The unease in Taka's heart grew even stronger. For a moment, he didn't want to speak.
But he also understood that the dangerous aura emanating from the old man before him was not something he could resist.
The second most important lesson Rukongai had taught him was: Don't bark at the big dogs until you have the strength to back it up.
He was silent for a few seconds before slowly speaking.
"...Taka."
"Do you have a surname?"
"Nanajuhachi."
"Hmm..."
The old man didn't press further about the name. In this world, nameless, wandering children could be found in every street and alley, either getting eaten by demons or captured and sold by those with hearts black as coal. Having a surname or not didn't matter.
"Taka, the wounds on your body were caused by a demon... Three fatal wounds, yet they didn't kill you. Your life force is tenacious. Don't waste it!"
As he spoke, he handed the bowl of medicine to Taka again.
Seeing the continued distrust in Taka's eyes, he said in a deep voice, "I can sense that your temperament is different from theirs. I know that's the difference between a street urchin and common folk, but here, everyone is the same."
"If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't need such a troublesome method."
Hearing the old man say this, the corner of Taka's mouth twitched. He had to admit there was some logic to it.
So he stopped resisting and drank the now lukewarm, bitter medicine in small sips, not letting a single drop escape his lips.
The old man nodded, pointing at himself with his remaining right hand.
"My name is Tetsushin Arasaki. This is my training ground… Hayama. A place specifically for training swordsmen for the Demon Slayer Corps."
"You've already witnessed what demons are. This was my failing. I never imagined a demon would be lurking near Hayama without my notice...."
"Normally, to become a disciple of this training ground, one must pass some basic trials... But as an ordinary person capable of killing a demon, I believe those trials are unnecessary."
Tetsushin pointed at Taka again and asked the question that concerned him most:
"The Demon Slayer Corps said they found patches of tearing slash marks at the scene... Boy, how did you manage that?"
Taka's pupils constricted violently, and Tetsushin caught this, his expression turning grave as he looked at the boy.
'What should I do, should I tell him?' Taka thought quickly, trying to concoct a story.
He had already remembered part of it. The battered long sword in his hand was a special weapon called an Asauchi, which would sense the user's Inner World and release a special power.
Although he didn't understand if he had already mastered this power, it was clear that this power did not belong to this world. If he told the other party the truth, would it bring him trouble....
While Taka was thinking rapidly, Tetsushin answered for him:
"In my decades of life, I've heard that there are people in this world who are born able to comprehend the mysteries of Breathing and Sword Style... Could you be such a person?"
"Breathing..." Taka opened his mouth. Cunning and caution helped him quickly organize a set of words. He rambled, trying hard to recall. "....I'm not sure. I just remember at the time... wanting to avenge the old man, swinging wildly in anger..."
"Sometimes, the sword would carry... a gale that sounded like dogs barking, completely uncontrollable.... Other times, I just felt like my strength was a bit greater for no reason..."
Tetsushin quietly listened to Taka's fragmented and confused account, his brows deeply furrowed.
"An uncontrollable gale...."
He could sense the flow of a person's aura.
The boy before him was lying, but it wasn't complete fabrication. It was more like an exaggerated metaphor.
'Was he exaggerating his power to intimidate me? Was it simply out of distrust, so he was emphasizing his strength, afraid I might harm him...'
He stared at Taka for a long time, constantly sensing the flow of his aura. It was a faint reddish wave, indicating he still harbored hostility, but not malicious scheming.
'Self-preservation, huh...' Tetsushin made his judgment.
"Enough..." His voice was steady and calm. Internally, he had made a decision.
'Perhaps this was just a rare, unrefined, and untrained battle instinct. That might be the most reasonable explanation.'
"Whatever it was, the fact that you could kill a demon remains. Make good use of it. It will become one of the important pillars supporting your survival."
"One of?" Taka repeated the word doubtfully, but by then, Tetsushin had already stood up.
He walked to the door of the room, gently slid it open, and without looking back, simply left a sentence:
"Hayama is not like the chaotic streets. No one will steal your food here, or hurt you without reason."
"When you can stand steadily, I will show you… what true wind truly is."
The door closed, separating Taka from the outside world.
Taka was silent, looking at the unreal warmth of the room before him.
After a moment's thought, he crawled back over to the Asauchi, hugged it to his chest, climbed into the warm futon, and carefully wrapped himself up tight.
Perhaps it was because Tetsushin's words had sparked some curiosity in him, or maybe he just wanted to stay here comfortably for a few more days.
Once again, he sank into a hazy dream.
…
A few days later, outside the training ground.
When Taka finally walked out of the room, he realized this place was a complex of connected buildings, occupying nearly half the mountain top.
The training ground was also divided into indoor and outdoor sections. Where Rika was now taking him was a large open area cleared on the western slope of the mountain top.
The wind at the mountain top was even more bitingly cold, carrying fine snow and dead leaves that quickly reddened one's face.
Taka stood at the edge of the outdoor training ground, casually wearing an ill-fitting light green kendo uniform that Rika had given him. Underneath, he wore the old, worn cotton clothes the bald old man had left him, now washed and mended.
The temperature was very low today. Normally, a convalescent shouldn't be allowed out in such wind, but Taka's life force was indeed, as Tetsushin had said, extraordinarily tenacious.
In just a few days, with the help of the herbal medicine, his wounds had scabbed over and were slowly healing. Rika was also quite surprised.
Although there was still a dull pain with larger movements, at least he could move freely, which satisfied Taka.
He still had his old, battered Asauchi tied at his side, his gaze fixed on the tall, one-armed figure in the training ground, Arasaki Tetsushin.
The old man was dressed the same as before, but today he held a heavily weathered wooden sword that looked quite weighty.
He stood quietly, facing the distant, layered mountain peaks, as if he had merged with the howling mountain wind.
"Watch carefully, boy."
Tetsushin didn't turn around, but he had already sensed the arrival of Rika and Taka.
"This is… the Wind Breathing!"
The instant the words fell, the aura around Tetsushin transformed completely!
If, just a moment ago, Tetsushin seemed like an intangible existence that had melted into the world, becoming one with the mountain wind.
Then now, he was like a drawn blade, instantly cleaving through the air between the sky and ground, or like a sudden whirlwind rising from flat ground, abruptly leaping into Taka's perception!
Tetsushin gripped the wooden sword tightly, raising his remaining right arm. From his body surged a vast, sharp, world-tearing, terrifying murderous intent!
Whoosh—!
The gale trembled with his breathing, the air hummed with his movements.
Strands of pale blue-white gas hissed as they continuously poured into his mouth and nose, transforming into powerful energy that further spread to his limbs and every bone!
Around the wooden sword, chaotic air currents coiled, even condensing into an almost tangible emerald-green light!
"Wind Breathing: Fourth Form: Rising Dust Storm!"
Tetsushin lowered his stance, barking sharply in a deep voice. The wooden sword traced a semicircle in front of him as he powerfully swung it up from below!
Shrrrriek—!!!
A piercing sound of tearing air exploded in the training ground! Taka only felt his eardrums sting and his vision blur before his eyes!
The next moment, he witnessed a sight he would never forget.