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kazemi woke up to the sound of clanging. she got up, realizing that chikafuji was mending a sword beside her.
sweat pooled from under his mask, and he seemed to be in a deep focus. still, he seemed to notice her getting up and paused for just a moment.
"i'm making your sword right now. i just wanna know, what the hell did you do to it last time!? half of it was gone..." there was slight annoyance in his stern tone, and kazemi couldn't really blame him. anyone would feel bad, seeing their creation broken like that. he probably put hours into it. that made her incredibly guilty.
she remembered exactly how it was broken, and fought back a scowl. she then answered her swordsmith's question.
"a demon bit it off."
"what!? did you at least slay it after!?"
"..." silence from the other end. however, chikafuji knew this was guilty silence, so he deeply inhaled, trying to calm down. he couldn't really be mad at her for that long, after all.
"it's fine," he sighed. "i'd rather look down at a broken sword than a grave with your name etched onto it, after all..."
kazemi frowned at that. silence ensued once more, but this time, it was comfy. chikafuji was panting a bit from the work, mending the sword on a steaming platform with extreme efficiency. he spoke to her, while still keeping his hands at work.
"this'll take a while. how about you go to the local springs to loosen up a bit? you look really tired."
a simple nod, and then she left his working space.
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the hot springs were very nice. kazemi had requested a private one, just for some precautions.
she sunk into the water, sighing quietly. at first, it felt like she was being boiled alive, but then her body got used to it, regulating the temperature. now, she was chilling.
she absentmindedly looked around at the scenery, marvelling at the tall trees. kasugai crows would fly by every now and then.
the swordsmith village was a great distraction. of course, the flame pillar's state was still keeping her worried, but those thoughts were overrided by the relaxation the warm water gave her. of course, it wasn't like she knew the man personally, like those hashira, but it still made her upset. who knows if he'd make it? it was unpredictable. that's what worried her.
she hated unpredictable things. no matter how much you prepare, how much you weigh the circumstances, an unpredictable event would come in at the time you least expect. predictable events could be prepared for, like rain. you could bring an umbrella, if you were going someplace. unpredictable things varied, and you'd have no idea when they'd come.
