A L O N E|Demon Slayer|

Chapter 4

I remember something now, maybe why I had drifted from my friends, but my mother was quite weak. She would always be tired, and her hands and arms shaky. Although she was always so so tender and kind. She was a seamstress for the village, and would always be very very careful when working. She always was the perfectionist. 

She would always speak to the client carefully, and always become very apologetic when she accidentally pricked them when her hand shook. Although with that explanation out of the way, she couldn't do much, so when she needed help I would always be so excited to help. 

I of course was only a weak little 5 to 7 year old, but I would do whatever I could to help her. I would gather firewood, try my best to run down to the village to do the shopping. I would do everything to help her. 

Yeah, that was around the time my social life had slipped out from my fingers. I was always so dead set on helping my mom: 

I don't think I ever really had a true childhood.

**********

When I had awoke my body felt stiff, and it hurt a lot. I sat up in my futon with my head pounding. I had regretted sitting up so quickly as I felt the blood rush to my head as I got dizzy, and my back sear with pain. 

I clutched at my head, which was pounding with pain, feeling the itchy bandages wrapped around my head. Looking through the curtains I could see that early dawn was breaking. I may as well start now.

Maybe do a warm up before I'm told to do anything. I get up, my legs burning with pain, and feeling like lead but I keep pushing myself as grab my Haori, which was folded up next to me and put it on. 

I stepped outside the little cottage, it didn't seem like Naoki was up quite yet. 

Although I take note of the branch that I had grabbed yesterday leaning next to the doorway. 

Once I make my way outside I take a deep breath of the cold, icy morning air. Waking up my senses a bit the drowsiness being kicked out of my skin. 

I needed something to work my muscles, but I didn't exactly know what to do, I wasn't too good at these things. I wasn't going to throw myself off a cliff, although that would be a pretty good workout. 

So, I made my way back over to the tree I had to climb yesterday. Then my eyes widened a bit. In the fresh snow there was an imprint of where I had fallen yesterday, although the thing that shocked me was the blood soaked snow right where my head was. I grazed my fingers against the back of my head, which twinged in pain. 

How the hell did I not notice? 

The thought of me basically concussing myself drifted away from my train of thought as I stared up at the top of the tree. I will climb it without the help of my haori. I nodded to myself. I knew that climbing up it regularly wouldn't work. 

I stared closely at the tree, there was barely any place to grab onto. With my hands I could easily grip on, relatively easily. 

Although with my zori, their flat bottoms were an issue, so that was a problem, so pulling off my sandals, and my socks. My warm feet burned in the cold snow.

Grabbing onto the tree with my right hand, I felt along the bark, for any nooks and crannies I could possibly grab onto. I grabbed onto a spot, digging my nails in, ignoring the pain, pulling myself up slightly before bringing up my foot, and clutching to the wood with my toes, feeling like my foot would slip at any moment.

I pulled myself up a bit more with my other hand, my hands straining as they dug into the wood. As my foot pushed into the wood, I brought my other one up, and pushed it into the bark. Now I was fully off the ground. 

I let out a breath, relaxing in the slightest bit and I felt my foot slowly slipping out from underneath me. 

I clenched my teeth I brought my right arm and left foot upwards, and then the opposite. Feeling an almost burning sensation in my fingernails as the bark I dig up slightly gets stuck underneath. 

I had slipped many times, fearful that I would loose all of my progress, and have to start all over again, but I never did. I never touched the icy cold ground again. Then, I had finally made it to a sturdy branch, and took a seat on it, taking a deep breath, picking at my nails slightly. 

Then, I hear clapping from below me, and as I perk up, and look down, and I see Naoki standing right below me. "Good, I wasn't expecting you to have that much guts to try this again," he stated. "Now, get down here and we will begin your training," he explained, and he began walking off without another beat.

I had jumped down, having an easier time landing out as I huffed out. I grabbed sandals and socks and pulled them off as I followed Naoki. Stumbling slightly as I did so. 

"So what are we doing today, you're not going to make me run up and down the mountain again are you?" I asked, whining a bit as I brought up the mountain. 

"You won't have to, now just hush up," he growls out crankily. Grabbing the stick from inside the cottage, as well as a knife. "You will be carving your own sword, I don't trust you with a real one yet," he said, handing me the two objects. He walked inside, and then slammed the door behind him.

I took the two things in my hands, staring at the door, rather dumbfounded. I huffed out a bit, sitting down on the bench right outside the cottage. Grumbling to myself as I took to sharpening the stick in my hands. 

The amount of splinters and cuts I had gotten into my hands. At one point I pulled them out as I got them, but then I decided to just ignore them and they would go away, because they would probably dig into my skin never to be seen again. 

I was barely getting anywhere with this, but I guess if I wanted to be a demon slayer I had to. 

Hours and hours of work, when the sun was starting to set, was I finally actually done. I was also freezing with my teeth chattering I stepped back inside. "You're finally done," were the first words I heard when I walked back outside. 

"I mean I want to get on with my training," I state, staring at the old man in front of me. 

"Well then if you want to begin your training right away, go out and swing your sword..." He thought for a moment. "Hmmm, a thousand times." He stated, nodding to himself. 

I huffed out but didn't argue with him as I walked back outside, hungry, but I will not complain. 

I will not be weak. 

So, I had got to it, slashing my sword out in the snow for hours on end, I had actually lost count at that point, but I decided that when my arms fell off that would be a thousand. 

I never really learned how to count past a hundred because I never really had the need to, then I just got confused at that point, and as I got more tired I could barely even think as I continued slashing the sword downwards. 

The sword felt off in my hands, I had never held one before, but it felt right in my bruised, whethered hands.