"That's enough for today."
"Yes."
There was still a little time left in the resonance, but Jingliu called a halt early.
"Your clothing isn't suited for training—but the bonuses it provides compensate for that quite well."
The kimono was not ideal for rigorous practice, but the stat buffs it gave were simply excellent.
And here, in whatever this mental-space world was, those training modifiers still applied.
"I have dedicated battle gear as well," Hanabi said. "This is my training set. It has a gravity enhancement function built in."
"Your body is fundamentally different from people like me—your endurance is considerable. Try keeping yourself in a state closer to your actual limits. Around what would look like an ordinary girl's performance on the surface should suffice." Jingliu left that instruction.
"Yes, Master." Hanabi nodded.
"One more thing. You're ambidextrous. My sword style doesn't fully suit you. Try dual-wielding—see how it feels." Jingliu added.
"Dual-wielding?"
Hanabi genuinely hadn't considered it.
But it wasn't as if it was out of the question.
"Well then—time's up. That's all for today."
Jingliu's presence grew fainter, fading into the mist until she was gone.
Hanabi opened her eyes again. It was the following morning.
They'd run missions seven days straight, so Kakashi had given the Seventh Squad the day off.
Hanabi had things to do, so she headed straight to the popularity shop and purchased the acting training course.
[Actor Training (Japanese Etiquette & Bearing): Special event. 6 sessions. Instruction provided by a veteran Japanese etiquette instructor. During instruction, you will temporarily leave this world. Real-world time pauses for the host world.]
[Purchase complete]
[Please dress appropriately, then concentrate fully and—in a location where you are alone—open a door.]
Hanabi tidied her kimono and removed her eye patch. Once ready, she made her way to the front entrance.
She focused. Then she opened the door.
"Oh?"
The door opened—and beyond it was not the Hyuga estate's inner courtyard, but a quiet, elegant Japanese-style residence.
The grounds were expansive. It wasn't ancient, though—there were electrical appliances scattered about. It felt more like a modern home.
"You're Mother's student, aren't you? You're not that much older than me. But your eyes—they're so unusual. White, but so pretty. Like pearls." A young voice.
A girl in a black dress, long dark hair, came running toward her. "Hello! I'm Mana Ryougi."
"Hello. I'm Hyuga Hanabi."
"Then I'll call you Big Sis Hanabi! Follow me—Mother's waiting." Mana led Hanabi inside. "Mother suddenly said she was taking on a student, said someone paid a lot of money. I didn't expect it to be such a pretty big sis."
"Thank you."
Hanabi tilted her head.
Mana Ryougi. She knew that name. Especially the girl's mother. Anyone who knew the Nasuverse would recognize it—Shiki Ryougi. The protagonist of The Garden of Sinners.
The Stage had picked her as Hanabi's teacher?
Or was this the 'Void Shiki' personality, or something of that sort?
"Mother, I've brought her."
Mana led Hanabi to a Japanese-style room and slid the door open.
Inside, a beautiful woman sat in perfect formal posture, dressed in a kimono. Her presence was graceful and unhurried—like warm spring air—with the particular warmth of a mother.
"Good day. You're Hyuga Hanabi, I take it. I'm Shiki Ryougi. Your etiquette instructor. What lovely eyes you have." Shiki opened her eyes and smiled at Hanabi.
Her tone was gentle as still water.
The Shiki Ryougi in Hanabi's memory didn't match the person in front of her.
The Garden of Sinners protagonist—the idea of that woman teaching traditional Japanese etiquette was frankly unthinkable. That Shiki would lift a hand in casual greeting and say "Yo~"—not sit here like this.
But this gentle, unhurried version? Hanabi could work with her.
Still—if this were the 'Void' personality, she didn't feel like that fit either.
So which personality was this? Was this even really the Shiki Ryougi she knew?
It was complicated.
Hanabi immediately stopped trying to figure it out.
She was here for a training course.
Six sessions wasn't much. According to Mana, the Stage had paid—and whatever the Stage had paid, Hanabi herself had funded through popularity points. Her points.
Mana had closed the door by now, leaving the two of them alone.
"You've been training rigorously." Shiki studied Hanabi with what seemed like genuine interest. "You're a swordswoman, aren't you? Or—no—a ninja?"
"How can you tell?" Hanabi asked.
"You carry yourself like a princess—every movement precise, exactly placed. Honestly, it feels like a waste of my time to teach you. Though your build reads as fragile—it's some kind of resistance training effect, I'd guess. That furisode design is quite interesting."
The lightness of the analysis, the casually sharp observation—it resonated with what Hanabi knew of Shiki.
But within that lightness, Hanabi noticed something: Shiki's posture had a quality of total integration. As though she were simply someone born noble.
And in that moment, Hanabi understood.
Her own elegance was performance.
Every movement perfectly calibrated—also performance.
But Shiki wasn't performing.
Beyond the initial greeting, there was nothing particularly 'ladylike' in the guarded sense about Shiki's behavior. And yet through every movement, there was something that couldn't be hidden.
Even when Shiki made boyish gestures, they couldn't obscure that quality—the warmth of a devoted wife, a capable mother—woven into her very bones.
"It seems you've already understood." Shiki smiled.
"I apologize." Hanabi raised her eyes. "My true identity is a performer. An idol, actually. Though what I perform is rather unique."
"Oh?" Shiki's interest sharpened.
Hanabi smiled. "My performances are live reality shows. No second takes."
"Ah. Interesting. I'm in the mood today, as it happens—and since I've been paid, I can't very well just sit here." Shiki stood and slid the door open.
"Uwah!" The eavesdropping Mana tumbled in.
She'd been right there the whole time.
"Where are you two going, Mother?" Mana grinned sheepishly, then asked with open curiosity.
Shiki glanced back at Hanabi. "You don't mind?"
"Of course not." A cute girl with dark hair who was actively trying to listen in—Hanabi had no objections at all.
Shiki looked at her daughter. "The dojo. Coming?"
And with that, Shiki led Hanabi to the dojo. She started to pick up a bamboo practice sword, reconsidered, set it down, and took a katana instead.
"What?! Is Mother actually Big Sis Hanabi's kenjutsu teacher?!" Mana's jaw dropped.
"Just taking a look." Shiki said. "I was paid. Teaching nothing at all wouldn't sit right."
That's what she said—but Hanabi sensed something different.
The 'etiquette' Shiki was actually offering was already present in the way she moved.
Including the moment she raised the katana.
"Come. Show me your sword." Shiki said.
"Please excuse me."
Hanabi extended her hand. An ice sword materialized in her grip.
"Woah~"
Sparring with Shiki felt surprisingly right.
Hanabi's physical parameters were suppressed at the moment; she couldn't use her full strength. But that matched Shiki equally—who wasn't using the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception either. A perfect balance.
It was supposed to be an etiquette lesson. And yet the two of them spent the entire session exchanging swordwork.
Mana watched for a while, then yawned and fell asleep.
"Hmm…" After a while, Shiki lowered her sword. "Try holding a second blade."
"Niten Ichi-ryū?" Hanabi's mind went immediately to Musashi.
"Not like that. Niten Ichi-ryū uses long sword and short sword together. You might want to try two katana."
Jingliu had already mentioned it—that Hanabi might have potential with dual swords. And now Shiki was saying the same thing.
"Thank you very much."
"It's nothing. I didn't really do anything… Mm, well—since we've somehow met, consider this a small gift."
And at that moment, a Stage notification appeared.
[A 'Passing Root' has decided to gift you]
[Your performance costume — Hanabi Kimono — has been upgraded]
[New modifiers unlocked: Auto-Repair, Auto-Clean]
[New mode unlocked: Combat Mode]