The Demon Slayer

6

"Again!" Benibara exclaimed as I held a wooden sword over my head, then slammed it down against a tree trunk. My arms and legs feelings like nothing but jello and sore. I winced as the impact made the pain in my arms worsen. I knew it was to toughen them up but damn did it hurt.

"Again!" I lifted the sword up then slammed it back down.

BAM!

I groaned as the soreness worsened. "Good form on that one. One more time." Benibara said. My eyes glistened at her saying "one more time." That meant I was done with this. I lifted the sword over my head to slam it down once more. Benibara then started clapping, "Today was better than yesterday!" She complemented. I smiled under my sweaty brow, wiping it afterwards.

It's been three months since Giyu left. About three months since the last time I first set foot in this place.

Training has been difficult. Running while using the breathing technique and swinging the sword over my head more than one hundred times. It was definitely a workout. I was a total wreck at first, but slowly.... slowly I built up to where I'm at now. "Let's eat!" Benibara said as she walked into her cottage house. I wanted to scream, "HELL YEA!" But my throat was dried out from hours of training without water.

We both went inside and I helped Benibara prepare dinner. Fish and rice. It was something other than portage... huh. Once we were through she lifted up her hand. "Let me do the honors." She smiled as she placed stuff on the table. (A table with sitting mats) When she was through, she placed the food on it. It looked like something like a Japanese restaurant. My eyes widened at the sight. "It's all for you."

"R-Really?!"

"Mhm. You improved over three months now. Most of all you've improved on your breathing." Benibara said and then handed me a bowl. "Have at it." I thanked her and grabbed the chop sticks, then started getting some grilled fish and rice. After that I ate like I was starving. "This is amazing!" I exclaimed as I continued eating. "Just wait till you do the Final Selection and pass! You'll have a whole feast!"

"Oh yea... Is there where we're out with a bunch a demons without any help?" I asked starting to already get shook. Benibara nodded, "Yep. But I'm pretty sure you'll survive, you dealt with my training for this long! Well- I'm not that much of a hard worker myself." She joked and laughed. I laughed along, "So when is it gonna take place?"

"It's seasonal, since the Wisteria flowers bloom every year. And it's on the edge of the mountain side. I'll tell you where it's located after tomorrow." Benibara said taking a bite of her meal. She sighed and gazed out the small window, "You have been becoming much more stronger as the days go by... I'm honestly surprised how quickly you mastered most of the forms."

"Is it that hard?"

"Most say learning the ways of the Breath of the Rose is a weird and difficult task. Because it's not as offensive as most breaths are." Benibara said and looked into her cup, "I however took a while to master it, tried to pass it down to knew students... But they all ended in the same fate as everyone who is my apprentice." I knew what it was. She lost those students from death. I looked at her, "Would you think... I'll die from the Final Selection?" She shrugged, "Don't know. All I DO know is that you mastered most of the forms of Breath of the Rose. Which is excellent because not many go that quickly, you really want to see Tomioka do you?"

My face heated up. "I-I guess.... He's the first I've met." Benibara then leaned forward, "I always speculated something but I thought it was my imagination... Did you loose your memories?"

"Huh? Oh no... I've... I'm actually from a whole nother world." I explained, "I woke up here... I was just sleeping in my bed and before I knew it Giyu came and helped me recover." A smile appeared on my face as I went on, "He pretty much yelled at me when we first met, then soon after he became kind."

"Sounds like Tomioka to me. He's always had a stoic kind of attitude, like his master  Urokodaki." Benibara said as she then started laughing, "That old geezer has always decided to train the death out of his students." I remembered in the anime of how intense he was. "Yeah..." She then shook her head and leaned her cheek in her hand, "So... That time jumping says something."

"I guess- Wait... What does is say?"

"It says that our world thinks you're special in some way. From how I see you improving in training of Breath of the Rose, you might end up being a Hashira." My eyes widened, "Wh-What?! No- I can't be that important! I mean I'm still sort of a weak, I can't swing my sword right sometimes..." A sudden bang of the table made me jump and stop talking. Benibara pointed at me, "Listen here! Just because you get a few things wrong, doesn't mean you fail everything. You look at the things that are wrong and correct them. You're doing that in the training I provided you." She said and crossed her arms, "I'm sick and tired of you downgrading yourself like this..."

"I'm sorry... I've always been told I do stuff wrong in my past-"

"Honey, that's the past. This is the present. This is the chance to prove that you're not someone who always do things wrong." She was right. I'm not with the person who told me these things, this is a world where I have to prove my worth. I nodded, "Alright..." Benibara flashed a smirk and then grabbed some food, "Now, eat up!"