Training, that's all you did. You woke up, trained, ate, cleaned yourself, slept. It was beginning to worry those around you, since most didn't know how hard you were training yourself. You practiced your breathing, your forms, your agility, your stamina and skill. It had been months since the last time Shinjuro taught you anything. It was like he completely gave up on being a pillar and a demon slayer. He just sat inside all day. You didn't know why, but didn't focus on that. Just training. Kyojuro would always be gone on missions, so that gave you plenty of time to do so. Not to mention the fact he wouldn't worry about you since he was gone all the time.
You had begun to miss him, but tried to stay completely concentrated on training. You were thin, but strong. Stronger than your everyday man. Your body was just different, much like Mitsuri's, so that helped in getting even stronger. You did daily exercises that would boost your muscle and flexibility.
Day after day, all you did was train. Week after week, it all flew by like the wind. You were relentless, and trained until you couldn't, or until you were coughing up small amounts of blood. It never once crossed your mind that you had passed entry level a long time ago, so you trained and trained.
Then, suddenly, Kyojuro made his way home and told you that you'd be practicing a different breathing form with someone else, and that you'd be leaving in two weeks. You were elated, happy beyond words. He knew you would do great, and it wasn't likely that you'd have any trouble at all. The way you had changed each time he saw you, he knew despite his father's absence of teaching, you trained like crazy.
"You mean it, Kyo-san?!" Your tone sounded happy, and your expression was excited. There was little room for nervousness right then. His head nodded and soon you felt your body go into overdrive as you began jumping in the air. "Yay!! Finally, after so long!I'll have new things to learn!!" You shouted with glee running around in circles.
"Hey, now, calm down, Snowball. You need to rest up, you'll have to leave sooner rather than later." He chuckled knowing his words would have little effect. To his surprise, you turned on your heels to face him, stopping all signs of excitement.
Your excited face morphed into one more curious, and he knew then that he'd be asked a bunch of questions, not that he could answer many of them. It surprised him even more when he saw a genuine smile appear at the corners of your mouth. "Thank you, Kyo-san. If not for you and Shinjuro-san, I wouldn't be here now. I probably wouldn't even be alive." You threw your hand towards him with a thumbs up and a wide grin. "I'll make sure I come back alive, no matter what. Even if they send me to the final selection. Because if I don't, all the training and time you and Shinjuro spent on me would have been a waste. A waste of time is pointless, so I'll make sure your time was not spent neeedlessly!"
Kyojuro chuckled and laid his arm around your shoulders. It was an affection act, and both of you knew that, but neither said anything. You just smiled and happily walked side by side with him. It was strange, you had never heard about someone finding a different teacher after they mastered a breathing form. It only made you wonder who this new teacher would be, and how much of a difference would training be.
2 weeks later~
Kyojuro told you how to reach this knew teacher, and even spared you a sword so he wouldn't have to give you one. As surprising and exciting as it was, you felt a little nervous. You knew training would be very different, but would there be any other students? You had no clue, and thought about what could possibly happen while on your way there.
A few days into the trip, you found yourself walking up a trail in the middle of the night. It smelled weird, and felt suspicious so you were on high alert. It wasn't long before you drew your sword in order to counter two boys that seemed to be older than Kyojuro. They sprung from the trees and tried for a flank from behind, but you used the sword Kyojuro gave you to protect yourself. With a twist of your lower body, you tripped both of the boys, and grabbed one and put them in an arm lock gracefully. "Swordsmen, huh? Does that mean Mr. Urokodaki is nearby?" Your voice was thin, but your breathing was precise. The boy not in an arm lock started to laugh.
"She got you good Giyu!" It was clear they weren't enemies, and the real test was only just then beginning. You swiftly jumped away from the black haired boy. "Mr. Urokodaki! She managed to counter both of use with incredible speed, and even put Giyu in an arm lock without leaving herself open!" The boy was still laughing, even as he shouted and helped his friend up. You knew the weird feeling was them, and that the mountain was safe from here on out, so you put your sword back.
"Sorry about your arm, I'm (Y/N)." Your long brown hair was pulled back and fluttered sweetly against your white, pink, and grey haori. Your hand was outstretched, and a gentle smile enveloped your features. The boy with the scar across his face examined your hand and saw the callouses and blisters that marked it.
He raised his brow and planted his hand firmly in yours, "I'm Sabito, and this is Giyu. We're students of Mr. Urokodaki. How long have you been training, and why didn't you decide to just go to the final selection?"
"Huh? Oh, my teacher stopped teaching, and retired from the demon slayer corps a few months back. I've been training for a few years I believe." You explained without hesitation and turned around seeing a man with a red goblin mask. You titled your head slightly and smiled. "Kyojuro-san told me I could find you here, but you'd make the ultimate choice of training me or not."
"Follow me, and don't fall behind." He said simply and began running up the mountain. Your face was one of pure pleasure and happiness as you jumped into the air with a shout and began running right behind him. The two boys were further behind, but followed as well. You couldn't tell what the man was thinking, though, due to the mask covering his face. Why did he wear a mask? What was its purpose? The smile on your face never faltered, even as the sun began to come up and you had yet to reach the top. You realized the man had begun to speed up, and decided to do the same. Right away, you noticed the air was thinner than where you used to train, but it was about as thin as it was where you grew up. You also began to notice strings strung all around, and you did your best to avoid them. It probably wasn't a good idea to step on them, or fall into any traps.
The older man began putting some distance between you and him, but your determination got the better of you. Your feet sped up, missing each trap entirely. Something even the boys had to focus more on, but you didn't. You passed over each one, catching up to the man. He seemed startled at first, but after awhile, he finally stopped at a cliff next to a waterfall. He waited for the boys to catch up, which wasn't to long. They saw you crouched down on the very edge and wanted to warn you the water was cold, but it was to late when you stood up and walked backwards. They were struck when they saw you run at full speed and jump up without a single question. It was so high, how did she convince herself to jump off like that? Was she really that trusting? They ran towards the edge and examined the water surface. "Mr. Urokodaki, does she know what she's supposed to do down there?"
"No, she ran off the edge without letting me explain. She's a smart and brave girl, just who is she, I wonder." He said pushing both boys off the edge. "I'll accept her as my student, and I'll teach her the water forms. Maybe she will be able to stop that demon once and for all..." he didn't like the idea of sending such a young girl, but she was brave and had a level head on her shoulders. Not to mention from what Shinjuro and his son told him about the girl's past, she did not act completely on emotion.
Weeks went by, and the boys began to notice you trained even when Urokodaki had said training was done. You pushed yourself way to hard, each one of them could see that. It motivated Giyu and Sabito, and they began to train with you. Once you perfected the forms, you helped the other two in perfecting their stances. You would race them, and fight them. Of course, you always won the race, but not always the fighting. Sabito would win by doing something unexpected, but based on pure skill, you had the advantage.
"Slice that boulder." He said plainly towards you and the two boys. Your face pointed at the boulder with a determined glint.
"(Y/N), do you really think we can slice this? Is a boulder something you slice?" Giyu said with a shyness in his voice.
You only shook you head, "A boulder isn't something you slice, however, I have reason to believe he's testing us. This is the hardest boulder I've seen so far, so if we can slice through this, we will probably make it through the final selection." You explained while unsheathing your sword, Sabito followed suit beckoning Giyu to do the same. This was the craziest thing you've done since arriving here, but not the craziest thing you've accomplished. You took a deep breath, filling your lungs like the breathing techniques required. "All three of us need to slice it at the same time from different directions." You said getting your sword ready. It would only take a split second, and if one of us didn't slice it, you would know who you needed to protect. You were already almost sure Giyu wouldn't slice it all the way through, but you didn't know for a fact.
A split second, everything moved slow. You saw Sabito and Giyu, and matched their speed towards the boulder. You sliced it, all the way through. Sabito and Giyu only managed to cut the surface and halfway through. Urokodaki knew what happened, he had been watching. He knew why you had both of them strike the boulder as well. He knew what you planned on doing if he sent all three of you to the final selection. You weren't going to leave either one of them. You would protect them even if it cost your life. You were driven, and had a strong resolve.
"We're going to the final selection!" You let out a sigh of relief, glad that you didn't have to keep training. Would he have another student any time soon? Would he somehow find another boulder this strong and large? Was he counting on you to keep the others safe? You would do just that. No matter what. "We're coming back alive, I promised Kyojuro and Senjuro I would. And if I make it alive, you two will as well!" You three were good friends, you learned to care for them, just as much as the Rengoku's and Mr. Urokodaki. They reminded you of your family. It made you want to keep them safe. You would keep them safe, no matter what.
Before you knew it, Mr. Urokodaki gave you and the other two boys masks, and sent you on your way. To the final selection, you were on your way!