8 Leaving Home
The next day...
Dragging the reluctant Tanjiro towards the yard, Kiyomi planned for Tanjiro's training regime.
As a previous physical education teacher, she has an abundance of wealth in the knowledge of physical training.
And even more so as a top-notch physical education teacher, she knows the exact physical limit of anyone she looks at. Meaning that she can compose a training regime that will mentally torture the person's mind but will not leave behind any hidden injuries.
"Let's get started Tanjiro! Come stand over here!"
Grudgingly, Tanjiro walked towards the spot where Kiyomi was pointing at.
"Hehe.." Smiling at the thought of torturing, no, tutoring his younger brother, Kiyomi let out a chilling smile.
With cold sweat already starting to form on his back, Tanjiro suddenly regretted his choice of ever agreeing to let his sister be the one to teach him.
"Alright, little brother... Let's start with something simple to get you warmed up. Twenty push-ups, twenty squats, and thirty jumping jacks without stopping."
Sighing with relief at the seemingly easy training exercise, Tanjiro suddenly felt that it wasn't going to be what he thought he was going to go through.
Kiyomi, who saw the relaxed Tanjiro, smiled mysteriously and reached behind her back and pulled out a stick that somewhat resembled a plastic straw.
"While breathing with this in your mouth of course."
Seeing the horrified Tanjiro who was stunned in place, Kiyomi forcefully stuffed the straw into Tanjiro's mouth.
"Oh and by the way, If you drop this straw, you'll be getting extra time with me! Isn't that just wonderful?"
Wanting to cry but with no tears coming out, Tanjiro started doing the exercises, knowing that his life would be even worse if he complained.
Kiyomi on the other hand was joyfully observing the sweating Tanjiro.
'Muahahaha! Tanjiro! You're going to suffer what I had to go through when I was two months old, but ten times easier!'
Beaming with happiness, Kiyomi decided that instead of only letting Tanjiro get a glimpse of what breathing is, she is going to bring him into the beginner level of breathing.
Of course, what seemed like a reward from her point of view, might not be so rewarding for the poor Tanjiro who was laying on the ground, gasping for air.
'Smiling triumphantly, Kiyomi pulled Tanjiro and dragged him next to a tree, and let him sit there.
"Tanjiro, how are you going to fulfill your promise to dad if you're too weak to even exercise for ten minutes? Come on! Your big sis is rooting for you! You can do it!"
Tanjiro, remembering the promise he had made to his father, instantly sprung back up, more lively than ever.
Seeing the revigorated fighting spirit of Tanjiro, Kiyomi grinned.
"Now that you've gotten a small experience of what it is like to train your breathing, let me teach you about the basics."
Another year quickly passed by...
"Wrong! Do it again!" Kiyomi bashed the stomach of Tanjiro with a wooden katana that she had made for her sword practice sessions.
"Cough! Ugh!" Tanjiro, who was hit hard, clutched his stomach and curled up into a ball. His movements were so smooth that you would believe if someone said that he had been training that movement for years.
"Remember! I will demonstrate it to you one last time! If you still can't be able to use breathing techniques, then I'm afraid that I would have to give up on you!"
Taking a large gasp of air, Tanjiro sat up and paid his full undivided attention to Kiyomi.
"Yes, Mam!"
Kiyomi, seeing that Tanjiro had somewhat recovered, started by taking a step back with her left foot before resting her right hand on the sword handle that laid on her left waist.
"Watch closely! First, you need to relax your upper body while bracing your lower half! After doing so, you need to take a deep, slow breath until your lungs cannot contain any more air! "
With her thighs, *Cough*, the lower half of her body being as stable as a mountain, and her upper body being as fluid as flowing water, Kiyomi held the wooden sword in her hand and sprung out towards a tree.
"Breath of the Moon: First Form, Evening Palace!" Kiyomi slashed out with a horizontal cut that was followed with numerous chaotic crescent blades that originated from the slash.
Weng~
As the blade passed through the tree, nothing seemed to have happened, Kiyomi seeing this scene, knew that she had improved her first form's proficiency.
Putting her sword back on her waist, she stretched out a finger and lightly pushed on the trunk of the tree.
Boom! The huge tree fell backward as it crashed towards the ground. Countless splinters shattered towards the ground as the place where the sword cut had gone through was mangled into a weird shape.
Turning back towards Tanjiro, Kiyomi threw a ceremonial stick, the same one Tanjuro used to perform the Kagura dance to Tanjiro and said, "Now, it's your turn, Tanjiro. Show me what you have learned in this one year. The test time you get this time is twenty-five minutes."
Still shocked by the amazing power her sister shown, Tanjiro started to doubt his life. Wondering if they were actually the same age.
Catching the ceremonial stick, Tanjiro took a deep breath to calm himself and got into his position.
Starting the Kagura dance with a swift strike, Tanjiro's rhythm and posture had a striking similarity with that of his father's.
Kiyomi, who was only responsible for Tanjiro's breathing techniques, was surprised to see that Tanjiro had almost mastered all the dance forms of the Hinokami Kagura.
However, what disappointed her was that even though Tanjiro's breathing occasionally was up to her standards, he still cannot fully enter the state of total concentration breathing.
Finishing the last move of the twelfth form, Tanjiro enthusiastically looked at Kiyomi.
"How did I do Onee-san?"
Kiyomi, who saw the passionate Tanjiro, didn't have to heart to break the news to Tanjiro.
Hiding her true emotions, Kiyomi closed her eyes and smiled, "...I suppose that was barely within my standards... congratulations on passing."
Tanjiro, who now had tears in his eyes, rushed up to Kiyomi, giving her a big hug.
With no time to react, Kiyomi was pushed onto the ground.
"Thank you so much, Onee-san! Hic! You don't know how grateful I am! I was so scared that I wouldn't be able to keep my promise I made with dad when I... "
Tanjiro, who was crying his heart out to Kiyomi, didn't even notice the flustered face on his sister's face.
'Stinky boy! What the hell do you think you're doing. Eek! Hey! Hey! Get off me right neow~!! Ahn~!!!'
It wasn't until later that Tanjiro realized something was wrong.
Looking at Kiyomi whose face was like a wronged little daughter-in-law, Tanjiro quickly stood up and ran away whilst screaming.
"ACK! I'M SORRY ONEE-SAMA! IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! AN ACCIDENT!"
Seeing Tanjiro who had already run far away, Kiyomi who had anger in her heart but nowhere to vent, decided to channel all her anger into making her revenge plans on Tanjiro.
'Hmph! Running away right after pushing me down, how rude! When you marry that Kanao in the future, I'll teach her how to control you and bully you too!'
Patting the dirt off from her clothes, Kiyomi picked up the wooden sword that had fallen to the ground and walked back towards the house.
Arriving back at the small wooden house, Kiyomi put down the wooden sword by the door and went in.
As a habit, she went to take a quick wash before changing into something more clean and comfortable to wear.
Coming from out of the bathroom, she overheard a conversation between Kie and Tanjuro.
"With the amount of money we currently have we can barely even get through next winter. What should we do? I can't let the children starve.." said Kie, anxiously.
"We will be okay. I can let Tanjiro come and help with selling the charcoal so that I can concentrate on cutting wood. And if that's not enough, then I can go and hunt some animals to sell."
Deciding that she had heard enough, Kiyomi walked away from the room and thought to herself, 'Money huh... the fastest way for me to make money is to steal from people, but that would make me infamous, so no thank you. Modern-day solutions like buying lotteries and stocks won't work too. Only service type Jobs would be able to earn some good money.'
Kiyomi who was used to the luxury of eating meat every day did not adjust to the meal of only porridge and vegetables when she first crossed.
It was only after a while of interaction with her new family that she decided she wanted to cherish her new family and did not want to burden them.
This is why she was thinking of ways to help relieve the economic situation of her family because this was the place where she felt truly at home.
Walking towards the kitchen, she chose to think about earning money after solving her current predicament, hunger.
After a short while, Kiyomi walked out with six bowls of porridge and one plate of vegetables and fruits.
Even though she had the body of a five-year-old, she was still able to do many things.
"Thank you for cooking for us today onee-san!" said Nesuko, Tanjiro, and Takeo at the same time.
"Thank you for cooking for us darling." Kie, who was chuckling at the kids for being cute, also thanked Kiyomi for cooking the food.
"Thank you for cooking dear." to Tanjuro, who had already seen too much of Kiyomi's shocking feats, sword-wielding, Kagura Dance, breathing techniques, and others. Being able to cook was something much more acceptable to him.
Kiyomi, who has never been praised for anything she had done in her last life, felt grateful for the new family that was given to her.
But it also brought concerns for her. She would have to figure out a way to stop Kibutsuji Muzan from killing everyone. But the good news is that she still had plenty of time until that day arrives.
Nearing the end of another day, Kiyomi pulled both Tanjuro and Kie to the yard for a talk.
"Mom, Dad, I overheard you talking at noon. I can also help if you want." Kiyomi directly stated what she wanted to do without any fuss.
Amused and helpless, amused at the fact that a six-year-old child was already thinking of helping the household. Yet helpless at the fact that this so-called six-year-old child was more than likely to be able to do so.
"Well, tell us what you are thinking about." Deciding not to refuse the help of her daughter, Kie did not directly reject the proposal.
"I was thinking about going to Yoshiwara, Tōkyō. To look for music-related jobs. You guys know that I am good at the koto, and I'll definitely be able to get hired by someone. After all, it is the entertainment district."
Kie and Tanjuro instantly disagreed, "No. Yoshiwara is also mainly known as the red light district, that's where all the brothels are. You can go anywhere, just not Yoshiwara."
Thinking that she would be able to fool her parents into thinking that she wasn't going to Yoshiwara, Kiyomi decided to agree on the surface.
"Fine, then I'll go to Asakusa. And you cannot stop me!"
Unable to refuse, Kie and Tanjuro unwillingly nodded and agreed to Kiyomi's request to help the household. Even if they did disagree, they knew that Kiyomi was just going to go either way.
The next morning at the break of dawn. Tanjuro and Kie were standing at the door looking at the shadow that was about to vanish out of their sight.
"Shouldn't at least one of us go with her? How could a five-year-old girl protect herself?"
Kie looked worriedly at the disappearing figure.
"She should be able to take care of herself, dear. She even brought her wooden katana with her. You should know that her sword cut is not something that many people can do."
Tanjuro seemed a little calmer than his counterpart. He had complete confidence that Kiyomi was going to be safe.
Until the figure in the distance disappeared, the married couple just stood there, looking in the distance.
Kie seemed lightly relieved that her daughter was going to be safe and sound, but she soon discovered a new problem.
"How should we explain it to the kids? You should know that Nesuko, Takeo, and Hanako liked her the best. And even Tanjiro too, even though she would always... you know."
Tanjuro also looked taken aback, but soon, his face went back to being composed.
"Let's just say that she went with a renowned musician to learn more about music. The kids might not like it, but they will understand since they always would see her with the small instruments she made herself."
Kie looked amused when Tanjuro mentioned the toys that Kiyomi made.
"Thinking back, she has created a wooden sword, a koto, flutes, haori, and she was also the one to repair our tools when they broke huh..."
Tanjuro smiled as well.
"Haha... our family is lucky to have her. But do you remember the day I brought her back? I wonder who would be so cruel to leave a child on a mountain with a thin piece of cloth covering her? It was a miracle that she was still alive when I found her."
"Yeah, whoever left her there must not be a good person." Agreed Kie.
"Let's go back in, and pray that she will have a safe and smooth trip." Tanjuro walked back into the house.
"Yeah.." Taking one last glance in the direction where Kiyomi left, Kie reluctantly closed the door.
Meanwhile, walking down the mountain, Kiyomi made sure that no one was around before taking out clothes that were much bigger than hers.
"Ah! How long has it been since I released this form? So comfortable!" Kiyomi quickly changed from a 3 foot 8 inches tall child to a 5 foot and 2 inches tall 14-year-old girl.
The most striking thing about this girl was the six tails that were swaying from side to side. With each tail seeming as if they had their own minds.
Taking the cherry blossom haori that was black from the top that slowly turns red towards the bottom, the kitsune mask on the back seemed especially mysterious.
Kiyomi organized and put on each piece of clothing, taking only five minutes to do so before continuing down the mountain, with a kitsune mask that only covered the top half of her face, leaving the pale pink lips out in the open.
"Status."
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<> Kamado Kiyomi <>
Age: 5 | Gender: Female | Birthdate: September 12
Talents: Accelerated Learning, Rapid Regeneration, Rare Marechi Blood, Controlled Beastilization: Kitsune
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Skills:
Total Concentration Breathing - Proficient (Lvl 2: 217/2,000)
Breath of the Moon - Beginner (Lvl 9: 554/900)
Swordsmanship - Proficient (Lvl 10: 3,471/100,000)
Musical Instruments - Expert (Lvl 2: 43,529/200,000)
-
Specific Body Stats:
Height: Illusion(5'2")/True(3'8") | Weight: Changable
Hair color: Light Chestnut | Eye color: Amethyst
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Staring at the Swordsmanship level, Kiyomi sighed. She discovered the ten times exp increase when she reached level ten in beginner level total concentration breathing.
When a skill reaches level ten, the exp needed to advance to the next grade is increased by ten times. Only after breaking through would the exp requirements be decreased by ten times again.
During the five years, she broke through a grade in total concentration breathing, adding eight beginner levels and two proficient levels.
She began with the dance of the moon goddess and slowly worked her way up the sword styles, netting her 9 beginner levels.
And although she only upgraded her musical instruments once, her musical skills are out of this world.
Kiyomi nodded, satisfied with her gains during the five years. And even though it was not shown in the status menu, she also learned a lot about sewing, cooking, fishing, and other skills.
With a wave of her hand, the status screen disappeared from her view.
As she neared the village that was located at the foot of Mt.Kumotori, her tails slowly retracted back into her body and disappeared.
Anyone who would have seen the tails would instantly want to embrace it. The fluffy pure brown tail that looked similar to that of Akagi's was like an aphrodisiac to anyone who has a thing for cuteness.
Coupled with Kiyomi's natural-born beauty, anyone who laid sights on her would instantly fall in love.
This is why she wears a mask. Otherwise, there would constantly be suitors that would ask for her hand in marriage.
But even the mask that covered half of her face could not hide the unviolable aura that she emitted.
Stepping into the village, she looked around at the busy villagers, each going on about with their own lives.
Walking up to a store owner, Kiyomi asked for directions to Yoshiwara.
The enthusiastic store owner, who was especially keen on giving Kiyomi directions, gave her a map free of charge.
Kiyomi thanked the store owner and went on her way.
"Hopefully, I can reach Yoshiwara by tonight. If not, then I'll have to find a way to get some money to buy food."
