It'd been a couple of months since the revelation, and I was yet to get any kind of proof other than the words of the humans around me.
It's not that I thought they were lying— I know they were not lying. I could feel bloody auras— so it was little to no issue about that. In fact, the issue lied within myself; my inability to trust the irony of my luck.
I mean, which otaku hadn't dreamed of going to an anime world, at least once?
I did too (of course), but that's a complete different thing that the anime world I wanted to go to, was with a lot less danger than this one.
Regardless, I continued 'training myself' through yoga and the karate moves that I vaguely remembered from my last life— only the kicks and punches though, unfortunately.
This was my only way of reassuring myself that I had at least some part of my life in control.
My young body was really adaptable and its abnormal fast healing factor helped me through a lot of things— my joint and body pain (due to yoga) went away pretty quickly. In fact, I could even perform the yogas that my last life body refused to cooperate for.
But after practicing the same moves and poses weeks after weeks, I had nothing left to 'train' myself with. I couldn't train with Hiroshi or Hitoshi either because of how rudely I had brushed them off earlier and the fact that my body was a little too young to actually go through the training they had to do. It wasn't my intention to offend them though; I just wanted some time alone, especially after going through a major existential crisis. Though, neither of them seemed offended- only one of them seemed a little... troubled?
I mean, I couldn't say for sure; those two looked too similar to even distinguish which one was which, reading their similar faces was a feat of its own. And their auras were quite... mellow in itself, so it wasn't much help either.
Apparently, they were twins and seven years older than me, which was kind of unbelievable since they were much shorter than what eleven year olds' should be— at least that's what I think.
Brushing that aside, I was still trying to find a solution to the dilemma of my lack of 'training' material when I overheard the aforementioned boys being lectured by Koji.
Koji was sitting on the porch of the temple we lived in— yes, it was a temple, apparently Koji's teacher had been some kind of priest —and talking, louder than usual, about... breathing?
"Total Concentration breathing enables your body to gain the strength it needs to beat a demon by accelerating your blood circulation. Just remember to take a long breath as you brace your lower half and relax your upper body." His gruff voice commanded over the boys.
And that made me have my first 'Eureka!' moment— I had completely forgotten about the breath styles and techniques used in the anime and manga! I remember being so fascinated with it; not only were they scientifically true, but also practical and I had even (kind of) practiced it myself in my last life— though it was only through pranayama.
Maybe I should start practicing it in this life too; my body is still young and that might give me the edge I needed for my lack of strength. And if I could master performing it full time like Tanjiro did, then- wait, did that... mean I really was in Kimetsu no yaiba?
.
.
I didn't know what was worse— (finally) having some kind of proof regarding the world I was in or my mind still refusing to believe it completely.
I never imagined how hard it was to actually breathe deeply. Not only did it need huge amount of concentration, but it also made your head ache and dizzy if taken too many too fast.
In short, my first day of practice was absolutely disastrous.
"You are doing it wrong." Koji's gruff voice called out, as he stood near the sliding doors of the room I was given.
I jumped as my body registered his aura so near me— I was yet to get used to his strong, stormy aura. His aura almost always felt like a gush of cold wind swirling in a huge typhoon and yet somehow calm and safe as if... I didn't know what to even compare it to.
I stared at him— waiting for him to continue. I had been practicing (rather unsuccessfully) concentrated breathing before going to sleep— I was even sitting on my futon, in the lotus position for that.
"You need to concentrate on it; not just breathe deeply. Concentrate on how your body expands as you breathe in, how the blood flows through your limbs; feel it." Koji's quiet voice echoed in the small, mostly empty room.
He sighed at my blank look that followed his advice, "Near the river bank, just as the dawn breaks— only, if you really want to learn."
He then proceeded to exit the room, with a slight thump of the sliding door closing after him. I stared at the— now closed —door, wondering what actually happened and if I really should go tomorrow.
I didn't want to be a demon slayer— hell, I didn't even want to do anything with the plot, let alone get involved in any element regarding it.
But then again, if demons really did exist, I needed to be prepared too. Agility and flexibility wouldn't allow me to actually defend myself. It barely enabled me to escape my death the last time.
'And I don't believe luck to ever provide a next time.' I thought wistfully as I diverted my attention to my usually cold hands.
'Were those beings... really demons?' I thought back to my last day in the brothel.
Were they really demons? Or just cannibals?
Were they even real? Or just a figment of my imagination I fabricated to protect myself from the gruesome details?
Was... any of this true?
Or was it just a cruel dream— a game played by them?
Even after a month of the arrival of the spring season, the cold refused to leave from this region— I was yet to know where Koji's temple was actually situated. All I knew was that it was on a hill and surrounded by other hilly regions. And the scenery it offered was no less beautiful. Even from the river bank, the dawn breaking looked breath taking.
'Now that I think about it,' I mused as cold, yet soothing breeze ruffled my hair. 'I don't even know much about any of the ones I'm currently residing with, let alone the place I am staying.'
Especially the twins.
I was yet to even know which one was which— both were almost indistinguishable, keyword being almost.
The only issue? I'm yet to find the almost part. Though I was sure about one thing: they weren't Koji's blood related children or grandchildren. They looked too different from him, especially with their tanned skin and somewhat sharp face beneath all that baby fat, which was quite unlike how Koji looked with his vaguely rectangular face and unusual pale skin.
While thinking this, a voice called me from behind, "You didn't sleep the whole night, did you?"
Shivers went down my spine at the feeling of his stormy aura— though this time, I wasn't surprised. I felt him approaching a few seconds before he actually did.
"How...?" I gave him a bewildered look at his question— which was stated more as a statement than a question —how did he know that anyway? Our rooms in the temple were in different directions!
He gave me an amused smile and patted my head as he sat down on the ground in front of me. "It's too early to get up on your own, when you aren't used to getting up at this time of the morning."
"Oh." That... actually made sense.
He smiled softly at me, "Did you practice the total concentration breath?"
"I did, but..."
"But?"
"I cannot seem to be able to maintain it for more than two minutes. And when I stop doing so, I experience immense pain in my chest and feel very dizzy..."
"That means your posture is not right while doing it. Show me how you practiced last night."
I sat up cross legged in the lotus position and kept my intertwined hands on my lap. With my eyes closed, I proceeded to breathe in deeply.
'I hope he doesn't mind my cross legged posi—'
"Concentrate."His gruff voice, hardly a few centimetres away from my ear, made me jump in surprise. I didn't expect him to be this near-
"Don't open your eyes. Just shut your brain for the while and let your body dominate. Feel the flow of your blood and the passage of oxygen throughout your body."
I did as he said— concentrating on my deep breathing and imagining the flow of its path.
Suddenly I felt a hand on my stomach, slightly pushing it in. "Brace your stomach. Let it contract when you exhale and expand when you inhale."
I did as he said and felt my body temperature slowly rise. My mind was clearer and more aware than it ever was.
"Now, stabilize your spirit and evenly distribute it throughout your body. Relax your upper body and brace the lower one."
Gradually, I let my upper body go lax and tightened my legs. My mind was clear and I could easily feel all the auras near me: of Koji, birds, animals and—
I immediately broke my posture and moved away from where I was sitting. Koji looked at me bewildered before two bodies came crashing at the place I previously sat. Fortunately, they were jerked back through the hem of their kimonos before they could fall into the river nearby.
All was quiet for a few moments till a bubble of laughter escaped me. It came out as an ugly snort and before I could stop it, turned into a full belly laugh. I covered my face with both my hands while trying to at least muffle my laughter; it took me an eternity to calm down and stand up straight.
Hitoshi and Hiroshi just crash landed together— in the most anime way possible —and Koji looked so done with them that it was just too comical.
I looked up- all of them were taller than me— and titled my head. The younger males looked at me with widened eyes while the older male looked at me softly.
"Eh?"
Koji just smiled and smacked the twins upside their head— which was a very anime move on his part. The twins grumbled as they rubbed the back of their heads and flattened their brown hair down— it was messed up pretty bad.
I kept snickering as Koji scolded them with an unwavering smile on his face; along with a vein pop when they offered excuses for their late arrival.
Looks like my life will be pretty interesting for the while, with these three around.
Heyyy xD
Okay, so I have decided to upload all the leftover chapters that I haven't uploaded here. Once I'm on 'level' with my wattpad book, I'll start uploading the newly drafted chapters I wrote since last week.
I really really hope you guys are safe and obeying the quarantine rules...
It's getting worse, I know, but we will get out of this soon, trust me. Let's just focus on being healthy for now and let the professional handle the rest. Till then, stay safe.
And those who have online classes like me— I know your pain :')
Other than that, here comes the reply for the reviews:
xenocanaan: Heya! I'm really glad you are enjoying the fanfic! I can't wait to upload more!
Other than that, my next upload will be tomorrow- two chapters, one continuing this timeline and the other one will be of the Academy AU we see the snippets of in Manga and Anime! Hope ya like them!
