With gusto, Yua bit into the Onigiri Ema and her little friends had brought her and Tanjiro. They all sat on the veranda of the Butterfly Mansion, taking a break from the Total Concentration Breathing training for Tanjiro.
Yua was listing how Kiyo was explaining the gourd training Shinobu had Kanao go through to strengthen her lungs.
She could see in Tanjiro's face that he was in disbelief at how someone petite like Kanao could make them explode, and he nearly fell from the veranda, seeing which big gourd the Tsuguko could now make explode.
The midnight blue-haired beauty gulped down her last bit of Onigiri with a sip of her green tea.
"You want to have a demonstration?" Yua asked. "My family uses the same method; I can make it explode too."
"Really, Yua-Senpai?!"
"You don't have to shout in disbelief, Kamado.", she deadpanned.
What? Was he more shocked she endured this training too, or didn't he think she couldn't do it?
But knowing Tanjiro, he was probably only in shock.
"Girls, is it okay if I take on the big gourd?" she asked for permission.
All four cute girls nodded with a smile.
So Yua stood up, holding the big gourd and blowing into it, which exploded after a few seconds.
Everybody was in awe, and Tanjiro, this time, tumbled from the veranda.
"Lady Yua is amazing!" the girls shouted.
The older girl winked at them, which made them giggle.
In awe, Tanjiro sat back on the veranda.
"That was amazing, Yua-Senpai!" he yelled, "I'll give it my all!"
"You do that, so back to training!" Yua said.
"Yes, Yua-Senpai!"
"You can do it, Master Tanjiro!" Ema and her friends cheered him on.
The two Demon Slayers made their way back into the courtyard, while the four girls cleaned up.
"Alright, Kamado, we already established that you can't do Total Concentration for long.", Yua began.
He nodded, disappointed at himself.
"So I will show you some breathing exercises and a little trick to expand the volume of your lungs."
"Yes, Yua-Senpai!" he raised his arm into the air like he was in school. "Can I ask what this trick is?"
Now Yua grinned cheekily.
She was curious how he would take it.
"Do you ever wonder why I sing so much?" she asked rhetorically.
"Because you like it and are amazing at it!" Tanjiro answered without a second thought.
This made Yua blush a bit, only to give herself mentally a kick. A lot of people have praised her singing voice, so Tanjiro was nothing special!
No, perish this thought!
"Thanks, but...singing expands your lung volume."
The red-haired boy blinked at her with his pretty (no, not pretty, they are normal red eyes!) red eyes, till he made a shocked face.
"WHAT?! REALLY?!"
"Indeed.", she confirmed and gave him a little encouraging wave. "Now, Kamado, let me hear your voice!"
(*)
For a good 15 days, not only participated Tanjiro and Yua in the rehabilitation training, but they also trained together to expand Tanjiro's lunge volume and keep his Total Concentration Breathing going.
At first, Tanjiro was a bit shy learning to sing from Yua, but his Senpai made clear that shyness would only obstacle him in becoming better.
So he woman up, like Yua-Senpai liked to say, and sang with her together.
She taught him songs he had never heard of, however, she didn't tell him who taught her them. The smell of hurt and longing always came from her when he asked.
So he stopped.
He never wanted to make her feel bad.
After singing, they parkour all around the Mansion and garden, playing catch with each other.
Yua-Senpai was as fast as Kanao; he could barely catch her, and she got only faster with each passing day they trained.
The training not only helped him to get stronger but also her.
"Bust your borders and go beyond them!" Yua-Senpai told him any day.
It was the motto of her family.
A Mochizuki had to be the best of the best to not raise any suspicions in the hearts of their Demon Slayer comrades.
She told him this ten days after they had started to train together.
They were sitting on the veranda, again eating and drinking Onigiri and green tea, the little girls had prepared for them and had talked about nothing and all.
As he had told her how amazing he thought she was, because she only seemed to get stronger with each day, and he barely could catch up, this sentence had fallen.
It had been still for a few seconds between them.
Tanjiro smelled how Yua-Senpai felt unsure, battling with herself before she said quietly: "Even after 500 years of loyalty to the corps...anybody expects us to change sides and become swordsmen under the Demon King. And all this is why we still practice Moon-Breathing, learned from the traitor Tsugikuni Michikatsu. It's a pain."
Tired, she bit into her Onigiri.
Now Tanjiro was battling with himself. He wanted to ask her this the whole time, however, he was scared it was not his place to ask.
Yua-Senpai decided for him.
"I can see how chaotic and worried your aura is, just spit it out, Kamado."
"Why does your family still practice this Breathing Style if it only brings you pain?" he wondered, confused.
Thoughtful Yua-Senpai looked at the setting sun, making her look breathtaking.
She was so beautiful.
Tanjiro's heart couldn't take it.
"The founder of our family, Mochizuki Meiyo, was a prideful man, they said. After his master deserted the corps, he wanted to show that he could still be trusted...But I think my ancestor didn't want to give up the power Moon-Breathing gives you. It IS the most powerful one in the whole corps. My family has the highest kill count of Lower Moons, and we even killed at least five Upper Moons, the last 113 years ago."
"And yet there had been no Moon Hashira, right?" he whispered.
"Not after Tsugikuni Michikatsu.", Yua-Senpai signed, crossing her arms. "My father told me the day I started to learn Moon-Breathing, that we are practically the attack dogs of the Corps. We are good enough to kill the demons, but we can't be trusted with a position of power. No one cares how many of my family have fallen in battle against the Demon Lords 12 Moons or how they got so wounded they could never take a sword into their hands again. Being a Mochizuki is a hard destiny...."
In silence, they watched as the moon rose in the sky.
"I care.", said Tanjiro quietly to his Senpai.
She turned with a raised eyebrow to him.
Before he could chicken out, he took one of her hands in his and squeezed it.
"Your family has been wronged for a long time, but Yua-Senpai, people who know you and your family truly know that you are all great people. I know you will become a Hashira and show anyone that the Mochizuki are an honourable and loyal family!"
Yua-Senpai hand in his felt clammy and he smelled how she was going through a lot of different emotions in seconds.
It was hard to keep track, however, he smelled thankfulness and bashfulness.
More softly than he had thought, Yua-Senpai took her hand back and stood up.
"Enough with the mushy stuff, Kama...Tanjiro-San. We still can train more before dinner."
Did...did he hear right?!
Did Yua-Senpai call him by his first name?!
Tanjiro felt how his cheeks got hot and that his heart nearly leapt out of his chest.
His crush didn't seem to take note, and if she did, she didn't show it.
"Come on, catch me!"
With that, she ran away.
He ran after her a second later.
If...if it had to be like this...If he had to chase her forever, he would do it.
Now he was the moon chasing constantly after his sun...Yua.
Only the moon saw the sweet little smile on Yua's lips as she let Tanjiro chase after her.
After this heart-to-heart, they both opened up more to each other.
When they were all alone, Yua started to call him Tanjiro, and he also dropped the Senpai.
It was nice.
More than nice.
An amazing friendship was forming between them.
And maybe....someday more?
(*)
More days passed.
Yua and Tanjiro got stronger; the boy could now nearly catch Kanao and Yua.
He managed to destroy the first gourd level without problems, making the little four girls cheer and Yua give him a thumbs up.
Unknown to them, Zenitsu and Inosuke had all seen this, and it seemed like they understood that they were in the wrong with their slacking off.
In disbelief, Yua looked at how the two talked with Shinobu-Sama about what she and Tanjiro were doing.
The Insect Hashira explains to them the Total Concentration Breathing, only to make them try and fail miserably.
The Kinoto felt a bit sorry for Inosuke, but seeing Zenitsu on the ground brought her glee.
Finally, some payback for all the whining she had to endure!
After they were fine again, they sat down with her and Tanjiro and asked them for help.
"I still can't sustain Total Concentration Breathing all day unless I throw myself into it, but I bet you two can do it!" Tanjiro encouraged. He made some funny movements with his arms, which earned him a raised eyebrow from Yua. "You just go like this to make your lungs expand! When that rattles your blood, your bones and muscles will go "Boom, boom", and you gotta stop it!"
Depressed, Inosuke and Zenitsu looked at him.
"All that's left to do is train like crazy!"
More depression and vigorous headshakes.
Yua deadpanned at them.
"If you act like this, I won't tell you my family exercises for the lungs and our secret trick to extend the lunge volume," she treated.
They had the gall to groan at her!
An angry mark formed on the midnight blue-haired girl's head, and she was ready to hit them both, when she felt Tanjiro taking one of her hands and Shinobu laying one of her hands on her shoulder and Tanjiro's.
Blushing, she looked up at the Insect Hashira. She saw from the corner of her eye how Tanjiro was also blushing.
In Yua's case, she was blushing because a handsome boy (okay, she admitted it finally) and a beautiful woman were touching her.
She never preferred one sex over another, so she felt all warm and tingly.
"Now, now." Shinobu-Sama tutted. "We're talking about a basic skill, or should I say a beginner skill, so why wouldn't you be able to do it? But it's also true that one must put great effort into mastering it, right?"
Shinobu then let go of Yua and Tanjiro to sit before Inosuke, petting his shoulder.
"Well, why wouldn't you be able to do it, though? I was sure it would be child's play for you, Inosuke. Are you sure you can't do it? Even though there's no reason you can't do it? It can't be helped, then, if you can't do it. Can't be helped, can't be helped."
That pissed Inosuke so off that he treated to rip off her breasts!
Yua made a face and thought to herself: not such an awesome pair! What a waste, that would be.
The Hashira then walked to Zenisto, taking his hand. Already the blond started to turn an alarming shade of red and rattling like a teakettle.
"Please give it your all, Zenitsu! I'm your biggest cheerleader!", Shinobu gushed.
Zenitsu was now full teakettle mode and shouted a yes, ma'am, while Yua deadpanned at him and Tanjiro was in disbelief.
Well, at least they joined the training.
As Yua did with Tanjiro, she showed them her family breathing exercises, and then it was time to sing.
Inosuke was hollering more than singing, but Zenitsu...Zenitsu!
For a moment, as Yua listened to Zenitsu's lovely singing, hitting all the right notes, she could imagine a girl falling in love with him if he sang to her.
Then she realised what she had thought and wanted to take a bath.
The rest of the day and the following, the four Demon Slayers trained together, they all got stronger and better.
One day came to the two swordsmiths who had forged Tanjiro's and Inosuke's Katanas and to dinner, and Zenitsu and Yua listened to how they were nearly killed by the smiths because Tanjiro dared to destroy his former blade and Inosuke changed his katanas with a stone.
Finally, the day arrived when Tanjiro beat Kanao at training.
He celebrates his win with the four little girls, Yua clapping for him, while Inosuke and Zenitsu decide to train even more.
Yua, herself, noted how strong she had become. For her, it was no problem anymore to beat Kanao. The others couldn't catch her even if they tried.
She felt it in her gut.
She was at Hashira-Level.
It was... alright.
Strange...now that her goal of becoming a Hashira was closer than ever, Yua didn't feel as excited as she imagined when she started to train to become a Demon Slayer.
Maybe she was bitter from all the years she had to endure her grandfather's disappointment and the lack of recognition from the Corps.
Would they even let her rise to Hashira?
Uncle Noritaka had nearly become one, but it didn't mean they would let her.
Somehow, she had a feeling that her Uncle with his refusal to take the position destroyed any chance for his other family members to become one, or she was paranoid.
It was then that Kaguya flowed into the Butterfly Mansion with a letter from home for her.
Oh, that was fast and good.
After Tanjiro had talked with Shinobu and didn't get any new information on the Hinokami Kagura Dance, she wrote home to ask if someone could look it up in their archives.
Kaguya nuzzled her while she read the letter.
Her father had answered her.
When she finished it, she signed.
She should have imagined it!
So she made her way out to the courtyard where the boys were still training.
"Hey guys!", she called and they turned to her. "Tanjiro remember how we talked about if there is something about the Hinokami Kagura Dance in my family archives? My father found something, but my grandfather didn't allow him to let the information out. So....wanna come with me home?"
(*)
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