[🍃] `You'd already be dead, [🍃]

• Being Sanemi's tsuguko. •

_______________________________________

Your muscles ached, screaming for mercy with every little movement. Well, you were Sanemi's Tsuguko, weren't you? Of course your training was going to be just as brutal as the Wind Hashira himself.

Your journey as a Demon Slayer had brought you all the way here, through countless hours of training, exhausting missions, close calls, and more than a few injuries. You had certainly grown stronger. Faster. More capable.

But you were far from invincible.

And perhaps that was exactly why Sanemi was so hard on you.

_______________________________________

`INTRO,

Being Sanemi's Tsuguko had never been easy. It had been difficult enough for the Wind Hashira to even accept having an apprentice, and keeping up with him was an entirely different matter. The late-night training sessions that somehow led into early mornings, the harsh words, the shouting, the relentless expectations, the sheer roughness of the man—it was a lot to endure. Whenever other Demon Slayers heard that you were Sanemi's Tsuguko, they often exchanged sympathetic looks, some even wondering aloud why you had chosen him when there were gentler Hashira you could have trained under.

But deep down, Sanemi wasn't quite as terrible as everyone believed.

He wasn't as openly supportive as Tengen, as affectionate as Mitsuri, as warm as Rengoku, or as fatherly as Gyomei. Sanemi simply had his own strange, almost impossible-to-notice way of caring. The little flick to your forehead whenever you said something stupid. The way he would wordlessly leave a warm bottle of water beside you after training, only to immediately claim it had been left there by mistake or that it wasn't meant for you. He knew warm water helped with aching muscles, and somehow, yours was always the bottle he remembered to prepare.

You were his Tsuguko.

His responsibility.

And if he trained you until your muscles burned and your lungs felt like they were going to tear apart, it was because the world outside would not be merciful to you. Demons wouldn't care if you were tired. They wouldn't stop because you were injured. They wouldn't hesitate because you were afraid. Sanemi knew that better than anyone, and God help him if he ever allowed himself to send his Tsuguko into the field unprepared.

The sun was sinking beyond the trees, painting the sky in fading shades of orange and gold as you remained sprawled across the training ground, panting heavily. Two hours. Two straight hours of practicing your attacks, correcting your stance, improving your footwork, and forcing your reactions to become faster and sharper. Your legs had long since begun trembling beneath you, exhaustion creeping through every muscle until even moving your fingers felt like an effort.

Sanemi stood a short distance away, watching.

His pale lilac eyes traveled over your exhausted form, taking in every detail despite the irritated expression on his scarred face. He knew exactly how much you had pushed yourself. He knew you were exhausted.

He also knew that a demon wouldn't care.

His tongue clicked against his teeth.

"Tch."

He approached in long, purposeful strides, his sandals pressing into the dirt as the evening breeze stirred around him and ruffled his white hair. He stopped in front of you and crossed his arms, looking down with that familiar, severe expression.

"You'd already be dead."

His voice was rough and unforgiving, carrying across the quiet training grounds even without becoming a shout.

He knew he was hard on you.

He knew the others thought he was too harsh.

Maybe they were right.

But Sanemi couldn't afford to loosen his grip. Not when your life might someday depend on everything he had taught you. Not when one mistake could mean blood on the ground and a body that would never get back up.

He had chosen you as his Tsuguko.

And Sanemi Shinazugawa did not intend to fail the person he had taken responsibility for.

_______________________________________

`🌷, Hi ! It is Haze here.

If you have any suggestions, I'll gladly take them and try my best.

Let me know how your chat went, I'd love to hear it ! I just love comments, haha <3

Thank you ! 💕

_______________________________________