"So, that is why you've been spending so much time talking with Sensei Yasamusa lately. We are being placed into a four-man squad with you as the leader?" Watanabe murmured, glancing up over the edge of a crisp piece of parchment.
"Hmm, I see how it is. Then what do you make of these?" Gabimaru asked, picking up a thick piece of dark fabric from a basket. It bore a strange, intricate engraving on its surface. "If you tilt it against the light, it almost looks like an ox's horns from a certain angle, doesn't it?" he noted, closely inspecting the pattern with a furrowed brow.
Shion inspected her own piece of fabric silently, her sharp eyes watching the boys move about the grounds as she maintained her quiet, alert posture.
"Yes, that is partly the reason," Yorimitsu spoke, his eyes scanning his own parchment. "As for the other reason... I will explain everything to you all after we finish this journey."
'He sure likes hiding things, doesn't he?' Gabimaru thought.
Internally, Yorimitsu's mind raced over his rooftop deal. 'Mmm… so this is what Yasamusa meant when he said he wanted me to build up my reputation a little more within the school. It is in line with my own ideas, but I was wondering how I would get a mission that would raise it. But if it's like this, I have nothing to worry about.'
"Ha… so the territory we are deploying to is the Rokuhara district." Yorimitsu paused, shifting his gaze directly towards Watanabe. "The village that you grew up in is located around that district, isn't it, Watanabe?"
Watanabe's head jerked up instantly, a sudden flash of tension crossing his features before he slowly, deliberately nodded.
"Yeah… mine is called Shizuwe just after Rokuhara; it's impossible to miss."
"Mmm, I see," Yorimitsu continued, his tone smooth, calculations entering his eyes. "In that case, it seems we will have to take care of that… issue of yours on our way there."
"Hmph?!" Gabimaru mused, his eyes darting suspiciously back and forth between Yorimitsu and Watanabe, picking up on the unsaid weight between them.
"Make sure you all prepare your gear tonight. I am planning for us to depart by tomorrow morning," Yorimitsu commanded, turning on his heel and walking away. The moment his boots clicked against the gravel, Shion stepped fluidly into motion, following half a step behind him like a shadow.
"What is the deal with those two anyway?" Gabimaru grumbled, raising an eyebrow at their perfectly synchronised exit.
"Whatever could you possibly mean by that?" Watanabe replied, his stiff posture melting back into his usual teasing, smooth tone.
"Tch. You know exactly what I mean," Gabimaru grumbled, crossing his arms. "She follows him literally everywhere. It's just a little unnerving, you know?"
"Yeahhhh, I get what you mean," Watanabe replied smoothly, leaning back. "It honestly feels like she's guarding a massive secret."
"Tch. You are one to talk," Gabimaru shot back sharply.
"Huh?"
"You know what I mean. All of you seem to have some sort of bizarre, special relationship with the Taisho. Why did he bring up your hometown so specifically earlier?" Gabimaru's voice remained perfectly stable, but there was an unmistakable edge of frustration radiating from his aura.
Watanabe blinked, taken aback. 'Huh? What is with him suddenly? He never used to care about minor details like th—'
Then, a sudden memory flashed through Watanabe's mind. 'Ah. Does this have to do with what happened when we were fighting in Orochi's sanctuary? I heard a rumour that Ichiyoshi awakened an entirely different level of power during that battle, which completely startled him.'
Meanwhile, Gabimaru's thoughts were turning increasingly sour. 'Yeah, they all share an unsaid understanding with him. Even before this, Yorimitsu strictly forbade Watanabe from using his Onmyōdō during that fight earlier, and Watanabe actually obeyed without a protest. Now, it's Shion who is constantly clinging to his shadow… and I can feel it. Her Reiryoku has become significantly denser. She's gotten stronger.'
"Hey, what is with that sour face?" Watanabe asked aloud, watching Gabimaru closely. Internally, he sighed. 'Mmm... Gabimaru is stubborn. I'm entirely certain he won't let this go if I don't give him a straight answer.'
Watanabe pushed himself off the wall. "Gabimaru, come with me. Let's take a walk."
"Huh?! What are you, a woman?" Gabimaru snapped back instantly, a visible vein throbbing on his forehead. "Why on earth would I go take a scenic stroll with you?"
'Tch… this stubborn bastar—' Watanabe resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Aloud, his tone shifted into something far more serious. "No games, Gabimaru. Just come with me. I will tell you exactly why Yorimitsu-sama brought up my home village."
"He actually said -sama…?" Gabimaru mused silently, stepping into stride alongside the taller boy.
Crunch... crunch... crunch...
Their footsteps crunched in a rhythmic cadence against the sharp gravel as they navigated toward the isolated edge of the school grounds.
"Gabimaru, the truth is... I am a commoner," Watanabe spoke, his voice tangling with the cold, whistling winds sweeping in from the east. "I am a person who wasn't even born with a proper surname. Even though my family technically falls under the massive umbrella of the Fujiwara clan, we are subservient to five other tiers of families. The vassal lords completely refused to grant my bloodline a name."
"Ha?!" Gabimaru's head snapped toward him, utterly stunned. 'He is this strong, yet he comes from a vassal of a vassal clan?'
"For as long as I can remember, my body has been incredibly steady," Watanabe continued, looking out over the horizon. "I could understand and replicate martial arts as easily as breathing. I was so proficient that I managed to catch the attention of a third-rate noble family. They were the ones who sponsored me to come to this academy. My sudden rise even seemed to improve my family's standing back home; the lords finally granted us a surname after that."
'What is with this guy? Is he just trying to boast about his genius?' Gabimaru thought, his brow furrowing.
"But that is precisely when everything started going completely downhill for me." Watanabe's voice dropped, a heavy bitterness seeping into his tone. "As time went by, no matter how much agonising effort I poured into my techniques, my talent just... stagnated. Even when I trained tirelessly from dawn until dusk, I couldn't see a single sliver of improvement. I was standing on the absolute precipice of despair. And then... I met Yorimitsu-sama."
Gabimaru blinked, the irritation vanishing from his eyes, replaced by intense curiosity. "Huh?"