Your entire body vibrates violently the moment your blade makes contact with the boulder. "Ahh! That fucking hurts!" You screamed.

"Are you alright, (Y/N)? It doesn't hurt after a few minutes." Tanjiro said. He picked up a few English words after living with you for a year.

"Easy for you to say! Your boulder is a lot smaller than mine!" You yelled. Tanjiro smiles before he backs away from you. Oh no! Best boi's scared of me! Your (s/c) cheeks flushed a rosy hue while avoiding eye contact. "Um...I know it's been a year since it happened, but thank you." You blushed.

"For what?" Tanjiro asked.

"For not mentioning that I have a demon brother to Grandpa Urokodaki. I don't know how he'll react knowing my brother is out somewhere, possibly eating humans."

"Because I have faith that you'll find him and change him back to a human. Besides, I would've done the same thing if Nezuko had run off. I'll do everything in my power to keep her safe."

Your mouth gape open a bit before smiling at him. "You really have that much faith in me after you saw my carnage that night?"

Tanjiro's smile falters a bit before smiling wider. "I admit you scared me that night. You have so much hate and you took it out on the wrong demon. But you still haven't lost your true self. Your kindness is still there and it's growing stronger each day. I want to see more of that after we rescue your brother. "

You blushed again after hearing his kind words. You pick up your sword and got to a battle stand." Enough chit-chat! Let's break these boulders!"

"Right!"

It's been six months since you've been tasked to cut your boulder, but you made no progress. You didn't even make a dent nor have you mastered a single form. It's not fair! Every morning the two of you would spar and practice your Total Concentration Breathing. Tanjiro even tried to help you with learning the Water Technique, but to no avail.

Tanjiro is feeling the same as you. Not a single scratch was made on his boulder during the past six months. And now his hands are starting to blister. He angrily bangs his head against the boulder. "Keep working, Tanjiro! You can do it!" He screams.

You were about to cheer him up when a voice cuts you off.

"Shut up!"

That voice! Can it be we're about to do this part already!

You both look up to see flowing pink hair and a fox mask. It's your boy, Sabito! He's sitting on top of the boulder staring down at Tanjiro. Yes! You're about to get trained by the real Water Hashira! *sorry, Giyu* You straighten yourself up and walk over to Tanjiro's boulder.

"A man shouldn't whine. It's unseemly. No matter how you suffer, bear it in silence if you're a man." Sabito spoke. He jumps off the boulder and swings his sword at Tanjiro. Tanjiro easily blocks it, but Sabito manages to kick him.

"Tanjiro!" You called out. I know people will gladly let pinky stomp on them, but I'm different. You tried to discreetly swing your sword at him, but he easily blocks it and swipes your legs. You landed roughly on the ground and you suddenly see his wooden blade pointing at the tip of your nose. He's so fast! I didn't see him moving his sword at my face.

"Slow. Weak. Immature. That's not what you call a man." Sabito said.

"Um, I'm a girl. So those words don't apply to me." You stated.

"As long as you want to be a swordsman, you're a man." Sabito replied. This makes you sweat drop. "Now why are you both on your asses? Get up and train!" Sabito exclaimed.

The moment you get up, Sabito charges at you. He disarmed you and hit your temple with the hilt of his sword. You felt blood running down from the side of your face. How the hell can a ghost make you bleed?! Tanjiro attempts to tackle him from behind, but Sabito jumps up at the last second, and Tanjiro ends up tackling you instead.

"Gah! I'm sorry, (Y/N) chan!" Tanjiro apologized.

"It's...okay..." You groaned. He's too heavy! You struggle to get up and run to grab your sword. You then take a stance. "Come at me, bro!" You shouted.

"I have no idea what you just said." Sabito said. You didn't bother to explain, you instead started swinging your blade wildly. Sabito dodges every single attack and trips you over your feet. That's when Tanjiro tried to disarm him only to be kicked in the gut again. Sabito points his blade at you. "It wouldn't be fair for you to fight me since you haven't mastered a single form. I'll most likely end up killing you. You need to start back at the basics." He stated. "Makomo, you know what to do."

A young girl smaller than you steps up and faces you. "Um...Hi." You awkwardly wave. Makomo gives you a gentle smile and gestures to you to follow her. Tanjiro tries to follow you both, but Sabito blocks his path.

"You and I aren't done." He said.

I hope he's/she's okay, you both thought. Makomo led you to an open field and took out her sword. Your eyes widen a bit in shock. This is wrong, but felt right. Makomo didn't have a sword nor did she fight Tanjiro at all. So why's the plot changing?

Could it be because of my presence? No, our presence. Douma had no interest in being a "parent" before he met us. And now Makomo is here to fight me instead of giving Tanjiro advice. You took a fighting stance as a bead of sweat rolled down your face. I don't know if these small changes will make things better or worse. The two of you dashed towards each other and your blades collided. For a small girl, Makomo is easily overpowering you. But I'll be damn sure I'll make things for the better. You jumped back to avoid getting slashed in half and attempted to do Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel. But you didn't feel any water coursing through your veins.

"This is how you do it." Makomo smiled. She skidded behind you and raised her blade up. "Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel!"

You felt the pressure of the attack on your back and you went out flying. Ow, that really hurt. You open your eyes to see Makomo up in the air and pointing her blade at you. You ungracefully scramble your way from the attack before standing yourself back. You tightly grip your sword and took a different stance.

"Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide!" You shouted. You send out multiple consecutive slashes while twisting your body. You got the breathing right, but you aren't moving like a water tide. You're moving a lot slower than you're supposed to be. Makomo didn't need to dodge all that fast. She just skillfully steps up the side of the slashes, her smile never leaving her face. "Damn it! Why can't I get it right!?" You cursed.

"Don't give up. You'll get there someday. You got the spirit of a Demon Slayer." Makomo said. Her soft and kind voice cheered you up a bit. But why was she fighting you? She never did that with Tanjiro. She simply pointed out his mistakes and corrected them.

"Can you tell me where I went wrong with my techniques?" You asked.

"Not yet. I need to see more of what you can and can't do." Makomo replied.

The two of you spared for the rest of the day. Well spare sounds more generous. You were mainly getting your ass beat by ghost girl. And for some reason, you felt she went easy on you. You can't afford to slack off. You need to get stronger to pass Final Selection and become a demon slayer to beat Doma.

It's now night, and Makomo told you that was it for today. She and Sabito will be back tomorrow. The two of you are heading back home. You are holding onto Tanjiro who is limping after getting his ass kicked by pinky boy. Compared to you, who you only have a couple of scratches, he looks like utter shit.

"So...how was your training?" You converse.

"Everything hurts. Sabito was merciless against me." Tanjiro groans.

"At least you have an excuse for why you lost. Makomo went easy on me the entire time and I couldn't land a single hit on her." You sighed.

You open the door and the two of you are safely back inside. Urokodaki gave you both a nod to acknowledge you.

"Your food got cold over an hour ago." He said.

"We're sorry we were late. We were training extra hard to cut our boulders." Tanjiro explained. Urokodaki nodded again before going back inside his room. You both kneel at the table, said a quick prayer, and began to munch on your dinner. As you're eating, Tanjiro glances at their room where Nezuko is still sleeping. "It's been over a year. Do you think she'll ever wake up?" Tanjiro asked.

You stopped eating your food and glanced at the door. You're well aware Nezuko will wake up after Tanjiro returns from Final Selection. But you can't reveal any future information. You put on your best smile, while saying, "Don't worry about her, Tanjiro. Nezuko is as strong as her big brother. She'll wake up when she's ready."

When you're smiling at Tanjiro, he could swear he saw you glowing a golden aura. (Y/N) chan looks like a merciful Goddess, he thought. He got more proof when you told him your full and offered him the rest of your portions. "I believe you, (Y/N) chan! Nezuko will wake up when she's ready!" Tanjiro exclaimed.

Yep, she'll wake up after Tanjiro returns from Final Selection. And you'll make damn sure, you'll come back as a Demon Slayer.

"I know what your problem is." Makomo spoke. You nervously gulp when you see Makomo no longer smiling. She had you spar with her again and made you attempt to do all ten forms. And like the past six months, you couldn't be able to do any one. She took out her sword and pointed at it. "This time I want you to dodge my attacks. Don't bother striking back. I just want to see how you dodged." Makomo instructed.

You looked at your sword and nodded your head. "Bring it on!" You exclaimed.

Without warning, Makomo thrust her blade at you. You jumped away in time and she rotated her body to swing again. You didn't have time to jump again, so you quickly duck down with her blade cutting a few strands of your hair. While still on the ground, she attempted to impale you. You're not proud of what you did next. It made you look childish and unprofessional. You breakdancing yourself to avoid the blade and spring yourself back up. Now your face is burning with humiliation.

Makomo's blue eyes widen, but then she smiles at you. "Trust your own movements." She said before swinging faster than ever.

What does she mean by that? You run around dodging her attacks, but you're slowing down a bit. Then you trip over a rock. You can see the incoming blade and you twirl your body around mid air and then do a ballerina spin. I can't dodge like a regular person! The only way I can do it is...God forgive me...dance around it! You spin around gracefully as if you were in a ballet recital the entire time. Couple of minutes later, Makomo stopped swinging her sword and gestured for you she's done. You took the time to catch your breath.

"Yes! Finally a break!" You cried in joy.

"I know what went wrong with your technique." Makomo said. You zoomed up to her face, eagerly waiting for her pointers. "You have the affinity for Water Breathing, but you lack the concept of it. I think you need to branch out and create your own breathing style." Makomo said.

"Ugh! Of course! That's what it is! I should've known that at that moment I wasn't mastering a single form!" You exclaimed in disbelief. Hmm. Create my own breathing style. Sounds easier than it is.

"There's one more thing." She added. You stop wondering and pay attention. "The way you fight and dodge, I saw it all with my eyes. You weren't moving like a swordsman. No, you were moving like a dancer." She stated.

A light bulb just went on your head. All your dancing moves are graceful like a moving river. You're practically one with the water when you dance. You took out your sword and took a deep breath.

Here goes nothing.

"Dance Breathing, First Form: Ballet!"

You spin your body around to increase your momentum and swing your sword at her. Makomo blocks it in time and a loud clang is heard. Makomo gasped as her entire body skidded back a few feet.

I don't believe it! I can feel my lungs and veins getting powerful when I did that! Let's try another one.

"Dance Breathing, Second Form: Breakdance!"

You throw yourself on the ground and spin your body to breakdance. You aim your blade at her legs, which she blocked with difficulty. Then you spring your body up as you still continue swinging. Makomo jumped away from you and looked at you wide-eyed. Then she smiles.

"That's good! Keep it coming!"

"....Dance Breathing, Third Form: Disco!"

You swing your sword diagonally at a rapid pace. Makomo is now having a hard time keeping up with your newfound speed.

Alright! I'm getting the hang of it. This is what I was always meant to do.

"Dance Breathing, Fourth Form: Kabuki!"

You simply dashed forward and took one swing at her neck. Makomo didn't have time to dodge or block. You stop yourself short before your blade reaches her neck.

"You got it. Now you just have to come up with a few more forms and master them all." Makomo smiled.

You nodded your head while smirking. You're almost ready for Final Selection.

It's been six months and you're confident you master Dance Breathing. Tanjiro was very proud of you that you came up with your own technique. Even Urokodaki swelled up in pride. You think? Well you can't tell because he's always wearing the goblin mask. Your short bob has grown down to your waist in the last two years. Now you're by your boulder ready to face Makomo.

"Okay, (Y/N) san. Let's see what you can do." Makomo spoke.

"Hai!"

You pulled out your sword and hung it around. During the past six months, you modify your sword. After trying new forms, you needed to extend the length of the blade you wanted to go. You tried to throw it, but it wasn't working out since you needed to run to the spot where you threw your blade. And you know it's lethal to not have your sword in your hands when you're fighting a demon. So in order to fix the issue, you attach a chain on your sword that way you can swing your blade around like a yo-yo. Think of your new sword like this: a kunai with a chain. But instead of a kunai, it's your entire sword .

Cool, huh?

Makomo pulls out her sword. "Whenever you're ready, (Y/N) san."

You begin to swing the chain, thus spinning around the sword. Makomo dashes in front of you and you are ready for it.

"Dance Breathing, Fifth Form: Improve Breakdance!"

Just like with the second form, you throw your body on the ground and begin to breakdance. But this time, you swing the chain around to extend the path of the sword. Makomo was rapidly dodging your attacks, not even realizing your feet are already on the ground. You moved the chain around to make the sword swing vertically at her.

In a blink of an eye, Makomo disappeared from your line of sight. Where did she go!? You look around for any sign of her.

"Looks like my work here is done, Tanjiro kun." Sabito spoke.

"I knew you could do it, (Y/N) san." Mamoko said.

You looked ahead and gasped. You, (Y/N) (L/N) have successfully cut your boulder in half.