Haganezuka's Life

Haganezuka's Life

Muzan left. Haganezuka watched as Muzan's figure cast a long shadow beneath the setting sun, gradually disappearing before he slowly closed the door.

To him, the doctor whose name he had not known for the past year was incredibly mysterious. After kindly helping him and treating his father's illness, he had left.

Three years later, he had suddenly reappeared.

Haganezuka had never mentioned Koyuki's name, yet the doctor seemed to know everything, leaving behind a few warnings before hurrying away.

Like an incarnation of a god, he had come in haste and departed in haste.

Had a god truly pitied him and come specifically to help him?

Haganezuka could not figure it out.

But he remembered Muzan's words.

Be wary of the other dojos. Protect Koyuki. Watch out for poison.

A few years later, Haganezuka turned eighteen.

That night, beneath fireworks filling the sky,

Koyuki confessed her feelings to Haganezuka.

Haganezuka immediately stopped hesitating and confessed to Koyuki as well: he would become stronger than anyone else and protect her for the rest of his life...

The full moon, the starry sky, and the blooming fireworks reflected the figures and confession of the two of them, bearing witness to that moment.

A few days later, Haganezuka wanted to go home and tell his father the news. But just as he was about to leave, the doctor's warning kept resurfacing in his mind—watch out for poison.

Haganezuka seemed to understand something. Having only just stepped out of the dojo, he hurriedly turned back and shouted:

"Koyuki! Master Keizo! Let's go to my house together!"

Koyuki, who was scooping water to prepare dinner, turned to look at Haganezuka as he ran back. She smiled. "Okay."

That evening, Haganezuka's father came with them to the Soryu Dojo to begin preparing for the wedding.

But as soon as they returned to the Soryu Dojo, they found several dead birds collapsed by the well and beside the water jar. A sparrow's corpse was even floating in the water ladle.

Haganezuka's pupils shrank as he rushed over.

He swallowed hard, grabbed a bird foraging by the wall, and made it drink the well water.

The three others approached in confusion, only to see the bird die on the spot shortly after drinking the water.

"!"

All four of them understood. Someone had poisoned the well!

Koyuki was filled with lingering fear. If Haganezuka had not brought them along, she and her father would probably have drunk the well water and died by now.

Haganezuka could not endure it any longer. He threw down the ladle and shouted, "It must have been one of the nearby dojos! I'm going to find them!"

Koyuki grabbed Haganezuka's hand and looked up at his face. "Don't be impulsive."

Haganezuka's face was full of fury. "They almost killed you!"

Master Keizo pressed a hand on Haganezuka's shoulder, his expression somewhat grave. "Let's investigate first, then hand it over to the Magistrate's Office."

Still unwilling, Haganezuka gritted his teeth and nodded.

The kendo dojo discovered the next day that everyone at the Soryu Dojo was safe and sound. They immediately understood that they had been exposed, but they showed no panic and simply did not come looking for trouble again.

A few days later, Haganezuka and Koyuki held their wedding.

A week later, they found conclusive evidence and reported the kendo dojo to the Magistrate's Office.

But unexpectedly, the kendo dojo turned the tables on them.

The Magistrate's Office also brazenly lied, denying Haganezuka's evidence. Without another word, they issued a punishment, demanding that the Soryu Dojo be handed over to the kendo dojo as compensation, or they would be imprisoned.

Haganezuka snapped at once. He lunged forward and kicked an official in the face. "I'll kill you!!!"

"Help!! Seize him!!"

"You rabid dog!!!"

The official was kicked to the ground and struggled as he roared. The scene immediately descended into chaos.

In the end, Haganezuka and Master Keizo left the Magistrate's Office with their clothes slightly disheveled and several blade marks on their arms.

The two returned to the Soryu Dojo but did not dare open the door for a while. They stood outside, staring at each other.

What were they supposed to do? In a moment of impulse, they had beaten up people from the Magistrate's Office. They would definitely be convicted and thrown in prison, right?

They were doomed!

Should all four of them run away?

Just as the two were overcome with distress, creak—

The front gate opened.

Koyuki looked at the two outside with a puzzled expression. "Why are you standing outside?"

The two found it hard to speak. In the end, Master Keizo told her what had happened.

After hearing the whole story, Koyuki was both angry and worried.

But the footsteps behind her reminded Koyuki that there were guests in the house.

Muzan and Haganezuka's father had seen that Koyuki had gone out to open the door and had not returned, so they came outside to take a look.

Haganezuka was startled when he saw Muzan. "Doctor?!"

"I heard you talking outside. Did something happen?"

Muzan asked.

Master Keizo had also heard Haganezuka mention the doctor who had "helped him a great deal," but what confused him was that this doctor looked far too young.

From Haganezuka's description, he should have been at least thirty or forty years old. Yet he looked to be about the same age as Haganezuka...

Haganezuka recounted the matter to Muzan and his father. When he finished, he said worriedly to Muzan:

"Doctor, you should leave quickly. When the Magistrate's Office comes to arrest us, you'll definitely be implicated."

That damned Magistrate's Office was colluding with the kendo dojo. Given their nature, once they found out that the doctor knew him, they certainly would not let him off.

In a place like this, guilt or innocence depended entirely on the mood of the enforcers.

Muzan, however, did not care. He merely nodded, looking thoughtful.

"I see. Don't worry. I can handle it."

Because of the impression Muzan had always given him, Haganezuka instinctively felt that Muzan truly could handle this, though it seemed absurd when he thought about it.

Having lived for several centuries, Muzan had long lost interest in showing off or acting impressive before others. He simply informed Yanagisawa Noriyuki and left him to handle it.

This place was not especially remote, so Yanagisawa Noriyuki could still take care of it.

As the four waited uneasily, news arrived three days later: nearly everyone at the Magistrate's Office had been dismissed and exiled for greed and bribery. The owner of the kendo dojo had been arrested for bribery, and the dojo itself had been banned from operating.

Muzan stayed at the Soryu Dojo for several days. After Haganezuka learned the news, he ran to Muzan in astonishment to tell him about it.

"Doctor, how did you do it?"

"A friend helped me, that's all."

After staying for a few days, Muzan could no longer bear their excessive reverence and hurriedly left.

They all felt that Muzan's kindness toward them was too great, as though they wanted nothing more than to offer themselves to him and treat him as an honored guest.

Muzan's response: subway, old man, phone.

As time passed, Haganezuka inherited the Soryu Dojo. The dojo took in several students and gradually came back to life.

Haganezuka's father and Master Keizo could not withstand the passage of time either, passing away one after another.

Seeing their child living happily, they went peacefully.

More than a decade later, the frail Koyuki also reached the end of her life.

Haganezuka stood with one of his children by Koyuki's bedside, watching as she slowly closed her eyes and her breathing fell still.

His child also inherited the dojo. Thanks to his strong constitution, Haganezuka remained healthy even after passing forty.

Having lived a fulfilled life, the one thing he could not let go of was the kindness of the doctor who had once helped him—a kindness he had never been able to repay. He did not know where the doctor was now.

Was he still alive?

Haganezuka suddenly wanted to search for the doctor while he could still walk.