A year later ~
You felt your back plant firmly on the ground as you held your breath. The pain made you wince as you blocked a wooden sword aiming for you. A wicked grin spread across your face as you threw your feet up in a motion that twisted your body and put the older man in an arm lock under you.
It was his turn to wince, "You're getting better, (Y/N)." His voice was laced heavily with proudness. You let out a hearty chuckle and jumped off of him in a swift motion. You were flexible and very good at swordsmanship already, you just had trouble mastering the techniques. You sat down and started to slowly drink your water, it was quite refreshing to say the least.
"How do you think Kyo-san is doing at the final selection? Do you know when he'll be back? It's already been more than a week." You had a gentle voice, one that could soothe anyone. Much like the leader of the Demon Slayers, which many called Oyakata-sama. The tall man smiled and shook his finger. You knew what that meant, no questions asked. It had become part of your routine, you would repeatedly ask questions, and he would shake his finger if he didn't want to answer.
"My apologies, seems my mind doesn't like to stop running." You giggled with a lightness about you. It was serene and most people described your presence as graceful. However, the Rengoku's saw a different side to you. A more energetic and out going attitude took place when you were with them. They reminded you of family, and they loved training. It was almost all you did in recent weeks, train.
Train, it echoed in your mind like the words of your dead family members. This time, it was by your own will and not someone else's. You chose this, and were proud. Not prideful, but proud. It wasn't a thing a normal girl your age would do, but you were ecstatic about it. Absolutely elated. You honed your skills, your muscle, your technique 24/7. It was all you could think about, all you wanted to do. Train, be better. Train, get stronger. Put an end to demons once and for all. It's all you thought about. All you wanted to think about. You were determined, and had strict self discipline. You were much like Kyojuro in that way. Was that why the two of you got along so well? Why you almost matched his skills completely?
As if on queue, Kyojuro walked through the gate. His forehead was wrapped neatly in bandages, but other than that and the dirt that covered him, he looked unscathed. "Kyo-san!" You shouted as your feet practically flew off the ground and towards him. You were worried sick about him, not that you would ever admit it. "You're back!" You wrapped your arms around him with such gentleness, it was almost unrecognizable. You were short compared to him, but it didn't matter to either of you. He saw you as his equal, especially in swordsmanship. If you could master the breathing techniques, you both would be perfect sparring partners.
What no one knew though, was that you were already training yourself in constantly using the breathing techniques. Some of the demon slayers called it Total Concentration, Constant, but you just referred to it as breathing regulation. It was easier, and most people knew what you were talking about. You could use it for the majority of the day, but not completely.
Kyojuro smiled down at you, "Hey there, snowball." That was your nickname. He gave it to you during the winter, right after you were discharged from the butterfly estate. He found you rolling in the snow like a ball, and the name just stuck. It was ironic, really, since when Shinjuro found you, you were practically rolling in the snow as well. "I told you I'd make it back alive!" His cheery voice left you winded and speechless. It had been over a week, and you were already shocked by his voice again? Was this how it was going to happen from now on?
"I never doubted you." In truth, you didn't doubt him. You just remembered the monster you saw on the night your family was murdered ruthlessly. Thinking back to that, it made your heart pound, if there was a demon as strong as that one... would Kyojuro really be able to kill it? As he is right now? Hopefully you wouldn't have to find that answer out. You pulled your arms away and waved bye to the tall, erratic man. He gave a confused smile but waved as well. Not much about it made him worry, though, as he went inside to rest for awhile. You on the other hand left the residence and ran towards the thicker parts of the woods. You felt angry for some reason. No, it wasn't anger, but sadness, grief, guilt. Why? It had been a year. You found yourself thinking about them often, but it never made you angry. You didn't even know if you were capable of getting angry.
You sat on a tree stump that wasn't covered by the trees at all. It was an open area that allowed the sun to pour in freely. Crossing your legs, you steadied your breathing and tried to focus on something other than that night. Train. Yes. Focus on training. It's what you did anyways, why not focus on ways to strengthen yourself? Why pity the past? Get stronger and overcome it, overcome all unfortunate things that might happen. How?
You lost sight of everything, meditating on the tree stump. You were thinking of ways you could get stronger and overcome challenges, no matter what they might be. It began getting late, but all you focused on was your breathing and thoughts. Nothing would interrupt you, not when you were like this. It was next to impossible. Everyone who knew you, knew that if you started to focus on something, nothing would pull you out of that state but yourself.
Kyojuro noticed it was getting dark and went to go look for you. He didn't know you had left the residence until after he looked everywhere and couldn't find you. Panic started to take over when he rushed into his father's room. "I can't find, (Y/N)!" He shouted with a bead of sweat rolling down his face. Shinjuro furrowed his brows and took up his sword.
"I'll go look for her." He responded with complete certainty. It wasn't the first night you ran off, but it was the first time you hadn't come back. You were usually strict about what time you came back, and it was later than you had ever came back before. It worried everyone at the Rengoku Residence. Especially Senjuro, who had learned to call you 'Snowball' as well. You were probably his favorite biologically unrelated person. You're kind and gentle around him, a warm feeling came off of you like a mother. Like his mother. Maybe that's why they kept you around, you reminded them of Ruka Rengoku. Maybe...
Shinjuro rushed through the wooded area, listening for anything that might give you away. It reminded him of the year before, when he found you in the snow bleeding to death. Scars from that day always reminded him of how late he truly was. Even if you were alive, you had almost died. It was because of him. He knew you'd never admit to having such feelings, but he knew what was fact, and the fact was it was his fault for leaving to late. "(Y/N)!!" He shouted loudly not sure if you'd hear him or not.
You were still on the tree stump, breathing correctly. You were completely concentrated on your breathing, but the sense of something about to attack struck you as you moved your head only slightly to dodge the sharp claws. It barely grazed your skin, and within a second you had the demon pinned to ground. You knew better than to go out without at least knives. "Why, why do your kind kill? I don't understand, why not at least go after bad people? It makes no sense to me."
"What's wrong with you, I could have sworn you couldn't sense anything-! You were so focused! You can't be human-!"
You had a blank look on your face, it was intimidating in a way. He stopped speaking after seeing the truly terrifying look in your eyes. "I suppose that means you don't have a reason for attacking defenseless people? Is it because you're weak? Or because you're a coward?" You didn't mean it as a way of provoking him, but that's exactly what you did. He tried throwing you off of him, but even Shinjuro couldn't throw you off when you were set in a specific stance. You pulled his arm back and broke it, dislocating his shoulder in the process. It wasn't to torture him, but to see how long it took for him to regenerate. "You don't seem to regenerate fast, so you aren't that strong. I see, I understand now. Well, I have no more use for you." You spoke with cruelty laced within your words. You began slicing him up, waiting for daybreak. It was a good time to test your endurance and ability to keep up your constant breathing. By the time the sun began to come up, you were covered in his blood as he began to burn away. You felt remorse for him, it was probably the worst pain a demon could feel, but you didn't know for a fact.
You stood up and stretched your back, you were undoubtedly tired. You stayed awake all night while constantly moving. You heard familiar footsteps approaching and turned towards the direction they were coming from. A small smile formed on your lips when he came out from the shadows of the trees. "Shinjuro-san!" You spoke softly not realizing how much of a mess you were.
He stopped after taking a good look at you. You tilted your head in confusion, and it became clear to him you weren't injured. Except your cheek. Something attacked you, but where was the body?
"What happened? Why didn't you ever return last night?" He questioned walking closer to you with worry threaded into his entire being.
You looked at the ground where the demon once was, "oh, I was meditating and then a demon attacked me. He scratched my face, but that was all he did to me. Most of the blood is his." She explained with a blank look at the ground. Shinjuro looked horrified, but shook himself out of it.
"Come on, let's get you home and cleaned up." He offered his back to you, and you gladly took it, wrapping your legs around him and your arms around his neck. With a heavy and content sigh, you lay your head between your arm and his head, closing your eyes for some sleep.
He was late again. Why couldn't he ever save you before you got yourself hurt? How come he couldn't protect you? Why are you different from everyone else? You were a curious girl who wanted to explore and know more and more, he knew that, but he also knew you were perceptive. You peeked your eyes open and saw the sorrowful glint in his expression.
"Thank you, Shinjuro-san. Because of you, I wasn't injured badly. I'm thankful you decided to teach me not only swordsmanship, but also hand to hand combat." You whispered and tightened your grip around him. He knew it was your way of comforting him, and it did work. He felt better about not showing up. You weren't as weak as he wanted to believe you were. You weren't as weak as you used to be... and it was because of him.
When he found his way back home, Kyojuro was asleep by the gate, most likely waiting for their arrival. Senjuro had a broom in hand and was sweeping the patio, but dropped it as soon as he saw the bloody mess on you. The noise of the broom hitting the rock startled Kyojuro awake and he jumped up immediately. He looked around for the noise and was greeted by his father carrying you on his back. He was about to shout, happy to see you were okay, but noticed two things. One, you were covered in blood, and two, you were asleep on his father's back. "What happened?" He whispered as quietly as he could. He knew that being loud could wake someone like you up, since you slept surprisingly light.
"She'll tell us when she wakes up. She wasn't very detailed before she fell asleep." He spoke half truthfully. You had told him, but it wasn't detailed at all. The bare minimum some would call it. Shinjuro laid you carefully on your bed, and tended to your minor wound. He was gentle knowing you were probably up all night. You didn't sleep unless you fixed whatever you felt like was wrong. It was your nature. You couldn't help it. You would ask questions nonstop looking for an answer, no matter how harsh or unethical the reasoning may be. If you didn't understand it, you wanted to know more than anything. If you were stuck, you wanted to know why and how to advance.
The family nurse came in to clean you up, and did further treatment on your wound from the sharp claws. She finished it off by putting a white bandage over it, to keep it from getting infected. She barely finished wrapping it before you shot up from a nightmare. You were breathing heavily and gripped the blankets tightly. It was happening more and more often.
"Are you alright, dear?" The nurse asked with a worryful tone. She worked for the Rengoku's, but learned to love each of the members. Even (Y/N). Your grip of the blankets loosened as you slowly began to realize you were in your own room. There was a bowl of water tainted red next to you, the smell of blood was very clear and distinct. You could smell it from a mile away. It was stained into your hair and clothes, but she had washed your skin and covered the marks the demon gave you.
"Oh... yeah... I'm okay. No need to worry. How bad was the wound?" You tapped your cheek nonchalantly, hoping she didn't ask for more information on your breathing and grip.
Luckly, her mind didn't seem to care that much for the subtle hints of night terrors. "It wasn't bad, just a flesh wound. It should heal rather quickly."
"That's good, Shinjuro and Kyojuro- san didn't worry to much, did they?"
She shook her head, "They always worry about you, dear. And if they come in here and see you awake, it'll only worry them more. They know you must have been up all night, and you have only been asleep for an hour or two. That's not really healthy." She explained. It made sense to you, which was what she was going for. They had to explain everything to you, or they'd be bombarded with questions. Senjuro was the only one who still made the mistake of not taking the time to explain everything for you, but they noticed you usually didn't ask him nearly as much as you did everyone else. Was it because he was younger? Or was it because she knew he would be awkward about the entire situation? Was it because she cared about him in such a way that made her not want him to get annoyed? The nurse didn't know.
"I apologize for all the trouble I've caused since arriving here. I have always been known for attracting trouble." You smiled brightly with closed eyes and a tilted head.
Just then, the door slammed open revealing two very angry looking Rengoku's. Scary, you thought, as they walked closer with synchronized silence. "The hell were you thinking?!" Shinjuro yelled causing you to flinch.
"You had us worried sick! And why are you even awake?!" Kyojuro followed. An awkward smile and shrug made the tension slip away from their posture as Kyojuro wrapped his arms around your shoulders, embracing you in a tight hug. Shinjuro on the other hand started to speak to the nurse. "You feel a bit hot, (Y/N). Are you sure you're alright?"
You gave a small nod and laid back down dramatically. "That demon sure took a lot out of me." You chuckled with a lightness in your tone. It easily dispatched of all the uneasiness left from the night.
"Speaking of which," Shinjuro butted in, "what were you doing out so late? And how long were you keeping the demon at bay?"
You looked over towards the man and nurse with a distasteful look in your eye. It was pity of some sort, "I was meditating, and didn't realize it had gotten so late. I only realized it was so late because the demon almost took my head." It wasn't unnatural for you to be that honest, but it did surprise them. Almost catch you off guard? No way. Their silence beckoned you to continue, "I was meditating, and I felt this sensation and moved my head just in time for my face to be skewered by his nails. It was early in the evening still, and I suppose the words I spoke to him... provoked him of some sorts. I'm not sure why, though, since all I did was ask him why he attacked a seemingly defenseless girl. When he didn't answer, I understood. He was either one of two things: weak or a coward." You paused at their reaction, you words seemed to shock them as well.
"You told a demon it was weak or a coward?!" Kyojuro shouted loudly which beckoned everyone to indulge in a hearty laugh.