The Butterfly's Embrace | Demon Slayer x Male OC

Chapter 4

A month had passed since Hibiki arrived at the Rengoku Estate to train. Shinjuro had been pushing him to his limits. The training was brutal, but Hibiki couldn't ignore the improvements he was making. He felt sharper, and his sword skills were improving drastically. However, Shinjuro still told him that there was room for improvement in his swordsmanship.

Shinjuro continued to train him almost every day, but on the days when the Hashira was away on missions, Hibiki had to rely on training alone or with Kyojuro.

Today was one of those days. Hibiki was on the training ground, striking a wooden dummy with precision and speed. He started with the bottom legs from the right, moved up to the torso from the left, and finally struck the neck from the right, repeating this formation repeatedly. He aimed to repeat it at least three hundred times before moving on to something else.

"Two hundred and seventy-one," he muttered, not slowing down. Nearby, Kyojuro sat on the ground, drinking water after his training. He silently watched the older boy, admiring his hardworking mentality.

Within a month, the two had grown closer as they trained and lived together, building a brotherly bond. Kyojuro kept watching Hibiki until his younger brother arrived with a tray of snacks and refreshments.

"Nii-san, Mom told me to bring you these," Senjuro said, placing the tray near his brother. Kyojuro nodded and started digging into the healthy snacks their mother had prepared. "Tasty!" he suddenly exclaimed as he took the first bite.

Hibiki lost concentration for a second, thinking something was wrong when he heard Kyojuro yell, but he refocused on finishing his last few swings once he saw Kyojuro was just eating. "Two hundred and ninety-one," he counted until he finally reached "three hundred" after a few more minutes.

He took a towel he had left on the side and started to wipe the sweat from his face before heading towards the two boys to eat and rest. "Kyojuro, you need to restrain yourself from shouting 'Tasty' every time you eat," Hibiki jokingly commented as he sat down near him.

Senjuro passed him a plate of snacks and a refreshment drink. "Thanks, Senjuro-kun," Hibiki said gratefully.

He looked at the healthy snacks on the plate and frowned a bit. 'Again!' he thought. He was craving some tasty sugary snacks, but he knew that Ruka focused on making sure her children always ate healthily.

Taking a bite, he thought to himself, 'Whenever I go out, I should buy myself some Daifuku or Dango, maybe even sneak some for Kyojuro and Senjuro without Ruka knowing.'

He ate just a couple of snacks before drinking the refreshment to cool his throat.

"You're getting better, Hibiki," Kyojuro commented, calling the boy by his name without any honorifics, something both boys had dropped after living together for a month.

"I noticed," Hibiki said. "I still have improvements to make, but I can't wait to start with the advanced stuff."

"Father says Total Concentration Breathing and Breathing Style Training are the hardest and come last," Kyojuro stated. "Even most Slayers find trouble mastering these two skills."

"That's understandable, probably why he wants me to perfect my swordsmanship as much as possible," the older boy commented.

As they were sitting and discussing, a Kasugai Crow flew above their heads before landing on the ground in front of them. "Kaw Kaw, letter for Hibiki Takamiyashiro," the female crow stated.

"For me?" Hibiki repeated, getting a better look at the crow. It sounded female and had a small butterfly clip around its neck. "Oh, you're Kanae Kocho's crow," he recalled, remembering that Kanae had mentioned he would recognize her crow immediately. He also recalled how both Kanae and Shinobu wore similar hairpins.