Therapist Shinobu

As Inei stepped inside the Hashira's estate, his eyes wandered through the walls and floor of the Japanese-style house.

'It's so... basic'

Truth be told, Inei expected much more, a lot more luxury. Instead, it was blank and boring like any other ordinary home.

As he slid his finger on the rough surface, his questions were answered.

'The materials are really sturdy, they might even be as strong as steel'

That was, of course, just a metaphor. But the wood was indeed exceptionally strong, the expense to create a full manor out of these would really cost some real money.

As Inei was still pondering about the amount it cost to build the estate, a petite woman with a slim stature snuck up behind him.

"Hello~"

She waved her hands in the air, a small grin plastered on her face. Inei studied her carefully, top to bottom.

She had black hair with purple highlighted tips tied back into a "yakai-maki" bun using a butterfly-shaped pin. Her eyes were large deep purple with no visible pupils.

She dons the standard Demon Slayer uniform that consists of a dark purple straight-lined jacket, and hakama pants tucked into butterfly-patterned fabric around her lower legs that match her haori.

Her white haori had a butterfly wing pattern that mimics the appearance of butterfly wings. The white of the haori fades into turquoise and then pink color on her sleeves as well as the base of the dress and her legs. Her sleeves were cuffed with a black and white dotted trim similar to an insect design. She completes her outfit by wearing white sandals with purple straps and a white belt that holds her sword sheath.

'What a strange way to dress'

Inei could not really understand how all the flashy clothing benefit in her in combat, truthful to say, it would prove to be more a hindrance than an ally.

"you're the kid that needs 'special treatment', I presume?"

Tatsumi nodded. The woman gestured him to follow, he stood up and walked behind her, he kept silent all the way.

He grimaced as he thought back to the recent event, she was able to sneak behind him, if that had been in a real battle...

'I was distracted, all that training... and still'. He clenched his hands in frustration, his blood boiled at his own incompetence. 'I am still too weak!'

Inei had thought that he was fairly strong, his ventures were not as tough as he imagined till now. However, if these people... No, these monsters were falling like butterflies to those Demons, how strong would those creatures have to be?.

He frowned at the thought. They had to be abominations, and exceptional ones at that.

The footsteps of the woman came to a halting stop, he raised his head to observe his surroundings. It was a plain, white, blank room.

The woman sat on the ground, Inei did too after her. Her smile slowly faded away, replaced with a stoic expression just like his.

"I'll be fairly brief". She sounded very different from before, a business-like tone enhancing her words. "I'm the Insect Hashira, Shinobu Kochō".

"Inei Tatsumi"

She nodded her petite head in response.

"Let's get this started, shall we? First of all, what is your dream?"

***

And so, the therapy session lasted for a whole month. Inei felt his ears bleed from the nonstop questions from Shinobu. But there was no other way than to endure the suffering.

He was introduced to other Hashiras, two of them to be more specific. One was Tomioka Giyu, a disciple of his Master.

Their fateful encounter as disciples of the same man, however, was uneventful. Both of them held no interest toward each other, they kept quiet most of the time.

The other Hashira he met was the complete opposite, he was a man of discipline, humor, and most of all... ambition. Food as well.

He was the flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku. His every word held authority and power, he was a person far, far away from Inei.

The aloof protagonist of ours and Kyojuro, although different, held something so common, yet rare.

Will.

You could say even the weakest of the Demon Slayers had more willpower than most, but these two were exceptional. Unordinary.

They would go on with their goals even if it meant death, they wouldn't waver or run away from a fight, even if their fate had been sealed.

But that didn't help Inei bond with the man, what he did, was squeeze as much information as he could about the abilities and prowess of the Hashiras.

Kyojuro was very honest, he declined his request. Inei failed in his mission.

But Kyojuro, seeing his disappointment, provided some tips to help the young man. Inei also learned about a new technique under Rengoku's guidance.

Constant Total Concentration Breathing.

It was a skill that required effort like any other Inei learned, it was going to take a while before he managed to master this art of breathing.

The sheer amount of effort required would put most in their graves, the risks were as high as the rewards.

His session was finally over. He sent a letter to the leader for his leave.

After getting permission from the Master, Inei was given his new mission. Reading the content in the scroll, his eyes twitched.

'Damnation'