Well-Adjusted Barely Traumatized Demon Slayer (Murata SI-ish)

[DeeplyoftheWorld]

While reading and watching Demon Slayer, I initially thought to myself:

How difficult could it be to keep this timeline within canon?

Turns out, it's a bit confusing. For example, we know that Sanemi and Giyu are the same age. They're both 21, and furthermore, Giyu was actually born earlier in the year than Sanemi was. Or maybe Sanemi was born the year prior, which would make him a few months older. Either way, they're about the same age.

We also know that Giyu became hashira before Sanemi did. In Sanemi's promotion, we see Gyomei, Tengen, Kanae, and Giyu as already established hashira.

I think it's safe to say that Giyu joined the corps before Sanemi did. Sanemi joined later, but likely progressed a bit faster due to his experience fighting demons before joining, and his battle against Lower Moon One, in which he was the only survivor. Basically, an automatic promotion.

Why do I mention this?

Mainly because I had no damn clue where to put Makomo. Was she before Sabito and Giyu, or after them?

The only reason I put her before them is because I think it would be strange for Giyu to do nothing if he was the senior student. Like, he didn't visit his teacher in that time? On the other hand, it would make sense considering Giyu's guilt, so he would retreat into himself further and only complete his missions.

Considering his amicable relationship with Urokodaki, I would find it hard to believe he didn't keep in contact with Urokodaki. By extension, I would find it reasonable for Urokodaki to mention he took in another student. If he didn't, then Makomo was likely a student prior to Giyu and Sabito.

Anyway, back to ages. Murata's age is not specified. We know that in canon, he was in the same Final Selection as Giyu. Murata is at the very minimum older than Tanjiro and company.

In this fic, I have Murata the same age as Giyu and Sanemi.

So, a rundown:

When Murata trains with his teacher Sato, I pinned him at around 12. He spends a year training, and takes Final Selection at 13. This would have him taking Final Selection earlier than Giyu, and is the reason why Makomo is there.

Makomo in this fic is about the same age. She's around 13 when she takes Final Selection. I can't imagine her older than that, and honestly, she looks like a kid in the anime. Whether her family was poor or rich, we don't know. Maybe she just didn't eat enough.

By chapter 3, Murata goes through a two year time skip between his first mission and the Lower Moon Six encounter. This guy ain't Tanjiro, so he isn't blitzing through the ranks in a year or finding Demon Moons like they're Pokemon. Murata will fight some, but it's not supposed to be a common occurrence.

In the original story, all the events between Final Selection and Infinity Castle took place in just over a year or so (it really highlights Tanjiro's growth).

So, Makomo and Murata fight Lower Moon Six at age 15. Makomo becomes a hashira shortly after.

In chapter 5, Murata meets Sanemi for the first time. So, Sanemi is about 15 or so. We don't know how old Sanemi was when he killed his mother, but the oldest I would put is about 13. So, Sanemi's been very lucky and killing demons for about a year and a half to two years all by himself.

I'll update this as the fic gets longer, but this is a tentative timeline, and subject to change.

It doesn't help that the original manga is kinda unclear as well. As an example, consider the hashira's age by the time of Tanjiro's trial:

Gyomei is the oldest by far, probably around 27. We know that at 18, almost 19, he was going to be executed before being saved by Kagaya. I believe here Gyomei mentions Kagaya being 4 years younger than him. So by extention, Kagaya is about 23.

Next is Tengen. He's the same age as Kagaya, and we see in Tengen's flashback that Kagaya's scar didn't extend very far into his face. I also think it's safe to say Tengen was a hashira before Giyu, though in Tengen's flashback, we see all three of his wives. I have no clue when he gets each wife.

Giyu is likely next. We know that he joined early and he's about 21. And it was already mentioned earlier that he was hashira before Sanemi.

Sanemi is 21 and the next one to be a hashira among the canon lineup.

Obanai is actually the same age as Giyu and Sanemi. He's older than Sanemi but younger than Giyu. We don't know when he became a hashira though, but it would have to be after Rengoku and before Mitsuri.

Next oldest is Rengoku, who's 20. We know he was hashira after Sanemi, because Sanemi was the one who expressed doubt in Rengoku's ability to pick up the title after his father. It was only after fighting Lower Moon Two that Rengoku promoted.

Mitsuri is 19 and likely the last one to be promoted as hashira. We know that she trained under Rengoku. Honestly, with more experience, she could have become even more dangerous.

Shinobu is 18 and become a hashira at 16. I believe she ranked up right around the time Giyu spared Nezuko, and he was 19 at that point. I haven't read the Tomioka Gaiden, so maybe she was hashira for longer than that.

Last is Muichirou at 14. He became a hashira in two months. He's a speedrunner for sure.

Anyway, for this fic, we got Murata, Makomo, Sanemi, Giyu, and Sabito in the same ballpark, agewise. I mentally consider them to be their generation's version of the Tanjiro squad. Currently heavy with water breathers, which is subject to change.