Pale Moonlight(Demon slayer||Kimetsu no Yaiba||male!OC)

Chapter 4

Shinobu looks from the face of her guest to the two boys, mock battling in the middle of the training yard. Their blades collide, singing and screaming the ringing melody of clashing metal, showing the owners' skills. Her pride swells as she looks at their fighting forms - they made incredible progress under her care with the first one mastering the Breath of the Moon and the second one creating a solid base for his own style.

Both did it in extremely short amount of time.

Tsukiya is fast and agile, unbelievably so. With blade in his hands he looks like he is dancing - his moves are fluid and precise, lacking the idle and unnecessary motions. Kochou can already see him slashing and slaughtering the demons down with the same deadly dance. He will make an incredible demon slayer, she is sure of it.

Muichiro is not as skilled as him, but still there is confidence in his swings and general pattern of his future style can be already seen - series of fast, but subtle slashes. It reminds her of the Breath of the Wind and that is the main reason why she decided to invite the Wind pillar himself. Shinaguzawa seems to think the same, his intense eyes narrowing at semi-familiar moves.

They dance for some time, carefully evading the blows and holding back not to injure the opponent. Once Muichiro loses, his sword sent flying into the air from the masterful stroke they both stop, heavily breathing and almost panting from the exertion of duel.

"The brats will go far" - Shinazugawa finally says, after carefully looking at their demonstration, scarred face furrowing as he exclaims that: "You wanted me to train one of them? The blue eyed, I suppose"

"Yes, Shinazugawa-san, I think someone with your level of skill will be an impeccable teacher to him" Shinobu carefully threads at her words, remembering how impulsive and brash he was, when her sister was still alive. She is sure that the fellow pillar will be stubborn, abrasive even as he always was and will rudely turn down her request, so she prepares herself to say something more convincing to make him take on tutoring Tokito.

Something about how Muichiro has natural talent or how his half-finished Breathing Style looks so similar to Sanemi's. Maybe she will add that boys already encountered a dangerous demon and succeeded in defending until Stone Pillar came to help.

His response suprises the Insect Pillar, as he calmly nods, injured face showing no usual and almost habitual signs of rage and aggression.

"I will train him"

Now she needs to somehow deliver this news to both boys.

************

Muichiro looks back again at the Butterfly Estate – now, from that distance it looks like a tiny square with no specific details, but deep inside Tokito knows that Tsukiya is still standing there, right before the exit and bidding him fortune and safe travels. The thought both warms and saddens him.

They spent so little time together after attack, carefully avoiding each other in order to not hurt other's and their own feelings, shared guilt and grief driving them far away with each passing seconds. The talk that they had didn't fix all of their problems – there is still grief every time they look at each other and there's unfulfilled rage directed at demon kind. Muichiro guesses that these feelings will never fully disappear, just like some scars never fade no matter the healing balms and other medicines. He has to adapt and live with the ache for mother, father and Yui for the rest of his life. They both have to.

Well, at least they had one decent talk before Muichiro left. The day after Tokito confronted Tsukiya, lady Kochou has called them to training yard and asked to show off their progress to her guest. After their presentation, Shinobu informed that Muichiro will have to go with her guest, the Wind Pillar since the latest cultivator of this style was killed by demons.