The Hamon Breather

Friends New and Old

The ride was a couple of hours, and I'll admit I fell asleep during it somehow. A bit embarrassing, to be honest. Fortunately, nothing happened while I was out. When we arrived, I gave Samara a thank you, but I also told her to go home. I know she wants to become a Demon Slayer and fight demons like me. However, she's not going to be ready for it for a while.

Unfortunately, those mired in revenge tend to be stubborn, so I had to buck up and at least give her a safer path. I couldn't, in clear conscience, turn her away without any help since I knew she'd go for it anyway.

I fished a piece of paper and pencil from my bag and wrote a letter to Urokodaki.

"Dear Urokodaki,

It may be presumptuous of me to write this letter, but I cannot bring myself to not implore you of this favor. Recently on a mission, I encountered a Marechi civilian that was about to be eaten. I saved them, of course, but that's where the problem lies. She wants to fight demons, and I'm not in the position to train or watch over her. Please show her the ropes of our trade, or find a way to make her come to terms with her dreams being unrealistic.

Sincerely, Keijo Cujoh."

I give the letter to my crow.

"Go follow Keiski. Anything that happens afterward is on you," I tell Samara. Keiski is what I decided to name my crow. It was the name my parents gave to a gecko I had caught as a kid.

"Alright, thank you, Keijo." She nods before following my crow on her horse.

"Hah... do Demon Slayers have to deal with that regularly?" I run my fingers through my hair as I walk up to the door and knock.

The door gets opened by an old woman, the type that looks like a grandma. Short, gray hair, and a whole lot of wrinkles.

"Welcome, Demon Slayer." The old lady greets me at the door.

"Come in, come in. Here at the Wisteria houses, we take care of slayers until they get back into tip-top shape. It's the least we can do for those who risk their lives for humanity." The lady explains as she guides me into the house with an almost intimidating walking speed. She leads me to a room with some futons in it.

"Here's your room to stay in. A doctor will be with you soon. Get some rest." The old lady leaves me in the room.

"Phew..." I release a sigh. You may be wondering how I'm walking about with my legs that are probably broken or even fractured and how I'm not constantly screaming in pain. The answer to that question is the basis of one of the simpler Hamon techniques. Which is called Zoom Punch. It's a move that requires a practitioner to forcefully dislocate their joints to make a longer punch. You can bet that it is painful. However! Hamon allows the user to dull the pain of the move, so I just applied that concept to my incredibly upset bones and appendages.

While breaking my bones was awful, I do try to look at the bright side. It has, essentially, forced me to constantly be breathing Hamon so that I don't experience an immense amount of pain. So, I'm at least getting better at breathing Hamon constantly.

I ignore some more random ravings of my mind as exhaustion truly sets in,

"I guess I should try to get some more sleep..."

—

I wake up to the sound of knocking on the sliding door as the old lady from before opens it. My eyes squint a bit from grogginess. Based on the Sunlight coming in from the window, it should be midday to early afternoon.

"The doctor has arrived." The old woman bows and leaves as a doctor walks in and performs a check-up on me.

"It's quite bad. I honestly don't know how you managed to get here in your current state. You've got minor fractures and breaks in both your arms and legs. Your ribs are also bruised from whatever strain caused the breaks. What happened to you, anyway?" The doctor explains and queries.