░『Zephyr』░(KNY OC STORY/ KNY OC X KNY-OLD/DISCONTINUED)

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟸: 𝚁𝚊𝚐𝚎-𝙱𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚃𝚜𝚞𝚐𝚞𝚔𝚘

Yuki stares up at the dark sky, the soft ringing of a wind chime filling the silence.

".. Hahaoya." Haruki says, sitting down next to her. "Fukurō-chan left with Sekiei-san again. Do you want me to go get her?"

Yuki shakes her head, moving her hair to one shoulder. "Let her be. She's gone many times before, and always comes back." She pats Haruki's shoulder, "Wait for an hour or so, and she'll come back."

"But-"

"Is Isamu feeling better?" She looked at her son, while heart stinging with hope for her youngest daughter.

"..." Haruki blinks, getting up. "She's fine. Chichi is making her food."

"That's wonderful. Let's hope for the best, shall we?" Yuki watches as Haruki walks away, his fists clenched out of view.

'It's unfair. I'm stuck here taking care of the entire house, while Hahaoya doesn't even acknowledge it. It's not like she's sick, or something. Soon, Fukurō-chan will be forced to go through what I have to go through, and her life will be as some sort of servant to our own house. Where I can't even step a foot outside.'

Haruki's eyes narrow.

'It's all unfair.'

* * *

Sanemi steps his foot back in a stance. "I won't use any Breathing Forms. Purely blocking, no striking yet." He observes as Fukurō does the same. "Now, try landing a blow on me, and I'll see if I can block them." Fukurō nods, taking a deep breath before she starts sprinting towards Sanemi.

'Don't hold back Fukurō. He said it's fine, so it will be fine.' She repeats in her mind as her staff raises to hit Sanemi's side. Before the staff even brushed the Wind Hashira, Fukurō was knocked back onto the ground. She looks up at Sanemi with confusion. How had he blocked her so quickly?

"Try again. Try to take me by surprise, and don't make your movements obvious. Always have a backup plan, and don't stick to one approach. When you eventually strike me, I'll start striking back." Sanemi demands, poking Fukurō with the end of the staff. "You're overthinking again, Kazekachi-san. Stop overthinking about what you'll do. Just go with your gut, and use something to fuel your mind."

Fukurō gets up once more, taking in Sanemi's advice. ".. Alright."

She raises her wooden staff once more.

* * *

"Fukurō-chan." Haruki as he grips Fukurō's sleeve.

Fukurō flinches at her brother's demeanor, eyes wide. ".. H-Hai..?" She stammers. Did she do something wrong?

"I'm going to call Isamu-chan a doctor. I'm sick of Hahaoya telling us how to raise Isamu-crab without practically raising her herself." He grips her sleeve tighter. "This is especially for you. You're too young to be taking care of the money, food, and family by yourself."

Fukurō's heartbeat thumps in her ears as she takes a step back. ".. But Onichan, Hahaoya said not to. You know how she feels about help..."

"And what's she going to do? It's not like she's any more of an adult than we are. You need to stop listening to the woman who wouldn't even take care of you like a mother should. She's practically there as some decoration. All she does is make sure we're fed, nothing more." Haruki says, letting go of Fukurō roughly as he walks towards the front door.

".. W-Will you be back soon, Onichan?" Fukurō mutters as she watches him turn around to leave. "Of course. I can't leave you alone, can I?" He smiles, expression of determination. "Life can be easier. A weight off our back. We'll even tell Chichi when he returns, alright? We have enough money earned to get her medicine."

"Hai. Be safe, Onichan." Fukurō responds, smiling back. She could finally be a child again. She didn't have to act as a mother she could never have. "I will. Be safe too, Fukurō-chan." He tells her as Fukurō waved her brother goodbye as he disappeared behind the door.

Her breath stops in her throat as she hears a piercing shatter from the outside, as well as recognizable screams. It was like a snap, like some sort of play; as soon as he stepped out that door, the shriek rang out from where Haruki would stand.

"ONICHAN!"

* * *

Lower Rank 5.

The writing rings in her head like the toll of a bell, feeling her breath quicken in anger. Her mind goes blank, limbs moving as if they had a mind of their own. Her feet push her from the ground as her body makes a move to strike Sanemi from above.

THWACK!

Sanemi pushes his own staff against Fukurō's, trying to deflect her attack.

"That's better! I knew you had something in mind! Keep it up!" He says, a corner of his mouth in a smirk, "Keep trying, Until you manage a hit on me!"

Fukurō has no response, pressing her wooden staff harder against the staff Sanemi held. She steps her foot on Sanemi's knee, seeing the way he staggered back as an opening. She slides her staff away from Sanemi's, and smacks the end of the staff on the top of his head.

"... I hit you." Fukurō states suddenly, standing back on the ground. ".. Did I do good?"

Sanemi does a half-nod, rubbing the area on his head where Fukurō had hit him. "I guess so. I didn't know it would take such a short period of time. But uh- Don't hit so hard, will you?" He laughs.

Fukurō chuckles nervously. Had she really hit him so hard? "Ah. Right. Sumimasen." She apologized as she bows her head.

She had always felt a surge of emotion when she thought about that moment, so she used it a lot as motivation during training. But she was definitely reckless, that's for sure. She just couldn't control her emotions, and she didn't know if she would in the future.

But there was nothing else that would give her such a raise in adrenaline. So it was either being unaware of what she was doing, or do horrible in training. And she can't fail. Not again.

"Hey. Kazekachi-san. You listening? You zoned out a bit."

Fukurō snaps back to reality, and gives Sanemi a thumbs up, "... I'm alright. Just thinking about something." She responds, ".. What happens now? Do I defend against you?"

"That's right, so be prepared."

Fukurō tightens her hold on her staff, swallowing a lump in her throat.

Sanemi starts running towards her, and lifts his staff as he prepares for an attack. He reminds himself to go easy on her, but he also wants to see just how good Fukurō can defend against a Hashira like him.

Just as he is about to hit Fukurō, Fukurō panics and sidesteps out of the way.

'... Did she just step out of my way?' Sanemi looks at her with pure confusion, seeming as if he was processing Fukurō's choice.

Fukurō hits herself repeatedly on the head in embarrassment as she notices Sanemi's expression. She wanted to disappear just then and there. "Agh- Sumimasen, Shinazugawa-sama, I panicked and did it automatically." She says. Damn! She just completely disregarded Sanemi's orders!

Sanemi let out a disappointed sigh, "It's fine. Just don't dodge next time. That's not what we're learning right now." Fukurō nods, feeling her cheeks redden in shame.