Hotaru climbed up my leg, seeking affection for her find.
"I found it on the ground, where one of the Onis had died."
"Good work, Hotaru." I gently pat her head.
"What does it say?" Rengoku asks, already leaning in to read.
"It's an order for the Onis to gather at a place with some new members…"
The camp falls silent, until one of the slayers gathers the courage to ask:
"Maybe… it's an order from the King of the Onis?"
"I doubt it. It's more likely from one of the Lower Moons."
My words don't ease the slayers' apprehension.
"Don't worry," I say softly, handing the note to Hotaru.
"Inform the other two and send this to the Corps headquarters."
"Can you do that for me, Hotaru-chan?"
"Yes, yes!" Then she flies off to speak with her sisters.
'What are the chances that an Upper Moon is responsible for this?' I think, watching my crow fly away.
Then I turn to the slayers.
"If you encounter groups of Onis like this, report it to the Corps immediately, and avoid direct confrontation as much as possible."
"Yes, sir!"
─── ◆ ───
There wasn't much to do besides wait for news from headquarters, so I decided to stay with the slayers until the assistants arrived.
I took the opportunity to play the flute a bit, the slayers were still recovering from the battle, so I thought it would help.
[ Music: Naruto - Sadness and Sorrow ]
Me starting to play was quite unexpected for them, but they quickly let themselves relax.
Rengoku leaned against the tree trunk beside me, closing his eyes in a calmness that felt strange for such a loud man.
Time passed, and the assistants arrived, giving me a silent greeting, recognizing me by my rank and my frequent presence at the Butterfly Mansion.
I finished my last cycle of the song and watched them work.
"Kyojuro."
"Yes?" He opened his eyes and turned to me.
"I'll spend the night here. I should receive a response from HQ only tomorrow."
"Do you think they'll select you for the mission?"
"Probably. I'm just not heading there directly because of another Hashira's presence in the territory."
"There's still a chance they'll send him instead of me."
"I see! I'll sleep here as well!"
With that, Rengoku and I chose two branches high up in a tree and slept the rest of the night.
When morning came, we had a quick breakfast, consisting of some fish from the nearby river, roasted by me over a campfire.
Then, while we were still eating, my crows appeared, delivering the mission to me.
The Master thought it best for both Giyu and me to be involved, along with slayers from nearby areas.
A meeting point was set, a spot on a well-known road used by merchants to transport goods from city to city.
Rengoku was also invited to participate, which he happily accepted.
We would be late if we didn't move ahead, so we departed right after putting out the fire.
Rengoku didn't even bother asking for a rematch of our running contests, but that didn't mean he was any less eager to try to surpass me.
We ran for hours on end.
I had to keep up with Rengoku's pace until he finally collapsed and fell asleep from exhaustion.
'He's already a monster just for keeping up with me this far,' I thought as I adjusted him on my back.
Rengoku's crow was stunned when it saw him collapse, and after my three girls and I calmed it down and convinced it to perch on my haori, we continued.
We reached the meeting point by dusk, with Rengoku comfortably dozing on my shoulder, my three crows and Rengoku's crow tucked into the opening of my haori.
The poor thing was completely frozen, eyes wide, clinging tightly to my haori.
"You alright there, little guy?"
"..." The crow looks around and sighs in relief.
"You're kind of cute when you're like this." I stroke the crow's head, helping it steady itself.
"Yaaawn, who?? Me?"
I let Rengoku drop to the ground with an expressionless face.
"Ouch—OH!! We're already here!?"
"Yes."
I let our crows go; they flew overhead along with other crows, indicating that the rest of the group was already arriving.
I expand my presence for a second, scanning the area.
Noticing someone, I smile and turn my face in the direction he's coming from.
"Good to see you again, Giyu-san."
"Likewise," the man replies coldly, but I don't mind.
"Kyojuro, this is Giyu, the Water Hashira."
"Ohhh, nice to meet you! My name is Kyojuro Rengoku!" Rengoku extends his hand to Giyu.
"..." Giyu looks at the extended hand and shakes it with some reluctance.
"Rengoku? Are you perhaps related to the Flame Hashira?" Giyu says in his usual low and calm tone.
"..."
Rengoku just stares at him with a smile for a few uncomfortable seconds before deciding to speak:
"Sorry! I didn't understand anything you said!"
That draws a subtle reaction from Giyu, they were so close, how had he not heard him?
"Eh, Kyojuro is a bit deaf, let me repeat."
I repeat Giyu's words to him in a louder tone.
"Oh, right! He's my father!"
"I can see the resemblance…"
"WHAT??!!!"
─── ◆ ───
I continued acting as a bridge for communication between Rengoku and Giyu, which was really more like translating Giyu's short and minimal responses for Rengoku, who wasn't intimidated at all by Giyu's title when trying to befriend him, though he still maintained respect.
A few minutes later, a group of three slayers arrived, particularly enthusiastic about the mission, which immediately made me suspect they were rookies.
Apparently, the support message had reached anyone near the location.
Even so, the three were quite respectful, so they must have been trained by a competent instructor.
Either way, we began walking toward the "meeting point" mentioned in the note carried by the Onis.
The place wasn't particularly far, and we needed to wait until nightfall anyway, so we took a slower pace.
─── ◆ ───
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