Playing the Pig to Eat the Feed

The following evening, as soon as routine training ended.

Smoker and Hina sneaked over to a secluded corner behind the kitchen.

"...It's all that bastard's fault!" Hina lowered her voice, gritting her teeth. "What time is it now? Dinner just ended! The kitchen staff haven't even all left yet, and we have to come steal things?!"

"Cut the crap!" Smoker's expression was even uglier. He had been beaten badly yesterday, and half his face was still swollen. "Commodore Gion specifically asked for an early midnight snack. Do we dare refuse? And that bastard Rayne quit on us!"

"What?!"

"He said," Smoker mimicked Rayne's "kind" expression from last night, "'From now on, I'll only be responsible for cooking. All the other work is yours.' ...Damn it! He's treating us like laborers!"

The two looked at each other and saw profound despair in the other's eyes.

After a frantic bout of work, the two, panting heavily, carried a heavy bag of top-tier ingredients to the agreed location and handed it over to Rayne, who had been waiting for a long time.

Rayne took the ingredients, weighed them in his hand, and smiled with satisfaction. "You've worked hard."

Smoker, his face still swollen, clicked his tongue unhappily.

Rayne ignored him. "Same time tomorrow. Don't be late."

With that, he ignored their murderous glares and left with the ingredients.

Carrying the ingredients, Rayne spent some time finding Gion's quarters based on her directions from last night.

The dormitory door was slightly ajar. Rayne knocked, and Gion's lazy voice came from inside. "Come in."

Rayne pushed the door open, and a fragrance mixed with the fresh scent of body wash and the faint aroma unique to a mature woman greeted him.

This was his first time entering Gion's private space.

The room was spacious, yet its decor was unexpectedly simple, even somewhat stark.

Other than the necessary furniture, the most noticeable decorations were the weapon rack by the wall and several bookshelves.

Rayne paused at the entrance and awkwardly discovered... there were no guest slippers here at all.

"Um... Commodore Gion."

"Few people come here." Gion's voice came from the inner room. She seemed to know what he was hesitating over. "No need to change shoes. Come in barefoot."

"...Yes." Rayne took off his military boots, stepped barefoot onto the slightly cool wooden floor, and carried the ingredients through the minimalist living room toward the small separate kitchen.

Most officer dormitories had a compact separate kitchen like this, but judging from the spotless counters and brand-new cookware, its owner clearly barely used it.

At the table in the sitting room beside the kitchen, Gion had just finished bathing. Still wearing that lazy deep-blue silk robe, she sat there leisurely wiping down her beloved sword.

"You're three minutes late." Gion did not even look up.

"Reporting to the Commodore," Rayne said as he skillfully began preparing the ingredients, "your new schedule has put Smoker and Hina under a lot of pressure, so they delayed me a little." Rayne smoothly shifted the blame onto Smoker and Hina, never mentioning that he had been delayed while searching for Gion's dormitory.

"Oh?" Gion finally looked up and gave him a half-smiling glance.

Rayne shrugged, said nothing more, and focused on cooking.

This time, he did not make hotpot. Instead, he prepared several intricate dishes with restrained aromas—steamed deep-sea fish, sea beast tendon and bone soup, and an exquisite stir-fried mushroom dish.

When the dishes were served, their subtle yet refined savory fragrance made Gion's beautiful eyes brighten slightly.

Gion first tasted a bite of the steamed fish. Its tender texture, melting in her mouth, and its perfectly balanced seasoning made her pause.

Then she took a sip of the sea beast tendon and bone soup. Its rich savor, as though it could seep into her bones, instantly drove away the fatigue of an entire day of training.

She stopped being polite. Her movements remained elegant, but she was not slow as she swept through all three dishes.

"Mm..." Gion set down her chopsticks and let out a nearly inaudible hum of satisfaction.

She lazily leaned back in her chair, a faint, alluring flush appearing on her fair face from the heat of the food.

"Not bad." She nodded.

Seeing this, Rayne said nothing and proactively began clearing the dishes from the table.

Gion watched him with interest. "Oh? You're responsible for after-meal service too?"

"I can't exactly let you do it yourself, Commodore." Rayne answered calmly, swiftly restoring the small kitchen to its spotless state.

Once Rayne finished tidying up, Gion stood, stretched lazily, and the silk robe outlined even more astonishing curves.

"Let's go." She regained the authority of a commodore. "Come with me to the training ground. Let me see exactly how strong you are, so I can decide... how to teach you."

It was already late at night. The public training ground behind the base was long deserted. Moonlight spilled over the empty field, making it seem especially silent.

Gion led Rayne to the center of the field.

Gion casually drew two practice bamboo swords from a nearby weapon rack, tossed one to Rayne, and said, "Attack with everything you have. I need to know your foundation before I can decide... how to teach you."

"Yes!"

Rayne took a deep breath and gripped the bamboo sword tightly.

Soru

Rayne stomped hard on the ground, and his figure shot forward with a whoosh.

But his control over Soru was clearly still "clumsy." He had the speed, but his trajectory was stiff and full of openings.

Gion did not move at all.

She merely turned sideways and, with the bamboo sword in her hand, struck after him yet arrived first, lightly tapping the path of Rayne's charge.

Smack! With a crisp sound, the bamboo sword struck precisely against the numb point on Rayne's wrist.

Rayne's bamboo sword clattered to the ground, and his body, carried by momentum, fell to the ground in an "embarrassed" heap.

Gion withdrew her bamboo sword and shook her head. "A complete mess."

She walked over to Rayne, and a pleasant fragrance instantly entered his nose.

"Watch carefully." Gion's voice was close at hand. "The true combination of the Six Powers and Swordsmanship is not about rushing in front of your enemy before drawing your blade. During the movement itself, you should have already completed the buildup and the slash."

Her figure suddenly flashed. She had clearly only shifted one meter sideways, yet a piercing whistle tore through the air!

Bang! She tapped a nearby training stone with her bamboo sword.

Rayne closed his eyes "thoughtfully" and stood still.

Several minutes later, he suddenly opened his eyes and drew his sword again—

Bang!

Before Rayne could fully complete the "slash," Gion struck his wrist with the bamboo sword, and his weapon flew from his hand again.

"Wrong!" Gion frowned. "You're putting force into your ankle too early, and your killing intent is leaking out too soon! Are you trying to tell the enemy that you're about to cut them?!"

Unwilling to admit defeat, Rayne took his stance again and charged forward once more!

This level of "performance" consumed far more mental energy than actual combat for Rayne. He was beginning to find it a little dull, and his attention inevitably drifted.

"Your shoulders are too stiff! Have you even listened to a word I said?!"

There was a hint of helplessness in Gion's rebuke. The bamboo sword in her hand swung out casually again, ready to strike one of his openings with precision just as it had before.

However, just as the bamboo sword was about to hit Rayne's shoulder—

Rayne's body moved instinctively.

Playing the "pig" for too long had made Rayne lose focus. His Swordsmanship instincts and Observation Haki predictions automatically took over control of his body at that instant!

In that flash of lightning, he lowered his wrist slightly at an inconceivable angle!

Clang—!!!!

A somewhat piercing crash suddenly exploded through the air!

The lazy expression on Gion's face instantly froze!

She felt an utterly terrifying recoil race wildly up the bamboo sword, as though she had not struck a bamboo weapon, but a mountain!

The force was so overbearing that Gion felt the web between her thumb and forefinger shudder violently, her wrist go numb, and her entire body was forced back several steps by the recoil!

The training ground instantly fell into dead silence.

Damn! Rayne's heart tightened. I overdid the act!

Gion had just steadied herself when she looked up at Rayne in shock, about to speak.

Rayne reacted ten times faster than she did.

"Ahh—!!!"

A bloodcurdling howl tore through the night sky.

The bamboo sword in Rayne's hand clattered to the ground, and he fell with a thud, clutching his wrist and rolling around on the ground.

"It's broken! It's broken! Commodore! My wrist! Ahhh, it's going to break!!"

Gion: "..."

She stood where she was, her expression complicated as she looked at Rayne, who was clutching his wrist and howling on the ground. Then she slowly lowered her gaze to the web of her own right hand, which was nearly too numb to hold her sword.

That strike just now... was it a coincidence? Or...?

Gion put away her bamboo sword, walked over, and lightly nudged Rayne, who was "playing dead" on the ground, with the tip of her shoe.

"Get up. Stop pretending."

Gion put away her bamboo sword, walked over, and lightly nudged Rayne, who was "playing dead" on the ground, with the tip of her exquisite military boot.

Rayne let out an "ow," bared his teeth, and climbed up from the ground, not forgetting to rub his "cramped" wrist with his left hand.

A pleasant scent mixed with freshness and faint sweat suddenly washed over him.

Taking Rayne by surprise, Gion reached out and grabbed the wrist he was "rubbing."

Rayne: Σ(ﾟДﾟ|||)

She carefully examined Rayne's wrist—his skin was smooth, his bones well-proportioned, and there was not even the slightest redness or swelling, let alone any sign of a "cramp."

She slowly raised her eyes. Her stunning face was very close to Rayne's, and a half-smiling curve appeared at the corner of her lips.

"...A cramp?"

"Y-Yes, Commodore." Rayne seemed too embarrassed to look Gion in the eyes. "Maybe... today's training was too exhausting."

Gion stared at him for a full three seconds. Then she suddenly let out a soft snort of laughter and released his hand.

"Heh... Today's lesson is over."

She turned and walked outside. Pausing at the entrance, she did not look back and merely said indifferently:

"Tomorrow night, I want tempura."