Chapter 8: Chapter 8 – Memory and Memory Palace

"Kanao!! I am so sorry!! Please! Don't ignore me!!" Ai kneeled in front of Kanao, apologizing profusely.

Although, Kanao didn't seem to say anything, maintaining the usual smile on her face. Even Aoi Kanzaki didn't understand why Ai thought she was being ignored since this is how Kanao was.

Ai puffed her cheek, hugging her, closing her eyes, "Kanao…I will be careful next time, I swear. So do not be angry at me? I will never put you on the spot ever again."

"Not…your…fault…." Kanao clenched the fists on her thighs, "Order…are orders."

Ai kept her shoulder on Kanao's shoulder, "I don't get it…how you live with it. Following orders…living according to orders…doesn't that mean you live someone else's life? Kanao…I want you to live for yourself. So, one day, I hope you can decide what your heart wants, not your orders."

Kanao couldn't say anything to that, making Ai chuckle as she pulled away and walked to her bed before slowly lying down, "Anyway, I am going to bed. So, good night."

Aoi darted her eyes between the two, wondering how Kanao would react, but Kanao said nothing and stood up, nodding, moving towards the door. Although so, Aoi could swear there was a smile on the corner of Kanao's lips.

She let out a smile, giving Ai time to rest as she left with Kanao, closing the door after her.

Ai, who finally had the room all to herself, let out a sigh of relief and opened the digital window in front of her.

There was a vial of blood at the center of the window, one that she got from Master Kagaya. Once the Hashira's agreed, they set a timetable around their duties and missions. Since it was her power, it was no use taking the sword with them to fight a high-level Demon. So they all settled for keeping it for certain consecutive nights to get the most information with the least mental burden.

Tanjiro, her, and Master Kagaya were also in this cycle, which surprised her. It seemed she underestimated these people and their determination.

They all took their leave once they talked, but she stayed behind. Instead, Master Kagaya asked her to stay, figuring out what she wanted to talk about.

Soon before,

"You wanted to talk about this curse?"

"Um…yeah. I know, this is not my place to ask, but that curse…it's about a thousand years old, isn't it? I have never seen anything like that."

"You have seen other curses?"

"Curses…?" Ai furrowed her brows. The only curse she knew about was Cursed Mark Seal, the natural energy.

"More like, I saw quite a few seals," Ai scratched her cheek without knowing how to explain it to him. She could say that her father's avatar recognized that it was a thousand years old curse and something rare, even in the two worlds she had been to? The one she was born in, and this one.

Still, Cursed Mark Seal was intense; a Thousand Year Old Curse? It made her wonder how strong would it be.

"Ah, I see. The place you come from is full of mysteries," Kagaya smiled, "Let me guess. You want to study it?"

"I am so sorry," Ai hastily apologized, "I don't mean to act arrogant, and I wouldn't say that I can find a cure or anything! I do wish to understand its mysteries! In the hope that it can help me get stronger!"

"Oh, don't worry. I already know how to get rid of it," Kagaya calmly said, gently smiling.

He asked his daughter, who brought an injection and vial, giving it to him. He took out his blood, putting it in a vial, giving it to Ai, "I cannot fight on the frontlines, so if my blood can help you get stronger, then so be it. Do not hesitate to ask for more."

"I…I am speechless," Ai pressed her lips, smiling, taking the vial.

Present,

Ai sighed, "These guys…really…."

She turned her eyes towards the digital screen, looked at the tabs, and opened the Breathing Techniques.

She could see the web chart, and she thought Wood Breathing Technique would be a derivative of Water and Earth, but it wasn't.

Instead, it was at the top, with Water and Stone Breathing Techniques being its derivatives.

Not only that, the middle three had their names on them.

The Sun Breathing at the center, Wood Breathing on the right, and Curse Breathing on the left.

The Sun Breathing was still dull, but the Wood Breathing and Curse Breathing were still shining.

She placed her hand on the Curse Breathing, and the knowledge of the Breathing Technique filled her mind. It should be something that she should be jumping in joy at, but it wasn't anything like that. Why?

Because there was no form to Curse Breathing Technique, "Basically, it's useless. There doesn't seem to be any passive benefit like Wood Breathing, and without Forms, it does nothing. What am I supposed to with that, Dad?'

Ai cutely puffed her cheek, remembering her childhood a few months ago when she made this face and demanded her father to listen to her. She made the same face before ratting him out to her mother to get him punished.

"Dad…can't you do the whole work? So, I can come back home soon…?" Ai kept her forearm on top of her eyes, closing them as tears trickled down her eyes, "I miss you, Mom…Dad…I miss you so much. Mom…Dad isn't helpful at all…he got my hopes up and gave me empty Technique…so punish him for me?"

She turned to the side, burying her face in the pillow, curling her lips, thinking how her mother would take her father's side behind his back, despite scolding him.

'Your Dad…he must be thinking something that we haven't. There is always a purpose behind his every action; that's how smart he is…that's how cursed he is.' Ai gently closed her eyes, 'That is probably what she'd say.'

"Curse Breathing Technique. I don't even know anything about Curses, all I know is Curse Mark, and even then, I only know how it allows one to use Natural Energy? There is no Natural Energy here; what am I supposed to do with that? It's worthless after all," She sat up and plopped back down, gently closing her eyes.

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But the next instant, she snapped open her eyes, dazedly gazing at the wall, with trembling eyes, "Wait…don't I have all the ingredients…? It isn't impossible…right? I'd need much experimentation, but this might work."

She puffed her cheeks, "Gee, now I am annoyed that Dad figured it out before me! I hate this!!"

She chuckled to herself, resting her head on the pillow, covering herself with the blanket, "I want to try it…but before that…good night's sleep is a must."

She fell asleep on the soft bed, with her last thoughts about being the pain she felt when she woke up. She still hadn't figured out what it was,

The sleep she had that night was the best since she came to this world and long. Even the next afternoon, she didn't want to wake up. Even when she did, all she wanted to do was dazedly stare at the roof above or the wall beside.

Ai turned, resting on her back, the palm on her hand on her stomach. She raised her palm, watching it before it fell on the bed, and she fell asleep for another hour until she couldn't do anymore.

Even if she sat up, her mind was blank; the last she was awake, her mind was filled with so many ideas, possibilities, things she could do, she wanted to do, but now it was all blank.

The more she tried to think, the heavier she felt, and she plopped down on the bed.

"It's like a large cog in my mind…stopping all my gears from turning," Ai closed her eyes, not to sleep but rest her mind. She opened them, looking towards the window, the dark-sky blue curtain flapping with the wind. The wind and sunlight are coming through the window.

She could hear the sounds of insects coming from the outside, and a smile appeared on her lips, "It's similar…I had this moment at home too, didn't I?"

She closed her eyes and appeared in a house, more like creating the memory of her time at home, watching it again, and feeling that she was with them again.

She could see herself in front of her, albeit as a child, about five or six years ago, sitting on the stomach of a young man with medium-length silky black hair that covered his face, keeping from it visible, sleeping below her.

She kept pushing him, trying to wake him up, "Papa~~!! Papa~~! Wake up~! Read me this book~! Read to me~~~!!!!"

She shouted no matter how much she just slept, only for her mother to scold her, "Ai? Let your father sleep."

"No," Ai puffed her cheeks, "He must read to his daughter as a father."

She turned her eyes towards her mother, wearing a kimono and pants. She heard from everyone who saw her that she looked younger every day, and it was true; her mother barely looked a day older than twenty.

"Mama is so beautiful; I don't get why you even married someone like Dad; there must be so many better men than him."

"Oh," Tsunade let out a laugh, hugging the child from behind, kissing her cheek, caressing the hair of her sleeping husband, whispering, "Fine, then I'll get divorced from your father and marry someone else."

"Ah…um…No!" Ai panicked, gripping her father's clothes, staring down, "I guess…you did get yourself a pretty boy…you can't do any better…."

She nodded, pressing her lips, convincing herself she was right, "Right, right. Papa is okay for you."

"Is that so," Tsunade chuckled, hugging her tightly, lovingly kissing her, whispering in Ai's ear, "This will surprise you, but I'll give you a hint. Your father has been preparing a gift for you, but he's going to act that he made in an instant. So be a good girl and praise him for it?"

"Gift?" Ai's eyes sparkled; she jumped up from the couch, "Mm, I'll get Papa some tea. Yup, yup."

Ai (From Present) watched her mother chuckled as she watched her back, and a smile appeared on her lips.

Tsunade bent down, tracing her husband's cheek, planting a kiss on his lips, "See you in the evening."

He raised his hand, holding her mother close, kissing her back, "Be careful out there."

Ai (Present) puffed her cheek, "I knew he was so awake then!"

She couldn't see him, so she went to the side to look at what they were whispering when she looked down at the book that fell from the couch, the one she wanted him to read, and her eyes widened for a moment.

She got distracted when she knelt in front of the couch, took the book, and turned the pages to see every word. She didn't remember him reading it to her, but it seemed she did since it was in her memory.

"Is that even possible?" She wondered when a thought hit her. She rushed into her parent's room, looking toward the bookshelves and her mother's medical books.

She remembered that her mother tried to teach them, and she read through them. She opened the book to find the pages filled with information.

She turned the pages, and everything was there, making her raise her eyebrows. Those times, she read through all books that she could find because she loved them.

She ran her fingers over the books, thinking there was one book, erotica probably, that was sealed by her mother so that she couldn't read.

She found the book, and since it was her memory, she could erase the seal, but when she opened it, turning the pages, there was nothing.

"Makes sense…but then…does that mean that place should have it too? The gift?" She wondered for a moment, sitting down on the couch, "Hm. Let's see…there are these books, then at the hospital, and then there are books available in this Era. I should be able to read them, no, note them down, and with Shinobu's and Aoi's help, poison and medicine. Maybe ask Lady Tamayo for help."

She closed the book, coming out of her memory world, opening her eyes on the bed, "But that isn't it…I need more information and study genetics. Did I ever read anything related to genes?"

She sat up, taking a deep breath, "There is so much to do that I am getting stressed."

She stood up from the bed and walked towards the window, removing the curtain to look outside, "One step at a time. Before taking another step, let's start by deciding what to do first and then do it."

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