New Year's Day, 1911. A cold winter wind blows along the mountain path.
Kanao, Okita, and Ushiwakamaru were on their way back after completing a mission. The snow-covered mountain path was quiet, but a strange voice broke the silence.
"Meow! I am Tama of the Lower Moon Four, nya! Clear the path, nya!"
What suddenly jumped out from the tree was a strange demon wearing a maid outfit with cat ears and a tail.
It was Tamamo Cat, with the characters for Lower Moon Four clearly engraved in her eyes.
The three of them stiffened at Cat's appearance.
'Is that… Cat-san?'
Cat winked at Kanao.
After a few seconds of eye contact, Kanao understood.
Kanao understood the entire situation in that moment. It was the consideration of her father, Akira. Worried that she was being overshadowed by Okita and unable to become a Hashira, he had prepared this special stage.
"...Father's New Year's gift is surprising in many ways."
Kanao muttered softly and drew her sword.
"Okita-san, Ushiwakamaru-san. This demon… I'll take care of it."
"Uh, yes. But if it gets dangerous, I'll help."
Okita nodded, acting appropriately.
"I'll go all out."
Kanao wanted to live up to her father's expectations.
She wanted to prove not just in a play, but how much she had grown, how much she had absorbed from the teachings in the environment her father had created.
"Alright, come at me, human! My nya-nya punch can even break steel, nya!"
Cat charged forward, sharpening her cat claws.
Crash!
When Cat playfully threw a punch that struck the ground, a blizzard exploded upwards.
Even though she was controlling her strength, the power was enough to easily shatter a rock. Kanao knew instinctively. Even a graze would cause serious injury.
'Focus. Pour out everything I've learned!'
Kanao's breathing became deep and calm. Her lungs filled with the cold air of the winter mountain.
"Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux!"
First, she used Water Breathing, taking a form specialized in defense while increasing power with rotational force.
Cat broke through the blizzard and charged like a beast. A indiscriminate flurry of claws poured out, not distinguishing left, right, up, or down.
Kanao repelled Cat's attacks while adding rotation to her own attacks. Soon, she mixed in other forms. Water Breathing, especially the Tenth Form, was special.
The more rotation was added, the more the power increased, making it stronger gradually, and many of Water Breathing's forms involved rotation.
Having trained under numerous Servants, she could use one form mixed with another.
She utilized the advantage of Water Breathing's many rotational forces, mixing Constant Flux with other forms.
"Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance!"
Kanao's body flowed flexibly like a leaf floating on water.
Narrowly dodging Cat's sharp claws, she read the flow of the attacks.
"Pretty fast, nya! Then I'll come from above, nya!"
Cat kicked off a tree and leaped into the air, attempting a downward strike.
"Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel!"
Kanao rotated her body vertically in the air, creating a circular slash with her sword.
Cat's downward strike and Water Wheel collided head-on, producing a loud roar.
"Guh…!"
From the heavy impact, Kanao's feet dug into the snow.
Without pause, Cat immediately dove in with a low stance, trying to trip her legs and knock her down.
"Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirlpool!"
Kanao strongly twisted her lower body and waist, unleashing a powerful whirlwind slash.
A spiral sword strike, as if using water's resistance, blocked Cat's approach and disrupted her balance.
In the continuous sequence of rotations, the cloak strap came undone and the cloak flew off, and the button on the neck came loose.
The moment Cat lost her balance and hesitated, Kanao's eyes changed.
From defense to attack, her sword style, which had been smooth like water, changed to be splendid and heavy like a flower.
While continuing to use Constant Flux, she used the increased rotational force power in another breathing style.
"Flower Breathing, Second Form: Honorable Shadow Plum!"
As Kanao swung her sword, continuous slashes with trajectories like scattering plum blossom petals enveloped Cat's entire body.
With a technique that combined defense and attack, she completely broke Cat's posture.
"Ooh? Suddenly it got heavy, nya!"
Cat panicked and crossed her arms to block.
"Flower Breathing, Fourth Form: Scarlet Flower Garment!"
Kanao's sword curved like red petals, unleashing a powerful curved slash.
A heavy strike that pierced through Cat's defense. Cat was pushed back but inwardly admired.
'Good! There's power behind it, nya! Kanao-chan, you're doing well! Of course, Cat is holding back, but still?'
When Cat tried to create distance to counterattack, Kanao didn't miss it.
"Flower Breathing, Fifth Form: Peonies of Futility!"
In an instant, nine consecutive slashes exploded like peonies in full bloom.
Cat couldn't avoid this splendid flurry, and her clothes and fur were gradually cut.
To Cat with Endurance E, no, with Endurance D after Akira grew stronger, Kanao's attacks looked quite threatening.
Now, she looked like she was a step above Hashira level.
"Flower Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirling Peach!"
Kanao rotated her body and unleashed a powerful slash using centrifugal force.
A huge sword wind like swirling peach petals struck Cat, and she rolled on the snowfield with a clattering sound!
"Nyaaa! It hurts, nya! I'm angry, nya!"
Cat pretended to be angry, and this time increased her speed, moving in a zigzag to approach.
No matter how much she pretended to be weak, her Agility was A, no A++. No matter how much she pretended, she had Upper Moon level speed.
A level that even Kanao with her good eyes had difficulty reacting to.
'Pushing through with power is insufficient. Then… with speed and irregularity!'
She took a breath and used her ultimate technique.
"Flower Breathing, Final Form: Equinoctial Vermilion Eye."
The ultimate technique of Flower Breathing. Concentrating all her power in her eyes, the whites turn red.
A dangerous technique that could strain the eyes and potentially cause blindness.
But Kanao used it without fear, further enhancing her dynamic vision.
Kanao changed her breathing once again. A high-speed slashing style that transformed Insect Breathing, specialized in thrusting, into her own way.
"Insect Breathing Variation. Butterfly Dance: [Playful・Modified]."
Kanao's figure shook irregularly, like a butterfly fluttering.
The moment Cat swung her claws, Kanao had already infiltrated her blind spot and unleashed shallow but fast consecutive slashes.
Since it was slashing, not thrusting, there was no poison, but the sharpness was doubled.
"Unya?! I thought it was a thrust, but it's a slash! Confusing, nya!"
Cat panicked and swung her tail to knock Kanao away.
"Insect Breathing Variation. Dragonfly Dance: [Compound Eye Hexagon・Modified]."
Kanao applied the footwork she learned from Okita to instantly close the distance.
And she unleashed a high-speed flurry that seemed to pour from six directions simultaneously: up, down, left, right, front, and back.
A storm of sharp slashes targeting Cat's joints and vital points.
"Guh! Fast, nya!"
Cat leaped back greatly to create distance. But Kanao didn't stop.
"Insect Breathing Variation. Centipede Dance: [Hundred-Legged Serpent Belly・Modified]!"
Kanao charged in a low stance, almost prone to the ground.
Like a giant centipede crawling on the ground, with unpredictable trajectories, she kicked off the ground and instantly infiltrated Cat's embrace.
The speed and momentum were such that even Cat was surprised. It was a speed that made one doubt if she was human.
"Now…!"
Kanao freely wielded three breathing styles, pushing Cat back without yielding an inch.
Recalling everything she had learned, she sheathed her sword.
Snap!
Kanao's sound of kicking off the ground changed. Explosive acceleration using Okita Souji's footwork.
"Nya?!"
Kanao instantly infiltrated Cat's embrace.
Cat panicked and swung her claws, but Kanao stepped on the air and leaped with acrobatic movements like Ushiwakamaru.
"This is the end, Cat nee-san… no, Lower Moon Four!"
All her energy focused on Kanao's sword floating in the air.
The secret technique Ushiwakamaru had shown her flashed through her mind.
"Oath of the Wanderer's Tale Ultimate Technique. Ubusumidori Tenjin Shukubo (Pale Green Heavenly Blade Shrinking Step)!"
Kanao's sword flew towards Cat's neck, drawing a trajectory.
A drawing sword technique using footwork from tengu art. Combined with Okita's footwork that surpassed that tengu's, and mixed with tengu techniques.
Genius
Kanao was a genius. With her excellent eyes and elite education from everyone, she had grown as a warrior far beyond the summit she was originally destined for.
Kanao, who skillfully used three breathing styles and learned techniques from Servants.
Beings beyond humans had made her talent bloom.
Slash!
With a clear cutting sound, Cat's head flew into the air.
"Nyaaaaang!! I've been defeated, nya!!"
Cat's head fell on the snowfield. She shouted as if resentful, but a proud smile for Kanao hung at the corner of her mouth.
She shared weaknesses with Akira, so the neck was no longer a weakness, so she was fine too. But for the play, she had to act out the demon's final moments.
"Guh… For a human… to be this strong… I have no face to show… Master… nya…"
Cat's body gradually appeared to turn to ashes and scatter due to an illusion. In reality, she was spiritualizing and disappearing, but to the watching crows' eyes, it looked like perfect annihilation.
"Haa… haa…"
Kanao sheathed her sword and bowed deeply towards the spot where Cat had disappeared.
"Thank you for your hard work…"
From behind, the sound of clapping was heard.
"Excellent, Kanao-chan. It was truly a perfect victory."
Okita approached with a smile.
"That last technique was Tenjin Shukubo, right? It's a bit different from mine, but sublimating it in your own way is also the way of a warrior."
Ushiwakamaru patted Kanao's head.
Kanao smiled with relief at the two. Only then did the tension seem to ease, and her legs slightly weakened, but Ushiwakamaru supported her firmly.
"Both of you… knew, right?"
"No? But, it must be Master's consideration. Probably since Okita-san became a Hashira, he's taking care of his daughter, isn't he?"
"Now, when we return to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, it'll be a uproar. Two Hashira born in a week, they'll say."
Kanao looked up at the night sky. Even the cold winter wind now felt refreshing.
The face of her father, Akira, who should be in Asakusa far away, came to mind.
'Father… I didn't waste the opportunity you gave me.'
On the first day of 1911. The girl had changed from a flower bud protected under her father's shadow to a strong flower that bloomed after overcoming the harsh winter on her own.
It was the moment when the most beautiful and powerful Flower Hashira in the history of the Demon Slayer Corps was born.