Mist Hashira - Tokito Muichiro.
With his delicate and small frame, and his vacant, expressionless eyes, it was hard to connect him with the title of one of the nine strongest swordsmen.
It was said that he went from an ordinary boy to a Hashira in just two months of holding a sword. Truly admirable.
As agreed, Taka spent three days a week at the Ubuyashiki Estate, learning swordsmanship from Muichiro, who was temporarily residing there.
"Eh.... What's your name again? Ah, Taka...."
Tokito was still in that same dazed state. Oyakata-sama had specifically explained this to Taka:
His memory had some issues. If possible, please talk with Muichiro more to help him recover his health.
Since it was a swordsmanship lesson, Taka still treated Muichiro like a teacher, slightly bowing and speaking in a deep voice: "Tokito-senpai, please instruct me."
On the veranda of the estate, Oyakata-sama's wife, Ubuyashiki Amane, was silently watching the two in the courtyard with her children. She had always been very concerned about Muichiro.
A breeze passed, rustling the garden trees.
Taka and Muichiro stood facing each other, both holding practice wooden swords.
Muichiro's small frame stood straight, his gaze not on Taka, but vacantly drifting into the distance, as if a part of his soul was still lost in the thick fog.
But Taka would not underestimate him because of this. Within his Reiatsu Perception, the sword aura enveloping Muichiro was like a gleaming sharp blade, keen and lethal!
During the three days of training last week, without using Breathing Styles, his sword could barely pose any threat to Muichiro.
"You... have a very solid foundation, but you've fought too few times..."
"Your body is very stiff. You must have trained too intensely before, causing your movements to unconsciously become sluggish..."
"Sword forms... you don't need to learn them anymore. You just need to... keep fighting."
Muichiro had said this before.
And indeed, recalling, Taka realized he had only subjugated less than five demons, and mostly at critical moments, relying on Tonan's power to fight.
'If Arasaki-sensei saw my performance, would he be angry....'
"Let's begin." Taka said in a low voice. The two assumed their stances.
Whoosh—
No words were needed. Taka transformed into a flash of blade light.
The wooden sword slashed out a swift grey shadow, carrying the sharp sound of tearing air, aiming straight for Muichiro's throat!
Muichiro's expression remained calm. The instant the sword tip almost touched his collar, he made a minute shift in his footwork, and his body performed an efficient, tiny leaning movement, dodging the fierce blade wind.
The strike missed, but Taka wasn't surprised. He twisted his body and exerted force, using the momentum of the downward slash to execute an upward sweep!
'Oh? A new move?' Muichiro raised an eyebrow slightly. Taka hadn't used this move last week.
This was Taka instinctively using a movement from the Kagura dance he had learned from Tanjiro, a step called Heavens.
"A pretty slash, but... still slow."
Muichiro's wooden sword had already tapped out like lightning, its position crafty, its timing exquisitely perfect.
The wooden sword lightly tapped, precisely striking the weakest node in the power chain at Taka's wrist.
Taka's entire right arm instantly went numb. The power he had just gathered dissipated like a punctured balloon, and his subsequent move was forcibly strangled in its infancy.
His expression changed. He quickly retreated, distancing himself, and readjusted his breathing rhythm.
Muichiro withdrew his wooden sword, his gaze still vacantly fixed on a camellia in the corner of the garden, as if that brilliant, effortless strike was merely casually brushing dust from his clothes, utterly insignificant.
"What a brilliant strike. That child Muichiro truly is...." Amane, brewing green tea outside the training area, remarked with emotion.
"Of course! Muichiro-sama is the descendant of that swordsman! Of course he can't be compared to these small fry! The 'Mu' in Muichiro-sama's name means 'unrivaled'!"
On a treetop, an especially noisy Kasugai Crow was excitedly gesturing, continuously praising Muichiro.
That was Muichiro's Kasugai Crow, Ginko. She was very proud of everything about Muichiro and looked down on any swordsman besides him.
"Shut up, noisy." Beside her stood a Kasugai Crow with a calm gaze, radiating an aura that said 'keep away.'.
He had named himself Kurohane, Taka's partner, but aside from delivering orders, he rarely met with Taka.
Even so, he didn't like other Kasugai Crows pointing fingers at Taka. It felt a bit like other kids trying to take his toy, which displeased him.
Leaving aside the squabbling of the two Kasugai Crows, Taka had already struck again.
This time, Taka's blade was very fast.
Or rather, Muichiro had slowed down in his eyes.
Taka didn't know if this counted as some kind of clever trick, but he could indeed consciously release his Reiatsu Perception, predicting his opponent's movements more clearly.
In fact, if Taka pushed this power to the extreme, he could even see the texture of the muscles and blood vessels beneath the opponent's skin....
Thwack!
With a dull thud, his wooden sword met Muichiro's. This surprised even the other.
Then, a storm of attacks began. Taka continuously swung his wooden sword, and Muichiro's expression finally shifted from casual to serious as he repeatedly parried Taka's attacks.
The two fought from morning until noon, until their wooden swords began to crack and their hands bled from worn grips, yet they never stopped.
Shing—!
Seizing a momentary opening, Taka's wooden sword grazed Muichiro's cheek, cutting off a few strands of his hair.
He himself, however, had Muichiro's wooden sword pressed against his throat.
"You are getting stronger very quickly...." Muichiro said calmly, his expression serious.
What Muichiro didn't say was that he had just instinctively used Mist Breathing to barely dodge Taka's thrust… otherwise, it might have hit him square in the face.
"Let's stop here for now..." Muichiro looked at the damaged wooden sword, put it away, and took out a handkerchief to wipe the light sweat.
On the veranda, Amane had already prepared tea and snacks for them, smiling and beckoning to the two:
"Come quickly, rest well."
Taka didn't resist the arrangement, but he was still immersed in the sword techniques Muichiro had used to subdue him, his thoughts somewhat scattered.
'Such fast movements. The breathing rhythm seemed like wind... yet not quite....'
The afternoon sunlight filtered through the treetops, casting a warm golden glow on the quiet floor of the Ubuyashiki Estate.
Taka and Muichiro put away their wooden swords, washed up briefly, and sat respectfully before this beautiful white-haired woman.
Amane, as Oyakata-sama's wife, often received the Hashira on his behalf. Even Muichiro was a genius swordsman she had repeatedly visited and brought out from a small mountain village.
Therefore, everyone treated this mistress with special respect.
And beside her sat several children who looked very similar, all equally beautiful.
These were Oyakata-sama's children. The black-haired boy was Kiriya, and the remaining four white-haired girls were named Hinaki, Nichika, Kuina, and Kanata.
"Please, help yourselves. You've worked hard training."
Amane smiled as she personally served soup to the two young swordsmen. Her voice was soft, carrying a kind of magic that could soothe agitation.