Extra 6: Around that time, Modern day (4) (1/2)

“Hey, Natsu, where did you hide Makoto!”(Genichi)

A man who appeared to be at least 40 with a robust body was visiting a dojo.

The man’s physique matched his loud voice, it reached the ears of the person sitting with a cup of sake in her hand at the very back of the room. As she furrowed her brows, you could clearly understand that this guest who was screaming at her door was someone she did not prefer. Exasperated, she shook her head and let out a sigh.

“That idiot….it has only been 3 days since he last came, doesn’t he have his own disciples to look after….”(Natsu)

Without making a single sound, she stood up and walked towards the entrance. She came upon the entrance where the voice was coming from and opened the door. There was the figure of a man who was in his late 30’s or early 40’s. He had a mature face and gave off a dignified aura. But to say he was a man in his early 40’s would be a mistake…..he looked like he had enough energy and physical strength to take on a platoon by himself.

“Stop coming here and saying the same thing every time, Genichi.”(Natsu)

She did not hide her annoyance at the man.

The woman called Natsu could turn away visitors, no matter who they were. She always gave off a certain aura of intimidation. She was said to be the same age or a few years younger than the man in front of her now, but her skin was still very smooth and pure white. She was someone in her mid-30’s to early 40’s but if a passerby saw her they would think she was in her mid-20’s.

“Where is Makoto! Where did you hide him!?”(Genichi)

“I do not know! I do not care! Go home!”(Natsu)

“Stop hiding him! Tell me! I will not go home! I have only taught Makoto the beginning of Iai*, I have many things left to teach him and I only started teaching him because you recommended him.”(Genichi)

Tlnote: the art of sword draw

“I do not know where he is, I stopped teaching things a while ago, I only let him use the dojo for practice now! I have no reason to hide Makoto!”(Natsu)

The verbal battle between the two stopped and only their soft breathing could be heard.

Natsuko was the one who taught Makoto how to use a bow. Munakata Natsuko was the head of the Munakata Dojo. She learned archery from her teacher when she was young and could not put her skills to use. She led a life as a mercenary before she became an archery teacher. She jumped from battlefield to battlefield rampaging with a gun.

Bows and arrows were quite useless in the modern world battlefield and Natsu herself felt better wielding a gun than a bow. The aim with a scope and the use of the sight on the gun were more useful to her compared to the technique of using her eyes that she learned when she was young.

Natsu left the battlefield after some time had passed and returned to Japan. She erased the smell of gunpowder that lingered on her body and opened a dojo. She never said why she left the battlefield but that experience gave her a mind that was able to be calm in any situation.

But currently the man in front of her was pushing that mind, thus her boiling point dropped quite considerably.

Well, the relationship between them was not close but not far either thus they could be called associates.

“……Do you really not know where he is!?”(Genichi)

“Yeah, I really don’t know……well, I am sure he is alive. But leaving that aside, why are you so obsessed with him, you have other good disciples. Leave Makoto alone.”(Natsu)

It is as Natsu pointed out.

The man in front of her was Genichi Ishido, one of the few sword masters in the modern age. He has many excellent disciples and usually does not care about spares.

“I do, I have given them training they could do while not at the dojo and introduction letters for tournaments and other dojos.”(Genichi)

“Why did you do that?”(Natsu)

“Well, it was because I wanted to focus on training Makoto.”(Genichi)

“…..Why……That student of mine has no talent in swords at all, I really don’t know why you would spend time training him.”(Natsu)

“Yeah, he doesn’t have a single ounce of talent in swords in a very refreshing way. I think it has been 6 months and I have finally gotten him to the point where he can cut down a straw doll.”(Genichi)

As she heard him clearly admit that Makoto has no talent for the sword, she could not understand why he was so obsessed with Makoto. He could shoot an arrow very well and liked doing it. He was almost creepy at this point regarding arrows. Natsu believed that Makoto loved archery and evaluated his archery highly.

“Then why are you here, if you are just doing it as a hobby then you should not be in that much of hurry.”(Natsu)

“Hobby, maybe it was that but I also feel it was kind of different. I know one thing though, I do not want to stop on a disciple who I have spent so much time training.

He talked while rubbing his chin with his hands.

“Initially I was just interested in the boy you raised to become the genius archery man. But now, I am just interested in his straightforward nature.”(Genichi)

“Straightforward……..Best way to describe Makoto.”(Natsu)

Still, she could not understand why he was obsessed with teaching Makoto.

“I taught him very basic things in these past 6 months. Stuff you can do even at home; how to swing a sword and how to train your grip strength. I also gave him a weighted wooden sword to practice with.”(Genichi)

“……Wow, really was nothing but basic…….Even then, could he not even cut a little bit of the straw doll?”(Natsu)

Even if it was her disciple, she still felt kind of disappointed in him.

“Of course, when I let him first try it, he cut his own hands on the blade.”(Genichi)

“……”(Natsu)

“Even so, he was still doing the training I assigned him and has not declined anything. He always has these shining eyes and I could keep teaching him stuff without any interruption or complaints. I told him to do some basic muscle training and other things to get a better body.”(Genichi)

Genichi was a bear not a swordsman;he takes care of the small bears like Makoto.

“…..I thought it was amusing, even if he had no talent in swords. He was somehow proceeding with pure hard work and diligence. I want to see what he will become in the end with all his hard work.”(Genichi)

Natsu again let out a small sigh. She was pitying Makoto, Genichi will never let go of Makoto until he has learnt everything that Genichi will teach him.

“When Makoto comes back I will tell him to escape from you.”(Natsu)

“Hey, hey, hey, I thought I said a very nice story right now! To be honest, I thought you felt the same way regarding that boy.”(Genichi)

“I have already left the scene, I have also given Makoto to another person so right now I am just the big sister at this dojo.”(Natsu)

“Bull! That was such a crude statement…What a lie…Natsu, you are almost 40-“(Genichi)

“What age am I, Genichi?”(Natsu)

“…..Big sister, I meant nothing by that. Ok, let’s stop, seriously where is Makoto? Have you talked with his parents?”(Genichi)

At the sudden cold atmosphere, Genichi immediately retracted his statement and tried to change the subject. He felt he was going to see his great-grandfather soon at that cold atmosphere.

“Well….yes I have gone to meet them about Makoto….but I think the reason was complicated so they didn’t tell me anything concrete.”(Natsu)

Natsu’s words were straightforward, which was rare for her.