Kazama Aoi watched Sanemi Shinazugawa's retreating figure and took a deep breath. Tightening her grip on the wooden practice sword, she began to swing.
One. Two. Her arms grew heavy and sore. Sweat rolled down her forehead, dripping onto the ground and forming small, dark circles in the dirt.
By the time she reached an unknown number of reps, her form began to slip. The wooden sword nearly flew out of her hands.
"Swing from your core and hips, not just your arms!" a voice rang out suddenly, pinpointing her flaw with surgical precision.
Aoi froze mid-motion. She spun around toward the source of the voice and found Giyu Tomioka leaning against a tree at the edge of the training grounds, arms crossed. Those icy blue eyes were calm and depthless, yet they seemed to see right through her, focused intently on her posture.
"W-Water Hashira?"
Giyu didn't reply. He simply stood there, watching her in silence.
Aoi tried to adjust her stance according to his advice. Immediately, the movements felt significantly easier.
Two hundred. Two hundred and fifty... Her arms felt like lead, and her breathing grew ragged.
As the three-hundredth swing finally landed, the wooden sword vibrated slightly in her palm. Aoi collapsed onto the ground, her strength spent, chest heaving violently. She wiped her face, her fingertips coming away slick with sweat. Her vision was a blur.
"Phew... finally... done..." she wheezed, a small, involuntary smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
She turned toward Giyu to thank him, but he remained in the same position—arms crossed, blue eyes fixed on her without a ripple of emotion. It was as if his earlier guidance had been nothing more than a passing thought.
"Th-thank you for the advice," Aoi said, pushing herself up to give a shaky bow.
Giyu was silent for several seconds before he finally spoke: "No need."
In truth, Giyu's reason for being there was simple: he wanted to see exactly what kind of girl had the audacity to forcibly kiss Sanemi. Now that he'd seen her, it was time to leave.
Aoi tilted her head in confusion as she watched him walk away. That Water Hashira is so strange. He stood there for ages just to tell me to use my hips, said 'No need' to my thanks, and then just... left?
On her way back, other Corps members kept staring. Occasionally, they would lean in to whisper to their companions. Aoi pulled her head down, wishing she could bury herself inside her collar.
Those looks were a mix of curiosity, awe, and "waiting-for-the-drama-to-unfold." They felt like a thousand tiny needles pricking her skin.
"Did you hear? That's the rookie who kissed Shinazugawa-san on the training grounds yesterday!"
"Heavens, she's got guts. How did Shinazugawa-san not beat her into a pulp with that temper of his?"
The gossip drifted in and out of earshot. Aoi gripped her wooden sword tightly; she just wanted to bolt back to her room and lock the world out. But as she rounded a corner, she slammed face-first into a solid chest.
"Oof! Ow..."
Aoi groaned, clutching her nose as she stumbled back two steps.
"Don't you have eyes?" Sanemi Shinazugawa looked down at her reddened nose, his brow furrowing deeper as a cold huff escaped his throat.
"I'm sorry—" Before Aoi could finish her apology, Sanemi cut her off with an impatient wave of his hand.
"Can you say anything other than 'I'm sorry'?"
Aoi's face flushed a deep red, and tears began to prick her eyes again.
Seeing her watery gaze, the lecture at the tip of Sanemi's tongue suddenly caught. "Fine. Just... go get some rest."
Without another look, he brushed past her and walked away. Aoi stood frozen, hand still over her nose, Sanemi's surprisingly—though certainly not gentle—advice to "get some rest" echoing in her ears.
The surrounding members, seeing that there was no "scene" to watch, gossiped for a few more moments before gradually dispersing.
Once back in her room, Aoi opened her System panel.
[Host]: Kazama Aoi [Rank]: Junior Demon Slayer (Lv. 1) [Breathing Style]: Wood Breathing [Skills]: > * Super-Regeneration
Wood Breathing, First Form: Sprouting Slash (The blade carries the force of a sprout breaking through the soil. Strikes are light and precise. Optimal for frontal ambushes; can briefly disrupt a demon's sense of smell.) [Stamina]: 100
Aoi traced her finger over the skills section, her brow knitting together. Sprouting Slash was indeed fast, but against demons with high speed or high regeneration, this level of attack power was nowhere near enough.
"System, how do I unlock the advanced forms of Wood Breathing?"
The cold mechanical voice chimed in her head: [Host must complete specific interaction missions to unlock corresponding advanced techniques.]
Aoi: "..."
She knew it. This trash System always came back to missions.
Whatever. Sleep first!
The next morning, just as the sky was beginning to turn gray, Aoi woke up.
She had received an order. She was to head to a place called Mt. Natagumo to provide backup for a reported demon infestation.
Aoi was on the verge of a total breakdown. Mt. Natagumo! Just the name sounded terrifying. Wasn't she just going there to be a sacrificial lamb?
But the System gave her no choice.
[Mission Triggered: Travel to Mt. Natagumo, meet Tanjiro Kamado, and engage in "Skinship."][Reward: "Light as a Feather" Skill (Permanent). Greatly increases combat speed.]
As the notification exploded in her brain, Aoi was already sprinting through the woods. Her palms were slick with sweat against the hilt of her Nichirin Sword. Her mind was on a loop: Mt. Natagumo... Tanjiro Kamado... and that face-burning "Skinship" requirement.
"Sk-skinship?..." she muttered while running, her ears turning a shade of red that looked ready to bleed.
The embarrassment of kissing Sanemi hadn't even faded yet, and now she had to initiate intimacy with a stranger. For an "I-person"—a hardcore introvert—this was more suffocating than facing a demon.
Before she knew it, Aoi had entered the mission zone.
Suddenly, a heavy thud echoed ahead, followed by a boy's frantic shout: "Inosuke!"
Aoi skidded to a halt, pushing aside a cluster of bushes.
A boy in a black-and-green checkered haori stood in a clearing. Facing him was a massive, headless demon frantically waving two sharp, segmented appendages. Transparent spider silk erupted from its severed neck like a rainstorm, sealing off the surrounding trees in a suffocating web.
A headless demon! How terrifying!
Even though she had passed the Final Selection, she was still someone from a peaceful era. Seeing such a grotesque sight caused her to freeze in place, her fingers trembling on her blade.
Amidst the clash, the boy suddenly yelled, "Now, Inosuke!"
In the next instant, a... person... wearing a boar head—let's assume it was a person—dove from the treetops. Two jagged blades flashed with a cold light, slicing directly through the headless demon's core at the neck stub!
Caught off guard, the demon let out a piercing, silent wail as its body was cleaved in two.
"Hahaha! The Great Inosuke-sama is the strongest!"
The boar-headed boy stood with his hands on his hips, laughing so hard the withered leaves shook from the trees. The boy in the checkered haori sighed helplessly, wiping blood from his cheek. "Inosuke, don't let your guard down. There are other demons in this forest."
"Shut up, Monjiro!"
"Who's there?" Tanjiro caught a strange scent and whipped his head toward the bushes, his nose twitching.
Aoi had just snapped out of her shock when Tanjiro spotted her. Resigned to her fate, she stepped out from behind the brush, still clutching her sword. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to spy..."
Hearing her voice, Inosuke immediately spun around, raising his twin blades. His eyes beneath the boar mask went wide and fierce. "Hey! What are you doing hiding there? Are you an ally of the demons?"
He looked ready to charge, but Tanjiro was quick to block him. "Inosuke, wait! She doesn't smell like a demon."
Suddenly, the System notification pinged: [Target 'Tanjiro Kamado' detected. Skinship mission progress: 0%. Please initiate physical contact immediately.]
Aoi's face turned scarlet. She wanted nothing more than for the earth to swallow her whole. Skinship? How am I supposed to do that? I can't exactly do what I did to Shinazugawa-san... She shook the terrifying thought away and stammered, "M-my name is Kazama Aoi. I'm a member of the Demon Slayer Corps."
Inosuke scoffed, sheathing his swords but keeping his arms crossed. "Hmph. You look weak. Can you even cut a demon?"
Tanjiro gave him a helpless look before turning to Aoi with a kind, warm smile. "I'm Tanjiro Kamado, and this is Inosuke Hashibira. We're heading deeper into the forest. Do you want to come with us?"
Looking at Tanjiro's gentle expression, Aoi's frayed nerves relaxed slightly. She was about to nod in agreement when the System's warning exploded in her head:
[Warning! "Skinship" mission time remaining: less than 30 minutes. Failure will result in a 50-point deduction of base Stamina!][Current Stamina: 90/100. Note: Stamina below 20 causes forced unconsciousness. Stamina at 0 results in death.]