Happy New Year, My bros! Hope prev Year wasn't bad for y'all, and wish all blessings in the new 2026!
I started writing this fic in October, and in the past three months, a huge number of people have started reading it, which I truly didn't expect. Thank you all for that. I've been preparing to start writing fanfiction seriously since I was 15! Since 8th or 9th grade. And now, looking at how many people are reading it, I'm happy, and I really hope I won't disappoint you all and will continue writing! Thank you for your support, likes, and comments❤️
New Year Gift(limited quantity!)
———————————————————
POV Saeko Busujima
Right now, Saeko was looking at herself in the mirror and realized one thing: she was free. Her soul felt incredibly liberated, as if any moment now, she would be capable of shedding the burden of her body and soaring in the heavens like a bird.
She looked at her facial features, the cut of her eyes, the angle at which her lips stretched into a smile, and understood that she no longer had to maintain a fake, impassive expression, because she had found someone who loved her no matter what.
She lovingly stroked her stomach; after some time, she would have even more people who would love her, because a child will always love its mother.
For who knew, if not her, the love a child harbors for their mother and father? Perhaps her mother had died a decade ago, but Saeko still remembered the warmth of her mother's embracing arms, and whenever she imagined a person who would comfort her, she saw her mother. But recently, that had changed.
Her dream showed another person who was next to her mother and embracing her, and that someone was her beloved, the most precious person in this entire world, the father of her children.
Saeko knew she would get pregnant; it was self-evident, the most logical thing possible, and she was happy about it and knew that Isao would be happy too.
They would have to work very hard, as Isao certainly wouldn't want to stay here, at the Takagi Estate; he wouldn't want to remain in someone else's house as a refugee.
Knock! Knock!
"Mistress Busujima? Mr. Souichirou has arrived and invited you to his dojo; he said it's a very important matter." The voice of one of the maids, whom Yuriko, Saya's mother, had ordered to accompany her, sounded from behind the door.
"One moment." She smiled at herself in the mirror and, with a confident stride, left the restroom, seeing the maid who bowed to her.
"Allow me to escort you, Mistress." Saeko glanced at the woman's figure and grunted with satisfaction; her chest was full, and her hips were childbearing, good enough to propagate Isao's seed. Nodding to her, she followed her.
The Takagi Estate was quite nice, but it didn't come close to her own House. Honestly, few estates belonging to other wealthy people could compare to the Busujima Estate; after all, her family had a long history, certainly more than five hundred years.
But this was no reason for Arrogance, for Arrogance and Pride are poison for a swordsman. The mind of one who calls himself a swordsman must be as pure as drops of spring dew, because no matter what, there will always be someone who, in one way or another, will be above others, and she had already found someone who was above her—perhaps not in swordsmanship skills, but certainly in other abilities—and she was happy about it.
Even though they moved with quiet and measured steps, they walked quite quickly, or rather, she was so deep in her mind that she didn't notice how they reached the Dojo located on the ground floor of the Takagi Family Estate.
And there, not far in front of the altar, was a man, Souichirou Takagi, who was sitting in the seiza position, waiting for her, and in front of him, a sword in a black scabbard was horizontally placed.
"Greetings, daughter of the Busujima family." He pointed to the empty spot in front of him, behind the sword. "Sit down; I wished to talk to you about some things."
"Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Takagi." She sat down in front of the sword, taking the same posture as Souichirou Takagi, and looked directly into his eyes.
"It seems not everyone is capable of being grateful for this very hospitality." Hmm? What was he talking about? Most likely, the story with Isao was involved here. "But that's for later. First, what do you think of him?" He pointed to the katana in front of them. "I've heard that you are capable of competing with Chiba Sanako herself in swordsmanship, and if the rumors are true, then you are capable of understanding the true essence of this sword."
"Hmm..." She drew the sword from its scabbard and was pleasantly surprised. Slightly turning the blade toward herself, she looked at it spellbound. "This is... a sword forged by General Muratato, Meiji Era."
"Ha!" He smiled slightly, looking at her with recognition. "Just one glance was enough, wasn't it? I am impressed, truly."
"It was an honor for me to see this sword in person, thank you." She sheathed the sword again and, bowing, placed the sword between them.
"No, now this is your sword, daughter of the Busujima family." He nodded to her, looking at the sword. "If it weren't for your father, I wouldn't be who I am now." Her eyebrow almost twitched, but she stopped it before it happened.
"In that case, you should give this sword to my father, not to me, Souichirou-dono."
"Ha-ha-ha!" A loud laugh echoed through the dojo as Souichirou Takagi laughed heartily, causing her to look at him with an impressed gaze. "As expected of the daughter of such a family. But I am also indebted to you, for helping and saving my useless daughter, who was probably, as always, getting in the way, trying to prove something to others." She felt a slight irritation inside. Yes, perhaps she and Saya weren't close, but... Saya was still close to Isao.
"Is that true...?" He slightly raised an eyebrow, looking at her.
"Then take this sword, Saeko Busujima, and accept it as your own."
"Allow me to finish. Yes, it is true that I helped your daughter, but her biggest savior was Isao Tsumugi. Truth be told, I, like dozens of others, owe him our lives. When the chaos began, he took the situation into his own hands, and thanks to his abilities, he saved everyone." With every word she spoke, Souichirou's expression grew worse and worse.
"Hah," He sighed irritably. "That Isao Tsumugi again. The boy has no respect for his elders, but..." He looked somewhere inside his mind, pondering something known only to him. "I can admit that he has courage, but also impudence in equal measure. What kind of person is he? Share this information, Daughter of Busujima."
"Isao... he might seem disrespectful and incredibly rude, but it's not because of arrogance or anything else, but rather because of the care he shows for others. He won't care about all formalities and respect if the health of his people is in danger... and he also won't shy away from cruel methods if the aforementioned things depend on it..." She looked somewhere inside herself and remembered how he helped her dress, gently embracing her and helping her stand up. "But at the same time, he is an incredibly tender and warm person, and I believe in him as my leader." She looked directly into Souichirou's eyes, who was silent for a while, but then nodded with satisfaction.
"Good traits for someone with such a huge physique and character, but he's not just your 'leader,' is he?" He was prying where he shouldn't.
"Hmm, yes, he is the one I consider the father of my future children." Souichirou Takagi blinked, and then laughed again, this time slapping his leg several times.
"...Ah! Incredible, to say such things with an incredibly pure face. If only my daughter had as much courage as you, instead of trembling with embarrassment or anger every time." He looked at her and nodded. "Then I must tell you one more thing, Saeko Busujima, your beloved is going to meet me in a duel, on the condition that he won't use his ability, and in return, I won't use any weapons. The price is everything the other possesses." After saying this, he carefully watched her face, trying to read even the slightest emotion that might appear on her face. "Aren't you afraid of someone who so casually discards those who consider him close?"
"I have no reason to worry about that."
"Ah, yes, I wouldn't raise a finger against you." Fool.
"You seem not to have understood, Souichirou-dono." He stopped and looked at her, watching her carefully. "I'm not worried not because you won't raise a finger against him, but for the reason that your honor and life will belong to Isao by the end of this day." This time he didn't laugh, but looked at her with slight irritation.
"Hah, know this, Daughter of Busujima, your faith in your beloved is worthy of respect, but such fierce belief is folly." His voice was irritated, and he slightly tilted his head, looking at her.
"Then know one thing, Souichirou," He slightly squinted because she called him by his given name. "I believe in Isao not because I am blinded by love, but for the reason that I believe Isao is capable of defeating you, simply because he is Isao. From the very beginning of the apocalypse, he has performed incredible feats; his strength and endurance are unmatched, not to mention his ability. If he declared himself some kind of Divine Spirit embodied in flesh, I would accept it, that's how incredible he is."
"Hah..." He sighed, looking at his gloved hands. "Your words, steeped in faith in him, are worthy not only of respect but also of admiration, Daughter of Busujima, but I am sorry, and I apologize in advance for destroying the image of your beloved in front of you and a huge number of other people." When he looked up, there was only iron in his eyes, just like the steel in his voice. "I truly, sincerely apologize for this."
"Your apologies are not accepted." She looked at him with her nose slightly raised. "Because they are not even necessary," Her sadism urged her to prick him for thinking he was capable of inflicting any damage on Isao, and she obeyed it. "Your daughter and Yuriko-san will be happy, Souichirou."
"Take the sword and leave, Saeko Busujima." All the hospitality in his voice vanished as if it had never been there, and his eyes looked at her as if she were a particularly repulsive animal.
"Know that I will not use this sword unless my beloved husband says otherwise, as this sword rightfully belongs to him and him alone, by your own words." She took the sword, and bowing slightly—not deep enough to 'express' respect—Saeko stood up and left, her mind revolving around only one thing.
How hot it would be when Isao took everything from such a high-placed man as Souichirou Takagi. And yet, only a day ago, Isao was proclaimed as some kind of high school troublemaker. Hah, how quickly situations change.
Third Person POV
Everyone in the Takagi Estate knew what would happen in ten minutes.
The Lord of the Estate himself, a man who was supposed to participate in the vote to become the Prime Minister, Souichirou Takagi, was going to have a duel with a rather unusual young man named Isao Tsumugi. Gossip about this spread like wildfire, and the people saved by Tsumugi said that he was not just a young guy, but a God in the flesh, capable of creating metal and commanding lightning itself... Wait, what do you mean by saying his lightning isn't ordinary, but Ice? Clear, clear... capable of incredibly dangerous Ice Lightning, freezing to death anyone who is struck by it.
And the prize of this duel was simple, yet incredibly valuable: the Winner would receive everything that belonged to the loser, starting from property and ending with life itself. The loser would be obligated to serve the Winner until their death, and even their honor would be in the hands of the one who won this duel.
People slowly began to fill the Takagi Family Dojo; they all came to witness what was a duel that would decide many things.
The Takagi people were tense, not out of fear, by no means, but out of anger they felt towards this boy, who possessed incredibly enormous impudence and arrogance.
On the other side were Isao's People; they were few. Compared to the Takagi people, they were just a handful of people, over eighty percent of whom were not even capable of fighting and were children and women. But they were calm; none of them even trembled at the possible defeat of their leader, for they knew that he was much stronger than ordinary people, and some of them deeply believed in their souls that he was a Deity in the flesh.
The third group of people were those whom the Takagi people had saved. They were not as ardent followers of Souichirou, nor did they believe in Isao too much, for both of them seemed, in their eyes, to be merely two individuals fighting for power, but even so, they came because they wished to see the duel.
When the Dojo was full, only two people were missing, two figures... the two main protagonists of this scene, until finally Souichirou Takagi entered the Dojo and headed to the center, sitting on the floor in the seiza position. And exactly one minute after him, the second important person entered the Dojo, namely Isao Tsumugi. He was dressed in his school uniform Gakuran, but the jacket was unbuttoned, and he wore glasses. People were charmed by his gait, stature, and a posture as straight as a board. Also walking a few steps, he found himself in front of Souichirou, and for some time looked down at him, but then slowly sat parallel to him, in the same posture as him.
"So, old man, weren't you scared?" His voice echoed through the silenced Dojo.
"I would be not only a coward but also a fool if I allowed an ordinary boy to instill fear in my heart." Souichirou's voice was incredibly harsh.
"Then... first we talk, and then we proceed to the duel itself."
"Agreed."
And so they looked at each other and decided to repeat the conditions of the duel and the prize for the winner once again.
———————————————————
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/2FSukuna?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator
By the way, there is also an important post on Patreon that I hope you will read, because there is a gift there from me personally to you, my dear readers.