Chapter 1: Training
One winter day, snowflakes slowly drifted down from the sky, dressing the entire mountain in a garment of pure white.
"Huff... huff... huff... huff..."
Outside a wooden cabin at the mountain's summit, a White-Haired Youth stood leaning against a wooden sword he had planted beside him, panting heavily.
"Master, is this enough?" The youth turned his head to look at the dignified old man drinking hot tea under the eaves.
"Not enough, Ichiyuki. You must do at least five hundred more swings."
The old man under the eaves was named Yuuya Kazami, a Trainer for the Demon Slayer Corps, while the White-Haired Youth standing in the snow was named Miyamizu Ichiyuki.
Thirteen years ago, Miyamizu Ichiyuki, who had been wandering the streets, was accidentally transmigrated into this world called Demon Slayer by a fully insured semi-trailer, becoming a child of the Miyamizu Shrine family in Itomori Town.
As a veteran anime fan, Miyamizu Ichiyuki was naturally very familiar with the world of Demon Slayer, but it wasn't until he was ten years old that he truly realized he was deep within that world.
Miyamizu Ichiyuki, who thought he had simply transmigrated into an ordinary world and intended to honestly take over his family's shrine, never expected that in his tenth year, the shrine would be invaded by a white-haired female demon. His parents both died tragic deaths while protecting him.
Just when he thought he would also meet a violent end, the old man before him suddenly appeared, drove the demon away with Water Breathing, and adopted him, becoming his master.
"I still have to swing the sword, Master?" Miyamizu Ichiyuki couldn't help but complain.
"Your current level is far from enough to slay demons. Swing the sword five hundred more times. After you're finished, I will teach you Water Breathing."
Hearing Yuuya Kazami say this, Miyamizu Ichiyuki's mood immediately improved. After all, for the past three years, Miyamizu Ichiyuki had pestered his master nearly every day to learn a Breathing Technique. Now that his master had agreed, he naturally had to seize the opportunity.
Thus, Miyamizu Ichiyuki unhesitatingly picked up the wooden sword again and began swinging at the air once more, completely disregarding the exhaustion weighing on his body.
Watching this scene from under the eaves, Yuuya Kazami also let out a secret sigh. Miyamizu Ichiyuki's talent was very strong; he had learned Total Concentration: Constant long ago. Now that he was about to teach him Water Breathing, he would soon have to tell him about participating in the Final Selection.
Yuuya Kazami looked toward the sky and couldn't help but think that in recent years, most users of Water Breathing had died in the Final Selection, especially that old fellow Urokodaki's disciples.
It was as if they were cursed; he could only pray that Miyamizu Ichiyuki would be safe when the time came.
Miyamizu Ichiyuki, who was busy swinging his sword, completely failed to notice Yuuya Kazami's expression, nor did he know what he was thinking.
...
An hour later.
When Miyamizu Ichiyuki finished his five-hundredth swing, Yuuya Kazami placed the lid back on his teacup and stood up.
Miyamizu Ichiyuki looked at his master, who had stood up and was now stretching his body.
"Master, are you going to teach me Water Breathing now?"
"Look at how impatient you are. Follow me, but let me say this first: haste makes waste."
After speaking, Yuuya Kazami led Miyamizu Ichiyuki to the wooden cabin's backyard.
He led Miyamizu Ichiyuki to a wooden dummy, stopped, and reached out his right hand toward the youth behind him.
"Ichiyuki, give me the wooden sword."
"Okay."
Yuuya Kazami took the wooden sword Miyamizu Ichiyuki handed over. "Today, I will first teach you the first four forms. Watch closely, I will only demonstrate them once."
After speaking, Yuuya Kazami took his stance, ready to strike. Seeing this, Miyamizu Ichiyuki also focused his full attention on him.
Yuuya Kazami closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slashed forward. Unlike Miyamizu Ichiyuki's swings, this slash was accompanied by a distinct wave of water.
Yuuya Kazami withdrew the wooden sword and reset his stance. He then performed a full front flip, and the sword formed a circular slash in the air, also accompanied by a distinct wave.
Striking again, this sword technique was more complex than the previous two. Yuuya Kazami moved at high speed between several wooden dummies to launch attacks, his speed so great that he left behind afterimages.
With the final strike, Yuuya Kazami rapidly unleashed multiple slashes against the wooden dummy in front of him.
After demonstrating the first four forms of Water Breathing, Yuuya Kazami returned the wooden sword to Miyamizu Ichiyuki.
"The First Form is called Water Surface Slash, the Second Form is called Water Wheel, and the Third and Fourth are called Flowing Dance and Striking Tide, respectively. I've only demonstrated them once; go figure them out yourself."
After finishing this, Yuuya Kazami returned to the house, leaving Miyamizu Ichiyuki alone in the backyard to ponder the sword techniques.
Holding the sword, Miyamizu Ichiyuki recalled his master's movements from just now. He then raised his hand and performed a horizontal slash; it had plenty of power and momentum, but no waves appeared.
"Huh?" Miyamizu Ichiyuki looked at his ordinary slash and couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Refusing to accept this, Miyamizu Ichiyuki first shouted: "Water Breathing: First Form, Water Surface Slash!"
Then he slashed out. Unsurprisingly, it was exactly the same as before.
Inside the house, Yuuya Kazami couldn't help but laugh when he heard Miyamizu Ichiyuki's voice. It was just like when he was training with his own master back then.
Outside, Miyamizu Ichiyuki refused to give up, constantly trying to unleash a slash with waves. However, no matter how hard he worked, he remained unable to take that step further.
...
After the sun set at dusk, the snow stopped, and Yuuya Kazami began preparing dinner inside the house.
Outside, Miyamizu Ichiyuki was still continuously trying to unleash a slash with waves. When he got too hot, he used snow to cool down; when he got thirsty, he took a mouthful of snow.
"Hey, Ichiyuki, come inside and eat!" Yuuya Kazami shouted from inside the house.
Hearing this, Miyamizu Ichiyuki stopped his training and looked at the sky. Indeed, it was already late. He then patted his stomach, which had long been growling.
"Coming, Master!"
Miyamizu Ichiyuki entered the house and sat down by the hearth opposite his master. His master filled a bowl with food from the pot and handed it to him.
Miyamizu Ichiyuki took the bowl, pressed his hands together, and said, "I'm digging in!"
Then, having trained at high intensity all day, Miyamizu Ichiyuki began devouring the food in the bowl.
"Another bowl!"
"Another bowl!"
" Another bowl!"
"..."
In this manner, Miyamizu Ichiyuki ate heartily, finishing two-thirds of the food by himself. Yuuya Kazami had long since grown accustomed to this.
After finishing his meal, Miyamizu Ichiyuki didn't plan to continue training. Since the night was when monsters and demons were active, and knowing he was currently a weakling, Miyamizu Ichiyuki had no intention of courting death late at night.
Returning to his room to rest, Miyamizu Ichiyuki took off the Red Braided Cord from his wrist and set it aside.
This Red Braided Cord had been woven by Miyamizu Ichiyuki's mother using the Miyamizu Shrine's ancestral weaving method. It was also the only thing Miyamizu Ichiyuki had that connected him to his family and his parents.
After turning off the oil lamp, Miyamizu Ichiyuki lay in bed, his mind recalling everything that had happened since he came to this world.
Even though he was a transmigrator, the feelings from living with the Miyamizu couple for over a decade were not fake. He had long ago considered them his parents, and he would definitely avenge them. He had already etched into his heart the memory of that white-haired female demon who could manipulate plants and had two horns on her head.
Having finished his thoughts, Miyamizu Ichiyuki, who had already trained at high intensity for the whole day, could not resist the surging waves of drowsiness and fell into a deep sleep.