I Spy

Chapter 20: Planning

Date: September 30, 2024
Time: 12:30 PM
Location: Kimetsu High School
Weather: Mostly Cloudy

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As Kanae walks down the school hallways, she hears the faint sound of children talking outside with their screams and shouts of playfulness and joy. She looks up to the sky as a window illuminates her surroundings, "Ara ara, the weather has sure taken a sudden turn" she thinks as she continues to walk down the hallway, towards the principal's office. 

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She knocks on the door twice and is soon then greeted by a "Come in," from the principal, or Kagaya Ubuyashiki. She opens the door and enters the room, "Please, take a seat, my dear child." Ubuyashiki stated, Kanae nodded as she closed the door behind her and walked towards to chair that was opposite where the principal was sitting.  
 
"What is it that you bring me, child?" Ubuyashiki asked as he turned around in his chair and looked Kanae directly in the eye. Even though Kanae couldn't see it, she could tell that Ubuyashiki was looking at her with pure warmth and comfort, which made her put a smile on her face. "I may have some information or news about the target's next move." Kanae replied, "Although I have not fully confirmed it, I am mostly sure that what I have found out will play into our plan to capture him." Kanae added, "You may continue, my child," Ubuyashiki replied. Kanae nodded as she took out her laptop and opened it to reveal a map with red and blue lines running all over it, along with a few dots to mark stopping points. "This was the route of the two convoys from the mission a few nights ago, right?" Kanae asked, Ubuyashiki nodded as he remembered sending the routes of the convoys to the hashira before that fateful night. "I would like to point out that usually on deliveries, we would usually have more stopping points in order to keep secrecy, but for these convoys, their checkpoints are a bit... lacking. May I ask why did you do so Master?" Kanae questioned, "A good question you have brought up my child, as you know, I would like to maintain complete secrecy about our ore shipments, but this mission was special, I wanted to make sure that the stops for the shipment would be few since I wanted the convoys to reach their escorts as fast as possible. So I had to limit the number of checkpoints since the amount of time it would take to transfer one shipment to the next convoy is lengthy. I tried to keep a certain amount of secrecy since we don't want to have that man tracing the convoy back towards the origin point, thus leading to the location of the mine that we extract our ores from." Ubuyashiki replied.

Kanae nodded, "Thank you Master, but while I was looking for some more clues, I began to think whether he already knew the location of the mine to that start." Kanae stated. Ubuyashiki started to listen in more as soon as he heard this, "I was wondering whether he followed the convoy from point A all the way till point B because after he knocked out Emiko-chan and took the shipment, he immediately went for the next convoy, which would be impossible since in order to know where both convoys were going, you would have to know fully to where each both convoys would start and end, along with the established checkpoints. Unless he took a guess and ran in a random direction which would be all too convenient for him to luckily run into the next shipment." Kanae said, "I have also noticed that ever since we first met the man, the slayers we have sent to deal with him all came back injured, but all their blades were either stolen or broken in half, just like Aoi said at our last meeting." She added as Ubuyashiki calmly replied, "I see my child, if what you say is true, I might have to order some slayers or even hashiras to escort the next shipment. But there is a problem..." He stated, "I planned to keep all location that deals with our nichirin ore a complete secret to everyone including the hashira, just like the location of the Swordsmith Village." Ubuyashiki added. Kanae nodded, "I see Master, I understand what you have said. But if the man does strike the mine that we extract our ores from, who is going to protect our convoy from his attacks?" Kanae asked.

Ubuyashiki sat there in silence for a while as he began to think of an alternative. After a few long seconds, he replied, "It seems that you are right my child, but in order to maintain complete secrecy, we might have to use the same process that we use to send slayers to the Swordsmith Village." He said, Kanae nodded in agreement, "Yes, Master, if you want to maintain the secrecy of the mine, then I suggest that you do that." Kanae replied. "Thank you, my child," Ubuyashiki stated, "Your welcome, Master," Kanae replied back, "Is there any more you would like to add to our conversation while we are at it?" Ubuyahsiki asked, "In fact, yes Master. I would like to know when our next delivery is for the ore." Kanae asked, "The next shipment of the ore is planned for next week on Friday." Ubuyashiki stated, "Thank you, Master." Kanae said as she bowed to pay her respects, "No, thank you, my child, without this information you provided us, we may never have known our opponent's next move." Ubuyashiki replied as he smiled. "Please don't acknowledge me so highly Master, I'm not even sure if the information is correct or not..." Kanae replied with a doubtful tone. Ubuyashiki chuckled at her doubtfulness, "Any amount of information is vital whether it's unclear or not, my child." He said, "Thank you Master for appreciating my work." Kanae said as she bowed again, "No problem my child, you are dismissed." Ubuyashiki said as Kanae nodded and left the room.

As Kanae walked down the hall toward her classroom, she couldn't help to notice the noise coming from outside the school. Sure, she was used to the noises that the children make outside during lunchtime, but it was louder than usual. She only suspected one thing as she took a look outside the window. And not to her surprise, she saw her two younger sisters sitting down with their friends. Kanae smiled as she looked back and continued walking.

Meanwhile, the Kamaboko Squad were having a good time during their break while talking about their lives and recent activities. "Why'd you stay up last night, playing god dam War Thunder?!" Genya exclaimed as he scolded a Zenitsu with a tired look, "I honestly don't know..." Zenitsu replied, Genya sighed, "Bro, you can't just keep doing this, you gotta sleep at some time, or else Tomioka-sensei will smack your a*s into outer space if he catches you sleeping, like how you did during gym."  Genya stated, "I'll try I guess." Zenitsu responded. "Good..." Genya replied as he nodded his head slowly.

Genya then turned to Tanjiro as he was eating his meal, "And you, do you have a Halloween costume yet?" Genya asked, Tanjiro almost spit whatever he had in his mouth and he slowly chewed it up and responded, "I'm still thinking about it!" Tanjiro replied in a goofy tone, "You better have your idea soon or else you know what we are going to do to you." Genya said, "I know! Stop being behind me, I'll figure it out soon!" Tanjiro exclaimed in the same goofy tone as before. "Hmmm...." Genya said as he looked at Tanjiro closely. Tanjiro began to sweat a little due to how close Genya's face was to him, "Aight', we believe you." Genya said as the entire group nods. "Thanks for believing in me and putting your trust in me..." Tanjiro says, "But isn't this just a costume party? I mean why do you guys treat it so importantly like it's a decision that the entire world depends on?" He asks, "It's because it's a school event! And since it's happening on a school day, that means we could spend the entire day partying in the gym!" Nezuko replied, "I mean, couldn't we just stay home and study for the next school day? I mean the quarterly break is in a few weeks from the dance, best to just make sure you are prepared until then..." Tanjiro measly replied as if he had some doubt in his reply. "Come on Tanjiro! Nobody likes to study when there is a school event going on. Take a break once in a while!" Genya said as he patted Tanjiro's back, "Yeah Tanjiro!  Don't be so focused and isolated on studying!" Zenitsu said as he started to pat Tanjiro's back with some force. Tanjiro jolted forward a little bit due to how hard Zenitsu and Genya were patting his back.

"Not so hard you two!" Aoi said as she gave Inosuke tempura, which was the reason why he was so quiet until then. Tanjiro rubbed his back and gives his thanks to Aoi. "Thanks, Aoi." Tanjiro said, "You're welcome." Aoi replied back, Aoi then turned towards Kanao who was eating her lunch in silence and lost in complete thought, "Care to join in?" Aoi said as Kanao flinched a little before speaking, "Y-yeah, sure, what are we talking about?" Kanao asked, "Tanjiro hasn't decided on a costume yet." Aoi said, "You haven't decided on a costume yet Tanjiro?" Kanao asked as she leaned over to look at her "friend", Tanjiro greeted her with a stoic face, "Bruh, why is everybody rushing me to figure out my costume!" Tanjiro exclaimed, Kanao leaned back in surprise and guilt since she noticed the change in Tanjiro's tone, she thought he was angry with her, and soon, her usual smile turned into a frown. "What have I done? I'm so stupid! He probably hates me now!" She thought. Tanjiro noticed the sense of guilt and sadness coming from Kanao, "That's weird... Her mood changed all of a sudden... Did I do something to hurt her?" He thought as he looked over at Kanao, "Hey, Kanao." Tanjiro said. "Yes?" Kanao replied as she look at Tanjiro with a frown still on her face, "Why do you seem so sad all of a sudden?" Tanjiro replied, "Wh-what do you mean?" Kanao stated, "I forgot he has a good nose!" Kanao thought as she started to panic on the inside. Tanjiro also noticed that she was panicking because of his keen sense of smell, and also because she was starting to sweat and little.

"Follow me Kanao!" Tanjiro said with a happy smile and Kanao looked at Tanjiro like she was about to explode with embarrassment. Kanao measly nodded and Tanjiro got up and excused himself and Kanao, "Wait for me guys, Kanao needs something from me real quick."  Tanjiro said as the group excused him except for Zenitsu who was looking at him with extreme jealousy, "I swear one day Tanjiro, I will get my revenge." He thought as he began to eat his lunch again.

As Tanjiro walked away, he motioned Kanao to follow him, she started to walk with him, but she looked down the entire time since she did not want Tanjiro to see her in her current state. As they walked around the corner, Tanjiro stopped and turned around. "Kanao, you can look up now, it's not a surprise!" Tanjiro joked a little with his bright smile still plastered on his face. Kanao slowly looked up at Tanjiro who was still keeping his joyful looks, "Tell me Kanao, why were you so sad all of a sudden?" Tanjiro said, "Did I hurt you?" He added, Kanao furiously shook her head, "N-no you didn't Tanjiro, you didn't hurt me!" She immediately replied back, "Then why did I sense such a shift in emotion after I talked to you about the costume thing, surely maybe I hurt you a little, didn't I?" Tanjiro said as he raised one eyebrow, "U-u-uu-hh..." Kanao said as she started to stutter a lot, at this point, her face was as red as a tomato due to embarrassment. "N-nn-no, T-t-tt-anjiro, t-there i-s n-othing w-wrong..." Kanao said as she stuttered for every word, Tanjiro put his hands on Kanao's shoulders, thus furthering her anxiety and embarrassment. "I look like an idiot!" Kanao thought as she started to cover her face with her hands, "Eh? Kanao, why are you covering your face?" Tanjiro asked with a completely innocent look, "I-im s-sorry Ta-t-tt-Tanjiro!" Kanao exclaimed, Tanjiro only smiled and gently removed her hands from her face, "There, better." He said, but Kanao was still facing down, he then slowly lifted her chin up and Kanao met him eye-to-eye. There, Tanjiro could not only smell but see the amount of embarrassment Kanao was in, "She's kinda cute when she's embarrassed..." Tanjiro thought before he quickly shook his head. "There's no need to be embarrassed Kanao, if you don't want to tell me something, it's alright. But if you want to deal with your problem, you have to tell me or the others." Tanjiro said with a calm tone, "You can trust us Kanao, we're your friends, you can tell us anything, and I promise you that we will help you." Tanjiro added, "Any-anything?" Kanao asked, Tanjiro smiled and nodded, "Anything." He cheerfully said, Kanao then took a deep breath to come down and then spoke, "W-well, when I tt-old you on whether you cho-chose a costume or not..." Kanao said, "Continue..." Tanjiro asked, "Wh-when you replied, Ii noticed that you raised your tone, I-i thought you were an-angry at me..." Kanao then stated. Tanjiro smiled and hugged her, "Thank you for telling me Kanao, I didn't mean to shout at you, I'm sorry, and I hope you will forgive me." Tanjiro said in an apologetic tone.

Kanao was taken by shock and blushed even more from the hug, "I-it's o-ok T-tanjiro, I-i forgive y-you." Kanao said as Tanjiro let go of the hug, "Thank you Kanao!" He said with a bright smile. "Come on Kanao! The others are probably waiting for us to come back!" Tanjiro said as he started to walk, Kanao followed him soon after without saying a word due to how embarrassed and flushed she was with the conversation she and Tanjiro just had. As Tanjiro walked up to his friends to start talking, she silently sat down next to Aoi while still keeping her face down, Aoi looked at Kanao with a confused and stoic look, "What happened to her?" She thought as she continued to eat her lunch.

"Well look who's back..." Zenitsu spoke with anger and jealousy in his tone, he then lunged at Tanjiro and held him by the collar, "How dare you flirt with such a beautiful girl you goody-good forehead!" Zenitsu screamed, Tanjiro was caught by complete surprise as he responded, "F-flirting?! I-i don't know what you are talking about Zenitsu!" Tanjiro replied, "Oh shut up you innocent redhead! I heard your entire conversation with Kanao, it was clear that you two were flirting!" Zenitsu said as he shook Tanjiro in his hands, Genya and Inosuke soon took action and pried Zenitsu off of Tanjiro who was still shaken and ruffled after what Zenitsu did to him. "Will you shut up! Tanjiro was probably only trying to help Kanao, that's all!" Genya said as he smacked Zenitsu on the head, "Ow!" Zenitsu yelped as began to rub his head. As Genya was scolding Zenitsu, Inosuke went to Tanjiro and checked if he was still alive, "Oi, Janpachiro!" Inosuke said as he waved his hand in front of Tanjiro. Tanjiro didn't respond and stayed still, "Hey Gonpachiro, wake up!" He said as he started to shake Tanjiro.

This appeared to have worked since Tanjiro was now back in reality as he asked what was going on, "Wha-wh, what happened?" Tanjiro said, "You were lost there for a second Monjiro, don't do that again!" Inosuke yelled, "O-ok, th-thanks Inosuke." Tanjiro replied, "Good, now onto the next thing..." Inosuke said as he walked towards Zenitsu who was still being scolded by Genya, "Oi! Monitsu, you still up for this weekend's cart race to prove who is the champion of the hill!" Inosuke said, "O-oh yeah..." Zenitsu said as he stood up, "What did I say?" Genya questioned in a strict tone, "S-sorry Tanjiro." Zenitsu said as he bowed, "There is no need to bow Zenitsu, I'll accept your apology either way!" Tanjiro said as he started to wave his hands. "Thanks, Tanjiro." Zenitsu stated as he got up and went to sit back down, "Hey, Monitsu! What about our race this week?!" Inosuke exclaimed, "I'll come." Zenitsu said, "But I am kind of worried about whether we will be able to get out alive or not, because every time we got up there, I get squeamish..."  Zenitsu stated, "Oh, don't be such a piss baby about it!" Inosuke said, "What did you call me!" Zenitsu exclaimed, "Oh ho, looks like I got the mop head ready for this week's race!" Inosuke, "Oh I'm so gonna beat you, you goddam boar head!" Zenitsu said as he stood up and faced Inosuke.

"As if! I am the lord of mountains, and I will win no matter what!" Inosuke said proudly, "In your dreams!" Zenitsu argued back. As the two were bickering Tanjiro and Genya were just watching the ensuing fight while eating their lunches, they would only step in until things got physical (which does happen a lot). If you are wondering why the girls weren't prevalent in the boy's debacle, they were talking to each other since they already knew that either Tanjiro or Genya will be able to solve the issue themselves. "What happened Kanao?" Nezuko asked as she looked over to her friend who was STILL embarrassed about what happened, "By my guess, I am pretty sure Kanao is embarrassed due to what Tanjiro did to her..." Aoi said. 

"Whatever he did..." Nezuko said as she went back and ate her lunch. But just as she was about to take a bite the bell rang, signaling that lunch was over. 

"Awww... I didn't even get to eat my lunch..." Nezuko complained, "Now I'm going to be hungry for the entire day..." She added, "Same, I barely even ate my lunch at all..." Aoi replied. The two girls got up and packed their lunches, Aoi noticed Kanao was not moving from her spot and kept her face down, "Kanao, you're going to have to get up soon." Aoi said she received no reply from Kanao as she shook her a little bit, "Kanao!" She said. This time Kanao replied looking a bit surprised and confused as she asked what was going on, "Wh-what's going on?" She asked, "Lunch is over girl, pack up your things, or else we are going to be late!" Aoi exclaimed as Kanao quickly rushed to pack her lunch.

By the time the girls were done, the boys had already left, so they decided to leave too from the area and to their next class.

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And now it's time for another entry of "High School Gossip" brought to you by Tanjiro!

Tanjiro: When I was first introduced to my friends, I quickly found out that they host tournaments or competitions just for the fun of it, they call it the "Kamaboko Games" and you can choose whether to participate or not. 

Tanjiro: The games are random, and they happen over the course of a month to a week, depending on how fast each contestant is eliminated. 

Tanjiro: This weekend, the finals are happening in which the game is a cart race down a steep hill near the outskirts of our neighborhood. There is a ramp at the end of the hill, meaning that you'll get launched in the air for a good amount of time, there you are allowed to perform any type of stunt which you are scored on based on how many stunts you do and how well you perform them. You are also scored on how far you go when you land. There are 3 rounds in the game and there will be three judges to grade on how each contestant did. And the one with the most points at the end is obviously the winner.

Tanjiro: Also, the chance of crashing is high, but we don't have to worry about hitting anything hard since the hill is isolated and unknown to anybody else but us and we lay the ground with old mattresses from a junkyard (don't ask how we managed to find so many...). The judges for the round will be Nezuko, Kanao, and Aoi, and the contestants will be Zenitsu and Inosuke. It was originally me, Genya, Inosuke, and Zenitsu since none of the girls wanted to participate, which makes sense because this game is dangerous as hell. Genya and I were eliminated meaning that Inosuke and Zenitsu are the final two contestants.

Tanjiro: Personally, I'm just glad to not be a part of that since I didn't want to smash my face against the ground, I also wanted to see who would win because I am generally interested in the outcome. I am currently divided on my vote so I'm playing the neutral side here, but if I were to ask you, who do you think is going to win?

Tanjiro: Well you're going to find out later, but for now, why don't you read the next chapter, "Massacre" to see what I will do on Thursday's mission and what will happen?

Tanjiro: Anyways, that's it for now bye!