talk back to her mentor.
Kagami was standing feet apart, her sword held in front of her, both Mr. Urokodaki and her staring each other down. Before she could breathe, blink, or even think, she was suddenly tipped sideways off her feet! She screamed when she clashed to the ground and hit the rocky earth beneath her. Mr. Urokodaki was in a different stance and ready for her to make another move?! When the hell did he move?! No matter, she will continue! Kagami leaped on her feet and charged for him, but freaked when he suddenly met her halfway! He grabbed the front of her kimono and hauled her over his shoulder! She screamed and found herself face-planting in the ground. She thought the bones in her face cracked.
After bathing, she stumbled inside the cabin, massaging her face, to find Tanjiro already writing in his journal. He looked just as beaten up as her but he still looked determined enough to continue training. If he can do it, so can she.
Then, they began learning breathing techniques as well as some forms. That is where Kagami and Tanjiro's training began to differ. Mr. Urokodaki was teaching them both Total Concentration Breathing but he was teaching them different forms. He was teaching Tanjiro Water Breathing forms and but he was teaching Kagami the ancient form that is extremely rare and nearly impossible to adapt to. He called it Dragon Breathing.
"Wow," Kagami gasped out glancing down at the dragon on her sword.
Mr. Urokodaki nodded his head then explained, "As I stated when we first met, it's an extremely rare breathing style. There hasn't been a Dragon Breather in decades, and, before that, centuries. Dragon Breathing is derived from the Fire Breathing Style. Not much is known about Dragon Breathing or its forms. I will show you what I've learned from books and past encounters many had with the last Dragon Breather. First, you must master Total Concentration Breathing."
Kagami nodded her head, ready to begin.
Tanjiro and Kagami stood side by side in front of Mr. Urokodaki. "Remember to take long deep breaths so the oxygen flows into every cell in your body. This will enhance your body's natural healing power, and both stabilize and energize your spirit. Relax your upper body while bracing your lower body."
Kagami and Tanjiro relaxed their shoulders, arms, and chest while getting their legs in a fighting stance.
"All right, breathe!"
Kagami took in a large deep breath and let it out. It felt nice, her entire body was relaxed-.
"Wrong!"
Her stomach almost came out of her mouth when pain suddenly pierced her abdomen. She yelped when Mr. Urokodaki had shoved his fist in her, nearly forcing her to double over in pain. Tanjiro wasn't looking so good either. When it came to forms next, no matter how many different forms they demonstrated, it wasn't enough. Mr. Urokodaki would clobbered and pummel them to a pulp, screaming at them for not bracing their stomachs!
Their next lessons... took a turn.
Tanjiro had to become one with the water. Mr. Urokodaki had Tanjiro stationed at the top of a nearby waterfall and kicked him in when he took too long! Kagami watched horrified as Tanjiro plummeted towards the water, screaming, "I'm doing this for Nezuko!"
Then, they heard a big splash.
Kagami looked into the water and almost screamed watching him float down the river face-down.
"Kagami, your turn!" Mr. Urokodaki yelled for her.
She screamed in fear but realized it wasn't her turn to be pushed into a waterfall. Instead, he had her go near the volcano! The heat radiating from it was almost too much to bear, but she needed to! She had to become one with heat, flame, and smoke. She practiced Total Concentration Breathing and let herself be open to the volcano! Except when it spat lava at her and her kimono caught on fire. She screamed and ran away from the volcano, stomping on her burning kimono when she reached safety before it finally went out.
Her outfit... was called impractical by Mr. Urokodaki, to say the least. He gave her a new outfit she could move around a lot better in; white robe over blacks pants with a gold and black haori. It fit nicely and wasn't squeezing the life out of her! She loved it! She knew after months of training Mr. Urokodaki would warm up to her.
At that point, it had been six months since they began training and since Nezuko was last awake.
Mr. Urokodaki summoned the doctor right away and had him examine her, but he found nothing wrong. How could there be nothing wrong? Why is she still sleeping?
Every morning, every night, Tanjiro and Kagami would examine Nezuko's sleeping state. She could tell how scared and worried Tanjiro was for his sister. To be asleep for that long showing no signs she was there consciously, it's got be devastating for him. He told Kagami one night that he worry one morning he'd wake up to find her dead. He added not a day goes by that he doesn't worry. He, they both, hope she'd wake up one day.
Tanjiro and Kagami's descent down the mountain became more dangerous. They started higher where the air was thinner, it made it harder for her to breathe and think. She was forced to control her breathing as she ran down the slope, carefully crossed tiny ledges on the side of the mountain, and duck beneath more machetes being thrown at her. Soon, going down the mountain and avoiding traps was as easy as breathing. She'd expertly duck under logs, swirl around deadly holes in the ground, and use her sword to slash every single machete, spear, and log sent in her direction. The wind would softly but urgently blow all around her, clouding her senses, but she knew what came first, next, then last. All the weapons meant to hurt or kill her stabbed uselessly into the ground as the sun came rising up from the horizon.
She did it! She is ready to become a Demon Slayer!