A sigh left Tsuda as the hot water engulfed him from his feet to his neck. Luckily for him, the onsen was empty, and he had taken the time to wash himself prior. This is exactly what he needed, laying his head back against a rock he felt all his stress seemingly vaporize.
He ran a hand over some scars that he gained from his time alone in Mato. They weren't fatal, the largest scar he got was a large slash on his back. Looking back at it, he felt that he was lucky. He only ran into a couple of Shuuki hoards and he had been able to escape from them after thinning their numbers.
Perhaps he's a crazy person, but then again if it weren't for that craziness he wouldn't be here.
He didn't think that he'd actually have a chance to become a member of the Corps (although, he thought that he shouldn't get his hopes up too high). He didn't know why she showed so much interest in him, but he couldn't complain.
If he can fight to his heart's content, without worrying about unrelated things, then that's all he needs.
Maybe he could spar with Tenka again. The Shuuki were a good way to keep up a routine but they didn't really allow for much growth unless it's a hoard of them. Sparring with another person is what allows for growth, outside of truly tense scenarios. At least, that's what both his foster mother and Musashi had said.
He turned his head towards his nodachi, it laid up against the wall on the far side of the room. A memory replayed in his head.
A ten year old Tsuda swung his large blade from above with a yell. He swung with purpose. The recipient of his attack countered by swinging from the left side. A loud clang echoed, followed by another. Right after the first swing, his sparring partner swung from the opposite side. The sheer force caused the sword to fly out of Tsuda's hand.
His legs gave out to exhaustion. His "opponent" walked up while sheathing her swords.
"I don't know why you are so dead-set on using an odachi." A soft feminine voice spoke to him. He looked up to see her hold out her hand. The sun above them casted a shadow over her face
"It's…" He grabbed her hand and allowed her to pull him up. "Because it feels right."
She looked at him with a conflicted look. A twitch in her lips and hesitation clear in her eyes.
"I'm not going to stop you from working towards your dreams, but just…" She looked off to the side with a shake of her head.
"I know that I'm the last one who should be saying this; but when the time comes, I want you to remember that there's more to life than just the sword. Especially during this time."
He looked at her confused.
"You're young, you still have the rest of life ahead of you, and I'm not saying that it's bad to dream!"
She grabbed one of her sheathed swords and held it out to him.
"I'm just telling you to be careful with your passions. The last thing you want is an obsession."
As a young child he didn't truly understand the purpose of her words, aside from the fact that they were a warning.
"Okay." So he nodded, even if not he didn't fully understand why she gave him this warning in the first place.
"Good." With one hand she placed a sheath back to her side and with the other she ruffled the hair on the boy's head. "Now let's go grab some Udon! I'm starving!"
Looking back at it, perhaps he should have headed her warning. He's not antisocial nor introverted but he also doesn't have any friends or regular acquaintances. It's not something he usually contemplates about, but humans are inherently social creatures.
Even he would be subjected to loneliness.
As the steam rose from the warm water, he felt a heaviness in his eyelids. His brain slowed down and he stretched with a yawn.
Hopefully they won't mind if he took a small nap—
Right as he finished the thought his head had already laid against the rock next to him, and his mind slipped into unconsciousness.
He awoke to the sound of splashing water.
"W-who?!" With a startled jump he frantically looked around, having slept with the threat of Shuuki for the past month it was only natural that he'd be on edge if something suddenly wakes him up.
"Oh, sorry, did I wake you?"
He turned his head towards the source of the voice, coming face to face with a girl who looked to be about the same age as him. A well-endowed young woman with fluffy orange hair that flowed down to her back.
He took a second for his mind to stop racing, his fight or flight response calming down. With a sigh he shook his head. "You did, but it's fine. I probably—" he yawned, "—shouldn't sleep here."
So he says, yet his eyes were getting heavy again, fatigue attempting to take reign over his mind. He wanted to at least introduce himself, but his mind wants to recharge.
"S-sorry…"
The obvious problem with the current scenario didn't seem to register as the young man fell asleep again. The orange-haired girl sat in the hot spring on the opposite side. Neither of them wore a towel.
Her eyes narrowed before widening.
She didn't realize it before, but since she has a better look at this angle she finally realized the current problem.
The person across from her is a male.
Perhaps she should have done something, a young man sat in the hot spring of a girls-only dorm, that was just asking for trouble. Yet as she observed the sleeping young man, she felt a weight in her eyes as well.
Well, if he was able to sleep so soundly then maybe someone else allowed him here. With one final thought she allowed herself to fall into unconsciousness.
It's been ten minutes since Tsuda left for the hot spring. Tenka sat on the couch while swiping through her tablet, having just finished cleaning out the young man's new room. She planned to be honest in her attempt to get the young man into the Anti-Demon Corps, but honesty can only go so far. Though she is on the Head-Commander's good side, even she couldn't just walk up and say "I find this young man interesting, could he join us?"
Perhaps if he was a woman she could do so. It's not because of some delusional gender superiority that men can't join the Anti-Demon Corps (though some act as though it is). It's the simple fact that Peaches do not work with males. For whatever the reason, only females are granted these abilities from the Peaches.
Having completely natural people within the supernatural word of Mato is just asking for casualties. Even the men who married into the Azuma family are rarely allowed into their Unit base in Mato.
As she looked through Tsuda's records a thought came to her mind. What if she showed exactly why she's interested? His capabilities despite being a normal human, showing that off could help.
Her thoughts were interrupted by footsteps, she looked up to see Yachiho—wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants— walking back into the living. The Vice-Chief's breath was heavy, and sweat traveled down her forehead.
The twin-tailed girl looked around, "Is Sahara back yet?"
Tenka nodded. "She just arrived. She went straight to the onsen."
"Hm." Yachiho acknowledged, yet she felt that there was something missing. She raised an eyebrow, "Where's the male?"
"Last I saw him he had gone to the onsen, ten minutes ago. Also, maybe you shouldn't refer to him like that."
"Hm." The twin-tailed girl ignored the last bit. "Is he still there?"
The Chief tilted her head. "I don't think so, but if he had already finished then he didn't return to his room— I had just finished cleaning it."
Yachiho's eyes twitched. "So you let Sahara go into the onsen with some random stranger loose in the building."
Tenka released an amused sigh. "He's definitely not the type to do the things you're insinuating, and you really don't need to refer to him like he's some wild animal."
"How can you be so sure? Also me treating him like an animal? You're the one who dragged him here as if he were a lost puppy!"
At the accusation, Tenka shrugged. She attempted to hide the smile that threatened to spill out.
"You—" Yachiho groaned, before she stomped off. "Fine then!"
"Where are you going?"
"To make sure he's not doing anything unsavory!"
Yachiho's voice faded as she stomped off, leaving Tenka alone once again.
Meanwhile it took Yachiho a minute to get to the onsen, she slammed the door open and stepped into the room.
"Sahara! Are you—?"
She came to see if Sahara was alright, and when she arrived at the hot spring she stopped, witnessing a strange scenario. On one end of the hot spring laid Sahara, her head resting against the ground while the rest of her body rested within the water. On the other end the young man laid his head against a rock.
Both of them were asleep.
"What the hell?!"
After that mishap, all three of them walked to the living room. Tsuda and Sahara walked with a limp in their steps and bags in their eyes— the young man even used his sheathed nodachi like a cane at moments. Sahara was dragged out first, forcefully dried and placed into a backup uniform.
Tsuda had to get out or else the twin-tailed girl continued to scream at him. He changed into the only outfit that was his size, a large janitor's outfit— one that was obviously meant for a female. He pulled at it a bit, groaning at the design.
What is the obsession with chest windows? He thought to himself. The outfit wasn't even too tight yet the chest window made him feel exposed.
At least it's better than wearing the same clothes for a month.
The three made their way to the living room, where Tenka stood with a smile. Her gaze focusing on Tsuda as soon as he enters her line of vision. "How are you feeling?"
The young man tilted his neck, stretching it with a pop. "A lot better."
The Chief nodded with a hum. "That's good to hear. Oh, and don't worry about the lack of clothing for now, we'll deal with that later."
"Can it be soon?" He asked, lightly poking at the janitor's outfit he wore.
"Right when you wake up tomorrow we'll get you something."
Tsuda sighed in relief. "Thank you."
"I don't know why you're so adamant about this." The Azuma daughter scoffed. She walked over to the couch and sat down, nearly flopping onto it. She ignored the fact that her colleagues were wearing their uniforms while she was still in her sweats. Though she made sure to keep him in the corner of her vision, ready to strike the moment his eyes wander too much.
"You're not going to get him to become a member even if you begged, there's a reason there's no men here."
"Oh, I know he won't be a legitimate member," Tsuda's dream life almost shattered at her words, until she continued. "But I'm going to try and get permission for him to stay here."
"Um…" A soft voice called out. The two girls looked over to the third girl. "What is going on?" Sahara Wakara asked.
"Chief Tenka is obsessed with a stray pet she found off the street." Yachiho folded her arms.
"Why do you keep calling me that?" Tsuda finally asked with a twitch of his eye. He didn't retaliate towards Tenka when she had teased him prior— mostly because there wasn't anything he could have done. But the young girl across from him spoke down to him. "I'm not some stray dog."
"True, you're pretty obedient for a stray."
He didn't know why she was trying to pester him, but he retaliated either way.
"Do you want to get bit? Even a domesticated dog can get wild, you know." He said the first thing that came to mind.
He actually wasn't offended, but it would be a lie to say he wasn't attempting to egg her on. The curiosity of her Peach ability latched onto him. His hand twitched as he held himself back.
He wasn't bloodthirsty nor a violent person, but the prospect of fighting something supernatural caused a spark to light within him. He wouldn't have had this opportunity before sneaking into Mato.
Yachiho tilted her head in Tenka's direction, giving the Chief a look that said "what did I tell you?"
Tenka released an exhausted sigh— a rare occurrence for her.
"Yacchi that's not—"
"Maybe this is a good chance." Tsuda stood up faster than any of them expected, he held his sheathed sword, little by little he allowed for a smile to form on his face. "It's obvious you don't think I belong here, so then let me show you. Just one spar is all I need."
"Hm." Yachiho quickly got over her surprise, raising an eyebrow in the young man's direction. "And why should I do that? We both know that–"
"I'll win?" Tsuda cut her off with a smirk, one that the twin-tailed girl misinterpreted. She narrowed her eyes at the boy, getting annoyed by his (seemingly out of nowhere) hubris.
But it wasn't hubris the young man had. In truth, he didn't think there was a good chance he would win, but that's exactly why he interrupted her in the first place. He didn't know what her ability was and wanting to find that out first hand caused dopamine to burst through his systems.
He side-eyed Tenka for a moment before refocusing on Yachiho. In truth he didn't need to do this, he could have just ignored the condescending girl, after all if Tenka did somehow get permission for him to stay here then he would have multiple chances to prove himself.
However–
His mind had long been awake since he was interrupted from his nap (which only lasted ten minutes cuz of Yachiho).
He doesn't have many chances to spar with other people, the only time he does is when Musashi visits.
He wanted this.
They continued to glare at each other before Yachiho's lips formed into a sharp smile– not too dissimilar from the one on Tsuda's own face. She made up her mind, she's going to enjoy knocking that smirk off his face.
In his face she saw someone delusional, someone who doesn't know how the world works. Tsuda leaned into that just to start a fight. Yachiho didn't see what Tenka saw, so all she could assume is that Tsuda was just running around hiding to survive. In fact, Yachiho fully believed the boy was lying about surviving alone for a month.
Yachiho opened her mouth, ready to accept his challenge, but someone interrupted her.
"Alright! This has been fun, but I'm afraid that I'll have to put a stop to this." Tenka held out her hand, placing it between the two. Yachiho wanted to whine, but the smile on Tenka's face stopped whatever was about to come out of the young girl's mouth. The Azuma daughter huffed. 'We'll talk later' she mouthed to her Chief.
"Fine." Yachiho walked off. Though she kept in her mind her decision. She doesn't believe that Tsuda will be allowed to stay in Mato, but if by some idiotic miracle that he does, then she knows exactly what she's going to do. Tenka looked on as Yachiho walked away, shaking her head with a sigh.
"I apologize for Yachiho's behavior." Tenka apologized.
"She's normally—" not like this, Tenka was about to add, but as she looked back on her Vice Chief, she realized that Yachiho is, in fact, like this normally. The one thing off about her is that, "She's usually not so confrontational."
She turned back to Tsuda to gather his thoughts, but as she looked at the young man, he had a strange look to her. He gazed into her eyes, but his eyes were slightly twitching– or maybe squirming, Tenka assumed– as if he was trying not to glare at him. She knew he was attempting not to because he was currently failing at doing so. His frown twitched in a similar way.
"Are–" The look on his face was simply because… "Are you pouting?"
"What?" His eyes widened, and as he felt his face with his hands he could feel a warmth spread across it. "No? No, I'm not." Or at least, he didn't believe he was pouting.
Was he pouting?
"You are pouting. That's adorable!"
He was pouting.
"I'm not!"
Tsuda—having enough of the teasing— turned around and walked off. His form hunched over and his voice grumbled, his fun having been ruined.
"I'm calling it a night."
"Alright, good night." But Tenka wasn't done with her fun. With a smug smile on her face she held out her hand, "If you want, I can scratch your head until you fall asleep."
"I'm not a dog!" He barked. His figure disappeared around the corner.
Sahara— who was still slouching on the couch— turned to her Chief and asked, "Does he know where his room is?"
Tenka shook her head with a smile. "I don't think he does."
Tenka had guided Tsuda back to his room, which had also been cleaned by her while he was in the hot spring. By the time Tenka returned to the living room. Sahara had already walked off to her own room to sleep as well. Now, only two people sat.
Yachiho looked at Tenka with her arms crossed and her eyebrows furrowed. Yachiho was condescending towards those she thought weaker, but she also knew how to respect those stronger.
"You may speak." Tenka assured, "you're my Vice-Chief after all, I'm open to any concerns you have."
"Why are you so adamant about keeping him here?" Without missing a beat, Yachiho repeated her question from earlier. "You aren't the type to look for some boy-toy to mess around with, and even then I know you wouldn't be dumb enough to keep him around here of all places."
"I can't really give a logical answer. I mean, of course, I'm not keeping him here for that." Tenka hummed. "However, if you saw what I saw then I think you'd be just as interested."
"How about this," the Chief held out a finger, "if you'd like, you can come with us when we visit the Head-Commander tomorrow."
"You're going that far!?" Yachiho stood up, "why!? Don't tell me that you fell in love at first sight, or some bullshit like that."
Tenka shook her head. "Of course not. But…"
She paused, gathering her thoughts. It's hard to explain why but if she had to explain then…
"I like to live life to its fullest, you know this." She started.
"Yeah, but—"
"Call it intuition, or a gut feeling," Tenka continued, a glint present in her eye, "but I feel as though if I let him go now, then I'll be missing the opportunity of a lifetime."
"You…" Yachiho groaned, flopping back onto the couch. She respected her Chief more than most of her own family, so even if she disagreed with her Chief, she relented. "I don't understand it, but if you aren't going to change your mind then I won't probe anymore."
The lime-haired girl smiled, "Thank you—"
"I won't be going with you two, someone has to watch over this place. However—!" The twin-tailed girl sat up straight and held out a finger. "If you somehow do get permission for him to stay here, then I will make him regret it."
Yachiho said it once and she'll say it again, "There's a good reason people without a Peach ability aren't allowed here. I don't want to see some kid die because he allowed for the Chuuni in him to reign over his decisions."
"But he's your age."
"That— my point still stands!"
Tenka crossed her legs. "I think that if you saw him fight, you wouldn't be calling him delusional."
Yachiho scoffed. She still didn't believe Tsuda, but if Tenka was willing to defend him, if Tenka was willing to put trust in him, then she had no choice but to give him a chance. "Fine, we'll see."
She decided that she'll give him one chance, but only one chance.
With their conversation done, Yachiho stood up and walked away back to her room, leaving Tenka alone with her thoughts.
Was this the smartest decision? Most likely not, but she hopes that she can confidently say that it's a decision she didn't regret.
(A/N)
I will not confirm nor deny if it's actually our beloved Musashi.
