The next morning arrived.
Shinobu walked through the main corridor with delicate steps, still a bit sleepy, but her mind already focused on the day's preparations.
When she reached the courtyard, she found a curious scene:
Aoi and the three girls were sitting on the edge of the veranda, leaning forward with shining eyes, watching something with absolute attention.
Shinobu frowned slightly and approached them, tilting her head to see what had captured their focus so completely.
That was when she spotted Kanao standing in the center of the courtyard, with her usual serene expression, a basket full of stones at her side.
She tossed a stone into the air, caught it, and threw it again… then directed her gaze toward a point ahead.
There stood Usan.
With his back turned, blindfolded, cotton stuffed in his ears, completely still like a statue.
One hand rested over a sheathed wooden katana at his waist.
And on the branches of the nearby tree… four crows watched the scene with the same intensity as the girls, some of them pecking at fruits.
Shinobu recognized one of them as her own crow and concluded that the other three were Usan's new companions.
She remembered seeing them at his window the previous afternoon, arguing among themselves like three chaotic sisters watching over a single younger brother.
"Good morning, Miss Shinobu!" one of the girls said upon noticing her presence.
Aoi quickly added:
"Usan asked Kanao to throw stones at him from time to time. He said he's training some new technique"
Shinobu blinked slowly, taking in the scene. Her lips curled into a subtle, almost mischievous smile.
Without saying a word, she walked over to Kanao.
The girl straightened, surprised by her approach, but Shinobu calmly picked up a stone from the basket.
Without warning, she threw it with force.
And then—
A dark cloud with purplish hues escaped from Usan's mouth.
He turned instantly, his body leaning forward into a stance reminiscent of the First Form of Thunder Breathing.
In the blink of an eye, he dashed forward, stopping right in front of the stone, and cut it thousands of times.
The stone was sliced into so many fragments that the pieces almost turned into dust before touching the ground.
Usan straightened his posture, sheathing the katana with a soft click.
The black smoke still lingered behind him, hovering like clouds slowly dissolving in the air.
Shinobu let out a small sigh of surprise.
"So fast…" she murmured without realizing.
Kanao, instead of showing any surprise, simply picked up another stone.
She took a few steps to the side, measured the distance, and threw another.
This time, Usan only initiated a single step, but before his foot touched the ground, he vanished for a brief moment, appearing along the path the stone had already traveled, finishing his step.
Usan exhaled another cloud of shadows as the stone split cleanly in half.
A soft click of the katana returning to its sheath echoed through the courtyard, along with the sound of the stone halves hitting the ground.
Aoi and the girls ran to Shinobu's side.
The youngest whispered:
"When we got here, he covered the entire courtyard with that breathing smoke of his… It was beautiful"
─── ◆ ───
POV Usan
After some time training, I removed the blindfold and the cotton from my ears, blinking a few times to adjust to the light.
I took a deep breath, still feeling the residue of my own breathing lingering in the courtyard.
When I looked around, I noticed Shinobu talking to Kanae, who had finally returned from her mission.
"Thank you, Kanao" I said to little Kanao, noticing the basket was nearly empty.
"You helped a lot"
She held the basket with both hands, gripping it slightly, and to my surprise, she spoke to me using her voice for the first time.
"Can... you show me that form?" Her voice was very soft and hesitant, but I could understand her.
"Which form, Kanao?" I tilted my head slightly, crouching down to be closer to her height.
"The cloud" Her eyes were still expressionless, but I could swear I saw a change, a faint glimmer of expectation.
"Not yet… But I promise I'll show you when it's ready" I gently patted her head.
She seemed a bit disappointed, but my promise was enough for now.
Kanao nodded and walked back to the other girls.
Then Kanae and Shinobu approached.
"Congratulations on passing the Final Selection, Usan" Kanae said with her usual gentle smile… which quickly turned into a reproachful look.
"But testing poisons during the exam? Even if you're strong, you should stay completely focused"
Behind Kanae, Shinobu struggled to hold back laughter, covering her mouth with one hand, her cheeks puffed and slightly flushed.
"Ehh…" I scratched the back of my neck, trying to come up with some excuse, but nothing came.
Before I could say anything, Kanae extended something folded toward me.
A haori.
"This is for passing" she said.
"Consider it a gift from me"
I unfolded the haori, and my chest immediately warmed.
The fabric was a deep black, but upon closer inspection, small purplish clouds subtly appeared across it.
It was simple, but elegant.
And it suited me perfectly.
"Thank you… truly" I murmured, putting it on right there.
─── ◆ ───
The days passed quickly after that.
When they finally called me, saying my katana was ready, I went straight to the entrance of the Butterfly Mansion, where my assigned swordsmith was waiting.
He was a middle-aged man, wearing that strange mask typical of swordsmiths.
I didn't recognize him from the original story.
He didn't say anything, nor did he introduce himself, he simply handed me the sheath.
The moment my fingers touched the metal, it changed.
The blade turned purple.
A deep purple, almost like the inner tone of a storm cloud at dusk.
"HO-HO!"
The swordsmith let out an excited sound behind the mask, muttered something unintelligible, and walked away hopping.
I stared at the blade for a long time.
"Oh, it's purple!" Hotaru landed on my arm, examining the blade curiously.
The other two quickly landed on me as well.
I gave them a quick pat, Tsubaki, in particular, tried to peck me, but failed.
'It's time to start again… I still have a lot to do' I thought, looking at myself in the purple reflection of the blade.
─── ◆ ───
[A/N]: Image of Usan (19 years old) -
I think my hair is too long here; it wasn't supposed to be like this.
Usan will cut his hair to something similar to the book cover (or not, it all depends).
I hope I don't forget to include the image...
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P @ t r 3 0 n - Condor7