Creation- Demon slayer fanfic

Chapter 52

I'm so glad that I didn't have to stay at Mitsuri's for more than two days. The clothing she made us wear was quite embarrassing. It turns out I am flexible, but I simply can't incorporate it into my fighting style. I was told to leave during the night to get to the next destination for the morning.

I'm greeted by the Serpent Hashira whose arms are crossed. I've never really met this person before so I know nothing of him, but he probably knows a lot about me.

" Hello," I greet him with a bow.

" Mitsuri mentioned you. I have to say, I'm not impressed," he spits.

Oh great.

" Um...can I ask why?"

" You aren't strong enough, nor are you fast enough."

" That's why we're doing training...?"

He pauses for a second, then whips around. I'm not sure if he wants me to follow him, so I do anyway. He leads me to a room full with tied up swordsmen and I pause.

What in the world is going on here? Is this some kind of torture chamber?

They all looked scared and in pain.

" Alright, let's get started," he hands me a wooden sword.

I take it and sigh, getting ready for his attacks. He slithers through the obstacles and charges towards me. I hop backwards, avoiding his attack just barely. He lunges once again, this time hitting me in the stomach hard. How does he move like that? It's like his sword is curved...

Its been and entire week that I've been training with the Serpent Hashira. Yesterday, I managed to cut a piece of his hair. I had already struck him a few other times, but he didn't acknowledge those as victories. He's worked me hard and doesn't give many breaks. He kept nitpicking the smallest mistakes I made and I know that it's his job, but it was making me upset. Nothing I did was good enough for him and in the end, he said I might as well leave. Since there's no reason for me to go to the Wind Hashira's training, I'm moving on to the last part. Essentially, the Wind Pillar is supposed to beat you up and make it so you can take more hits. However, so long as it's not by a nichirin sword, I'm already better at that than everyone here...other than Nezuko.

Today, I meet the stone pillar.

I haven't seen Tanjiro in a while...I wonder how he's doing with this training. It's going well for me and I know that he's a pretty good swordsman so theoretically he should be good.

I bow my head to the tall man in front of me.

" I'm Aku, I'm sure you know about my situation," I say.

I look up at his face and see that he's crying. He cried at the Hashira meeting as well when they tried to kill Nezuko.

" I do. Just one thing; would you give your life for the corps, even if it wasn't for an important battle?" he asks.

...Should I be honest?

" Yes."

I don't think I would if it weren't a dire situation. Protecting Tanjiro and Nezuko until the end is more important.

" Good. Now, my training consists of three parts. The training will begin with having the waterfall beat you, then you will carry three logs, and finally you will push a rock through town. It's simple," the Stone Hashira explains.

So it's mostly strength-based stuff. I should be fine with this training, meaning I should pass easily.

The Stone Hashira leads me to a large water. Many other demon slayers are present, yet none of them are currently training. They're all hugging a giant rock.

" Do I have to-" I turn around to find that the Hashira isn't there anymore.

I wrap my arms around my stomach and sigh. Nothing could be worse than what Mitsuri made us wear.

" The water's super cold!" a man says.

I hesitate before removing my shirt and boots, stepping in the water. A cold shock runs up my body and a shiver follows. It is cold. I try my best to keep a blank expression on my face so that the others can't tell how I'm feeling. I wade over to the waterfall and kneel under it, allowing the noise to drown out anything else. The water crashes down from above, hitting my shoulders and head roughly. Exhaling slowly and closing my eyes allows me to focus on the task ahead.

I'm not exactly sure how long we're supposed to stay under this waterfall. Relaxing my muscles would be a bad idea because the amount of pressure could break my back. I must stay in here longer than anyone else to prove myself.

It feels as if I've been sitting underneath the water for years, but the positioning of the sun tells me otherwise. When this training began, the sun had just risen and now it's around halfway in the sky. I've been distracting myself from the cold by concentrating on my breathing and asking myself questions. The Stone Pillar came by and dropped off food, so while others ate, I stayed in the water.

" You're not cold?" I hear a voice ask.

Opening one eye slowly, I glare at the person in front of me.

" No," I lie.

" You've been sitting there for a long time, I was worried you were dead!"

I don't answer.

" I'm Murata by the way...a friend of Tanjiro's. You must be Aku."

The demon slayer sits down in the water next to me and I shut my eye once again.

" Aku!" a voice shouts.

I sigh and stand up, walking out of the water. The Stone Hashira awaits me.

" You've passed that portion of the training as expected. Next is the log carrying."

He takes a moment to show me what I'm supposed to do, then we waits for me to replicate what he did. I bend over and move my hands under the logs. I bend my knees and lift the three logs easily and hold them above my head.

" Now, hold it there until night time. Please do not sit down," the Stone Hashira orders.

I nod and exhale slowly, preparing for a long evening of sore shoulders.

The logs fall to the ground with a crash and I roll my neck. This was the third time that I had dropped them, giving a second for my muscles to heal, then picking them up again. I lay down on the soft grass and sigh. My legs are numb and I can barely feel them.

" You did well today. I'm not sure how we're supposed to train a demon who's already got lots of strength, but I'm going to make this as difficult as possible for you," the Stone Hashira murmurs.

I nod.

" You need to be able to take hits for the human demon slayers that you'll be working with. We need to build up how much damage you can take before having to pause to heal. You're regeneration cannot be changed because you are forbidden from eating humans."

" Yeah I know. I'll make sure to prove my worth to those I care about."

He leads me to the base of a hill where a massive boulder is planted.

" Your task will be to push this rock up this hill without pausing. You must use one hand and use the other to cut the stones I'll be throwing at you."

That's very different from pushing a rock through a town! This is going to be ridiculously hard.

" Then, you'll let the rock roll down hill and do the same thing with the other hand."

I slash open my arm and form a sword, placing my right hand on the boulder. A rock hurls at my head and I cut it in half with my sword. This is going to be an even longer night.