Haruto came down from the mountain and draped his haori over his shoulders.
As he passed the boys' sword-training grounds and prepared to call for Genya, he suddenly heard voices among the peach trees.
He looked through a gap between the trees and saw three young swordsmen, Genya among them, coming down the path.
Kaigaku walked in front with a cold expression, eating a peach as he easily stepped over a suspicious-looking patch of grass.
Genya followed behind him. He noticed the grass as well and, rather than stepping onto it recklessly, crossed over it just as easily as Kaigaku had.
Zenitsu, whose face had acquired a few more wounds, brought up the rear. He sighed as he walked, completely oblivious to what the other two had done.
Sure enough, the patch of grass was nothing but camouflage.
The instant Zenitsu stepped onto it, he lost his footing and fell into a pitfall.
Haruto heard a faint grinding of bone, and the blond boy grimaced and burst into tears.
"Help! There's a trap here! I twisted my ankle!"
His tears ran down his dusty face, leaving him looking utterly miserable.
But his senior, Kaigaku, didn't come over to help as he had expected. Instead, he scowled, looking thoroughly irritated.
Apparently unable to bear Zenitsu's pathetic, incessant crying, Kaigaku suddenly turned and hurled his peach at him. "Shut up!"
A foot intercepted the peach hurtling toward Zenitsu's head, smashing it in midair and sending juice everywhere.
Genya glanced in disgust at the pulp on his shoe, then turned a grim face toward Kaigaku.
"If you don't want to help, you can just walk away and not look back. Nobody's forcing you to deal with him."
"What's it to you?" Kaigaku scowled and glared at Genya. "Who the fuck do you think