Marume Kurando tried to comfort Itsuki, though inside, he was cursing out that drunk weird eyebrowed guy.
Even if he didn't see the kid's potential, at least train him a little. The Demon Slayer Corps needed people. Compared to the kind of trainer he had back then, that guy was straight-up useless.
The current Flame Pillar had no sense of responsibility at all. He seriously thought he had misjudged him.
As someone who'd taught in the Dojo for years, Marume was kind of pissed. His first thought was to get Itsuki a different trainer.
But he knew that wouldn't work. The Corps didn't mess around with that stuff. Asking them to switch instructors was like saying, "Hey, I don't trust you," and nobody wanted that. They probably wouldn't even take him seriously plus its disrespectful.
So... it was just a shame.
After chatting for a while, Itsuki decided to leave. He kept up a calm face, but Marume could tell he was hurt. It made him angry all over again. The kid was clearly trying his best.
Watching Itsuki walk off, Marume sighed, heart full of mixed emotions.
No. He couldn't just sit back and do nothing.
He really respected the Corps — both because he admired them and because of what they'd done in the past and the present to protect innocent people. But that Flame Pillar had stained that respect a little.
So, feeling a strange mix of duty and frustration, Marume picked up a brush and started writing a letter.
He wasn't going to outright snitch. He just wanted to "ask" about the Flame Pillar's drinking. Maybe suggest he get checked out. That was reasonable... right?
All he really wanted was for someone to step in and fix the problem. If the guy left on his own? Even better.
Outwardly, he'd still treat that weird father and son well — but no more high-quality booze. At most, the cheap stuff. If they wanted more, they could buy it themselves.
He didn't even need a reason. It was his place legally, not theirs.
Meanwhile, Itsuki was nowhere near as pitiful as he'd seemed. That whole act was just so people wouldn't blame him for leaving. He had no idea how much the old guy was overthinking it.
Now that he didn't have a drunk master breathing down his neck, he was actually pretty free.
The next day, Itsuki got back into his usual grind — train like hell, eat like a king, and now practice Flame Breathing on top of that because of his system he can do it.
Kanao didn't mind at all. When he told her they didn't need to visit that drunk again, she just nodded and went right back to training. Wherever her Itsuki went, she followed.
Five days later...
[Ding! Host consumed one portion of ten-year top grade cuisine, skill point energy progress +1.29%]
"Hooo, this is the good life," Itsuki muttered, feeling the warmth spread through his body.
Pulling Kanao aside to a quiet spot, they started practicing with his wooden sword.
As he moved, the heat built up in his body — a kind of inner fire.
He was used to it from the meals, but this time something clicked.
Wait... this heat — it felt a lot like when Shinjuro had slammed his chest before. Not as intense, but steadier.
Guided by instinct, he pushed that heat through his limbs and took a deep breath.
Then — bang — he was gone in a blur.
"Flame Breathing First Form: Unknowing Fire!"
He swung horizontally, heat coming out in waves making it seem like fire
A flash of movement, then the thick wooden training post in front of him split clean in two.
"THUD."
The top half rolled to the ground. A thin trail of smoke curled up from the cut.
Kanao, who'd been watching from the side, stared with wide eyes.
"Itsuki... you did it! You really did it!"
Itsuki shook out his arms, still tingling.
"I'd say mostly. I messed up my breathing a bit at the end, and I dropped out of that boosted state. My whole body's still numb."
Even so, this was a huge step forward. If he could do this for all six forms, he'd hit level one without burning a skill point.
"That's still amazing!" Kanao ran over, grinning and rubbing his back, trying to help him relax.
Itsuki let her — mostly because her tiny hands actually felt pretty good.
"Kanao, you've already got the breathing rhythm down. All you're missing is that heat."
"But... we don't have Shinjuro-san anymore."
"It's fine. The meals I've been giving you? They do the same thing. From now on, you eat them with me ok."
"But they're expensive... I don't want to use up your money."
"You silly girl, that counts as... huh?" Itsuki blinked. "Did you just make a decision on your own?"
That stopped him in his tracks.
"Haha! This is a really huge win today!"
"uhh..." Kanao lowered her head, embarrassed.
She still had that old trauma. Years of abuse had left her scared to make any choices. But over the past three years with Itsuki, she'd really started to change.
She cut ties with her scumbag parents, started eating well, living without fear — and for the first time, she had someone she could count on.
Every day she trained, kept things clean, and never even got hit. Bit by bit, she was starting to smile again.
And now, thanks to Itsuki mastering Flame Breathing, she'd had a little breakthrough too.
"Don't worry about the food," Itsuki said, rubbing the back of her head. "You eat like a normal girl. It's not gonna bankrupt me and I will never let us get back to how we were when we were younger"
"But..."
"It's settled. body strength comes first. You don't want to be a burden, right?"
"Sigh"... okay, I'll listen to you Itsuki."
But then he paused and thought back to before. "Well... maybe you shouldn't just listen to me all the time. If you have an idea, speak up. What you just did made me really happy, honestly."
"Mm... I'll listen to you Itsuki."
Uh... she kinda missed the point.
"Wanna keep training?" he asked.
"Nods!"
"…"
Okay. That might take a while.
Back at the Shinjuro room, Shinjuro was having a meltdown.
"Where's my Sake?! Where's the damn Sake?! Why hasn't anyone brought me my it yet?!"
He stumbled out of bed still drunk, bottles all over the floor.
Empty. Every last one.
Now he was really pissed.