12

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I sleep peacefully throughout the whole night, not once waking up in fear of... in fear of waking up and experiencing that nightmare all over again... like a loop. I suppose that could be the root of my fear of the dark, I feel as if when I close my eyes... somehow I'll be standing in that room once more... watching the horror unfold in front of me.

"Oi! Brat! Wake... up!" I scream, feeling a pillow get thrown directly on my face which jolts me up immediately. I sit up with wide eyes, looking around shocked and I see Haganezuka standing above me with his arms crossed. "Oh Mr Haganezuka!" I say sighing with relief. "I apologize did I sleep in-"

"Time is up kid! You've been here long enough so get out and let me finally work in peace!" He scolds and I tilt my head.

"O-Of course! Let me clean up first!" He goes to protest, but stops as I immediately begin clearing the futon as well as his... making sure to keep it as neat as possible. When I finish, he watches as I look out the window, my eyebrows furrowing as I look at the suns position. "But Mr Haganezuka... it's still early morning! How about we go get breakfast together, you can show me around the village as well!" I say running over to him. He steps back, holding his palm out in front of me making me stop as well.

"Absolutely not! Our deal was you stay the night and then leave me alone!" He says and I giggle. I push down his hand gently and puts my hands on my hips.

"And I will! But first I'm hungry and I'm sure you are as well!" I say and before I can give him a chance to protest any further, I grab his wrist and beginning dragging him behind me. "C'mon grumpy!" I say giggling as he tries desperately to pull away, much to his embarrassment when he realizes I'm too strong and his struggle is useless.

I walk happily around the streets of the village, smiling at everyone who passes me by and they greet me happily in return. Haganezuka trudges gloomily behind me, and every time he tries to sneak away I make sure to drag him right back beside me. As we walk around, people whisper and look on at us in shock, but I don't notice them at all! I'm too busy buying food from nearly every stand I see.

Haganezuka however is extremely aware of the stares and whispers. He's not exactly, popular, around the village. So the sight of the bright and friendly demon slayer girl dragging him around everywhere so comfortably, and touching him as if they were long time friends, is bound to be confusing to the other residents who have never even seen him converse with anyone other than Takahashi.

I chat happily to Haganezuka, my mouth full of food as he stays silent the entire time. I offer him some food, yet he doesn't accept any of it. It then occurs to me, that Haganezuka has never actually eaten any of the food I've given to him. Whether or not he ate the packed lunches is beyond me, but he's certainly never eaten in front of me.

We stand to the side of the road as I happily munch on some cake like foods. He just leans against a wall in frustration, eager to get back to his work instead of following around this ditzy girl.

"Say, Mr Haganezuka!" I say, crumbs all over my mouth.

"What?" He replies coldly.

"Where are your friends and family? You live alone it seems... and I haven't seen you talk to anyone! I'd like to meet your friends!" I say, and he immediately looks away from me. I tilt my head, trying to meet his eyes but he keeps turning his head away from my gaze. "Is something wrong-"

"Miss Nakahara!" Someone suddenly clings onto my leg, and I look down surprised to see Genji hugging my leg tightly.

"Hi Genji!" I gush, ruffling his hair as he beams up at me.

"I've been looking for you everywhere! Can we go can we go!" He nags and I giggle, patting his head.

"Of course!" I say to him before looking back to Haganezuka who watches the scene unfold in front of him silently.

Haganezuka was confused to see the young boy run up to her so friendly, immediately clinging onto her as if she was his mother. She didn't seem bothered however, and just offered him her signature warm smile while treating him just as affectionately. As they talk, he for some reason can't even focus on the words they say... as all he's focusing on right now is her glow as she crouches down slightly to be on the boys height level. Her eyes glow as she speaks with him, laughing at his behavior and offering him the left overs of her breakfast without a second thought.

He can't help but admire how... naturally motherlike she is? No question that she must've met this child only yesterday, and already he seems completely at ease around her despite their short acquaintance. Only when she stands and turns to face him, is he snapped out of his strange thoughts.

"Mr Haganezuka this is Genji!" She says holding the boys hand. Haganezuka looks down at the boy, and almost instantly the boy jumps and runs to hide beind her, poking his head out cautiously. She just laughs and urges the boy to come out. "Mr Haganezuka is my swordsmith Genji! He's very very talented and his swords are always very beautiful... in fact if you'd like to learn from him I'm sure he'd be more than happy to take you under his wing!" She says and the two boys look at her shocked.

"Eh!?" They both exclaim as she shrugs innocently.

"C-come on Miss Nakahara, let's go already before it gets late!" Genji whines and she giggles, being dragged away by the boy.

"Goodbye Mr Haganezuka! Thank you once again and I'll see you soon!" She yells loudly as they leave, making passersby look at her strangely but she pays no mind to them, just continues to wave until she's out of sight.

He just watches in awe, completely enamored by the strange girl. Never in his life as he ever met someone like her, someone so carefree and oblivious to her surroundings... which somehow only adds to her charm?

He hits his head lightly, shaking the thoughts out of his mind. He needs to stay focused on the task at hand, creating a new sword for her... however he feels that these thoughts and warm feelings of his will not leave as soon as he would like them to.

-

"Is that man really your swordsmith?" Genji says as he leads me to the training spot he picked.

"Of course! Why do you ask?" I say and he hums.

"Mama and papa call him a.... loner...? I don't know what it means though!" He says and I look down at him confused. Surely that's not true, is it? "We're here!" Genji suddenly lets go of my hand, running over to a cleared area in the woods. Standing there are three wooden puppets made to look like demons and two swords.

"Ah perfect! Well done Genji!" He quickly runs over to the swords, picking them both up. He hands one to me and grips the other tightly in both hands.

"My dad forged these swords! I borrowed them secretly so we could train with them! So, what's first! Are you going to teach me how to behead a demon first, or how to do some cool moves!" He begins swinging his sword and I giggle softly as he trips over his feet and falls down on his bum. He huffs, crossing his arms as I walk over and crouch in front of him.

"We'll get to all that later... and first we're going to start with something else so you don't hurt yourself ok?" I say taking the sword away from him and he groans, but giggles as I pinch his cheek grinning.

"Ok up we get!" I help him up, handing him a wooden training stick in place of a sword. I hold the sword he gave to me, showing him how to hold it and he copies me. "First, get into this position," he mimics me and I hum... pushing his shoulder gently. Immediately he stumbles and I giggle. "Here is the first lesson... you must always be balanced. Focus on your center of gravity in your core..." I gently touch his belly, using my other hand to straighten his back. "Your balance is the most crucial part of sword fighting... without good balance you are vulnerable... You must be strong and confident in your stance... but also gentle and relaxed. You must not be stiff but you must not be tense..." I move around him, correcting his posture until he's in a position I'm happy with. "Perfect!" I say and he nods happily.

I teach him a few other basic positions and stances, letting him get used to the feeling of a correct stance and holding a sword.

"I wanna start using a real sword and learning how to fight!" He huffs and I chuckle.

"I wasn't allowed to start using a sword until my second year of training! The sword is the last step... learning how your body moves and how to breathe is the most important part..."

"But I know how to breathe already!"

"Oh yeah?" I raise an eyebrow and he nods firmly. "Breath holding competition? 3...2...1... go!" We both begin holding our breath, a concentrated expression on both our faces. Not very long after, Genji gasps and coughs as I grin... not even phased.

"No fair!" He says and I gently smack the back of his head.

"Breathing is crucial... it's saved my life many times and could potentially save yours!" I say and he huffs. "C'mon, sit," we both sit cross legged, and I talk him through some breathing exercises as the wind gently blows through the trees peacefully.

-

I worked with Genji the whole day, and I'm pleased to say I'm very impressed with him. Yes he's young so his skill is limited, but for his age and level I think he did exceptionally well!

After lots of begging and pleading, he managed to convince me to teach him some sword fighting movements... so I gave in as the last thing we did, of course with him using the stick and me using the sword.

I go through each movement slowly, as he copies me. I talk him through everything, and then get him to show me what he's learnt. I clap happily as I watch him stab his stick through the air, yelling with each movement.

"Well done Genji-"

"What is going on here!?" Genji immediately straightens up and holds the stick behind him to hide it. I turn around to see another man in a Hyottoko mask storming over to us.

"D-dad I-"

"Silence Genji!" The man scolds and my eyes widen as he walks right up to me. "Who are you young lady!?" He yells and I blink in shock.

"I am Nakahara Hanako, demon slayer rank Tsuchinoe," I say calmly and he scoffs.

"Well then tsuchinoe, what are you doing with that sword and my son!?" I go to speak, but Genji runs in front of me.

"It wasn't her dad I asked her to teach me!-" Genji begins to explain, but his father pushes him to the ground making my eyes widen.

"I said stay out of it boy!" He yells, raising his hand and instinctively... I grab his wrist tightly. He looks back at me with a grunt, trying to free his wrist but my grip is too strong.

"Sir, with all due respect could you not treat and speak to your son like that?" I say smiling and he scoffs, pulling his hand forcefully from me as I let go. "I was teaching your son some sword skills. I understand if that upsets you, but I believe that-"

"What gives you the authority to teach my son such useless skills!" He raises his hand to hit me, but I block it with little effort, my smile never fading.

"Sir, please calm yourself," this only makes him angrier, and grabs my wrist tightly with his other hand, making me wince slightly.

"Know your place girl... I don't care if your tsuchinoe or Hashira, know your place when addressing-"

"Let go of her." Someone firmly grabs his wrist, and I look up with wide eyes.