Chapter 67: Giyuu: Me Too?
"How much longer do you two plan on standing out here? Aren't you going to come in and sit down?"
A voice laced with a familiar gruffness shattered the warm, quiet atmosphere that had settled around Akira and Makomo.
They turned in unison, their gazes falling upon Urokodaki Sakonji, who had reappeared at the courtyard gate at some point. With his wealth of experience, he had seen at a single glance that Makomo had been hiding nearby the entire time, watching with amusement as he panted his way through the "hunt" for Akira. The old master was, naturally, brimming with resentment.
The precious girl he had raised like his own daughter was already starting to show her loyalties lay elsewhere.
Of course, that resentment was focused entirely on Akira. 'How could my sweet girl possibly be at fault?'Urokodaki thought, his masked gaze burning a hole through the young man.'It's all this Kanzaki boy's doing!'Akira met the glare and offered a silent, internal shrug.'Well... for the sake of the lovely girl who's about to be mine, I suppose I can take the blame.'
Akira and Makomo separated, a faint blush still dusting their cheeks. Only then did they notice two other figures standing behind Urokodaki, clearly enjoying the show—Sabito and Giyuu.
When their eyes met, Sabito shot them a cheeky, triumphant grin. He was, after all, the reason Urokodaki had returned so quickly. Having noticed Makomo was missing, he'd put two and two together the moment Urokodaki returned alone, mentioning that Akira was just outside. His sharp mind had immediately deduced where his dear senior sister had gone.
Seeing Sabito's smug expression, Akira and Makomo exchanged a look. A silent, perfect understanding passed between them, and they both gave a subtle nod.
Beside Sabito, Giyuu caught the minute gesture. He began tugging insistently at Sabito's sleeve, trying to warn him, but unfortunately, his friend only shot him a confused look in return. Seeing it was a lost cause, Giyuu silently took two steps to the side, distancing himself from the blast zone.
"Master Urokodaki."
"Master."
"We're coming in now."
Akira and Makomo spoke in near-perfect sync, then smoothly moved to enter the courtyard, flanking Urokodaki on either side.
By the time Sabito sensed that something was terribly wrong, it was too late. He was already neatly surrounded. Only then did he realize that Giyuu had not only scurried away but had even turned his back, feigning interest in the distant scenery.
"Um... the weather really is nice today..." Sabito's forehead and back were suddenly slick with cold sweat. He wiped at his brow, looking up at the cloudless blue sky in a desperate, final attempt to deflect.
Unfortunately, the moment he tried to take a step to escape, Akira cut him off with a sharp rap to the forehead.
"Ouch! It hurts, it hurts—not the face—!"
"My ear! My ear! It's gonna come off, it's gonna come off! Senior Sister, let go!"
"I was wrong—!"
"Master, help me!"
Urokodaki, who had been enjoying the spectacle with Giyuu, was suddenly called upon. He let out a theatrical sigh and stepped in to mediate.
"Ahem. Alright, that's enough. You're all grown up now, stop fooling around like children."
Akira and Makomo knew when to stop. A little roughhousing was fine, but they wouldn't push it too far. Sabito looked like he'd been through a storm, but he was mostly just disheveled. Aside from a flicked forehead and a thoroughly twisted ear, he was perfectly fine.
But Akira wasn't about to let him off that easily.
After straightening his clothes, he walked over to the nearby rack that held the wooden training swords. Having spent a considerable amount of time learning Water Breathing here, he was intimately familiar with the courtyard's layout.
"Sabito, Giyuu," Akira called out, his voice calm but carrying an obvious challenge. "You've both passed the Final Selection and are official members of the Demon Slayer Corps now. Come, let me see your current level."
"Bring it on!" Sabito roared, his earlier predicament forgotten. When it came to swordsmanship, he believed his progress over the past year had been immense. While he knew winning against Akira would be difficult, he was confident the gap wouldn't be as massive as it was before.
"Me too?" Giyuu, who had been quietly observing, pointed at himself in a daze. Unlike Sabito's fiery confidence, he felt he was in no position to spar with Akira. He vividly remembered being toyed with a year ago, and he doubted much had changed.
After all, it wasn't just he and Sabito who had been improving. Akira's talent was famous throughout the entire Corps. The fact that Akira was actually a few months younger than them only made his prodigious skill all the more daunting.
"Of course," Sabito declared, decisively making the choice for his friend. "As a swordsman, how can you shy away from a battle?"
"...Alright." Resigning himself to his fate with the thought, 'At worst, I'll just get beaten up,' Giyuu also picked up a wooden sword.
Urokodaki could only sigh helplessly at the sight. He knew the level of his disciples all too well. Both were exceptionally talented—stronger than he had been at their age, and certainly stronger than Makomo was a year ago—but that was the extent of it.
Meanwhile, Akira's counterattack during his earlier "hunt" had been so swift that Urokodaki hadn't even been able to clearly see the movement. And that was a speed the boy could control at will, nowhere near his true full power. The gap between them was simply too vast.
As for Makomo, who had been personally trained by Akira, she knew even better just how terrifying he was in close combat. A mischievous glint of schadenfreude already danced in her eyes as she settled in to watch.
"Oof!"
"I'm not convinced!"
"Again!"
"I don't believe it!"
"One more time!"
"I..."
The result of the battle was exactly as expected. Sabito suffered one crushing defeat after another, yet he kept fighting, relentlessly charging back in until he finally collapsed onto the dirt, completely exhausted.
After exchanging just two moves with Akira, Giyuu had very sensibly laid his sword down and was now sitting on the sidelines, watching Sabito rush in, get knocked down, get back up, and rush in again...
Finally, the exhausted Sabito turned his head and glared at Giyuu, his eyes burning with the indignation of betrayal.
Staring back at his friend, Giyuu felt a small pang of guilt. He decided he should probably offer some words of comfort. After a moment of thought, he spoke with his signature deadpan expression and utterly emotionless voice.
"You're really amazing."
'To be able to exchange so many blows with Mr. Kanzaki and have such perseverance,'Giyuu thought sincerely.'My senior is truly great.'Sabito stared back, his mind short-circuiting.'Are you praising me or mocking me?'
"Pfft."
"Haha!"
Before Sabito could even process the comment, Makomo burst into laughter, followed a second later by Akira.
'Oh, Sabito,'Akira thought, thoroughly amused.'You were laughing so happily the last few times Giyuu opened his mouth. Why the long face now? Don't you like it?'
Even from a distance, Akira noticed Urokodaki's shoulders shaking, a clear sign he was desperately holding back his own laughter behind the tengu mask.
Sabito's fists clenched. A wave of pure, unadulterated frustration washed over him... for all of a moment.
What else could he do? On one side were his junior brother and senior sister, and on the other was an opponent he stood no chance against. It was probably a blessing that, from his angle, he couldn't see Urokodaki's trembling shoulders; otherwise, his mood would have soured even further.
But in that moment of utter defeat, a new resolve hardened in his heart. The desire to grow stronger became an unshakeable conviction. He had to surpass Kanzaki Akira. And then, he was going to give him a proper beating.
Akira, as if reading his mind, allowed himself a small, private smile. 'Keep dreaming, mortal. You can't beat a man with cheats.'
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