It was a long morning of the people in the guild donating everything of value to the squad.
A large heap of gems, precious ores, and potions were stacked before them. Everyone gave as much as they could spare, and a few gave even more than that. The gifts were so great that Orihime felt butterflies in her stomach.
Kazuya also felt the same way, looking speechless as the heap before him only grew taller and more massive with every passing minute.
That was until the last person gave her contribution; then Shizu raised her hand, signaling for them to stop, as all she wanted was for everyone to get a chance to give something.
She noticed some were giving way more than the formal proportion, and she feared most of them would give too much at the expense of their well-being.
Then she signaled for Izuku to come help her pack everything up so they could get it delivered to the blacksmith. So the young boy ran eagerly with a large sack to where they were and packed up all the gems, precious ores, and potions into the container.
"Whoa, are you sure you can carry all that?" "Those precious metals are way heavier than they look, Izuku," Genta said.
"Yeah, don't you think it'd be a good idea to carry only a portion of the load?" "I mean, we could help you with that," suggested Orihime. But Izuku ignored her completely, and she took note.
"Don't worry, Genta. "I'll do anything for you," Izuku said as he packed the heavy ores into the sack before putting the large bag over his shoulder.
"Hey, Izuku-brat," Orihime called him, "are you sure you are alright?" "Your feet are shaking, and your face is sweaty."
"I'm fine, old woman," Izuku replied, and of course she got very pissed but didn't say a word. However, Genta could see the veins on her forehead begin to pop up, and she went on to hold her hand to calm her down.
Thankfully, it worked. Orihime took a deep breath, calmly letting go of the young boy's disrespect before turning to Genta. "Is the little brat always like this towards his elders?" she asked.
Genta nodded in response. "But never toward the Master, I've observed," she replied.
"He also seems to like you much," Orihime added, taking note of the boy's chivalrous attitude towards Genta.
"Yeah, at first I thought it was just me," Genta said.
"Do you like him?" she asked, and Genta arched a brow.
"Where is that coming from?" asked Genta without losing her composure, and from her indifference to the question, Orihime could tell that she didn't feel the same way.
"Nothing. "I was just curious, that's all," Orihime replied. "I mean, you've gotten to the age of liking boys, right? "For someone with such a likeable personality, I was wondering the kind of guy you'd fall for."
"I don't know, have you ever fallen for someone before?" asked Genta, seemingly clueless about everything.
"I can't say so," admitted Orihime, "all the men I've encountered in my life haven't been the most welcoming to me." "Probably the only man I have ever had the slightest genuine regard for is the big man, and even he has lots of issues."
Izuku struggled to walk ahead of them towards the blacksmith's cave but was barely moving after a short while. Kazuya sighed before lifting the large sack off Izuku's shoulders, and the moment he did so, the young boy fell to the ground like a log of wood, panting heavily.
"You are such a drag," Kazuya said to him as he walked forward with the bag now hanging on his shoulder. The other two, however, were stunned by the way Kazuya lifted the load with minimal effort.
Genta, in particular, was the most surprised. She knew that even though Izuku was a tad overconfident in his ability to impress her, he was no weakling.
Izuku was an active hunter who had killed several powerful sentient beasts despite his young age, yet Kazuya seemed to be multiple times stronger.
Genta and Orihime walked over to him, looking down with pity written all over their faces, except that Orihime's face had a slight sadistic smirk on it, which pissed him off, but he was too tired to do anything.
"Are you alright, Izuku?" asked Genta as she squatted down to examine him.
"Trust me, little brat. "There are more efficient ways to impress a woman, and you are hopeless in that regard," Orihime said to him, and Genta glared at her angrily.
"What? "I was doing you a favor, wasn't I?" Orihime replied, and Genta sighed in disbelief, not believing how obnoxious she was.
Meanwhile, Shizu and Kazuya had already gone far, heading towards the doorway of the blacksmith's cave. Kazuya looked back and sighed, "What on earth are the both of you doing?" The brat will be fine; he just needs to catch his breath. "Now get over here; we might have a lot to do!"
"Take care, Izuku," Genta said to him before running off with Orihime, while the pitiful Izuku struggled to get up, cursing to himself for fumbling so hard.
Genta and Orihime got to the cave where Shizu and Kazuya were with the blacksmith. Kazuya was taking off his armor, and his weapons were lying right in front of him like he was surrendering to an enemy.
They briefly wondered what was going on until Shizu spoke to them.
"Took you both long enough." Orihime, take off your armor and put down your arms. "I want Tano to get to work immediately, as we don't have time," Shizu said before looking back at the blacksmith, "Seven days, right?"
"Yes, Master," Tano promised, "it will all be complete by that time, as long as I have the mystical support needed."
"Don't worry," she promised, "the required magi will be at your beck and call whenever their assistance is needed."
"Thank you," Tano replied.
"No, thank you," Shizu responded. "You have put aside your normal trade for our sakes, and I pray that you would be justly rewarded for this."
"I'm sorry, Master," Tano said, "but I think it's pointless to pray to divine beings who no longer have our best interests at heart."
"Correction taken," Shizu replied, realizing her mistake, "we'll leave you to it then."
At that time, Orihime had already taken off her armor and put down her arms. Then both she and Kazuya packed up their equipment and handed it over to Tano.
"Alright everyone, let's go. "I have different things in store for the rest of you," she instructed as she turned to leave, and Kazuya followed suit.
However, the other two wondered why they were being called there if they had only spent a little more than a minute in the cave doing nothing.
By the time they got out of the cave, Shizu thought audibly, "Where is that young man?" She said as she looked around, looking for a mysterious someone until she found him.
"There he is!" she reacted.
"Kenpachi!" she called out loud to his hearing, while Kazuya clicked his tongue.
At this point, it had become obvious neither of them liked the other, and Kazuya wondered what she was calling him for.
"While the blacksmith is working on your equipment, I will be assigning an elite of my choosing to teach both of you the fundamentals of advanced combat," Shizu said to Kazuya and Orihime before looking at Genta. "I will train Genta."
Kazuya frowned when he heard this, trying to dismiss his suspicion of where this was going.
But in the meantime, they both looked at each other, wondering what more either of them needed to learn about sword-fighting. Each of them had proven time and time again that they could each stand on their own in any natural conflict and survive without a fatality.
"With all due respect, old woman, I don't think that would be necessary," Kazuya said.
"I agree with the big man," Orihime added. "What I think we need is to be stronger." But I don't think we need the extra skill of swordsmanship. I'm sure you can tell by now that we are quite proficient with the sword. "You've seen us in action, haven't you?"
"Yes, I have seen you in action," Shizu admitted, "but if I might take a guess, I'd say that while both of you may have experienced multiple battles, neither of you has ever truly experienced war...
Fighting against sentient lower creatures is one thing, but fighting against fellow skilled warriors is a whole different ballgame. Beyond that, fighting against a goddess known for her artistic prowess with the sword would surely be a guaranteed failure with no chance of success whatsoever...
"For a battle against such a being, you not only need sheer power but also skill and wit. Which is why it is my utmost pleasure to reintroduce Zenno Kenpachi to you as your teacher in this regard."
"What?!" reacted Kazuya, even though part of him had already seen this coming.
"What is wrong with you?" asked Kenpachi, irritated by Kazuya's reaction, but he didn't know what it was about as he had just arrived.
"I would be learning sword fighting from him, of all people," Kazuya said, condescendingly pointing at Kenpachi.
"What?" Kenpachi reacted in almost the same way as Kazuya, so that Genta and Orihime couldn't help but laugh.
"You heard him right, Kenpachi," Shizu said to him. "For the next week, you will be his Sensei, teaching him all the fundamentals of your martial art." "I have spoken."