After a while, I finished adjusting the last of the furniture.
I stood still for a few seconds in the center of the room, looking around.
It wasn't the peak of decoration, there was still plenty of room for improvement, but that would come with time.
For now, it was more than enough.
I went back to my room, sat on a chair, opened the wooden case, and assembled the three parts of the flute.
I tried to play a basic C scale from low to high, but I could barely produce the first notes.
'Back to the beginning, then…'
I disassembled the instrument and took only the headjoint, trying to remember the alignment of my mouth with the instrument, as well as the direction of the airflow.
It shouldn't take long until I could play again.
─── ◆ ───
I left the house the next morning, taking the trail.
The walk to the Butterfly Mansion was short, so going on foot didn't take more than seven minutes.
Passed through the mansion gates and entered the corridors.
I glanced around, looking for Kanae.
A few corridors later, still no sign of her.
'She must be busy.'
Without thinking much about it, I headed straight to the room.
The door slid open before stepping inside.
The space was exactly as it had been left.
I went straight to the belongings and began organizing everything without hurry.
I grabbed the backpack and started putting away the few things inside it.
Basically, my belongings scattered around the room were: the mask, the wolf fang necklace, some poison vials, ordinary metal daggers, a crucible, and some clothes.
As I finished arranging the last pieces of clothing, I heard the sound of the door opening.
I stopped and turned around.
Kanae was standing still at the entrance, smiling as she watched me.
"Ah, good to see you, Kanae."
"I was looking for you."
I turned back again, picking up the last piece of clothing and folding it calmly before placing it into the backpack.
"My house is ready, so I won't need to occupy this room anymore."
I continued organizing the remaining things as I spoke.
She, however, remained strangely silent.
"The good thing is that it's pretty close to the Butterfly Mansion."
"I asked my crows to show you the way to it."
I closed the backpack.
"Come by sometime."
"By the way, have you seen Shinobu lately? She—"
I stopped for a moment.
A chill ran down my spine.
'…'
'Why is my presence warning me about nearby danger???'
"Usan~"
Kanae's voice was as soft as always, but… it felt strange somehow.
Slowly, I turned around.
A drop of sweat ran down the side of my face.
She was still standing there, her eyes now closed, and for some reason, her gentle smile felt threatening.
"I heard you deliberately ate an extremely poisonous mushroom…"
She tilted her head slightly, touching her lip as if contemplating what she had just said.
I swallowed dryly.
"Are you out of your mind?" She began walking slowly toward me.
"…"
'I'm dead.'
I lifted my face toward the ceiling and closed my eyes, accepting my fate.
'See you soon… Dad, Mom… little sisters…'
I heard her footsteps approaching, felt my presence screaming as she extended her hand forward.
Then—
"Found you!!"
I opened one eye toward the sound, and there he was:
Tengen crouched on the window frame, pointing at me and grinning.
Not even a second later, he jumped into the room, grabbed me, and threw me over his shoulder, exiting through the same window.
I didn't resist at all as Tengen carried me away from the Butterfly Mansion.
Through the window, I saw Kanae watching us, still smiling, but with a vein bulging on her forehead.
'We'll talk later.' I saw her lips move, and to my absolute despair, I could read them.
'At least it's been postponed…' I let out a sigh of relief.
'…'
"Thanks, Tengen. I owe you one."
"Eh?" he replied, clearly confused, but didn't stop running.
"Usually people get annoyed when I do this…" he then shrugged and kept going.
A few seconds later, I jumped off his shoulder and started running alongside him.
It was a bit embarrassing to stay like that.
"So, where are we going?"
"To an isolated place so we can have our spar."
I nodded.
We kept moving for a few more minutes, advancing through the forest until we reached an open clearing.
I left my backpack in a more distant corner, tying it to a tree, and returned to the clearing shortly after.
Tengen was stretching his arms to warm up, but suddenly stopped and turned around, as if remembering something important.
"I forgot to ask. Do you have any training weapons with you?"
"No. Just my normal weapons."
"…"
We stared at each other for a second.
Then we both shrugged.
"Well, as long as we don't kill each other, it's fine."
"Yeah."
Uzui reached behind his back and pulled out his weapons.
Two massive blades connected by a chain, very flashy.
I drew my kusarigama from my waist in response.
A satisfying sound of chains echoed from both sides of the clearing.
Uzui whistled, clearly pleased.
"It's been a long time since I've seen a kusarigama."
"Your weapon is pretty interesting," I replied, then a sly smile spread across my face as I added:
"The bombs too."
A smile also appeared on his face.
"Your daggers and poisoned needles are pretty interesting as well."
Our smiles widened at the same time.
"Alright." Uzui lightly spun his blades.
"In general, our little extras are anti-demon… so how about we stick to blade skills and breathing techniques only?"
"Sounds good."
Uzui leaned his body slightly forward, taking his stance.
"Then let's go. I want to see that strange ability of yours…" he said, his voice filled with anticipation.
I didn't respond, also taking my stance.
We both took a deep breath.
"Sound Breathing…"
"Shadow Breathing…"
─── ◆ ───
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