"Kid, what do you think? Nice scenery back in my hometown, eh?" With Kanzaki Kumo supporting him, Jigoro Kuwajima stepped down from the carriage and looked around, his voice full of nostalgia and emotion.
"It really is." Kanzaki Kumo turned to look around and gave an honest answer.
Despite its name, Mount Momiji had few peach trees. Instead, it had more broadleaf trees that Kanzaki Kumo could not name. It was the turn of spring and summer, when plants brimmed with life, and the boundless green leaves shone gold beneath the evening sun. The scenery was quite lovely.
Kuwajima's old home stood at the summit of Mount Momiji, with open views and fresh air. The mountain was not very high, and with Kanzaki Kumo's keen eyesight, he could even make out pedestrians in the town below from the summit.
Still, Kanzaki Kumo cared more about when dinner would be ready than admiring the scenery.
To avoid traveling too much after dark and encountering demons, they had all eaten dry rations in the carriage for lunch.
Although what he had eaten for the past decade or so had been much the same as those rations, he had, after all, spent half a month enjoying fine meals with the Demon Slayer Corps. Suddenly going back to dry rations took some getting used to.
It had given him firsthand experience of the saying, "It's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go back."
Kagaya Ubuyashiki had arranged for supplies to be delivered here yesterday, and had even had the rooms cleaned while they were at it. Kanzaki Kumo and Kuwajima only needed to bring their bags and move in. The service could hardly have been more considerate.
Kagaya had originally wanted to arrange a few servants for Jigoro Kuwajima as well, but the proud little old man had refused. He felt that, since he could no longer fight on the front lines, he no longer deserved such treatment.
Kanzaki Kumo had plenty to say about that.
Fortunately, Kuwajima still had the foundation built through years of martial training. With his prosthetic limb, he might not have been able to stride along as swiftly as before, but everyday activities posed no problem.
As for having Kanzaki Kumo look after him, how could this stubborn little old man let a child take care of him? Letting the boy support him now and then could count as a little closeness between master and disciple. Beyond that, he naturally would not keep Kanzaki Kumo at his side all the time.
After all, Kuwajima was determined to give Kanzaki Kumo a full childhood and have him wait a few more years before joining the demon-slaying business.
Kanzaki Kumo: I'm just saying, a full childhood involves more than happily playing around, doesn't it...?
"All right, go see whether you like how your bedroom is set up. The person in charge is still down in town, so anything you need can be changed right away. They're leaving tomorrow." Kuwajima shifted his arm slightly and deftly slipped free of Kanzaki Kumo's support. Speaking softly, he headed toward the kitchen, pointing out Kanzaki Kumo's room along the way.
"Okay."
In the bedroom, he found a large bed and some accompanying furnishings, a small table and stool, and a wardrobe. This would be his bedroom for some time to come.
It had all the essentials, and they looked to be quite good quality. There were no decorations, but Kanzaki Kumo did not care about those anyway. Or rather, having fewer flashy things around actually made him more comfortable.
When he drew closer, he found that the bedding still gave off a faint warmth. It had probably been put out in the sun during the day. Opening the wardrobe, he found several sets of everyday clothes already made to his measurements. The colors were only simple black and white, but Kanzaki Kumo happened to like dressing simply like this. He had dressed the same way during his stay with the Demon Slayer Corps.
Looking at the room's furnishings, Kanzaki Kumo could only marvel once again at how thoughtfully the Ubuyashiki had arranged everything.
After a quick look around, Kanzaki Kumo turned and headed for the kitchen. It definitely was not because he doubted Kuwajima's cooking. He was simply hungry and wanted to see how much longer it would be until dinner.
As it turned out, although Kuwajima's cooking could not compare to the cooks back at the Demon Slayer Corps, it was still quite good. Dinner tasted good, and above all, there was plenty to fill him up.
As Kuwajima put it, Kanzaki Kumo was "so skinny, you need feeding up," "at an age where you're growing, so you can't go hungry," and "those few dry rations on the road hardly count-you need a proper meal"...
Watching the little old man who usually bickered with him grow increasingly motherly, Kanzaki Kumo found himself unable to cope. He could only lower his head and shovel food into his mouth.
At the very least, he could not let this little old man see that he was having trouble holding back his tears.
Counting both his lives, Kanzaki Kumo was already in his early thirties. The last person to care for him like this had been Kanzaki Keizan, who had treated him like his own grandson.
The relatives who had adopted him in his previous life had given him food and shelter and let him finish his compulsory education like anyone else. He had not expected any more care than that.
As for this life, before the age of four, he had lived numbly for the sole purpose of staying alive. He had spent over two years with Kanzaki Keizan and experienced what it felt like to be loved, only to start wandering again afterward.
Although he had friends at the temple, he was one of the older children, and usually took on more of a caretaker's role. The abbot and the monks, including Gyomei, did show concern for him, but it had not been this intimate. It was more like the kindness humans showed stray animals.
That kindness was certainly good too, but it was not as warm or as moving as the nagging of this almost entirely white-haired old man before him.
Tucking that emotion away in his heart, Kanzaki Kumo could not help thinking that, when he went to pay his respects to Kanzaki Keizan in a few months, he could tell him about Jigoro Kuwajima. He could tell that grandfather who shared no blood with him that his grandson was no longer someone with nobody to love him.
Then Kanzaki Kumo wondered whether the Ubuyashiki had dealt with Kaigaku yet. He would have to find a chance to confirm it.
Still, now that he was here, even if that fellow really was lucky enough to survive, there was no way he would let him come and ruin this dear little old man's life.
Early the next morning, Kanzaki Kumo's body clock remained as punctual as ever, leaving even Jigoro Kuwajima feeling rather defeated.
He had originally thought Kanzaki Kumo would get up fairly late, which would let him try to discourage the boy with an excuse like, "You have to get up very early if you want to learn a Breathing Style."
As far as Kuwajima was concerned, what child did not like sleeping in?
Yet Kanzaki Kumo had gotten up a little earlier than he had. Kuwajima's plan had failed before he could even put it into action.
After breakfast and a brief warm-up to let their food settle, Jigoro Kuwajima, however reluctant he was, still took a wooden sword and stood in the middle of the clearing outside to begin teaching the Breathing Style.
Whatever else, he was now a Cultivator, and Kanzaki Kumo was his disciple. Teaching him the Breathing Style was his responsibility. He could not let his personal wishes interfere with his duties.
And so, Jigoro Kuwajima became even more determined to make Kanzaki Kumo volunteer to wait a few more years before learning a Breathing Style.
Kanzaki Kumo had roughly guessed what Kuwajima was thinking, but there was nothing he could do about it. This little old man always had inexplicable convictions about certain strange things. As long as it did not get in the way of learning the Breathing Style, that was fine.
"Listen up, you little brat. Thunder Breathing has the strongest instantaneous burst of power among the five major Breathing Styles. Its key points are..."
The entire morning was spent explaining theory, from the basic breathing rhythms of a Breathing Style and the key points of Total Concentration Breathing to the core principles of Thunder Breathing and the respective characteristics of the Six Sword Forms.
It was purely theoretical explanation, without a single demonstration of a move. Kanzaki Kumo was rather puzzled about why Kuwajima was holding a wooden sword, and why they had to keep standing here in the sun.
Still, Kuwajima was the teacher. Kanzaki Kumo's understanding of Breathing Styles went no further than the dazzling effects in the anime from his previous life, so naturally he would not question a professional who had spent decades studying Thunder Breathing.
Besides, Kuwajima kept glancing at him as he taught. Perhaps there really was some special purpose behind this arrangement?
Kanzaki Kumo's unwavering attention inadvertently nipped yet another of Jigoro Kuwajima's plans to discourage him in the bud.
Standing in the sun all morning while listening to dry theoretical explanations-in Kuwajima's view, no child could get through all of that without getting distracted, much less maintain his stance throughout.
As long as Kanzaki Kumo slipped up somewhere along the way, the wooden sword in Kuwajima's hand would have a use. He would make sure to use just the right amount of force: enough to leave him stunned, but not enough to hurt his head.
If once isn't enough, I'll do it a few more times. Sooner or later, I'll get this little brat to give up on his own, Kuwajima thought.
Yet Kanzaki Kumo listened attentively the whole time, and his stance remained perfectly steady. Even when his legs were trembling by the end of the morning, he did not so much as lean to one side.
Jigoro Kuwajima: How can having such a good disciple be such a headache...?
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