3rd person pov
They got back to the headquarters and the insect hashira treated their wounds.
After the treatment, the hashiras also including the sea demon gathered together and waited for their master to come. Mitsuri and Muichiro explained them what happened without going to much into detail.
"I envy you. How come you encounter the upper moons all the time?" Sanemi mumbled but enough for everyone to hear, "and why you're wearing Kanrojis uniform?"
"I couldn't wear my dress anymore, so Mitsuri lend me her clothes." Ayuna answered, "and maybe I'm just lucky."
"What happened to your old dress?" Giyu asked.
Muichiro: "She got herself almost killed again."
Ayuna gasped and looked at the mist hashira with a mix of hurt and offended look not believing he just betrayed her. They agreed to not to say a word.
"Why are you surprised, I never agreed." Muichiro said calmly.
Before the sea demon could say anything back to him, she got interrupted with the questionings of her friends.
"But I'm fine now!" Ayuna tried to argue back but failed since it was all hashiras vs one demon.
Fortunately, Amane and Kagaya Ubuyashiki came, so everyone bowed and went quiet.
They talked about the demon slayer marks, and Mitsuri embarrassed herself because she couldn't explain herself so the sea demon patted her back to comfort her. Thankfully, Muichiro gave the detail and they were planing a hashira training.
"Also, we're going to meet someone who might help us during the fight." the head of the demon slayer corps began, "they are also a demon."
"More fellows!" Ayuna clapped her hands in excitement while her tail went up.
"I'm going to call all slayers, the training must start as soon as possible. Further plans will be discussed later. That's all, prepare yourselves and have a good rest until then." Kagaya and Amane stood up and attempted to leave, but they got stopped by the demon, "Wait!"
They turned to their demon friend, "Yes?" Kagaya asked waiting for her to continue.
"If it's possible...." Ayuna started, "can you perhaps send the fish daily?"
He smiled, "Yes, I can do that." and before he and his wife completely left, he added: "Make sure to take care of yourself during the battle."
Ayuna turned around to face her friends who only starred back at her.
"I promise I'll be fine. There's no way I want to leave you guys." she gave them a thumbs up, "I'll stick with everyone like a glue, so none of you can push me away."
"That's the spirit!" Kyojuro exclaimed happily.
"Shouldn't you say the last part to someone else?" Shinobu grinned teasingly.
"Uh-huh!" Tengen poked Giyu with his elbow.
Ayuna: "You knew?"
Shinobu: "I knew. And Mitsuri too. And the others."
Ayuna: "Wait what?"
Muichiro: "It was obvious."
Mitsuri: "Some words might have slipped out from my mouth...sorry...."
Ayuna: "Then it's official....*ahem!* W-well about the hashira training...."
They planned their training while Shinobu stayed out of it since her estate was like a hospital and she was going to update her poison.
The sea demon also decided to help with the training, she will train the slayers with her demon blood art and let them attack her so they could improve.
When the sky turned dark, everyone left to prepare everything and the water pillar as well as Ayuna were the first one to leave.
Sanemi: "Honestly, I thought he would die alone. She really fell for him?"
Shinobu: "At first, I also thought Tomioka-san will be lonely all his life but I guess not anymore."
Obanai: "Seriously, who would fall for him?"
Mitsuri: "You guys don't understand!"
Ayuna's pov
I walked next to Giyu and I could tell he was a bit upset.
"Giyu, are you mad at me?"
"..."
"Is it because I got hurt? Like I said I'm sorry, I didn't mean to let it happen yk."
"I know." he spoke, "But you almost -"
"Died again?" I completed the sentence and took his hand, "I'll be extra careful, promise."
He squeezed my hand lightly and after a short pause, he suddenly asked for a wish.
"What is it you wish for?" I asked.
"Is it something you can't have? Money? Eternal health? Fame? A big house? Servants?" he continued mimicking my speech, "none of that."
"Then what?"
He stopped on his tracks making me to stop too and he looked into my eyes. "Don't leave me." he finally said.
"Let me think," I turned around with my back facing him and put an index finger under my chin. I stole a glance at him and noticed his hurt expression. He must be thinking why I didn't agree immediately.
"Well I did somehow make you fall for me, didn't I?" I asked jokingly, "So it is my responsibility to not leave you behind since I also returned the feelings, right?"
I walked up to him and embraced him since I couldn't take his hurt expression anymore, "I was just teasing. I promise I won't leave you. I am stuck with you forever and so are you."
He hugged back tightly and repeated the sentence, "And so am I."
-
After some days, everyone got called for a meeting again at night. It was the day we met the two demons who joined our side.
Kagaya introduced us the two demons and after the agreement that they'll develop a plan together, we made our way to the butterfly estate where they develop the poison.
"It's nice to meet you two, Tamayo, Yushiro!" I greeted them excitingly.
"You must be Aynua," the female demon started.
"Hm? You know me?"
"I've heard from you," she continued with a smile, "a boy told me a lot about you."
"I also heard a lot about you, and it's a honor to finally meet you in person."
The chat was short since everyone needed to go back and prepare the training including me.
I walked next to Giyu and we were planning our training station.
Giyu asked: "Everyone have already decided their training. What should we do?"
"Our estate is the penultimate station, right? Then let's make two parts," I suggested, "in the daytime you could help the slayers to improve their speed, strength and swordsmanship while they try to fight you. And I'll train them at night."
Giyu: "What will you do exactly?"
"You might disagree with my part but it's the best to give the slayers some experience with a demon since they'll be also fighting in war."
Giyu: "I think I figured it out and I dislike it."
"I've already made up my mind and it's only temporary. Besides, I can assure you, it doesn't hurt at all. As a boyfriend, you support my decision, right~?"
He didn't know what to say next so it was decided.
Tanjiro's pov
I arrived at the water hashiras estate with my friends and some other slayers. Zenitsu already started to scream because the training seemed tiring.
"Too slow!"
"Your breathing is wrong!"
"Weak."
The water pillar commented from time to time as he knocked another slayer out. And among the slayers I spotted Genya and Kanao on another corner trying to get some tea on a table but some water and ice figures stopped them. On the other side where some slayer who's head were in a water bubble. It seemed like they were holding their breaths.
"Try again."
Giyu tried his best to fucos on the improvement on speed, strength and swordmanship but he was too strict.
"Newcomers I see!" A familiar female voice got our attention.
It was Ayuna who stood in the shadows of the engawa.
Some slayers behind us gasped or cursed at her silently and some just glared at her, but she ignored them and continued speaking: "Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Inosuke, I'm glad you're here! Follow me everyone! I'll explain the training!"
After leading us to the back of the estate she started to explain our training,
"The training is divided in four parts. During the day your heads will be in water." she pointed at the slayer who had their heads in some bubbles,
"Hold your breath as long as you can and once you pass out, I'll release you from the bubbles. Then you will train with the water hashira by trying to beat him and then you will be at this station." she pointed at the direction where some slayers tried to get near a teapot and some cups while fighting some creatures made by her demon blood art.
"I'll explain it once you get to this part. You will take turns so you will be at all training parts in one day. Now to the final part: during the night you'll be fighting with me."
"What!?" Zenitsu and I gasped at the same time.
"All you have to do is to try to land a blow at me. If not, you're not allowed to sleep." she continued.
"Who do you think you are?!" A slayer yelled and some others followed to argue too, "Don't tell us what to do demon! Don't think you're under the water hashiras protection just because he's here! We could kill you and no-one could stop us because you deserve death, demon!"
"Don't say such things!" I was angry at them. How could they say such things to her?!
"Hey! Take that back!" Inosuke punched them in the face and shouted at everyone else to shut up, "Don't you dare to talk ill about the god of nature!"
"She's a demon, you moron!" some others shouted.
3rd person pov
"Silence!" the sea demon raised her voice and everyone stopped. "Yes, hate me and use this rage to kill me at night." she said with a cold face, "until then, we'll see if you're capable of that. But let me add two rules: you can use everything to hurt me an don't cut my neck."
"Ha! Afraid to die I see!" the slayers laughed.
Giyu's crow landed on the roof over Ayuna and announced the training shall start. He picked out some rude slayers and assigned them to the training part with Giyu. Then he landed on Ayuna's arm.
"Thanks my friend." she petted him gently, "Now the rest of you go this way!" she gestured the other half of the slayers to the training part with the teapot. It was actually decided that their training are divided into two parts but as Ayuna noticed the amount of slayers her boyfriend needed to deal with was large so she decided to add more parts.
The slayers who were already training stopped and waited for her to explain it to the newcomers. She gave them a nod to thank them.
"The assignment is easy," she started, "try to serve a cup of tea, that's all."
"That's it?! What kind of training is that?! Do you take any of this seriously?! My friends died because of your kind!" A cocky slayer exclaimed.
Genya wanted to say something but Ayuna stopped him with a hand motion.
"Oh? Is it really that easy?" she put an index finger under face, "Then why don't you try it yourself? Perhaps I'm really not taking it seriously."
"Tsk, I prove it!" some slayers who already peeked at this training part like the kamaboko squad already knew what the cocky slayer will face so they stayed quiet all the time.
The slayer went up to the table with the teapot and cups and they were sweating. They wondered why the others stayed quiet so he glanced back at the other slayer but they only spotted the angry glares from the boar boy and the blond haired slayer.
"Go on, why are you stopping? Is it hard for you to serve a single tea?" Ayuna provoked them.
"Tsk!" he grabbed the teapot and a cup, "there's literally nothing out of ordinary!" as he attempted to pour some tea in the cup, they got pushed by something from the side which made them to fly some distances away an dhit a tree. "What the?!"
As they looked back, an ice figure shaped like the current sea demon sat on the chair besides the table retreated their long fish tail while placing the teapot and the cup back at their spot.
Two water clones of her also sat at the table and just stared at the cocky slayer with their empty eyes.
"You really thought no-one will stop you?" the sea demon said, "of course you have to get through my creations first." she faced the other newcomers, "I let you guys know, there will be only three of them: one ice and the other two water. Each of them have different abilities to stop you from serving the tea. Also, I'm not controlling them or else it would be unfair if I did since I'm observing everything. Any questions?"
Zenitsu raised his hand.
"Yes Zen-kun?"
He blushed because of the nickname: "Um, are there any breaks?"
"One hour for lunch and half an hour before the night training, and if you land a blow at me as fast as you can you might also rest first for the rest of the night a d eat dinner. If not you need to fight me till sunrise without dinner, breakfast nor sleep and I don't want that. But I believe you can do it, right Zen-kun?"
Zenitsu: " Yes! And I have another question. Why do we need to train on holding out breaths?"
"So none of you will drown." she answered with a smile.
Everyone: "..."
The training started with Ayuna picking out some slayers to start with the holding their breaths training.
Zenitsu was the only one motivated with the tea serving training but he failed like everyone else.
"Oh, I forgot to mention," Ayuna appeared again, "if you get hit by my clones depending on the attack, the will leave a mark on you. If the mark is big because the planned attack was supposed to be critical, you will not receive any food at all. If it's a small mark then it's quite acceptable since you survived and you'll get food."
"What!?" the newcomers gasped.
"You have to avoid any attacks at all costs because once you're in war, no demon, expect from me, will go easy on you or let you live." she warned and sat down on the floor of the engawa without letting the sunlight touch her.
-
At night, the water hashira stared daggers at some slayers who were rude to his girlfriend. His crow was resting on his lap pointing out the other ride slayers.
"Giyu, nobody can focus if you glare like that!" Ayuna shooed him away so the slayers could focus on their task. "Also, just let you guys know, I will use all my might to fight back so you need to gather all your strength to attack me as if you're already in war, start!"
For the newcomers, they had trouble to land a blow at the demon and they always got pushed back by her harmless attacks. While the other who trained with her for some days or weeks kept up with her and improved.
A week passed, some slayers including Kanao and Genya completed their training and went on to join the training with the stone hashira. Ayuna handed each slayer a ice brooch for protection as they left. Some accepted the greatfully while some took them hesitantly.
Soon more slayers completed the training including the kamaboko squad and Ayuna wished them good luck on their next training.
As time kept passing, some of them including Ayuna grew anxious thinking about the demon kings appearance. And finally Ayuna got called by Kagaya, so Giyu needed to deal with the slayers alone.