Natural

Yazura spun and drew his katana before leaping toward me with the intent to kill. However, it was nothing compared to the Demon Akatsuki had to face. He was able to keep a calm mind as he drew his katana and met Yazura's strike with one of his own.

Sparks flew from the blades and both men jumped back before circling each other, waiting for an opening to present itself. Akatsuki had trained almost his entire life for these situations, however, he had no practical experience in combat.

Yazura dashed in and issued a low slash to Akatsuki's legs, to which he responded to by jumping up and kicking out toward Yazura's jaw. Yazura managed to dodge the kick and he spun before using his momentum to sweep Akatsuki's feet out from under him.

Akatsuki fell to the ground but was quick to recover as Yazura stabbed down toward his chest. Akatsuki rolled to his feet and parried an overhead strike before feinting a stab and kicking out at Yazura's leg. His kick grazed Yazura, but it wasn't enough to slow him down.

Suddenly, Akatsuki was on the floor with Yazura's pale white blade at his throat. "I'm not done yet!" Akatsuki yelled as he kicked out at Yazura's legs and tried to stand, but he was only able to get to his knees before he was kicked back to the ground.

Yazura stood over him with a stern gaze, and a hint of surprise in his eyes. "Your strikes are too shallow and lack the intent to kill. You wouldn't even be able to chop a tree with one blow if you tried to attack it. Get up! I'll make sure to drill my knowledge into your head until it explodes."

From the serious look he was giving Akatsuki, the man had no choice but to believe his every word. Letting out a smile, Akatsuki stood and said "Don't worry, I can handle whatever you toss my way." as he sheathed his katana with a fire in his dark eyes.

- - -

Inside of a large, dark room, which seemed to go on forever, there were hundreds of bodies strung up and hanging from the ceiling while there were houses strewn about the ground, walls, and even hanging upside down from the roof. Just the vibe the place gave off was enough to knock a man out cold.

Inside of a castle-like building, one could see a young man, with his long black hair tied up into a ponytail, staring out into the distance as he lazily tapped his glass, which was filled with a strange red liquid. The man let out a sigh before brushing his kimono off and walking back inside of the building.

A woman with short white hair, pale skin, four red eyes, two of which were smaller than the other two, and red spider-web tattoos across her face stood next to a throne made of bones. The man smiled as he walked over and sat down on the throne before patting his leg, gesturing for the woman to come over.

She sat down in his lap and he gently combed his hand through her hair and said "You grow more beautiful with each passing day. It's a pity you will soon use up your usefulness, but I can always make more..." The woman had an expressionless face as the man continued to stroke her hair and sip on the contents of his glass with a sly smile on his face.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. The man scowled before saying "Enter." in an annoyed voice. A short boy with blood red eyes, a chubby face, and oily brown hair opened the doors and walked over toward the man and bowed deeply before saying "My Lord, we have received news of the boy's whereabouts."

The man's mood changed instantly as he leapt out of his throne, tossing the woman to the side, and said "What!? Where? Tell me now!!" in an overly excited voice. The boy stood up and said "His exact locations are unknown at the time, but he was last seen in the Dark Woods near Kami Village."

The man's red eyes lit up as his smile grew larger. He jumped in the air like an excited kid and pumped his fist before taking a deep breath and saying "Kon, I need you to gather the number one and two and tell them to meet me outside. We're going hunting..."

- - -

Akatsuki was huffing and panting as he leaned on his katana. Yazura had a white oni mask with red ovals surrounding his eyes on his face, and his hair was flowing about, even though there were no winds. Yazura sheathed his katana and the mask began to disintegrate as his hair settled down.

"Impressive, you managed to last twenty seconds. You might be worth teaching at this rate..." Akatsuki fell to the ground as pain racked his body. His muscles were sore and he could barely hold his eyes open, but he refused to give up. Akatsuki shakily stood to his feet before readying his katana once more.

Yazura raised his brows and said "Brave. But foolish." as he watched Akatsuki fall to his knees again. He chuckled and shook his head before walking over and extending his hand, which Akatsuki took gratefully. Yazura helped Akatsuki walk back to his home before helping him sit on his bed.

Yazura was about to walk out of the door when he suddenly stopped and turned before tossing a book toward Akatsuki. Akatsuki managed to grab the book before it slammed into his face but, before he could ask what it was for, Yazura had already left. Akatsuki stared at the books spine in confusion as he looked at its golden letters.

"Shinoki Family Breathing Technique. Thank you, Yazura. I'll always be in your debt for helping me. I'll make sure to return this debt in kind." Akatsuki opened the book and began to read it intently instead of resting his aching body, something that Yazura had anticipated.

"Get some rest or else I'll chop your hair off." Akatsuki chuckled at the note left in the book before shaking his head and setting it off to the side. He extinguished the candle on his nightstand before slipping his shirt off and pulling the covers over his body.

The night was peaceful and nothing eventful happened, not even the usual signs of Demons lurking in the forest came up, which was unusual considering the village was on the outskirts of the Dark Woods, a forest known for harboring many high-ranking Demons.

The sun began to rise and Akatsuki was already awake and feeling much better. He immediately grabbed the book at his side and started to read through it carefully, absorbing every detail possible. The Breathing Technique that Yazura had used was called Mimic Breathing, and it allowed the user to copy, or mimic, multiple types of Breathing Techniques, and one can even use more than one at a time when they master the Technique.

Reading this, Akatsuki had a giddy feeling in his chest as he realized just how powerful this was. The Technique itself was rather complicated, as one would have to know the type of technique they were copying inside and out, but it was nothing he couldn't do with a bit of hard work.

Akatsuki tried to emulate the Breathing Technique shown in the book, but he had no success in getting it just right. The time for Akatsuki to return to Yazura's house for more training had come, so he got dressed into a regular white shirt with black pants before grabbing his katana and a satchel to fit the book inside.

There were plenty of people gathered around the streets and trading with the various stalls set up, as today was the day the people from the main city were coming to trade their goods. Once again, Akatsuki was greeted by many people and he smiled and waved to them as he enjoyed the festive atmosphere.

He reached Yazura's house and found the man in the training yard in a lotus position with his eyes closed and katana across his legs. Curious, Akatsuki fetched the book from his satchel and began to flip through the pages until he came across one with the depiction of a man in the lotus position with his katana across his legs.

The page said that one could meditate and, after enough practice, they would be able to 'resonate' with their Nichirin Sword, which allows the user to draw out more of the sword's power that they borrowed from the sun. Looking back at Yazura, Akatsuki could see a faint yellow aura surrounding the middle-aged man.

Akatsuki looked at the katana at his waist and wondered if it was this Nichirin Sword the book was talking about. Suddenly, a voice came from his side. "No, that is not a Nichirin. It is a simple katana my friend." Akatsuki looked back up and saw Yazura walking toward him with a smile on his tired face.

"You look tired. Stay up too late or something?" Akatsuki asked, half joking. Yazura nodded his head and looked over toward the Dark Woods before saying "Yes, the Demons have become restless, and it is too much for my old body to handle. I'm afraid that I will have to call upon the Corps..."

Akatsuki cocked a brow and asked "Corps? You mean, the Demon Slayers...?" Yazura laughed and said "That's just like you to worry about something other than your friends health, ahaha. But yes, the Demon Slayer Corps will have to come here and take a look at this abundance of Demons."

Akatsuki stuttered when trying to apologize, which made Yazura laugh even harder as he said "I've never seen you so flustered in all my life. It really is a sight to see!" in between laughs. Akatsuki had a straight face as he stood still and waited for Yazura to finish his little episode.

"Ahem, now, shall we get started?" Yazura asked as he glanced over at the book in Akatsuki's hands. Akatsuki nodded his head and stored the book in his satchel before setting it off to the side and drawing his blade. The two men settled down into separate stances as they took deep breaths and analyzed their opponent.

Yazura shifted his foot slightly, and Akatsuki dashed forward, ready to intercept the man's strike, but a panicked voice stopped the two in their tracks. "Yazura! Yazura!!" A young boy with a dirty face, short green hair, green eyes, and angled features ran into the training yard before dropping to the ground with his breathing erratic.

Yazura rushed over to the boy and got him back to his feet as he asked "What the hell happened boy? Why are you so panicked?" The boy must've only been nine years of age. Tears began to fall from his eyes as he struggled to say the words that no one wanted to hear.

"Demons...They killed them...!"

Yazura quickly handed the boy over to Akatsuki and said "Akatsuki! Make sure you take him and round up all of the villagers alive! Bring them to the main city and, if I don't meet you there within ten days, find a man named Nashida Kurizato. He'll know what to do once you show him the book. Now, go!"

He grabbed the boy and held him tightly as he ran out of the training field and into the streets. The smell of blood and smoke was heavy, and it filled Akatsuki's mind with memories all too fresh. Soon, the smell of blood had gotten too overbearing, and Akatsuki was forced to put the boy down as he struggled to control a feral urge he had never felt before.

That was when Akatsuki noticed that the boy's eyes were lifeless with blood staining his shirt. Fear soon began to run rampant inside of Akatsuki's mind as he remembered the lifeless bodies of his parents and friends. Then, a familiar voice called out from behind him.

"Oh my, the legend was true! I finally get to see the one and only half-breed yet again! Come, let us have some fun together!"