Ryuzaki didn't understand Shinobu's muttering, but Kanae did. Looked like she'd picked up a younger brother and, incidentally, solved her sister's future at the same time.
Kanae shot Shinobu a meaningful smile, which made Shinobu stare back with a string of question marks. Sis was acting weird today.
Suddenly, Shinobu rose on her tiptoe and pressed a hand to Kanae's forehead, then to her own, and finally let out a breath.
"You scared me. I thought you were sick."
"I don't get sick. Maybe little Shinobu's the one who's ill," Kanae said with a laugh.
Ryuzaki was baffled. With Tai Chi, you shouldn't get sick much anyway. And what were they even saying? He knew every word, but even after stringing it together, it made no sense.
"Don't worry. Once you learn Tai Chi, you won't get sick," Ryuzaki said, his tone full of natural confidence.
"Alright, Ryuzaki, go on," Kanae said, smiling.
"Got it. Today we're learning the eight fundamental techniques of Tai Chi, the 'Eight Methods': Ward Off, Rollback, Press, Push, Pluck, Split, Elbow, and Bump."
"The first is Ward Off. Key points to remember: brace the back, sweep the arm left or right to ward off, the other hand opens and guides downward into a rollback. Unite the power of both arms with whole-body mechanics, expand in all directions to keep the movement full and round."
He explained while demonstrating. Then he went through the other seven as well. The sisters were stunned. These "Eight Methods" were… kinda hard to grasp.
"Ryuzaki, are these moves even humanly possible?" Shinobu muttered.
"Are you saying I'm not human?"
"I didn't say that. Someone admitted it himself. Hahaha." Shinobu burst out laughing.
"It's fine. Those are just the hand methods. There are leg and foot methods too," Ryuzaki said with a wicked grin.
"Ah!" Shinobu yelped.
"Don't panic," Kanae reminded her. "What you think is hard, Ryuzaki has practiced on repeat for over six years."
Hearing that, Shinobu dropped the complaints and got serious. A little competitiveness could be a good thing.
"If Ryuzaki can, so can I. Watch me learn a full Tai Chi set. Then I'll become a Hashira and wipe out every Demon. Then, everyone can live happily," Shinobu said, her eyes shining with innocence.
Who'd have thought "peace and happiness" would become luxury words, things that should be the bare minimum for human life? Ryuzaki looked toward the distant mountains. Light flickering in his eyes.
So Ryuzaki taught in earnest; the Kocho sisters studied in earnest. In a way, he was also preparing for the future; he couldn't teach the whole Demon Slayer Corps by himself alone. Two assistants would help ease the burden a lot.
Morning slipped by as Shinobu stretched; she was delighted. "Finally... I'm done. I'm so happy. This is more tiring than usual training!"
"I feel great. Tai Chi is for relaxing the mind. It makes your heart as calm as still water. Super useful," Ryuzaki said, never missing a chance to pitch the abundant benefits of Tai Chi.
When the sun's fiercest hour had passed, Ryuzaki took the blade he'd borrowed from Kanae and headed up the mountain. He found an open meadow with a wisteria grove at his back, which was good for both training and for taking in the view of Corps headquarters.
He didn't notice someone sneaking after him.
Ryuzaki gripped the blade and drew a deep breath. He could now maintain Total Concentration: Constant. He had no idea how far he was from having the strength equal to a Hashira; he'd never sparred with one, though people came to pester him daily.
He closed his eyes and slipped into that mind-like-still-water state. Then, he practiced Sun Breathing, First Form: Dance. Followed by the Second Form: Clear Blue Sky.
Raging Sun. Fake Rainbow. Fire Wheel. Burning Bones, Summer Sun. Sunflower Thrust. Solar Heat Haze. Setting Sun Transformation. Beneficent Radiance. Dragon Sun Halo Head Dance. Flame Dance.
The twelve forms of Sun Breathing felt etched into his genes. But whenever he tried to chain them seamlessly, a hitch would always cut in and break the flow. He couldn't connect them, and that gnawed at him.
Still, compared to before, he had come miles. At the beginning, he couldn't even manifest the forms properly. Now he could swing a thousand times in one afternoon.
Of course, a normal person training like this would be gone before the blade was trained, straight to the afterlife. Ryuzaki's powerful healing was the only reason he could, and that made him grateful for it.
Stars shouldered aside the sun. His clothes were long since drenched. The day's drills ended, and he could feel the Taiji Bagua under his feet more and more clearly. (T/N: explanation at the end TL note, 'kay)
It felt like the "fighting spirit" Kyojiro wielded, only melded with Tai Chi. That's how Ryuzaki saw it. He named it the Two Forms State.
He'd always believed all sword techniques here were manifestations of fighting spirit. He seemed to be as well.
He rested a moment, then stood and activated the Taiji Bagua. Black and white yin-yang slowly bloomed beneath his feet.
Everything around him sharpened into focus. Suddenly, he looked toward a patch of grass. Someone was there. He hadn't noticed at all.
He released the state and strolled toward the grass. A butterfly hairpin caught his eye, and he knew who it was.
Ryuzaki slipped around behind Shinobu. Half-asleep, half-awake, she didn't sense a thing.
She felt something poke her and jolted upright, wide awake. She looked up to see that Ryuzaki was gone. She glanced back, but there was nothing.
"Maybe I imagined it. Hmph. Ryuzaki, leaving without me? Just wait till we get back," she grumbled, her lips pursed.
Then she felt it again, something brushed her. She spun back. Once again, there was nothing that made cold sweat trickle down.
A creepy voice drifted out. The night breeze made it worse.
"I died so miserably… so miserably…"
"Ah!"
Shinobu swung a fist on instinct. A pained yelp followed, Ryuzaki's. By the time she processed it, he'd earned himself the panda look again. She'd lost count of which time this was.
Soon they were sitting side by side on the grass.
"That's what you get for scaring me. Not my fault. It's self-defense," Shinobu said, exasperated.
"Right, right. Then why were you there, hmm? Don't tell me you were peeking all afternoon. Who knew that I was so handsome that I attract girls so easily?" Ryuzaki said shamelessly.
"I was passing by. Is that not allowed?" Shinobu huffed, a true tsundere to the core.
"Oh? Really?"
"I think someone's eyes aren't very symmetrical."
Shinobu blew on her pale fist. Ryuzaki clapped a hand over his right eye at once
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T/N: Taiji (Tai Chi) represents the Supreme Ultimate, or yin and yang. Bagua symbolizes the Eight Trigrams, the fundamental principles of reality (PS; don't ask me in depth about these. idk)
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