"Nee, Shin-chan, what kind of person is Tamayo-san?" Kanae asked me excitedly. Sabito seemed to be also interested.
"Hmm... if I had to say it simply, she is beautiful and a kind demon." I told them both and felt a shivering feeling coming from Kanae.
I feel like I'm in danger if I keep talking about this... I should say something else asap.
"There's also her assistant. Yushiro was his name if I remember correctly." I quickly added and the shivering feeling faded away slowly.
"...And what kind of person is Yushiro-san?" Kanae asked another question and I tried my best to hold back a sigh.
"He is... cautious, overprotective, and cares about Tamayo-san very much." I nodded at my own perfect explanation.
"Is there anything else we should know about?" Sabito asked me.
Hmm... is there anything else I forgot...? Simply explained about Tamayo and Yushiro, what else did I miss...
"I think that's all..." I muttered while still thinking if I forgot anything else.
No... I don't think I forgot anything else... or I hope at least.
"Have you two visited Asakusa before?" I asked and tried to continue our conversation.
"A few times." Kanae answered first and then I looked at Sabito.
"Same." he said simply and I nodded.
...
An awkward silence filled us while I kept glancing at the elders by my sides. I could feel the boredom fill my mind and I almost let out a yawn.
"It's quiet and peaceful." I said out of nowhere and got nods from the two.
"Because it's afternoon. Demons only come out during nighttime." Sabito stated and looked around himself to see a few houses here and there.
And we are done with our conversation again. Excellent... What else is there to speak about? Ah, I know!
"Have you seen Giyu or visited your family lately, Sabito?" I couldn't help but grin at my perfect attempt of starting a new conversation.
"Why?" Sabito asked me back and I shrugged with my shoulders.
"Just asking, since I know how busy we are as Hashiras." I replied and Sabito smiled softly at my response.
"I have visited them but since Giyu and Makomo are busy with their missions, I haven't seen them lately." Sabito said but the last one sounded sad. I felt bad for Sabito and pat his back a few times to get his attention.
"You will meet them one day. You also have me and others with you." I gestured Kanae next to me and she nodded. Sabito's mood seemed to brighten as he smiled and ruffled my hair.
"Thank you, Shin. I'm glad to have you and others in my life." he told us bluntly. I couldn't help but be a little bit embarrassed and took his hand off my head.
I tried to think about what to say back but all I could do was glance away from Sabito with a small smile.
Dang it, I don't know why but I'm very happy.
I felt a small shiver running through my body and I slowly glanced at Kanae. Her smile didn't show happiness at all.
I quickly planned to hide behind Sabito but a scream got all our attention. Without saying anything, the three of us ran towards the source which was in the forest.
Seeing as we were really deep in the forest, we split our ways with Sabito going to my left and Kanae to my right. The scream kept echoing in the forest and I could see that the trees blocked sunlight, making the forest a little bit dark.
"Oi, can you hear me!? Where are you!?" I shouted and the scream stopped, making me stop running. I concentrated on my ears and tried to listen to everything around me as much as possible.
I could faintly hear footsteps around me and I knew they were from Sabito and Kanae. I couldn't hear anything else which made me click my tongue.
"How in the world does one attain ears like Zenitsu's or Tengen's." I muttered under my breath and continued my searching.
I couldn't hear the screams anymore and kept calling for the person who had stopped screaming. Fear slowly creeping into my mind for thinking about the bad possibility.
Shaking my head, I thought about other possibilities of the scream disappearing.
One, the person is hiding from his or her assailant. Two, the person is unconscious. Three, this is a trap from a demon.
It took us time but in the end, the three of us gathered together and none of us found anyone. I could see how worried Kanae looked and how frustrated Sabito looked.
I also felt my fears once more appearing slowly in my mind but I quickly shook my head to clear my mind.
"Let's gather information. People around here must know something." I spoke first and they both nodded quietly.
Great, we are lost, or at least I am. Was the forest even this... deep? If that's even the word for this situation.
"Did we come from that way?" I pointed in the direction I was looking at. I glanced behind me and saw both Sabito and Kanae shake their heads in amusement.
"Shin, it's actually this way." Sabito pointed to the direction where he came from and Kanae seemed to giggle at that.
"Fufufu. What are you saying, Urokodaki-san? It is this way." and she pointed in the opposite direction.
"No, Kochou-san, it's this way."
"No, it is this way."
They stared at each other for a while and I swear I saw something spark in between them. I wonder if my eyes are starting to see things.
I rubbed my eyes a little bit and narrowed my eyes if I could see the spark again. But instead of seeing a spark, I saw a figure moving away from us and another figure chasing after the first figure.
"Sabito, Kanae, fight later and move!" I quickly said and ran after the figures. I could hear Sabito and Kanae following me at a quick pace and smiled a bit. But the smile turned into a frown as I was annoyed by the number of trees in my way.
Seriously, I don't remember this forest being this big.
It took us a while but I finally could see the figures running in front of me. Two children and both of them seemed to be unscathed. I quickly observed my surroundings and didn't see any signs of demons being nearby.
"I'll go in first and stop them." I told Sabito and Kanae before raising my speed with God Speed. I caught up with the two children and stopped right in front of them. The two children, a boy, and a girl stopped in surprise and the one who was closer to me fell.
I looked at both of them in confusion as none of them were nor did they have any signs of injuries.
"You two, mind explaining to me what you two were doing here?" I asked both of them with my arms crossed. The child who fell raised himself and the girl quickly hid behind him.
"W-Who are you and where did you come from?" the boy asked me and stared at me suspiciously.
"Me? Just a passing-through traveler. But that doesn't matter." I waved his question away casually and Sabito and Kanae arrived behind the children. The girl squeaked in surprise and the boy also shivered in small fear.
This... kind of makes us look like bad guys instead of good guys...
"Konnichiwa, you two. My name is Kanae. What are yours?" Kanae crouched in front of the children and asked with a gentle smile.
"...Gou." the boy answered first after a small hesitation.
"Kayo." and the girl muttered quietly behind Gou.
"Nice to meet you, Kayo-chan, Gou-kun. Can you two tell us why you two are here?" Kanae continued her questioning and I could see her kind personality relaxing Gou and Kayo.
"We were playing here until it appeared..." Kayo explained and begun to shiver a little bit.
"It? Do you mean a bear or a wolf." I asked and they both shook their heads.
"No! It wasn't a bear or a wolf!" Gou shook his head in denial and I could feel my instincts warning me about something.
I quickly tried to grab my katana by my side by reflex and realized that my katana was not with me. It also didn't help when a loud howling could be heard.
Kayo and Gou were now shaking in fear and I instantly grabbed both of them by their waist.
"Sabito, Kanae, deal with that until I take them to safety." I said and ran the other way where the howling didn't come from.
"Gou, Kayo, tell me the way to your house or outside this forest." I softly ordered the children in my arms and they both began to point in different ways.
Not wanting to waste any time, I chose to run to the way Kayo was pointing at, at full speed.
=====
The howling echoed in the forest and I could hear katanas being swung. I didn't doubt Sabito's or Kanae's strength but the bad feeling inside me didn't disappear.
It also didn't help when I saw a blue katana flying to my way. The blade stabbed itself into the ground and I quickly grabbed it with me towards the battle. It didn't take me that much time to get myself a good look at the enemy.
What I saw was not a pretty sight.
The thing in front of me... simply said is a mix of different animals. I'm not sure which animal body parts were used for it but the antlers on its head, big brown body, some different kind of limbs with sharp claws coming from its back were already hard to look at.
And don't make me describe its face. It's terrible.
"What in the world is this..." I couldn't help but mutter and cut one of the limbs that almost attacked weaponless Sabito.
"You ok?" I asked Sabito and handed his katana back to him. He nodded back and I backed off from the... animal mix thingy(?) whose limb grew back instantly.
I saw Kanae trying to rush in towards the beast and cut its head off but the number of limbs the beast had was a problem to her.
"Every limb we cut off instantly gets regenerated and we can't get closer to its head." Sabito informed me and joined Kanae. I couldn't help but grit my teeth in anger.
I didn't have a weapon so I couldn't fight with them at all. All I could do was try and help them in some way and observe the beast.
"Hana no Kokyū, Ni no kata: Mikage Ume(Breath of Flower, Second Form: Honorable Shadow Plum)." I saw Kanae bait the beast's limbs towards her and swing her katana around her to deflect the limbs, making them hit the ground.
"Mizu no Kokyū, San no kata: Ryūryū mai(Breath of Water, Third Form: Flowing Dance)." and as the limbs were on the ground, Sabito followed by cutting off each limb.
The beast howled in pain and Sabito and Kanae didn't let this chance go away. Both of them jumped in towards the head and aimed the neck.
I was amazed by their teamwork and smiled but it disappeared when I saw something move behind the beast.
"Both of you watch out!" I warned them both and they saw the multiple tails that grew from the beast's back. The said tails were quickly moving towards Sabito and Kanae who were in mid-air.
The tails were quickly cut down by Sabito and Kanae but that small moment was enough for the beast to regenerate its limbs back.
Seeing as Sabito and Kanae were both in danger, I jumped in with Thunderclap and Flash and grabbed both of them out of the danger.
As I landed, I saw the beast sending its limbs towards us which were quickly countered by Sabito and Kanae. The beast didn't stop there and I saw the tails coming also in.
Sabito and Kanae were still busy dealing with the limbs and I couldn't do anything but watch.
This is bad! Really bad! Think Shin, think! What can you do and how can we defeat that beast.
As my brains tried to think, the tails were closing in until they were already close enough to grab Sabito and Kanae.
Ah, screw it!
Taking a deep breath, I threw Sabito and Kanae behind me and grabbed Kanae's katana at the same time. Their surprised looks pained me but I didn't want to see them injured.
'Kaminari no Kokyū, San no kata: Shūbun seirai(Breath of Thunder, Third Form: Thunder Swarm).' with the limbs and tails around me, I spun like a beyblade and cut everything that was close to me.
As I stopped spinning, I saw the beast right in front of me and swinging its arm at me. My balance was terrible at the moment so I decided to jump and spin my body in mid-air to dodge the arm.
"Hana no Kokyū, Roku no kata: Uzumomo(Breath of Flower, Sixth Form: Whirling Peach)." as I kept spinning I quickly positioned my blade to slash the beast's neck but as my position was awkward, the blade only scratched its neck.
I clicked my tongue in frustration and quickly jumped away as I landed. I joined together with Sabito and Kanae and both of them were not happy with my actions.
The beast howled again in anger or annoyance, whichever it is, and the limbs and tails regenerated.
This is like fighting against an overpowered boss and it's not funny at all.
The beast was about to jump in again and we prepared for it to attack, only for the beast to turn its head to another way, sniffing something.
The three of us glanced towards the way the beast was looking at and I couldn't help but panic when I saw a frail-looking man walking past.
The beast rushed towards the frail man and I quickly did the same with God Speed. As I was faster than the beast, I stood in front of the man.
The man's eyes traveled to me and then to the beast before stopping completely.
"Please run away, I will deal with it!" I told the man and he held my shoulder before I could jump in.
"What are you-" before I could say anything, Kanae's katana disappeared from my hands. My eyes widened when I saw the man holding Kanae's katana and standing still.
"Oji-san!" I called for the man and reached out for him but the next moment left me speechless. The beast's head had fallen off and it stopped moving.
I stared at the frail man standing behind the beast's dead body and letting out a breath. He turned towards me with a small smile and walked my way.
I couldn't help but admire the speed, power, and technique that happened in front of me in a blink of an eye.
"Here, your katana." the man said softly and I took it back. With a nod, the man walked away, leaving me speechless.
What in the... Who the... Whaaaa?
I stared at the man's back and then at Kanae's katana. I couldn't help but feel how warm the hilt felt.
"Shin-chan!" Kanae's worried shout snapped me out of my thoughts. I turned my head to her way and shivered a little bit when I saw the look on her and Sabito's faces.
Ahahaha... Time to get scolded...
=====
"Have you learned your lesson, Shin-chan?" Kanae asked me with her ice-cold smile. Sabito was also asking the same question but with his actions instead of words.
"Hai..." I replied and I could feel Kanae's stare digging into my skull.
"Have you really?" she asked once more.
"...No." I replied again but this time honestly and Kanae let out a small sigh. Her posture relaxed a little bit as she looked at me.
"Shin-chan, you are younger than us so please leave the dangerous stuff to us." Kanae begged me and I kept quiet for a moment. Sabito was also begging me with his eyes but I shook my head in the end.
"Nee-chan, I'm sorry but I'd rather die than let you or anybody dear to me get injured in front of me." I spoke truthfully with a small smile and Kanae frowned a little bit. Sabito was clenching his fist in anger or frustration.
I didn't know if the feeling were towards me, himself, or something else but it hurt me a little bit to see them feel this way.
"Let's go. The sun is going down." I said and the two of them only nodded to my words.
=====
Omake
The man coughed in his hands one more time. As he expected, his body did not agree with him using the Breathing technique.
But what else could he do? Three children were struggling against a beast. His time was close and he knew that, yet he did not regret helping the three children.
He had seen their strength and was surprised when the boy had quickly appeared in front of him. Even if it wasn't close to his speed, it was close enough.
He smiled softly as he thought about his ancestor speaking with that man. The man and his legacy were still alive. He saw it in the children, even if it was for a moment.
He was confused in the beginning when he saw the dreams but after seeing the same dream many times, he could understand what he was seeing.
He reached out for his pocket and grabbed a piece of paper. It was a picture. A picture of his dear family. He glanced at each family member but his gaze stayed longer on one boy with a scar on his forehead.
He didn't know why, but he knew that his son would be the next one to experience the same things as he did. Except the frail body.
Putting the picture back into his pocket, he continued to walk. Back to his home. Back to his family. To where he could really feel at ease.