Ch. 4 Six-sense

Keiko's P.O.V.

Ever since my "graduation," I have been undergoing more training. Obviously, it's more in line with being shown fighting techniques, weapon techniques, and ways and times to use them. I've been doing steady physical education since I was three and will continue in that phase until I am five. I got more rigorous training then; it was hell for me. I am now six years old, but the pain has eased now. Mostly because of my Curse Technique.

Speaking of Curse Technique, I have been working on it as well. I've been slowly adapting to pain. By slowly, I mean I increase the pain levels. I'm not a masochist. I swear.

Hurting myself has been fruitful so far. I am now almost immune to being stabbed and sliced by most normal weapons. How I'll fare to Toji or Sukuna is a bet I'm not going to make. I am also resistant to poisons, venoms, electricity, and burning. Freezing is a work in progress as well; ice isn't all that painful.

My low passive adaptation aside, I have also been training my breathing. Total concentration sounded easy, but it was a pain to remember to breathe like that normally.

Total Concentration Breathing is a breathing technique that involves expanding one's lungs to intake as much air as possible, accelerating one's blood flow and heartbeat while increasing their inner body temperature, resulting in their bones and muscles becoming more excited. Using Total Concentration Breathing essentially enhances the user's physical traits and capabilities, including superhuman strength, speed, stamina, durability, endurance, and the mental abilities needed to keep up with their superhuman bodies, such as a faster thought process and reaction time.

It's especially effective with my curse technique, adapting my body to be able to do it. A "demon" slayer is strong with just this; imagine now that I have their strengths and have curse energy and my curse technique. My potential is endless. 'Beat that, Mr. Potentialman!'

I have yet to achieve Total Concentration Constant, but it should be about time. Tanjiro could do it in a few days, and I should be able to as well. But having no one to look out for me, I would take more time to naturally do it. It's an elementary-level skill that I have to master on my own, apparently. The current head of the Tsugikuni family is a Stone Hashira and is quite strong.

How do Hashiras fare in Jujutsu society? They are doing fine in the special-first grade. Just like Naobito.

As for my breathing style, I have currently learned water and serpent breathing. Water breathing is a well-rounded style that mimics water, specifically the flow, flexibility, and adaptability of the liquid, and replicates it with the user's movements and abilities. It is also easy to learn. I learned serpent breathing next, so I could be unpredictable. It is a style that mimics serpents or snakes, specifically their slithering motions. Its techniques and forms focus on twisting and bending the sword like how a serpent slithers; the attacks are not direct and constantly meander, which can ultimately strike anywhere.

I plan on learning most breathing styles to their perfect state; that way, I will have different ways to deal with different curses. After all, the "effects" of the breathing styles do manifest in this curse technique form. (Unlike in DS, where it's just for dramatic effect.)

As for the forms I don't plan on using, love and insect breathing are going to be hard. Insect breathing does exist here, but it is mostly used with rapiers, tucks, and fencing swords.

They are mostly thrusting or piercing attacks. I'll probably just learn it at a later date.

Love breathing, on the other hand, does not exist at all. It makes sense; it was a self-invented breathing style to effectively use her special constitution. It's just a derivative of flame breathing, with effects I'm not sure translate well to curse techniques.

'Unless... no... It's useless to think about it now. Maybe I can replicate it when I remember it more clearly.'

Those two aside, beast breathing is quite the anomaly. It is not a derivative of any form at all, unlike in Demon Slayer, where it's under wind breathing. It was made by someone from the Tsugikuni family who had no talent for any of the elemental forms; thus, he made his own style from predatory animals. How metal is that?

Well, it seems my path with swordsmanship is set. Breathing styles have been a great boon for me. Especially lethal with the Holding Curse technique, which allows me to translate those breathing styles into any weapon I hold. The styles are just more effective with katanas in general.

Then there are the extension curse techniques I developed on my own. Like rock, slash, and dice. Totally not ripping off of Sukuna.

Rock is a curse technique that activates when I apply my holding technique to my fist, and when a foreign curse energy is touched with my own, their curse energy will break. Basically, when rock is active, whenever I punch someone reinforced with curse energy, they'll be hurt by the "shards" of their broken curse energy. 

Slash is a curse technique that activates when I apply my holding technique to the sides of my palm, which basically "parts" foreign curse energy. Imagine my karate chops as Moses going through the dead sea of curse energy.

While dice is a curse technique that is activated when I apply my holding technique to the tips of my finger, sending a short five-meter attack, it is currently my only ranged technique.

Combine that with my two breathing styles. I'm quite overpowered.

Then there are my other senses: taste, sight, and hearing. They are mostly passive. Or rather, I have no idea how I'll attach a curse technique to them. Sight passively enhances my, well... sight. While it's not as good as allowing me to find out how enemy curse techniques work (like six-eyes), it does allow me to see physical things more clearly (i.e., air). Besides, I can figure out how enemy curse techniques work on my own. I may not be very smart, but I've read a lot of fantasy to know how "petal burst" works.

There's also my hearing technique, which allows me to hear clearly. Even my own blood stream. I'm exaggerating... but I can try to do that in the future with better control; maybe echolocation too...

Then there's my "devour" technique. I've renamed it since... Well, the "taste," "tongue," or "mouth" technique sounds nasty. "Devour," in tandem with my passive adaptation, has helped immensely with my poison resistance. And I also found out that I don't have a low amount of curse energy, as opposed to my first assumption; it is just thanks to my devour technique that my curse energy has a harder time leaking from my stomach, where curse energy is kept.

I have many ideas and concepts for my technique already, but it sucks that my body is still too weak for combat against non-sorcerers. I'm still too slow. and the clan has been more strict than before.

Considering Satoru almost died two years ago against Toji, the clan is rightfully enraged. but that plot seems to have passed fine. I had minimal intervention since I was only four at the time. I really want to have Toji's body... for scientific purposes!

Considering Toji's heavenly restriction is somewhat related to my curse technique, I can't just let such a fine specimen go... but alas. I only got his heart. That's right! Since Satoru had loot rights for killing his assassinator, I got to ask for at least his heart. It helps that the clan hates him and that Naobito can't take his body because of that hatred. What happened to the rest? Cremated. Although I'm sure that old lady with a séance technique may have already acquired what she needed for the Shibuya Incident,.

Oh well. There's really little I could do with that.

But now that I have produced well-established techniques, after about two more years of refining them, I'll be allowed to exorcise my first ever curse spirit. I can't wait.

Ch. 4 end

•~~~~~~~•

Hello, everyone. Sorry for the late update. It has been a hellish two weeks. This week we have an exam too. I got lucky; there was a three-day weekend.

*This has been a monologue-heavy chapter.*

Why was that? This is just how I imagined this chapter in particular to go. Have mercy on me, a fledgling writer... Anyway, there are 2-3 more chapters before this volume ends, so I hope you guys enjoy them. The second volume will be a little bit longer since it will be the pre-Yuta and the parade arc.