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Chapter 31

○ Chapter 31: ○
○ "Gentle Waters" ○

《•|•-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-•|•》
1stPerson POV

"I need you to teach me waterbending."

He seemed taken aback, blinking a few times in surprise.
"Waterbending...? But, Y/N, you're an airbender, though."

"Tanjiro, remember when we fought the spider demon on Mt. Natagumo? When I had to fight it with Inosuke?"

He nods, and we both sit down while I continue to speak.
"I froze his legs for a moment. Because during training for Final Selection, I'd learned how."

"So, you can waterbend and airbend?"
He still seemed confused.

"Remember what the Master called me? During our trial, do you remember?"

"He called you Avatar, right?"

I nod.
"You know what that means, don't you?"

He thought for a moment, and once he realized, he seemed even more surprised.
"Y-You-"

"Tanjiro, I need to show you something. Can I?"

He nods, and I smile, going over and kneeling down by the water pond.
"It really isn't much, which is why I need you."
Taking a deep breath, I move some of the water out of the pond and into the air, moving it around before freezing it in a small, messy sphere.

Tanjiro stared in amazement, coming over to me as he inspected the little ice ball I made.
"That's incredible! I can't believe it!"

"I kinda have to learn every element, and I can't think of anyone better to teach me waterbending but you."

He swiftly hugged me, and I return his embrace.
"Of course I'll teach you! I'll teach you everything I know!"

"Tanjiro..."
I smile wider, lifting him up as I hug him tighter, tearing up.
"You're the best brother I could've asked for! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much!"

He pats my head, ruffling my hair after I put him down.
"How about we try now?"

I nod, and the two of us begin training.
He left for a while, but returned with a scroll in his hands.
"Mr. Urokodaki gave this to me. He said I might need it later on, and I think it'll help you!"

Reading over carefully, I did my best to replicate the movements, Tanjiro guiding and encouraging me. We kept at it for so long, we didn't even notice that the sun began to set until Aoi came out looking for us to train.

《•|•-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-•|•》

For the next few weeks, we'd practice and do our best to maintain Total Concentration Breathing non-stop, even during waterbending practice, but it hurt so bad!

"Gah! If I keep this up any longer I feel like I'm gonna die! My lungs are gonna pop!"
I wheeze and cough, holding my chest.

"Using Total Concentration Breathing for longer than normal was bad enough already! My ears are ringing."
He suddenly jumped, startled.
"AH! That scared the heck out of me! For a second there, I thought my heart burst through my ears!"

"We'll never make it at this rate..."

He sighs.
"When in trouble, we should go back to basics!"

I nod, inhaling deeply before getting up and smacking the back of his head.
"You spineless fool!"

He fell to the ground.
"Ow, ow ow ow ow ow! You hit even harder than Mr. Urokodaki!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hit you that hard!"
I apologize, and we both get up, trying again.

We have to work hard if we want to master this.
Even if we can keep it just a second longer than we could yesterday, it's progress.
We can do this! We can definitely do this!

Three small things caught my eye, and I turn to see Naho, Sumi and Kiyo peek from the corner at us. I wave them over, and they offered us some rice balls and tea, as well as bringing two gourds.

"We have to blow into the gourds?"

"That's right! Whenever she trained Lady Kanao, Lady Shinobu often had her blow into gourds."

Tanjiro smiled.
"Really? That's a neat training technique, huh? So, you make some kind of sound?"

"Oh, no. She blew into it to make the gourd explode."

I nearly choke, coughing a little.
"Explode?! Y-You mean you can actually shatter a gourd by blowing into it?!"

Tanjiro tapped at it, just as surprised as I was.
"Something this hard?"

Kiyo nodded.
"Not to mention, this is a special kind of gourd, so it's even harder than normal ones."

If Kanao could shatter these just like that, then she must be even stronger than I thought she was!

"The gourds get bigger and bigger as you progress. The one that Lady Kanao can explode right now... Is this gourd."

Sumi and Naho brought in the massive gourd, and Tanjiro and I just stare.
"Gigantic!"

"It's almost a big as you three!"

We both stop shouting and stare at each other, nodding before turning back to the girls.
"We'll give it our all!"