This Duty, My Duty

Chapter 3. Adjustments

(A/N: I changed chapter 2's title to "Citadel" so that I can use the title "Adjustments" for chapter 3! Chapter 2 has also been updated with images. Thank you for reading so far.)

The day that Horikawa Kunihiro arrived was an eventful one. After giving him all of the fruitful information that he needed to hear, both Tsubaki and Konnosuke gave him a tour of the whole citadel. From the kitchen to the bathing area, every corner of the citadel was explored for the brand new touken danshi and all that was left to do was to pick a room for the sword to rest in. Since there were a lot of empty rooms around, Tsubaki wasn't sure which one to give him and simply went to ask Horikawa for his thoughts on the matter.

"Horikawa, do you have any preferences when it comes to where your room will be located?" Tsubaki asked.

"Preferences? No, not really..." he said before pausing in his words only to have a shy expression grow on his face, "But... Maybe a room big enough for both Kane-san and I to share for when he arrives?" Horikawa suggested politely.

A glance of Horikawa's shy expression made Tsubaki chuckle a little. She was not expecting the touken danshis to be so human-like since her only recollection of them were in books and journals from the previous saniwas.

"Haha, that sounds great Horikawa. Come, there's a room just over there that would be perfect for you and Izuminokami," Tsubaki said.

With a growing smile, Horikawa nodded and followed her to the room. The room was on the smaller side but it was definitely just the right amount of space for the two swords to fit in; no more, no less.

"Your futons are stored behind this closet here on the left and in the right closet is where you can store your clothes. The citadel is pretty much safe as it has a strong protection spell surrounding it so that means that you won't need to carry your sword all the time while inside of the citadel," Tsubaki said, forgetting to mention a very important detail, "Oh! I almost forgot. Since I can't send you out on a proper mission until I manifest five other swords, here," she said as she lifted her hands up in front of her.

Horikawa watched Tsubaki closely as he was not really sure to what she was planning to give him. In that moment, that same light-blue aura that had gathered around her back in the smithing room was beginning to form once more in the palms of her hands. This was the power of a saniwa; a spiritual energy that could manifest objects. Horikawa watched as his eyes widened at the amount of power that his master actually had as the blue-light aura grew around the room. A short verbal inhale could be heard from Tsubaki as all of the aura centered into her hands and with one firm clap, the aura had disappeared completely.

"Aruji-san... what did you--"

"It's a casual attire to wear around the citadel. You should only wear your battle attire when its time to go out on a mission," Tsubaki said as she handed him the attire.

"Ah! My apologies if it's not your style... I had no real decision over what it would look like since I manifested with your heart's energy," she said once more as Horikawa was unraveling the folded clothes.

The outfit that was given to him was a simple red tracksuit that had his crest on the front of the jacket. Realizing how plain it was, Tsubaki couldn't help but emotionally facepalm. Of course, since this would just be a 'lounging around' attire, it had no real purpose to be flashy or fashionable but she couldn't help but wish it were. Silence fell between the two as Horikawa was simply staring down at the garments in front of him which made Tsubaki nervous.

"H..Horikawa..?--" Tsubaki said breaking the silence before Horikawa cut her off abruptly.

"Thank you so much for this kind gift, Aruji-san!! I won't forget your kindness toward me!" Horikawa exclaimed as he bowed deeply in front of her.