85. The Sun vs The Serpent

"Hmph! Kotaro-sama and Iguro-san, both will stand outside! This is a punishment!"

Mitsuri puffed out her cheeks and tried to look imposing, declaring the punishment for these two troublemakers—only to make herself look even cuter.

Mitsuri looks even cuter~ x2

Both of their fierce gazes softened a bit, but then, with a jolt, they looked at each other! Sparks flew between their eyes. As for why?

Because Kotaro realized it. This snake bastard was truly the same as him! As a husband, he glared at him. And Obanai? He stared back, unwilling to lose.

And then Kotaro realized one thing: wasn't he the winner here? He was the one who got the girl, married her, and slept with her. How the hell did this snakey guy become his rival?

The hate he felt subsided with these thoughts. Now, all he did was look at the guy with nothing but pity. Poor Obanai, the loser~

"…"

For some reason, Obanai felt that he should really wish for this man's death.

Mitsuri went back inside, leaving both of them standing outside. They stood there in silence, not knowing what to do.

This silence is awkward.

Kotaro looked at Obanai, remembering that he hadn't talked much with him before. Putting Obanai's love for Mitsuri aside, he was also an exceptional Demon Slayer. Kotaro thought he should take this chance to spar with him a bit.

Of course, this spar wasn't about ruthlessly beating the snake—it was about learning more.

"Obanai."

"What is it, Kenshin-san?"

"Come with me."

Obanai looked at him with cautious eyes, making Kotaro's eye twitch, but ultimately, he followed him to the training area attached to the house.

"I hope Kotaro-sama and Iguro-san will become good friends."

From behind, Mitsuri watched the two figures heading toward the training area.

She understood that Kotaro-sama was uncomfortable around Iguro-san. Last night, she had even asked him if she should stop contacting Obanai.

Truthfully, she didn't have a problem with doing so. Even though she considered Iguro-san her friend, to her, nothing mattered more than Kotaro-sama.

But…

...

Last night.

"Kotaro-sama, should I—"

"No. It's alright."

Before she could finish, Kotaro guessed her words and replied. Not that he liked Obanai. One of the reasons he tolerated him was because Obanai was Mitsuri's friend. Kotaro was perceptive enough to understand their friendship and didn't want to break it because of his own jealousy.

"Obanai is your friend, right?"

"Umm."

"I don't want you to lose a friend over this."

Before joining the Demon Slayer Corps, Mitsuri hadn't had any friends her own age. Most of the people she interacted with were much older, acquaintances of Aiko. Now that she had made friends, Kotaro didn't want to ruin that for her.

"Kotaro-sama…"

Mitsuri's eyes trembled, and her heart thumped hard. She could see that Kotaro-sama was being considerate of her.

This was the reason she had fallen in love with him. And this was the reason she gave her all to him.

This kindness…

"Kotaro-sama, I don't mind—"

"I told you, Mitsuri, I'm fine."

Kotaro pulled her close, laying her on top of him, then gently pushed her hair back behind her ears.

"You're my cute wife, and I'm your handsome husband. This much is nothing for me."

"Kotaro-sama…"

"Cough! But still… be careful around him, alright?"

Mitsuri blinked a few times before chuckling. Seeing her smile, Kotaro smiled too.

"Kotaro-sama… I really love you."

"I love you too."

She closed her eyes, her expression expectant, and Kotaro kissed her.

It didn't take long for the kiss to escalate into a domino effect, leading to yet another round of nightly exercises in the new Kenshin Mansion.

Remembering it all, Mitsuri's face flushed with embarrassment. She shook her head and brought herself back to her senses, turning her gaze back to the duo.

Even though Kotaro-sama said he was fine, did he still feel uncomfortable around Iguro-san?

Should I tell Iguro-san not to contact me anymore?

…

At the Other side.

Oblivious to Mitsuri's thoughts, both Kotaro and Obanai were in the training place—the Dojo.

"Spar?"

"Yeah. You don't want to?"

Obanai held a wooden sword, while Kotaro spun his wooden three-section staff—the same one made by Gozo in the Swordsmith Village.

"No. Let's spar."

Obanai didn't back down and readily agreed to it. After all, why wouldn't he? His heterochromatic eyes glinted with excitement at the thought of beating this man as much as possible.

And, of course, Kotaro, on the other side, smirked as well, having the same thoughts as his opponent.

I will beat him so badly that his face will be unrecognizable in Mitsuri/Mitsuri-san's eyes!

With bad intentions brewing on both sides, the spar began.

Swoosh!

Confident in his footwork, Obanai throttled first, lunging toward Kotaro.

In response, Kotaro grabbed the end of his three-section staff and slammed it toward Obanai with overwhelming strength, clearly intending to harm.

Twitch!

Damn!

There was no way Obanai didn't realize it. That attack… the air itself reverberated from the sheer force Kotaro put into that slam.

Without any delay, Obanai moved and dodged it. The staff struck an empty spot, creating a small crater on the floor.

The dojo floor—without a doubt, it would cost a lot to fix. But that was a concern for later.

Tsk! He dodged it.

All of Kotaro's attention was focused on beating this snake bastard down!

Kotaro groaned in annoyance, though it was expected. Obanai's strength lay in his abnormal footwork. It was truly incredible.

To dodge the attack, he moved like a serpent—befitting his future title as the Serpent Hashira.

How does he move like that?

Kotaro was curious. But for now, the spar continued. Obanai's abnormal footwork didn't freak him out. After all...

That was just one attack.

That's right. It was just one attack. But now…

Kotaro pulled the staff like a whip and slammed it down again. But not once, not twice—multiple times—leaving afterimages of its movement as it struck the ground.

It was as if the attacks were falling like rain, pouring down relentlessly!

This time… It's multiple attacks!

With an iron staff, Kotaro couldn't execute such rapid strikes. At most, he could create combos, but this kind of barrage was only possible with his three-section staff.

This move, like rainfall, poured down mercilessly on his enemies.

Thus named—Three Staff Technique: Downpour!