Draw Your Blade (
Summary[]
As Tanjiro is engulfed in flames, Takeo and Hanako are startled by the strange sight and question what they can do to help. Smelling Nezuko's blood and believing she might be in danger, Tanjiro then sees that his Corps uniform and Nichirin katana have returned. Realizing he is slowly waking up, he is then asked if he is okay by a nervous Hanako, while Takeo and Shigeru remain equally concerned. Tanjiro apologizes to his siblings but insists that he must go back somewhere. He runs out of his house and wonders if the demon showing him the dream is close by.
Tanjiro encounters his dream's Nezuko, causing him to hesitate.
He then runs into Nezuko as she returns with a platter of vegetables. Hearing her voice once more causes him to stop, and she is soon joined by his mother and youngest sibling Rokuta. Kie worriedly asks if something is wrong and why he is dressed as such, but he doesn't answer. Internally, he voices his desire to stay in the dream and turn back. He is supposed to live like he is now, with everyone alive and Nezuko able to be in the sunlight. He is meant to make charcoal, not wield a katana, but even if he should and could stay, he accepts that he has lost his family and can never go back.
Tanjiro runs away and doesn't look back, causing Rokuto to cry out for him not to leave. He too sheds tears as he apologizes to him for leaving, but he remarks that he will always be thinking of him. "But your big brother is always thinking of you. I'm always thinking of everyone." Despite the tragedy, he remains grateful to them and will always put his heart with them. Continuing to run through the woods to kill the demon, he does not notice his dream's intruder, who has found the outer barrier and proceeded to rip into it, entering his subconscious realm.
A monstrous Inosuke attacks his dream realm's intruder.
The young man is shocked to see that his realm is a calm, bright flat with a thin layer of water, becoming mesmerized by its vastness, beauty, and warmth. Meanwhile, the girl intruding into Inosuke's dream gets lost inside his realm – a series of dark, narrow, rock caves – as she attempts to find his core; she is subsequently chased by a beastly-looking Inosuke. At the same time, the boy in Zenitsu's dream gets lost inside his realm, which appears to be nothing but a suffocating, pitch-black emptiness.
Unable to find the core and annoyed to realize he must look for it blindly, he becomes scared by the sound of clapping metal. The sound gets closer and is revealed to be Zenitsu wielding a pair of garden shears; angered to see him in his dream, he attacks the intruder. While the subconscious realm is supposed to be empty, in the case of someone strong-willed, or sometimes, an individual with a strong ego, that person can exist in the realm.
Enmu grows confused by his lack of progress, though he remains unconcerned.
Despite running through the forest to the point of exhaustion, Tanjiro remains unable to find the demon. He is still able to detect a slight demonic smell, as if it is enveloping everything, but he is unable to pinpoint a location. Knowing that Nezuko is bleeding and everyone else is still likely asleep, he scrambles to find a solution. Enmu, meanwhile, is confused to notice that the intruders have yet to destroy the spiritual cores, though if they are buying him time, he does not care. Tanjiro wonders if the solution to waking up involves Total Concentration Constant, or if he is still asleep.
Suddenly, he is visited by his father, who instructs him to draw his blade and cut something. Tanjiro looks back to find he wasn't there; his reflection in the water, seeing Nezuko's box, and his father's words are all warnings to him from his own instincts. As he was unable to see the small details that made him see he was in a dream, his own instincts warned him through these manifestations to keep him from danger.
Despite knowing what it is he must cut, he begins to question if it is truly the right course of action. He does not know whether events in the dream could influence reality permanently, but he refuses to hesitate any longer and draws his katana. Realizing that death in a dream means waking up, Tanjiro prepares to slice his own throat. He steels his resolve and pushes the blade in, causing blood to spurt from his neck.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Hanako Kamado (Dream)
- Tanjiro Kamado
- Takeo Kamado (Dream)
- Nezuko Kamado (Dream)
- Shigeru Kamado (Dream)
- Kie Kamado (Dream)
- Rokuta Kamado (Dream)
- Inosuke Hashibira
- Zenitsu Agatsuma
- Enmu
- Tanjuro Kamado (Dream)
Events[]
- The Demon Slayers discover the intruders in their dreams; due to being strong-willed and egotistical, Zenitsu and Inosuke attack their intruders.
- With a heavy heart, Tanjiro abandons his family and attempts to wake up from his dream.
- Following advice from his father, Tanjiro slits his own neck in an attempt to wake up.