Chapter 37 - Intimate

To call his training with Muichiro, A training is inaccurate instead it should be called tortured. Ryuu had been beaten far worse than when he was with Shinobu who only used his center of gravity to take down while Muichiro had him evade every sword slashes that he did. 

It would have been fine if he hadn't used an actual sword when training him. Ryuu barely escaped his grasp and did his best to survive the first day.  He felt lucky when he trained with Shinobu who went easy on him. 

The reason why Muichiro was so difficult isn't only because he has an air head and doesn tknow how to train someone but also his form is difficult to pinpoint where he's going to strike and disorient his senses like a mist. 

Every movement was swift that struck and cut him in several places within seconds. It was unbelievable how he was able to move that nimbly. 

Despite his complaint and whining, Ryuu reached a point where his movement was snot only quick but unpredictable as he appeared in different places. He understood the principle of the mist breathing.

It utilized the blinking of an individual and took that split second to vanish before executing a series of sweeping strikes. They were difficult to parry, turning something akin to a mist enveloping his whole body. 

A mist and a poison was the perfect combination of form as they are essentially the same with only difference being the former able to perform slashes while the latter only precise strike. 

Ryuu mixed it into his [ Breath of Plague ]  Precision, Swiftness and the final piece, the Flexibility of the technique. He would be able to improve his flexibility with Mitsuri in the coming weeks. 

He had already memorized Muichiro sword technique, mastering them to nearly perfect level. Furthermore, Ryuu had used the [ Body Tempering Pills ] after every fourth day. This caused his body to rapidly grow stronger and denser than ever before. 

The other Hashira excluding Sanemi and Obanai partake in the pill finding themselves experiencing an urge to move and push their body to the limits which they did.  

In terms of overall power, Rengoku could easily contend with Akaza if they ever meet and survive. They were even able to heal rather quickly than before due to the influences of the pill. 

"You've already mastered my technique even though it's only been two weeks or so."

Muichiro looks at Ryuu dirt and smudges on his body but no visible cuts thanks to his skills. It was fortunate that Muichiro didn't bat an eye and continued to torture him. 

It would be difficult to explain if he asked about the reason. He could always turn off his [ Gamer Body ] but it would make things a lot harder than before.  In the end, it took him nearly two weeks to perfect his movement due to the complexity of his breathing form. 

He was barely standing where Muichiro wasn't that different from him having his clothes torn in several places and the place they were training had numerous cuts and collateral damages. 

Ryuu took a deep breath before recovering instantly from his [ Rapid Healing ] and twirling his daggers Before sheathing them back into his waist. 

"Like an old saying goes 'What kills us only makes us stronger.' or so I heard."

"How can you be stronger if you're dead?"

Muichiro bluntly asked, missing the whole point of his words and made Ryuu twitch his eyes. He only sighed before picking himself up and excused himself back to the Butterfly Mansion.

Ryuu took a whiff of himself, smelling the intense odor of his sweat. His body still aches from the muscle pain and wanted to have some warm bath to reliviate it. 

He was welcomed back by the children helping them prepare their meal for dinner. Ryuu has been a great help in regards to cooking. 

After a while, Ryuu went to take a bath at the bathhouse for Hashira. He arrived and went to the men's side, soon greeted by the warm water that overlooked the cliff of the mountain. This was never shown in the anime and only further implies that everything is fiction. 

He won't consider Earth as the sort of all fiction considered his unsure if his own world wasn't one.

"Goooood this is The life."

Ryuu felt the spring water seep through his body giving a soothing feeling unlike anything he had experienced before. With this in mind, he had decided to visit Japan from his earth just for the hot spring. Screw Akihabara, he'll go straight to a hot spring. 

It made him light headed, chilling in the bath. He pondered how things were doing in his home but recalled time had stopped and didn't worry about them missing him.

"Ara~ what are you doing here, Ryuu-kun?"

His thought reawakened when he saw someone in the steamy water and was shocked when he found out who it was, almost jumping from his spot but remembered he was naked. 

"Shinobu-san, what are you doing here!?"

He could clearly see Shinobu's naked body through the steam. His gaze fixed for a split second before quickly averting his eyes but fortunately he had perfect memory. 

Ryuu was able to see her creamy white skin and curvaceousness that was hidden by her everyday clothes. It was nearly as delicate and beautiful as Justine with the only difference being that she was a bit taller than Shinobu. 

His desire may be a harem but that doesn't mean he's a filthy degenerate who would eye on a woman's body without permission which is ironic considering the amount of fanart and sacred numbers he had seen. 

But that was different and realize that he couldn't look at the divine scripture the same ever again. 

"What am I doing?  Taking a bath of course."

"A-At the men's side!?"

"What do you mean? This is clearly the women's side."

Ryuu could hear the water flashing and could guess that she was moving closer towards him. He felt tempted to look at her but afraid to get castrated. 

He knew Shinobu may act kind on the outside but was actually cruel on the inside. Ryuu couldn't sacrifice his little brother from simple temptation. Call him a wimp but think how painful it is to get your balls and rod slices. 

"Don't tell me you didn't see the sign or….did you just come here to see me naked, Ryuu-kun?"

Ryuu could hear her whisper, feeling the unexpected development. She seemed more intimate than before that made him blush, never used to actually teasing someone beside his friend Justine or through the phone like he did with Lucifer. 

He ponder why he ever thought teasing Lucifer but shook his thought thinking it was just him being stupid. 

"U-Uhm N-No, of course not. "

"Fufufu well then why are you here?"

"M-Maybe someone accidentally changed the sign."

Ryuu thought for a while, recalling that it wouldn't be possible for him to forget where the men's even if the sign was changed.

Though, he can't deny his lax self forgot to check to see if there was anyone coming inside. He thought and knew that no one else was in the bag before him then realized.

"Wait, I didn't make a mistake. Don't tell me you entered knowing I was here!?"

Ryuu turned to look at her before avert once again hiding his face. He soon heard a giggle coming from Shinobu.

"Well, you got me. I entered since Aoi told me where you were and thought that I  could join you and wash your back."

"B-But do you have to do that!? I mean I'm just fine washing my back."

He wonders if this is what Shinobu actually is rather bold in her action or he's just have the dumb luck of a harem protagonist. Shinobu smiled, finding more about his personality and making her feel happy teasing him. 

"You don't need to worry, I don't mind."

"I do!"

"Are you sure?"

"I-I…"

Ryuu is reluctant to say no since it was a tempting offer even if he's a gentleman doesn't mean his pussy. He did want to feel Shinobu washing his back and being intimate with each other. 

"I'll take that as a yes."

Shinobu turned his head to face her and Ryuu tried to look straight into her eyes, avoiding looking down and calming his brother from rising. The development was too quick and trying his best to think of the reason why she was acting this way.

"Why are you acting this intimate, Shinobu-san? We've hardly known each other."

"You already know almost everything about me and I wanted to at least know more about you."

"Asking is much easier, you know?"

"But I don't feel like I'm doing anything to repay the debt you had done to me. You've saved us from our death."

"That's where you're mistaken. I know a possible future and it is all up to all of you what the outcome is going to be." 

Ryuu felt that he was getting all the credit when he just gave them the series and was afraid that he was giving them false hope in changing the future. Shinobu only shook her head in disagreement.

"It may seem that way but for me it has lifted a huge burden in my chest and allowed me to show more emotion."

Shinobu ever since the trauma and fear of losing someone had overtaken her mind hadn't been able to properly show any emotion. She was always hiding a facade but that had broken when Ryuu came along. 

Ryuu could see her true self and be the first to see it. It was unexpecting development, sure but he got a better understanding of what Shinobu is really like.