Chapter Text
“Damn it! So that guy really wasn’t exaggerating at all.”
As he made his way through the dense forest while carrying a bag filled with some of his personal belongings, Genya cursed under his breath.
He admits that he looked down on the words of one of his fellow demon slayer, which he forgot the name of, who told him how much of a living hell the Sound Pillar’s training was in the most dramatic way possible. But looking back at it now, perhaps that guy was right after all. Especially now that he had experienced it himself.
Even now, it feels like he might have already used all of his stamina on that training alone. By the time he makes it to the next estate, he’ll probably collapse. Heck, he’ll probably die. He swore he’ll be dead by the end of this second training.
When thoughts of dying came flooding into his mind, Genya immediately shook his head as if that could help in getting rid of them.
No. Don’t think about dying now.
He can’t die too early. Not until he made it to his brother’s training. Not until he apologizes to his beloved big brother, and hopefully, reconciles.
Speaking of the next training, Genya recalled Tanjiro saying something about the Pillar in charge of it.
“Oh, the Mist Pillar? You mean Muichiro Tokito? He might seem cold at first. But, trust me, Tokito-kun’s actually a really nice guy! I’m sure you’ll both get along well.”
According to Tanjiro, it seems like the Mist Pillar’s personality will at least be more tolerable. So, perhaps his training will not be as bad as The Sound Pillar’s. At least that’s how it seemed from the perspective of Tanjiro Kamado, a person who has the strange ability to befriend literally everyone, no matter their personalities. And to think that he’s already familiar with the Mist Pillar himself…
As for Genya… Somewhere in a not so distant past, he did have a brief encounter with the Pillar. And let’s just say that, with how they were back then, they weren’t exactly on good terms. Although, they did make up at some point after the battle in the Swordsmith Village. It was in the Butterfly Estate where Genya recalled himself talking briefly with the Pillar. But, well, let’s just say it went pretty awkwardly. Neither of them really knew what to say to each other.
As of now, The Mist Pillar, Muichiro Tokito, is still a stranger to him.
“We’ve arrived! We’ve arrived! The Mist Pillar’s Residence is up ahead! We’ve arrived!”
Eventually, the shouting from his crow snapped him out of his thoughts. And just as it says, the mansion that supposedly belonged to the Mist Pillar stood before him, looming with elegance.
This is it, the Mist Estate.
“Work hard!”
His crow gave him its final words, before leaving him on his own to start the next pillar training session.
Standing before the entrance, Genya finds himself feeling a little reluctant, somehow.
The Sound Pillar, Uzui Tengen’s training, surely drains the soul out of him. Though, between him and the Mist Pillar, Genya finds facing the latter even harder. He is not so familiar with the Sound Pillar. However, with the Mist Pillar… perhaps it is safe to say that Genya did find him quite familiar. Not in a way where he’s close to him or anything, though. It is more like how Genya knows quite a lot about the prodigy, despite not being close to him at all.
That’s right, a prodigy swordsman. That is what the Mist Pillar is known for, and what draws Genya into him the most. A genius who managed to become a pillar in merely two months after picking up a sword. In addition, back in the Swordsmith Village, he defeated an Upper Moon all by himself. From the time he was born, the Gods have bestowed him with such outstanding talent, something that Genya could never have.
It makes sense now, how the mansion before him seemed so out of this world. It feels as though he was about to enter a palace, where he’ll be in the presence of a royalty, a figure so further away and out of his reach.
... There's no point in wasting time here. Genya reminds himself. After all, what he’s chasing after will forever be out of reach if he just stood there and did nothing.
So, here he goes, stepping a foot in front of the door to the mansion before slowly sliding it open.
Now, he shouldn’t have regretted opening the door, but not with the occurrence that unfolds before him.
Several Corps’ members were standing on the side of a large training area, all of them looking nervous, scared, for some reason. Until Genya’s eyes finally land on one of the slayers currently struggling to evade the Mist Pillar’s strikes.
The poor slayer was visibly shaking, his movements all jerky and uncoordinated. On the other hand, the Mist Pillar moves exceptionally sharp and swift. It was a really bad matchup, and the slayer eventually loses from getting a taste of a wooden sword to his shoulder.
“Imagine this as real combat,” the Pillar said, “you would have been dead three times already.”
At the moment, not a single slayer dares to speak back. They can only stare at the Pillar nervously as they wait for their turn to be completely obliterated by him.
The Mist Pillar turned towards another batch of slayers, his cold stare making them freeze.
“Even if you get hit, quickly get back to your stances again.”
In a single moment, he went after the slayers one by one. Again, none of them managed to evade his attacks, and they all ended up falling to the ground.
While the mess occurs, Genya could only stand at the main door, feeling a sense of frustration as he watched all the other slayers giving in to defeat, just like that. Not that he’s any better than them, though. No, he’s totally on the same boat.
Because, in the blink of an eye, the Pillar is already in front of him, pointing a wooden sword at his neck.
Crap! I did not see that coming! Genya cursed in his mind, feeling as though his heart was about to jump out of his chest.
“And NEVER let your guard down in a battle, either.” The Pillar said, presumably continuing his previous words, bringing the attention of everyone in the room towards Genya.
When this realization dawned upon him, Genya felt himself popping a vein.
“Damn you! I literally just got here!” is what Genya wants to yell at the Pillar’s face, but for obvious reasons, he couldn’t and just kept to himself. So, he just stood there like a fool until the Pillar spoke again:
“What are you waiting for? Stand in line already.”
Now, if Genya were to be completely honest, the Pillar’s attitude and his way of speaking so coldly surely got on his nerves. Somehow, he became a completely different person from the time they interacted briefly in the Butterfly Estate.
Where did that quiet yet friendly teenage boy who is not so different from himself go? Genya wondered, and somehow, started to miss such a person that probably never really existed.
Yet, despite all that, he can’t help but to completely give in to the Pillar’s orders.
That’s right, he’s a Pillar first before everything else, after all.
“...yes.” Genya replied rather softly as he bowed to the Pillar, trying to be as polite as possible.
Without further ado, he immediately went somewhere between the other slayers, trying to avoid getting into eye contact with the Pillar as much as possible. But somehow, he can’t really seem to keep his eyes away from him, even for a moment. And in those very few seconds, his eyes caught the Mist Pillar’s face showing some kind of a judging expression. And now, he has become even more self-aware.
Well, this surely is going to be one hell of a training.