The Strongest Slayer: A KNY Fanfiction

Chapter 10: A Lovely Flower

Tanjiro was, to say the least, injured. After taming Takeo, who'd accidentally broken his ribs and jaw with his scythe, he walked over to the nursery area, following the Kakushi. He found Zenitsu whining and Takeo on the Kakushi's back, asleep. "HEY! ZENITSU!" Tanjiro yelled before wincing slightly. He dismissed the pain and swiftly moved to stand next to his yellow-haired friend. Zenitsu was currently in his bed, sporting a couple of broken ribs and a broken nose. "T-Tanjiro..." Zenitsu muttered before the two looked over at Inosuke, who had bandages wrapped around his entire body. He had crushing trauma to his throat, as well as multiple deep cuts and five broken ribs. 

"H-How are you guys?" Takeo asked, having woken up from the yell. "Oh. Hey Takeo!" Tanjiro exclaimed while Zenitsu cried. Gota, the Kakushi who was escorting Takeo and Tanjiro, guided himself and his female partner out of the room, allowing the friends time to bond, as the room was empty excluding themselves. 

"Well now, behave yourselves. I'ma go explore," Tanjiro said, as he was still in a good enough condition to explore. The group all bid him their wishes as he pulled on his kimono before walking out, making sure his sword stayed on his hip. "B-But... your ribs," Takeo faltered as Tanjiro left.

Tanjiro was walking around, his sword staying in place as he walked along, only to bump into the girl he met in the forest. 'Kanao,' he remembered as he caught her. "Sorry about that," Tanjiro spoke with a smile before he continued to explore. "Hey!" A girl with twin tails and blue eyes yelled. "Yes?" He asked. "You need to be resting! You broke your ribs, remember?" She exclaimed, making him flinch internally. "Yeah, sorry," he said, turning. Unfortunately, he wasn't allowed to explore apparently, so he just returned and wrapped his ribs before sitting down, talking to his friends as they healed. 

Time Skip

One month later, Tanjiro was healed enough to do recovery training. He, Takeo, and Inosuke went down to perform the activities. Aoi told them about the exercises. First, there was stretches. Then, there was tag. Finally, there was reaction time training. Tanjiro sighed as he got on the mat, allowing the girls to help him stretch. It was easy and he even moved his body into unnatural positions to let them have a bit of fun. "Woah!" One of the three yelled. He never caught their names; he'd remember to do that later. Against Aoi, he tapped her shoulder as soon as they started, but it was Kanao that had him stumped. She was good... very good. He'd trained at a very young age, and while she might've too, his breathing was unique. He beat her easily, yet still couldn't determine how she was so fast. And thus began his constant distraction.

Tanjiro just arrived back into the room ten days later. Aoi came in earlier and Zenitsu could join them the next day when the three girls ran in. "Oh! Hello! I forgot to ask your names!" Tanjiro said, approaching the short girls. "I'm Naho!" The girl with the green belt spoke. "I'm Sumi!" The girl with the aqua belt spoke. "And I'm Kiyo!" The girl with the purple belt finished. "Oh. Thank you!" He said. "No problem! Let's go make some riceballs!" Sumi exclaimed. The other girls ran off after her to go to meet Aoi, who was currently making dinner. 

Tanjiro was meditating on the roof of the butterfly mansion, forcing his mind to go blank as he drowned out everything around him. However, his thoughts were drifting to how he broke his sword due to his overconfidence, making him quite sad, mentally apologizing to Haganezuka and Urokodaki. Suddenly, a loud "Hello!" took him out of his trance, making him look at the short woman next to him. "Hello," Tanjiro spoke to Shinobu Kocho, the insect Hashira. "You must be devoted!" Shinobu spoke with a smile before sitting next to him. "So... why are you meditating?" She asked. Tanjiro frowned a bit.

"I'm... trying to figure out how Kanao's so strong for someone of her size," Tanjiro spoke, referring to Kanao's stature, which was a total of seven inches shorter than him. "She learned a technique called "total concentration constant." It allows her to consistently get stronger every day and every night because of her total concentration breathing 24/7," Shinobu told him. Tanjiro nodded and tried doing that before sitting straight. "Shinobu... are you mad? No matter how much you smile, you always seem mad... and its only slightly eased since the master's mansion," Tanjiro told her, making her sigh and stare at the moon. "A demon killed my sister. I wear my smile to keep up the face she loved so much... seeing you reminded me of her. She had pity for demons... even the one that killed her. I guess seeing you, Takeo, and Nezuko makes me feel like... maybe my sister's dream might come true. Yet, you can Takeo remind me so much of myself and Kanae. Kanae is my sister. Demons killed our family and we were saved by a form of fate... and now we're slayers... just like yourself and Takeo. Except you have someone to save. Tanjiro... I entrust you with my sister's dream. Your sister is the closest thing we have and you are like her, so it's only fair," Shinobu said. Tanjiro smiled. "I'll be sure to do you proud," he said, his words barely reaching her ears before she left. However, he heard her last words clearly. "I thank you."

Tanjiro entered the butterfly mansion and approached the butterfly trio. "Hey! Naho! Sumi! Kiyo! Can you guys help me and hit me with these carpet beaters if I stop doing total concentration breathing in my sleep?" Tanjiro asked, making the trio nod. 

After a bit of sleeping, Tanjiro was smacked into awakeness. "Please keep helping me!" He asked, getting a nod from them as he fell back asleep. Luckily, it only took them one night. Tanjiro woke up to see the girls asleep around his legs. He smiled softly, only to realize he was still doing total concentration constant. "Yes," he whispered before waking up the trio. "Ah! We're late!" Kiyo yelled. Tanjiro smiled. "Let me help you. You three helped you all night, so I'll help you with your tasks until you get enough sleep!" Tanjiro exclaimed, making the trio nod as they told Tanjiro what to do and how to do certain tasks. The group then did their daily rounds before afternoon struck, sending the four to the training room for rehabilitation training.

After Inosuke was dragged away from Zenitsu, they heard a loud scream and suddenly, the two of them were back, though Inosuke was bruised. Takeo and Tanjiro exchanged a glance of confusion before they listened to Zenitsu get told the rules. He and Inosuke's attitudes changed, but Tanjiro's change was what really shocked them when he did tag and reaction. 

"GO!" Aoi yelled. Instantly, Kanao began chasing Tanjiro, as they decided that training would be better. Instantly, Tanjiro teleported to the other side of the ring, though he simply moved incredibly fast, making Takeo stare bug-eyed. "HOLY FRICK!" He yelled. Tanjiro watched as Kanao shot towards him and he ducked under a hand before sliding backward. This continued for 15 minutes, where Aoi called Tanjiro the winner. Tanjiro patted Kanao's head as he walked back, making Zenitsu glare at him while Inosuke stayed normal. 

Timeskip

Eventually, it was the end of their treatment,  and Tanjiro, in order to learn more about his breathing style, talked to Shinobu, who recommended talking to Rengoku, who was the flame Hashira. Tanjiro had also gained his katana back, as did Inosuke, though they both almost died. Inosuke was his fault but Tanjiro was relentlessly chased for an hour. He remembered hearing Shinobu ask if it was a new training regiment to Aoi, to which she shook her head. He went to say his thanks to everyone until eventually, he found Kanao. 

"KANAO! THERE YOU ARE!" Tanjiro yelled, getting the attention of the shorter latter. "I just wanted to say thank you," Tanjiro said as he went in front of her. Kanao flipped a coin and she caught it before looking at it. She then talked. "I was simply following the instruction of my master. You don't need to thank me. Goodbye," she spoke. Tanjiro then proceeded to ask about the coin and for about five minutes, she said goodbye until she relented. "I can't make decisions for myself. My opinion doesn't matter. So I flip this coin to make decisions. Goodbye," Kanao spoke. "May I borrow your coin?" Kanao looked take aback by the question. "What for?" She asked as Tanjiro grabbed the coin. "To decide!" He yelled before running out, making Kanao look in confusion. "Decide what?" She asked. "If you should listen to your heart!" Tanjiro yelled before flipping the coin. "I call heads!" He yelled. "If it lands heads, you listen to your heart!" And as luck my have it, the coin landed heads after being tossed to space. 

'What is it?' Kanao wondered as Tanjiro approached her. He opened his hand, revealing... heads. "YEAH!" He yelled before placing the coin in her hand and sitting down. "Remember. It's the heart that guides us. I think the voice in your heart is small, but if you listen to it, you can become greater than before!" He said before smiling in her direction, making her do something she hadn't done in a while. She smiled, feeling a faint pull in her heart. "See you!" He yelled. "WAIT! HOW DID IT COME UP HEADS?!" Kanao yelled after him, making him turn. "See! You listened to your heart already!" He spoke, making her face feel warm. "But it was all luck! If it came up differently, I would've flipped it over and over until it came up heads!" He exclaimed before waving as he ran in his gear, Nezuko strapped to his back.  Kanao placed the coin to her heart before being called, making her somehow fall sitting down. "KANAO!" Kiyo yelled, rushing to check up on Kanao.