The next morning, Tanjiro and BoBoiBoy resumed their training once again to master their Total Concentration, Constant. This repeated pattern became a daily routine for them.
BoBoiBoy continued meditating on top of the rooftop once again without his top uniform on. Since the day is flaring humid in this current season, he can't sweat enough with a shirt on.
With carpet beaters on Tanjiro's arms, he requested the nurses' help.
"Naho! Kiyo! Sumi!" The mentioned trio turned to see Tanjiro holding the carpet beaters on his arms.
"I'd like you to help me train. If I stop doing Total Concentration Breathing while I'm asleep, can you clobber me with these carpet beaters?" Tanjiro asked.
The young nurses were a bit reluctant to accept. They didn't want to hurt him for the purpose of him training.
"Please help me!"
Once he bowed to them, they were surprised by his passion and agreed to help him.
"Very well!" They said simultaneously.
"Thank you!" Tanjiro smiled.
Meanwhile, on the rooftop, BoBoiBoy heard about the part where they will clobber him with the carpet beaters as part of his training and he sweatdropped from that. After he had relay Shinobu's story to Tanjiro, he is already dead set in mastering it quickly even doing so far as to do it while sleeping.
'I guess it's a good idea. But at the same time, maybe not.' He thought as he recalled doing the same as well. The outcome didn't planned really well for him.
'Other than that, I need to find a way to master my Total Concentration, Constant right away. It'll be faster if I use my Triple or Penta Split while sleeping...'
As soon as he thought if that, he had a breakthrough.
'Wait! That's it!' He cheered mentally. It would cost him his stamina but it would worthwhile. He waited until tonight to get down with his new method.
It's as he planned. Earth, Wind, and Lightning were lying down in their separate beds in their ward including Tanjiro. Each are focusing on with their breathing in full concentration. So far, it's been effective for the three BoBoiBoys and Tanjiro. They're doing it all they can to fully master Total Concentration, Constant.
Naho, Kiyo, and Sumi were keeping their eye on them if any of them started to doze off and put to slumber.
"It's all good, right?" Naho whispered.
"They're doing a great job!" Kiyo cheered a bit quietly.
"Yes!" Sumi said.
All goes well for the boys, until Tanjiro and Wind had dozed off and begins sleeping. This prompted them to hit their carpet beaters to their targets.
"AAAAAAACCCKKKKK!" They gasped out in pain.
'So much for that...' Lightning thought before focusing back once more.
"Spinless fool..." Tanjiro referred to himself. "Please let me try again!"
"I'll do better next time!" Wind declared, looking fired up than before.
"Okay!" The nurses complied.
The commotion they're making had woken up Zenitsu while Inosuke basically ignore what's happening and continued to sleep.
With that said, both of them gone back to their training. It wasn't a full minute when Lightning began to snore along with Tanjiro. Again, the nurses beat them with the carpet beaters. It earned them screams of pain.
"One more time, please!" Tanjiro pleaded.
"Dammit!" Lightning said with an annoyed face.
"Just you two again?" Aoi said slightly disappointed.
"I'm sorry!" Tanjiro bowed his head. "I did ask them to come, but..."
She crossed her arms and looked away. "Well, it doesn't matter to me."
Yaya brought her hands behind her back and smiled at Aoi. "Give them another chance, Aoi. They'll bound to come back sooner or later."
"Hmph." She huffed.
"I'll give them another nudge later." Tanjiro said feeling a little distraught.
"We'll just keep trying, I guess. Better than just making them feel discouraged for not training with us." BoBoiBoy voiced out.
Their day started by doing more vigorous training. Tanjiro climbed up on a rope attached to the ceiling without using his legs but his hands only. Earth is doing push-ups with Kiyo on top of him for leverage. The other girls were cheering for them nonstop for motivation. Wind is on the middle of the area, resuming his meditative stance, while Lightning had a sparring match with Tanjiro
'Ever since days had passed, I've maintained Total Concentration Breathing for almost around the clock. The problem is that I can't sustain it long enough and all day unless I pumped myself up.'
"497! 498! 499! 500! 501!" Earth huffed out as he kept doing more push-ups. His aim is to do one thousand.
'As long as I keep doing the Triple Split, while maintaining my Total Concentration Breathing, it'll give me the boost I needed and speed up the progress!'
Wind breathes in and out. A small gale summoned beneath him and encircled him.
Lightning had undertook a different fighting style against the dark redhead, namely kickboxing. Both are on equal terms with neither gaining an upper hand at their spar. It is a good routine as it builds up their stamina and their endurance stats.
Until it is time their results of their training will be tested when they will be going up against the Tsugukos once again. Tanjiro and Kanao stood across from one another for another game of tag.
They started off with Tanjiro running after her with his arm outstretched. Kanao is still handling him although she had to use effort to dodge any of his hands from touching her. She was surprised that he is able to close-line her. Tanjiro let out a yell as he almost caught her with his hand.
"You can do it!" The nurses yelled like cheerleaders.
"Whoa! He is able to keep up with her! He'll catch up with her in no time!" BoBoiBoy said, feeling excited for Tanjiro's speed to keep up with Kanao.
"I like to see you try when it's our turn next, BoBoiBoy." Yaya sent a wink his way. The boy was flustered at the sudden gesture and looked elsewhere.
'W-What was that about...?'
Tanjiro almost had Kanao not by a longshot. With one big yell, he tried to grab one of her hands. However, she pulled her hand away just as he was about to grab it. Missing his target, the momentum his body creates made him fly out of the area and sprawled on the floor.
Kanao looks at her hand. She was inches away from being grabbed. If this keeps up, she'll be in trouble when Tanjiro can finally surpass her.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!" Tanjiro squirmed. BoBoiBoy rushed over and extends him a hand to help him up.
"Are you all right?" BoBoiBoy asks. Tanjiro nodded.
"I almost had her, BoBoiBoy! Did you see that?" Tanjiro exclaimed. Not from anger but eagerness.
"Yeah, you did. That was almost close."
Yaya's fake cough brought the boy's attention back to her. "Our turn now!"
Once they arranged themselves in the area, BoBoiBoy readied up for a long session of playing tag. Yaya smirked, knowing this would end like the same; unless this is the day he will come out on top.
The Go signal was unleashed. With one swift movement, BoBoiBoy made a blasting headstart towards the pink Demon Slayer. The latter easily read her opponent's blind move and dodged easily. He maneuvered his arms and his hands open wide to grab one of her arms. Yaya gasped as she almost got touched by jumping away. BoBoiBoy grunted when he fell down on the floor and got back up instantly. Soon, he was chasing her around like a game of cat-and-mouse with the cat being reckless and the mouse being shifty and elusive.
"Go BoBoiBoy! You got this!" Tanjiro cheered from the side, along with the rest of the young nurses mimicking the same.
'There!' Given the distance, he bounced towards her. He felt a sense of triumph finally thinking he had her.
How wrong he was.
Yaya anticipated he might jump away his position given how they were placed. With that in mind, she ducked, knowing BoBoiBoy would tackle her from above. He completely missed his chance at ever regaining his momentum before he was thrown off balance and fell on the floor flat. Yaya won the round this time again.
"Ow..." He groaned and picked himself up off the ground.
"That was nice, BoBoiBoy. You nearly had me." Yaya said like showing off her good sportsmanship towards her opponent.
"Yeah. That was close. But next time will be different!" He pledged himself to her that he will win the next time they'll face off.
They trained until dusk arrived.
"Thank you very much!" They said and bowed at Aoi and Yaya. Kanao left to tend to some business she had with her Master, Shinobu.
"You guys are welcome!" Yaya clasped her hands for another day passed with them training the boys. Aoi wants to say something but her eyes laid on the figures behind the door and crossed her arms then looked away.
A little confused as to why she did that, they shifted their backs and saw Zenitsu and Inosuke peeking themselves to see them.
"Zenitsu! Inosuke!" Tanjiro said happily upon seeing them. However, they immediately run off somewhere.
"That's weird." BoBoiBoy scratched the back of his head.
"I refuse to get involved." Aoi said. Yaya looked at her with a raised eyebrow before turning her head towards her close friend.
"I hope we'll train again tomorrow!" She said cheerfully.
"Yeah!" He copied.
The next day, Tanjiro and BoBoiBoy had gourds on their hands. Since they've been training and maintaining their breathing state around the clock, they figured it is about time they'll try and break the gourds.
Gathering air into their mouths, they plunged them down on the gourds' holes, making an effort to explode them with oxygen.
"YOU CAN DO IT! YOU CAN DO IT! YOU CAN DO IT!" The nurses cheered them on like they're lives are depending on them.
Fueled by their cheers, they expended more air into their gourds until they felt a crack forming from below. Once they fully exhausted their oxygen in the gourds, they momentarily ruptured and exploded into pieces.
"It broke!" The boys had a eureka moment, followed by the nurses.
Now, all you have to break is this huge gourd!" Naho brought in the big gourd as a demonstration.
"Oh, yeah!" BoBoiBoy pumped his fist in the air. He is savouring this victory with everything he got. After his celebratory moment, he spotted Zenitsu and Inosuke spying on them behind a bush.
'What are they doing?' He eyed them both. The blonde and boar boys retreated elsewhere since they were acting suspicious towards the perceptive boy. It only left him in his thoughts of why they were spying them instead of coming to train with them.
As usual for the injured people, they slept until morning broke while the earliest are off to go train. Zenitsu was the first to get up in the morning while Inosuke was known to be a heavy sleeper and continued to snore in his wildest dreams in his head.
'So, they already gone off to train. Jeez, it's the crack of dawn.' He thought. 'Putting in effort isn't my thing. There's nothing more draining than persevering every day.'
"Chu chu!" Chuntaro/Ukogi flew into his hand.
"Oh, it's you." Zenitsu said. "Maybe getting left behind by Tanjiro and BoBoiBoy is making me panic, but I can't get the hang of anything even if they show me for hours."
"Chu chu."
"Now I realize that we're a total lost cause."
"Chu chu!"
"Wait, did you just say, "Yes, you are"?" He translated the bird's sentence. "How can you be so cruel? Would it kill you to say just once, "You're working hard, too"?"
"Chuu chuu!"
"Did you just say, "Work harder"?" He sighed. "I guess there's no way out of it."
"Chu chu chu!"
""You'll let BoBoiBoy down if you don't work hard"?" He paused. "I guess that one was on me, right? I'm supposed to be his friend. He tried to make me go train with him and Tanjiro. But how could I when I turned down their proposals?"
Zenitsu glanced at his cup filled with medicine that was sitting on the table top near him. He grabbed it before giving a hesitating look. Not waiting for any longer, he chugged down the medicine before he changes his mind.
"Gross!" He grimaced. After that, he heard the sound of someone standing up beside him. Unexpectedly, he saw Inosuke standing on his own bed. Smoke escaped from his mask's nostrils.
"Come on, Monitsu." He said as he addressed him with a different name.
They both went out of their ward in search for Shinobu to ask for her assistance and to be their instructor. By the time they located her, she agreed to help them practice what the other two boys have been practicing.
"What Tanjiro and BoBoiBoy are trying to master is a skill called "Total Concentration, Constant."" Shinobu gave them a concept. "By continuing to do Total Concentration Breathing every second of the day, your basic stamina level will skyrocket."
Zenitsu and Inosuke gave themselves a questioning look to each other.
"Let's just go ahead and try it!" Shinobu said.
Of course, when they tried it the first time, they fell on the floor breathing really heavily.
"IMPOSSIBLE! SERIOUSLY IMPOSSIBLE!"
Next, they then got help from Tanjiro and BoBoiBoy.
"I still can't sustain Total Concentration Breathing all day unless I really throw myself into it, but I bet you two can do it!" Tanjiro said, having high hopes for them.
"What he said. To maintain Total Concentration Breathing is a difficult task to do. You have to exert a lot of effort if you want to make it happen. I'm sure you guys will be able to do it in no time!" BoBoiBoy said.
"You go like this to make your lungs expand!" Tanjiro showed them a demonstration. Although, it only looked like he is posing something else than showing the proper way.
"When that rattles your blood, your bones and muscles will go, "Boom! Boom!" You gotta stop it!" He puffed his chest twice.
"What kind of presentation is that...?" BoBoiBoy sweatdropped.
It didn't help as they whimpered in confusion. An uneasy feeling loomed their heads.
"Uhmm... And all that's left to do is train like crazy! If we can do it, then so do you guys!" The other boy said. He hoped that what he had said will motivate them to train.
He expected them to nod, but all they got was a fast shake from their heads as they declined.
"Now, now..." Shinobu appeared behind and placed her hands on the two trainees' shoulders. "We're talking about a basic skill, or should I say a beginner's skill, so why wouldn't you be able to do it? But it's also true that one must put great effort into mastering it, right?"
She then walked over to the sitting boys. Her first target would be Inosuke. She sat in front of him and placed her hand at his shoulder.
"Well, why wouldn't you be able to do it, though?"
A vein popped on his head.
"I was sure it would be child's play for you, Inosuke. Are you sure you can't do it? Even though there's no reason you can't do it? It can't be helped, then, if you can't do it."
She pat him on the shoulder twice.
"Can't be helped! Can't be helped!"
Multiple veins appeared on his head followed up by smoke released from his mask's nostrils.
"HUUUUUUH?! I CAN DO IT, ALL RIGHT! WHY WOULDN'T I?! DON'T MESS WITH ME, OR I SWEAR I'LL RIP OFF YOUR BREASTS!"
The last comment was heard by the white-streaked hair boy. Even if his mind prevented him from imagining it, his flushed face gave it away.
'Don't think about it! Don't think about it! Don't think about it! DAMMIT! DON'T THINK ABOUT IT!'
Satisfied with her persuasion to the boar, she grabbed a good hold on Zenitsu's free hand with her hands.
"Please give it your all, Zenitsu! I'm your biggest cheerleader!"
The hand holding, the encouraging words. It was enough for Zenitsu to be all red in the face until he started bursting with joy.
"YEEEEEEEEEES, MA'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!!"
'I honestly can't believe that worked. Lady Shinobu sure knows what to do.'
BoBoiBoy thought as he watched Zenitsu running on the fence and Inosuke lifting up the rocks tied in rope with Tanjiro rooting him on. He stood a fair yard away from them, Kanao beside him.
"Hey Kanao. How are you?" He started a conversation with her. She didn't say anything back and instead looked at him with a smile on her face.
"Uhm... You're looking good today, hehehe." He scratched the back of his head. He felt awkward just trying to instigate a pleasant chat with the silent girl. Over the past weeks, he had barely interacted much with the Flower Tsuguko. It felt natural to feel this slight uncomfort with her around.
"Why aren't you training with them, BoBoiBoy?" Shinobu walked over to him.
"I needed a time-out. Tanjiro can help them without me so it's all right." He replied feeling a little laid-back.
"That's good! Next time when you're going to train again, make sure to not cause anymore damage to the property around you, got it?" The way she had said those words sounded sweet, but if it weren't for his enhanced hearing, he couldn't have noticed the seeping poison behind the tone.
Not wanting to aggravate her in any means necessary, BoBoiBoy nodded quickly before he forget. Shinobu closed her eyes and smiled.
'I'm gonna have to minimize the damage this time. The last thing I would want is getting an earful from Yaya and Lady Shinobu.' He gulped by his own thought.
"Oh, right! Kanao, you're in the same class, so why don't you join them?" Shinobu asked to her Tsuguko.
Kanao didn't reply and made a move of facing Shinobu and bowing in front of her before leaving to go to the well beside the fence.
"Is Kanao alright?" BoBoiBoy sounded a bit a concerned. "She kinda ignores our questions, and the fact that she hasn't done anything beside training us worries me."
"If you're that curious, why don't you ask Yaya or Aoi? After all, those two are closer to her more than me." Shinobu told him then started to walk away inside the mansion.
"Wait!" He stopped her from entering the mansion. She turns her head around to meet his questioning look.
"Wouldn't it be faster if I just asked you instead?"
He received no answer for a while. It only took but a few moments for Shinobu to open her mouth again.
"The only way for her to do something is by giving her orders. I'm merely her Master. If you wanted to hear more, you should ask Yaya or Aoi for that matter." She half-told him what he needed to hear before retreating back into the mansion.
'That's strange. She's relying both on Yaya and Aoi to ask me about Kanao. Is Kanao really shy in terms of socializing, or am I just being too close into her personal space...? Or is it something else?'
He continued to look at the Flower Tsuguko near the well. Then back to the Gonpachiro squad with Tanjiro and Inosuke encouraging Zenitsu lifting the rocks.
"More! More! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
"You damn wimp!"
"You got this, Zenitsu!"
BoBoiBoy laughed at their acts. He is surprised that Inosuke would be rooting for someone in his own way. He was proud that Zenitsu is exerting much effort into his training, although Shinobu influenced him to do it by infatuating him. And he is happy to know Tanjiro is supporting his friends and not just all about himself.
His curiosity brought him back to look at Kanao. He sees her shoving her hand in her haori's pocket and pulled out a bronze coin. She flicks it in the air and landed it on top of her hand.
It showed heads.
"What was that about?" BoBoiBoy looked intently at what she did. He gasped when she made eye contact with him. Her purple eyes were piercing deeply into his own brown orbs.
Realizing he was staring at her, he looked back at the group, with more shouting and cheering, Inosuke running on the fence this time, Zenitsu still lifting the rocks, and Tanjiro rooting for his progress.
"You're doing great! Keep it up! Right now! Harder! Bam! That's it! You can do it, Zenitsu! You've got this! Looking good!"
He wavered his eyes back to Kanao, who in turn stared at someone, specifically Tanjiro. It was only a minute until she started to walk somewhere else.
"That's odd. Why was she looking at Tanjiro?" He muttered.
In his head, he still couldn't get Kanao out of his mind. It bothered him until he needed to talk to Yaya or Aoi, wherever they may be. Deciding for it, he walked back into the mansion and pondered.
'They could still be in their nursing duties. If they are, then I shouldn't bother them right now. They're still busy tending with the other patients besides us. Maybe tonight, I'll ask one of them.'
He sat on the porch of the mansion while eating his lunch alone. The group decided to train inside the dojo while he's out here, eating.
To him, it's a relaxing change than being cooped up in the mansion. It sure had it's benefits but the outside was more welcoming and breathable than inside. He preferred this right now.
He was eating silently when Tanjiro stormed outside and tackled BoBoiBoy, making him drop his food on the ground with a thud.
"M-My lunch..." He had animated tears on his eyes.
"BoBoiBoy, I have good news to tell you!" Tanjiro' eyes sparkled. He didn't speak anymore when BoBoiBoy suddenly grasped onto his top uniform's collar and reared him near his face.
"This better be good news, and it'd better be worth it that you have to ruin my lunch like that!" His eyes shone red. His Thunderstorm persona creeping in his person. Tanjiro is sweating bullets from the glare he is being shot at.
"I-I just wanna tell you that our swords have been reforged and they're bringing it here right now!" Tanjiro mouthed out the words.
"For real?!" BoBoiBoy lets him go seemingly forgetting the incident earlier. His eyes returned to normal afterwards and he smiled widely.
"Yeah! I heard it from the crow!" Tanjiro said. His nose then picked up a vague scent and he recognized it right away.
"Mr. Haganezuka's scent is here! Come on! Inosuke is getting his swords as well!"
"Well, what are you waiting for?! Let's go!"
They ran all the way to front of the Butterfly Mansiom with eager faces. Inosuke yelled yahoo along the way and Tanjiro just couldn't wait for his sword to be brought in and seeing Haganezuka.
"There they are!" BoBoiBoy pointed to three men from a distance. His face brighten up seeing his sword forger, Kazuhiro Hisashi, again.
"Hey! Hey! Mr. Haganezuka!" Tanjiro yelled and waved at them. "Long time no see!"
Apart from Tanjiro, BoBoiBoy can clearly see both Haganezuka and Hisashi giving their straw hats to the other man and both wielding knives.
"How have you... been?" Tanjiro dreads at the last word when he sees Haganezuka charged at him with a knife, not before dodging at the last second.
"M-Mr. Haganezuka?!" Tanjiro said with all color drained from his face.
"SHAAAAAA!"
BoBoiBoy didn't forget about the other one and immediately moved away from being stabbed.
"M-M-Mr. Hisashi...?!" He said in the same state as Tanjiro.
"How dare you snap my sword in two...?" Haganezuka spoke menacingly. "YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF NERVE!"
"And you...!" Hisashi points at BoBoiBoy. "I forged the sword as beautifully as I could... YOU DARE BLEMISH ITS BEAUTY BY DESTROYING IT?!"
"I'm sorry! B-But to be honest, we came this close to being killed! Our opponent was insanely strong!" Tanjiro tried reasoning with them.
"Y-Yeah! B-Because of that, our swords were broken since the opponent we fought was powerful!" BoBoiBoy added.
Haganezuka and Hishashi poked Tanjiro and BoBoiBoy on the cheek real hard in rapid succession.
"Not true! That has nothing to do with it! You're the one to blame! It's all your fault! You're pitifully weak! That's why it broke! Otherwise, the swords would never snap like that! And don't say it broke just because your opponent was strong! The fault lies in the user wielding the sword!"
"But...!"
They brought out their knives.
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
They chased them around like a pair of cats and mice.
"Is that a new training regimen?" Shinobu asked as she is clueless to what is happening.
"Probably not." Aoi said.
"Not really." Yaya replied. "Let's hope they survived getting chased around. Hehe!"
"Well, Mr. Haganezuka and Mr. Hisashi are very passionate men." Inosuke's sword forger said.
"Yes." Both said.
"They love their swords more than anyone. There's no one like them, even in the sword forgers' homeland. Mr. Hisashi, however, is a special man when it comes to forging the user's swords. He may had the same compassion as Mr. Haganezuka but he can be very strict with how the sword can be used." He explained them briefly.
'I'd never struck Mr. Hisashi as a very strict man before. The first impression he had on me wasn't like that.' BoBoiBoy thought. He looked back with Haganezuka and Hisashi grunting behind their backs.
"My name is Kanamori." He introduced himself as a man with black hair that reached down his neck and a red goblin mask. He wears a white long sleeved buttoned shirt and wearing a black haori.
"I was the one who forged Master Inosuke's swords. I would be thrilled if they prove useful in battle." Kanamori said. They then stared at Inosuke, outside sitting on the porch while holding the blades. The swords changed into two indigo-gray colours.
"Beautiful, aren't they?" Kanamori said, with Haganezuka and Hisashi beating their hands on Tanjiro and BoBoiBoy's back with the two latters not reacting to it.
"The dull sheen of that indigo-gray hue is so cool. It's a fine color for a sword."
"I'm happy for you, Inosuke, since your sword was chipped all over." Tanjiro commented while ignoring the attacks Haganezuka is giving him.
"Which reminds me, how did your swords get chipped, Inosuke?" BoBoiBoy asked while resisting Hisashi's constant attacks from behind.
"How do you like the grips? The thing is, this is the first time I've ever forged swords for a dual-wielder." Kanamori admitted.
Inosuke stood from his spot and headed over to pond. He knelt down to pick up some rocks from beside the pond.
"Master Inosuke?" Kanamori said a bit curious.
They watched him pick up a rock.
"Hold on, is he gonna—aaaugghhh!" BoBoiBoy got his mouth pinched by Hisashi, still upset about the swords.
Once they saw Inosuke raising the rock in his hand to the air...
"HAAAAAARR! HAAAAAR!"
He pounds the rock on the blade. It promptly made the inhabitants scream at his semi-heinous and idiotic act.
"Better." Inosuke commented as he glanced at his sword with chips spread across like his previous blades.
"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU MISERABLE BRAT!" Kanamori was being held back by Tanjiro and BoBoiBoy.
"YOU BASTARD! ARE YOU FLAUNTING IT?!"
"WE'RE SORRY! WE'RE SORRY!" They apologized for Inosuke's actions.
Inosuke ignored the sword forger's threats and bashed the rock to his other blade.
"BASTARD!!! THAT'S IT! YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!"
"WE'RE VERY SORRY!" BoBoiBoy is giving everything he got to repel this man from going on a killing spree. Thankfully for them, they will be leaving by sunset.
"Unbelievable! He's unbelievable! Taking a stone to those swords? Unbelievable!" Kanamori complained with Haganezuka and Hisashi at his side as they are leaving the mansion.
"We're sorry! We're sorry! We're sorry! We're sorry! We're sorry!" Tanjiro repeated for the umpteenth time. Inosuke held on to their shirts like a kid lost in a mall.
They're in their beds and focusing on their breathing state while not dozing off in the midst of it. The nurses checked up on them if they happen to be snoring. So far, none of them were sleeping soundly so it's a good sign that they had gotten used to it.
"Looks like they're all fine." Naho whispered.
"After all, they're both were really giving it their all!" Sumi added.
"Let's make them some rice balls again!" Kiyo said.
Finally, after a few days of training, they had turn the tides against their opponents.
Tanjiro and Kanao were competing in a game of tag again. With a little luck, Tanjiro managed to surpass Kanao's speed and grabbed her wrist.
"I did it!" Tanjiro yelled.
"He really did it!" BoBoiBoy cheered for his friend.
"Looks like it's us again." Yaya said and went over to the other end of the area. BoBoiBoy followed.
"Begin!" Naho said.
Like last time, BoBoiBoy darted to her spot. Yaya dodged but barely. He chased after her with near misses of grabbing her arm. Yaya begins to sweat with how he is able to catch up her.
'You've definitely gotten faster than before!' Yaya said in her mind.
'I gain this much speed because my body changed and thanks to my Elemental Split. Now, all I had to do is catch Yaya!'
Keeping the note in his head, he sped up and closelined on her figure. And at that moment, he couldn't contain his excitement as he finally managed to cease her running and grabbed her wrist.
Yaya gasped. She got caught in just under a minute.
"Wooooohoooooo! I finally caught you!" BoBoiBoy jumped in the air with his hands up in a celebratory manner.
"Way to go, BoBoiBoy!" Tanjiro raised his voice.
"You really got me good, BoBoiBoy! That's wonderful!" Yaya praised.
Next stage is the reflex training.
Tanjiro blocked one of her hands from moving the cup. Kanao also blocked his hands and vice versa. They were too fast that the air around them were blinking rapidly.
"Good move! You can do it!" Sumi cheered on behalf of the others watching.
"So fast!" BoBoiBoy had barely kept up with their pace.
"Who's gonna grab the cup first?" Yaya asked.
With one yell, Tanjiro blocked another cup from being picked up and instantly grabbed his own before she can do anything about it. He successfully picked up and was about to splash her.
Although, he didn't splash her but instead place the cup on top of Kanao's head. There was a moment of silence before the young nurses were screaming in delight.
"He won!"
"Does that count as winning?!"
"Either way, it's the same thing!"
They and Tanjiro hopped in the air for his victory while Kanao was left there contemplating on what happened.
"Let's see if you can beat me now." Yaya told the other boy. Later, they got themselves into the final round of the stage.
"C'mon BoBoiBoy! You can do it!" Tanjiro screamed from side. The young nurses followed to encourage him further.
Soon after the signal was gone, the competitors unleashed loads of fast movements against their own moves. BoBoiBoy tapped a cup that was unguarded but got blocked by Yaya's. She went for another before BoBoiBoy moved his other hand to counter her.
'Don't let up now! This is your only chance! Now!'
He relied on his instincts to get the cup before she can. Luckily, her hand slipped past the one cup she didn't get to grab by BoBoiBoy. Her eyes widen. She knew she would be doused in medicated water. She shut her eyes tightly, bracing for the liquidated medicine on her face.
*Thud*
She didn't feel anything wet. Confused as to why he didn't splash her yet, she opened her eyes slowly to find BoBoiBoy's wide smile plastered on his face. His hand wasn't holding the cup. She wondered where it was.
"Got you." He said. He then pointed on top of her head that there lies the cup. She glanced up to see that the cup was there.
"Woohoo! I did it! I did it! Guys, I did it!" The Cyclone side of him was bursting with ecstatic joy. Tanjiro and the young nurses bomb-rushed to the boy and wrapped up together in a group hug while shouting praises all the way.
Unbeknownst to them, a certain blonde and boar boy were peeking on them behind the door. They felt like they were falling behind.
"Oh, crap." They both said.
Afterwards, they trained again and doubled the effort. Zenitsu ran like a cheetah and screaming while Inosuke raised the odds of lifting the rocks by one, making three rocks as well as making them huge as possible.
Shinobu summoned the boys to have their check up on their most injured parts. She finished examining BoBoiBoy's ribcage and deemed positive results. However, he can't make any drastic decisions like going pass his limiting points or else, any of his injured parts will open up.
"All right! Open up! Aaaaaa!" Shinobu made Tanjiro open up his mouth to check up on his jawbone, since Kanao had broken it the first time they met.
"Okay! Looks like your jaw is as good as new. All right, you can close your mouth now." Shinobu sat back in her seat.
"For you BoBoiBoy, you may have damaged your ribs from training too hard but it doesn't mean that it's fatal yet to endanger yourself while in combat. However, I advise that you always be careful to not sustain anymore damage to your upper torso, much less it reopens your internal wounds. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes." He bowed his head in shame. "In fact, Yaya told me about it in my last check up."
"Is that so? Well, that concludes this exam then." Shinobu said. "Since both of you are physically sound now, you may take on your missions without any misgivings."
"So, we're done with our training?" Tanjiro asked eagerly.
"Yes, all that's left for you now is actual combat."
"Right!" Tanjiro said.
"So, are we done here?" BoBoiBoy asked.
"Oh wait! Before I forget, Lady Shinobu..." Tanjiro referred to the young woman. "There's something I wanted to ask you."
"What would that be?"
Tanjiro sparkled. "Have you ever heard of the Hinokami Kagura Dance?"
"I have not."
"Eh?!" He sounds shocked. "Uh, w-well then, how about Fire Breathing?"
"Never heard of it."
"EEEEEEEEEEEEE!!" Tanjiro felt betrayed.
"A-Actually, this is something that happened during my childhood."
"Yes, yes."
Moments later, Tanjiro told Shinobu of his past in relation to the Hinokami Kagura Dance as well his father. BoBoiBoy sat there, listening to his story.
"I see. So, for some reason, Tanjiro, your father used Fire Breathing." Shinobu had her finger on her chin. "All I can tell you is that while Flame Breathing does exist, it's not Fire Breathing."
"Wait what?" BoBoiBoy squeaked out a worried tone. "Lady Shinobu, what do you mean? Aren't they like the same thing?"
"Hm?" She tilts her head. "Is there something that bothers you, BoBoiBoy?"
"It is." He said. "Please tell me."
"Well, to be honest, I'm not familiar with the details myself. Please forgive me." She begins to explain. "But I do know that they're very strict about the exact phrasing. Flame Breathing must never be referred to as Fire Breathing."
"Uhmm... can I ask a question for that?" BoBoiBoy raised his hand. "If you create your own breath style, can you label it yourself accordingly?"
"Huh? Why do you ask that?" Shinobu asked.
BoBoiBoy glanced at Tanjiro, hoping he might provide him a good answer. He gets the note and faced Shinobu.
"Lady Shinobu, BoBoiBoy here can also utilize the Flame Breathing Technique." Tanjiro told her. Shinobu widened her purple eyes.
"You can use Flame Breathing?!" She acted very surprised.
"It's true. I got this breathing by training back at the wisteria house while we were still injured. I wasn't aware that it is supposed to be Flame Breathing because of its strict names. That's why I asked you if it's possible that labelling the breath style is also allowed... is it?"
Shinobu hummed for a while. Her interest in BoBoiBoy spiked ever since she met him back at Mt. Natagumo. The ability to split into three and five clones were a baffling experience she witnessed. No one with a Breathing Technique like that is able to do something as complicated as that. She marked BoBoiBoy to be her next person-of-interest.
"I'm unfamiliar with what had happened to you while training at the wisteria house. Like I said, all I can say is that Flame Breathing must never be referred to as Fire Breathing."
BoBoiBoy didn't feel better hearing that. He gulped at the sounds of it.
"But, there's no rule saying that the created breath style of the user can label their breathing as long as it stayed true to the original breathing style. In other words, you're free to call your breathing as Fire Breathing but never mention your labelled technique to other Demon Slayers bearing the Flame Breathing Technique."
Hearing them had lift the heavy weight of his chest. "Phew. Thank goodness. I was worried for a second there."
She continued. "If you'd like to know more about Flame Breathing, you should ask the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, but unfortunately, he's out on a mission."
"Understood!" They stood up and bowed in front of her. "Thank you for all that you've taught us."
"We'll be sure to ask Mr. Rengoku if we ever get the chance to see him again." BoBoiBoy said.
'Kyojuro Rengoku... Isn't he the guy that looked at me intently when I kicked Shinazugawa in the head?' He thought.
"Right." Shinobu said.
"Now then, please excuse us!" They were about to leave before Shinobu stopped them.
"Boys?"
"Yes?"
Her smile retained.
"I'm expecting great things of you both."
She held high hopes for them.
"Right!"
Once they left, Tanjiro headed elsewhere to help with Zenitsu and Inosuke on their training. Meanwhile, BoBoiBoy was about to head outside when he stumbled upon a certain someone on the way.
"Oh, there you are!" Yaya made her way towards him. "Is your check up complete?"
He nodded as an answer. "Yeah."
"Where are you going?"
"Just going outside for some fresh air." He answered.
"Well, I have something that I've been wanting to show you. If you have time, that is." She said.
"Sure. I can come."
She held a gleeful grin. "Great! Let's go to my room!"
She then led him to her own room that was kept neat and tidy. BoBoiBoy was flabbergasted by how clean it was. The flowers' fragrance wafted in the air and fits the entire room's mood.
"I've never been inside of your room before." BoBoiBoy commented.
"You can come in." Yaya gestured for him to get inside. She then closed the sliding door behind him and walked to a nearby closet.
Since he is a guest in her own room, he toured himself around the small room. Around himself are decorated ornaments that are probably vintage, few paintings that had images of the mountain side and forests, flowers for their pleasant odors, and an open window to let air inside.
She is seen digging something from the closet in a scurried manner.
"Can you face the other way and close your eyes, BoBoiBoy?"
He was about to ask why but chose not to and do what he was told. He practically closed his eyelids.
"Hey Yaya? What's going on?" He asked while shutting his eyes.
"Hold on. I'm almost there. Just need to... Ahh! Found it!"
Footsteps hurried to his position. He tensed up because he can sense how close she was to him despite his eyes closed and facing his back to her. Something soft had covered up half of his head. Before he can react, Yaya spoke.
"Okay, you can open your eyes and turn around now!"
Her voice held an excited tone. BoBoiBoy slowly flutters his eyes open and turned around.
"Look at yourself in the mirror." She grab his top's sleeve and dragged him to an oval shaped mirror adorned on the wall. His eyes were ready to burst open when he sees himself in his reflection.
"My hat!" He screamed.
"I figured your reaction to be like that." She laughed and BoBoiBoy followed.
"W-Where— How—?! I thought...! T-There's no—"
She cut him off mid-stuttering. "To be honest, I had no idea myself. When I first woke up back at the forest, I found it lying around covered in dirt. I fixed it up as soon as I could because this hat..."
She fought the urge to blush.
"...it's the only thing to make me feel like I'm close to you or something."
BoBoiBoy found himself flustered. He couldn't suppress the urge to just smile at her direction. She even kept it clean for him. She must really for him that much.
"Thank you so much, Yaya." He offered her a quick hug. Yaya flushed red and hugged him back. They broke off with BoBoiBoy still gazing himself in the mirror.
Looking back, he was fine without the hat. Seeing him wearing it right now just feels... nostalgic. It reminded him of how things were different before they got here in the demon-ridden world. He even remembered of his old uniform, his TAPOPS uniform. If he was wearing them right now, it would complete his look.
He would look standoffish if he were to wear his hat while in his Demon Slayer outfit.
How would his friends react?
How would Shinobu react?
How would Aoi react?
How would the young nurses react?
Then again, Inosuke DID stood out than the rest of them due to his appearance.
"Are you all right?"
"Huh?" Her hand on his shoulder brought him back to the present.
"You were spacing out for a minute there." She looked concerned.
"Oh, it's nothing. Just thinking about how the others would see me wearing my hat again." He scratched his cheek with his index finger.
"Hehehehe! They would probably think that you have an animal on your head or something."
He didn't argue. His hat does have an appearance of an extinct species known as dinosaurs.
"Oh, wait 'til Inosuke sees this! He'll probably challenge me to see if his mask is better than my hat!"
They spent talking with each other chatting about BoBoiBoy's hat and their friends' reactions to it. The topic suddenly shifts to another as he put on a serious face.
"Yaya, there's something I want to ask of you."
"What is it?" She asked. She looked at his face and can tell he is serious.
"What can you tell me about Kanao?"
The question surprised her. "Kanao? Why are you interested in her?"
He answered. "I'm curious about her. She doesn't talk much and pretty much doesn't do anything other than training with us. I was hoping to ask Lady Shinobu about her but she told me to ask you or Aoi about Kanao."
Yaya crossed her arms. "Are you really sure you're only curious about her? Nothing of any sorts?" Suspicion rose in her tone.
"Uhh... yeah. I just want to know about her, and how she is like that. That's all."
"I see." She sighed.
"Huh?"
"N-Nothing...!"
What ensued next is an awkward silence.
"It'll take a while, but take a seat and I'll tell you what I know from Lady Shinobu."
When she say take a seat, she meant to kneel down on the mat and wait for her to sit down across from him as well.
"Kanao was orphaned at a very young age. She lived in poverty most of her life as a young child. According to Lady Shinobu, Kanao was abused and was sold from her parents."
"That's not all. Kanao was subjected to this kind of torture that she finally snapped like a rope. Her emotions began to repress and to the point where she can only make decisions is through the orders she was given. That's how she was raised. To be a slave."
"It was a day later when Lady Shinobu and her big sister, Kanae Kocho, took her in and gave her much food, water, and other things in order to survive. She even began to live with them and sees them as her Masters and eventually, her adopted big sisters. Even when she was taken in, she is still unable to make decisions of herself yet because of the physical abuse she experienced and endured for so long."
"To help set things right for her, Lady Shinobu's big sister gave her a coin to flip to decide on which path to follow when she didn't know what to do. When it's flipped Tails, it means Talk. When it's flipped Heads, it means Don't Talk. This method is used when she is making her own decisions."
She paused to let BoBoiBoy piece together the story. When he was done, he nodded at her to continue.
"Even after Lady Kanae's death, she displayed little to no emotion to the anyone at all. She bare a strong hatred against the demons when she saw Aoi's parents and the young girls' parents being devoured right in front of her. Her hatred for the demons continued to grew over the few years. Initially, Lady Shinobu instructed Kanao to behead the demons only without thinking, since she has no will of her own. But despite that, she begins to grow on her own and learn to take part in fighting demons without being told."
"Besides that, however, she still relied on the coin for her own decision-making. It had taken years for her to recover about the death of Lady Shinobu's big sister. Lady Shinobu had once told me that when Kanao's soul will open up more upon meeting a certain someone, like a boy."
She sighed when she finished retelling Kanao's past. It had been an hour since she had told him this.
"I had no idea that she had a dark past." It was his first comment. He couldn't speak after that. Kanao was raised in the most cruel way possible. He couldn't imagine what living in poverty feels like.
"Everyone has their own dark past." Yaya said. "It changes people. Whether be good or bad. Whatever path people chose is entirely up to their own person. Others don't decide their fate, but only themselves. That's what Lady Shinobu told me from her big sister. Even if I didn't meet Lady Kanae, I could tell that she was a bigger influence on Lady Shinobu."
"Yeah, I've noticed."
"You did? When?"
"I heard it from her the other night while I was training. From the way she talked about her big sister, she talks with high regard. She cared about her as much as Lady Shinobu cared about us."
Neither didn't know what to say after that. From learning about Kanao's past and about Kanae Kocho were interesting to BoBoiBoy. He felt sorry for Shinobu for having to bear this much responsibility on her shoulders.
As a Demon Slayer, as her position as a Hashira, as a doctor of the Butterfly Mansion, as a caretaker and motherly/sisterly figure for Yaya and the others.
He can relate so much to her. To himself as he was the superhero of Pulau Rintis, one of the protectors of the galaxy, a former TAPOPS member, and a waiter in his grandfather's KokoTiam.
They shouldered many responsibilities.
"Thanks for talking with me today, BoBoiBoy. I hope I haven't taken much of your time." The pink Demon Slayer said a little bit sad.
"Don't worry about it." He smiled. "I mean, I was gonna get some air to relax but actually, I was hoping for you to come hang out with me when you see me there."
Her eyes shone. Looks like it ended being better for them than she thought.
"And uhmm... here." He removed his hat, revealing his black hair with the white strand still shown, and gave it to her.
"W-Why?" She asked on confusion.
"I think I'm not ready to go out there and show myself to the others wearing that yet." He chuckled nervously.
"Oh c'mon! You wear your hat all the time back home! Don't tell me you're too reluctant to wear it now just because we live in a different society!" She pouted. She forcefully applied his hat back to its original owner's head.
"H-Hey! I said I don't wanna!"
"You're gonna wear it and you're gonna look good in doing it!"
"Please, no!"
"Come on! I didn't fix this just so you can give it back to me!"
"I said no!"
"Well, I say yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"NO!"
"YES!"
In the end, he finally gave in, much to her happy expression.
'I guess... it's worth a shot. Let's hope they don't laugh or something.'
This fic isn't going to be abandoned, by the way. Don't worry. Updates are slow because I'm reading the KNY manga, currently.Thanks for reading and I'll see you all in the next one!
