Argentum: Next chapter!
Tanjiro: And I'm in this one!
Nezuko: Mhmhm!
Cassandra: You have the cutest little sister~!
Tanjiro: Isn't she?!
Grel'Slyfer: Ehh debatable depending on who you are.
Argentum: How dare you sir!
Grel'Slyfer: I easily dare.
Tanjiro: Well he is evil.
Cassandra: Eh true enough. Well unless we get any reviews before we send this out I guess we should move on.
Argentum: True enough! Not much to discuss here. Tanjiro mind starting us off?
Tanjiro: Of course not! Ahem! We here at the Dark Guard productions own nothing but Oc's and reality building concepts. Everything else belongs to their respective owners. Now without further delay…
Everyone: Here's the story!
Hello= Regular talk
Hello= Thoughts
[Hello]= Radio
(Hello)= Telepathy/Mind reading
Chapter Twenty Three: How I caused two kids to faint or… How I tried playing matchmaker …
My visit with Eris ended much too soon. "I don't want you to leave!" Eris also agreed with me while clinging to my haori. Jigoro simply let her get it out of her system while Zenitsu grounded his teeth. Sparks coming off his body. I also went the route of simply letting my goddess getting it out of her system. So as she cried and begged me to stay I simply hugged her and patted her back.
"There there my beautiful thief. We'll meet again soon enough, I promise you that." After a few more minutes Eris was done and after one last kiss we parted ways once more. As we went out of sight I couldn't help but sigh. "Onto our next visit I suppose." Kanao didn't say anything. Looking at her I decided to try and talk to her again. "Hey! Ever thought of becoming a cultivator? Because you managed to teach Zenitsu and Eris a lot better than I did." She blinked before getting out her coin and flipping it. After a moment she nodded and simply kept silent. Well I tried.
I had been constantly trying to get the girl to open up; unfortunately it usually ended up with her flipping her coin. Sometimes she'd answer, sometimes she wouldn't. Much like right then in fact. It was a bit frustrating, but I wasn't the right person to help her. All I could do was try my best. So despite my misgivings I tried talking to my fellow Tsuguko the entire two day trip. Eventually when we arrived at the foot of Sagiri Mountain. Someone was already there waiting for us.
Though his face was covered by a red tengu mask he spoke clearly. "You two are Kanao and Michael I suppose?" I simply nodded along with Kanao as he took a small breath. "I see… If you haven't guessed it yet I'm Urokodaki Sakonji. I suppose I should let you know that normally at this stage of their training I wouldn't allow visitors. However I believe you two will be good for both Tanjiro and Cassandra." Sakonji than turned towards his mountain. "Follow me and I shall lead you to them. Though I will leave you when we arrive, what you do then will be up to you." The former water Hashira than swiftly started running up the mountain.
Following behind him I quickly realized that this guy was no pushover. His speed was hard to keep pace with, and his agility when running up the mountainous terrain was impressive. Narrowing my eyes I increased my pace to keep up. Behind me Kanao did the same and we thankfully never lost sight of Sakonji. Eventually he stopped at the edge of a small clearing.
"This is as far as I go. Please do your best to help them… they could use some guidance from Tsuguko's like yourselves." With those words he turned around and left back into the forest covering the mountain. I decided to not question it, seeing how everyone taught a bit differently.
That's when I heard a young man's voice. "Hey I think I smell something over here!" Stepping out into the clearing I couldn't help but smile. Before I could say or do anything I felt something tackle me.
I didn't even need to look down to see who it was. "Good to see you to my lovely princess." Hugging Cassandra I sat up as she clung to my uniform. I quickly took note of her black kimono top and skirt. Seems as if she chose to embrace the fashion of this country. I couldn't help but smile a little at her black and red edged haori. An interesting contrast to her hair and eyes that seemed to suit her.
After a moment of snuggling my princess finally spoke. "You actually came! I'm so glad!" Not being able to help it I softly patted her head. "Hehe~! I've missed this feeling." Simply hugging her I looked up to see who I assumed was Tanjiro giving us a soft smile. His black red hair and dark red eyes giving his face a very kind look. Seeing how Cassandra would probably be clinging to me like Eris did I spoke to him.
"I'm guessing your Kamado Tanjiro then? I've heard good things about you. Thanks for watching over Cassandra for me, it was good to know she had a friend all the way out here." He gave me a beaming smile while rubbing the back of his head.
"I didn't really do much; in fact it was Cassandra who helped take care of me and Nezuko. She's been like a big sister to us!" As I waved off his modesty I gestured to Kanao.
"I think you're selling yourself a bit short there. But enough of that! This here is Kanao, my fellow Tsuguko and current traveling companion. She'll be helping me help the both of you become just that much stronger." For a moment I saw that he blushed for just a moment before controlling himself. I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow while smirking a bit. Though I had to give the kid credit for his very quick recovery.
His recovery started with a smile towards Kanao as he politely greeted her. "It's good to meet you Kanao San! I'll be in your care for however long you're here." Completing his greeting with a small bow the only response he got was a small nod. Sighing I stood up now holding Cassandra bridal style.
"Well it's still early in the day. What do you two wish to start out with first?" As Tanjiro thought on this Cassandra spoke up.
"While I know you two just got here, I wanted to spar against the both of you. See just where the two of us fall on the totem pole so to speak." Nodding I sat her down while turning to Tanjiro and Kanao.
"You two good with that?" While Tanjiro nodded Kanao flipped her coin before also nodding. I could see that Tanjiro took notice of this and frowned. Walking up to the kid Cassandra holding my right arm I patted his shoulder. "Yeah I know, she uses that coin to help make decisions for her. If you can find some way to help her be my guest, Kami knows I've tried." Tanjiro nodded before a look of determination crossed his face. Turning around he started leading us to another clearing. Here he showed us the large stone he was supposed to cut.
As I looked at it I heard Tanjiro sigh. "Well as you've probably guessed this is the stone we're supposed to cut. Or at least it's mine; Cassandra San has her own a bit of a ways that way." He pointed in a random direction before turning to me. "This place also has a lot of room for a spar, so it should be fine to train here together." I nodded before looking at Kanao and smiling.
"I think since you're about the same age, Kanao would be perfect for you to spar against. During the spar however I suggest you pay attention to what Kanao does. She uses Hana no kokyū which is actually a branch off of Mizu no kokyū, the breathing style you're currently learning. So you might be able to learn something from her." Tanjiro's eyes widened before he smiled brightly.
"I got it!" Backing up I took a step back with Cassandra. Sitting on the ground Cassandra sat on my lap and I put my arms around her waist. We were ready to see how the spar would go. As Kanao got out her wooden bokken Tanjiro seemed to light up. "Hey! I see you're like Sabito! He also uses a wooden sword against me when we spar!" Cassandra nodded in agreement while Kanao said nothing. I on the other hand was only intrigued.
I knew that Sabito used a bokken against them, but I thought they would've surpassed that by now. I now wanted to try my hand at sparring with Sabito myself. Hopefully I'll meet him in these next two days. Smiling at having yet another thing to look forward to I turned my attention back to the spar. "This will be good."
I am the rule breaking line break! All rules shall be broken by me!
The opening move was performed by Tanjiro who took a breath and rushed forward. I couldn't help but narrow my eyes at that. Mhm like Zenitsu and Eris seems as if these two haven't mastered Zen Shūchū Jōchū. At least Tanjiro's normal Zen Shūchū no Kokyū looks solid. Planning on giving them tips on total concentration breathing constant later, I refocused on the spar. So far Kanao was simply blocking and deflecting Tanjiro's attacks.
The ease in which she did so showed the difference in strength. Unfortunately without the immense speed boost Thunder breathing gave Eris and Zenitsu. Tanjiro and his water breathing had no chance of keeping up. Though his actual skill with a blade was rather incredible, so I had to give him that. The fight was starting to reach the apex of Tanjiro's current abilities however. Being sent tumbling again by a strike from Kanao I narrowed my eyes at his tired form. It seemed as if he was at his limit, yet the kid didn't quite give up yet.
I was right when he got into a stance and charged forward. "San no kata Ryūryū Mai!" I couldn't help but blink as he struck with multiple strikes. Some water coming from his sword. It was an impressive technique, and I could instantly see why there was always a water pillar in the corps. However! Unfortunately for Tanjiro Kanao seemed to know the perfect counter.
"Roku no kata Uzumomo." With seeming ease Kanao twisted out of the way before hitting Tanjiro's side with a loud crack. I couldn't help but wince as Cassandra "oohed" from what must've been a broken rib. Crumpling like a doll cut from his strings Tanjiro fell down holding his side.
"Eieeeheheh… That hurts!" His pain tolerance was pretty impressive and my respect for the kid grew. Looking at Kanao I could actually see that she was a bit shocked from what just happened. Sighing I stood up while standing Cassandra up on her feet. Walking over to Tanjiro I sighed while kneeling down.
"Okay hold still for a moment." Holding my hand over his side I started healing his ribs while looking at Kanao. "Didn't think you'd do something like that to him, you didn't even come close to breaking a bone while we were with Eris and Zenitsu." For a moment I actually saw her blush before she controlled her face.
She then bowed her head in apology. "Forgive me Kamado San. For quite some time now I've been training with those who are much faster than you. I lost control of my swings speed and accidentally hurt you. I'll accept any punishment you with to give me." I couldn't help but frown as Tanjiro began freaking out.
"NO! There isn't a need for that! It was an accident after all! Things like this happen during training right? Then there isn't any reason to apologies! Besides Michael San is fixing me up as we speak!" Unsure of what to do Kanao flipped her coin before nodding.
"I will accept your forgiveness then." Again the rest of us frowned as I finished healing Tanjiro up. That's when he seemed to get an idea.
"Hey so what's up with that coin? You just flipped it just now, is it important?" Deciding to see where this went I backed up towards Cassandra watching the interaction with interest.
Unsure if she should answer Kanao flipped her coin again. "This coin was given to me by my adopted sister. I use it to make decisions when I don't have any orders." Tanjiro nodded with a slight frown.
"So you use this for everything?" Kanao nodded as he went on. "What about if you really want to do something? Do you still flip the coin?" Another nod and Tanjiro seemed to think for a moment. "What if it goes against something you really don't want to do? Do you go against it?" Kanao nodded her eyes starting to understand where Tanjiro was going with this. "Isn't that a bit sad? You should really just do what your heart tells you to do!"
Kanao frowned heavily before going back to her fake smile. "Sorry but I'll have to decline." Tanjiro's entire face fell and was about to say something but I decided to intervene.
"Excuse us for a moment!" Grabbing his shoulder I dragged the kid off a little ways. "You two ladies go ahead and talk for a bit. I just need to have a small chat with Tanjiro San here~." When we were far enough away a protesting Tanjiro spoke a bit heatedly at me.
"What was that for?! I had this perfect idea to help her!" Sighing I nodded as I spoke back at him.
"Listen I'm not going to argue with that. In fact I will say that you've already have had a positive effect on her. She certainly showed more emotion with you than with me." He was about to question why I then stopped him, when I cut him off by bringing a hand up. "However! Fact is she barely knows you. We have two days here, on the last day if you're able to show her what kind of person you are. Then you can try out your idea. For now just be your usual self while not being pushy. You get what I'm saying here?"
With a sigh the kid nodded in understanding. "Yeah I understand… she doesn't trust me enough to even listen to me. So I have to build up the trust she has for me, that's what you're getting at right?" Smiling I ruffled the kids hair much to his protests.
"Got it in one kid!" I then smirked while a gleam appeared in my eyes. "Soo… I understand from Cassandra's letters that you're a really kind person. However don't think I didn't see you looking at Kanao when you first met. Don't tell me the reason you want to help her so much is because you got a crush on the girl?"
He started sputtering with a flustered expression. "WHAT?! No! I mean she is pretty, but I sincerely want to help her!" Laughing I patted his shoulder a bit.
"Don't sweat it kid! Love comes for us all, and almost always when we least expect it!" As he protested harder I simply laughed while making my way back. "Alright time for me and Cassandra to have a go at it. After that we'll show you some breathing exercises you can do. They'll be an enormous help in the future trust me on that." Cassandra nodded as I walked next to her a questioning look on her face.
"What was your topic of discussion with Tanjiro Kun exactly?" I simply smirked and winked at her while gesturing my head a bit at Kanao. Cassandra understood immediately and returned my smirk. "I see~." No more words needed to be said as we go into position. A bit away was a confused Kanao and a blushing Tanjiro. She was looking at him seemingly wondering if he was okay. I couldn't help but chuckle before focusing on Cassandra. It had been a long while since the two of us had sparred.
Though I have no doubt that thanks to my hasher training and dragon blood, that I had now surpassed her like I had Eris. Getting into a stance I waited for my princess to come at me. As she rushed forwards at me I could tell that she was already ahead of Tanjiro. Both in skill, strength, and speed though I wasn't too surprised by this. My princess was already a fighter before beginning her training. Tanjiro on the other hand used to be a charcoal maker. However the fact that Tanjiro had advanced to his skill level in such a short amount of time, showed off not only his talent but also his dedication.
I was broken from my thoughts as my princess charged forward. "Shi no Kata Uchishio!" She wasn't messing around, so as she attacked with multiple strikes I had to deflect them all in constant succession. This form she was using allowed her great precision over a longer attacking period. If it wasn't for my greater speed she probably would've gotten me. When my princess stopped using her fourth form I counter attacked.
"Shi no kata Sei En no Uneri." Unleashing my own fourth form I forced my princess back before I charged forward. "San no kata Kien Banjo." My flaming slash fell down on her sword like a hammer. Forcing Cassandra to her knees, taking advantage of this I quickly spun around unleashing another form. "Ni no kata Nobori En Ten." Slashing upwards I knocked my princess' sword out of her hands. I had wanted to show both my princess and Tanjiro how one could chain forms together. I hope my small demonstration was enough to at least illustrate that. Especially with how Tanjiro's and Kanao's spar was cut short.
Holding a hand out to my princess she gracefully took it as I hauled her up. "That was splendid!" I couldn't help but rub the back of my head with a grin. "Do you believe that you can show me and Tanjiro Kun how to flow so smoothly between our forms?" A gleam entered my eye as I gave her a one armed hug while looking at Tanjiro and Kanao.
"I believe that's doable! And we can start now seeing how there is still some daylight. I'll be taking Cassandra with me, you two can practice together okay?" I didn't wait for their answer as I began walking off with my princess. "Excellent! Have fun you two~!" Had I turned around, I would've seen the flabbergasted and flustered looks of the two young teenagers behind me. When I was sure we were out of earshot I laughed alongside my princess. "Haha! Well he wanted to help her and earn Kanao's trust. So what better way for them to get to know one another, than for them to have some alone time?"
Casandra quickly nodded in agreement. "So true~! I must admit however that they would look cute together~." I couldn't help but snort as I let her go.
"I can get behind that. For now what do you say about learning some things from me personally? I believe I can get you started on what you need to do in these two days." She nodded with a determined smile. "Aright let's get started!"
I am the rule breaking line break! All rules shall be broken by me!
We spent the rest of day with me tutoring my princess. Teaching her some breathing exercises, as well as helping her with chaining her forms. As expected my lovely elf princess picked up on everything very quickly. Unfortunately she had trouble with using Zen Shūchū no Kokyū for more than one move at a time. Her lungs seemed to scream at her each time she tried utilizing it for more than a minute. It was to be expected however, it took me sixteen months using my Lyb'Craeft to master it.
Though now I know it also was helped along thanks to my physiology. I honestly felt like a walking cheat code sometimes. Then I remembered the Darkwraiths and their near immortality, and quickly squashed those feelings. By the time night had fallen we were ready to rest for the night, my princess more so than myself.
I was honestly putty in my girls's hands. One look was all my princess needed for me to carry her bridal style back over to Tanjiro and Kanao. When we arrived something interesting if a bit clichéd happened. It started off with Kanao trying to show the kid a way to move his limbs better.
Tanjiro seemed to take her advice quite seriously. "So if I practice moving my legs and waist like this. I could develop not only more strength in them, but also more flexibility?" Kanao nodded as she tried adjusting his position.
"Master taught me a few ways to do this. Since Hana no kokyū is a branch off of Mizu no Kokyū. I'm sure this will help you along with Zen Shūchū Jōchū." He gave her a beaming smile while thanking her, that's when the "incident" occurred. For as Kanao was adjusting Tanjiro's position the ground gave a bit from under his foot. The dirt not being compacted enough for the sudden shift of weight and movement. Falling down Kanao tried to stop Tanjiro from falling on instinct, only to be taken down thanks to his heavier weight. They both landed in a heap on the ground.
Groaning from the impact Tanjiro recovered and fretted over Kanao. "Oh Kami! Are you okay Kanao San?" Having landed on Tanjiro and thus avoided injury the flower breather nodded. The kid sighed in relief at that I decided it was now time to mess with him.
"Ahem!" Both froze and turned to see our almost predatory smirks. "Soo… is this what you kids constitute as training nowadays? Darn do you move fast." I shook my head in a fake show of disappointment.
Cassandra took this as her que to speak up. "Well what can we expect? Two young unsupervised teenagers? I suppose it just can't be helped~." The kids quickly started to scramble, trying to stand up while denying anything was going on. In their haste however they started to fall over each other even more. Eventually we left them to sort themselves out. Laughing all the way to the small home they were sharing. As I started on dinner the two finally came inside, Tanjiro trying to hide his face in his black and green checkered haori. Slightly behind him Kanao was trying to do the same with her white cape.
I quickly took this chance to tease them some more. "Finally back huh? Well I hope you two didn't do anything too rambunctious out there." Their faces turned even redder as Tanjiro tried to defend themselves.
"It's not like that! We just had a small accident while training! Nothing more and nothing less!" I nodded sagely as I turned the stew I was making.
"I understand." They were about to calm down when I hit the final nail in the coffin. "If you two want to deny what happened and keep you activities private I get that. Just don't make too much noise during the night~." Next to me my princess burst out laughing as the two teens seemed to faint at the same time. Steam coming out of their ears as their faces turned into tomatoes. "Well that was fun~! Maybe this will help Kanao open up a bit more now." After laughing all she could my princess finally spoke up.
"That was incredibly mean Michael Kun! I sincerely loved it~!" As she kissed me on the cheek she looked at the two asleep teens with a gleam in her eye. "Oh I have an idea now~!" Walking into a side room my prince quickly came back out with a blanket. She then moved over to the kids before scooting them closer to each other, before getting them to hug each other. Finally she put the blanket over the both of them. "Perfection!" I couldn't help but shake my head at her antics. Though I'd be lying if I said I didn't find them entertaining. After that we talked about small things and I will admit we kissed a lot until dinner was finally ready. "Smells good Michael Kun."
Nodding I didn't question her on the honorifics she was now using. I was starting to use them myself now, and I kind of liked them. Filling a bowl with stew I handed it to her with a smile.
"Here you go! I learned a number of tricks from Senjuro and Aoi, so I hope you enjoy." Nodding Cassandra took the bowl gratefully as I filled another for myself. Taking a bit I nodded my head. "Not too bad, but Shinjuro and Aoi are much better cooks than myself." I was suddenly grateful that I had mentioned everyone I've met in my letters. I had no doubt my princess would've been confused otherwise. When we finished the kiddos finally woke up. It was a few seconds that they finally noticed their positions and quickly let go of one another.
Deciding to take it easy on them since they've already fainted once I spoke kindly to the two. "Yo! We didn't want to wake you two so we simply put a blanket over you. Dinner is ready however, so feel free to dig in." The teenagers didn't even make a peep as they nodded with beet red faces.
A couple of hours later we were ready for bed. Though my princess made up some bedding in the front room. Saying that she was going to sleep with me and that Kanao can sleep with Nezuko in her room. She then teased her by saying that if she wanted to sleep with Tanjiro, than that would be fine to. The teens quickly scattered from one another saying goodnight much to our amusement. Though as they left I did note that Kanao hadn't consulted her coin during all of our teasing's. It was nice to see her opening up a bit more.
As we settled down and cuddled I spoke to my princess. "I've missed this." She nodded in agreement as I kissed her forehead. "I'm glad to see you doing so well princess. You've made a lot of progress with water breathing." Cassandra nodded before sighing.
"I guess… but I can't help but feel something off every time I use one of the ten forms. I mean it feels mostly right but, I don't know… I think water breathing is missing something for me. I feel as if I knew what it was I could've progressed a lot farther than where I am at now. When you had told me of flower breathing I thought that might have been the key. However based on what I saw I think I need something a bit… stiffer I think."
I hummed for a moment before an idea popped into my head. "Maybe you need to try and make your own? An offshoot of water breathing might work for you better than true water breathing. Some that can take the form of whatever you need, yet isn't a fluid and flexible as flower and water?" My princess nodded thinking on it a bit.
"Think we could try and get started on it tomorrow? I can still use water breathing just fine, but if I want to become a master swordswoman I need something a bit different. Something with a more rigid defense would be best." Thinking on it I agreed and we spent the rest of the night before falling asleep brainstorming. I was determined to help my princess create her own breathing style. I was sure that I could help her at least get started on it tomorrow. So after one more goodnight kiss we fell asleep in each other's arms.
Yep! I've truly missed this. With that and a smile on my face I let sleep take me.
I am the rule breaking line break! All rules shall be broken by me!
The next day after breakfast we were out at the clearing once more. "Alright today me and Cassandra will be trying something we believe will help her in the long run. Tanjiro go ahead and practice what you've learned yesterday. When we're done we'll send Kanao your way." He nodded before beginning his training as I turned to Kanao. "Since you use a branch off of Mizu no Kokyū we thought you could provide some insight into our crazy idea." She nodded as I began explaining what we were trying to do. After a bit she nodded and held up her bokken.
"It would be best to see what I have to work with first. So we will spar slowly to see just where her movements get a bit stuck. Using your eyes please observe. I'll also be using my eyesight to see can be done." Nodding as I remembered that Kanao has amazing eyesight I backed up. Taking out her sword, my princess began to slowly perform the different moves and forms taught to her. After a bit of watching her I began to get an idea on what to do.
An hour later I finally spoke up. "Alright! I think I get what needs to be done. Kanao San tell me what you think so we can see if what I think is right." The flower breather nodded before speaking up.
"While her movement can take any form she wishes much like water can. She can't seem to smoothly flow her movements like water, I can also see that Cassandra San is better at defending than attacking. However when she does attack she puts in a lot more force than necessary." I nodded to the girl while bringing up my own assessment.
"I got that as well, however I could also see that Cassandra had a more rigid stance as well." I then turned to my princess and smiled. "Well I have no idea what we'll call this new breathing style. I do believe we can get started on the basics of it today." Turning back to Kanao I thanked her. "Thanks for your help Kanao San. You can go back and help Tanjiro again; he looks a bit lonely without you." I decided to tease the girl a bit as I dismissed her. Once more she blushed but still went back to help Tanjiro. Turning back to Cassandra I started giving her my idea. "What you need is something that starts out moldable but ends solid. That will be the basis on this new style of yours."
My princess agreed before grinning an idea having come to her. "OOH! I know!" Raising an eyebrow I prompted her to continue. "Though I have no idea on how we'll do it. How about we try and make Kori no kokyū! It is still water, it forms anything you want it to, though it is solid when it's done forming, and it is hard unlike water! It would be perfect!" I couldn't help but hum at that, what my princess was true and I couldn't help but smirk.
"Ice breathing huh? Sounds like an excellent idea! We just need to see if we can actually execute it now." That's when a voice spoke up behind me.
"Your idea has merit. I've noticed how Mizu no Kokyū while still usable for her. Isn't exactly the perfect style for her." Turning around I saw a boy with a white fox mask on his face. He was holding a wooden sword and he seemed to give off a familiar feeling.
Thankfully Cassandra seemed to recognize him. "Oh Sabito San! Glad to see you again! Also do you really think this could work?" Sabito nodded his long peach color hair bobbing a bit as he spoke again.
"I do, in fact I would be more than happy to help you develop it. I just want one thing in return." My princess cutely tilted her head in confusion as he turned to me. "I want to spar with this man first." Smirking myself I walked a bit of a ways out.
"I will be more than happy to oblige." I was a little excited for this, I knew from the way my princess and Tanjiro described Sabito that he was very strong. How strong? I didn't have much of an idea, but I wanted to see it for myself. "So I have to wonder… are you a full demon slayer? Or you still an apprentice for Urokodaki San?" Getting into a stance he shook his head.
"No I've already cut my boulder and took the final selection exam. I killed all but one demon on the mountain during my selection." I was now incredibly impressed.
"Wow! I only took out eighty percent or so of the demons." I heard him hum in respect as we faced one another. In the next instant we met half way our bokken hitting the others with a loud thwack!. I could tell that he was strong, not as strong as me or Kanao. But good enough to definitely smack my princess and Tanjiro around. However… as we attacked and deflected each other's blows I realized something. This kid is extraordinarily skilled! His true strength lied in his overwhelming talent with a sword. So while I was both faster and stronger than him, Sabito could still keep up on pure skill alone. It was incredible and I couldn't help but begin grinning.
My blood was calling out to take this fight further. "My princess wasn't kidding about your strength Sabito San! But I think it's time to take this up another notch! San no kata Kien Banjo!" I opened up the next act of our spar with my third form. I couldn't help but let my grin grow as he responded in kind.
"Chi no Kata Minamo Giri!" It was the first form for water breathing, yet it was strong enough to block my downwards slash with a simple concentrated cut. It was then that we began using our breathing forms a bit more liberally. As fire and water met in explosions of steam, I could see the faces of aww on our audiences. "Ni no Kata Mizu Guruma!" As he jumped up and spun forward in mid-air, creating a wheel of water I slashed upwards to meet his attack.
"Ni no kata Nobori En Ten!" As our swords met a loud crack echoed throughout the clearing. Having heard it many times in my spars with Kanao I sighed. "Whelp… guess that's that." As he landed I heard Sabito sigh ad well.
"I suppose so." Throwing away our broken bokken we turned to one another and shook hands. "You are very strong Smith San."
I nodded before complimenting Sabito as well. "As are you Sabito San. Now how about we help Cassandra make her own style eh?" Sabito laughed as we turned to a shocked elf princess.
"Uh… is it too late to back out of this?" We looked at each other laughed for a moment, then turned to my princess as one.
""Nope~!" She seemed to completely deflate as we laughed.
We spent the rest of the day training Cassandra and Tanjiro. Thankfully having three sets of eyes instead of just two made it much easier. Half way through a black haired girl showed up, she was Makomo and her fourth pair of eyes helped even more. Though her soft spoken nature made her seem a bit airy at times. Thankfully by the time dinner rolled about, both Tanjiro and Cassandra had improved by leaps and bounds. In fact I was sure that by this time next month they could cut their large stones.
Once dinner was over and we were all under the covers Cassandra hugged me tightly. "I don't want you to go… not only have we learned so much from you in just two days. But I simply don't want to let you go." Having experienced this with Eris I simply smiled softly and hugged my princess back. Kissing the top of her head.
"I don't want to leave either, truly I don't! But I can't just stay put, there are people who need my help out there. And I made a promise to save as many people who need saving as I could." My princess nodded while crying a bit. "I'll always be thinking of you so please dry those tears, and take solace that soon we'll be able to meet up a lot more often." As I wiped her tears my princess kissed me. I would like to say that I was getting used to such displays of affection. Unfortunately I was instead laughed at when we broke the kiss.
"You are still so cute~! I can't help but hope that you never get used to these kinds of things!" Shaking my head I decided to do something I hadn't done in a while. I blew air into her ear. "AIEE!" her adorable squeal only made me smile.
"And I hope you never get used to that my adorable princess~." She grumbled for a bit as I chuckled. It was fun knowing I could get one over on her still. Now if only I could find a way to get one over on Eris? With that line of thought I detangled myself from my princess. Stretching out my back I stood up. "Well time to get ready now." Cassandra sighed sadly but agreed nonetheless. Leaving to let her get ready I got dressed out in the bathing room. As I entered the house I saw that my princess was now ready.
Smiling at this I quickly got started on making breakfast. As I was in the process of doing so a yawning Tanjiro walked out of his room. "Good morning you two." Greeting the kid back I went back to cooking as Cassandra struck up a conversation with him. It was a mostly mundane affair until Kanao came out of the room she was sharing with Nezuko.
Looking at the girl I noticed she had an odd expression. "You doing alright there Kanao San?" She looked at me before shaking her head and turning to Tanjiro.
"I will admit that our first night together I didn't notice because of… certain circumstances…" That got me and my princess to snicker a bit as Tanjiro turned red. "But now without those distractions I've noticed. Why is there a demon sleeping in the house Tanjiro San?" That got all of us to freeze. After a moment I turned to a panicked Tanjiro.
"I think you have some explaining to do kid."
I am the rule breaking line break! All rules shall be broken by me!
Argentum: Well that's not good.
Cassandra: Yeah…
Tanjiro: Please don't kill my sister.
Kanao: I won't.
Nezuko: Mhm!
Grel'Slyfer: Ah what a cliff hanger though! Marvelous!
Sabito: I wish I could slay you.
Cassandra: Don't we all?
Sabito: Fair enough.
Argentum: Heh well that's it for the chapter I suppose. Not much to really talk about, but I hope you're enjoying the story if you've made it this far.
Cassandra: I like how it isn't nearly as dark and depressing as it used to be.
Argentum: Eh it was always meant to eventually get to this point. But enough chitchat! Sabito mind sending us off?
Sabito: No problem. This has been a Dark Guard production now signing off!
Everyone: Goodbye!