Chapter 74: Time Flies
As Akira returned to the Butterfly Mansion, he spotted Kanae waiting just outside the main gate, a gentle silhouette against the familiar estate. Before he could even call out, Makomo let go of his hand and darted forward.
"Kanae! I missed you so much!"
Akira glanced down at his now-empty hand, then back at the two girls locked in an intimate embrace. He felt a momentary sense of displacement, which quickly morphed into something else as he watched Makomo nuzzle her head affectionately against Kanae's chest.
"Makomo! Akira is still watching!" Kanae chided, her cheeks flushing as she gently tried to push the other girl away.
"Eh?" Makomo looked up, her expression a mask of confusion. She saw the blush dusting Kanae's face, then turned to meet Akira's gaze, which was practically smoldering. Understanding dawned on her. "No way," she whispered, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "You two… for over two months, you were actually… this well-behaved?"
"Ahem." The sound was a low rumble in Akira's throat. His eyes truly felt like they were about to burst into flames.
"Makomo!" Kanae playfully swatted her friend, a mixture of annoyance and shyness coloring her voice.
"Ehehe~" Makomo giggled, deciding not to press her luck. She simply linked her arm with Kanae's, and the two walked into the Butterfly Mansion, their cheerful chatter filling the air. Akira followed silently behind them, a silent guardian to their light.
…
In the days that followed, Makomo's arrival both changed everything and nothing. The halls of the Butterfly Mansion now echoed with the laughter of three women instead of two, and the intimate, playful interactions that had once been reserved for one now included another.
With Makomo sharing the burden of demon-slaying duties, the daily workload for the other three Hashira, Akira included, lessened considerably, granting them more free time than they'd had in ages.
It was during this period of relative peace that Akira felt his progress stall. He had hit a bottleneck, not in the refinement of his sword forms, but in the raw physical power required to execute them. After several attempts to push past his limits, he had to admit the truth: the speed and force of his strikes, as well as his body's overall endurance, had become his greatest constraints. No amount of technical polish could compensate for a lack of physical might.
While the Total Concentration Breathing he maintained around the clock continued to slowly fortify his body, the rate of improvement had become so glacial it was almost negligible.
To break through this plateau, Akira actively sought out Himejima Gyomei and began to temper his physique under the Stone Hashira's legendary guidance.
While Gyomei's training regimen would be considered murderous for any ordinary person, for Akira—who had been practicing a Breathing Style for over two years and had served as a Hashira for some time—it was just barely manageable.
Pushing a boulder taller than himself was a grueling, muscle-shredding ordeal. Standing under a hundred-meter waterfall felt like being drowned and crushed at the same time. Sprinting and squatting with three logs, each thicker than his own torso, strapped to his back very nearly exhausted him to the point of collapse.
But only such high-intensity methods could rapidly strengthen his body and help him shatter his current limitations.
Akira stayed with Gyomei for two months, pushing himself to the brink. In a final, ambitious gambit, he even attempted to complete Gyomei's personal training routine at its full, monstrous intensity.
That attempt nearly cost him his life.
After finishing the full set, he was left so deeply dehydrated that his lungs struggled to draw breath. In a dizzying haze, he thought he saw the faint, beckoning image of his past life waving at him from a distant shore.
Fortunately, Gyomei discovered his state in time. Having maintained such extreme training for years, the Stone Hashira knew a fair amount of emergency first aid and managed to pull Akira back from the edge.
With that near-death experience, Akira's journey of physical reinforcement came to an end.
The gains, however, were significant.
First, his features, once carrying a delicate edge, had gained a subtle firmness, a touch of hardened masculinity that made him appear more mature. His physique had become more strong, a lean, corded strength that didn't scream for attention. When he wore his loose haori, the firm muscle lines beneath were hidden, leaving his appearance largely unchanged to the casual eye.
Second, the leap in his physical prowess brought a dramatic improvement to his overall combat power.
When he next visited the Rengoku estate to test the new techniques he had developed by studying Flame Breathing, he faced Rengoku Shinjuro in a spar. In a direct confrontation, Akira managed to drive the Flame Hashira back again and again, his onslaught so fierce that he even knocked the man's Nichirin Sword from his grasp.
Without even relying on his gifted eyes, Akira could now suppress a master like Shinjuro through sheer, overwhelming power and speed.
The incident, however, seemed to be quite a blow to the middle-aged Hashira, who remained uncharacteristically gloomy for several days afterward.
As for Kyojuro and Senjuro, their admiration for Akira only intensified. Their constant, reverent calls of "Kanzaki-senpai!" made the teenager feel decades older than he was. Ironically, it was the sight of Akira's exasperated expression that finally helped Shinjuro snap out of his funk.
Since he had already taken the time to visit the Rengoku family, Akira decided he ought to drop by and see that sweet girl with the pink and green hair. More than half a year had passed since their last meeting. It had been early spring then; now, the world was awash in the colors of deep autumn. He wondered if she had managed to make any friends.
With that thought guiding him, Akira began to wander through the small town, searching for a familiar face.
At that very moment, on a bustling street not far away, the pink-and-green-haired girl was also searching for something.
Until, a familiar back appeared in her emerald-green eyes.
She remembered the way that person had looked when he turned and walked away from her all those months ago. The image of that retreating figure slowly merged with the one standing before her now. Though his frame had grown a little broader, a little taller, she was certain it was the person from her memory.
"Kanzaki-niisan?"
The clear, crisp call made Akira turn his head. Standing not far behind him was the very girl he had been thinking of.
She was still wearing her familiar pink cherry blossom kimono, her long, two-toned hair braided into thick pigtails that rested over her chest. Her emerald eyes, misty with unshed tears, were wide with disbelief and joy.
"Mitsuri," Akira greeted her with a warm smile. "Long time no see."
He watched as the girl broke into a run, closing the distance between them in an instant before burying herself in his embrace.
"It really is you!"
Her arms wrapped around him with a surprising, desperate strength. If his physique hadn't been so thoroughly tempered, Akira felt the seemingly slender girl might have accidentally strangled him.
"Where did you go?" she mumbled into his chest, her voice thick with emotion. "I looked for you for so long, but I couldn't find you. I thought… I thought even you didn't want to be my friend anymore…"
"I'm sorry, Mitsuri," Akira said, his voice gentle as he comforted her. "I had a lot of things to take care of and couldn't make time to come see you."
He tried to gently extricate himself from her powerful hug, but it was no use. Without applying enough force to potentially hurt her, he was completely trapped. In terms of pure, raw strength, the girl in his arms could likely match a young Kyojuro who had just begun his Breathing training.
Giving up the struggle, Akira focused on her words. From the sound of it, Mitsuri hadn't made a single friend in the half-year he'd been gone.
He found that baffling. Given her kind heart, her family's standing, and her striking appearance, it seemed impossible that she couldn't find even one person her age to connect with.
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