In the courtyard of his room, Shinjuro stood quietly, holding two fresh pots of sake. But this time, he didn't drink right away.
He kept thinking—if his wife had learned Breathing Techniques when she was younger, would she still have died from illness? But then again… if she had, maybe a demon would've killed her. Maybe she'd have died even sooner.
Still, what if she'd gotten lucky and made it to Hashira rank? Wasn't that possible? Then…
"No, stop it," Shinjuro muttered under his breath. "What am I even thinking?"
He shook his head and sighed. He didn't even know if those two kids could learn Breathing Techniques. No point thinking so far ahead.
Gulp, gulp.
The alcohol burned down his throat, and like always, he chose to just numb himself. What he didn't realize was—somewhere in the back of his mind, he actually kind of hoped Itsuki and that girl would make it.
Outside the room, Itsuki stared at the beat-up book in his hand. Big bold letters were scratched across the front: Flame Breathing Explanation.
"Heh… is this good luck or bad luck?"
His feelings were all over the place. On the plus side, he got the Flame Breathing book—and Kanao could study it too. That was the best-case scenario, honestly. But on the downside, Shinjuro was a mess, and there wasn't any real teacher to guide them. Could he really learn it just by reading?
Well, as always, he'd prepare for both outcomes.
Plan A: Get good sake and beg for help.Plan B: Rely on skill points.
"Itsuki? Hey what's wrong?"
Kanao's voice was soft as she tugged at Itsuki's sleeve, confused by the look on his face.
"It's nothing. From now on, we're done with the Flame Blade style. We're moving on to real Breathing Techniques. Let's go, come with me kanao."
They found a quiet spot at the hall and started going through the book together. A few minutes in…
"What the heck… I get the breathing from your stomach thing or basically abdominal breathing, but making your blood boil through breathing? What even is that?!" How would someone even do this?
Itsuki glanced at Kanao, hoping maybe she understood. She just tilted her head and stared at him blankly.
Of course not. No help there.
They had no one to ask, and the only real option was to buy more expensive sake and go deal with that wreck of a man again. That stuff wasn't cheap, either.
Itsuki sighed. Kanao flipped back to the beginning of the book, still confused. She couldn't understand it either, but more than that, she hated seeing her Itsuki troubled.
She smiled softly. She knew just what to do when he was stuck.
"Itsuki. It's lunchtime."
Oh yeah. Food. Priorities.
Itsuki gave his cheeks a light slap to snap out of it. "Right. Food first."
No point worrying about expensive wine. If he had to buy it, he'd just lose a little pride. Not like he had much to spare anyway. Maybe the hall master could help get it cheaper, too.
As he started walking with new energy, Kanao smiled a little more knowing her little plan worked.
They headed toward the dining hall, chatting quietly.
"Yo! Look who it is, Itsuki, Kanao why didn't you come to training today?"
"Heard they're doing secret training now. Getting ready to challenge other dojos."
"What? Challenge them? Why? We're all friends with the nearby ones."
"Dummy, I mean they're going out to other towns!"
"That's awesome. I wanna do that too…"
"Afternoon, senpai. What are you all talking about?"
Itsuki smiled and nodded at them.
"Haha, just chatting. Hey, Itsuki, there's a new kid in the Dojo. Showed up yesterday. You gotta see him—kid looks strong. Totally has that fighter aura He's really nice he just needs more practice."
"Really? Heh, sounds cool."
Itsuki gave a polite smile, trying to move things along. He just wanted to eat to be honest.
"Yeah, he's got these thick eyebrows like sword slashes, and his hair is all red and yellow. And when he swings his wooden sword? It's legit, he's not talented much but you can tell he practices a lot on his own."
"Oh, wow, interesting…"
Wait a minute. That description sounds way too familiar.
Itsuki's smile froze. Red and yellow hair? Sword eyebrows? No way—that had to be someone from the Rengoku family. I thought only Shinjuro would come?
After asking for a few more details, Itsuki dragged Kanao toward one corner of the dining hall.
And there he was—a young kid, looking totally out of place and awkward.
Seriously?! That guy actually brought his kid here?
Was it Kyojuro? No… judging by his age, this had to be Senjuro, Kyojuro's younger brother.
"Hey there. I'm Itsuki, this is Kanao. Are you by any chance from the Rengoku family?"
Kanao doesn't really talk much to other people except me I'll just introduce her to him
"Ah! Yes—yes! Hello, I'm Senjuro Rengoku. Please… wait, aren't you the one my father…"
"Shhh. Let's talk after we eat."
"Oh, okay!"
They ate together for almost an hour all because of how much Itsuki ate, all types of food Onigiri's, Ramen, Potato mochi, Tempura shrimp over rice and soy sauce, sweet eel over rice, even some desserts. Senjuro was in shock from how much food Itsuki could eat.
"ahhhh, I'm full. Alright, let's go find a place to talk senjuro."
Senjuro just followed along like a duckling. Even Kanao looked at him sideways, wondering how he could be more dazed than her.
Itsuki brought them to his room, closed the door, and pulled out the Flame Breathing Explanation book.
The second Senjuro saw it, he knew exactly what happened. He lowered his head and bowed deeply.
"I'm really sorry. My father should've—"
"No, it's fine," Itsuki cut in quickly. "We're all disciples here now, right? No need to bow."
He helped Senjuro up without saying anything bad about Shinjuro—not even the usual "I don't mind." But that silence… kind of said it all.
Senjuro felt his hand on his shoulder—solid, warm. He smiled awkwardly.
"You're really understanding, Itsuki-senpai. I… I'm sorry for how he treated you."
Itsuki: Wait… why is this kid so easy to win over? I haven't even done anything yet… Damn he's a really nice kid.
"Okay… Itsuki-senpai, Kanao-senpai. Uh… I'm really sorry, but I only know a little about Flame Breathing. I'm not sure how much help I can be."
He looked down, clearly feeling bad.
"It's fine. Just explain the parts you do know. Honestly, we're both a bit lost."
"I can definitely help with that."
Senjuro finally looked confident. He didn't have much talent, but he'd spent years reading up on Breathing Techniques and trained just to try and keep up with his brother.
"Perfect! Let's start now."
Itsuki's eyes lit up. This was even better than expected. He wouldn't have to fork over tons of money for fancy wine after all. That stuff could buy him a week's worth of special training meals.
"Okay, what part are you stuck on?"
"Let's start with the second line on the first page."
"Got it."