Breath of the Void

Breath of the Void: Chapter 13

I got animal crossing and I've been playing it instead of fate. Now I gotta zoom to keep on top of the event. Farming for days. Also my sibling and their fiancee's birthdays were yesterday, so I held off on posting.

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"Close, but you'll have to try again!"

Musashi's movements were confident and precise as she adjusted the two practice bokken that Kocho had given her. Kyojuro was still banned from training aside from correcting from the sidelines, which meant that if the boys wanted to be trained, they'd have to vie for Musashi's attention.

Of course, the only way to gain Musashi's favor seemed to be her method of 'whoever hits me first or impresses me enough goes first'. Which was exactly what was going on.

Musashi easily ducked out of the way of Inosuke's wild swings before she blocked Zenitsu and Tanjirou. Senjuro, though rusty with his swordsmanship, had managed to come closer this time than the others— but she wasn't willing to bend just yet.

All four of the boys had descended on her when she was walking around, but she had simply dodged and avoided them until Kyojuro happily tossed her the bokken she had been using the previous days. The Void Pillar dropped to the ground to avoid Senjuro's attack before she rolled, causing Inosuke and Tanjirou to collide. Standing, she turned, taking off again and leaving the four to scramble after her.

She leaped over Naho, Sumi, and Kiyo, making them squeal and giggle as she waved. The three waved back, but by then, she had already vanished around the corner. Moving quickly, she dodged a strike from above from Tanjirou, grinning as she spun and blocked a strike at her blind spot from Inosuke and a second one at her back from Zenitsu. Tanjirou and Senjuro attacked next, but she broke from the blocks that the two other boys had forced her into. She leaped up, avoiding strikes from below from the two before she quickly dodged a bokken that had been javelin-thrown at her.

She landed in a roll, crouching and glancing around before she brought her swords up to block a strike from above. Red and yellow entered her view— but it wasn't Senjuro.

"All I have to do is land a single strike, correct?"

"To think that the old man would join in on the boys' fun," Musashi said, bracing against Shinjuro's bokken that bore down against her own. She grit her teeth before she pushed up, breaking away from the strike and leaping back. She blocked another attack from Inosuke, who seemed even more fired up at the idea of a new, fifth person appearing to steal his chances away from fighting a strong opponent. Senjuro quickly followed up with his own attack, also seeming riled up at the idea of loosing to his father.

Musashi dodged out of the way, her grin never faltering as she kicked the boy's legs out from under him before turning and blocking a First Style strike from Tanjirou that was aimed at her blindspot.

"Oh my, things are quite lively here," Kocho hummed as she walked past, making Musashi glance over as she dodged Zenitsu. "I might have Kanao and Aoi join you all."

"Please, don't," Musashi huffed as she parried a strike from Shinjuro. "Kyojuro's already on the verge of jumping in and I will kill you, Shinobou, if you have your girls turn this into an eight on one fight."

The Insect Pillar just laughed as she left the garden. The Void Pillar leaped up, avoiding a strike from below from one of the boys before she struck Shinjuro's sword down with one of hers. She blocked Senjuro with her other, letting out an annoyed huff.

"Old man, why are you even in this too? Aren't you retired?" she asked as she leaped away, panting a bit. The former Flame Pillar just yawned as he stood back, watching as the four boys attacked Musashi again.