The Butterfly's Embrace | Demon Slayer x Male OC

Chapter 5

After learning about Ruka's condition that night, Hibiki barely slept, his mind consumed by the news. Strangely, the next day he woke up feeling well-rested and ready for training.

He stood in the training ground with Shinjuro, who was, as usual, dressed in his flame-patterned haori. "Before we start Total Concentration Breathing, I want us to fight to assess how much you've improved," the older man explained. "We will fight like we did on the first day, but this time, to win, you must strike me with your weapon while I go all out. The fight ends when you land a hit on me or pass out from my strikes."

Nodding, the boy realized it was similar to when he fought Gyomei, but this time the Hashira would be going all out. He could use the same trick as last time or think of something similar.

"You will use just one bokken. Gyomei informed me of your tricks," the Hashira pointed out. "This training is to assess your weaknesses and improve on them, even though such tricks won't work on me." The flame Hashira smirked, seeing the boy considering such a trick.

"Get your bokken ready!" Shinjuro commanded. The boy grabbed the wooden sword and stood facing the older man. They counted to three before initiating the fight.

The flame Hashira instantly sprinted forward, swinging vertically. Instinctively, the boy blocked the attack by raising his weapon above his head. He successfully blocked it but was pushed back by the force. Suddenly, Shinjuro kicked him in the stomach, causing him to fall on his butt before quickly rolling backward, ready to counter the next attack.

Shinjuro was relentless, attacking the boy from every direction. Hibiki managed to block and evade more than half of the attacks, but the rest landed, causing him great stinging pain.

Shinjuro didn't allow him time to retaliate or think. As one attack ended, another quickly followed. Hibiki tried to put some distance between them, but the older man quickly closed the gap. He even tried playing dirty by kicking dust and sand at Shinjuro's eyes, but the Flame Hashira wasn't fazed and didn't slow down.

The relentless attacks continued, and as more time passed, Hibiki slowed down, allowing Shinjuro to land more strikes. Desperately, the boy tried to attack the Hashira, but the older man was quicker, parrying with his own weapon before landing a piercing strike on Hibiki's chest, causing him to wince and fall to the ground.

"You're already done," Shinjuro commented, taking a step back and resting his bokken on his shoulder.

"Not yet," Hibiki replied, using his weapon to help lift himself from the ground. "I will land that hit."

Smirking, Shinjuro answered, "Let's see how long you can hold out," before commencing his next attack.

The fight lasted for nine minutes, with Hibiki lying on the floor, bruised and defeated, while Shinjuro stood untouched. "Nine minutes. I learned what I needed," the Hashira stated, retreating. "Rest and heal your injuries for today. Tomorrow, we start training on your breathing."

He left the younger boy lying on the ground, unable to move due to the bruises. 'His attacks were stronger than the demon I fought. I could feel the power of every strike as they landed,' Hibiki thought.

He expected Shinjuro to return and help him up, but the man never came back. Hibiki couldn't help but plead loudly, "Shinjuro-San, are you still here? Anybody here? Somebody, please help me."

Thankfully, Kyojuro and Senjuro found the older boy calling for help and frantically assisted him to his room to rest. They put him on his bed, made sure he didn't need anything else, and then left him alone in the room.

"So that's the power of a Hashira," he mumbled to himself. "I bet he was even holding back on me," he said, looking out the window. It was still very early in the morning. He usually trained until the afternoon, but today the training barely lasted ten minutes.