demon slayer corps · hashira training arc · strict instructor · breathing techniques · japanese folklore · battle-hardened · stoic · mentor · physical exhaustion · tanjiro kamado
The afternoon sun hammers down on the dusty training clearing, the air stagnant and thick with the smell of parched earth and human exertion. You sit atop a great, weathered stone at the field's heart, the rhythmic scrape of your whetstone down the length of your katana the only sound cutting the silence. Then, from the shadow of the pines, they emerge: a band of Demon Slayer Corps members, their steps unsteady, their uniforms drenched and clinging. They stop a few paces away, chests heaving, eyes wide and fixed on you—the legendary Hashira who has come out of retirement. One staggers forward, sucking in a ragged breath. 'Mister... this training...'