47. Yoriichi Type Zero

Hana woke up slowly, her eyelashes fluttering as she blinked several times to clear her vision. Her head felt  heavy from the impact of the previous blow. For a moment, she couldn’t remember why she was lying on the ground, or why the back of her neck felt like it had been struck by a heavy rock.

She groaned, pressing a hand to her head as she struggled to sit up, still feeling bit dizzy. Tanjiro had already woken up before her and was standing with Kotetsu nearby looking at someone with a serious face. He noticed Hana moving and rushed over quickly to help her get up. He gently held her and steadied her body. "Are you alright, Hana?" he asked softly looking worried.

Hana nodded her head and rubbed her eyes. She heard loud noises coming from the woods. There sound of rushed footsteps and swords clashing together.

"What is happening?" she asked as she turned her head to see the source of the noise. Muichiro was training against a massive mechanical doll in the center of the clearing. The doll had six arms. Each arm was holding a real nichirin sword and It moved with terrifying speed.

"That's the Yoriichi Type Zero," Kotetsu whispered from beside them. The young boy looked very small and sad. "It was made by my ancestors a long time ago."

Hana watched the doll fight. It had a familiar face. It had earrings and a scar that mirrored the ones on Tanjiro.

After a grueling session of fighting, Muichiro found an opening. He broke one of the doll's arms with a powerful strike. Without a word, he snatched the sword from the machine's grasp and began walking toward them, his face as blank and unreadable face.

"You're done!?" Kotetsu asked in a small voice. He looked at the broken arm of his family treasure.

Muichiro looked at them. "Yeah it was great training. Oh, who are you," he asked referring to Hana and Tanjiro. He looked at them for a second and then nodded to himself as if remembering something. "Oh right. I broke my blade, so I'll be taking this one," He said gesturing to the sword he took from the doll.

"Dispose this of for me." throwing his broken blade at Tanjiro and walked away from them.

"Why does he behave that way..I don't sense any maliciousness... so he's probably not doing it on purpose," Hana thought. She watched the Hashira leave the clearing.

Once the Hashira left, the three of them stood over the broken mechanical doll. And soon after It began to rain. The cold drops mixed with Kotetsu's tears as he cried. "Kotetsu, let’s just make sure," Tanjiro said gently. "It might still be able to move."

Together Hana, Tanjiro, and Kotetsu lifted the doll together. It was very heavy. Kotetsu wiped his eyes and began mendeling the doll. He used his small hands to fix the internal parts. With a series of clicks and whirs, the doll suddenly snapped into a combat stance.

"It’s moving!" Hana exclaimed.

"YES!! IT'S MOVING, KOTETSU-KUN!! GOOD!" Tanjiro cheered. He was very happy for the boy.

"It is!" Kotetsu shouted with newfound fire. He stood up straight. "Now you both must train! Please become stronger than that shitty, indifferent jerk! I’ll help you with all I’ve got!"

Hana and Tanjiro shared a look of pure confusion. "What?" they both said.

The next few days were a gruesome training period for them. Kotetsu's analysis skills were really good, but he was not a very good teacher. He was extremely strict with training because he did not know the limits of a human being. If they could not do the moves, he did not give food or water to them.
During this terrifying training session, Tanjiro and Hana had almost no water and no sleep. They were pushed to their absolute limit.

Finally, after a week of exhaustion and many bruises, Hana and Tanjiro were able to follow the doll's movements. With one final strike, they landed a blow that caused the doll's head to collapse.

"Something came out! Hana, Kotetsu! Something came out! What is it?!" Tanjiro asked.

"Well, I have no idea either," Kotetsu replied. He looked shocked. They all leaned in.

"It looks like a sword handle," Hana said. She leaned in closer to the broken neck of the doll.

"It must be a 300-year-old blade or something," Tanjiro mumbled.

"Tanjiro, you can take it! P-please take it!" Kotetsu offered. He wanted them to have it.

"No, no, no I can't! That wouldn't be right!" Tanjiro waved his arms frantically. He felt it was too valuable to the young slayer and it would not be right to just take it away from him.

"The steel they used in the Sengoku period is the best quality ever!" Kotetsu insisted. He kept pushing the sword toward him.

"No, no, I couldn't!"

"But we only found it after you and your sister came here!" Kotetsu argued back.

When they finally pulled the sword  from the doll’s neck, their excitement vanished. "It's... it's rusty," Hana said. She looked at the dark, damaged metal.

"Oh.." Tanjiro sighed. His shoulders were drooping. "Well, it had been 300 years and nobody got their hands on it.

It was completely covered in black rust. "Sorry! I got you guys worked up over nothing!" Kotetsu cried. He felt very bad.

"IT'S OKAY!! DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT. It’s okay! I don't mind, alright?" Tanjiro said tears were rolling down his cheeks.

Hana patted Tanjiro’s head to comfort him. "We'll find another way, Tanjiro." she said softly. She then comforted Kotetsu as he wailed loudly. "WAAAHH TANJIRO-SAN, HANA-SAN... I'M SORRY!! WAHHH!" the boy cried.

"I HEARD EVERYTHING... LEAVE IT... TO ME..."

A deep, rough voice echoed from the trees. A massive, muscular figure emerged from the shadows. It was Haganezuka, but he looked different. He was shirtless, his muscles bulging, and his aura was terrifying.

Hana swallowed hard. "Haganezuka-san?"

"LEAVE IT... TO ME..." he repeated.

"Leave what to you?" Hana asked, stepping back.

Haganezuka lunged for the sword. Tanjiro and Kotetsu grabbed onto his arms, trying to pull him back.

"PLEASE LET GO! WHY ARE YOU EVEN TRYING TO TAKE IT?" Tanjiro screamed.

"LEAVE IT... TO ME..."

"No, this is Kotetsu's! Please explain, Haganezuka-san!" Hana pleaded.

Suddenly, another man appeared from the trees. He ran up behind Haganezuka and began poking his sides tickling him.

"HYA! HYA! HYA!" Haganezuka immediately went limp, falling to the ground.

"Haganezuka's weak point is his sides," Kanamori explained with a polite smile.

"Hello Tanjiro-kun, Hana-chan. It’s been a while. Please forgive the man," Kanamori continued. "He was training in the mountains."

"Training?" Hana asked.

"Yeah. He wanted to make a strong sword so you wouldn't die. He won't be honest about it, though."

Tanjiro beamed. "For us?"

Kanamori nodded. "So I think he’s happy. Every other swordsman hates him, and he’s lost a lot of clients. He’s really bad at dealing with people. That’s why he’s not married yet."

Haganezuka suddenly snapped back to life, standing up abruptly. "I will deal with the rusted blade. Allow me! To refine it with my nirichin polishing skills that had been passed down the haganezuko line for generations!"

"Then you could have just said that from the get-go!" Hana sighed.