The Fall of Eternity

The General's Offer

If there was one thing Arataki Itto realized while in the presence of the Tengu Warrior and her army, it was that she was extremely stubborn for her own good.

Itto, along with her soldiers, to their dismay, persuaded her from dawn till dusk to take the day off while she was recovering from her wounds. But to no vail, their pleas landed on deaf ears as she woke up 5:05 on the dot, did her daily routine, walk towards the training grounds, summoned her bow and practiced her archery.

Her shoulder was killing her but she wouldn't let that get in the way of her training or other matters that she needed to attend to as General.

To Sara, her well being didn't matter as long as she was thorough and made sure that the Shogun's desires are met.

If she was injured to the point of bedridden, Sara simply labeled it as her incompetence.

She took in a deep breath, willing herself to calm down and ignore the prating oni beside her. With an exhale, she let go of the arrow, slashing through the wind as it hit the mark.

"Look, Kujou Tengu, that wound ain't gonna heal itself soon if you keep on straining it. Heck, even I'm a man enough to admit to back down when I'm injured." Itto crossed his arms, giving her a disapproving look.

"You're not the one wounded, so what's your problem?"

"My problem—!" Itto let out a frustrated growl, motioning towards her body, "Is that you're not resting! Who knows what would happen if you make yourself sick more with what you're doing? What will happen to our rematch?!" He let out a cry, as if the idea of not getting his most anticipated fight physically hurt him.

She raised her brow, "When did I say you'll get a rematch?"

"Well, you didn't—obviously," Itto rolled his eyes at her, "But someday, I'll make you agree, mark my words! No one escapes Arataki Itto without agreeing on my terms!"

Sara drew back her arm, intending to aim once again, she muttered under her breath. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

Apparently, he heard her, letting out an outrageous—"Hey!" Itto didn't stop there, he continued on pestering her morning training.

With her patience hanging on thin thread, she glared at him. "Why don't you make yourself useful and help the soldiers prepare breakfast? Gather water or something, just get out of my way."

An annoying smirk spread on his face, glad that he was finally getting under her skin. "Am I starting to bother you, General?"

Sara stared back, unfazed. "Yes. So what about it?"

Triumph shined in her golden eyes when she saw the surprised look on his face, not anticipating that she would blatantly admit that he was actually affecting her.

Truthfully, the oni had thought he would have to put more effort into his actions. Even Shinobu didn't admit this easily...

Sara jerked her head towards the Encampment where the soldiers where loitering, "Go on, run along now, idiotic oni." A smirk settled onto her face at his obviously stubborn response, before he could say anything, Sara cut him off. "Don't tell me you're not a man enough to do it, Arataki Itto? Even I can carry buckets of water for hours."

The 'man, enough, and even' were the only words that could trigger his manly pride.

Taking it as a challenge, he let out a huff and turned his back on her. "Just you wait! I'll show you I can carry more than enough water to get your encampment running for weeks!" He turned his head, glaring over his shoulder, "And when I come back, you better stop practicing your stupid bow and train your soldiers instead! Stupid Tengu!"