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Thankfully, today is an off day for Obanai, meaning he doesn’t have to train those mediocre slayers. Instead, he’ll spend the entire day training with Sanemi.
Obanai adjusts Kaburamaru on his shoulders and pushes open the door to the Wind Estate. Unfortunately, when he gets to the sparring room where Sanemi would normally be waiting, the Wind Hashira is nowhere to be found.
That’s… rather odd, Obanai thinks, an uneasy feeling rising in his chest. I’m pretty sure Sanemi even sleeps in this room.
He checks the rest of the estate, but he still can’t find him. At that point, Obanai goes outside and pokes around the sparring grounds behind the mansion. It’s summertime, but blessedly a pleasant temperature, even though he can already feel his skin burning up.
“Obanai! Over here!” He hears a rough voice call. Sanemi.
The Serpent Hashira turns and finally spots his friend in the open field of grass. And next to him, with a small smile on his face, is—Tokito, the Mist Hashira? And on top of that, they seem to have… kites.
Am I seeing things? Obanai wonders. He blinks a few times, but the scene remains the same: Sanemi and Tokito are each holding up a colorful kite, the tails trailing down in the grass. How the hell is Sanemi even touching one of those things?
“Iguro, you should come over!” Tokito says, apparently confused as to why he’s frozen.
“Give him a sec,” Sanemi grunts. “He wasn’t expecting this.”
Finally, the truth catches up with Obanai. He sighs.
“Alright, I’m coming. But what the h—what the heck are you guys doing?”
Tokito holds up the kite in answer. “We’re flying kites because it’s my birthday.”
Obanai’s eyes widen as he stops a meter before them. “Oh, it’s your birthday? How old are you turning?”
“Fourteen,” he says offhandedly. Behind him, Obanai and Sanemi exchange a glance.
He’s grown up fast, but he’s still too young, the Serpent Hashira thinks. How old was he the last time I checked? Twelve or something.
“Anyway,” Tokito continues, “I’ve never done this before, so I thought we could do it together.”
“Right,” Obanai says incredulously, “and why do you think that’s a good idea?”
If it’s one thing he doesn’t expect, it’s for Tokito to look at him like that —like… well, Obanai can hardly describe it. Like a puppy, maybe—an extremely adorable puppy. His eyes are all wide and glassy and he looks so… so fragile.
Huh? What on earth am I thinking? Obanai asks himself. This is ridiculous—
“Come on, Iguro, you should join us,” Tokito says cheerfully.
Obanai glances at Sanemi, exasperated. Sanemi just shrugs.
“Just go along with it,” the Wind Hashira says.
Eh—“just go along with it”? Since when does Sanemi say that?
“Obanai, don’t look at me like that,” Sanemi says grumpily. “It’s Tokito-kun’s birthday.”
“Mhm. We’re celebrating,” the Mist Hashira says seriously. “You’re supposed to celebrate. Oh, I remember now—I bought extra kites. I’ll get you one.” Tokito runs off towards the edge of the field, where, sure enough, there’s a pile of colorful kites on the ground.
Once he’s out of earshot, Obanai glares at Sanemi. “We’re supposed to be training today. How’d he manage to convince you to—to do whatever this is?”
Sanemi sighs wearily. “We… can afford to relax today.”
“ Huh? ‘We can afford to relax’? Do you even hear what you’re saying? Why can’t he just… go to Kocho or something?”
“She’s busy,” Sanemi deadpans. “Listen, Obanai, let’s just do this today. Hey, I know, I know,” he says, holding up a scarred hand to prevent Obanai from cutting in, “I know, okay?But I think… he deserves it. Besides, I’m afraid he’s going to injure himself or something, and then Kocho’ll really be on my case.”
Obanai shakes his head. Just as he’s about to retort, Tokito comes back and shoves a black-and-white striped kite in his face.
“Look, Iguro, this one matches your haori,” the Mist Hashira says brightly.
Gazing at Tokito’s innocent face, Obanai suddenly can’t muster up the courage to tell him no, please no, I do not want a kite.
Ugh. How annoying.
“…Fine,” the Serpent Hashira relents, accepting the kite. He ignores the look that Sanemi shoots him.
“I think Kaburamaru likes it,” Tokito adds. He watches the snake curiously as he inspects it with his forked tongue.
Okay, that’s it. This kid… Obanai sighs. He’s officially in for a long, long day.
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“So, Iguro-san, how do you think this works?” Tokito asks, holding up his turquoise kite in the shape of a bird. A few minutes have passed, and Obanai has watched as he and Sanemi tried and failed to keep it in the air. It involved a lot of running and hand-waving. Also, someone (Sanemi) ended up face-planting into the dirt.
The whole affair was quite funny, actually. Unexpectedly funny. He may have enjoyed himself more than he thought he would.
“Iguro-san?”
Obanai blinks. “Oh. Right. Well, I’ve never done this before, either.”
Tokito sighs, staring at him with sad eyes. “Come on, try it with us!”
Not for the first time, Obanai levels a glare at Sanemi, who has so far complied with the kid’s every request.
“Iguro-saan, stop ignoring me!” Tokito says.
Unfortunately, that means that Obanai has to look at him. For some reason, every time the Mist Hashira gives him that… that adorable look, he just—ugh, he can’t.
“What do you want?” Obanai mutters.
“You have to try it with us,” Tokito responds almost eagerly. He picks up Obanai’s kite from the ground and hands it to him. “Come on!”
Before he can reply, the kid grabs his hand and pulls him (with an expected amount of force for a Hashira, but still a lot of force) towards the center of the field.
“Okay, let’s try again,” Tokito announces, lifting his kite over his head and clutching the spindle. “Three, two, one—go!”
Obanai can only grit his teeth as he starts to run alongside Tokito and Sanemi. Running isn’t something that any Hashira is unfamiliar with, but he can’t help but think about how ridiculous he must seem, sprinting while hoisting a kite overhead. Glancing to the side, he notes that Sanemi probably thinks the same.
“Look!” Tokito suddenly exclaims, slowing to a stop. He points to his turquoise kite, which has finally lifted a few meters up into the air.
“Great,” Sanemi says. He peers at his own kite, almost as if wondering what is wrong with it. The fact that his face still has dried mud on it doesn’t help.
Meanwhile, Tokito is quickly unraveling the flying string, jogging forward in short bursts to keep the kite in the air. “It’s working!” he says joyfully, turning around. “Shinazugawa-san, Iguro-san, do you see?”
Ah, I get it now, Obanai realizes as he looks at Tokito’s expression. But who would’ve known he’d be so happy doing… this?
There’s an actual, genuine smile on the kid’s face, something that, for all the years he’s known the Mist Hashira, he’s never seen before. Obanai is surprised at the way it lights up his whole being, as if he’s someone… completely different.
“Yes, we see,” Sanemi replies softly. Perhaps he’s as taken aback by Tokito’s smile as Obanai is. The Wind Hashira tilts his head up, staring at the kite flying in the sky. “It’s kind of amazing, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Tokito murmurs. He can’t seem to take his eyes off of the kite, its colorful tail flapping in the air.
Together, Sanemi and Obanai walk towards him, stopping just a meter away. The three of them gaze up in muted awe, all astounded by a piece of paper’s ability to fly.
-
“Alright, we’re trying again,” Sanemi declares. A couple of minutes have gone, and much to their disappointment, Obanai and Sanemi still haven’t managed to get their kites off the ground for more than a few seconds.
Obanai sighs. Sanemi really is something, he thinks. How is it possible that he’s this energetic? And compliant, of course.
A short distance away, Tokito watches them with a small smile. “Okay. I wish you guys luck,” he says sincerely.
For what must be the fourth or fifth time, Obanai and Sanemi prepare to run the length of the field. “I can’t believe we’re doing this again,” the Serpent Hashira grumbles.
“I thought you liked running,” Sanemi says.
Obanai rolls his eyes. “I like training, not kite-flying.”
“Oh, really? Don’t deny that you want to get your kite up in the air as much as Tokito-kun does—”
“Shut up. I do not.”
Sanemi chuckles. “It’s not a bad thing.”
“Of course it isn’t. I just—how are you… I feel like you’re different. The Sanemi I know would’ve stormed off a long time ago,” Obanai explains. “What’s different this time?”
Sanemi just shrugs, looking past him. “C’mon, if we keep standing here like this, Tokito’ll start yelling at us.”
With that, he takes off, and Obanai has no choice but to follow.
Sanemi runs faster than he ran before—or maybe that’s just his imagination. Still, during this trial, he manages to get his kite in the air at last. Sanemi grins stupidly and turns to Obanai. “I did it!”
“Yes, you did it,” he says dryly, coming to a stop. “And you didn’t fall this time. I’m impressed.”
Meanwhile, Tokito comes up and claps his hands, his kite flying above him. “Yay, you succeeded,” he cheers. Then, he notices that Obanai still has his kite in his hands. “Oh, Iguro-san, do you want me to help you?”
“Ah, no, I’m good,” Obanai grits out. “I don’t need to fly a kite anyway.”
Tokito tilts his head at him, contemplating something. “No, I’ll help you,” he says decidedly, walking over and tugging the kite from his grip. His own turquoise kite drifts to the ground. “You can hold the spindle-thing, and I’ll run it, okay?”
“Uh—”
“Please?” Tokito adds, staring up at him with those huge turquoise eyes.
“…Fine.”
“Yay! Let’s go,” the Mist Hashira says triumphantly, pulling the kite in the direction of the starting spot.
-
Just as Obanai suspected, Tokito gets the kite up in the air on his first try.
“There,” the kid says as he watches Obanai unravel the flying string as the kite soars higher. “Now you’ve got it.”
That accomplished, Tokito quickly jogs away, picks up his turquoise kite, and gets it up in the air as well.
Honestly, though, Obanai barely notices that part. Or the part where Sanemi comes and stands next to him. He’s more focused on his black-and-white striped kite, its tail whipping around in the air like a snake.
At least, that’s until Sanemi says, “It’s fun, isn’t it?”
“What? No,” Obanai snaps, tearing his gaze away from the sky.
“It’s not fun?” Tokito asks, suddenly appearing beside him. He looks at him with huge eyes. “How is it not fun?”
Ugh. He’s doing that thing again… Obanai thinks.
“Um, sure,” he mutters.
“What was that?” Sanemi cuts in.
“Whatever,” Obanai retorts. “What happens now?”
“Look at the sky,” Tokito suggests, pointing. “Isn’t it pretty?”
He tilts his head to look, and for the first time, he sees all three of their kites lined up next to each other: one turquoise, one black-and-white, and one green. Their tails flutter along in tandem, and they’ve gone up further than Obanai had realized. From here, they seem almost like colorful birds, creatures that belong in the clouds.
It’s… nice, Obanai thinks. He glances around, but no one notices—they’re both looking skyward. For once, he gets to examine Tokito and Sanemi uninterrupted, and…
He sighs. Never mind. I won’t—it doesn’t matter.
-
After a few minutes, when they’ve stopped trying to keep them in the air, their kites slowly descend to the ground.
Tokito is the first to run to them, gathering them up and placing them carefully in his pile of kites.
Abruptly, he turns to the two other pillars. A range of emotions flickers across his face, and he can’t seem to keep them contained when—
“Thank you, thank you!” Tokito says happily, putting on a burst of speed and tackling the two of them where they’re standing. They all topple over onto the grass, and the sound of Tokito’s laughter fills the air.
“Thank you,” he repeats, gazing at the two of them with unfiltered joy. “I—I liked that. I didn’t think you guys would agree.”
Obanai smiles awkwardly beneath his mask. Kaburamaru doesn’t seem to mind being jostled, and he hisses at Tokito affectionately. At the same time, Sanemi pats Tokito on the back.
“You’re welcome, kid,” he says gruffly. “I’m just glad you enjoyed it.”
“…me too,” Obanai adds, his voice stiff. “Happy birthday, Tokito.”
“Thank you!” Tokito grins and stands up, skipping in the direction of the Wind Estate. Obanai finds himself mesmerized by the way his turquoise-tipped hair flies behind him.
“Come on, let’s go!” Tokito calls over his shoulder. “Shinazugawa said he had ohagi, and that we can eat some!”
Narrowing his eyes, Obanai glances at Sanemi suspiciously. Even for how open he’s been today, sharing his ohagi is still a big stretch.
“You—”
“I can explain,” Sanemi says reluctantly, staring at Tokito’s shrinking form. “But… later, okay? Don’t you want to try some ohagi?”
Obanai frowns. He’s clearly… oh, whatever. I’ll get the answer out of him eventually—there’s no doubt about that.
“Fine,” he says, standing up with a grunt. “Race you there?”
Sanemi stretches and grins. “Oh, you’re on!”
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