Of all the people. Why you? //KNY//

Stronger

"Again,faster this time!"

"Focus on hitting the vitals!"

"The more poison I can inject the more painful the death!"

Her resolve was stronger then it had ever been, stronger then when she lost her parents even. The demons had taken too much from her, and she wasn't going to just sit back and watch anymore. Shinobu would need to become stronger if she wanted any chance at avenging her sister, that much was obvious even to an amateur. She was fragile, uncoordinated and slow, but with time these were all things she could change. Her plan had been set in motion already, and her training had begun.

This training was simple, but brutal. Shinobu was intelligent, and knew that she needed more then just ability to stand a chance against even a newly turned demon, she would also need the correct equipment. Unfortunately for her though this equipment hadn't been invented yet. She'd created a poison that would work, but it was slow and nowhere near potent enough to kill a full sized demon. As such she split her day into four main tasks.

First she would train her body, focusing on stamina, endurance and building muscle. Shinobu knew she wasn't able to take many hits (if any at all) before she would be too injured to fight. To get around this she decided to obtain as much muscle as her tiny body would allow. She would start with running, alternating between sprints and long distance until she couldn't feel her legs. Once she was satisfied she'd move in to her upper body, alternating between push ups and sit ups.

Second she would train her swordsmanship, using a custom made needle like training sword, she had requested a similar blade from the sword smiths (thanks to her sisters position as a hashira this was accepted) and was waiting on it to arrive. This part of her day was simple yet effective. She would strike at a training dummy as quickly and accurately as she could, aiming for where the vital organs would be were it alive. Shinobu saw quick progress in her swordsmanship, and was satisfied with the pace she was improving in this regard.

Third she would focus on her only method for actually killing a demon. Her poison. Gradually over time changing the formula to make it more potent. Progress on this was...slow. No one had ever tried to poison a demon before her so she had nothing to actually go on, no previous research to help her.

Finally she would focus on the breathing techniques her sister had taught her. Knowing that the only way she could potentially avenge her sister was if she fully mastered them. The breathing arts proved to be the best use of her time, discovering that by performing total concentration breathing over extended periods of time would actually strengthen her body as well.

Despite her progress though, Shinobu wasn't satisfied. At her current pace she would be ready to take the final selection and officially become a demon slayer in two years, at the age of sixteen. And a further two years at least before she would have the potential to become a hashira. At least this was the case, until she discovered the benefits of training with others. It started when the young girl she and Kanae had adopted began watching her train. That same uninterested look on her face. Shinobu held no feelings towards her "sister" but decided to at least try and get rid of her.

"Kanao pick up one of the training swords." Shinobu told the obedient young girl. They'd both been trained by Kanae when she was alive and to give the brat some credit she was a natural talent, picking up anything the older butterfly showed pretty quickly. After sparring a few rounds (and almost losing) Shinobu decided that training with others did have some benefits. Experience was a valuable tool in any fight, and served to speed up her progress. If only a little. So it was decided (by Shinobu) that they would spar with each other once and week, and instructed the brat to keep training, otherwise she would leave her behind.

But it still wasn't enough, the brat was too weak. She didn't seem to know how to train properly, and since Shinobu had no interest in actually training with her, Kanao was quickly left behind.

"Too slow!"

"Are you trying to hit me or the ground!"

"Get up, we're not done yet!"

It was hopeless, Kanao was the only one in the butterfly mansion who was worth sparring with, and even she wasn't able to keep up. Aoi was no good, she could barely hold a sword and when she did would just start quacking in fear. Shinobu need a new partner.

"The wrapping came loose." A dull voice echoed in her ear.

"Huh, speak to Aoi!" Shinobu responded out of habit, before realising who it was that was actually speaking to her.

None other then the current water hashira himself. Tomioka Giyuu. To say their relationship was rocky was an understatement, quite frankly Shinobu hated him, but she did need a new training partner.

3 hours later

"Hey, Tomioka-san it's about time for your rehabilitation training, follow me."

The stoic water pillar, wanted to argue against this, but ultimately said nothing as it wasn't worth the trouble.

"You and I will spar until one of us gives up, understand"

He nodded his head, giving her that same bored look he gave everyone. This is why he was hated throughout the corps.

It seemed though that what he lacked in social skills, he more then made up for in his ability as a demon slayer. Shinobu could barely even blink before she was on the floor, in pain.

"Huh, what how, I didn't even see you move?"

"Your slow" Giyuu said, gracing her with a response

Shinobu found herself speechless (literally as she had been severally winded by his attack) could he be the training partner she needed. It made sense that he was strong, he was a hashira. One of the strongest in the corp. but the gap between them was so much larger then she expected, she didn't expect to beat him even if he was injured, but to lose this badly.

"Tomioka-san could you perhaps help me up?"
"It's rude to not offer a hand after knocking someone down don't you think?"

He said nothing, but to her surprise did help her up. This was what she was missing, this was why her progress was slow. She needed someone that could challenge and push her to be better. And unfortunately for the water hashira, she'd decided he was going to help her.