"Dammit! You made me lose my focus!" said a frustrated Hayami.
She threw her katana to the ground and allowed herself a minute to collect her anger. After a few deep breaths, she picked up her sword and aligned her footing once again to match the footing required to perform First Form: Freezing Rain of the Ice Breathing Technique.
Hayami raised her sword to the sky and focused on her breathing. "First Form: Freezing Rain!" she called out. She aimed for the "heart" of the tree, wherever the hell that was.
"More forms?" Hayami asked, recovering her original fighting position. "Hell yes."
Grasping her sword in her dominant hand, which happened to be her left, Hayami spun while slashing her sword. Before their very eyes came a blizzard. "It says here that this attack is supposed to impair the vision of demons, but it depends on the demon."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Depends on the demon? Shouldn't all vision of demons be impaired?" Tanjiro said.
"Beats me. I don't really understand why it says that myself," Hayami replied. "Now onto the next form! Third Form: Snow Wheel!"
Hayami swung her sword around while spinning in midair, unleashing a wheel of snow similar to the Water Wheel attack of Water Breathing.
"It reminds me of Water Wheel just in snow form," Tanjiro said.
"That's because it is," Hayami replied matter-of-factly. "You see, Ice Breathing is derived from the Water Breathing that you practice yourself. And as you already know, all styles of breathing are derived from your family's Dance of the Fire God, which is known as Sun Breathing."
"I knew that," Tanjiro said. "Well, except that it was derived from Water Breathing. I mean, it makes perfect sense if you think about it. They all are a type of frozen water."
"Thanks, Captain Obvious," Hayami said.
At that, she smiled and assumed the footing for the fifth form. "This is a shield, but it also counts as an attack because it is said to impale the demon," Hayami said, swinging her sword.
She proceeded to jump up and slash all around her, whilst calling out, "Fifth Form: Shield of Impalement!"
All around her an ice shield appeared while impaling the tree with icicles. Smiling, Hayami continued on to the next form. "Sixth Form: Frozen Tundra!"
Grasping her sword tightly, Hayami proceeded to wield her sword around. She aimed it at Zenitsu, who literally had a panic attack.
"Relax. It's only supposed to paralyze the victim. That's why I've decided to practice on you," Hayami said.
In defense, Zenitsu pulled Tanjiro in front of him while he continued on blubbering incoherently. The fear on his face was evident, the anxiety filled him with existential dread. And his daughter was still doing this to him. "Protect me, Tanjiro!"
"You'll only be paralyzed," he said. "If you feel comfortable…" Tanjiro turned towards Hayami. "You can do it on me."
Hayami wore an annoyed expression on her face. "The coward acts, so you shall do. I am fine by that."
She fixed her footing and wielded her sword around, aiming at Tanjiro rather than Zenitsu. "Sixth Form: Frozen Tundra!"
Tanjro was then paralyzed and frozen in his tracks. He could not move a muscle or anything for that matter. He just wondered when he would emerge from this state. What if it was never? He began to panic. As he panicked, his wet tears burned through Hayami's Frozen Tundra attack.
"Damn. That was good. There's no way demons will get outta that one!" Tanjiro laughed. "I could hardly get out of such a predicament! Impressive, Hayami! Impressive!"
"Thank you," Hayami said.
Tanjiro smiled that smile that got Zenitsu going. Before Zenitsu could topple over in a gay panic, Tanjiro caught him in his arms. Instantly blushing, he set Zenitsu down gently, who stood up soon after.
"Eighth Form: Piercing Arrows!" Hayami called out after fixing her footing once again. Icicle arrows spiraled around in all directions. "Piercing Arrows, aim down and to the right on that tree!"
And she did just that. Everyone was impressed.
"This is along the same lines of the Shield of Impalement, just that it isn't really an attack on itself. I really shouldn't perform it when I don't need to," Hayami said. "But this is just so I can get used to my power! Practice makes perfect!"
She looked at Tanjiro. "But before I perform the Ninth Form, could you punch me in the face as hard as you can?"
"Why would I do that?" Tanjiro asked.
"I need to be injured to perform the Ninth Form. It's called Ice Healing for a reason."
Tanjiro closed his eyes and hesitated as he lifted his fist. "I-I can't do it," he said.
Nezuko took her brother's fist and directed it towards Hayami's face. "Do it. She can heal herself after. Don't worry too much."
"But she's…!" Tanjiro cried. He sighed. "I'll do it. But that doesn't mean I want to."
Tanjiro took his fist and punched Hayami's face as hard as he could, causing her to bleed out of her nose and mouth. Horrified, Tanjiro pulled away and took a good look at his hand. Blood covered it. Tanjiro did not know what to do. He plopped himself on the ground as tears plopped down his face and onto the ground.
"I must find a way to wash this off! I must find a way to wash this off or else I'll never forgive myself for what I've done!" Tanjiro cried, taking his sword and cutting a gash into his palm.
"No, no, no! Don't hurt yourself, Tanjiro!" cried Zenitsu and Nezuko.
"I-I just don't know how I could…," Tanjiro said.
Hayami could sense what was going on and found herself struggling to focus. But she tried her best to focus. Tears streaming down her face, she recited the following, "Ninth Form: Ice Healing!"
But all that it could do was heal herself. She set her sword on the ground and wept out. "How can I master Ice Healing only for it to heal myself? Why can't I allow it to heal other people around me? How could something so vital to battle not help anyone else?" With a determined look in her eyes, she grabbed her sword and wiped her tears. "Let's try again, shall we?"
She pictured the wounds that scarred her in the first place as well as the wounds that Tanjiro was now experiencing. Then she channeled all that she could into Total Concentration Breathing only to let out a more powerful healing aura.
"Ninth Form: Ice Healing, Modification: Heal All!" Hayami cried.
In an instant, Tanjiro was healed both mentally and physically. He looked up at Hayami, marveled.
"H-how the hell… how the hell did you do that? That was amazing!" Tanjiro exclaimed.
"I don't know. I just thought about how you were wounded and that triggered a healing aura more powerful than the original," Hayami replied. "It awed me as well to think I could modify it like that, but I did it."
Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Zenitsu hugged her. "And we're proud of you."