Chapter 88 – Practicing "Swordplay" with Kanae and Asuna (Patreon)

"It's not that exaggerated—a thousand miles in a single day..."

"Just now, Shinobu easily blocked every one of my attacks, didn't she?"

Fearing that Shinobu might start letting her thoughts wander, Asuna hastily added with modesty.

Hearing this, an odd expression surfaced on Shinobu's face. For a moment, she wasn't sure whether Asuna was being humble or subtly mocking her. Asuna was, after all, still in the foundational stage—she hadn't even begun learning Breathing Techniques yet. To force Shinobu to actually draw her blade and block purely through raw physical ability was already absurdly monstrous.

Shinobu sighed and said, somewhat helplessly, "Asuna... with your current strength, you're ready to start learning Breathing Techniques from my sister."

"Really?! Then let's go find Kanae-nee-san right now!"

Asuna's beautiful eyes instantly lit up. Though she hadn't yet learned them, as the Tsuguko of the Flower Hashira, she knew full well that Breathing Techniques were the very core of what made a demon slayer powerful.

Only a swordsman who had mastered Breathing Techniques could be considered a true, qualified member of the Demon Slayer Corps—only then could one face a demon head-on and, with nothing but a human body, exterminate it.

"You should just go your—"

Shinobu had been about to tell Asuna to go by herself. Mid-sentence, however, a thought struck her, and she changed tack. "I'll come with you."

With that, Shinobu instructed the kendo club members to train on their own and headed with Asuna toward the high school division.

Along the way, Shinobu explained the principles of Breathing Techniques to Asuna. "...The primary function of Breathing Techniques is to strengthen the heart and lungs, allowing the blood to absorb vast amounts of oxygen. This forces the body into a state of extreme tension, instantly boosting physical capabilities by a significant margin..."

Asuna listened carefully off to the side. That was, until she heard the description "a state of extreme tension."

The girl's train of thought immediately went sideways, and she asked reflexively, "So... your whole body gets really tight?"

"...Hah?!"

Shinobu turned a deeply strange look toward Asuna. Meeting Shinobu's eyes, Asuna abruptly realized what had just come out of her mouth. Her delicate little face instantly flushed beet-red.

"It's nothing. Keep going, Shinobu..."

Asuna averted her gaze with a hint of guilt.

Ever since that time she had dual-cultivated with the little boy, she had secretly watched certain... films and read certain doujinshi. Her horizons had been greatly broadened. She had acquired a great deal of knowledge she'd never encountered before.

So much so that this knowledge had been swirling nonstop in her mind for the past two days. Just now, upon learning she could start studying Breathing Techniques, the very first thought that had surfaced in her heart was: If I master Breathing Techniques, next time with Kouma-kun, at least I won't be completely routed...

...

Shuchiin Academy High School Division.

The Kendo Club.

As club president, Kanae was currently teaching a little boy basic sword stances hand-to-hand. Or at least she was trying to—because every time her hand touched the little boy's arm, her body would sway involuntarily, and a deep crimson flush would bloom across her lovely face.

"Kouma-kun... no, I can't teach you hand-to-hand like this..."

Kanae exhaled a soft, heated breath, her eyes already somewhat dazed.

Kouma was equally helpless. Even someone with Kanae's monstrous physical conditioning couldn't withstand the sustained effect of LV4 Touch of Ecstasy, and he'd finally gotten a chance to practice swordsmanship today...

At that moment, Kanae caught the faintly disappointed look in the little boy's eyes. She bit her lip lightly, then pulled him along to a small room behind the dojo.

"Let big sister... get used to it first."

Kanae's breathtakingly beautiful face was flushed crimson, her voice as soft and fragrant as orchids.

But midway through, a familiar voice suddenly sounded from outside.

"Kanae! I'm here to spar with you!"

Kanae's beautiful eyes instantly cleared by several degrees. "It's Mitsuri... Kouma-kun, wait here for just a bit..."

...

Shinobu and Asuna arrived at the high school division's kendo club. Shinobu skillfully bypassed the main dojo where ordinary students were training and brought Asuna straight to the innermost training hall.

Before they even pushed the door open, they heard the ringing clash of blades from within.

"Sister..."

The door swung open—just in time for a voluptuous figure to come hurtling backward directly toward them. With sharp reflexes, Shinobu grabbed Asuna and swiftly sidestepped.

Thud!

The pink-haired girl landed heavily on the floor.

"Nngh... that hurt..."

Mitsuri Kanroji rubbed her rear as she got to her feet, then stared at Kanae ahead with a mix of shock and bewilderment. "Kanae, your physical specs right now are absolutely terrifying! How come your rate of improvement keeps shooting up like this?!"

Mitsuri's voice was thick with disbelief. Before, after Kanae had slain Upper Rank Two, her strength had climbed another level—and Mitsuri had already been outmatched then.

Now, after just a few days of not seeing each other, she was completely, utterly outclassed! So effortlessly—not even a dozen exchanges, and she had been defeated. Even the sheer physical durability Mitsuri took the most pride in couldn't compare to Kanae's at all.

"Just how are you training?!"

Hearing Mitsuri's astonished question, Kanae gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her fair earlobe blushing faintly pink. How was she training...? She couldn't exactly say she was training together with a little boy, and that her rate of improvement was, quite literally, a thousand miles in a single day...

Kanae didn't answer. Her gaze shifted toward the two girls at the door. "Shinobu, Asuna—what brings you here?" she asked curiously.

"I brought Asuna to learn Breathing Techniques from you, big sister."

The moment Shinobu's words landed, Kanae paused in surprise. Her astonished gaze turned toward Asuna. "Asuna's strength has already reached the requirement?"

"Big sister can test that herself."

Shinobu nudged Asuna forward. Recalling her own shock and existential crisis over Asuna's abilities just moments ago, she found herself rather looking forward to seeing that same stunned expression on her sister's face.

Standing before Kanae, Asuna's expression tightened with nerves. Unbidden, scenes from that day surfaced in her mind—the roleplay she had done with the little boy. Under Kouma's guidance, the line that had etched itself most deeply into her memory was: You don't want Kanae-nee-san to find out, do you...

So much so that now, standing before Kanae, a strange, tangled emotion—part guilt, part illicit thrill—kept rising in her heart.

"Asuna, come at me directly."

Kanae handed Asuna a real blade and spoke gently.

Asuna took a deep breath, swept away the tangled thoughts in her mind, and her gaze gradually sharpened with focus. "Kanae-nee-san... here I come!"

No sooner had the words left her lips than Asuna's long legs bent slightly. A surge of power erupted from within her body, exploding from the soles of her feet.

Whoosh!

A distance of several meters was crossed in a single bound.

Outside the dojo, Mitsuri's light-green eyes widened at the sight. "That speed—without even mastering Breathing Techniques?!" Beside her, Shinobu nodded helplessly. She'd been frightened half to death by it at first too.

Inside the dojo, two figures had already exchanged several swift, shifting engagements. Though Asuna hadn't yet learned Breathing Techniques, the basic sword stances she had practiced all originated from the forms of Flower Breathing. Her swordplay was thus filled with the shadow of Kanae.

Only, compared to Kanae's effortless, almost dance-like movements, Asuna's still looked noticeably more sluggish. Yet even so, deep surprise surfaced in Kanae's beautiful eyes.

"Since when did Asuna..."

Kanae clearly remembered that just two days ago, in the Yuuki family dojo, the strength Asuna had displayed while sparring with Shinobu had been nowhere near today's level. It could be said that Asuna's strength had doubled, practically overnight. This kind of explosive, leap-forward improvement gave Kanae an inexplicably... familiar feeling.

Wait... overnight...

Kouma's figure abruptly flashed through Kanae's mind. Her beautiful eyes contracted slightly. If she remembered correctly, Kouma had been at the Yuuki house that day too. She had even dual-cultivated with Kouma once again... though she'd been called away on a mission right after. Could it be that while she was out on her mission...

Kanae cast a subtle glance toward the room behind the dojo. Her gaze rippled, then returned to Asuna before her. A strange and complicated look surfaced in her beautiful eyes.

Clang!

With a slight exertion of force, Kanae's blade knocked Asuna back.

"That's enough. You've indeed reached the level required to begin learning Breathing Techniques."

Hearing this, pure, exultant joy bloomed on Asuna's lovely face. She bowed deeply toward Kanae. "Thank you, Kanae-nee-san!"

Asuna lifted her head—and met Kanae's complicated gaze directly. Her heart instantly lurched.

Kanae-nee-san... couldn't have figured it out, could she...?

Now that she thought about it, her strength skyrocketing in a single day was in itself an extremely strange thing, and Kanae knew all about Kouma's succubus identity—she was a beneficiary of it herself. With just a little bit of connecting the dots, she could certainly guess the truth. As this realization dawned on her, Asuna's mind gradually went blank.

I'm done for. I got way too carried away...

At that moment, Kanae lifted her gaze toward Mitsuri and Shinobu outside the dojo and spoke softly, "I'll begin teaching Asuna Breathing Techniques now. You two can practice in the adjacent dojo."

Shinobu and Mitsuri nodded. Learning Breathing Techniques required absolute, total concentration. They wouldn't disturb them here.

Thud. The dojo door slid shut. Now only Kanae and Asuna remained inside. The sound of the closing door made Asuna's heart jump violently.

Kanae-nee-san is always so gentle... surely she wouldn't...

And besides, maybe I'm just overthinking this!

Just as Asuna clung to that last shred of hope, Kanae's gentle yet faintly complicated voice reached her ears.

"Asuna... you and Kouma-kun... have dual-cultivated, haven't you."

In an instant, it was as though a thunderclap had detonated inside Asuna's head. Her face paled slightly. She had never imagined Kanae would confront her so directly. Asuna swallowed reflexively. She was just scrambling to figure out how to apologize and earn Kanae's forgiveness when the latter's next words came.

"In that case... you might as well train together with Kouma-kun."

The words entered Asuna's ears, and everything she had been about to say lodged firmly in her throat.

"Kanae-nee-san, I— ...huh?!"

She stared at Kanae with eyes wide and brimming with utter confusion. Train together with Kouma-kun? What did that mean?

Then, as Asuna's beautiful eyes slowly widened further, the door behind Kanae slid quietly open. A little boy, holding a wooden sword, stepped out from within.

"Kouma-kun?! What are you doing here?!"

Asuna cried out in shock.

A faint smile graced Kouma's stunning little face as he greeted her. "Asuna-nee-san... please take good care of me."

Kanae looked at the two of them, a gentle smile on her breathtakingly beautiful face, though a faintly complicated glimmer flickered within her violet eyes.

Was she jealous? Without a doubt. No woman could share the person she cherished most in her heart—not even Kanae, the gentlest soul in the entire Demon Slayer Corps.

But that jealousy occupied only a small corner of her heart. What filled the rest... was acceptance. She had long understood that as a member of the succubus clan, Kouma could never belong to her alone.

Even if Kouma had wanted only her as his companion—she would never have agreed to it. Kanae would have felt that she was limiting Kouma. As a succubus, he needed to absorb more yin energy, to grow powerful enough to stand against all who might covet him.

She, who had been saved by Kouma from Doma's grasp, asked for nothing more. She only wished to be a gentle harbor where Kouma could rest—that alone was enough.

"Alright. Let's begin training now."

Kanae addressed the two of them.

And so, under Kanae's guidance, Kouma began studying Breathing Techniques while simultaneously restarting his practice of basic sword techniques. The fundamental movements of swordsmanship were numerous—cleaving, thrusting, point strikes, upward slashing, deflecting, intercepting, wiping cuts, lifting cuts, raising cuts, spiraling cuts...

Kouma's comprehension was monstrously sharp. His learning speed was staggering. In no time at all, he had thoroughly grasped the essence of several forms—the thrust, the point strike, the upward slash, the wiping cut, and the lifting cut. As for why he picked up these particular movements so quickly... let's just call it the fruit of long-accumulated experience.

With his overwhelming physical capabilities, during the sparring that followed, he utterly routed both Asuna and Kanae, sending them scattering in defeat.

After toppling the student, he turned around and subdued the master as well. Even when master and disciple joined forces and attacked together, pincering him from front and back—it was all to no avail.

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