Despite the new environment, despite the new job, despite the new responsibilities, the next three days passed by in a blur. Even Tsuda couldn't tell you what happened, as they were nothing special. He woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast, brushed his teeth, and then cleaned around the base.
He wiped the floors and windows, he brushed and cleaned the walls, he threw out the trash. He knew these things were all just the job of a housekeeper, but even then, where was the action?
Despite how it seemed, he was not allowed to join the rest on missions. For the past few days, Tenka and the rest had been busy with their job, leaving him either alone or with one of the other girls. He's glad that most of the girls at the unit opted to just ignore his presence, he'd prefer that over the alternative— that being Yachiho.
She's not malicious with her words, but even he could get tired of all the teasing. "Doggy" and "Chuuni" were words that she liked to throw at him every now and then.
The dog jokes were getting old so he opted to ignore them, but something stuck to him when she called him "chuuni" just earlier today. It wasn't even the fact that a girl who had to pose to stop time was the one who called him a chuuni. It was the word itself that stuck with him.
So here he stood with a wooden sword, swinging at a tree that grew in the courtyard. Everyone else was asleep by now so he had no worries.
Delusional…
He swung from the left, leaving a mark in the tree.
Was he truly delusional?
He swung again, leaving another mark.
Why was he thinking of such things? Why was he worrying about such things? Did it matter if he was delusional or not? So, what if he was? So long as he reached that man–
He swung as hard as he could, followed by a loud crack. His sword was not able to cut into the tree, instead it shattered, half of it flying into the distance, landing on the other side of the yard.
"Why are you using a nodachi?"
"Alright, well, take my advice, if you want to stop hindering yourself with a large sword, use something smaller."
Why was he trying to reach that man in the first place? To feel good? Because it feels right?
No, it's because he couldn't see himself going on any other path. And it's for this reason he allowed their words to linger.
Never before had he truly thought about the paths that lay before him. No, that's a lie, there was one time he contemplated his life, and that was before he entered Mato.
He remembered the reason he entered this demonic realm. He was stagnating, he had realized a while ago. Going through the motions; working, training, sleeping. For years he followed this routine until it became second nature, and for a while he thought he was going places, for a while he thought he was getting ever so close to his dream.
But one night upon looking at the moon he realized, he wasn't moving forward, he was stuck in the same place.
Upon this realization he had truly begun to doubt himself, this dream that he had been working towards for so long. Was it truly worth it? Could he even achieve that legendary technique? Was it even physically possible?
He had allowed himself to think that since the supernatural exists, perhaps he could achieve something that wasn't natural too. Yet the Peaches only worked on females, and the Shuuki…
A month and a half ago, that thought led to something new. Prior to sneaking into Mato, he hadn't fought many Shuuki. If he were to fight off against monsters, wouldn't that lead to something?
That single moment led to now, where he stood with a chance that he never would have thought he'd have.
Yet again, even though he has more chances, he once again found himself in the hole of stagnation. He once again found himself in front of a wall of his own making.
The moment when he believed he could change, he went back to the familiar routine. Work, train, sleep.
Clean, train, sleep.
Clean, train, sleep.
Clean, train, sleep.
What the hell am I doing?
He looked at his nodachi, which he placed near the door, then he looked next to it, finding a katana.
He walked up towards it, picking it up and walking back to the tree. He shouldn't have the privilege to be stubborn about the small things. It doesn't feel right to not hold a nodachi? Why should he care?! Being stubborn about these small things won't help him with his goal.
He stopped a foot away from the tree and took a stance. He took a deep breath…
And then he swung, cleaving right through the trunk. He had been close enough for the entire katana to cut through the trunk of the tree, and as it fell down, he turned the blade in his hand and swung at the falling tree midair. Four slices appeared on the tree before it fully collapsed.
It isn't enough.
So, he'll fight until he can say it was enough. Until he achieved that impossible technique.
An infinite number of paths had once laid before him, but now he believes he's too far gone to switch.
Maybe he is truly delusional, but even so, he'll keep treading this path until reality swings its harsh hand.
"Good morning, Tsuda." Tenka's serene voice broke the young man from his slumber. With a mumbled 'mornin…' he sat up. He stretched his arms with a yawn and rubbed his eyes.
"Was there something wrong with the room?"
He looked up to see her bright smile and concerned blue eyes. He shook his head as he stood up.
"No. I was just too… tired to walk back to the room."
"Is that so?" Her head tilted slightly, and she gave him a curious glance over. Her eyes trailed to the katana that lay on the ground next to them.
"Well, when you're ready to eat, breakfast is already done."
"Thank you." He yawned. He glanced over his own dirty attire, and with a sigh he made up his mind to shower first.
"I'll eat after." He said, gaining a nod from the Chief in response.
As he walked off, Tenka merely stared at his figure. Her head turned towards the fallen tree, then with a smile she glanced towards one of the pillars surrounding the yard. Her smile widened as her eyes met a camera that surveyed the entire yard.
Meanwhile Tsuda walked towards his room to grab his clothing, after which he moved towards the bathroom. He could have used the onsen but he didn't want to spend too much time. He locked the bathroom door after entering, something that Yachiho drilled into him on the first day.
Upon removing his dusty clothing he caught his own figure in the mirror, a mess stared back at him. Even his hair appears greasy.
But at this moment his appearance is not what concerned him most, no, it was the memories from the night prior. The promise he made to himself.
He could attempt to just sneak out and fight off Shuuki, but that would probably only lead him back here, contemplating his own life choices. He had asked Tenka if he could come along with her missions, but she had responded with "you'll have to wait some time."
It annoyed him but it was understandable, even though he had already proven his capabilities by fighting with a Chief—
A Chief…
A lightbulb went off in his head. Fighting off mindless monsters that relied only on instincts could only get him so far, especially on his own. He wasn't trying to become some "Shuuki-slayer", and this wasn't a game where killing mobs would help him "level up".
His mind went to how he felt when he fought off against Riu Myouga's ability. Never before had he truly felt so… alive. Maybe it was the adrenaline talking… was he an adrenaline junkie. Either way, that's a thought for another time.
Now he thought about the Chiefs, he thought about his confrontation with the Head-Commander. The mountain that had laid before him. The near ecstasy that he felt upon beating the undead(?) swordsman.
At this moment he knew what he wanted to do.
He doesn't recognize it, but at this moment he wasn't worried about facing a future reality, nor was he concerned with living up to a past legacy. At this very moment, he was being true to himself.
After a quick shower he walked out with a simple white t-shirt and blue jeans, his previously greasy hair now has a fluff to it.
He entered the dining room to see bowls of rice and miso soup, giving his thanks he quickly dug in. Tenka— who was sitting across from him— saw the change in his posture. Compared to when she woke him up, now he walked with confident steps, with determined eyes. He sat with his back straight and with a small smile.
"You look good, did something exciting happen in the shower?" Tenka teased.
Normally when she teased the young man he would either respond with hilariously clueless looks or he would look away with a red face. This time, however, he did not respond in either way.
"Sure," he responded simply, causing Tenka to pout.
"Oh," he swallowed the food in his mouth, "by the way, there is something that I need to ask."
"Go ahead."
Tsuda didn't finish eating, yet he placed his spoon down on the table.
"I wish to fight the other Chiefs." He said with no subtlety. Tenka did not respond, her face seemingly frozen. Silence reigned in the area for at least thirty seconds, before Tenka finally spoke.
"You—"
"I wish to fight the other Chiefs." He reiterated. He spoke as if he was asking permission, and while he was, Tenka could tell from his tone that there was something else.
He was not going to back down on this.
One way or another he will have a spar with the other Chiefs. Acknowledging this the Chief of the Sixth Unit could only sigh.
"I should have seen this coming." Despite her words, there was a clear smile on her face.
"Will you be fine with just a rematch with me?" In a vain attempt she offered another option.
Tsuda shook his head, "We can have a rematch after I win against another Chief." He was too focused on fighting against other powerful people.
Once again silence filled the air between the two, and once again Tenka quietly sighed. Luckily for her she had thought something like this was going to happen eventually, so she had already made a few mental notes beforehand. She just didn't expect it to come up so quickly, she would have assumed that he would have asked to fight other Units during the Mato Exhibition Matches.
She placed a hand under her chin and mentally looked over the other Chief units, he already fought against Riu Myouga so she can cross that one off the list. After a few seconds of contemplating, a memory appeared, one of the first things she thought of when she met Tsuda.
Faster than Kyouka.
Well… even she could admit that a match between the two is something she'd want to see.
"I think I know just the person."
She smiled upon seeing his face brighten, then she made a surprising offer. "Would you like to go now?"
"Of course!" Tsuda stood up so fast that he pushed the chair back a few feet. "Ah, wait, my food."
Tenka grabbed his plate from across the table and placed it in the microwave. "We won't take too long."
A noise filled the room, and a portal opened up in front of Tsuda. Tenka walked up towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder. The portal closed after the two walked in.
Blades clashed. The screeching of steel echoed across the yard of the Seventh Unit. Two young women faced off against each other. Both wore simple white t-shirts and black sweatshorts. Both held katanas.
One of them, a young woman with long silver hair and pink eyes, swung from above. In response her opponent, a young woman with dark blue hair and yellow eyes, dodged to the left, and swung from the side. Kyouka ducked underneath just in time and swept her legs, causing her opponent to lose balance. Her opponent was able to rebalance themselves, but that balance was quickly broken again as Kyouka swiped at her legs with her katana. A hiss left the younger woman as Kyouka took this opportunity to push the girl over. She landed on her back, the katana landing beside her with a thud.
Kyouka stood up and sheathed her blade, her opponent laid on the ground with bated breath. "You did good, Himari."
"I don't think I can ever face off against you with swords, Kyouka."
The Chief of the Seventh Unit smiled, holding out her hand towards her Vice-Chief. Himari grabbed onto Kyouka's hand and accepted the help. Dusting off some dirt that got on her shorts as she stood up.
A breeze filled the air, followed by a familiar purple portal opening up a few meters away from the two.
Kyouka looked on with a deadpan expression as two people walked out of the portal. One unfamiliar and the other entirely familiar to her.
"What do you want, Tenka?"
"Hiya, Kyou."
(A/N)
Completed this entire chapter in a single sitting so there might be some mistakes, either way, thank you for reading!
Here's a first, responding to some reviews!
King0fP0wers: Although I already clarified with you in PMs I thought I might as well say it here just in case anyone else got confused, but the "bonus" at the end of last chapter takes place in this story, not any other one.
Echonic: That's a fair assessment. I wouldn't be surprised if a few people clicked on this fic expecting Kojiro only to be disappointed after getting an OC, but nothing can really be done about that. As it is now, this entire story basically hinges on the fact that Tsuda is not "Sasaki Kojiro". Changing it to the genuine Kojiro would require me to make an entirely different story, which I have neither the motivation or interest of doing. Thanks for the review!
Once again, comments and reviews are appreciated!
Much love
-an Idiot on the Internet
