Chapter 2: Ripples Before the Storm
Tanjiro didn't waste a single morning.
By the time the sun peeked over the trees, he was already moving—running through the forest barefoot, cold air stinging his face, lungs burning. Every breath reminded him this was real. This wasn't a vision. He'd truly been reborn.
He climbed boulders. Lifted logs. Practiced the breathing his future self had once mastered. Total Concentration Breathing—Constant. But this time, he wasn't struggling to learn it under pressure. He had time. He would build it from the start.
He even began swinging a handmade wooden sword, mimicking Urokodaki's moves from memory. He fell over a lot.
"Ow…" he groaned, lying face-down in the snow.
From the trees above, a squirrel tossed a pine cone at his head.
"…Thanks for the support."
He returned home every day with sore muscles and scraped hands. His mother gave him confused looks. His siblings cheered him on, calling him "Mister Mountain Warrior." Nezuko, as usual, remained skeptical.
"You know you're not a samurai, right?" she asked, squinting at him from the porch as he did push-ups in the snow.
"I'm preparing for something," he said between grunts.
"What? The next rice harvest?"
He shook his head, sweat dripping. "Something bad is coming, Nezuko. And I need to be ready before it gets here."
She stared at him. For a moment, he thought she'd press further. But instead, she picked up a bucket of snow and dumped it over his back.
"Then train faster, snowboy."
---
Two Weeks Later…
Tanjiro walked down the mountain to the village with a full basket of charcoal on his back. It was a quiet day—too quiet.
As he approached a shop, he spotted a merchant hastily packing up.
"Heading out early?" Tanjiro asked.
The man looked up, startled. "Ah, Kamado-kun! Yes, yes… We got news from a nearby town. Another attack. People say it's a bear, but…" He lowered his voice. "They found the bodies. Torn apart. No blood left."
Tanjiro's blood ran cold.
It had started. Already.
"Do you know which town?" he asked sharply.
The merchant hesitated. "I think… south of here. A place called Narai. Why?"
"Just curious," Tanjiro lied, eyes shadowed.
---
That night, Tanjiro didn't sleep. He stared at the ceiling, remembering. That name—Narai. It was one of the places Muzan's scouts had hit before reaching his own mountain.
That meant he had little time left.
He needed to reach Sakonji Urokodaki, the Water Hashira, before the attack. Before the demon came.
He left before dawn, leaving a note behind for his family:
"Going to train under a man named Urokodaki. Don't worry. I'll be back stronger. I promise."
---
Meanwhile…
On a road far below the mountain, a lone traveler trudged forward in silence. His hair was long, mask obscuring his face. A worn tengu mask.
Sakonji Urokodaki had felt something shift in the wind. A strange, unnatural ripple. He didn't know what it meant, but his gut told him something important was coming.
Something—or someone.
---
Bonus Mini-Scene: "Zenitsu the Prophet (Part 1)"
Somewhere far away, Zenitsu shot awake in his bed at the mansion.
"I JUST HAD A DREAM!" he screamed.
"Shut up, Zenitsu!" rang a voice from a neighboring room.
"No, for real! I saw a boy with a fire-shaped birthmark training in the snow! And he was—he was so manly!"
Then he paused.
"…Wait. Was that me? …No. It was definitely not me."
He passed back out, muttering, "I hope the tea girls aren't scary this time…"
---
Back to Tanjiro…
As Tanjiro ran through the woods, heading toward his future teacher, he whispered:
"I'm coming, Urokodaki-san. This time, I'll be the one who asks first."
The wind rustled through the pines. The first domino had been tipped.
And fate was no longer on a fixed track.