34. Not A Kid

A week had passed since Leo helped the three Hashiras, and from them he came to understand a few things.

First, controlling spirit energy wasn't that easy. What took Leo two hours took them an entire week.

Second, the amount of "Breath" within them were far less than Leo's.

The three Hashiras, Gyomei, Rengoku and Iguro were able to attain an initial mastery over their respective "Breath" and each of them attained a special characteristic according to their Breathing Technique.

The Flame Hashira, Rengoku's explosive power underwent a tremendous growth.

The Snake Hashira, Iguro's nimbleness, speed and flexibility showed an exponential spike.

The Stone Hashira, Gyomei was special, his skin obtained a slight tan colour to it, his already hulking figure seems to have slightly grown radiating strength akin to a mountain.

Leo was astonished when he saw Gyomei, if he had to pick the strongest one here it would be Gyomei. This guy's strength and defence were on an entirely different level compared to the rest.

He was already a monster like existence within the Demon Slayer Corps and now he seems to have become even more so.

There wasn't much for Leo to do, their training depends upon them. So with much spare time on his hands Leo either did his Breathing or just lazed around.

Anyway his "Breath" would automatically revolve albeit slowly than when is consciously training, but he didn't need to rush things. It was good to take a break once in a while.

Currently...

"Don't give up Leo."

"Come on! I bet three of my plum rice ball on you."

"How refreshing, I can already see rice balls waving at me."

"Snort! Weak, can't even hold on for two hours."

The flower manor was filled with loud cheering from a group of youngsters. They surrounded Leo and cheered him on. Leo's eyes were bloodshot and tears streamed down his cheeks. He was staring at a young girl about nine or ten years of age.

This girl was Kanao Tsuyuri, adopted sister of Kanae and Shinobu. She had beautiful hair tied with a butterfly hairpin, her skin was soft and glowing with vitality. She was staring at Leo with indifference in her eyes.

As for what they were doing, obviously a staring contest. Giyu suggested it as a joke, Makomo and Sabito seriously vetoed it and Shinobu dared Leo. Leo took it as a joke and agreed. One thing led to another and here they were.

It's been almost two hours since the game started. At first everyone thought it would be over in few minutes, never did they image Kanao to be a fearsome opponent. She sat there like a statue and stared at Leo

Leo on the other hand was cursing in his mind. His eyes were burning after not blinking for almost two hours.

And to make it even livelier this bunch of bastards even betted to see who will blink first. And from the looks of it Leo was going to lose.

'To hell with this!'

Leo stood up and walked away while speaking seriously.

"This game is a tie, let's eat, I am starving."

The others didn't react for a second before bursting into curses.

"Shameless!"

"You must have skin thicker than a rhino to say that."

"Get back here! You lost, admit it! You lost!"

"My rice balls...

"My sweets...

Their words fell on deaf ears, Leo immediately bolted when he reached a turn and disappeared.

"Was he that shameless? Sabito seems more likely to do so than him."

Giyu mumbled to himself however Sabito heard what he said.

"Ouch! Why are you! Ouch! Hey stop, ouch!...

Leo closed the door to his room and closed his eyes, feeling refreshed he enjoyed the coolness in his eyes. When he opened his eyes again he almost jumped back in fright.

'Shit! I got the wrong room!'

He was about to turn around and leave when he sensed someone approach.

'Why is it her?'

Shinobu opened the door and entered the room while cursing Leo for his shamelessness. She stamped her foot and cursed even more. Leo was sprawled across the ceiling like a spider, he was sweating bullets when he saw her enter.

Shinobu went to cabinet and took out a book, she scribbled something and closed it. After he started to train in his 'Breath' Leo's overall abilities spiked, which also included his eyesight. He got a glimpse of what was written on that book.

"Day 12, strengthened laxative failed. Subject seems to be impervious to laxatives."

"Day 13, pickled rice balls filled with dehydration poison was ineffective. Subject only felt slightly thirty."

"Day 14, orange juice mixed with paralysing poison failed. Subject has high tolerance to paralysing poison....

...

"Day 21, bald medicine failed. Subject still has hair."

At the end of all these entries the subject name was also mentioned.

Subject: Leo Heart.

A cold shiver went down his spine when Leo saw his name on the book. No wonder he felt weird these few days, his stomach churned when he thought about everything she mixed with his food.

This damn girl, she sure is ruthless.

Leo was lost in thoughts when he heard her lock the room. He was dumbfounded when he saw happened next.

Shinobu unclipped her hairpin and let her hair fall down to her shoulder. She then unbuttoned her shirt and removed it. Layer by layer her clothes came off, soon a body with exquisite proportions was presented before Leo.

Leo felt his heart beat up when he saw this, his nose heated up as something hot came out.

Crap!

He was too late to realise what happened, a drop of blood fell on the floor. The sound was so small that it could be neglected by normal people but, were they normal?

Shinobu turned her head to see a drop of blood on the floor. She frowned and looked up to see a man sticking to the ceiling like a spider. She was stunned and her mouth was opened wide in shock.

The air was eerily silent. Leo coughed and said, "Erm... I take it back, you are not a kid."