(A/N) I'm surprised (and truly glad) to see people enjoying this slop. This story is a release that I didn't know I needed until now. I hope to keep a weekly schedule with this fic, but considering that I'm in college and that I have a lot of other personal things going on with my life, I do hope that you forgive me for any weeks I miss. Anyways, enough with my yapping, please enjoy!

As they teleported to the hideout, Tsuda took the moment to reconsider his life choices. He knew it was a bad idea to fight a chief of all people, but he couldn't help it. He had already failed at controlling his desires— his agitation from earlier was at himself. The prospect of bettering himself had gotten him riled up.

All things considered he was lucky. Lucky that the Chief didn't see him as an enemy after his feint. Lucky that she decided to humor his demands despite obviously having the upper hand. He was glad he specified that it was a spar.

In a battle to the death, he had no doubt that he would be gone already.

Once again, he was reminded of the wall between him and the women of the Anti-Demon Corps. He didn't care much for gender roles or stereotypes, but even he would sometimes think it unfair that only women could inherit supernatural abilities. Yet as he stared at that metaphorical wall he found that it didn't really affect him too much.

No, what truly mattered to him was one thing, an impossible goal.

To reach that height he saw in his dream. To reach that peak of swordsmanship. To achieve that perfect technique—

"Here we are." Tenka called out, breaking him out of his stupor.

They had teleported right to the invisible dome that protected the Unit's base, which looked like a traditional dorm. The building itself didn't look too impressive, but what was impressive was the fact that such an old-style building was able to stay up for so long, especially in Mato.

Tsuda walked up towards the force-field—fastening his backpack on a single shoulder—with a look of awe. Besides him Tenka walked past the invisible dome with his sword in hand— she had taken it from him right as they teleported back. After fully entering the force field she turned back towards the young man and held out her free hand.

"Come on." She motioned for him to grab her hand, but the way she spoke made Tsuda's eyebrow twitch.

"Can you not talk like that? I'm not a dog." Nonetheless he grabbed onto her hand. A strange feeling washed over him as he entered through the force-field.

"I'll stop when you stop glancing at this sword like a desperate puppy waiting for treats." He did not like the smug look on her face, it reminded him too much of a familiar person.

I already have to deal with Musashi's teasing, Gods please don't throw another one at me.

"Just kidding." The smug aura vanished off her. "I was just having my own fun, but if it makes you uncomfortable, I'll stop…. Maybe."

He could only sigh.

The two proceeded to walk into the dorm, and Tenka led him to the living room. She motioned for him to sit, and so he hesitantly took a seat on the couch in the middle of the room, placing his backpack next to him. He took a moment to look at his own attire, holes and tears present in both his shirt and pants.

What a mess, he thought with an exasperated sigh.

Tenka moved to place his sword on the wall on the furthest side of the living room—away from his reach. She looked back to him with the same smile that she's had since they met. "Would you like anything to drink?"

He shook his head. "I'm fine."

"You sure?"

He shook his backpack, both of them picking up the sloshing of water from a water bottle.

"Alright then." She gently clapped her hands, "Let's get down to business then, shall we?

She took a seat on the smaller couch across from him, leaning forward with her hands under her chin.

"First, what is your name?"

"Tsuda." He said with little hesitation. Tenka signaled for him to continue with a raised eyebrow, but he didn't.

"Is that your given name or…?"

"It is."

"Then, your surname?"

"It's…"

He hesitated; his eyes wandered off in embarrassment. In most scenarios where a person asks for his surname they don't know about his obsession with the sword, but right here and now it felt like his validity as a person was put under the scope.

"Ganryu. My name is Tsuda Ganryu."

She took a moment to let the information sink in before she stood up. She turns to the side, a portal opening in front of her. "I'll be right back." She says as she disappears into the portal.

Tenka Izumo returned a moment later with a tablet in her hand. She narrowed her eyes in concentration as she swiped at the screen.

"Tsuda Ganryu." She repeated to herself. "Oh, here you are."

She sat back down with the tablet in hand and apologized with an embarrassed smile. "I did not mean to insult you but…"

"It doesn't sound like a real name?" He asked, fully expecting that reaction. It wouldn't have been the first time.

"Not that— it doesn't sound like a complete name." She corrected, "but that really is your full name."

"We're getting off track." She shook her hand and placed the tablet on the armrest of her couch. "Next question,

"How long have you been alone in Mato?"

Tsuda wasn't good with bluffing to begin with, so he told the truth. "A month… I think."

"A month?" She repeated, and her smile completely dropped. "You've been out there for a month?"

Here comes the lecture. Tsuda inwardly sighed.

"I can go on for hours on why you did something wrong." She spoke with a strictness that seemed unlike her, just this once she allowed the title of chief to take full force. "But you don't seem like the smart type, am I wrong?"

His eyebrow twitched. "I'm not stupid, I know how to—"

"Handle yourself? Maybe you can, in the normal world." She huffed. "But if I were to lecture you about why what you've done is stupid and send you home right after, can you tell me with certainty that you wouldn't attempt it again?"

"I–"

He wanted to say yes, but he stopped himself. Perhaps it was stupid, but it's not like men can actually sign up to the Anti-Demon Corps. As easy as it would be to just walk up to their front doors and ask "sign me up", he can't.

There was one way that he could become part of the Corps– according to his foster mother– but that required essentially giving away his body to a certain family clan.

He did not want to think of marriage at the moment, so he had immediately trashed that suggestion.

To get the practice he wanted, the experience he needed. To get the high that he's obsessed with, he had to be here in Mato fighting monsters.

He hung his head low; she was right. Even if the Head Commander herself lectured him he would still attempt to come back.

She took his defeated movements as a sign of agreement. She allowed for the tension in the room to calm and leaned back into the couch. "I'm not calling you stupid." She spoke softly.

"A stupid person would not have survived in Mato for a month, and I'm assuming that you've been alone this whole time?"

He nodded.

"That in itself is an accomplishment that even a few of the members here would not be able to achieve." Of course most would have been able to, considering the nature of Peaches, but she had to give credit where it was due.

He looked up at her with a lopsided smile, "I'm surprised you seem to know so much about me."

"I've been speaking based on assumptions," She spoke with genuine appreciation, "and it helps that being a Chief I'm able to meet all sorts of people. While there are a few people that I know of who seem to act similar to you, you are a rare case, so I'm glad that my assumptions have been correct."

"So!" She clapped her hands, her iconic smile returning in full force. "How about we come to a compromise?"

"A compromise?"

She nodded, leaning forward with her hands holding her chin. Her eyes glinted with anticipation and curiosity. "Why don't you work for the Anti-Demon Corps?"

He looked at her with an indifferent gaze, it took a full thirty seconds for the question to process, and when it did–

"Can I?!" He nearly jumped off the couch, when he realized that he sounded a little too enthusiastic, he sat back down with a cough.

"I thought that men can't become a member of the Corps?"

"Normally they can't, and the closest thing to being a member and a man is to be married into the Azuma family."

He only heard tales of the Azuma family from his foster mother, but even with his limited knowledge he couldn't help but shudder.

"But I think an exception can be made."

He swallowed; the sheer anticipation nearly caused him to sweat. "Can you really get me into the Corps?"

In Tenka's eyes, she could have sworn that she saw a tail wag behind him. "Maybe not as a member."

She almost laughed at the way he visibly deflated, "but if there is a way to get you into the Corps, then I'm confident that I can get it."

Within the next couple of seconds, Tsuda had sat from the couch, walked up to her, and kneeled on one knee.

"Thank you for this opportunity!"

Her eyes widened in surprise, not having expected a passionate reaction. She was completely tempted to lean over and rub his head, in an attempt to control herself she asked, "Are you that excited about killing Shuuki?"

She only meant to tease, but as he glanced up at her, she saw pure conviction in his gaze. "If I can freely fight without much trouble, then I will take the opportunity without a second thought."

As she gazed into his eyes, a question entered her mind. "Why exactly do you fight?"

"It's–" For a moment he looked extremely excited to tell her the story, but then he faltered. To test the waters, he asked a simple question,

"Have you heard of Sasaki Kojiro?"

"I know of Kojiro what everyone else knows, the man who can cut down a swallow mid-flight and who's also the rival of Miyamoto Musashi." That was the common knowledge when it comes to Kojiro. It's much like how the average person would say "that's the heel weakness guy during the trojan war" when asked about Achilles or "that's the trojan horse guy" when asked about Odysseus.

"When I was young, I had a dream," Tsuda began. "Of a man who cut down a swallow right as it left the ground. That's all the dream was but after doing some research I've come to learn that it was a dream about Sasaki Kojiro."

He shook his head. "I don't know why I dreamed about some old folktale, but I did, and ever since then that technique he used, it's been latched onto my mind."

Whatever embarrassment he had prior had vanished, all that was left was a certain conviction. "I want to achieve that."

I want to be like that.

A minute of silence passed as the two stared at each other.

"That's certainly quite the goal." She finally stood up from her seat and walked in front of the kneeling boy, she held out her hand to him. "And I think that's exactly the kind of conviction we need here. I promise you that I will get you a position here."

While she was honest about her thoughts– the kind of mindset he has is one that is favored by the Corps– her reasons for helping him were a lot more selfish.

The way his eyes shone reminded her of a puppy waiting for treats. Even as he stood at his full height– a full six inches above her– the temptation to pat his head returned with a vengeance.

Not yet, but she held herself back. "For now, though," She paused, and opened a portal right behind the purple haired young man.

"Let's get you to a room."

It didn't take too long for her to place his things in an empty room. It was a pitiful room in all aspects, with a single window on the wall opposite to the door, and a single mattress laying on the floor. She offered to look for another room, but he shook his head, saying that it was fine. The only clothes they had that would fit him was a large janitor's outfit, he said that that was fine as well. They both supposed that anything would work compared to the shirt and jeans that he'd apparently been wearing for a month.

Despite her insistence he did not require too much. He grabbed the outfit and asked for the shower, she gave him the directions and teleported back to the living room. She realized now that there was no smell left over, despite his obvious injuries there was not a speck of blood or sweat left on the couch.

As she grabbed the tablet she called out. "And what do you think of this compromise, Yacchi?"

She spoke to another young woman who sat on the couch the boy had sat on ten minutes prior. A fair-skinned young woman with long dark-blue hair tied into twin-tails with white ribbons.

Vice-Chief Yachiho Azuma glared at her Chief.

"Don't give me that look, how long have you been eavesdropping?"

The Vice-Chief huffed. "Since you first left to grab the tablet."

"So? What do you think?"

"Why are you so insistent on letting a guy stay here? You know the rules of the Corps better than most, you're a Chief!"

"Now now, don't be like that, having a guy here would be an eye-opening experience I think, neither of us have any experience in that regard."

Yachigo sat up with her arms crossed. "You do know that he won't be accepted as a member, even if it's you who's vouching for him."

"I know, but I'm still going to try."

Yachiho continued to glare at her Chief, and in response Tenka only kept the same smile on her face.

Finally, Yachiho relented with a huff. "Fine, I'll trust you on this, Chief."

The smile on Tenka's face widened. "Thank you–"

"But–!" The Azuma daughter raised her voice and held out a finger. "If he does anything uncouth towards anyone here–!"

To reiterate her point she closed her index and middle finger like a pair of scissors.

Tenka tilted her head. "I don't think he's that type of person, but I'll hold your word, I'll punish him if he purposely does something in that nature."

"Speaking of which." Tenka sat down on the opposite side of the couch that Yachiho was sitting on. "What do you think of him?"

"Didn't you–"

"Not of this arrangement, but I mean what do you think of him as a person?"

Yachiho leaned back and held her hand to her chin with a hum. There was a word that she felt would perfectly describe him, but she couldn't remember it.

"What was it again… damn it I just had it–"

She snapped her fingers. "Ah, that's right!"

She leaned forward with her elbow resting against her leg, she pointed at her chief with a smirk.

"Chuunibyou. I think he's a Chuuni."

Tenka tilted her head with a slow chuckle. "I wouldn't go that far…"

"How old is he?"

At the question, Tenka grabbed the tablet and pulled up his information. "19."

"Chuuni." As if she didn't need to say anything else, Yachiho leaned back with her arms crossed and a satisfied smile.

"I don't think he's–" Yachiho cut off Tenka before she could defend the young man.

"'I want to achieve that' he says while talking about some ancient samurai, in what world would that not be the signs of a chuuni?"

"I still wouldn't go that far." Tenka paused, thinking of the right word to describe the young man, "I would say instead he's… passionate."

"You don't sound so sure of that."

The Chief of the 6th Unit sighed. "If he were truly a chuunibyou then wouldn't he have introduced himself as some reincarnation of Kojiro instead of just listing the tale of Sasaki Kojiro as his dream? In the end it's a fable, so maybe the hidden message just really spoke to him." Whether or not Sasaki Kojiro lived, his tale of perseverance and dedication as both a master swordsman and the rival of Miyamoto Musashi is not to be understated. It's not something that Tenka herself found interest in, but she could see the appeal.

"Fair point." Yachiho relented on that point alone, "But I still stand by what I said."

"And nothing I say will convince you?"

The twin-tailed Azuma daughter shook her head. "Unless he does something to prove me otherwise, he'll forever be a chuunibyou."

Sorry Tsuda, Tenka apologized to the young man in her head.