While waiting for the Nichirin Blade to be delivered, Hiru tactfully told his elder brother that he wanted to learn some basic swordsmanship—at least enough to recognize an opponent's attacks and stop foolishly presenting the flat of the blade to an enemy.
Yoriichi was more than willing to teach his younger brother. He asked the Kakushi for several training swords and began instructing Hiru. In Yoriichi's opinion, since Hiru had absolutely no earnestness toward swordsmanship, the quickest way for him to learn was through real combat practice.
Before long, the Kakushi understood something clearly: the newly promoted Sun Hashira trained with terrifying strictness. Though he always wore a gentle smile and spoke with calm respect, his training regimen was harsh beyond belief.
For six days, the sound of clashing blows stopped only twice. The Kakushi continued delivering wooden swords, yet in just six short days, the two of them went through more than four hundred training blades.
Most of them were broken by Hiru. As for what "most" actually meant… well, put it this way—Yoriichi's own sword only snapped twice from excessive wear.
The good news was that Hiru could now at least consistently meet attacks with the blade—when Yoriichi let him.
On the seventh day, Akiha and Nogi arrived with swords in hand. When they reached the training grounds, Hiru was still sparring with Yoriichi, so the two stood aside quietly without interrupting.
Hiru's attacks looked fierce and powerful, but aside from the occasional clash of blades, he couldn't tear even a thread from Yoriichi's haori. Yoriichi barely seemed to move, yet every strike he delivered sliced open a new tear in Hiru's haori.
When another wooden sword snapped in Hiru's hands, he angrily threw away the broken hilt. "I'm done! Absolutely done! This is hopeless! Big bro, at least let me cut your haori once in a while!"
Yoriichi smiled softly, his wooden sword lowered. "Didn't I break my sword twice as well?"
"That doesn't feel like an accomplishment at all!" Hiru yanked off his shredded gray-blue haori and loosened the tie holding his hair back, letting it fall the way it normally did. "Honestly, I don't feel like I'm improving at all… Ah, Mr. Akiha."
Akiha, carrying his sword case and wearing the Hyottoko Mask, stood trembling from head to toe, fists clenched tight.
Hiru reflexively stepped back. "I swear! I really was being careful! But it still broke after I cut down four demons! Look, I really am training seriously—"
"I'm sorry!"
Hiru stared blankly at Akiha as he suddenly bowed. "…Huh?"
"Although it pained and enraged me to see that child's blade break after killing only four demons, the part connected to the hilt told me everything—I knew you must have fought on bravely with the broken sword afterward!"
Remembering the moment, Hiru felt a twinge of guilt for no reason he could name.
"I truly admire your spirit! That's why this time I reinforced the blade further and increased its weight!" Water dripped from the edge of Akiha's mask, falling to the ground. "But—but! After what I just witnessed, I finally understand. You don't know how to use a sword at all!
How could someone who can't even wield a sword pass the assessment to become a Swordsman?! I actually entrusted that child to a demon like you!
I refuse to hand this child over to you today! Absolutely not!"
Bursting into renewed sobs, Akiha turned and ran off.
"…Eh? He ran away?"
Nogi watched Akiha disappear, then looked back at Hiru. "If you still want your weapon, you'd better go after him."
"Huh?"
"Akiha survived encounters with the Twelve Kizuki using nothing but his legs and his exceptional hiding skills," Nogi said, unable to hide the schadenfreude in his voice. "And if he's decided to hide, no one in the village except that weirdo Hotaru could ever find him. And I don't think you want to meet Hotaru."
"Eh? Eh?! How did it come to this?!" Hiru panicked and bolted after him. "Wait! Mr. Akiha! I was just about to talk to you about the weapon! Hey! Wait! Hey—!"
Watching Hiru's silhouette disappear in the distance, Yoriichi couldn't help smiling. He placed his wooden sword back onto the rack, then turned to Nogi standing by the entrance. "Please come inside, Mr. Nogi."
"No need. I only came to deliver the blade." Nogi shook his head. "Honestly, when I heard from the village chief that my sword had been returned, I was so angry I almost marched over here to cut you down myself.
But the Kakushi immediately told me that I needed to re-hone the blade, make it even sharper, and engrave the words 'Demon Slayer'."
Nogi removed the sword case from his back and drew the black Nichirin Blade. "I expected the edge to show the traces of a hard-fought battle, but the blade is pristine—so pristine it's hard to believe this is the sword that severed a Twelve Kizuki's neck. And as for the training just now, I saw it with my own eyes… You truly are an exceptional Swordsman."
At that moment, Hiru returned, carrying a loudly sobbing Akiha on his back. Ignoring Akiha's wailing and the desperate tugging at his hair, Hiru beamed. "Of course! My brother is super strong!"
"Hmph~ A kid with no swordsmanship to speak of… but good footwork. Lucky for you Akiha was your smith." Nogi handed the Nichirin Blade to Yoriichi, closed the sword case, and slung it over his shoulder. "If it had been Hotaru shaping your blade, you'd have been in real trouble."
"Hm?" Hiru set Akiha down and gripped his shoulders so he couldn't run again. "You mentioned that person earlier? What happened?"
"Hmph~ Hotaru once injured a Hashira with his sword. A Hashira." Even without seeing his face, the mockery beneath Nogi's mask was unmistakable. "Granted, the Hashira had his reasons for holding back, but Hotaru? The moment he heard his sword had been destroyed, he effortlessly caught up to Hashira with a blade in hand. And the two swords he forged himself? Sharp enough to cut a falling hair."
Nogi held his hand near his right shoulder, indicating a rough length. "About this long, and half a Kinoe deep. Fortunately, the Hashira snapped out of it before Hotaru could keep venting and pinned him down.
The Hashira said it was fine, but after that, the village chief ordered Hotaru to forge only standard-issue blades. He still hasn't been allowed to make swords for the Swordsman again.
So you'd better cherish Akiha, kid. He's one of the few in our Swordsmith Village who won't attack the swordsmen."
Hiru: …Do you hear yourself?
Why do you sound proud talking about a Hashira getting chased down and slashed by a swordsmith over a broken blade?!
"Waaah—!" Akiha clung desperately to the sword case. "I won't hand this child over to you! Never! You monster! Beast! Scum!
How could someone like you become a Swordsman?! I trusted you with that child! And this is how you treat him?! Waaah— My poor child, waaah!
It's all Daddy's fault! Daddy failed to see the true face of this demon! Waaah—
Don't worry, Daddy will protect you! I won't let you be brutally defiled by this monster the way your older brother was! Waaah—"
Hiru: …I'm exhausted. Let's just destroy everything together.