The First Stage: Run Like Crazy
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of Breath of the Rifleman! First off, mild apology that this is coming out a day late, but hopefully the entertainment to follow will be worth the wait. And for those wondering about the continuation of Hailstorm Vol. 2, it shall be within the next couple of weeks. I intend to finish up this season of my Re:Zero fic and then get out another chapter of Team WA Vol. 2 first before starting on it. So it'll be a somewhat lengthy wait, still, but hopefully well worth it once I get back to writing the story. And as always I'd like to give the usual shout outs to LoneTaker, groche9655 and Noble Eight for their contributions to this story. And good luck to you on the vaccination, DCDGojira. Now then, onto the story!
Daytime: Near the Home of the Sound Pillar
'So I was under the impression that one who defeated a member of the Twelve Kizuki was supposed to be eligible to be a Pillar,' thought Subaru as he approached what would be the first site for the newly anointed special training session known simply as 'Pillar Training'. Naturally it was for anyone who ranked below that of a Hashira, a fact which annoyed Subaru mainly due to him likely having passed the minimum requirements to be a pillar himself some time ago. Though when he thought about it, the conditions were likely that he ended a member of the Twelve Kizuki more or less on his own or at least with minimal aid, none of which would come from another Pillar. Though even if he was at the rank of Hashira he'd still need to be training for the upcoming battle.
That was the whole point of these new sessions in the first place after all; everyone improves, even the Hashira themselves. The basic idea was that other slayers would train under the Hashira, each one helping them to improve in a specific area while the Hashiras who'd already awakened what was now being called a 'demon mark' would work on making it appear at will and maintaining it.
The setup went as follows: Tengen Uzui would handle the stamina/hazing portion of the training, followed by Muichirou who'd instruct them in quick movement training. Kanroji would follow after that with apparently very painful flexibility training before they were sent off to Obanai for sword revision training. Lastly would be Sanemi and the accurately dubbed 'infinite pounding' training and then Gyomei, who'd handle muscle enhancement training.
It was quite a routine, and each type of training promised some interesting challenges for them all to overcome. Though whatever anticipation he might've felt for this new challenge was quickly replaced with dread upon hearing the sound of a very familiar, foul-mouthed trainer. "GET THE MOLASSES OUT OF YOUR ASSES SHITWADS!"
'Oh I know that voice,' thought Subaru as he caught sight of none other than Kumon standing next to his former pupil, Tengen Uzui, who now had a bit of a messier appearance with his long hair let down and an eyepatch over his left eye. His old shinobi outfit was also replaced by a black and white blotched Kimono, though that did little to take away the terror the other slayers were feeling as both he and his mentor whipped at them with kendo training swords.
"Should we pretend like we don't know him?" Suggested Momiji in Subaru's mind.
"Unfortunately, wearing an eyepatch and carrying around a rifle-er SMG tends to make one stick out," Subaru replied to her mentally as he adjusted his new Beretta M1918. He had liked the other firearms presented to him, but thanks to the adjusted magazines he was provided with, the flipout bayonet and overall compactability, he'd ultimately gone with the Beretta SMG as his primary weapon. Though he recalled that making such a decision was no longer as detrimental as it originally might've been.
Flashback: The Butterfly Estate
"So the greedy salesmen finally decided to not be so greedy," Subaru summed up as Anita continued to explain the change in their weapon purchasing situation.
"Nothing like a few actual demons tearing apart a village to put the fear of God in someone," replied Anita, "thankfully Hidan and Izayoi were able to lead them to safety after Mitsuri cut a path through those fish monsters. I mentioned the occasional, persuasive argument while we were getting out of there. Thanks to that, all the sellers have agreed to provide the Demon Slayer Corps with whatever weapons they order with no demands for being an exclusive weapons provider."
"Well that'll certainly be a load off of Oyakata's back," said Subaru, "the leader of the Corps is already busy enough, and I know Hidan will love the chance to examine weapons from multiple countries. You don't think any of them will change their mind if I pick one gun over another at the moment, do you?"
"At worst you might try rotating your main weapon out every once in a while," said Anita, "but as long as the sellers are getting to sell their weapons, I don't think they need to know too many details about which ones you're using more."
"In that case," said Subaru as he picked up one of the Berretta M1918 SMGs which had been laid out in the room with some of the other weapons, "I think I'll try this one out for a bit. It worked pretty well against Hantengu and it should be able to deal with lesser demons without much of a hassle. And thanks to my eyesight, I might even be able to use this weapon slightly beyond its effective range."
"You are the one out there in the field," said Anita, "though depending on how things go, you and Genya might not be the only gun users for too much longer. And I did drop a line to those Catholic friends of yours. Apparently, they're very open about the chance for a new source of firearms."
"Like you wouldn't believe," said Subaru, "the bunch I worked with had enough firepower to clear an encampment or two and that's without counting the mortars."
"Well now they'll have even more firepower," said Anita with a smile, "and so long as they keep it pointed at those demons, you won't hear any complaints from me."
"Hopefully that extends to breaking one or two of these," said Subaru as he indicated his weapon, "because the way things are gearing up right now, I'm liable to lose a few."
"Keep the numbers low if you can," said Anita, "or at least try not to break one in front of me. I always hate seeing a good piece of equipment get torn up."
"While I can't make any huge promises on that front," said Subaru, "I can tell you this: I am a Matagi, and a Matagi takes care of their guns."
End Flashback
'Of course, I should be more worried about myself right now,' thought Subaru as he saw Kumon's ears twitch at his approach. "Well well well," said the Former Sound Pillar as his head whipped around, "I thought I smelled piss, vinegar and fuck up around here somewhere. And just where have you been hiding that ass wrag you call a face, Private Genny?"
"Sir," said Subaru, already knowing it wasn't gonna get him anywhere to argue about the fact that the man couldn't actually see his face, "just fucking up some demons, Sir."
"So my former piss ant here has told me," said Kumon with a glance at Tengen, "still can't believe you retired so young. But then again with that amount of pussy waitin' at home I suppose you couldn't resist could you, pencil dick."
"First off Sir, fuck you," said Tengen, "second off Sir, my wives happen to like what I got below my belt and after nearly getting it cut off multiple times by that Upper Moon bastard and his sister, I think I've earned the right to use it, Sir. And it's not like I'm sitting around doing nothing but my wives."
"You got three, First Class Flamboyant," Kumon pointed out, "so thank you for taking some time away from your fuck fest to be here today." Tengen sighed at this before turning to Subaru.
"Look just set your stuff down and get to running," he said, "survive long enough and you'll get to enjoy my wive's cooking. If not, well," he didn't need to say anything else as Kumon was currently in the process of swatting the backs of some of the slayers who'd already collapsed.
"What sort of piss poor stamina is this?!" Exclaimed Kumon, "I've met malnourished hoe's who could last longer than any of you limp dicks!"
"Guess I'd best get back to work too," said Tengen as he picked his own Kendo sword back up and started swatting at some of the other slayers, "Slow, slow, SLOW! This is just basic running and you can't even keep up with this! If you don't get faster soon then beating an Upper Moon is a dream within a dream!" Subaru sighed, figuring it'd be worse for him if he delayed any longer and deposited the majority of his equipment near a tree.
He was just in the process of removing the upper half of his slayer uniform when the sound of a familiar pansy reached his ears. "AAAAAAARGGHHH! THAT STINGS!" Yelled Zenitsu as he came collapsing in front of Subaru, rubbing an apparent slash mark on his ass.
"I really hate womanizers like him," said the all too recognizable voice of Ozaki as she stepped into view with her sword drawn, "you're almost as bad as, oh, you're here." She gave something of an evil smile as Subaru noted the change in her appearance. Her hair had gained some length which she was now wearing in a braid and her slayer uniform was covered with a haori that was apparently made of snakeskin if Subaru was guessing right. But strangest of all was the segmented lines on her new sword, almost as if it could separate into smaller sections.
"Oh hey Ozaki," said Subaru, "how's training treating you since Kume Island? By the looks of it Obanai's being somewhat generous."
"He made me his Tsuguko," explained Ozaki as she pointed her sword at Subaru, "the training's been pretty brutal, but we've both come to an agreement on one thing, we're not overly fond of you."
"I know I badmouthed the guy a few times and haven't been overly respectful towards him," admitted Subaru, "but part of that is his fault for being rude in the first place. Though I'm more curious what I did to apparently piss you off?"
"Don't play innocent," said Ozaki, "every mission I've been on with you is one where I've lost my clothes, along with nearly dying. And from what I've heard you ran into not one but two Upper Moons recently when a lot of slayers hardly catch a glimpse of one their whole career. And that was after taking on an ice dragon and other winter inducing demons up in Hokkaido!"
"I don't try to run into one disaster after another," said Subaru, "for whatever reason I just keep getting sent on the extra dangerous missions. Though admittedly I wasn't even on a mission when Upper Moons 4 and 5 attacked."
"And given that you just got here by the looks of it, I'd best do us all a favor and get rid of you now," said Ozaki. Subaru raised his eyebrow at the apparent threat, but before they could get any further Kumon cut in.
"I hear talking but I don't hear any running, cocksuckers!" He exclaimed as he pulled out his Luger pistol, "so start running now or you get the added weight of one of these bullets up your ass!"
"Damn that guy is scary," commented Ozaki before an idea occurred to her, "Oh wait, can I make a suggestion, uh, sir?"
"What is it douche canoe," barked Kumon, "I might not be able to see the daylight but I sure as shit know you're burning it, so make it quick!"
"Sir," said Ozaki, "I request permission to use my sword for motivation on these two, sir!" Subaru and Zenitsu gave her a sideways look, wondering what in the world she was getting at. But for whatever reason, Kumon smirked at this.
"I see you've figured out that at least one of those pukes requires extra motivation," said Kumon, "alright then, so long as you keep up with the two of them, consider your request granted. Now get moving cockfags!" That was all the signal they needed as Subaru and Zenitsu got to running with Ozaki following shortly after tossing off her haori. The next thing either of them knew, the sound of a whistling blade cutting up the ground behind them could be heard as Ozaki was actually trying to slash the two of them with her apparently extendable sword.
"AAAAAAAAGGGGGHHH!" Cried Zenitsu as he and Subaru both picked up the pace, "why is this happening, most girls don't try to kill me for hitting on them!"
"You clearly haven't met as many as you claim then," remarked the Matagi as they both jumped forward to avoid another strike from the whip sword.
"You're just a bonus pervert to deal with," Ozaki said to Zenitsu, "I came here hoping to teach this Matagi 'gentleman' a lesson!"
"Wow, what did you do to her?" Questioned Zenitsu, "the last time I saw her she seemed way more civil."
"She lost her clothes another time or two," explained Subaru, "to demons, mind you, and not because of me!"
"It always seems to happen when you're around!" Exclaimed Ozaki, "First I'm naked on a mountain, then I'm in my underwear on an island and both times happened when you were there!"
"WHAAAAAAAAATTT?!" Exclaimed Zenitsu, "you saw her naked you bastard, and got to see her on the beach?!"
"I told you her clothes got melted by that spider demon you forgetful idiot!" Subaru shot back, "that's why I gave her my cloak so she wouldn't be walking around with nothing. Even the best of hunters don't go around in the woods with nothing on. And the second time her clothes got ripped off trying to get a demon hand out of her uniform which, by the way, I wasn't even present for when that happened!"
"It still happened when I went on a mission with you and you still saw me in my underwear!" Exclaimed Ozaki as she tore up more of the ground behind them, barely missing their feet or backsides.
"What is with you you lucky bastard?!" Questioned Zenitsu, "You do practically nothing and women just fall all over you! Nezuko loves you, you got to feel the Love Pillar's boobs which I hear are huge, you hunted with two girls up in Hokkaido, you do business with a foregin girl and you even have a murderous ex! That's a practical badge of honor for womanizers everywhere!"
"You sound more concerned about that than the fact a girl is trying to kill us right now!" Subaru shot back, "and get it straight, Nezuko and I fell in love, Mitsuri shoved my face in her boobs on accident, twice, Yae and Isosange both just happened to be girls and our guides, Anita happened to have connections with gun sellers and Ozaki is NOT MY EX!"
"For once I agree with him!" Ozaki affirmed while also swinging her sword over and over again.
"That still doesn't excuse how you've been able to feel up more women than I have!" Raged Zenitsu, "what is it, what's your secret asshole?!" 'I knew this training was gonna suck,' thought Subaru with a groan, 'but I didn't expect it to be quite like this.' It would be the start of more than a few very long training sessions.
Evening: A Good While Later
"Subaru!" said the three wives of the Sound Pillar: Makio, Suma and Hinatsuri as he approached.
"Hey you three," breathed out the Matagi as he practically collapsed into a sitting position against a nearby tree, "it's been a little while. Has retirement been treating you all well?"
"The busy work has been a lot less life-threatening," replied Makio as she tended to some pots hanging on a spikt over a fire, "though dealing with Kumon and our husband's back and forth has been interesting the last few days."
"Kami only knows how many people are gonna survive with him helping to run the training," remarked Subaru as Hinatsuri approached and offered him some onigiri off of a large tray, which the Matagi happily accepted, "and this is just the basic stamina training/hazing?"
"That man scares me," said Suma, almost dropping some riceballs while stumbling a bit.
"Well be happy you're not being directly trained by him," said Subaru, "that guy could probably bring a demon to tears with his verbal lashing alone."
"Hey, we're not done," breathed Ozaki as she and Zenitsu came stumbling towards them, "don't think I've quit trying to carve you both up-OOF!" she collapsed to the ground after attempting to swing her sword again, followed shortly afterwards by Zenitsu as they both laid there in complete exhaustion.
"I recognize the blond boy, but what's her problem?" Questioned Hinatsuri as she glanced at Subaru.
"Just some personal issues, nothing to worry about," said Subaru with a dismissive wave, "I'm sure they'll be fine with some food and a bit of rest." Hinatsuri shrugged while Suma and Makio quickly moved them over to some more trees they could lean against.
"Still can't believe you outlasted not only Ozaki but Zenitsu too," said Momiji, "you really are a wolf, aren't you. A slower start but when you get going you seem to last forever."
"I feel like you could've worded that better," Subaru thought back before Makio spoke up.
"Doesn't this guy use Breath of Thunder?" She questioned as she brushed some of her blond bangs back with the rest of her black hair to get a better look at Zenitsu, "how'd you manage to beat him in endurance when that style focuses on the legs?"
"It's basically the difference between a sprinter and a marathon runner," explained Subaru, "the Breath of the Rifleman derives from both the Breath of Thunder and Breath of Sound in some of its moves. But we put a slight bit more emphasis on strength and endurance as opposed to just speed. Since I use thrusting attacks as opposed to sword slashes, there's more force and less finesse involved."
"I heard Lady Shinobu has a technique like that," said Hinatsuri, "she actually has the strongest thrusting power of any Hashira."
"Does she now," said Subaru, mildly intrigued by the new information, "perhaps I should talk with her about that. Given that she already has Kanao to train I figured it'd be a waste of time before, but now that demon activity is at a minimum maybe she can make room in her busy schedule."
"I don't think Kumon will let you just leave though," said Suma nervously. She'd quickly fond out that the blind man's hearing was just as exceptional as Tengen's and almost paid for it after making an off-handed comment.
"I don't expect him too," said Subaru, "so I'll work on getting through this part of the training first and then head over. Since it's just basic running I don't think they plan to keep us here long."
Eight Days Later
'In hindsight, I was probably being a bit too optimistic when I said that,' thought Subaru as he looked out at the final course he and the others would run, noting all the spots on the ground which indicated the earth had been dug up recently. The last seven days had been running one course after another, in his case with Zenitsu and Ozaki chasing him, in order to gauge and continue growing his stamina. They'd managed to pass each day, exhausted as all get out but still alive. He'd thought the worst was over when Kumon pulled out a gatling gun and kept shooting at the hind end of anyone he deemed was falling behind, and Zenitsu.
As mentioned before, he was being optimistic. "Alright fuck nuts!" Exclaimed Kumon, "this final course involves running and dodging, so in order to maximize its efficieny I've taken the liberty of planting numerous mines all throughout this course! And before any of you start whining out of your cockholes, the purpose of these mines is to help simulate a real life and death situation. Now the mine's are probably not packed with enough explosives to kill any of you, probably, but they will fuck you up if you happen to step on one. And just to ensure that things stay interesting, I'll be having my shit rag successor here detonating one everyone now and then, any questions?"
"Is this really-," Zenitsu started to say before being quickly cut off.
"Good to hear, NOW MOVE ASSHOLES!" Shouted Kumon as he fired his Luger into the air. Anyone who'd made it up to this point knew better than to disregard the man's orders and got to moving at a good pace while dodging around one mine after another. Subaru, for his part, tried keeping an even pace at first but, as had happened for the last seven days, he quickly had to pick up the pace when Ozaki and Zenitsu started up again.
"Do you think I'm really gonna slow down because of a few mines?!" Exclaimed Ozaki as she attempted whipping her sword at him once again.
"I won't be stopped either!" Yelled Zenitsu, "you will tell me how you do it!"
"I think their shared hatred of you has put them on common ground," commented Momiji, "it really is amazing what people can do with the right motivation."
"You do remember their motivation is tearing my ass a new one, right?" Subaru commented back mentally as he heard a few of the mines go off behind him which were set off by either the less lucky slayers, Tengen, or Ozaki's sword.
"Just saying, Ozaki was a complete mess the first time you met her," Momiji pointed out, "now she's being trained directly by the Snake Pillar of all people, and he doesn't come off as the most personable type."
"Wonder if his training's driven her a little crazy," mused Subaru, "or some of his murderous tendencies just rubbed off on her."
"Either way I guess it's the same goal today as the last seven days," said Momiji as more mines went off behind them, "don't let the crazies get ya."
"On that we can most certainly agree," responded Subaru as he picked up the pace a bit. The rest of that day would be spent running the course until at least Tengen was satisfied with the slayer's performances.
"Alright," said Kumon as he viewed those who were still standing, or at least had lasted the entire time, "someway somehow a few of you little fuck nuts managed to make it all the way through. The best of you managed not to get completely covered in flour, and I use the term 'best' very loosely here." 'Impossible to please as always,' thought Subaru as he brushed some of the flour dust off of his pants as discreetly as he could. As it turned out, the mines they'd been trying to avoid the whole time were only filled with flour and the main explosive, so the worst they were gonna do to anyone was turn them white as a ghost and cause a coughing fit or two.
Naturally more than a few people were peeved to learn that little factoid, though no one was dumb enough to outright say it was stupid to Kumon's face, which was a wise decision on their part. "Now as you learned the mines were not lethal, but, should any one of you dickless shitwastes get the brilliant idea to spread that knowledge around, I will rip off your shriveled balls, shove them into your eyesockets and bust you open like a watermelon! Am I clear!"
"Sir yes sir!" They all said in spite of themselves.
"Good," said Kumon, "now then, since some of you have proven you're not entirely useless, I suppose I can trust you all not to die if I send you on to the next training. So once you're able to walk properly, get going or I might just forget that you're done here!" The man turned and headed back towards the start of the course as everyone else let out a nervous breath as soon as he was out of sight.
'One of these days I might be tempted to find out why he's got such a stick up his ass,' thought Subaru as he began gathering up his belongings, groaning a bit from his exhaustion, 'but today isn't that day.' He glanced behind him to see a yet again exhausted Ozaki and Zenitsu sitting on the ground. "Been fun training with you guys," quipped Subaru, "hopefully the next session we have together will be a bit less hostile. 'Til then, I'm heading out."
"This isn't over," said Ozaki between breaths, "I will chase you down and make you pay for the embarrassment I've had to put up with."
"I'll keep that in mind," Subaru said as he waved back to her and Zenitsu before proceeding to the entrance of the training ground. It was there that he found Tengen and his three wives waiting.
"Hey man, pretty nice job there," complimented Tengen with an actually friendly smile on his face, "though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised given that you managed to put up a fight against another Upper Moon."
"It might not have been the reason for our visit to the Swordsmith Village," said Subaru, "but I can't argue with finally killing the bastard who took my Mother and siblings from me."
"So my ladies have told me," replied Tengen, "thanks to you, Tanjiro and my fellow Hashira, quite a few people can rest in peace now."
"Speaking of your fellow Hashira," said Subaru as he glanced back in the direction of his 'pursuers', "I can't help but think that Ozaki's uniform and hairstyle is slightly similar to Kanroji's." The Retired Pillar let out a sigh at that.
"It's probably Obanai projecting a little," he said, "the guy won't admit it, but he really likes Kanroji. So he probably dolled up Ozaki a bit and even gave her that segmented sword as a way of imitating her."
"Well, that's not creepy at all," said Subaru sarcastically, "though it might explain why she seems a bit more irritable about things lately. Perhaps training with that segmented sword and the outfit wasn't what she had in mind and she's just taking it out on the next best person. Or Obanai intentionally fostered her apparent hate for me in order to make her focus more and train harder."
"Either way he needs to get over himself," said Tengen, "The Corps is about to duke it out with Muzan Kibutsuji himself plus whatever monsters he has in his demon army. If ever there was a time to tell someone you loved them, now would be it."
"Thankfully, I'm ahead of the curve on that," remarked Subaru, "though I feel a little worried now that you tell me the snake guy likes Kanroji."
"Why's that?" Asked Hinatsuri with a tilt of her head.
"I've kinda been telling Tanjiro that Mitsuri would make a good wife for him," explained Subaru as he scratched his cheek, "they're both kind people who get along well with practically everyone, and Mitsuri could help me split the work on saving Tanjiro's hide from time to time."
"Hate to say it, but you know Kanroji is looking for a guy who's stronger than she is, right?" Macko pointed out.
"Only because she was told having so much strength and pink hair made her unattractive, by absolute morons I might add," Said Subaru, "Tanjiro could probably convince her otherwise in a single conversation if he put some effort into it."
"Well even if they did make a cute couple," said Tengen, "you'd have to convince Obanai to back off first. Heck, you're lucky he isn't here now while you call her attractive. He'd probably try decapitating you where you stand."
"He'd do it too," added Suma, "that guy's one of the scariest Hashira I've ever met."
"Fortunately for me, and Tanjiro, that's a problem for another day," said Subaru as he adjusted his pack of supplies on his back, "first things first, I need to start heading in the direction of some short kid who's gonna beat the piss out of me. Hope he's in a good mood."
"Give Tokitou my regards," said Tengen, "and good luck with the rest of your training!"
"Bye Subaru, take care!" Called Hinatsuri, Suma and Makio as they and Tengen waved to the departing Matagi. He returned the gesture for a good little bit until he was further up the road before turning and picking up the pace. He might still be a bit exhausted, but he did not want to be around when Ozaki and Zenitsu regained their full mobility.
The Next Day: The Butterfly Estate
While Subaru knew that it was imperative for him to get in as much training as possible, he still felt it necessary to make a little stop at the home of the Insect Pillar in order to check up on Nezuko and Tanjiro. The slayer in question was said to be ready to depart any day now for training so Subaru wanted to meet him in time to at least wish him luck. So here he was, walking around the mansion after depositing most of his equipment and supplies when something caught his eye, or rather, someone. "Master, you're back," said the voice of Kanao who was sitting on the porch outside of one of Shinobu's rooms.
Subaru had been made aware that there was a shrine in this particular area to someone Shinobu had held very dear, though what was currently on his mind at the moment, was the fact that Kanao seemed to be freely speaking. "I've completed my training with the Snake Pillar and I'll be going to train with the Wind Pillar now," Kanao said.
"Okay, that's good to hear," was all Shinobu said in response. 'Shinobu and Kanao are here,' thought Subaru, 'though Shinobu sounds off for some reason.' Curiosity got the better of the Matagi then as he decided to move a bit closer, intentionally walking slowly so as to appear like he was tired from his training and journey there. Something which was easy to accomplish given that it wasn't entirely inaccurate.
"Master," said Kanao, "can I receive more training from you once I complete my training with the Rock Pillar?" The fact that she was actually smiling was amazing to Subaru, and it was a genuine smile and not that vacant one she used to wear. 'I feel like I've missed a couple of things here,' Subaru thought before almost stopping at Shinobu's next words.
"I'm afraid I won't be participating in this pillar training," said Shinobu.
"Wh-a…...w-why," stuttered out a surprised Kanao as Subaru decided to pick up his pace slightly, deciding that this was a more private conversation than he'd thought.
"Kanao, come here," said Shinobu as she beckoned forward, "and Subaru Genjirou, you might as well too." The Matagi stopped dead in his tracks, surprised the Hashira had actually taken notice of him.
"I don't want to intrude on a private matter," said Subaru as he turned and held his hands up, "I can just talk to you a bit later."
"I still have many things to do," said Shinobu as she signaled him to come closer, "so whatever you wish to talk about, now is as good a time as any."
"I guess if you're insisting," said Subaru as he stepped into the decorated room and knelt down next to Kanao.
"Master," said Kanao with a blush on her face, "all I really want is to train with you. Is that not okay?" Shinobu looked taken aback at first before recomposing herself with a warm, and much less murderous, smile on her face.
"You've really come around after all this time, Kanao," noted Shinobu, "It's good to see that you're being honest with your feelings. Perhaps now is a good time to tell you, and I'm certain you'll understand this as well, Subaru." The two slayers glanced at each other before refocusing their gazes on Shinobu, prompting the Insect Pillar to continue.
"The demon who killed my sister Kanae," said Shinobu as her tone became lower and more dangerous sounding, "I believe it's time I tell you how to kill it."
"You mean Upper Moon 2, Doma," Subaru blurted out before he could stop himself.
"You know his name," said Shinobu with a raised eyebrow as she turned her gaze on the hunter.
"I got a memory or two when I struck the killing blow on Upper Moon 4," revealed Subaru, "it's hard to explain and most of the memories are a jumbled mess because the piss ant spent a lot of his time in paranoid fear, but I at least got the names of the remaining Upper Moons."
"That could prove useful," said Shinobu, "though even knowing that probably won't change what's needed in the overall strategy against him."
"What exactly is the strategy you have to use against Upper Moon 2?" Questioned Kanao.
"In simple terms," said Shinobu, "it will require that I die."
And so the first stage of Pillar Training has drawn to a close, much to Subaru's relief. Though it seems that relief is short-lived upon Shinobu's current declaration. But for now, we'll just have to speculate on where this conversation will go. In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as Subaru continues his Pillar Training, and has something of a heart to heart talk with Shinobu. 'Til then.