Is this hell?
My consciousness seemed to plummet into the deep sea.
"We can't go to hell yet!" Kanzaki Sakurazō forced himself to swim towards the azure water. "We must help Exalted Emperor enter the consulate, or A Sui will take her own life."
No matter how much Kanzaki Sakurazō struggled, his heavy, cold body continued to sink uncontrollably into the abyss of the sea.
"Why can't I swim to the top?" Kanzaki Sakurazō breathed heavily, drifting further and further from the surface, the surrounding water growing increasingly dark. Then, as if realizing something, he exclaimed, "I'm going to hell."
"Yes, I'm already dead."
Kanzaki Sakurazō, remembering that he had been brutally tortured by a guy Zashiki, stabbed more than a dozen times, and died from excessive blood loss.
"It's so dark here."
Kanzaki Sakurazō trembled with fear. It was pitch black all around, and he felt as if he had returned to ten years ago when he was taking the train to school alone.
Because he didn't have the courage to tell the driver to stop and get off, he rode to the last stop of the tram, where he curled up alone next to a trash can, waiting from day to night until Oda Kenshin arrived.
"Brother Kenshin, where are you?"
Kanzaki Sakurazō his mouth and choked on a mouthful of seawater.
"I'm so scared."
Kanzaki Sakurazō red. He was afraid of the dark by nature. Even when he was a child, he would sleep with a nightlight on. He always felt that the darkness was hiding demons and monsters that would rush out of the darkness and tear him to pieces at any moment.
" A Sui said she would protect me."
The image of A Sui appeared in Kanzaki Sakurazō's mind.
I met A Sui in King of Glory ten years ago. At that time, Musashi had just been released. Perhaps because I had practiced Niten Ichi-ryū Swordsmanship real life, I was very good at playing Musashi.
A Sui admired his impressive Musashi skills and added him as a friend. They played duo games every now and then, and as the number of games increased, their conversations expanded from the game to real life.
One time, the topic was what we were afraid of in real life.
He confessed that he was afraid of the dark, expecting to be laughed at by A Sui. To his surprise, she not only didn't laugh, but also gave him a misprinted badge of Demon Blade Musashi as a gift, and said firmly that she would protect him.
Strangely enough, from then on, I was no longer afraid of the dark.
He wanted to give A Sui a heartfelt gift in return, but he didn't have anything nice to offer, so he could only sew some simple clothes and nervously give them to A Sui.
Not only did A Sui not find it offensive, she praised and complimented it, and even tried it on herself. The feeling of being enveloped in happiness is still unforgettable.
After that, he practiced Musashi diligently, vowing to carry A Sui to the Mighty King. But let alone the Mighty King, he couldn't even break through to the Diamond rank. Fortunately, although his gaming skills didn't improve, his sewing skills improved by leaps and bounds.
" Yingzang, this sailor uniform is so pretty."
" Yingzang, I've decided. I'll wear the dress you gave me on the school field trip tomorrow."
" Yingzang, this suit looks great on you. Thank you, I'm so happy."
Seeing A Sui wearing the clothes he had sewn by hand, her sweet smile on her face, filled him with immense joy.
" A Sui."
Kanzaki Sakurazō's eyes softened, and her heart gradually calmed down. Just as A Sui had said when she gave him the wrong badge, she would protect him. In the years that followed, A Sui continued to keep her promise.
" Yingzang, since you're too scared to tell the driver to stop when you're going to school, leave it to me. I'll record a voice message for you later, and you can just use it to tell the driver to stop!"
" Yingzang, you're too timid. You'll never win an argument with your classmates. Here's what we'll do: if you get into another argument, call me and I'll argue for you. What? You don't understand Japanese? Oh well, arguing is all about momentum!"
" Yingzang, you actually got a 0 in math? Hahaha, sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to make fun of you. Okay, okay, I'm the math Subor, I'll tutor you in math from now on."
It was because of A Sui's protection that Kanzaki Sakurazō's world became so colorful.
I wish I were a girl.
Kanzaki Sakurazō fantasized more than once that if he were a girl, he wouldn't have to inherit the Kanzaki Clan, he could live a normal life, and he could even transfer to Huaxia, become classmates with A Sui, and spend every day happily.
"But there must be a reason why God gave me a male body."
Before meeting A Sui, Kanzaki Sakurazō hated sword practice and often locked himself in his room to avoid kendo lessons. But after meeting A Sui, he suddenly developed a liking for sword practice.
Even if they practice swordsmanship until they are covered in dust and dirt every day, even if they practice Miyamoto Musashi's moves in King of Glory of Musashi without making any progress, they still persevere day after day and year after year.
"Just like A Sui protects this colorful world, I will practice my swordsmanship relentlessly to become stronger and protect A Sui!"
In a daze, Kanzaki Sakurazō the question the headmaster asked during the eighth-dan kendo exam, "What is the meaning of the sword?"
At that moment, Kanzaki Sakurazō had his answer, "The meaning of a sword lies in protecting those you want to protect!"
Even if one understands the meaning of the sword, even if one can become a ninth-dan honorary swordsman, what can one do now that one is dead and sinking into hell?
" A Sui will take her own life because of her brother's death. Soon, she will go to hell, and I will protect her there!"
Kanzaki Sakurazō flips over and looks down at the underwater hell.
On top of the Tang-style building with rolling lava, a girl in a pale yellow kimono smiled and opened her arms, as if waiting for his arrival.
" A Sui, I will protect you well even in hell."
Sudden!
A beam of white light descended from the sky, illuminating the underwater hell, and a faint cry rang out, " Yingzang? Kanzaki Sakurazō?"
Kanzaki Sakurazō. There was no girl in a pale yellow kimono in the underwater hell; it was clearly his imagination. "How could A Sui go to hell? Even if she dies, such a kind person deserves to go to heaven!"
"There's no A Sui in hell, I'm leaving."
Kanzaki Sakurazō rolled over and desperately swam towards the white light, crying, "I want to go to heaven, I want to go to the world where A Sui is, I want to protect A Sui."
" Yingzang? Kanzaki Sakurazō?"
Kanzaki Sakurazō struggled to swim away, "Was it... was it just my imagination? I think I heard A Sui's voice, right where Shirohiko is."
" Yingzang? Kanzaki Sakurazō!"
Kanzaki Sakurazō was exhausted. "Just a little bit more, just a little bit more."
In the dim light, I seemed to see a girl in a pale yellow kimono, tears streaming down her face, her hands cupped in a megaphone shape as she shouted loudly.
"I'm sorry, A Sui, I'm a cowardly good-for-nothing, I... I have no strength left."
Kanzaki Sakurazō's arms hung limply, and he closed his eyes.
"Don't die, Yingzang, remember quickly, remember the words on the back of the misprinted Demon Blade Musashi badge I gave you."
A cry that transcended time and space suddenly rang out.
" Kanzaki Sakurazō, Peerless in the world!"
Buzz--
The street outside the Kyoto Consulate General.
Thousands of raindrops hovered, and time seemed to freeze.
With a powerful heartbeat, and under the illumination of the helicopter searchlight, Kanzaki Sakurazō in a pool of blood, suddenly opened his scarlet eyes.
A ferocious roar erupted from the ground.
" A Sui!"