Star Breathing

**Star Breathing** (星の呼吸, *Hoshi no Kokyū*?) is one of the fundamental Breathing Styles derived from Sun Breathing.

## Overview

Star Breathing is a Breathing Style that mimics the metaphorical characteristics of stars and constellations, specifically the elegant glow of stars and the flowing patterns of constellations along with the brightness and heat of flares and that exist within space and replicates these characteristics with the user's movements, techniques and abilities. Most, if not all, known techniques and forms focus on the constant flowing, elegant moves with the sword and the user, much like stars and constellations themselves; the attacks are direct yet are able to constantly move and change, meaning they can ultimately strike anywhere. Users of Star Breathing visualize themselves seemingly manipulating nebulae when unleashing its techniques.

Unlike Sun Breathing which is stamina draining, the movements and techniques of Star Breathing that the swordsman uses prevents recoil, stamina loss, and losing control over movements. This made it a seemingly lite version of Sun Breathing.

Star Breathing was created by Gensuke Hoshimiya, a student of Yoriichi Tsugikuni who attempted to learn Sun Breathing and eventually succeeded in mastering the Breathing Style yet pretended to not master it to protect himself and his clan. He then decided to create an offshoot of the original Breathing Style that he termed a 'lite version of Sun Breathing' by creating a Breathing Style that mimicked the stars and whose techniques and forms specifically focused on deliverance of swift and precise yet powerful slash and stab attacks that mimic the star's high surface temperatures, and movements and techniques that prevents recoil, stamina loss, and losing control over movements of its user. It finally evolved into the Breathing Style known as Star Breathing.

From a discussion that Yoriichi Tsugikuni had with Gensuke, Yoriichi stated to Gensuke that Star Breathing seems to be ¾ of Sun Breathing's full power.

Although still used as a combat style, Star Breathing, like Sun Breathing, became a ritual dance known as the **Hoshikami Kagura** (星の神 神楽, *Hoshinokami Kagura*?, lit. "Dance of the Star God") that is practiced by the Hoshimiya Family to honor its creator, Gensuke Hoshimiya.

## Weaponry used with this Breathing Style

Most known users of the Star Breathing have wielded Nichirin swords whose blade is gold in color.

 Ryoya Hoshimiya | Dull Gold
 Takanori Hoshimiya | Deep Gold

## Techniques

Star Breathing has 10 techniques all connected to one another by users of the Breathing Style. Like Yoriichi Tsugikuni, Gensuke also perfected his swordsmanship form, creating a new eleventh form.

* **First Light: Glowing Starlight** (壱ノ型: 輝く星光, *Ichi no kata: Kagayaku Seikō*?) - A two-strike combo in which the user performs two downwards slashes to strike the target, creating an X-shaped attack.
* **Second Form: Ascending Stardust** (弐ノ型: 星屑の昇順, *Ni no kata: Hoshikuzu no Shōjun*?) - The user twists their body a total of 5 times whilst swinging their sword to deliver 5 slashes which creates a seemingly swirling technique in just seemingly one attack to strike the target.
* **Third Form: Starry Galaxy** (参ノ型: 星空の銀河, *San no kata: Hoshizora no Ginga*?) - The user unleashes a total of five consecutive arcing attacks around themself at such a high speed in order to strike or incept a target, or strike incoming attacks*.*
* **Fourth Form: Orbiting Stellars** (肆ノ型: 周回星, *Shi no kata: Shūkai Sei***?)** - The user unleashes several sword slashes whilst curving and twisting their body gracefully.
* **Fifth Form: Upended Celestial Bodies** (伍ノ型: ひっくり返った天体, *Go no kata: Hikkurikaetta Tentai*?) - The user interchanges the swing of their arms by swinging either upwards or downwards, delivering a total of eight arching slashes in quick succession
* **Sixth Form: Astral Deity** (陸ノ型: 星の神, *Roku no kata: Hoshi no Shin*?) - The user will cross their arms and generates enough momentum to release a singular, concentrated and arched high-powered slash which is often horizontal.
* **Seventh Form: Galactic Sphere** (漆ノ型: 銀河球, *Shichi no kata: Ginga-kyū*?) - The user performs a singular 270° slash, that can either be downwards or upwards, vertical or horizontal.
* **Eighth Form: Wandering Gazes, Bright Slashes** (捌ノ型: よえる画面・明斬り, *Hachi no kata: Yoeru Gamen - Mei Giri*?) - A form that delivers multiple attacks. The user bends their body in a winding motion a total of two times along with swinging their sword three times each around themself, slicing up their target instantly in its path or cut an impossible-to-defend attack to pieces.
* **Ninth Form: Setting Star Radiance** (玖ノ型: 設定星輝き, *Ku no kata: Settei-boshi Kagayaki*?) - The user unleashes a number of successive arched attacks rapidly around themself in order to cut or defend from all-directional attacks, cut up a target or decapitate multiple targets.
* **Tenth Form: Last Light** (拾ノ型: 最後の光, *Jū no kata: Saigo no Hikari*?) - The user dashes forward at blinding speeds and jumps toward the target before unleashing a singular slash that decapitates the opponent in a fast motion that the user cannot be seen by the target.
* **Eleventh Form: Honorable Stellars, Endless Dragon Constellations** (拾壱ノ型: 名誉恒星・無限龍星座, *Jū Ichi no kata: Meiyo Kōsei - Mugenryū Seiza*?) - The user twirls their body from right to left whilst delivering a total of three vertical slashes at once down on their target, followed by the user assuming a high stance, before unleashing a seemingly endless barrage of accurate, consecutive slashes in a fluid motion in the form of a Japanese dragon made of nebulae whilst adding body movements. This technique is capable of cutting demons of any type (including progenitors) into numerous pieces or near-complete evisceration leaving no room for the target to either regenerate or escape.

## Trivia

* A Star Breathing user that reaches the rank of Hashira is dubbed the **Stellar Hashira** (星柱, *Sei Bashira*?).
* Also like Sun Breathing where other people can learn this technique if taught by a Kamado descendant, Star Breathing can also be learned if a member of the Hoshimiya family or their student who mastered it teaches the person the Breathing Style.
* Just like Sun Breathing, Star Breathing also utilizes a breathing technique that allows the user to never exhaust themselves no matter how long they move, making it such that they can seemingly fight in battle forever.