CH. 15: Improved

A few days passed after Mitsuri's Departure.

Kenshi stood in the courtyard with his eyes closed, silently practicing his breathing techniques while enveloping his surroundings with his senses.

He seemed to have hit a bottleneck now. Although Shinobu had intensified his training, she could only improve his physical fitness and breathing techniques. With minimal improvement in his skill, he wanted to think of a better way to train his hyper senses skill.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, he reached out with his eyes closed and popped a passing bubble.

Hmm? He slowly opened his eyes only to see Kanao playing with bubbles.

He rememberd that...Kanao does often come here to blow bubbles.

Just then, three or four more bubbles floated over. He suddenly thought of something and again closed his eyes as he started sensing his surroundings. He popped all the bubbles without exception, while vaguely feeling he had grasped at something.

But before he could think further, many more bubbles floated over.

At this point, Kanao was continuously blowing bubbles in his direction. Seeing him continuously popping the approaching bubbles, she felt it very interesting and couldn't help increasing her strength and speed.

Finally! Kenshi was caught off guard by a group of bubbles and opened his eyes, looking towards the prankster beside him.

Kanao quickly lowered her head, just like a little girl whose mischief had been discovered, her cheeks slightly red.

But he didn't mean to blame her at all. On the contrary, he was a little excited, because he had figured out somthing just now.

"Kanao, spar with me!" He suddenly said.

Kanao looked at him in surprise, but nodded without refusing.

The two went to the training room and took bamboo swords from the weapon rack.

But to Kanao's surprise, he actually blindfolded himself with a cloth strip.

"I want to hone my sixth sense..." He explained while blindfolding himself. "So I'll be blindfolded when I fight you next, you don't need to... uh...go easy on me either."

Depriving himself of sight and putting himself at a disadvantage against Kanao! After all, although barely, he actually felt his senses improve when he was popping the bubble.

So this was the best training method for his skill he could currently think of right now.

If possible, he actually preferred to train with Shinobu.

Not only was she at the Hashira level, her control of breathing was also far superior to Kanao. Fighting her, he would feel tremendous pressure even without a blindfold.

Unfortunately, Shinobu was after all a Hashira, busy most of the time, and couldn't always accompany him.

So he could only make do...

The two began sparring.

Although Kanao was very surprised by kenshi's approach, the bamboo sword in her hand still struck at him ruthlessly. His earlier words of going easy were completely discarded by her!

At this time, he could only defend passively.

The anxiety from losing his sight almost shattered his skill flow.

After taking over ten strikes from the bamboo sword, he finally adapted to the dark environment. Using his breathing techniques to force himself to calm down, he unleashed his skill to its fullest, enveloping his surroundings like a web.

"This is the feeling!"

He took a deep breath, raised his bamboo sword to block an attack from Kanao, then turned it to block strikes at his legs, waist and shoulders in succession.

Taking the chance while defending, he slashed at where he sensed somthing that felt like heavy weight.

A miss?

No, she dodged!

Without hesitation he turned around to block—

Clack!

Although he couldn't see, Kanao's counterattack was still blocked by him.

His every body part is highly tense. Even with the aid of skill, fighting with a blind fold was still too difficult.

If his body relaxed even a little, he would suffer strikes from the bamboo sword.

What kenshi didn't notice was that in this high-intensity, high-pressure combat, his skill was also improving at a slow but steady pace.

Time passed slowly, after over an hour, his body finally began to show signs of fatigue. The web-like senses of his also started to flicker, unable to effectively help him anticipate the next attack.

After taking five or six consecutive strikes, he immediately called for a stop.

"Stop! Huff... let's end today's session here!" He said while panting.

Taking off the blindfold, the strong light made him subconsciously squint his eyes.

Kanao also stopped attacking. Although equally breathless, there was a reluctant smile on her face.

After all, ever since kenshi got his skill, sparring with him had been extremely frustrating for Kanao.

Her every attack was dodged or blocked, her every move was anticipated by him, and the moment she landed, she would face his assault.

The intuitively gifted kenshi was like a prickly hedgehog, leaving her at a loss.

Although not good at expressing herself, Kanao still harbored a burning feeling in her heart.

Fortunately today Kanao had finally released all her pent up frustration!

What made her even happier was that kenshi would be blind while sparring with her the next two days as well.

As long as he was blindfolded, the number of times Kanao could strike him increased.

More strikes led to clearer thoughts from Kanao. Clearer thoughts led to faster improvement of her strength.

And with improved strength, she could strike him even harder!

Thus, Kanao entered a virtuous cycle.

Kenshi on the other hand was starting to doubt his life a little. Why was he still getting beaten so badly after so long?

Had he researched in the wrong direction?

No no no!

He could clearly feel his current senses were slightly stronger than before.

Since the problem wasn't with him, it could only be Kanao.

Looks like sparring with him had also improved the little missy considerably.

She really took advantage of him...

Time flew by in the blink of an eye, three days had passed.

His growth speed still surpassed Kanao in the end. Although the system didn't tell him about any new stages of his skill yet, but after being constantly honed and developed these past few days, the attacks Kanao could land on him became fewer and fewer.

Kanao also felt the crisis. She too had begun strengthening her own training these days.

On this morning, the two were still engaged in sparring training.

Kanao attacked while he defended.

Kanao used every method, attacking him from all directions.

And he utilized his senses again and again to defend.

Even so, he still couldn't avoid getting struck once or twice.

While he was getting stronger, how could Kanao not be improving as well?

What they didn't know was that a figure had quietly appeared at the doorway of the training room, watching their every move.

To surprise of that figure and even Kanao and kenshi, they all heard a sound.

"Kanao, Kanao!" Kanao's crow flew over and landed on her shoulder, cawing loudly. "In the southeast Sakurai Town, a vicious demon has appeared! Quickly head to Sakurai Town and slay the demon!"

Kenshi's eyes also widened, not because of the crow but because of the system window that suddenly popped infront of him!

[Side Quest:

Eliminate the demon hiding in Sakurai Town

Reward: "System will tell the host about the mysterious whistle that he obtained and host will get hint about the Edward Hakens.]

Kenshi looked at the mission and the rewards with stunned look on his face.

Edward Hakens! isn't that the person he was supposed to kill. System actually told him something about that .

He was in shock because the system didn't respond to his questions in long time, but now, it directly issued the side quests.

Since I am already strong, could the system be in the middle of the bonding, that might be possible. After all, bonding with him probably couldn't be something so instant right.

"Sakurai Town..."

A voice came from the entrance interrupting his thoughts. He looked over to see Shinobu walking towards them.

"Is there some issue with Sakurai Town?" He looked at her and asked, at this point, he wasn't even surprised at her sudden appearances.

Shinobu just shook her head. "Two years ago, the mayor of Sakurai Town was determined to lead the townspeople to prosperity. So he had them plant many Sakura trees, turning Sakurai Town into a scenic spot specialized for viewing cherry blossoms..."

He nodded as he continued listening.

"His strategy was very successful. Relying on strong management and external publicity, he did attract many tourists from all over." Shinobu went on. "However... the greater the human traffic, the more likely to draw demons lurking in the shadows. Over the past two years, demons have appeared around Sakurai Town a total of twelve times. Fortunately the strength of most demons wasn't high. Out of the twelve times, only once did the dispatched corps member and crow not return..."

Speaking to here, a hint of sadness appeared in her eyes.

Hearing this, kenshi immediately understood. "You're worried about Kanao being in danger?"

Shinobu shook her head. "That happened over a year ago. Sakurai Town had been quiet for a period after. The demon likely realized it was exposed and escaped... until a new demon took over. And this is also Kanao's first mission since joining the corps so the difficulty shouldn't be too high."

I see...

He thought for a bit before suddenly saying. "How about I go along as well!"

Everyone present was shocked.

Including Kanao, who tilted her head looking at him.

Shinobu's brows furrowed. "But you're not yet a member of the Demon Slayer Corps."

He acted completely unconcerned. "No problem, my current strength isn't below Kanao's! And Shinobu, you're still somewhat worried right? It'll be perfect if I tag along. We can look out for each other, and I can gain some combat experience!"

Although not knowing why the system wanted him to eliminate that demon, he still felt it is necessary to make contact and investigate!

Who knows, there may be additional gains?

These words made Shinobu fall into contemplation, showing hints of being persuaded.

She understood his strength. Saying he wasn't below Kanao was already modest on his part.

The two going together could also gain combat experience while minimizing danger.

But... Shinobu for some reason still somewhat worried. Real situations were unpredictable.

What if they unfortunately encountered an extremely powerful demon?

Wouldn't they both perish there?

Just as Shinobu was hesitating, she heard a coin flipping sound.

"Good...idea!" A voice sounded from her left.

Kenshi and Shinobu looked at Kanao in shock.

After all, she actually want kenshi to come with her!

Shinobu also noticed the heads up coin, gently asking. "Does Kanao want to go with kenshi?"

Kanao looked at the coin in hand for a long time before lightly nodding. "Yes..."

Shinobu's eyes suddenly flashed, images of her sister's last moment came into her mind.

'Why I am remembering this now? Sigh, seems like I became too close with him.' She thought in her mind as she stayed silent for a few seconds.

"Then so be it!" She let out a breath, having made her decision. "Kenshi, you'll go along with her! I won't assign leader and follower between you two, but remember, you must help and care for each other! Don't separate if not necessary, and make sure to come back alive. Understand?"

"Understood!" Kenshi answered loudly.

Shinobu knows she can't just guard her students forever. She was also afraid that kenshi would encounter a powerful demon in the exam, so it would be good practice for him this time. After all, it was reported that it's just low level demon.

Kanao also silently nodded beside him.

With the decision made, Shinobu began preparing things for the two - or rather, for kenshi.

Not having formally joined the corps yet, he didn't have a uniform either.

The uniform wasn't just symbolic of status, it was also made with special materials and craftsmanship to provide some defense.

So Shinobu specially borrowed a fitting one from an injured member.

"Um... is this really okay?" Kenshi examined the demon slayer corps uniform, asking uncertainly.

But Shinobu was completely unconcerned, tidying the creases on his clothes while saying. "It's fine. Even if it's damaged they can just get a replacement set from the tailors. They can't use them now anyway. I'll also have the crows send your measurements to the tailors these days to have two sets custom made for you!"

With Shinobu saying so, kenshi couldn't refuse further.

But wearing someone else's clothes still gave him an odd feeling.

After changing, he went to the gates with his blade in hand. Kanao had long since awaited there.

She had nothing to prepare. Or rather, she had always been prepared, only waiting for her nichirin sword to be forged before departing on a mission. And it did come a few days ago.

"Sorry for the wait!" Kenshi said as he walked towards her.

As always, Kanao just smiled back without speaking.

"Looks like you two are ready." Shinobu smiled standing at the gates. "Then I wish you great success in battle, and swift return!"

"We will!"

He smiled and waved before leaving with Kanao.

With the crows guiding, they wouldn't get lost even without a map.

Watching the two leave, Shinobu's smile also gradually faded. Gazing at their distancing figures, seemingly lost in thought...