Two weeks had passed since Kyojuro asked for a spar. He had fully recovered, and I had mostly gotten back to where I was when I first arrived in this world, so I accepted. Shinobu wasn't thrilled about it but she didn't object, and we fought. In the end I won. Kyojuro didn't seem the least bit upset, especially judging by his words after the match.
"Thank you, Ryou-san! I shall strive to become even stronger!"
He left after that with his usual enthusiasm, not letting the loss dampen his spirit.
Now, Tanjiro had gone with Kyojuro to visit the Rengoku household, leaving me at the Butterfly Mansion. I was on the roof, overlooking the grounds when I saw a man approaching. He wore a festival mask with two knives tied to the sides of his head in an upward fashion, and he held two more in each hand. 'Tanjiro's swordsmith.' I realized. And he looked absolutely furious.
At that moment, I also saw Tanjiro walking back to the mansion, looking a bit unwell but pressing forward. When he saw Haganezuka Hotaru, it took him a moment to process what he was seeing. Then panic set in.
"You lost your sword? Are you out of your mind, you fool!?" Haganezuka screamed, shifting into various stances as he brandished his blades.
"You deserve to die ten thousand times over!"
With that, he charged at Tanjiro, who immediately bolted, yelling. "I'm sorry! Please, I'm truly sorry!" repeatedly as he ran.
'This should be fun.' I thought, taking a gulp of plum wine as I watched. Tanjiro circled back later in the day, hoping it had blown over, but Haganezuka hadn't given up. Tanjiro scrambled up a tree, only for Haganezuka to climb after him. This ridiculous game of cat and mouse lasted until the next day, with Tanjiro narrowly avoiding his enraged swordsmith.
'Ah, youth.' I mused with another gulp of wine as I finally left the roof to join the others for breakfast.
At breakfast, Tanjiro, looking exhausted, muttered, "If Aoi hadn't calmed him down for me, he would've chased me until noon..."
As we ate, I tuned out most of the conversation. My thoughts wandered to the pendant. 'It still isn't fully charged. It's taking longer than I expected. Is it because of my injuries? Or does this world have less magical energy?' I pondered, snapping back to reality when I heard the others preparing for training.
"I'll watch and make sure none of you slack off." I said with a smile, watching Zenitsu's horrified expression.
Later, I sat in the back, sipping more plum wine, watching Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke training with logs or rocks strapped to their backs. Eri was with Shinobu, and with everyone busy, another day passed.
The next day, the three of them were assigned solo missions, with Tanjiro brandishing his new katana. 'Wonder if he'll lose that one?' I currently had a meeting with Haganezuka.
I walked into a small tea shop where he was waiting for me. Once I sat down, he spoke.
"Oyakata-sama requested that I take you to my village. Why?"
"I want to learn blacksmithing." I replied simply. "I figured the best place to learn would be from your people."
He nodded slowly. "We are swordsmiths. And what makes you think you're worthy of being taught by us?"
I thought for a moment. 'Might as well show him Muramasa.'
"If you follow me, I'll show you why." I said. He hesitated but agreed, and we left the shop. I led him a short distance to an alley and summoned Muramasa. Just after I had summoned Muramasa Haganezuka turned into the alley he saw the cursed blade, he froze. His gaze locked onto it, and I could see him tremble as I unsheathed the katana.
He dashed toward me so fast I almost thought he'd teleported.
"What is this?! And why is it like this?! Why haven't you been taking care of it?"
I handed him the katana to inspect as I answered. "It's Mura, a cursed sword that my family has wielded for generations." 'More like two, but he doesn't need to know that.' I thought. "It used to look like a normal katana, but as I started fighting, it changed into what you see now."
Haganezuka hummed thoughtfully, running his fingers along the grooves of the handle.
"Mura, as in irregularity?" he mused. "Judging by the wear on the handle, I'd say you're its longest wielder."
'Maybe. I've been using it for almost two years now, I think.' I considered.
Haganezuka finally handed Muramasa back to me.
"Very well. You can come with me. You'll be picked up by a Kakushi, blindfolded, and taken to the village."
As I sheathed Muramasa, I asked, "Why did seeing Mura change your mind?" I was curious if there was something about the sword I hadn't noticed.
He paused for a moment before responding.
"Just holding that katana, I thought I was going to go insane. I've also heard you helped Kamado."
With that he left, and I unsummoned Muramasa. 'Now how to break this to Eri?'
I was back at the Butterfly Mansion, sitting in the garden with Eri. I still wasn't sure if I should take her with me, but after some more consideration, I decided it should be fine.
'The village is hidden from demons and the world, so it should be safe enough.' I reasoned.
We sat together under a tree, and I handed her an apple, which she started eating without hesitation.
'Inosuke's rubbing off on her.' I thought, amused. After a moment, I decided to speak.
"Eri, we're going to a different place for a while." I said softly.
She paused mid-bite and looked up at me. "Are we not going to see Shinobu-oneesan anymore?"
I twitched. 'Why don't I get a title like that?' But I responded calmly. "We will, eventually. We just have to visit a different village first, and I don't know how long it will take for me to finish what I need to do there."
Eri hummed thoughtfully. "Okay."
I raised an eyebrow, watching her take another bite as if she wasn't concerned at all. "You're not worried about leaving the others?"
She shook her head. "You said we'll be traveling to far places to get home. But we can always come back, can't we?"
My eyebrow raised a little higher. 'Seems like she's starting to come out of her shell.'
I smiled slightly and turned my attention to my own apple, taking a bite. "Yeah, I guess you're right. We can always come back."