Kiyokawa Izumi looked around, feeling slightly constrained.
Why was he the only one?
A very obvious gaze lingered on him. The owner of that gaze was Kanzaki Aoi—her dark, medium-short hair tied into twin tails, and her sea-blue pupils resembling emeralds.
Her expression was slightly serious, her slender eyebrows faintly furrowed, seemingly dissatisfied with Kiyokawa Izumi. After all, he looked like he hadn't fully woken up yet and clearly wasn't taking the training to heart.
At such a young age, Aoi already carried a stern expression. Calling it oppressive wouldn't be quite right, but it did give her an oddly cute air.
Although she wasn't an official combatant, she wore the Demon Slayer Corps uniform every day, with a white nursing uniform layered over it.
As for the other one, Kanao seemed completely isolated from the world.
Her delicate face showed no emotional changes at all as she stood there like a beautiful porcelain doll.
Black hair, purple eyes, straight bangs, and a side ponytail.
The emerald-green butterfly hair ornament she wore had been passed down from Kochou Shinobu's older sister—the former Flower Hashira, Kochou Kanae.
Kiyokawa Izumi's gaze lingered on her for a moment.
Her upper body was clad in the Demon Slayer Corps uniform, while her lower half wore a knee-length black pleated skirt.
The most eye-catching part was the pair of long white boots.
In this era—far from a hundred years in the future—Western-style boots were anything but cheap.
Sure enough, Kochou Shinobu was a rich woman.
It was true that she doted on her sister.
And it was also true that she was wealthy.
While he was lost in thought, he heard Kochou Shinobu clap her hands lightly.
"Let's start with reflex training. Your opponent… hmm…"
Kochou Shinobu glanced at Aoi and Kanao, then, after feigning hesitation, said with a smile:
"How about I be your opponent?"
"?"
Kiyokawa Izumi stared at her blankly.
She simply smiled back, her soft gaze carrying what seemed like encouragement.
"Huh?"
Are you serious?
Kiyokawa Izumi had originally assumed that Aoi would be the one training with him.
Not that he looked down on her—but his reaction speed might not even surpass that young girl's.
As for the stronger Kanao, he didn't stand a chance at all. At this stage, Kanao would crush him in every conceivable aspect.
Unexpectedly, Kochou Shinobu didn't follow the script.
Why was the Insect Hashira personally stepping in?
"No problem. Then shall we begin?"
I have a problem.
I have many, many problems.
Kiyokawa Izumi hesitated, wanting to say something.
But before he could refuse, Kochou Shinobu had already taken a seat at the table covered with cups.
"Phew—"
Letting out a gentle breath, Kiyokawa Izumi looked at Kochou Shinobu, who was calmly waiting for him.
He didn't act overly cowardly. Instead, he sat down openly across from her.
Then let's try it.
The rules were simple.
The cups were filled with medicinal soup.
Pick up a cup and splash it at the opponent.
If the opponent pressed it down in advance, the cup could no longer be moved.
"Start!"
The moment Kanzaki Aoi's voice fell, warm medicinal liquid was already flying toward his face.
Kiyokawa Izumi didn't even have time to react.
By the time he regained his senses, medicine clung to his face, his hair was soaked, and the upper half of his clothes was completely drenched.
He didn't see when Kochou Shinobu had moved at all.
Even if she was considered the weakest among the Nine Hashira, she was still far beyond someone like Kiyokawa Izumi.
Before he could recover, Kanzaki Aoi's voice rang out again.
"Start!"
Kiyokawa Izumi stared intensely at the cups in front of him, eyes wide open—almost like he was activating a Sharingan.
He still couldn't see it.
In an instant, the medicinal soup splashed across his face again.
Kochou Shinobu calmly withdrew her fair right hand, as if nothing had happened.
Kiyokawa Izumi didn't even see her pick up the cup—let alone put it down.
Predicting which cup she would choose in advance was simply impossible.
It was fast—beyond imagination.
If the person sitting in front of him were an enemy, he probably wouldn't even have the chance to resist before being killed on the spot.
Slowly, Kiyokawa Izumi raised his head.
His attitude became far more serious.
Meeting that encouraging smile, a gentle voice reached his ears.
"No matter what, don't forget to breathe."
Hearing this, Kiyokawa Izumi focused his gaze on her face.
A few strands of hair framed her cheeks.
Her eyebrows were slender and long, her nose bridge small and straight, and her thin lips resembled pale pink cherry blossoms.
The corners of her mouth were almost always fixed in a precise upward curve.
At first glance, it was a spring-like smile—but one that was extremely deceptive.
It didn't come from the heart.
Smiling for the sake of smiling.
Imitating warmth for the sake of imitation.
It lacked naturalness.
Kiyokawa Izumi looked at her without restraint.
Of course, he had a reason.
He was observing Kochou Shinobu's breathing rhythm.
Insect Breathing was derived from Flower Breathing, which itself was a branch of Water Breathing.
Since it was a branch, there had to be commonalities.
As a swordsman who had mastered Water Breathing, observing the breathing rhythm, frequency, and depth of the Insect Hashira was perfectly reasonable—right?
And breathing inevitably involved the mouth and nose.
Looking a bit more closely and boldly was also justifiable… right?
"Start!"
"Wait a minute!"
As soon as Kanzaki Aoi's voice fell, Kiyokawa Izumi spoke quickly.
This kind of training placed far too much pressure on him—he'd only end up getting splashed into a miserable state over and over.
"I think we can change the training method."
Kiyokawa Izumi looked at Kochou Shinobu seriously.
"How about we do strength training instead?"
"Let's arm wrestle."