3 Chapter 3 - Shimotsuki Dojo

A/N: Friendly Reminder on Meito grades:

Wazamono - Grade Sword

Ryo Wazamono - Skillful Grade Sword

O Wazamono - Great Grade Sword

Saijo O Wazamono - Supreme Grade Sword

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"98...99...100!"

In the backyard of a small house in Shimotsuki village, a young five-year-old boy can be seen doing push-ups.

"Haa...haa...man, I am in a fantasy world indeed. I couldn't imagine being able to do 100 push-ups at five years old in my previous world."

Terumi panted with fatigue for a few moments before resuming his workout and doing situps.

"Well, today should be the day, and if it is, that means I can't afford to waste any time."

"1...2...3..."

As he continued his regime, Terumi started recounting the events over the past few years, everything was in preparation for today.

'I was born in 1495. That means this year is the start of the great age of pirates. A while ago I saw a newspaper that said the Pirate King Gol D. Roger was captured by the Marines, and today was the date of his execution in Loguetown. My family, the Kenzaki family, was just a humble small family in this village. My father is a fisherman and my mother stays at home to take care of me. I started training this year as soon as I turned five, in anticipation for this day.'

'Yes, this is the day where everything changes. The day the Pirate King says his famous last words.'

"98...99...100! Whew...now, time for a jog."

Before Terumi could get ready for his daily run around the village, he was interrupted by his mother.

"Terumi! Can you come and help me, dear?"

"Yes, mom."

'Oh boy, here we go again.'

Terumi walked into the house he grew up in. A quaint house it was, but it gave him a very relaxing feeling. Walking past the living room, he stared at a certain object hanging on display on the wall. Its slightly curved outline and the expertly crafted handle were particularly striking to Terumi the first time he saw it.

'The grade sword, evening dusk, 'Yuugata'. Although it's the lowest grade among the Meito's, it's still a grade sword. I don't know why we have one, mom only told me that it was a gift from her parents.'

Terumi continued till he found his mother in his room. Rummaging around his closet.

"Ah, there you are. Look dear, I made you some new clothes!"

Hana flashed the new shirt with a proud look on her face. Over the years, she prided herself in her tailor skills and has personally made her son everything he owns.

"It looks great mom, thank you. What did you need?"

Hana grinned upon hearing a question her son clearly knows the answer to.

"Why, for you to try everything on of course! Get over here!"

Terumi reluctantly nodded as he resigned to his fate.

'Even though it's been five years, I'm still not used to how clingy mother is. It's quite jarring compared to my previous life, but...it's nice.'

After changing into a black buttoned-down shirt and matching black pants, he looked at himself in the mirror.

"So, what do you think?"

"Wow, this might be your best one yet!"

Terumi examined himself while turning back and forth. This clothing set looks almost exactly like a Demon Slayer's uniform! Although there are some discrepancies, it's similar enough to get a solid nod of approval from himself, who is a die-hard fan of the series.

"Thank you, mom!"

Hana smiled brightly at her son's words.

"No problem, dear. I made it based on the suggestions you gave me, so I was hoping you would like it!"

She patted her son on the head before getting up and started walking out.

"I'm going to go deliver some clothes to my clients, do me a favor and bring in the dry clothes from the rack outside before you leave, okay?"

"Okay!"

Hana knew her son was planning on leaving to go on his daily run. It's become something of a habit for him in recent days. Although she does not fully know why he's training so hard, she ignored it because her son looked cute while working hard.

As she left through the front door, Terumi went out to the backyard and brought in everyone's clothes, and folded them. Then he changed out from his new clothes and he didn't want them to get dirty from training and changed into a loose shirt and pants.

"Now, time for my daily run. Today I'm going officially start my breath training."

Terumi ran outside and started jogging down the street, waving at his neighbors who waved back at him. After he got clear of the village, he started sprinting while taking deep breaths, trying to take in as much air as possible.

'Agh, this is hard. The key to Total Concentration Breathing is lung capacity, and focus. Through studying my knowledge granted to me by the guide, I know the proper breathing technique to direct the oxygen into my body to enhance my abilities, but the effects are very limited and I can only sustain it for less than a second so far before I feel like my lung is going to explode.'

'It can't be helped, I just need more training!'

Terumi ran around the entire village, practicing the Total Concentration Breathing technique in short bursts. This is the most effective and efficient training for him for now, as he would need to obtain at least a wooden sword before he can practice combat breathing styles.

'I should ask Koushirou-san for one of his wooden shinais. Now that I've officially started training my body, I should also start my swordsman training as well. Maybe I should ask my mom to let me join his dojo. I've been putting it off since she's usually overbearing about everything, it took me forever for her to let me train, stating that it's too early.'

'Well, there's not much difference between training my body and training with a sword right? She wouldn't mind...right?'

Shaking away uncertain thoughts from his head, Terumi continued his run till he had done several laps around the entire village before deciding to head home, drenching from head to toe in sweat. On the way back, he spotted a familiar Japanese-style large housing estate, the Shimotsuki estate, and dojo.

While he was passing by, the door suddenly opened, and out came a familiar lady that he has known all his life. Koushirou's wife and assistant to the Shimotsuki dojo.

"Ah! Terumi, what are you doing over here?"

Terumi turned around and greeted the woman coming towards him.

"Shimotsuki-san, good morning. I was just on my way back from a jog."

"A jog?"

The woman eyed him up and down, examining the state he was in.

"You're soaking wet! Are you sure you weren't out for a swim instead?"

"Ah haha..."

Terumi smiled wryly as he didn't know how to answer that question. For sure he would have to take a bath when he got home.

"Come, come inside, you can borrow our shower. I'll lend you some clothes as well. If your mother saw you like that, she'll freak."

"It's okay Shimotsuki-san, I was on my way home anyway, and don't worry, mom won't mind. I've been training almost daily and she's used to it."

"Hmmm, is that so?"

Shimotsuki-san circled around him and examined him with a somewhat piercing gaze.

"No, I must insist. I'll prepare some food for you as well."

Seeing that there was no way out, Terumi reluctantly agreed.

'Although the way women treat me in this life is completely different compared to the previous one, the overbearing nature seems to stay consistent, heh.'

Entering the estate through the fancy double door front gate, what immediately came into view was a big building to his left, with a couple of children training in a field with shinais behind that building. Koushirou was overseeing their swings while pointing out mistakes to the few kids training.

Koushirou saw his wife return with Terumi and walked over to greet them with a smile.

"Back so soon, dear? And Terumi, how wonderful it is to see you again."

Terumi bowed as Koushirou's wife walked over and whispered something in his ear before walking off. Whatever he heard, Koushirou then started eyeing Terumi up and down before nodding.

"Yes, it seems my wife has invited you over for a meal. Give me a moment, let me give my student some instructions and I'll show you where the showers are. My wife has gone to prepare your meal in advance."

"Okay, sir."

"Haha, you don't have to call me that. Koushirou-san will do just fine."

Koushirou led Terumi over to the training ground, where dummies made of straw are placed around the field, and the dojo students spend their time practicing the basics of swordsmanship.

"Okay everyone, take a quick break. I'm going to attend to our guest here for a short while but I'll be back. Training will resume when I return."

"Yes, sensei!"

Koushirou nodded and then led Terumi to the showers. Placed on the side rack was a dojo uniform, with a note from Koushirou's wife.

(Feel free to use it!)

Terumi was not dumb, he could tell what was going on here, although he's not at all opposed to this development, but rather he was very welcoming of it, there was still the issue with his mom's approval.

"This is a public place for all our students, Terumi. We keep our hot water here, take a bucket and grab some. Once you're done, make sure you cover the hot water again so that it stays warm for everyone else."

"Got it, thank you."

Koushirou simply smiled and nodded, before returning outside.

'They couldn't make it any more obvious, but still, maybe with Shimotsuki-san's help, it'll go over easier with my mom. They are best friends after all.'

After a short shower and wash, Terumi changed into the white gi uniform that was provided for him, stored his clothes in a satchel cloth provided for him, and exited to the training ground to meet up with Koushirou.

"Done already? Feel free to go into that building right over there, my wife should be in there."

Terumi nodded and walked towards the area Koushirou directed him towards. Entering through the door, he could see a table laid out with food and Shimotsuki-san waiting for him, along with one other person. An old man, quietly seated at the table eating food.

'That is...Shimotsuki Kozaburo!!!'

Terumi could barely handle his shock, he had no idea that the famous blacksmith of Wado Ichimonji and Enma was still alive.

"There you are! No need to gawk, come over and have a seat!"

"Yes, please excuse me."

Terumi respectfully made his way to the table before sitting in a seiza and picking up his bowl of rice, constantly eyeing the old man in the corner of his eye. Kozaburo, as if sensing his gaze, also gave him a look.

"Hmph, so you're Kenzaki's brat, huh? Well. I guess you're not too bad."

Terumi paused as he seem to be confused as to what the old man meant.

"Oh stop it father, he's a nice kid!"

"Hmm, come here kid, let me see something."

Terumi didn't dare disagree, although he knows Kozaburo is not a bad person, actually, he remembers him being pretty nice to Zoro, seeing him in person though is still intimidating. So Terumi quietly inched over to Kozaburo's side.

"Heh, don't worry brat, I'm not going to eat you or anything. Let me see your arms."

Kozaburo proceeded to gently squeeze Terumi's forearms, biceps, and wrists. Satisfied, he let him go and then smiled.

"Hm, you have indeed inherited your mother's genes. It would be a shame for it to go to waste. How about joining my dojo?"

Terumi tilted his head in confusion, but not at the question, at his first statement. His eyes seem to flash for a moment before returning to normal.

'Finally, I can find out the reason why we have that sword.'

"My mother's genes? Is my mom a swordswoman? I thought she was a tailor?"

"Gahahaha, Kenzaki Hana, a simple tailor? Now that's comedy. Kenzaki that old bastard would be rolling in his grave if he heard that. Gahahaha!"

Terumi still appeared confused, but a picture of the situation was starting to form in his mind.

"Let me tell you something brat, your grandfather, Kenzaki Keisuke came here with me from Wano. He was one of the best samurai to have ever lived and his skills were not lost in your mother. Although she has long since abandoned the way of the sword, she is without a doubt a strong swordswoman. Even with the rust building up on Yuugata, I'm sure she could handle herself in East Blue just fine."

"So tell me brat, what will it be. Are you willing to honor that blood running through your veins?"

Terumi was shocked that his gentle yet overbearing mother had this kind of history, but hearing the story, suddenly it all made sense.

'It's clear what my choice will be, it has been the same since I came to this world.'

"Yes, I am!"