Hey there, welcome back! A weekly release sadly isnt going to work with the business of real life getting in the way of my already slow writing, so I'll hold myself to a release at least once every two weeks! Though of course if I manage to finish a chapter earlier than that it'll be posted once ready. Enjoy!
Chapter 5: To Prove Oneself
After having a proper rest, Paul and Heinrich stepped into the shed where the supplies were stored. His guns, and the holsters he could carry them in, were stored into the backpack, together with the large amount of ammunition. "Don't forget the maintenance kit I got you." His uncle said, pointing at the small box with plenty of small tools. Placing them into the backpack, his uncle also handed him two large leather bandoliers. "I know these weren't on your list, but I thought these were going to be useful, consider them a present." He said with a smile, Paul smiling back at him. "Thank you, I won't forget it." Paul replied as he put on the two large leather bands. They weren't the lightest, but they were comfortable enough to not restrict him in his movements. Only his rifle was too big to be hidden in the backpack, so he'd have to sling it around his shoulder and hope he wouldn't bump into any law enforcement as he made his way out of Tokyo. Adding the backpack on his shoulders and the large woolen overcoat as part of his original guard uniform made for a considerate carrying weight, but this was not a fighting outfit, it was for traveling.
Now fully packed, Paul went to say his goodbyes to his family. Giving his aunt a hug he then embraced his uncle. "Thank you for everything uncle, I honestly don't know how I can repay you for all this support." Paul said to him with a smile. "You don't have to Paulie. Anything for my dear little sister's boy, God rest her soul." Heinrich said with a bit of a somber smile. Paul did remember his mother always saying she grew up in a warm and tight household, no doubt uncle Heinrich was a big part of that warmth. "Just…Send us a letter every now and then, so I know you're still out there." He asked Paul as they broke the embrace. He nodded at the both of them, and set off towards his destination.
He luckily had little trouble getting out of Tokyo itself, making sure to avoid any policeman who would definitely give chase after a foreigner with a rifle on his shoulder. As he got into the countryside he managed to relax slightly, taking in the sights as he steadily marched onwards. Shinobu had given him a piece of paper with written instructions on how to reach this Kuwajima, the so-called Thunder Hashira. He was definitely a little nervous about it, what if this mentor wouldn't accept him? Without him, he wouldn't be able to attend this final exam Shinobu talked about, and that would mean wouldn't receive her poison, which would make his ideas and training a lot less useful. He had seen how the regular bullets he fired did no permanent damage, but he had an idea for that, and the poison was the key.
He kept on marching all day, only resting occasionally for a couple minutes to sit down and enjoy some of the food his aunt had given him for the road. Kuwajima's location was apparently somewhere roughly between the Butterfly Mansion and Tokyo, so he aimed to reach him by the day's end. Walking off the main road, he found himself walking through smaller and smaller villages as the day went on, and he had to rely more and more on the knowledge of the locals to reach his destination. Though Shinobu's directions helped, it wasn't enough to get him there by himself. The sun already began to slowly set as he reached the last little village on her list of instructions, so he began to ask around.
"Oh, old Kuwajima? He lives in a small house up the hill there." A surprised villager said as they pointed into the distance, there indeed was a small building on one of the hills overlooking the village. Thanking the man for his time, Paul made his way up the hill with sore legs, happy to almost be done with today's long march. As he walked up to the house he did not notice anything too special. It seemed to have a large field of grass for a backyard, a small shed in the back, and it bordered a forest, but there was nothing unusual he could see about it, and his supposed mentor was nowhere to be seen.
Shrugging to himself, Paul walked up to the front door, knocking for a bit and seeing what would happen. And indeed, after a small moment of silence the door opened, but at first glance it seemed to have swung open by itself as Paul didn't see anyone. Paul raised his eyebrow in confusion, until he looked down at the floor, finding an incredibly short old man with a large bushy mustache and an intense expression staring him right in the eyes. "Who the hell are you boy?" He said with a suspicious glance. "Ah, you must be mr. Kuwajima, I'm Paul, the-"
"Ahh, the foreigner Shinobu sent me a letter about…Let me take a look at you." The old man interrupted him as he looked Paul up and down, Paul awkwardly looking back at him. After being silent for a moment, the man poked Paul in his leg with the cane he was holding. "Aren't you a little old for becoming a pupil?" Kuwajima asked, to which Paul raised his eyebrow. "...I'm only twenty-one…" He said a little confused. "I already have plenty of combat experience so I'm not starting from nothing if that is what you are worried about." Paul added, getting a chuckle out of the old man. "Oh have you now? You don't seem like a swordsman if I am completely honest with you boy." He replied with a grin.
"No, I'm not. However I fought three years in the Great War, in Europe." Paul said, his expression stern. The old man raised his eyebrow. "Oh, did you now?" He said with a grin. "While you might not be a swordsman, Shinobu did write that you were able to hold off a demon with a rifle of all things, so I suppose there might be some truth to that claim." He added as he twirled his moustache. "But she wrote you wanted to train under me using guns, not swords. I do hope she also told you that to kill a demon you need a sword, not a rifle. " He continued, carefully inspecting Paul's reaction.
"Yeah, she did." Paul replied. "But she also told me of another way, poison to be exact." He said. "I intend to use poison-laden expanding bullets to kill or incapacitate demons, and use those special steel blades she told me about to finish off the demons the poison can't take care of. A one handed blade would work best, or a bayonet so I can use my rifle like a glaive, similar to what I believe you would call a naginata." He explained to Kuwajima, he had to make his speech a little convincing if he hoped to have this mentor take him in. The man scratched his chin, nodding a little. "I see… Seems you actually put a little thought into it. Very well, I'll see what you can do." He said as he looked up at Paul.
"So you'll train me?" Paul said with a small look of relief, to which Kuwajima shook his head with a chuckle. "I didn't say that. I said I'll see what you can do, prove to me you're worthy of receiving training these coming days and I'll train you. You'll be pushed to the limits of your body, taking to your breaking point and pushed past it. If you're not determined and capable enough I'll send you back on your way." He explained, to which Paul nodded with a sigh. "I have a spare room, it'll be yours for now, unpack and meet me on the field in the back when you're done." The man said as he walked inside, Paul noticing he had a wooden leg, presumably the reason he needed a cane. Paul did as he was commanded, unloading his backpack with supplies, leaving him only with his rifle and bayonet.
Stepping outside, he found the old man standing in the backyard, the grass gently swaying back and forth to the breeze. Kuwajima had a small grin on his face as he looked at Paul approaching him, until they were a couple meters apart. "That's enough, let's see what your combat experience taught you." He said, stomping his cane on the ground as if to reinforce his command. Holding his rifle, Paul curiously looked at the old man before him, what was he going to do? "I want you to charge at me, try to kill me, really put your all into it." His mentor said, still grinning at Paul. Paul looked confused, "Excuse me?" he uttered out in bewilderment, he wasn't going to stab an old crippled man to death! "You heard what I said, charge me!" Kuwajima yelled, it seemed he really was sincere with his request.
Still doubting, Paul gripped his rifle, pointed the bayonet towards him, and tensed up his legs as he ran towards the old man, yelling as he charged. But as he began to close in, the tiny old man suddenly sprang away, and considering he only had one functional leg it was hard to believe he could be this fast. Sticking out his cane, he hit Paul in the leg, causing him to trip and fall into the soft grass, his rifle clattering onto the ground. "Did I stutter, boy? I told you to put your all into it, you think a little bit of yelling convinces me? I need to see it in your eyes! Try to kill me!" Kuwajima yelled as he hit Paul on the back with his cane, making Paul quickly scramble to get up. Frowning a little, Paul gripped his rifle yet again, now focussing more clearly on his opponent. Now more silent, Paul rapidly ran forwards, doing his best to keep his bayonet stable and aim for the old man's chest. However, again he found himself outmatched as the old man deftly dodged his blade, getting up close to him and slapping him in the stomach with his cane. Coughing as a painful sting shocked up his body, he grunted as he came to a halt, Kuwajima behind him.
"Come on boy! That's all you got? I barely have to work, and I've only got one leg." The man chuckled as he taunted Paul, pushing his buttons. It was clear he was simply playing with him, this wasn't some ordinary old man. With a serious expression, Paul again put himself into a charging stance, calming his breathing for a moment as he once again set off into a run, this time really, genuinely determined to reach his goal. As expected, Kuwajima began to dart off to the side as Paul got in close, and he could already see that the man was readying his cane for a riposte. But instead of trying to follow with his bayonet or missing him entirely, Paul instead aggressively swung the other side of his rifle around, trying to reach his mentor with the heavy wooden stock of the rifle. And though it didn't seem to exactly catch the old man off guard, it did force him to parry Paul's blow, and back off. Grinning, he looked at Paul. "Good to see that running at me wasn't the only thing you learned in those 3 years of fighting, that's better. Again!" The man commanded, Paul letting out a sigh but bracing himself yet again.
Paul spent most of the afternoon sparring with the old man, and by the time he was done he had plenty of bruises all over his body. Still, every time he hit the ground or felt the sharp sting of the cane he got back up, only to do it all over again. And though he never got a proper hit on the man, he found himself being able to block or parry incoming attacks with increasing frequency. "That's enough for today." Kuwajima said after a couple hours, leaving Paul panting as he sat down into the grass. "Did I do good enough?" Paul asked, exhausted, looking at the old man as he walked up to him. While sitting down, Kuwajima was just above eye-level height with Paul. "Well…No, not really if you're asking about your skills. I didn't have to work too hard to keep you away from me. However, that was not the test." He explained, making Paul raise an eyebrow. "The test was to see if you could take a beating and keep going, again and again. And you did. If you weren't able to do that it wouldn't have mattered how skilled you are. Becoming a Demon Slayer is tough work, and if you're not determined to take the punches you're not fit to become one." Kuwajima said as he answered Paul's silent question. Paul nodded, slowly getting back up again.
"I'm going to cook dinner. In the meanwhile, you should train by running laps around the garden. General exercise and stamina is vital if you want to have a good foundation. After that we'll finish up for today." Kuwajima said as he walked off into the house with a wave. Grunting a little, Paul slung his rifle around his shoulder. Though a part of him wanted to protest, he knew this new mentor was the key to actually getting accepted into the Demon Slayer Corps. And besides, it's not like he never had experience with drill sergeants commanding him to do endless exercises before. So with a small sigh, he straightened his back, and began running.
His muscles were sore and sensitive by the time he heard Kuwajima shout at him. "That's enough boy! Dinner is done!" The man yelled as he went back inside. Catching his breath, Paul sighed in relief as he walked into the house. Inside was indeed a simple meal ready and waiting for him, and after sitting down he quickly began to wolf down his food even if he was still somewhat clumsy with his chopsticks, all this training had made him incredibly hungry. The old man watched him for a moment, before taking a bite himself. "I do have to admit you seem determined." The man said as he looked at Paul. "Though that won't be enough on its own, it is the first step to getting to your goal." He added. Paul finally took a break from his eating to look up to the old man. "Thank you, I appreciate it." He said with a nod. After all he had been through he wasn't going to have a tough training regimen stop him.
"Though I do indeed want to fight in a style which differs from yours, I'd still like to learn what I can." Paul said in between bites. "Do you have a one-handed blade I would be able to practice with? Another one to convert into a bayonet would be even more perfect, I have some tools with me so I could convert it." He asked, to which Kuwajima nodded. "I do have a pair of unused wakizashi laying around, but don't forget that I did not say I would actually train you yet. Get through these couple of days, and I'll lend them to you for your training purposes." The old man replied. "Ah, true, apologies." Paul said as continued eating. "I would like to ask if there is any metalworker or smith in the nearby town? I need to modify a couple of my firearms so I can use them properly." He asked the man. "Oh yes, there actually is, though as far as I know he just does general maintenance to the metal works around the village." Kuwajima explained. "That's no problem, I would just need his forge." Paul replied. "Ask around for Sakamoto then, the villagers will lead you to him." The old man mentioned.
So after finishing his meal he grabbed his large backpack, and made his way down towards the nearby village. Asking around a little, he got led to a small workshop by one of the townspeople, where there was indeed a now unlit forge present. "Oi Yataro, some tall foreigner looking to see you!" The villager yelled into the workshop, and after a small moment a middle aged man with a long beard walked out, an eyebrow raised as he looked at Paul. As the villager left the man, Yataro Sakamoto, walked up to Paul while staying silent. "Good evening, I'd like to be able to use your forge if you'll allow me, I don't have any money but I can repay in labour if needed." Paul offered, smiling to hopefully ease any tension.
"What are you planning on using my forge for? It's not every day that I get a foreigner speaking Japanese walking into my workshop." The man asked, still a little suspicious. "I'd like your help working on these..." said Paul as he hesitated for a moment, before nodding and putting down his backpack, taking out one of the Winchester shotguns. Though Paul was nervous the man would get scared or start yelling, quite the opposite happened, turning the somewhat tense mood around. Sakamoto's eyes immediately lit up at the sight of the gun, it seemed it had piqued his interest. "Ohhh, that is a nice looking weapon you have there, can I hold it?" The man asked. Considering it was unloaded, Paul didn't mind handing it over to the man, who eagerly inspected the gun, using the cocking lever and inspecting the mechanism inside as he did so. "Oh that is quite beautiful." The man grinned as he looked at the insides of the weapon through the breach. A little confused that the man was so interested, Paul raised an eyebrow. "Can I ask why you are not concerned with me bringing firearms to your workshop?" He asked, to which the man looked up.
"Ah yes, in my younger years I used to work at the Tokyo Arsena,l so firearms have always intrigued me." He explained, handing the gun back to Paul. "So what exactly are you doing with this?" The man asked, nodding at the shotgun. "I'd like to use the forge to heat up the loop of the leaver-action, and beat it to expand it. That way I can use it with one hand since I have another one here as well." Paul nodded towards the backpack. Yataro ran his hand through his beard, before nodding with a grin. "Agreed, on the condition you let me shoot a couple rounds with one of these." He replied with a smile, which made Paul chuckle.
Disassembling the guns with the toolkit in his backpack, Paul began to take out each loop while the forge heated up. Once properly heated they lowered the loops in the glowing coals, waiting for the metal to glow and go soft. Yataro took a hammer and gently beat each loop from the inside, slowly making the loop larger and larger. Once they looked large enough they were allowed to cool off again, before Paul reassembled the weapons with the modified levers. By the time they were done the sun had already set, darkness enveloping the land. "Since it's already dark, is it alright if I come back tomorrow? I am staying closeby, at Kuwajima's place up the hill. I'll make sure to bring some ammunition with me." Paul said with a small smile, to which the man nodded. "As long as you come back!" He said with a grin. Though still a little perplexed by the eagerness Yataro had helped him, he waved as he set off towards the hill. Now with his guns prepared and his mentor accepting his stay for now at least, it was time to truely start his training.