𝞖𝙞𝙨 𝙐𝙣𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝘿𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙩//𝙆𝙣𝙮//𝙁𝙁//𝞐𝙐

S i x

-Time skip 5 years-

Yasu's POV

"Ugh..." I groan, as I wince in pain. My feet stumble backwards, and Oniisan rushes over to check on me.

"You okay, Yasu?" He asks, studying me.

I look away from embarrassment. "I'm fine.." I mutter. 

He frowns and places his warm hands on my shoulders. "Is something bothering you?"

"It's just.." I start, fiddling with my sword. "I couldn't even master 1 breathing form. It's been 5 years!"

"Don't worry! Breathing styles are hard to learn. You're good at your sword skills! If I didn't use breathing styles, you could easily beat me!" He grins, then places his hand on his chin. "Maybe I can take you to the hashiras and see if they can do anything about it.."

I perked up at the thought. "Really?? Let's go!!"

He laughs. "I didn't know it was this easy to bring your mood up again!"

--------------------

We arrive at the love pillar's estate. According to oniisan, they're having a sort of 'party' there.

"Kanroji!!" He calls out with his booming voice, and we wait a few seconds. Kanroji? Wasn't she the one who got trained by Rengoku-san?

"Rengoku-san!" I hear a cheery voice coming out of the house, and soon I see a familiar lady with pink and green hair

"Eh? Kanroji-san?" I gasp, walking towards her. She became a hahsira?

"Yasu! Good to see you!" She smiles, taking my hand. She beckons oniisan in. "This way, Rengoku-san!"

As we get closer to the living room, my heart pounds fast. I'm so excited!

Kanroji-san slides open the door, and practically drags me in. "Rengoku-san is here~!!"

I peek around Kanroji-san's back and scan the room.

"Rengoku! You're here! I see you've brought a little friend!" I see a person with white hair. His energy matches oniisan's. 

I let go of Kanroji-san's hand and scurry to the side, bowing before grabbing oniisan's cape. 

"Ara ara~! She's a shy one, nee?" A lady with a butterfly hair clip smiles. 

"No need to be shy!" Oniisan nudges me forward. "Introduce yourself!"

I fluster a little bit. This is way more embarrassing than I expected. "Um.. Hello. My name is Yasu."

"What a flamboyant name! My name is Uzui Tengen!" Uzui-san, um, flamboyantly introduces himself. 

I see a boy, maybe a year or two older than me, sitting in the corner. He spots me looking. "Tokito Muichiro."

The butterfly lady stands up and walks up to me. She takes my hand and drags me in. "I'm Kocho Shinobu. Nice to meet you!"

She sits down and I hesitantly sit next to her. Kanroji san appears in front of me, holding... two guys. My mouth hangs open.

"They didn't want to introduce themselves so I brought them here! His name is," She smiles, holding up a guy with a mask. "Igrou Obanai. The other guy is-" She holds out a guy with a lot of scars, "Shinazugawa Sanemi. They're very friendly once you get to know them!"

I close my mouth. "Nice to meet you both."

"Himejima-san is not here today," Kocho-san explains. 

I look around and spot another guy in a corner. He's wearing a mix-matched haori. "How about him?"

Kocho-san turns around, and chuckles. "Ara ara~! That's Tomioka-san. He's lonley as usual, I see."

"He looks cool." I grin, turning back.

"So tell me Yasu," Uzui-san calls out. "What are you here for?"

Oniisan answers that question. "She wasn't able to master flame breathing! I brought her here to see if she can master any other breathing styles!"

Igrou-san glances over at me. "Probably because she's not a good swordsman."

I look down on the floor, playing with my fingers. Is that why?

"That wasn't very nice of you, Igrou-san." Kanroji-san confronts, patting my back.

"Actually," Oniisan speaks up. I look up from my hands. "She was able to beat me with her sword using skills!"

"Uwahh!" Kanroji-san exclaims, turning her head towards me. I see everyone in the room looking at me now. My face begins to feel hot.

"Hah!" Shinazugawa-san scoffs. "I bet that's a lie! I would like to see it for myself!"

Oniisan laughs. "If you wish! Yasu, is that okay with you?"

I shoot Shinazugawa-san a glare. What's with him? 

I nod, agreeing to combat. 

"Why am I here again?" I faintly hear Tokito-kun mumble to himself.

---

All the pillars are out in the love pillar's backyard, watching. Kanroji-san hands a wooden sword to me. She does the same to oniisan. 

"Ready, Yasu?" He asks, smiling. I nod.

He charges towards me, sifting to the side just before he collides with me. I jump up, pushing myself towards oniisan. With a gentle tap, I land a hit on his shoulders.

"That was.." Kanroji-san mutters. "so fast! I couldn't read your movements, Yasu!"

I bow. "Thank you, Kanroji-san!"

"Tch! Kocho, you challenge her! You're one of the fastest, so go ahead and try! I still don't believe this. Rengoku, you were going easy on her, right?" Shinazugawa-san grunts, crossing his arms.

Uzui-san just looks interested in Shinazugawa-san's anger.

"Relax, Shinazugawa. I'll go combat with her if that'll shut you up. Is that okay with you, Yasu?" Kocho-san asks kindly. Why not?

I nod, and take my stance. She takes the wooden sword from oniisan, and stands before me before attacking. 

Shinazugawa-san is right. She is fast.

I almost couldn't read her movements even though she was attacking straight forward. I barely dodge her attack.

"Ara~! Fast reaction!" She compliments, sliding backwards. She charges once again, but this time I really couldn't see her. 

She was beside me in a blink. I realized this and slided away, but I was too late. She took the sword from my hands.

I was kind of glad I had another trick up my sleeve. I ducked down from her sword aiming for my face and kicked her right in the stomach, causing her to let go of her and my wooden sword in mid air.

She stumbled backwards. I caught the swords falling down.

"I'm sorry!" I apologize. "I hope I didn't kick you too hard.."

Kocho-san rubs her stomach, and shakes her head. She is soon standing straight again. "It was just a kick! I'm fine. You're really good, Yasu!"

I smile shyly and rub the back of my head. 

"With those skills..." Tokito-kun speaks up. "She might be able to pass the final selection without any breathing techniques."

"Tokito is right." Igrou-san nods. "You beat two pillars. I have to admit, you're skilled."

"Yeah! So, you want to go to the final selection?" Oniisan asks, smiling.

..maybe?