"But what? I'm starting to suspect you deliberately instigated your disciple to cause trouble. Our Inazuma swordsmanship emphasizes a hundred schools contending and fair competition, not malicious suppression. You should know the consequences, right?"
"Ye-yes, I know…"
"So, what's your plan?"
"We're leaving, we're leaving right now!"
Daisuke Nakajo said, about to get up, but Shiki pressed him down again.
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave. One thing at a time. Your disciple's matter is clear, but your bringing people to the door isn't over yet!"
"Bringing a large group of people onto the street first thing in the morning, do you know how scary that is? You're disturbing public order, do you know that?"
As she spoke, Shiki unleashed her Archon-like aura. In the eyes of the others, the girl's facial features were no longer discernible; only her eyes remained, but without pupils, only whites.
"I-I'm terribly sorry!"
Under the terrifying pressure, Daisuke Nakajo immediately performed a perfect dogeza. Shiki, seeing this, nodded in satisfaction, then withdrew her Archon's pressure.
"Good. See, wasn't that better?"
"Uh… yes, yes…"
"Then why are you still here?"
"Go, go!"
Daisuke Nakajo and his disciples scrambled out of the Fujiwara Dojo. At this point, Fujiwara and Kazuha finally greeted the girl.
"Good morning, Shiki."
"Good morning, you two."
"Actually, Shiki, you didn't need to come. We could have handled it," Kazuha said.
"I didn't even plan to come!" Shiki sighed. "First thing in the morning, I was thinking of taking a walk in the city, and then I saw a large group of people carrying swords onto the street. I thought it was going to be a gang fight."
"I followed them for a while, and then this happened."
"And if it really came to a fight, you two would be at a disadvantage. Causing a death in Inazuma City is a very serious matter, no matter how you look at it."
Kazuha and Fujiwara exchanged glances upon hearing this. Indeed, that possibility could not be ruled out.
One or two people would be fine; they could be careful when striking. But with too many people, they wouldn't be able to keep track, and given their strength, accidents could very easily occur.
"But you two are quite fast. You just received your Menkyo Kaiden two days ago, didn't you? And the dojo is already set up?" Shiki said, looking around.
"We owe a lot to Domon-senpai. He rented us his old dojo. We just needed to change the equipment; everything else we could use directly," Fujiwara said.
"So, do you have any disciples now?"
"Yes… I had her hide in the storage room's partition earlier. Sakura! Come out! It's safe now!"
As Kazuha finished speaking, Shiki saw the warehouse door open, and a small head peeked out.
The girl looked to be only about nine years old, dressed in a small kimono. Her waist-length black hair made her look more like a young lady from a wealthy family than a samurai.
"Let me introduce you. This is my disciple I just took in yesterday, named Kobayashi Sakura."
"Sakura, come say hello to your Ryougi-oneesan."
Fujiwara called out, and then Shiki saw the girl slowly come before her, timidly saying, "R-Ryougi-oneesan… Hello, my name is Kobayashi Sakura. You can just call me Sakura."
"Hello, Little Sakura. Is it okay if I call you that? As you can see, my name is Shiki, and I'm your master's good friend."
Shiki said softly, then turned to look at the two beside her, her meaning being:
'Why did you take such a young child as a disciple?'
While it's true that fundamentals should be taught from a young age, isn't this too young? And what about her parents?
"…To be honest, we found this child on the street yesterday midnight while cleaning up the dojo," Kazuha sighed.
"She was lying on the roadside, covered in dirt, and had various bruises from beatings."
"After she woke up, she couldn't remember anything except her name. She didn't know where she came from or who her parents were."
"And the bruises on her body indicated that her previous life wasn't good, so we decided not to report her to the Tenryou Commission and took her in as the Fujiwara Dojo's first disciple."
"Yesterday, we spent the night tidying her up. I went to Ogura Shop and bothered Ogura Mio, the owner, to buy some children's clothes, while Chika bathed her and applied medicine."
Shiki looked at Kobayashi Sakura in Fujiwara's arms, silently. She didn't know what caused a little girl to be beaten and wander the streets, but it certainly wasn't good.
Although Kobayashi Sakura was still a nine-year-old girl, she was indeed a beautiful child. As long as she didn't grow up crooked, she would be among the top beauties in the future.
"Do you want me to help you investigate Sakura's identity? Maybe we can find her biological parents," Shiki asked.
But before Kazuha could say anything, Kobayashi Sakura reached out her small hand and grasped the girl's wide sleeve, then gently shook her head.
"You don't want to find them? I understand."
Shiki had some guesses in her mind upon seeing this. It seemed Kobayashi Sakura's current situation was inextricably linked to her parents.
What child doesn't want to see their parents? Unless those parents did something very unforgivable to her, and not just once. Only then would a child not want to see their parents.
Children have unconditional trust in their parents, but this doesn't mean trust is infinite. With repeated DMG, the loss of trust is inevitable.
"If you need anything, just say so, okay? Raising a child isn't easy."
Although Fujiwara and Kazuha were very capable, they were still just two minors.
And Shiki, as an adult, had a responsibility to offer some help to this newlywed couple (not).
"Currently, there's nothing… By the way, why do I feel like there's a hidden meaning in your words?" Kazuha looked at the girl with suspicion.
"How could that be? I'm just concerned about you two. You know, you used to be ronin, with no fixed income. Raising a child is a very Mora-consuming matter."
Shiki expressionlessly patted Kazuha's shoulder, but this made the latter feel even more uneasy.
"I said it's nothing. We'll have Mora once we have disciples."
Kazuha shook his head. They couldn't always rely on the girl for help. Unless it was absolutely necessary, they wouldn't ask for help.
Because they knew that once Shiki offered help, she would arrange everything completely.
"Alright, if you say so, then it seems there's no problem. You two stay busy. I'll be going now. There are still things waiting for me to handle in Inazuma."
"Hmm, don't be too busy either. Relax a bit when you can."
"Ha, don't you know my style of doing things? I'd never work overtime, no matter who else does."
Shiki waved her hand, then turned and left the dojo. Of course, she didn't forget the small pile of melon seeds she had left on the cabinet.
She had bought them for a hundred Mora from a street vendor.
"Master… my parents, please don't look for them, okay? I don't want to leave you two."
"Alright, alright, we won't look, we won't look…"
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