Sabito

Sabito was a former apprentice of Sakonji Urokodaki. He appeared to assist Tanjiro Kamado in his preparations for the Final Selection exam.

Appearance
Sabito was a fair-skinned young man with a large scar running from the right corner of his mouth to his right ear, and kind, cat-like eyes of a grayish lavender color, a horizontal bar of much paler purple visible across them near the bottom. He had thick, spiked, peach-colored hair of varying lengths, the longest reaching his shoulders, that he wore messily down with side micro bangs over the left of his forehead.

Sabito wore a green yukata, patterned with a geometric hexagon design of yellow and a darker green, like his best friend Giyu Tomioka, tied off at the waist with a piece of black fabric, below which he sported a pair of hakama pants and over which a plain white haori. Around his calves, he wore two pieces of cloth, that bore the same design as his yukata, which his pants were tucked into, as well as black socks and a pair of Japanese sandals on his feet. As with the rest of Sakonji Urokodaki's apprentices, Sabito's white warding mask, hand-carved by his master himself, took the shape of a fox's face, his decorated by a large scar in the same place as the one on his face. The mask's eyes and nose were of a dark green while the ears were more of a gray-red, and it was secured around his face by a thick piece of red rope around his head, the ends of which hung down from behind each of his ears.

Personality
Sabito was a serious young man who believed that all of his actions should be becoming of a man. He was seen as a ruthless mentor during his time training Tanjiro Kamado, who was always quick to point out his flaws and refused to acknowledge him as a man. When asked about defeating the Hand Demon, Sabito appeared to have a pessimistic view on conflicts, saying he believed that no matter how hard someone tries it will never be enough to take the beast down.

Even so, Sabito entrusted his will to Tanjiro and was happy when he surpassed him as Sakonji's strongest student, openly acknowledging that Tanjiro was the toughest of them all and proudly leaving the lingering will of all Sakonji's lost children to him.

According to Giyu, Sabito was a very kind boy with a strong sense of justice back when he was still alive. It is implied that Sabito was a selfless person, as seen in Giyu's flashback, when it is revealed he saved everyone in his group from the Hand Demon during his Final Selection, sacrificing himself in the process.

History
Sakonji took in Sabito and Makomo after they were both orphaned, where he met Giyu, training them until they became strong enough to enter Final Selection to potentially become Demon Slayers.

During his seven days on Mt. Fujikasane, Sabito, after ploughing through many demons and saving many of the other to-be slayers, encountered a powerful morphed Demon who desired to devour all of Sakonji's students. In an attempt to kill it, Sabito's blade breaks on the demon's thick neck, and he dies by the Demon's hands. Sabito was the only one who didn't make it pass his year's final selection.

Makomo and Sabito's souls return to Sagiri Mountain, as they cannot rest due to their failure and Sakonji's grief. Although, as Makomo was adopted and died a period of time before Sabito, they didn't meet each other in person until after he died.

Final Selection Arc
Unable to rest after failing to return to Sakonji, Sabito and Makomo's souls find their way back to Sagiri Mountain, where they reside from then on. Sakonji eventually takes on a new student named Tanjiro, and, after one and a half years of training, Tanjiro is still unable to pass Sakonji's final test: splitting a boulder using his sword.

Sabito sits atop the boulder, appearing before Tanjiro as he laments over his lack of progress, and tells him that a man should grieve in silence. He attacks Tanjiro and easily kicks him aside after a short clash of their weapons, saying that Tanjiro is slow, weak, and immature and telling him these are not the qualities of a true man. Tanjiro asks Sabito what he's doing, and the latter responds with the same question, continuing to ask how long Tanjiro plans remain on the ground. After he gets up, Sabito asks him to come and fight, but Tanjiro expresses concern over using a real katana against Sabito's wooden sword. Amused by the fact that Tanjiro thinks he can really harm him at his current skill level, Sabito laughs before rushing at his opponent.

Sabito's wooden blade pressures Tanjiro just like a real one would. The masked boy claims he's the stronger of the two and denies the idea that he might get hurt, also revealing that he already sliced the boulder before. Sabito leaps through the trees, using his extreme agility to throw Tanjiro off before striking him down. Sabito tells Tanjiro that he hasn't mastered a single form of Total Concentration Breathing, claiming that Tanjiro has only memorized the practices and needs to slam those lessons into his flesh instead if he really wants to learn them. He pressures Tanjiro with a flurry of slashes and demands that he never forget the secrets he learned from Sakonji.

Tanjiro claims he's working hard but can't make any more progress, and Sabito tells him to act like a man and go further to surpass his limits. He wants to see what Tanjiro is capable of in this fight and defeats him shortly after using a powerful uppercut swing. Sabito then entrusts the remainder of Tanjiro's training to Makomo.

Tanjiro continues to challenge Sabito throughout his training but is never able to win, or at least not until six months later. During their final duel, Sabito brings a real katana instead of a wooden one, and, on that day, Sabito finally says Tanjiro has the look of a man. The fight ends in an instant, as Tanjiro's blade finally reaches Sabito first, splitting his mask. Sabito's face is revealed, and he's smiling, proud of his successor. He disappears and Tanjiro realizes that he's finally sliced the boulder.

As Tanjiro bides farewell to Sakonji, he asks him to greet Sabito and Makomo for him, leaving Sakonji confused. Hinting at the fact that the two were actually ghosts, Sakonji wonders where Tanjiro got those names from. After Tanjiro leaves for his Final Selection, Sabito sits atop the boulder, continuing to watch over him with Makomo, who asks if Sabito thinks Tanjiro can avenge their deaths. Sabito says isn't sure because they lost despite their bests efforts.

Tanjiro learns the truth about the deaths of thirteen of Sakonji's children at the hands of the morphed demon. Enraged, Tanjiro rushes into attack recklessly, but Sabito reminds him to calm down because his breathing is uneven. He asks Tanjiro to forget about the others for now and focus on the task at hand. Makomo starts to lose hope and questions if Tanjiro will die too. Sabito tells her the outcome can go either way, however, there is one irrefutable fact: Tanjiro is the man who sliced the largest, toughest boulder of all. The Hand Demon believes he can defeat Tanjiro the same way he did Sabito, but Sakonji's newest student slays the demon and avenges all the fallen children.

Tanjiro wins and the souls of all of Sakonji's children can rest in peace. Satisfied that no more lives were being lost to the demon, and that their master would get one of his children back, Sabito leaps off the boulder and disappears into the mist, bidding farewell to Tanjiro.

Abilities
Overall Abilities: Sabito is regarded as Sakonji's most powerful former pupil, succeeded only by Tanjiro; the Hand Demon even noted that Sabito was the most powerful disciple of Sakonji's that he had killed. Tanjiro has stated that Sabito would have likely been an amazing swordsman if he had survived.

Swordsmanship
Sabito was a very skilled swordsman, as seen during his Final Selection exam, in which he was able to kill nearly all of the Demons on the wisteria flower mountain single-handedly and save all the other participants, a feat that even Tanjiro was unable to accomplish as he was busy protecting himself. Throughout Tanjiro's training, Sabito was also able to repeatedly defeat him while wielding a wooden sword, even though Tanjiro was using a real blade, and, during their first battle, Sabito showcased enhanced speed, agility, and reflexes that easily outclassed those of Tanjiro at the time. It eventually took Tanjiro six months of training before he was able to defeat Sabito.

Katanas: Sabito possessed both a wooden sword and a real sword. He was very proficient with the wooden sword against Tanjiro, even though the latter was wielding a real blade.

Water Breathing (の): Sabito was a skilled practitioner of the Water Breathing, which he used to single-handedly kill almost all the Demons inhabiting the wisteria flower mountain during his Final Selection exam.


 * First Form: Water Surface Slash (ノ り) - The swordsman generates enough momentum to create a powerful single concentrated slash.
 * Second Form: Water Wheel (ノ) - The swordsman leaps and vertically spins forward in the air while releasing a flowing attack in a circular motion.
 * Third Form: Flowing Dance (ノ い) - The swordsman swings their blade at his opponent in a way that mimics the movement of waves on the surface of water.
 * Fourth Form: Striking Tide (ノ ち) - The swordsman makes multiple consecutive slashes while twisting their body in a flowing fashion similar to a harsh tide.
 * Fifth Form: Blessed Rain after the Drought (ノ の) - A "sword strike of kindness" that kills the target with little to no pain. Used when the enemy surrenders.
 * Sixth Form: Whirlpool (ノ ねじれ) - The swordsman fiercely twists their upper and lower body, creating a whirlpool that cuts anything caught in it. It can be used in a place without footing, and if used underwater can generate a large whirlpool that draws in anything nearby in addition to cutting them up like a large blade.
 * Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust (ノ き) - A fast and accurate stab, capable of reducing the impact of a moving target. The fastest form of this Breathing style.
 * Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin (ノ) - The swordsman cuts the target vertically.
 * Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow (ノ) - Minimizes the landing time and surface needed when landing, allowing the user to move without limits. Ideal when fighting in a place with no solid foothold.
 * Tenth Form: Constant Flux (ノ) - The most powerful Water Breathing technique. A continuous flowing attack which takes a form of a water dragon that increases in strength and power with each rotation.

Trivia

 * He is considered the best student among others under the guidance of Sakonji.
 * Sabito shares his Japanese and English voice actors with Basil Sabancci from the video game Valkyria Revolution. His Japanese voice actor also acts as Shoto Todoroki in My Hero Academia, and Kozume Kenma in Haikyuu.
 * His name contains the kanji for "rust" (錆) and "rabbit" (兎).
 * It is said that Sabito's death is what resulted in Giyu Tomioka's emotionless personality.
 * Interestingly, he was also in the same Final Selection as Giyu.

Quotes

 * (To Tanjiro Kamado) "All you've done with your training is memorize the information. Your body still has no clue on what it needs to do. What the hell have you've been up to for the past year and a half? All of it has to be hammered into your flesh! More. More! More!! You have to make sure you never forget any of the secrets Urokodaki taught you! Pound it into the marrow of your bones!"
 * (To Giyu Tomioka) "Don't you ever say that you wish that you had died again! If you do, we're through! I won't be your friend. Your older sister was getting married the next day! And yet she hid and protected you from a demon! You and no one else! So don't disrespect her death like that! You better stay alive. Your sister sacrificed her life to save yours and to give you a future! So you must carry on living Giyu."

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