The Duality Hashira MHA x KNY

Chapter 9: Water Into Ice

"I knew trusting that learning the basics of Total Concentration Breathing, dual-wielding, and the techniques in general before diving into anything was a good idea. But I didn't think it would make the process that much easier," Shoto said to himself.

Shoto was walking along a familiar dirt walkway in the early hours of the evening. The sky was barely starting to turn orange to signal sundown, and the moon barely shone through the clouds. Shoto approached an estate he visited not too long ago, shortly before he started his training with Kyojuro. He looked up at the quiet estate, wondering if the person he was looking for was even home or not.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't the Kocho and the butterfly girls be serving dinner right about now?" Someone asked suddenly.

Shoto looked over to the side he heard the voice, seeing none of than the stoic face of Giyu Tomioka. "They finished up earlier and my training ended earlier than usual so I decided to eat early and come here."

"Why? Shouldn't you be resting? Training with a Hashira, Tsuguko or not, isn't easy. If it was an easy day, I'm betting he's going to double down tomorrow," Giyu pointed out.

"I'm sure he would if he could. He tried to push my training with Flame Breathing, but it didn't end up being as challenging for me as he wanted," Shoto explained.

"So you're saying the technique came easy to you?" Giyu asked. 

"I wouldn't say easy, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would've been, physically at least," Shoto said. "The mental strain was as intense as it looks, but the physical aspect was about as intense as the things I used to do daily back home. Kyojuro wasn't too surprised since he made me get Total Concentration Constant and my sword techniques down before even attempting Flame Breathing, but he still didn't expect to get a handle on the first few forms on day one."

"Now you're here to see if you could get a handle on Water Breathing so you can create an Ice Breathing technique. Correct?" Giyu assumed.

"Yeah, if you're up to teaching me right now," Shoto confirmed.

He heard Giyu sigh at his request, but then look up and motioned for Shoto to follow him. "This way, would rather train somewhere we won't hurt anyone."

"Right," Shoto said as he jogged slightly to catch up to Giyu. "Thank you for this."

"Hm..." Giyu hummed. "What do you know about Water Breathing so far?"

"It's the breathing style that mimics the flexibility and adaptability of water," Shoto answered. "Most of the forms I've seen you do in sparring matches with Kyojuro involve you bending your body and sword in a fluid motion to match the movements of rushing water."

"Good answer, because that's pretty much what it is," Giyu said as he stopped walking. "This is my outdoor training area. I prefer to train out here so I can move around much easier, but I do have an indoor training area in case there's a storm."

"Wouldn't Water Breathing work better in a storm? Sounds like a good opportunity to train rather than stay inside," Shoto said.

"No thanks, would rather be able to train or kill demons the next day than spend it sick in bed," Giyu said.

"I guess that makes sense," Shoto mumbled, not fully convinced that's the main reason.

"We're wasting time, let's get started so Kocho or Rengoku don't yell at me for keeping you here so late," Giyu said, unsheathing his sword and walking to the middle of the training area. 

"Are you going to show me the forms?" Shoto asked.

"Yes, all 10 forms," Giyu confirmed. "The first form is Water Surface Slash, you cross your arms and it should generate enough momentum to release a horizontal slash."