Disclaimer: First Chapter
Story Start!
Shinobu awoke when she heard the sound of somebody entering the house.
The sound of their footsteps enough told her it wasn't Naruto, because his footsteps had a certain sway to them that she had memorized without trying. He walked like a fine warrior, but these were footsteps from a group of... men she would say.
"Heh... score... a pretty one too. Bet she would sell for a lot."
Shinobu sat up and placed her hands in her lap.
"There are three of you, and one of me... but you will find that even injured, you three will not be able to win." Shinobu didn't have a weapon, but she was sure if they got too close to her she would be able to subdue them with just her hands. Naruto was out hunting, though she expected he would be back any moment.
"Oh... sell her for what?"
There he was, and just like that she relaxed. She wouldn't even have to lift a finger now that Naruto had showed up, and his flaming red eyes were staring at the ronin before him. There were three sword wielders, all with rough clothes showing signs of being on the run.
"... Shit... shit!" One of them ran when he looked at Naruto's face.
"Oh, this guy has a bounty on his head... I could live 3 lifetimes of luxury off the bounty your head offers!" A different ronin drew his sword. Shinobu just laughed into her hand, because she didn't imagine that statement going over well. In the darkness, a demon just had the advantage... and these men weren't trained on breathing techniques used to enhance the body to combat demons.
Naruto was already standing behind them.
There was a splatter of blood.
Both of them men who didn't run away, collapsed with wounds across their chests. Naruto had already sheathed his sword, and he kicked the men out of the house. He groaned in pain, before looking back towards Naruto.
"Run... or fight and die... don't you know a demon lives on this mountain..." Naruto leaned over their bodies. "... me..."
They scrambled to their feet and ran, leaving their broken swords behind. Shinobu looked at the 2 swords that had been shattered. She rubbed her eyes, because it had only been for a brief moment that she had seen what Naruto had done. He used his sword to knock their own swords against their skin, before he swung and shattered both of their swords with 2 blows. In less than an instant, he swung his sword 4 times and managed to not get even a drop of their blood onto his sword.
"... Does this mountain get bandits a lot?"
"Ronin, and it seems they formed a group... often times Ronin who travel will see a house in the mountains, and make it their own. Ronin who sell women into the sex industry are common around these parts." Naruto looked down at Shinobu. He didn't worry if she was alright or not. "... I would rather not be tempted by whatever it was you planned to do to them." Naruto imagined what he did was a lot less bloody than what she was going to do.
He was flat out merciful.
"I was just going to defend myself, and nothing more."
"Well, they were lucky you were here... if I were human, I would have just killed them to reduce the number of people like them in the world." Naruto laughed. It was hard to imagine, but becoming a demon might have mellowed him out even more than before. The lack of danger he felt just allowed him to relax at almost any given moment.
Shinobu managed to stand up on her own, without the need for crutches.
"... I would like to get dressed... in my real clothes."
"Okay then." Naruto just turned around and gave her privacy to get changed. He didn't bother leaving the house though. "How is your chest... has your bruise healed?" Naruto heard the sound of clothes shifting as Shinobu picked up her folded clothes.
She looked at them.
The ribs and tears in her uniform had been patched up, and the blood stains had been washed out. She gave a small click of her teeth in pain when she leaned down, but she had managed to recover most of the way. She looked down at her own torso, where there was still a bruise, but a bruise that was so massively reduced in size.
"... May I research the ointment you made for me?" Shinobu had never had an ointment that worked so well with so little applications of it before. Her ankle was sore, and that was as far as her broken ankle hurt. It was fixed up, and all there was now was a soreness. She watched as Naruto leaned down and picked up the swords from the ground, without looking in her direction.
"You can... You know, I've always hated the steel used for the katana." Naruto sighed as he looked at the metal.
"... Oh?"
"The steel we use for katana is just a lower quality than steel all around the world. I met travelers from the West... several of them. Those from India and Europe have swords of such a great quality... my own sword is made of that steel." Naruto unsheathed his sword. It was a katana as well, but the quality of his sword was visibly better. "... we fold our steel, not because it is something we like to do... but because it is something we must do to have a sword of decent quality... even our swordsmanship was built around using an inferior metal." Naruto could only sigh.
"So... you're sword is better?"
"My sword has a higher purity, and is much more durable... do you know why a western sword has two edges... and why the katana has a dull end." Naruto flipped his sword and ran his finger along the blunted edge of the blade. "... because we have to block with this end, or else risk damaging the blade... one wrong move, and a katana will break... with western blades, they can actually afford to block with the edge... I found it fascinating." Naruto was going through the memories he was regaining slowly.
Seeing the swords of an inferior metal be broken so easily made him remember.
"So... what does that have to do with anything?" Shinobu didn't get why he was mentioning it as she buttoned up her top.
"Just making conversation... I was challenged to a duel by a man from the west, and though he broken my sword, I won in the end. As my prize, I took his sword and melted it down... I reforged his sword into what you see now." Naruto admired his own blade. It was just a katana that was made using a western steel, but that was all it needed to be. "Your own sword... this metal is unique, but the number of impurities in the blade..." Naruto had her sword in his sleave, the remains of her sword, and he inspected them.
"My sword was made for piercing and stabbing, to inject poison."
"The issue with your sword is that it has little durability compared to other blades. Due to how thin the blade is, and the shape it takes... it has little weight. With your size, this blade is ill-suited for you." Naruto explained as he swung the broken blade a few times.
Her eyebrow rose up, pulling her pants up her legs.
"... but I can't fight as well with a heavier sword."
"Slashing power is decided by the force behind the swing, how thin the blade is, and how durable the blade is... and the force behind the swing is decided by weight of the sword hitting and the strength of your arm... instead of a long sword, what you actually need is a short sword." Naruto showed the dagger size of her broken sword, and he swung it hard enough to slice through the wooden wall.
"... I still lack the arm strength to cut off a demon's head."
"You do lack the strength... if you want to poison though, I would say cut the size of your blade into half... maybe a fourth. As it stands, use your sword like a stinger... and not a spear." Naruto couldn't see why she needed a full katana's length when she just wanted to poison an enemy. She was fast enough to use hit and run tactics, so the shorter blade would only enhance that ability.
... your clothes certainly don't help." Naruto sighed as he turned around and looked at her.
Mostly dressed now.
"My clothes?"
"The female body is smaller than the male one. Your clothes offer a lot of wind resistance. You have a rather generous chest, which when running forward causes drag... and open chest... yes?" Naruto asked when he looked at Shinobu, who palmed her forehead.
"... an open chested uniform would reduce wind resistance?" Shinobu asked as she glanced away from Naruto through her fingers.
In her hand, she imagined wind rushing between 2 spheres that were wrapped together with clothe. Then she imagined a hole in the clothe between the spheres and she could see why wind passing through the hole would improve speed.
... The open cleavage that was in her original uniform before she burned it.
The open chest that was given to all of the higher ranked female demon slayers, that she and her sister both burned, and she got her own little sister to burn as well.
"... You know somebody who wears an open cleavage attire?"
"Yeah, I do... and let me guess... my butterfly cloak and pants..."
"Ideally, you would wear some form of skirt to prevent you from slowing yourself down. With your breathing technique, you enhance yourself... but the faster you go, the more air resistance you will be met with... you have smooth legs, so a skirt would do a speed type like you well... yes?" Naruto saw her palm her forehead with her other hand as well.
She had always just assumed the uniform that her fellow female Hashira wore was sexist in how it made the females who wore it show off their bodies, but as it was explained to her she felt foolish for burning it. She wore a modified male uniform with loose fitting hakama pants, and her oversized haori so that she could defend herself.
Yet she never considered that she would be drastically lowering her speed.
Shinobu took her cloak off, before she rolled the legs of her pants up. She even unbuttoned the buttons on her cleavage to open it up. She walked outside of the house, before she sucked in a deep breath. The veins on her legs were more visible, before she disappeared in a flash so quick one with slow eyes would assume she just teleported.
She appeared next to a nearby tree the very same second.
'... I was almost 20% faster than I should have been... I could feel the wind rushing through my cleavage right then. Usually the faster I run, the more I feel a pressure against my chest... and my pants weren't flapping as much...' Shinobu palmed her face again.
The sexist uniform that she had been given... wasn't sexist at all.
It was literally designed to allow her to not be held back by being a large breasted woman. The open cleavage really did reduce her resistance in the wind, and the skirt was preferred over pants due to how small her body was, and the amount of drag her oversized pants caused her when she moved fast.
"Are you okay?"
"... Shorts... instead of a skirt... would shorts be okay?"
"Actually, if they were tight enough, I think shorts would be better than a skirt. A tight fitting uniform would be best... that or a loose enough uniform that wind can freely go through it." Naruto showed his own clothes.
For once Shinobu looked at that.
He wore his kimono with the chest WIDE open, and it was lose enough that when he ran the wind would go through the open chest and come out the sleeves. He didn't wear hakama pants, his kimono just went down to shins but it was so loose that when he moved quickly it would move with the wind.
"So why not the men?" Shinobu couldn't believe that she was so dumb in just assuming the uniform was sexist.
"Men have larger bodies normally, so for us the amount of wind resistance pants cause is greatly reduced. After all, our limps are normally longer, our bones heavier as well. We are built sturdier, and we aren't nearly as agile or flexible. Loose, revealing clothes allow you smaller women to be agile and flexible, while reducing drag... I would have thought that was common knowledge?" Naruto scratched the back of his head.
"No... no it really isn't." Shinobu stared at him. "... I mean, when the corps gives you a uniform with your boobs half revealed and a short skirt, you just assume they give it to you because you're a woman."
"... I mean... they did give it to you because you're a woman. Your bones are thinner, so it isn't like more skin being covered will protect you... so why not give you a revealing uniform that boosts your chances of dodging an attack... I mean, wearing armor doesn't negate the shock from being hit." Naruto deadpanned at her.
"... I feel dumb?"
"Why?"
"I feel dumb, because I would have put up a better fight if I was wearing the same uniform as the Love Hashira... she has her cleavage exposes and wears a mini-skirt... and even her haori is short and fits her body better." Shinobu couldn't believe that the love struck fool of a girl was smarter than she was when it came to knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the uniform. "... no wonder all my students died... I made all of them wear the male uniforms..." Shinobu felt dread deep in her soul for that.
She had been slowing her people down by a large degree during their battles.
A 20% difference in speed was MASSIVE in a fast paced battle, and the pressure on her chest in her normal uniform made it harder for her to breath at faster speeds.
She felt so guilty.
"I mean, the male uniform didn't exactly stop me from breaking your ribs... I noticed those are very durable clothes. Of course, it is always your choice to make what you wear in battle. Still, the ideal clothing for men and women in battle is different... if it were up to me..." Naruto didn't finish what he was saying. "Clearly, you're ready to travel home." Naruto stated as he looked at Shinobu.
She rolled her pants down, but she kept her cleavage open with her cheeks dusted pink from having half of her breasts casually exposed.
Also, she was humiliated that she had never figured out the purpose of the uniform being revealing before now.
"I'm recovered enough to travel... and I ask you again... will you come home with me?" Shinobu offered Naruto a hand.
Naruto walked right by her.
"I don't see why you're asking, we're friends... so lets go home."
Shinobu lowered her hand with her smile returning to her face.
-Hours Later-
...
"... I can't travel during the day." Naruto pointed out to Shinobu as he stood in the dark of a hole he dug, and he placed a boulder on top of the hole.
"... Demons can control their size... maybe if I make a box, I can carry you during the day if you shrink down to a child size?" Shinobu offered a solution to their severe limitations in traveling. She needed to sleep at night, and he couldn't go out in the day. That only left realistically a few hours they could travel, and she was still not in a condition to go too long without rest. She also needed to eat during the travel, which took up more time.
"That is a decent idea... but it sounds boring being in a box for hours."
-Hours Later-
"I was right, I hate this... I hate being in this box."
"Oh shush you, now we can travel during the day." Shinobu held a box on her back with a strap. She was holding Naruto's sword at her side, since his sword could not shrink in size.
"It's a bumpy ride, I have no control over anything, and at any moment I feel like you're drop me or bump into something. It doesn't hurt or anything, but the anticipating of it happening is the worst pa-AH... you did that on purpose."
Shinobu had smacked the box against a tree.
"I don't know what you're talking about, my ribs are still bruised... I guess I just lost control and twitched the wrong muscle." Shinobu indeed that that on purpose as a small form of revenge for him beating her in their duel and breaking her bones. "Whoops." Shinobu bumped into another tree that they passed by.
...
"OW!" Shinobu felt a sharp jab into her spine.
Naruto stuck his finger through the box and poked her hard enough, and with the hole being on her back the sun wasn't peeking into the box. She just responded with a pout, since now she could see he would poke her every time she bumped into a tree.
She felt pity for anyone who had to travel with a demon.
It was not easy.
Chapter End!
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Fun Fact: All Female combat related Demon Slayers are given the same uniform as the Love Hashira... but most of them that work with Shinobu burn their revealing uniforms to wear less revealing ones.