Days passed as Lawkey found himself in the same routine.
He woke up frantically, ate a quick breakfast, practiced Clearing of the Mind with the other students, then spent the rest of the day working on Honing of the Techniques.
Even stretching his training far into the night, with Jun occasionally dropping by to lighten the mood or poke holes in his form.
Twice a week, he performed the Sword Purifying Ceremony, either alone, with Jun or with the other students.
His relationship with them had slightly improved over the course of a week, but there was one in particular that seemed more challenging to build upon. Its foundation had been a little unstable after all.
Overall, Lawkey quickly got used to that life as a whole month passed by. However, he still had grievances to voice.
“Tsk, that old man! What happened to ‘tomorrow’.” He vented, making sure to emphasize the word his teacher had said to him, “At this rate, I’m going to be trained by a bunch of children.”
“Hey!” Jun huffed, “We’re all here, you know? We can hear you.”
They were all sitting in the same usual circle in the outer Dojo again, about to practice the Clearing of the Mind for the day.
“I don’t care.” Lawkey scoffed, “He promised he’d train me and now he’s barely here.”
“Oh no, Lulu is angry! Let’s start quickly!” Emi exaggerated, using her made up nickname for the boy.
“Don’t call me that, loudmouth.” He glared at her.
“Eh?!” Emi quickly hid behind Mai’s back, “So Scary! Help me, Meimei!”
As if on cue, Mai’s hair began to rise up with the shadows around her. They quickly took the shape of horns on her head, as her eyes glowed with murder.
“Hiding behind a demon won’t help you!” Lawkey stood up with his usual cocky smirk on his face , “Let’s have a duel- Ow!”
“Enough of that!” Jun quickly delivered divine judgment.
“Junjun!” Emi jumped at her protector, “Thank you for saving me- OW!!”
But she wasn’t exempt from the same punishment.
“You too, Emi!”
As the two rubbed their heads, the others burst into laughter around them.
Jun occasionally was the one holding a Bokken and making sure the circle was attentively concentrating on the Clearing of the Mind. She occasionally switched with Yasuto, but the rest couldn’t be trusted with the task, some more than others.
While Lawkey was still new, Zenga couldn’t be relied on for more than a minute before he zoned off. Emi would simply mess around as the airhead she was, and Kojiro didn’t seem like the person to hit his friends even if it was necessary. Mai, on the other hand, was too dangerous to be given that kind of role.
And so, Jun was the main jailer.
“...” Lawkey narrowed his brows as everyone around him had their fun.
He had learned to be more patient. He noticed a difference in his mental state after the constant sessions spent practicing the Principles.
Even so, his nightly horrors never waivered, and his urgency to get stronger quickly was still eating at him.
“All right, everyone!” Yasuto suddenly clapped his hands together, cutting through the laughter and fun, “Let’s focus on our session, Lawkey has made rapid and exceptional progress already, but we can’t take it easy just yet! We need to work hard to earn our day off tomorrow!”
“Day off?” Lawkey grumbled, not amused.
“Yes! It’s Junjun’s birthday after all!” Emi cut in.
“Eh? W-we don’t have to do that!” Jun took a step back, beginning to fidget with her hands, “It’s best to practice instead…”
“What?! No way!” Emi cried out, “We have to celebrate Junjun!”
“I concur.” Mai agreed, “Mochi is a must.”
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“Mochi?!” Zenga opened his eyes suddenly.
“Your priorities are warped…” Kojiro muttered under his breath.
“,,,”
Lawkey squinted his eyes. One of the things Jay taught him came rushing into his mind.
“Birthdays are meant to be celebrated no matter what! It’s the day to be grateful for our very existence!”
That’s what she had said as she made pancakes for his birthday. That image of her was burnt into him, he could never forget it. That day was the very first time he had tried pancakes and learned of their divine and tasty powers.
Jun had spent most of her days tending to him, helping him in whatever way she could. All that despite the grievances and trouble he keeps causing her.
Not to mention he was a complete stranger to her.
He could at least postpone things one day, right? What’s the worst that can happen?
He wouldn’t feel right training and causing her trouble on her birthday either.
“Let’s do it.” He said, directing his emerald eyes at the birthday girl, “Let’s make sure to celebrate your birthday.”
“...” Jun’s face quickly flushed red as her eyes went wide, “U-um, sure…”
“Ehhh?! Not fair!” Emi called out.
“With that settled, let’s get back to it, gang!”
Yasuto brought them back on topic, and they quickly resumed their practice.
While everyone spent their training focusing on their tasks, one of them had other things on his mind.
A good opportunity had presented itself to him.
He had to make plans for tomorrow.
**👑**
“All right!! Let’s do this!”
“W-wait! How come Zenzen is leading the charge?!”
All seven students were on their way to visit some of the usual fun spots in the Kage Clan. They had all met at the Dojo as usual, but Zenga seemed full of energy and rushed them to hurry up.
He was practically skipping in front of the rest. Following him were Yasuto and Kojiro, with the girls behind them. Lawkey hung a little back, still carrying his black Bokken around.
It was his first time outside without Eclipsed Dawn. He wasn’t feeling quite like himself without it already, but walking outside put a different kind of pressure on him.
After all, he hadn’t forgotten the murderous glare he felt after meeting the Shadow Queen on that day.
“Hey, Lulu! We’re almost there, hurry up!” Emi called back to him, “You’re going to be left behind at this rate! Zenzen won’t leave anything for you!”
“I told you not to call me that!”
“...”
As Lawkey shouted back, Jun felt her chest tighten. She quickly ignored it as Lawkey caught up, and they all resumed their trip.
“Ahh! There it is!!” Zenga shouted, his arm wide in the air, “Mochi heaven!”
With that, Zenga ran at the Mochi vendor like a bull charging at its enemy. The rest of them trotted behind him.
“All the Mochi you have, please!” Zenga bellowed.
“Good morning, Zenga dear.” The female vendor wore a genuine smile, “You know I can’t sell you everything, how about a plate to start?”
“That’s right, Zenzen!” Emi huffed as she put her arms on her hips, “We’re here to celebrate Junjun’s birthday, remember?!”
“Perhaps it is time for my poison needles.” Mai narrowed her sharp eyes as she held up ten pointy needles with some kind of green liquid on them.
“Mai, stop it!” Jun stood in front of her, “when did you even get that many? And why are they poisoned now?!”
“I… I’ll share!” Zenga quickly gave in, realizing the danger he was in.
“I’ll share some of mine with you, Zenga!” Yasuto tried to cheer him up, “I’m not that big on sweets anyway.”
“Yasu… You’re the best!” Zenga grabbed Yasuto’s shoulders and shook them front and back, his eyes sparkling the entire time.
“Hahaha, what a fun bunch!” The female vendor known as Madam Mayumi burst into laughter. She was wearing a big white apron to cover most of her physique. Her black hair was tied up neatly away from her face, ensuring it wouldn’t interfere with the food preparation.
She quickly rolled up her sleeves and smiled at the gathered students who weren't that much younger than her own children.
“Are you all here for dear Jun’s birthday? Oh how I wish your mother could see how beautiful you are becoming!”
“That’s right! Junjun is the most beautiful! Isn’t that right, Meimei?”
“Correct, her looks could kill someone. I wish they would.”
Ignoring her friends, and the scary compliment, Jun stepped forward to thank the woman.
“T-thank you, Madam Mayumi…!” She felt a little tense from all the praise.
Behind them, two boys stood silently side to side.
Mai could’ve easily poked the tension between them.
“I recommend the Red Mochi, it’s good.”
“,,,”
Kojiro tried to break the silence, but he was met with a nasty side eye instead.
“I haven’t forgotten about our duel.” Lawkey exclaimed, “We’ll definitely have it once this training is over.”
“Lawkey! You haven’t tried Mochi yet, right?”
Before Kojiro could answer, Jun called out to Lawkey as she put one hand on her hips and held the plate of Mochi with the other.
“You keep going on about Pancakes, but come try this!” She added, holding her head high.
As Lawkey sighed and walked forward, he could faintly hear a low murmur behind him.
“I can’t wait…”
He ignored it and moved towards the vendor, still wearing her motherly smile.
She held out the plate of Mochi to him, only to notice the mark on his neck and quickly snatch the plate back from him.
“?!”
Everyone was taken aback by the sudden action, especially when the genuine smile was replaced by an expression that was better saved for insects or monsters.
“You! Go away!” She screamed, “I won’t sell anything to a damned Hyking! Leave before I use more extreme means! I don’t want your curse rubbing off on me and my business!”
“...”
Lawkey tightened his grip on his sword as he stood silently.
“Madam Mayumi!” Jun stepped forward, “Please wait a minute-”
“I won’t, Jun!” Mayumi interrupted, “I care for you, but I cannot agree with your father on this! I don’t want anything to do with that thing!”
“...”
Lawkey quickly turned around to head back to the dojo. He had tried to make it work, despite his best judgment telling him not to, despite his instincts screaming at him the entire time.
He had only pushed through for Jun.
However…
CRASH!
“?!”
In that instant, the entire Mochi stand suddenly collapsed on itself, Madam Mayumi barely managing to step back out of the way in time.
The vendors and villagers around quickly began to gather and run to help.
“No! Mochi heaven!”
“What happened?!”
“Mayumi! Are you okay?”
“How could something like this…?
While one particular chubby boy cried out, the villagers quickly checked up on Madam Mayumi.
“It’s that cursed boy!” Mayumi shouted, making sure everyone heard her, “Mere moments after he approached my stand… It is in complete ruin!”
They all turned to glare at the boy who had come to a halt.
He felt their eyes stabbing needles into his back.
Not far to the side, a single Red Mochi rolled away and landed in front of Kojiro.
He picked it up, and relished the taste.
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image [https://i.imgur.com/KQmIY8F.png]