Early the next morning, someone knocked on the door of the Fujiwara residence.
Lady Kyoka opened it and found a handsome man in a two-toned haori standing outside. "Oh my, are you the swordsman who came to escort Lady Sui?"
The man nodded.
Kyoka glanced at the time and saw that it was only six in the morning. At this hour, the girl would normally still be sleeping soundly, with absolutely no intention of waking. Especially after enjoying a comfortable hot spring bath the night before and finally laying down the burden of demon hunting for the moment, she was surely still lost in a sweet dream.
"Didn't Miss Kasugai Crow say yesterday that you were supposed to depart at noon? Isn't it a bit early for you to have arrived?" Kyoka invited the man inside. Fujiwara had also woken up by then. Rubbing his eyes, he mumbled, "Dear, who would be visiting so early in the morning? Who could it be—"
Then he jolted upright.
"W-Water Hashira!"
Water Hashira, Giyu Tomioka.
Kyoka was startled. She had not expected a Hashira to personally come as the one guiding the girl to the Ubuyashiki estate. Usually, a role like this would be handled by the Kakushi.
"No need to mind it," the man said, raising his eyes. His voice was as calm and still as the surface of a deep lake. "I merely happened to pass by, and I also have some personal business with Miss Sui that I need to settle."
H-how frightening.
Kyoka's shoulders trembled. She had never met such an icy swordsman before.
Saying he had "personal business" to settle in such a cold tone… could it be that Lady Sui had become some terrible heartbreaker?
Remembering the girl's beauty, then looking at the man before her, Kyoka became even more convinced that this had to be some kind of romantic dispute.
Her imagination began running wild. After thinking it over, she decided she had to at least offer this Water Hashira a warning and confirm a few things.
"I hope you won't make things difficult for Lady Sui!"
"What?" The man blinked, confused.
"I mean… well… matters of the heart… can't be forced? You have to be gentler about this."
Faced with a Hashira, Kyoka had no idea how to phrase it properly. Especially when those deep blue eyes looked at her—they were like the sea.
"I understand," the man said calmly, nodding. "I will be more tactful."
What?
Kyoka was even more shocked.
So it really was a romantic problem!
Meanwhile, seated formally on the tatami, Giyu Tomioka recalled the instructions his teacher Urokodaki had given him.
Three months ago, around the time the Final Selection ended, Giyu had received a letter from Urokodaki-sensei. It explained what had happened during that trial.
There had been a powerful grotesque demon hidden on Mount Fujikasane. Back in the Edo period, when Urokodaki was still the Water Hashira, he had captured it and imprisoned it there. Ever since, it had hated Urokodaki and specifically hunted down Urokodaki's students on the mountain.
Sabito and Makomo had both died at the hands of that demon. During the Final Selection, Giyu himself had lost consciousness in battle against another demon. By the time he awoke, the trial had already ended. He had never known what really happened, and neither had anyone else.
Until three months ago, when the truth finally came to light.
There had been a grotesque demon hidden within Mount Fujikasane, along with an ability-using demon that helped conceal it.
Both had been killed by a young woman named Sui, who had also uncovered the truth of those past events. Kuroha Chiyo, as one of Urokodaki's students, had brought the good news back to their teacher. Urokodaki had never been happier and had long wished to personally express his gratitude to that young woman. But as a cultivator, he could not easily leave his post, so the task had fallen to Giyu.
Only recently had Giyu realized that the woman who had swung her blade at him in the kabuki theater had been the very benefactor he was supposed to thank.
A rare swordswoman who had mastered Thunder Breathing—and raised it to its very peak.
He simply had not recognized her at the time.
"Have you eaten yet?" Fujiwara asked.
"Yes," Giyu answered.
"Would you like to rest for a while? Lady Sui is still asleep at this hour. I'm afraid it'll be at least a few more hours. Normally she wakes up around noon, and given yesterday's notice about the meeting, she may get up a little earlier, but definitely not at six in the morning. Or perhaps you'd like me to wake her for you?" Fujiwara asked.
"No need," Giyu said, sitting straight-backed and perfectly still. "I can wait."
Urokodaki-sensei had warned him: when dealing with a benefactor, be gentle, polite, yielding, and considerate.
Kyoka tugged at Fujiwara's sleeve and pulled him toward the back of the loft. Then she whispered, "Dear, don't interfere in this matter."
"Huh?"
"This is a romantic dispute!" Kyoka held up one finger. "I knew it! A woman like Lady Sui couldn't possibly not have some troublesome ties following her around!"
"Th-that can't be right, can it?" Fujiwara scratched his head, utterly unable to follow how his wife had reached that conclusion.
"In any case, don't ask questions!" Kyoka said sternly.
"Go bring that Water Hashira some tea. Lady Sui will probably sleep another four or five hours!"
"No," came a voice as a room door slid open. "I'm already awake."
A stunning young woman, fully dressed, stepped out. The earrings at her ears rang with the clear chime of tiny bells.
"What? Lady Sui, you're actually awake? Did our talking disturb you? We're terribly sorry." Kyoka hurriedly bowed.
"Not at all. I woke up the moment Mr. Tomioka arrived," Sui said, waving her hand.
"Good morning, Mr. Tomioka."
The woman greeted the man seated on the tatami. Giyu turned his head slightly and gave a faint nod.
"Good morning."
"This is not our first meeting, I believe. I am Sui. Welcome, Water Hashira, for coming personally to escort me."
At the side, Kyoka's expression stiffened slightly.
"What now?" Fujiwara whispered.
"When have you ever heard Lady Sui refer to herself as 'I' like 妾? That's an old noblewoman's first-person pronoun used only in formal settings. Her whole manner has changed—she's standing straighter, acting far more formal," Kyoka muttered. She came from a family with a very long history, and she immediately noticed the subtle shift in Sui's bearing.
"Well, she is about to attend something as serious as a Hashira meeting," Fujiwara said with a shrug.
"No, the atmosphere between them is awful. Lady Sui is strengthening the distance between them! When a woman carries herself with such rigid poise, men find it difficult to approach her."
Kyoka carefully observed the two on the tatami.
"That's definitely not what's happening," Fujiwara said, scratching his head. "She's only using a formal self-reference because of the situation."
Sometimes his wife really did overthink things.
After all, he had heard plenty about this Water Hashira. Everyone said he was difficult to get along with—taciturn, unsmiling, with eyes so cold they seemed capable of freezing people solid.
On the tatami, Sui and Giyu exchanged only a few words.
Essentially, Sui asked whether he had eaten, and the Water Hashira said yes. Then she asked whether the trip here had been tiring, and he said he had merely passed by on the way. Even Sui, who considered herself excellent at social interaction, found this difficult.
At last, Giyu took out a letter and handed it to the girl before him.
Sui opened it and read it through. When she finished, she carefully returned it to the envelope.
"If I have the opportunity, I will pay Urokodaki-sensei a visit."
"Mm." Giyu nodded, then stood up, picked up the Nichirin Blade resting at his side, and said, "Let's go."
"Leave now?" Sui was rather surprised by the Water Hashira's efficiency.
"Mm." He nodded again.
"But I haven't had breakfast yet. Surely leaving immediately would be improper?"
"All right."
The man nodded yet again and was just about to sit back down onto the tatami when Sui finally understood. His "all right" meant he would follow her arrangement. Since she had said she had not eaten breakfast yet, that meant he could wait until she finished before they left. He had no intention of inconveniencing her.
But this way of speaking really was a bit… robotic, Sui thought.
No matter. Sui was a genius at social interaction. A robot-like Water Hashira would not defeat her.
After all, the Water Hashira was only somewhat robotic. Shinazugawa, on the other hand, had been outright violent.
"No," Sui said, shaking her head. "What I mean is—we can eat on the street."
A smile bloomed on her lips, red and vivid as flower petals.
"Urokodaki-sensei said in his letter that you must repay me properly, didn't he? In that case, Water Hashira, you absolutely have to treat me."
"Come on."
Sui pushed open the door of the Fujiwara residence, and the morning sun poured into the room.
Giyu simply nodded and followed after her.
"Thank you, Mr. Fujiwara, Lady Kyoka, for all your care."
Sui bowed toward the couple inside the house.
"Not at all, not at all. It's we who have benefited from Lady Sui's good fortune," Kyoka said with a smile.
"Until next time, Lady Thunder Hashira," Fujiwara replied with a deep bow.
"Until next time."
Sui turned and stepped into the rising sunlight, followed behind by a distinctly robotic Water Hashira.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( Ending )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter108)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 99
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 95
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 99
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 92
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 47
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 44
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 43
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