The first few weeks or so, due to Zenitsu's shrunken limbs that were still coming back (slowly but surely), only Nezuko and Inosuke went to this Functional Recovery Training.
Zenitsu would sit in his bed, getting a lot of sunshine and downing a lot of gross medication, with only Chuntarou for company until his friends came back.
Came back they did, looking like they trudged through ten thousand miles.
Nezuko was usually really optimistic even in the most ridiculous times, but the Functional Recovery Training wrung the life out of her. Zenitsu couldn't believe he thought of it, but he actually was starting to miss Inosuke's shenanigans.
Zenitsu dreaded for the next day, where he was going to have to attend the recovery training. As he shuffled behind his friends to the training room, he was thinking: Oh god. Oh god….
.
The trianing room was a spacious area, and like most of the Butterfly Estate, it was shiny-wooded and well-aerated. The room was good to breathe in, the house was surrounded by mountain trees.
Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Inosuke sat neatly on their knees as Aoi went over the instructions, "Zenitsu-san. You're taking part in the training starting today, so let me explain it to you."
Lined against a wall were three mats with three little girls standing over them, looking fiercely determined. Those girls will massage the three demon slayers' bedridden bodies.
Afterward—Aoi gestured to a table lined with tea cups, "Then the reflex training. There's a medicated bath in those teacups, you'll all be taking part in the medicated bath," said Aoi. "But if you can hold the teacup down from Kanao before she can lift it up, Kanao can't move the cup."
Nezuko and the boys all shared one opponent for this test, as Aoi had said, it was Tsuyuri Kanao, the girl who Nezuko met at the garden when she first arrived at the Butterfly Estate.
Lastly, the Functional Recovery Training was a whole body training.
"Putting it frankly, it's tag," said Aoi. "Kanao and I will be your opponents."
Nezuko and Inosuke bowed their heads. "Please take care of us," Nezuko said as heartily as she could.
Zenitsu raised his hand.
Aoi frowned, "Is there something you don't understand?"
"No, just…" Zenitsu's face was hidden under his bow. He turned to his friends, "Come over here, you two."
Nezuko tilted her head. Inosuke said: "Not going."
"I'M TELLING YOU SCREW IT AND JUST COME!" Zenitsu snapped. He snatched Nezuko and Inosuke—dragged them out the door all the while cursing obscenely.
Nezuko gritted her teeth and yanked herself away, fixing her collar sternly. Zenitsu dropped Inosuke in a heap outside the doors.
Oh no. Nezuko couldn't let this behavior slide.
She sat on her knees in front of Zenitsu. "Zenitsu," she said firmly, "what—?"
"YOU COMPLETE MORONS!" Zenitsu screeched.
Inosuke straightened indigantly, "WHAT DID YOU SAYYY? You—"
"Hey!" Nezuko warned.
Zenitsu threw a flying punch at Inosuke, sending his mask spinning like a top almost comically.
"HEY!" Nezuko stopped Inosuke's boar mask in motion, frowning at Zenitsu, "What're you doing, Zenitsu? Apologize to Inosuke!"
Zenitsu put a hand on Nezuko's shoulder solemnly. "Nezuko-chan," he said, "you may not understand. But even so. You should know. That hanging out with girls all day is the OPPOSITE OF WHATEVER FACE YOU'RE MAKIIIIING. OKAY? BECAUSE YOU'RE BEING FELT UP BY WOMEN AND YOU GET TO HOLD THEIR HANDS AND THEY HAVE TWO BOOBS, TWO—"
Nezuko shut him up with a right hook and a disgusted look. He fell to the ground dramatically, holding his cheek as if he'd been slapped, Nezuko almost felt bad, but no, she must harden her heart. That punch was appropriate.
"IT'S BLISSSSS. BLISS!" Zenitsu continued his passionate rant. "All you guys did was fool around with girls ALL DAY. You come back looking like you've been through hell instead of HEAVEN. Apologize RIGHT NOW. COMMIT YOURSELVES TO SEPPUKU. DIE FOR YOUR IGNORANCEEEE!"
"You stupid!" Inosuke roared. "You die inside when you lose to someone with a smaller body!"
Zenitsu put his sleeve to his mouth, aghast, "Oh NO, you poor thing, Inosuke! Were you raised in the wild? This should've been overdue— You've NEVER gotten along with girls? AHHH, YOU POOR THING!"
He was either actually sympathetic or calling out Inosuke's brashness. Either way, Inosuke was not amused, was fueled with competition.
Thus, the group's morale was raised due to Zenitsu's participation, for better or worse.
The boys were tragically motivated, Nezuko watched with a bitter mix of cringe and second-hand embarrassment.
Yeah...she thought as her friends obliberate the girls training them. I don't think it's good to train with such wicked intentions.
Zenitsu was truly looking as if he was having a blast as he breezed through the training with Aoi. Inosuke, seeming to have regained his fire, was destroying the young girls mercilessly. Nezuko had to applaud them for their patience and resolve; she will make a point from now on to be (even) nice(r) to customer service.
She sighed, and proceeded with the rest of the training.
But see, the boys only got that far.
Kanao, on that table of teacups, was absolutely untouchable. None of Nezuko or her friends could touch a single hair on her.
So in the end, Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Inosuke were all sopping wet and defeated.
"Even though you came, you didn't help change the outcome at all, Zenitsu," Inosuke grumbled.
Zenitsu sighed glumly, "Maybe I should just change my name to Monitsu already."
"She became a hunter around the same time as we did," Nezuko said. "I wonder why there's such a huge difference between us."
"If you thought you can ask me that and get an answer, you're a fool," Zenitsu deadpanned.
As they continued on with their recovery training, Nezuko's losing streak was still hopeless. Inosuke too. Zenitsu as well.
Nezuko tried to console Inosuke, who wasn't used to losing.
"I always pretend to lose to my little siblings when we play-fight," Nezuko said. "It's not too bad."
"Your siblings won a battle of lies," Inosuke replied.
As for Zenitsu, he quickly gave up.
"Zenitsu," Nezuko chided, "you did a great job training with Aoi, didn't you?"
"I did do a good job," Zenitsu agreed, nodding. "Bye, Nezuko-chan, keep up the good work. I'm gonna go out and play!"
Aoi was also getting frustrated.
"Just you?" Aoi said when Nezuko came to the training room alone (again). "I can't believe those guys! Don't they know what's good for them?"
"Sorry. I'll bring them tomorrow." If the boys knew what was good for them, they would come.
Aoi waved her hand dismissively. "Forget it! There's no need for them to come anymore," she said. "And if you don't want to come, you don't have to."
"I'll do my best!" Nezuko promised, mustering what cheer she could. It didn't seem to matter, as she continued to lose for the next ten days.
Why can't I win, Nezuko thought. What was it that Kanao had that she didn't?
What was it? What was it?
"Nezuko-san."
Nezuko curled her hand under her chin in thought. The air around Kanao was very still, if that made any sense. She was alert. Tense. Tense but eased at the same time—as if, perhaps, practiced. Methodical. Still.
"...Nezuko-san?"
Nezuko blinked out of her stupor—and glanced down to the three little girls calling for her name. They seemed to be little helpers around the estate, and each had butterfly clips to their hair, which seemed to be a recurring theme around the, well, Butterfly Estate. Their button eyes stared up at Nezuko.
"You surprised me there!" Nezuko exclaimed, flustered, "Sorry. What's wrong?"
If she remembered correctly, the girls' names were Naho, Kiyo, and Sumi-chan. They produced a clean towel for Nezuko shyly.
"For you," the girl said softly.
Nezuko beamed at the gesture, "Thanks for helping out! You're so nice!"
The little girls didn't talk much, but delight was easy to see on their faces from the simple act of kindness. Children were always like pure cuts of glass, they couldn't hide anything at all, sweet and transparent. Nezuko took the towel gratefully.
"Uhm, can Nezuko-san… Can you do Total Concentration Breathing all day all night?"
Nezuko's hand froze in the towel. What did the child just ask her?
"Morning, afternoon, evening." Kiyo-chan elaborated, "Do you always do Total Concentration Breathing—even when you're sleeping?"
An innocent question. To Nezuko: a chilling thought.
"...No, can't say I have. Ever." It was really tough to do it for a short amount of time. Nezuko felt her body turn to jelly at the thought of Breathing for an entire day.
"There is a huge difference between those who can do it and those who cannot," Kiyo-chan explained.
"I'd imagine," Nezuko agreeed.
"There are people who can do it already, like the Pillars. And Kanao-san!"
Nezuko blinked. "I see!" she exclaimed.
So that was why Kanao was so untouchable. She was like the Pillars, then. And honestly that thought is scary, since she wasn't much older than Nezuko… But Nezuko suddenly felt energized. It wasn't impossible, it's just incredibly hard. With a little hard work—she could do it.
Kiyo-chan was flushing faintly, "Please try hard, Nezuko-san!"
Nezuko beamed at the encouragement. "Thanks. I'll give it a shot!"
And so for the next few days, Nezuko was giving it her all.
(A/N): A month passes too quickly... I can't dialogue