After two days, all of her injuries—including the deep gash on her left arm—had healed completely. Her demonic blood and rigorous breathing training had worked wonders on her body. She was cleared to begin Functional Recovery Training with Tanjiro and Inosuke at the Butterfly Mansion.
What she hadn't expected… was for the training to be this grueling.
Stretching was one thing—painful but bearable. But the Reflex Training with Kanao? That was a different kind of torment. Despite her speed and instinct, she hadn't yet managed to catch even a single teacup from Kanao's tray. She hadn't even reached the Whole Body Training yet—essentially an intense game of tag with the mansion's fastest girls.
Today was different, however. Today, Zenitsu joined them.
After Aoi kindly explained what Functional Recovery Training actually entailed, Zenitsu's face twisted into a mask of horror. Without warning, he bolted to his feet.
"Tanjiro! Inosuke! Outside! Now!"
"Huh?" Tanjiro blinked. "Why?"
"I'm not going," Inosuke grunted, arms crossed.
Zenitsu snapped. "I'M TELLING YOU, SCREW IT AND JUST COME!!"
Without another word, he grabbed the back of their shirts and dragged them out the door, screeching, "COME DAMMIT!! PIECES OF SHIT! TRASH!!"
Willow sweat-dropped, staring as the chaos unfolded. With a resigned sigh, she rose and began slowly following them, knowing full well what was about to happen.
Outside, Zenitsu had forced Tanjiro and Inosuke to sit in seiza.
"Get in the seiza! The seiza!! You complete morons!!"
Inosuke growled under his boar mask. "What did you say, you—"
BAM!
Zenitsu punched him clean in the face.
"What're you doing, Zenitsu?!" Tanjiro shouted, shocked. "Apologize to Inosuke!!"
"YOU APOLOGIZE!!" Zenitsu bellowed, trembling with righteous fury. "YOU BEG FOR FORGIVENESS!!! DON'T MAKE THAT FACE AS IF WE WERE IN HELL, NOT IN HEAVEN!!!"
He pointed furiously at them. "ALL YOU GUYS DID WAS FOOL AROUND WITH GIRLS EVERYDAY, SO WHAT WERE YOU SO WORN OUT ABOUT?! PROSTRATE YOURSELF AND APOLOGIZE! SLIT YOUR STOMACHS!!... YOU WERE FELT UP BY WOMEN—"
A firm hand rested on his shoulder.
Zenitsu froze mid-rant. Slowly, he turned his head and came face-to-face with a calm, but slightly terrifying Willow.
"Zenitsu," she said, voice low and serene, "what do you think you're doing?"
"I, uh…"
"You should stop talking," Willow continued. "The butterfly girls are generous enough to help you recover your strength. You shouldn't say stuff like that to them. So shut up, go back to training… and do it quietly."
Zenitsu paled. Even Tanjiro and Inosuke flinched at the sudden shift in her tone. Without a word, they all shuffled back into the training room.
Zenitsu's presence, volatile though it was, did raise morale. He laughed maniacally even as he was pulled into painful stretches. Somehow, he had already beaten Aoi in Reflex Training and was now trying to act cool, though the girls were clearly whispering behind his back about how obnoxiously loud he was.
Still, he won the tag game with Aoi, albeit in a way so pathetic no one really wanted to acknowledge it.
Willow finally beat Kanao in both Reflex and Whole Body Training. She felt a small surge of pride at finally tagging her opponent. Inosuke, naturally, hated losing. But even with their momentum, none of the boys could beat Kanao. Not once. For five days straight, they failed to catch her or hold her teacups down.
Then, suddenly, both Zenitsu and Inosuke stopped showing up to the training hall.
Willow, having completed all stages, shifted her focus outside—continuing her personal regimen in the courtyard gardens, now bathed in the soft glow of the sun.
Ten more days passed. Tanjiro still trained diligently. Yet he continued to lose.
One afternoon, Willow ran into him in the hallway, towel draped around her neck from her morning routine.
"Tanjiro," she greeted gently. "Any progress?"
He looked up at her with tired, sad eyes and shook his head. "No… not really."
Just then, the three butterfly girls appeared behind him. One of them handed him a towel, and Tanjiro accepted it with a grateful nod.
"By the way," one of them asked, "can you do Total Concentration Breathing: Constant yet?"
"Total Concentration… what?" Tanjiro blinked. "Is that even possible?!"
Willow explains it to him. "Total Concentration Breathing: Constant is when you do Total Concentration Breathing all day and night, all 24 hours."
The girls smiled. "The Hashira and Kanao-san can."
Willow stepped forward. "I can do it, too."
Tanjiro turned to her in awe. "Willow, you can do it too?!"
She nodded once. "Yes."
"I see!!" Tanjiro clenched his fists. "Thanks—I'll give it a shot!!"
Just then, Aoi entered the hallway. She spotted Willow and walked up to her.
"Kanae Kocho-sama is looking for you," she said.
Willow nodded. "Thank you." She turned to Tanjiro. "Good luck with your training."
He smiled. "Thank you."
Willow made her way to Kanae's office. She knocked lightly before entering.
Kanae looked up from her desk and smiled. "Willow. I wanted to check on your recovery and progress."
Willow sat down. Kanae gently checked her arms and vitals. As she worked, Willow glanced up.
"…Kocho- sama, are you a Hashira?"
Kanae paused, then gave a soft chuckle. "Just call me Kanae." She looked out the window briefly. "I'm a former Hashira. I had to retire after my lungs were damaged in a demon attack."
Willow fell silent. She didn't press—but her thoughts swirled. Upper Moon Two. Douma. She didn't say it, but the knowledge gripped her chest. " How did she survive? She was supposed to die… "
Before her thoughts could spiral further, Kanae smiled.
"You've made a full recovery. You'll be cleared to return to missions within a day or two."
"What?" Willow blinked. "That soon?"
Kanae nodded. "You're half-demon. Your body heals quickly. Plus, you already know Total Concentration Breathing: Constant. That made your recovery even faster."
Willow bowed her head respectfully. "Thank you for the information. I did not realize it healed so quickly."
"It's no trouble." Kanae walked to the side of the room and retrieved something from a nearby shelf. "Before you go—this is for you."
Willow looked up—and her eyes widened.
Kanae held a familiar box. Almost identical to the one Willow had once carried.
"I heard from Shinobu that your original box was destroyed," Kanae said gently. "So I had some help making you a new one."
Willow carefully took it into her hands. The craftsmanship was immaculate. Her fingers ran along the edges as emotion surged in her chest.
She bowed deeply. "Thank you so much."
Kanae smiled. "Raise your head. I was happy to help."
Willow made her way back to the recovery room. She stepped into the shaded space where Rui and Kokushibo rested, both nestled in the shadows.
"Hey," she greeted softly. "How are you two doing?"
"We're fine," Kokushibo replied.
"Feeling strong," Rui added with a small smile.
Willow held up the new box. "Kanae gave this to me. Said it's a replacement for the one that got destroyed."
The two demons nodded in approval.
Willow looked down at the box, then at her own hands.
I've recovered faster than I thought…
She exhaled deeply.
" Now I wonder… what kind of mission will I be sent on next? "
She stared out the window, the light of a new chapter glinting through the leaves.
" For now… I've entered uncharted territory. The part of this world that was never shown in canon. "