Chapter 8: I-It's not like I'm lazy or anything...
"Hey sprout, you going or not?" Asakura called for Collei who was still looking at the screen.
The watch party just ended and all of them are leaving. Well, except for one member.
White doors of light appeared on the walls— the same doors they entered.
However, Sprout of Rebirth—or Collei— was still looking at the screen frozen.
'Is she still in shock because she saw herself in the video?' Asakura looked at Collei and secretly thought to himself. 'Well, that's to be expected, I guess.'
"Perhaps she's speculating something about the video." Zhongli said beside him.
"Sprout? Are you alright?" Ayaka said as she approached Collei
"Maybe she wants to watch more...?" Aether said while holding onto a popcorn.
"N-No, I'm fine, really. I just..." Collei denied them. "I was just thinking of something. It's over now.'
"Guess that's it." Asakura shrugged.
"Well then..." Asakura turned around and waved his hand. He then slightly lifted his kitsune mask to let the other members see his bottom face while walking. "Gotta go now. Let's all talk later in the chat!"
And just like that, the enigmatic member jumped to the white door.
"There he goes..." Ayaka said as she watched him.
"I have to go now too. See you all in the chat!" Aether said before running.
"I have to leave as well. I still have important matters to take care of." Zhongli said as he calmly walked to his white door. "Farewell."
"Sprout, are you coming?" Ayaka called for the little girl.
"Yes!" Collei replied as she walked with Ayak to their respective white doors.
And just like that, the watch party ended.
* * *
Para— Para—*
"...Huh?" Asakura walked out of the portal only to be met with a downpour.
It was raining quite heavily with howling wind and, of course, thunder in the distance.
'My clothes are gonna...' Asakura was just about to finish his thoughts when he looked at his clothes. '...'
'...Why am I still wearing Giyu's clothes?' He thoughts as he just noticed the Kitsune mask still on his face.
He then looked around and saw that there weren't any people in the street he hid in. 'Good.'
Thinking of this, he breathed heavily and started running through the rain.
He jumped from one block to another while avoiding the eyes of the public. 'I'm getting used to this.'
Because of his template card, Asakura's overall being changed. He went from a lazy person to a cautious lazy person.
He also gained some of Giyu's experience in battles, such as the perfect environment to take advantage of and the most efficient way to deal with an enemy.
But ultimately, he was still him.
He then remembered something. 'Oh right!'
Thinking of it, he decided to take another route and headed to Hanamizaka. About a few minutes later, he stopped before a smithy. 'This should be the place.'
"What can I do for you, young man?" An old man who was sitting near the smithy asked.
"Hello sir, you must be Amenoma Tougo, right?" Asakura asked.
"I am indeed, why are you looking for me?" The old man named Amenoma Tougo nodded.
"I'm here to ask you to forge me a blade." Asakura explained.
"A blade, you say? What kind of blade are you looking for exactly?" Tougo asked.
"A very sturdy blade that can change colors." Asakura smirked.
"Haha, a color-changing sword, huh?" Tougo said, amused. "Although there are records of such swords made in the past, without proper ore, materials, and blueprint, it can't—"
"I can cover that." Asakura stopped him. "I can draw a blueprint right now... as for the ore and other materials... please wait for a few days for me to get it."
"Are you sure?" Tougo said. "Creating a blueprint for a blade is no easy task, it has to be functional, or else the blade would easily bend or break."
"That's why I chose your smithy, sir Tougo. I trust your smith because you came from a clan that was once part of the Raiden Gokaden." Asakura smiled. "And don't worry, I'm confident in my blueprint."
Yes, with Giyu's memories, he can perfectly memorize the structure of Nichirin Blades. The only problem is that Giyu doesn't know how to forge— but that's why Asakura went to Amenoma Smithy.
The Amenoma Clan was part of the Raiden Gokaden, the term used for the five bladesmithing schools.
Out of the five arts, only the Amenoma art survives to this day because of a certain puppet that has mommy issues.
The puppet known as Kunikuzushi planned the five bladesmithing school's downfall. He planned every single one of the downfalls for them and purged their arts.
Out of the five schools, three disappeared.
The Kaedehara Clan, the clan that uses the Isshin art, was forced to stop using their art just to survive Kunikuzushi's massacre. But it ultimately lead to their clan's decline.
As for the Isshin Art... the only one that knows how to use it is Kaedehara Kazuha... But even then, he was a wanted man who is currently outside Inazuma.
Seeing that the Amenoma Clan is his only option, Asakura didn't complain about anything.
As for the ore and material, Asakura saw the system shop selling Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand and Scarlet Ore. He can buy them with system points after completing quests.
"Mora is not a problem here too," Asakura shrugged. "What about it, Mister Tougo? Do we have a deal?"
Amenoma Tougo looked at his apprentice, Hajime, who was blacksmithing and contemplated for a few moments.
"Fine, I'll accept." Amenoma Tougo sighed. "A durable color-changing sword... I won't make any promises that it will be forged, but I accept this smithing request."
"Alright then, thanks." Asakura smiled with satisfaction.
After a few more discussions, the two of them settled on a price and when the forging will begin.
After all that, Asakura departed and ran towards Inazuma City once more.
He ran as the rain poured down on him, drenching him greatly.
'I should go back to my hous—' Asakura thought of getting a good rest while it was raining when he remembered something.
He then suddenly stopped in his tracks as he looked at his feet. '...The Kanjou Commission.'
'I forgot...' He sighed as his body got soaked in the rain. 'I was supposed to be present in the inspection...'
'Wait... that was yesterday...' He thought with relief. 'Today should be my transfer...'
In his first two months, Asakura had been a vision hunter under the Tenryou Commission. However, in this third month, he was transferred to the patrol platoon under the Kanjou Commission to see if anyone tries to leave Inazuma illegally.
Now that another month had passed, today should be his transfer to the Kujou Army under the Tenryou Commission.
However, Asakura soon realized something.
The death rate in the Kujou Army was higher than in the other positions he had.
'...Should I desert?' Truth to be told, the desertion rate in the Kujou Army was high because of the current war.
Dozens of soldiers die every day in the war against the Sangonomiya forces on Tatarasuna.
However, after thinking about it for a while, Asakura sighed. 'No... That would make me a wanted man and end up as a Kairagi.'
A Kairagi is a term people used on people who were once part of the Shogun's army that ran away.
'...What a pain.' He just wanted to laze around, but duty calls. '...Fine.'
Finishing his inner struggle, he changed directions to the Tenryou Commission. But not before picking up his doushin uniform, of course.
* * *
"...And that is what happened... ma'am." Asakura sternly said as he explained what happened to him the day before.
He was currently in the Tenryou Commission's estate near Tenshukaku.
He changed his appearance before coming, though. He was still wearing his doushin uniform, yes, but he decided to... add some extra details. Like his green and black checkered haori that resemble a certain sun breather.
His hair that got longer got tied up, resembling that of Giyu's.
And on his waist is his blade. It was a blade he bought from the Amenoma Smithy as a substitute for his previous blade that got destroyed from fighting.
"Alright." A woman with indigo hair cut into an uneven bob, and golden eyes said while putting down her bow. "You shall immediately depart to the Kujou camp in Kannazuka."
Everything was going right. He was supposed to meet the Shogunate Officer that was gonna make his transfer official. However, while walking in the Tenryou Commission, he encountered a certain general that just came back from the front lines.
"...But before that, spar with me." She added.
"...Yes... General Sara." Asakura sternly said with the same serious face. However, deep inside, he was grieving. 'Rule number one... Don't meet General Sara in the training grounds... Or else she'll see you as a target.'
He was doomed.
* * *
A/N: Watching Gigguk's Inazuma stream while writing this helped me a lot with recollecting plots of Inazuma.
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