#tenza x reader

[nevermeyers]

: ̗̀➛ Jigokuraku relationship hcs 𐇵

» featuring: tenza, shion, fuchi, gabimaru

» neutral reader ; no nsfw

➛ Yamada Asaemon Tenza

» This boy is a sunshine. He'll probably always try to make the first move in the relationship and be the first to propose a date. He's the type of man who would pay for you and give you flowers. He's careful with those he loves, not just with you, so that includes the rest of the people in his life as well.

» He's pretty affectionate. Tenza doesn't mind public displays of affection, and neither does pet names. In fact, he probably has one reserved just for you.

» Tenza is the type of man who remembers everything that's important to you. From things you said you would like to do or try one day, to dates and places. He'll probably be the first to congratulate you on your birthday and he'll take you to that place you have been wanting to visit for so long. He's a good planner and all his plans are a guaranteed success!

» In domestic life, Tenza is concerned and attentive. He doesn't know how to cook or do laundry, but he won't wait for you to do it for him. He will be happy to learn from you and you'll have a great time considering he's afraid of setting fire to the kitchen.

» Definitely his favorite time of the day is at night, after you cook dinner together, when you're lying on the couch or in bed. He'll be under you, gently stroking your hair. His body is the best place to rest after a long day, you can hide your head in his chest and cling to him while listening to his heartbeat.

» He likes quick kisses. Holds your face carefully and place one kiss after another on your mouth until he feels you smile because he has touched your belly to tickle you.

➛ Yamada Asaemon Shion

» Definitely husband material, no one can say otherwise. Shion is a determined and passionate lover under a calm facade. He's quite overprotective of you, he's the kind of man who would get behind you on the escalator when you're wearing a skirt, the kind of man who walks along the side of the road on a narrow sidewalk, the kind of man who asks you how you got home although he was the one who brought you in first place.

» He's mature and stable, and aware that everyone needs their own space. He'll respect your limits just as you must respect his. He's pretty concerned, if there's a problem in the relationship, he won't mind talking about it calmly.

» He will find a lot of comfort in someone who will laugh at his bad jokes and even go along with it when he tells one.

» Displays of affection don't bother him. He likes to take you by the hand and turn you around to draw you towards him and encircle your waist as you reach his lips. He's affectionate in private, he'll sleep better if he is hugging you, hiding his face in your neck; likes to share a blanket and do house chores together. He can be quite passionate about kissing. He has those that take your breath away and leave you with red cheeks and moist lips; those quick and small, of greeting or farewell; he has kisses for all occasions, light touches on your face, holding your jaw, caressing your neck to press you closer to him, going deeper.

» Shion is like another friend. You can count on him if you have any problems or dilemmas, and he won't tell your secrets to anyone. He's not the type to talk about you to his friends if they haven't asked first. They probably didn't even know he had a partner. He's quite reserved, but he loves it when you gossip about things you hear about and end his critique by saying "but who am I to judge?"

➛ Yamada Asaemon Fuchi

» Fuchi is a rational thinker by nature. He needs to find a logical meaning to all his decisions, including those that involve a relationship. Perhaps that's why he finds it difficult to find the romantic meaning of many things. He's not the type of man who notices when someone has feelings for him and probably needs to be told.

» His love language is quality time, definitely. There's nothing he loves more than having a good conversation with his significant other about anatomy, or biology. After years in which he was considered an odd person, he finds great comfort in having someone listen to him and all his theories about how the human body works. He's attracted to intelligent people and would love to ask you to do dissections together, but deep down he's still afraid you'll think he's a weirdo.

» In domestic life, Fuchi is quite busy. He likes to amuse himself by cleaning and ordering his library, where he keeps hundreds of books and manuscripts on medicine and other sciences. He's good at cooking and making desserts. He won't say it, but he loves to see your smile when you taste the result of his new recipe.

» His activities as an executioner don't make him insensitive. Fuchi has a very big heart and loves to help you with things that are difficult or bother you. He's also quite a direct person with what he thinks, so he won't hesitate to advise you when you need a second opinion. Your happiness is his happiness after all.

» He doesn't like public displays of affection. He prefers to reserve those moments for when you are alone at home. Kissing while he rests when he's writing a new manuscript is a small pleasure in life. He will take your hand before you leave, when you have left him a cup of tea, and he will look at you without saying anything, silently waiting for you to understand what he means and if you want it too then it's yours. He will gently grab your shoulder, crinkling the fabric of your clothing, and hold your jaw to place a kiss on your lips.

➛ Gabimaru

» Touch starved, but won't tell. He loves displays of affection and cuddles, and you can always see a cute blush on his face even from a simple kiss. Gabimaru is quite clumsy and sweet when it comes to relationships.

» He'd like to help you with the housework, but he's a mess. He'll probably burn down the kitchen and mix the coloreds with the whites in the wash; his ninja abilities are apparently not useful for everyday things like that, and you don't mind doing them yourself. Though he silently feels guilty for not helping.

» Gabimaru is not the jealous type, but he's quite insecure with the guys who approach you. He has seen the worst of society and of the human being and, therefore, his greatest fear is that something bad will happen to you, or that someone will hurt you. For that reason, he often gets defensive when someone gives him bad vibes.

» When he's had a good day, he sleeps a lot. He can spend twelve hours straight in bed, snoring loudly. His spirit animal is a cat, definitely. He will sometimes cling to you in his sleep, probably hiding in your chest or gently resting his cheek on your shoulder, because he feels safe that way. He doesn't wake up easily, but the first thing he'll do when he wakes up is look for you. If you're not there, he'll most likely jump up and call to make sure you're around.

» He's the type of guy who asks you for a goodbye kiss, only to spend five or ten minutes in your arms, kissing you gently, alternating with small kisses on the forehead while he holds you by the waist. Gabimaru is quite respectful when it comes to touching and will only touch to get closer when you two kiss. He respects holding your hand and is embarrassed by displays of affection in public

©nevermeyers, do not translate, use or steal

[justauthoring]

okay it makes me so sad that there’s barely any hells paradise content so PLEASE send in some requests!

ill take requests for any of the characters :)

[moon-lv3r]

 when in sickness ~ ⚔️

🦋 category: one-shot

🦋 characters: yamada asaemon tenza

🦋 summary: in which you got sick after running under the rain, and tenza just so happened to be paying you a visit

🦋 warnings: ooc? bad writing? (come on i was sick)

🦋 notes: i’m so salty over his death 😔 LET ME COPEEEEE

totally didn’t come up with this idea while i was being such a sick bitch that i ended up bedridden for two days. yes i have a thing for wet hair pls don’t question it. how sick the reader was here was basically how sick i was. i somehow wrote half of this while sick so i wrote the other half while recovering, i am still coughing but better now

The weather seemed to do you no favour. The blazing sun made you feel so weak and unmotivated. Running under the rain for a delivery had to have been one of the worst ideas you have ever gotten. Now, you were bedridden with horrible coughs. The worst part was that you lived alone. That must be nice…

  Growing up a troublemaker that was later abandoned by your own parents. You could remember little from your own childhood. Except for your only friend, Tenza. He had been taken in by a swordsman while you finally got your life together and managed to make a living for yourself. Though you and Tenza still kept in contact as he often visited. 

  When Tenza was taken in, you were off somewhere busy robbing someone. It was only when you returned to find him missing that you finally realised there was more to your own life, though you had no interest in the way of the sword.

  Designing clothes has always been what your mind dreamt of. 

  The fever was really making it hard for you to work. You could barely walk. You puke up almost everything that enters your digestive system, it was horrible. It had to have been your worst fever ever. Your brain felt like it could explode any second. You could barely even speak due to your throat being as unwell as ever. You could only lay down and hope for the best, hope that it would go away. You did not like to visit the doctor, not once did you enjoy a visit or the taste of medicine going down your throat. 

  “Y/n?” The sound of your door sliding open, followed by the familiar voice calling out your name caught your attention. You could only weakly stumble across your home to greet Tenza.

  “H-hey…” You mumbled, leaning against the wall with all you could muster.

  Tenza stared at you in shock before rushing up to hold you, “Oh my… what happened Y/n?” He asked while leading you back into your room, allowing you to rest.

  “I’m f-fine,” you replied, though your body had long betrayed your lies and exposed your true status to Tenza a while ago. Tenza might be a little stupid from time to time but he wasn’t that big of an idiot to not realise it when someone was sick.

  “Your legs were shaking!” Tenza pointed out, “Did you run under the rain like old times?” He asked.

  Of course, the days when you would run away together after causing yet another trouble. It didn’t matter how dirty the both of you got, so long as you had each other. No consequences shall matter. Except maybe sickness as a consequence from time to time…

  You nodded in response to Tenza’s question, to which he could only sigh and shake his head in disappointment. “How many times have I told you to stop that? You fall sick more than me!”

  “I’ll b-be fine,” you replied before a violent coughing fit started to hit you. Tenza patted your back as though you were a baby as you kept violently coughing. It seemed to be never-ending and it was making it harder for you to breathe regularly. You definitely need someone to take care of you at this stage. The coughs sounded rough and almost like a growl from a bear. Tenza’s face only grew more worried as he saw your coughs grow more violent each passing second. 

  “Hmm…,” Tenza mumbled as your coughing slowly ended, this had to have been one of the very few times you saw Tenza carefully thinking something over. “I think I’ll stay and take care of you. I’ll be worried if I left you like this.”

  “Don’t you h-have duties?” you asked, trying to speak normally after the series of coughs you had just gone through.

  Tenza rubbed the back of his neck and laughed, “I’ll be fine! I’ll let master Shion know. I am sure he will understand! He’s a nice man.”

  “No…,” you replied, “I can’t prevent you from carrying out your duties and let you trouble others.”

  Tenza shook his head in disagreement as he got ready to send out the message to his master. He rummaged through your room to look for a parchment, brush and an ink. Tenza did not leave your room a mess, he always ensured that everything looked the same, like he had never touched it. He sat down and began to write, though it did not take long for another trouble to strike.

  “Eh…,” Tenza rubbed the back of his neck as he flashed you an awkward smile. “I don’t know how to write…”   Of course, the both of you had never stepped foot into a school. Your minds never understanding the complexity of things. That included words. Both you and Tenza had never really learned how to read and write. You had thought that Tenza would receive education while learning how to properly swing a lethal weapon. You had thought wrong.

  “I will just… ask someone!” Said Tenza enthusiastically, his smile still plastered onto his face.

  “My neighbours know how to write, ask them,” you replied, while still laying down on your futon weakly. You watched as Tenza hurried out of your home and listened as the doors slid shut. He was trying to get the paper written as soon as he could. 

  What a good friend he was… 

  You had fallen asleep by the time Tenza returned. He was panting like he had just run about the country. He had to ensure that the letter got sent to his master. He did a lot of things. In his hands were some medication that he had bought. 

  “Y/n?” His voice echoed in the house. No answer returned to him as he walked towards your room and slid your door open.

  In there you were, laying on your futon, sleeping. Yet it was anything but peaceful. Sweat pooled on your forehead as your eyes seemed to be squeezed shut. You looked like you were having some troubles as Tenza rushed towards you. He gently placed a hand over your forehead and soon realised the rising temperature. A worried look washed over his face as he ran around your home, fetching all of the towels he could and filling up the largest bucket he could get his hands on. Your chest kept rising and falling, every breath could be heard. One does not have to be a genius to see that you were in pain from your fever. 

  It had to be your worst sickness in years. 

  Tenza returned to your side, one hand full of towels and the other carrying a bucket filled with water. He soaked one of the towels in the bucket, squeezed the excess water out, folded the towel into a rectangle before putting the strands of your hair covering your forehead out of the way, and placing the towel on your forehead. Next, he placed a hand on your chest, on top of your blanket, in hopes of helping you to regulate your breathing.

  “Hmm,” you mumbled weakly. Your face still seemed stressed as ever. 

  “Yes?” Tenza asked, thinking that you wanted to ask him something. He leaned in closer towards you, hoping to be able to hear what you had to say.

  Instead, your face started to look more uncomfortable as your body turned to face Tenza, the towel falling from your forehead. Tenza slowly placed it back while watching you with worry and concern plaguing his mind. Tenza had changed for the better ever since meeting his master Shion. Shards of his old self replaced with shiny pieces of the new man he was.

 It was pleasant seeing him improve into the man he was now. You couldn’t be happier for Tenza. One of the best things about growing with someone was seeing their growth as a person. The way they mature and grow given the circumstances around them, how they chose to adapt to it. You were glad to have seen that change within Tenza.

  He was kneeling beside you as you curled your body into a fetal position, your hands reaching out to grab onto his hakama. Your breaths remained irregular, each time you took in a deep breath, it could be heard loud and clear even if one was in another room. 

  “Don’t leave me… please,” you uttered, taking in another deep breath. Tenza could not tell at all if you were awake but he could tell that you were unwell. Beads of sweat dropped onto the wooden floor as your grip slowly weakened.

  “Alright alright I won’t go anywhere,” Tenza reassured as he slowly moved your hand away from his hakama and repositioned you. Next, he took another towel to wipe the sweat away from the areas he could reach. He did not want to move you around too much in case you actually fell asleep. Yamada Asaemon Tenza was not the sharpest tool in the shed after all. 

  Tenza made a mental note to himself to give you your medication as he soaked the towel that had dropped on the floor earlier before placing it back on your forehead. The sun was nowhere to be found at this point. Tenza still hasn't showered. He had just spent the past few hours tending to you. Maybe he should even make a small meal in case you wake up feeling hungry? He had tried to make a few dishes while he was learning how to slash around. 

  He looked about your home, trying to look for anything that he wanted to wear. There were just so many robes of fancy design that he could not just pick one. It did not take him long to just… try on everything before picking his favourite, and off he went to shower. The water greeting his face has never felt more refreshing. His yellow hair flowed down his face, sticking to his skin as he washed himself. It was a relatively quick wash up as he still wanted to see what he could make for you, he wasn’t the best chef but he was willing to try his best. He could not just let you live with an empty stomach. 

  Your kitchen did not seem to have much for Tenza to work with. He frowned as he dug about every corner he could. He might have to cook up dust as dinner at this rate. You had rice, but every sensible household had them. Maybe a few vegetables but there was no fresh meat anywhere. Maybe he would have to ask the neighbours for some? You hadn’t bought any meat recently as you did not feel like eating them. Those go bad in a few days, if only there was a way to preserve them…

  Tenza decided to work with the things you had in your kitchen. A true man does not blame his circumstances, right? They work around it and make the best they could out of it, creating the best possible outcome. It was just cooking, it cannot be harder than swinging the sword. All there was to cooking was just washing the rice over and over, heating it over water, right?

  Tenza would be correct, except he had failed to realise just how tiring the task would be. He did not know how long he should wash the rice for. The water kept coming out cloudy so he just gave up, he had washed it five times. Next was the vegetables. He just had to fry them right? 

  Tenza was never cooking for a sick person ever again.

  It was like hell. He would rather die than to cook again. 

  He had managed to make a simple dish. Porridge with vegetables. He just hoped that it would taste better than it looked. There was too much water in the porridge and he had poorly placed the vegetables into the bowl, some were sticking up. He had also chopped them too long. Cooking was such a chore. You had the honour of being the last person he has ever cooked for.

  Maybe having that honour wasn’t the best thing. 

  The sound of the vegetables frying had woken you a while ago. When you made your way into the kitchen, Tenza was already finished with his cooking. It took you a while to realise that he was wearing a robe you had recently designed, which was supposed to be a gift to him. It was red with wild flowers embroidered onto it. The wild flowers were supposed to represent the days you and him spent as troublemakers. The flowers were mostly spring flowers. 

  Aside from the robe, Tenza’s hair was also dripping wet, his headband out of the way. It was those two things that had caught your attention, not the bowl of porridge he was holding, nor his concerned face.

  Why did he suddenly look… much more dashing with his hair in that state.

  “You should be resting!” He uttered as though he was a father. His eyes examined the kitchen for any seats so that he could force you to sit down and eat. 

  “I’m a-alright,” you replied as he found a spot and placed the bowl in front of you.

  “Eat up,” he said. Tenza was ready to feed you, like you were some child.

  You tried to take the spoon from him, “I can t-take care of myself.”

  Tenza shook his head, the spoon still in his hands. He was adamant on taking care of you. There was no choice but to listen to him. You slowly opened your mouth as he slowly fed you, it was starting to be embarrassing. You just snatched the spoon from him and started to feed yourself.

  “Alright,” he said, getting up and got your medication from another room, which he left it in. “Eat these once you’re done alright?”   “Are you… leaving already?” You asked, a part of you not wishing for his departure. A part of you wanted to spend as much time as you could with him.

  Tenza laughed and shook his head, placing a hand on your hair and ruffling it like you were a little pet, “I am not going anywhere until you recover.” 

  You could only respond with a small smile of your own. 

  You were lucky to have him around. 

  After your meal and the medication, you went back to sleep. Your body just can’t seem to function during awake hours. There was something wrong with you. Really, there was. It has been a tiring day for your body. You were out like a rock in minutes.

  Tenza was amazed at how fast you fell asleep, despite waking up mere moments ago. He was tired as well but he did not have the ability to knock himself out. He still placed a soaked towel on your forehead. Next, he decided to sleep beside you, having nowhere else to lay down. Besides, he would rather be as close as possible, so that he could take care of you if something went wrong in the middle of the night. 

  Things did go wrong.

  You suddenly shot up, hours later, eyes wide open as the towel fell from your forehead. Tenza was fast asleep however. So much for sleeping beside you to take care of you. You did not know why you woke up, but your body felt hot all over. Not wanting to trouble Tenza, you slowly soaked the towel and squeezed it dry before wiping parts of your body that you could reach. You soaked the towel again, squeezed it and placed it on your forehead before falling back asleep. 

  It was such a weird sickness. 

  The next morning, you were the one who woke up first. Somewhere in the night, your body had turned to face Tenza, making his face the first sight to greet your eyes in the morning. The rays of the sun resting gently on his soft skin, luminating his peaceful expression as he slept. 

  The towel was the only thing in between both of your faces. A strand of your hair fell out of place as your vision rested on the man in front of you.

  A soft yawn from Tenza broke the silence as his eyes slowly opened to meet yours. He shot you a sleepy smile before moving the hair strand away, his hands glazing past your cheeks. The skin to skin contact suddenly making your body freeze. “Are you feeling better?” He asked.

  “Y-yeah,” you answered, stammering for no good reason after being brought back to reality, your thoughts lost in Tenza’s smile. Was your brain as sick as you? Something was not normal about how you seemed to be feeling towards him.

  Suddenly, a wave of nausea seemed to hit you from nowhere and you rushed out, leaving a stunned Tenza behind. He shouted and ran after you, only to see you crouched down and vomiting the contents of the previous night. He walked closer towards you and held your hair together, ensuring that they were out of the way as you continued to clear your stomach. You could feel Tenza gently patting your back as he held your hair together. You kept coughing as the contents left your body. 

  A pile of vomit rested in your backyard, everything you ate was now out there.

  “Better?” Tenza asked, you shrugged.

  Tenza took you to wash up as he too, took the opportunity to freshen himself up. This sickness was really something else. Tenza decided to ask your neighbours for something small that you could eat. You couldn’t just be empty all day. You could only eat half of what was given to you, however, your appetite was nowhere to be found, but at least your body temperature was now back to normal. You just had coughs and your head also felt like imploding. 

  But at least you were getting better?

  Tenza fed you your medication after you finished eating. You just laid down, your head seemed to be too much for you. Your vision seems hazy and the light seems to be too bright somehow… Maybe you were dying and seeing heaven? You just wanted it to all be over soon. You somehow fell asleep again. How did you keep on falling asleep like that?

  Tenza had no idea if he should be amazed or worried. He was just glad that at least your temperature was down. That was one trouble down, he just had to take care of you until everything else returned to normal. Then he would finally feel alright to leave you by yourself.

  You woke up after a mere hour, feeling hungry and rummaging about to find something to eat. You found Tenza in the kitchen as he greeted you with a smile and knife in hand, he was cooking again. You could tell that he barely knew what he was even cooking. He was struggling. He was putting in so much effort into taking care of you… It really made your heart soften, to see him put so much care into you. He had really improved as a person.

  “Sit down,” Tenza ordered, in the sweetest tone a man could manage. “It will be done soon! Oh I am finally getting the hang of this!” He continued happily. You enjoyed the sight that had welcomed your eyes. It was so heartwarming, if only this was something you could have everyday…

  Your mind wasn’t in the best state, considering the fact that you had just woken up and still suffered from sickness. Your body moved towards where Tenza was. He laughed as he saw you move towards him.

  “Come on now,” he said. “I may be an idiot but a sick person should not be near when preparing a meal!” 

  “I know,” you muttered, leaning against him, your head resting on his shoulders. “I just… kinda like… the way you look right now.”

  Tenza stared at you, eyes widened as his cheeks got flustered. He quickly turned back, facing away from your smile. He was trying to distract himself now, on the food that was brewing in front of him. Good thing that it was almost done. 

  “Tenza,” you continued, dragging the sound of his name. “I’m not wrong.”

  “I think there’s something gravely wrong with your brain right now,” he muttered, presenting your lunch right in front of you, motioning for you to eat up. He went ahead and retrieved your medication. Something was going on. 

  Tenza watched as you slowly forced yourself to eat. Your appetite was still incredibly small, it was a miracle that you could even eat half a bowl. To Tenza, that was enough. He took the bowl away when you were half way done, sensing that you could not go on anymore, then he fed you your medicine. 

  “Thank you Tenza,” you grinned. He patted you on the head.

  You slowly met his eyes, suddenly lost in his soft, innocent gaze on you. His eyes stared into yours, the tension suddenly deepening between the both of you. You were lost in the moment, his eyes just looked so beautiful, you could get lost in those any time of the day. His sweet smile was something you’d kill to see as well. He placed a hand on your shoulder, resting ever so gently there. “Are you sick out of your mind?” He asked suddenly.

  “THat’s so… out of the blue,” you replied. “I–”

  The next thing you felt was a soft kiss on your cheeks. You stared at Tenza, whose cheeks was even redder, beyond what was even comprehensible. You could feel the heat entering your cheeks, spreading all over your face, even your ears. Tenza looked away from you, hand rubbing the back of his neck out of embarrassment.

  “I uh… just felt like it,” Tenza finally uttered a word, breaking the silence.

  “My entire face feels hot,” you answered. Tenza sighed.

  “Another fever?” Tenza asked in disbelief, “I’m going to have to stay longer? Wait, that's actually not so bad.”   You wanted to laugh, “It’s not fever you idiot. Do you enjoy taking care of me so much?”

  Tenza laughed, “If we take out the vomit, yes. And isn’t fever the reason why you would feel hot?”   It was your turn to break out into a series of giggles now. He was one of the best swordsmen you ever knew and yet, he thought fever was all there was to body heat. The both of you had never stepped foot into a school, yet one knows more than the other.

  Though it was thanks to him that you were now feeling better, and more flustered than you ever have in your life. Though you now know one thing thanks to Tenza’s action.

[kimhargreeves]

Until The Very End -Shion x Reader (Hell's Paradise)

Summary: Prepared to head to a dangerous place with criminals, you find yourself not only fighting them but another powerful being living in the forest. Your Master being not that far away from you, always willing to protect you no matter what.

(So I finally decided to give Hell's Paradise a chance since I saw an image of Shion and Tenza and decided to continue watching the anime. Stayed up until 4am and in all honesty I would've loved episodes 8 trio to be the main characters. I find them more interesting than the actual ones. So, here I decided to write a one shot of Shion, just things are a bit out of order at the end but it's how I decided to write it. Prepare the tissues!)

I stared down at my sword, blood slowly dripping onto the light green colored grass. The person laying on a puddle of blood wasn't one of my team, but a criminal, he was once wanted for killing women in specifically in front of young children, delivering their heads to the male of the house and enjoyed watching them suffer for their loves ones.

It was clear as day that I wasn't fond of who I was teamed up with. He sensed this too, so he tried to kill me when he believed I was distracted once we had traveled across the angry waves of the ocean separating us from our next destination.

The man thought he could kill me, but he was too weak, he was scared when he saw me swinging my sword. Scared because for the first time no one was capable of killing him, he used to suffer watching innocent people die, and he found one innocent who thought would do the same.

"Gross, my sword is dirty again." I cleaned the blade with my sleeves and quickly hid my sword back.

I smelled the air and could smell iron, the smell of blood nearby. I continued to walk further until I saw the body of one of my comrades. I knelt down on the ground and said a small prayer.

Though I wouldn't get along with a few, most of them were good men. I frown looking at the ground and felt a pang on my chest, Eizen. He was the second person who found me back in the day when I needed help, the first one being Shion.

I still remember the day when I met them both. My life wasn't easy from an early age, I worked harder than most men, slept very little and ate when I could find any leftovers.

Life is truly a living hell, full of anger, sadness and lots of death, but at the same time it's beautiful…

"Hope you find peace in the afterlife." I muttered and got back up on my feet.

Quickly I left the spot hoping to not come across another demon and find any of my teammates back again.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

From an early age I felt like I was born to suffer, to not have a full filing and happy life. I don't remember much of my childhood despite going through a lot, but what I do remember is at the age of 12 I was sold by my family.

They are a family with plenty of children, but onto had boys, six boys and a girl when I was born. "A woman has to provide for their family, bear children and do what society tells them to do." That's all I ever heard from my parents.

Despite being still very young, I decided to take another path. I started following in my father's footsteps and my brother's, trying to fit in and train like them, I used to stare in awe when I saw them fighting to become soldiers.

I felt like I could be like them, brave, being recognized for their strength and traveling to get the job done.

The day I turned 12, the exact same day I was sold to a house. My parents said they had no use of me if I wouldn't be of help to them, so they did what was easiest to them.

If they didn't have money, then why did they have so many children?

I was terrified that day, held back my tears as I was dragged to what would be my home, no my work place. I was sold to become a prostitute, entertain men at a young age.

The house was full of beautiful but broken women, wanting to escape their reality just like me.

The people in charge of the pleasure house were anything but kind, but at least they knew I wasn't ready. They said I was still to young to be of service, so I stayed in that home for two more years.

When I reached 14 I was told that my age was appropriate, I was ready to become a woman. Many men had entered the place, some flirting with the woman and others simply enjoying their meals or drinks.

"This one is your newest girl." The madam of the house introduced me with a fake name for my protection.

"Isn't she a bit too young?" I heard a man ask

"A-Ah yes! But it's a woman's job to serve.", The madam replied. "Tonight will be a special night for her."

I panicked hearing those words, when that happened I accidentally spilled tea onto her lap and earned a strong hit from her.

"Stupid girl! You're no help to us at all!" She let her anger towards me known.

I excused myself and quickly left the room as I held my cheeks and felt my eyes stinging. I wanted to run away, leave this place for once, I didn't care if I were to die the next day, I'd rather be dead than live a life others want to control.

"Are you alright?"

I glanced back and took a good look at the man who spoke back inside. He was a bit taller than me, with scars over his eyes and across. Is he blind?

"I see you're upset. It's okay to be."

I guess he was trying to joke at the first sentence, but I could feel calmness coming from him. A pure air coming from him.

"You're planning on running away aren't you? I think you should, I can see that they treat you badly. A child as yourself shouldn't be in these conditions."

I made no effort to talk, afraid that I might get hurt for talking to a man who si clearly higher in status than me.

"Here take this, it's the least I can do to help." The man had in his hands a kunai. "I hope for us to reunite in the future." The man waved and smiled down at me.

My eyes widened and I simply stated at him amazed, hopeful, he was the first person to help me. That person was Shion.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

That same night I ran, stole enough money for a few days, had my new weapon in hand and left to never return to that miserable life. That night was finally the night I could finally cry after years of holding my emotions in.

I went into hiding and cut my hair off to dress as a boy. It was the only way to get a proper job and to be treated differently.

So, I trained myself simply by watching other men doing their job. I got myself baggy enough clothes that would hide my figure and I worked selling carbon for a while until I was adopted into a family of an elderly couple.

"This young man is simply impressive. He'll grow up to be a fine soldier." My adoptive parents said.

It wasn't long after I told them my secret, both were concerned over me but they accepted me when I swore to protect them and continue to provide for them. They loved me nonetheless, both their kids were killed a long time ago, so they treated me as their own.

My adoptive father had worked in the Yamada clan in his younger days, seeing my potential he was the one who helped me grow stronger and eventually when I was 16, I was accepted into joining a clan.

I continued to hold onto my kunai, hoping to see the man who gifted it to me. I held the item dear to me, I blushed whenever I would remember him. Though he was just a few years older, I hope to see him again.

So, I went to one of the strongest in their field. I continued to dress as a boy and fooled everyone. I continued to train and eventually met who would be my master.

I was now a part of the Yamada clan, accepted to finally become a samurai.

I remained still in a line waiting with the rest of the newest members and I gasped when my eyes fell on the figure of a talk man with silver hair and scars. My heart began to beta faster than usual, after years I finally saw him again. He grew up to be a lot more handsome.

I was just a child when I met him, there's no way he'll recognize my voice of who I am. Men, soldiers like him are focused on their jobs, nothing more.

"(Y/N), step forward." I did as told and stopped closer to him and was now face to face. "From now on Shion will be your Master. You will obey his orders and train your hardest, let's hope and see what they say about you is true."

I nodded my head and bowed. "I look forward to become your partner and train to be as strong as you!"

The man remained silent and when I looked up I could see a faint smile on his lips when he rose up from bowing his head as well.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Weeks went by and training was indeed hell, but I've endured harder treatments. This is nothing to me, I swore I would grow stronger to prove my parents my worth and to impress, Shion. To show him that I grew to become a strong person because of him.

The blush across my face would be apparent everytime Shion would pass by me. The rest of my team would be confused as to why I would become all flustered. Eizen a man with long dark red hair, I remember him as the one who gave me a bit of money when I was working at the pleasure house.

He was the first one to accept me here and he helped me in choosing the proper tools so my sword would be made.

My back was hurting along with my legs from the amounts of hits I would receive from still training. So, I decided to soak in the river by night time when everyone was asleep.

I winced at the pain when I undressed myself and soaked into the water. I scrubbed myself and cleaned my hair, I realized it was growing a bit longer than I would've liked since I would get caught being a girl.

"What are you doing here so late?"

I screamed and quickly rose up from the water and turned to face Shion. I covered myself quickly.

"I can't see anything, remember?" I saw Shion smiling when he crossed his arms over his chest.

Quickly I reached for my robes and placed them on me. "What are you doing here?" I said making my voice lower, still a blushing mess.

Though he didn't see me, I felt like he did.

I noticed Shion still smiling, "Don't worry your secret is safe with me, (Y/N)."

I gasped and felt my lips tremble and tears beginning to run down my face. "Y-You remember?" I held my chest tight.

Shion nodded his head, "Of course. How could I forget? You were in need when we met years ago. You were just a child, suffering and alone. I imagine you out that kunai to good use?"

His voice lowered and I nodded my head. "I still keep it with me, I….thank you.." I was at loss for words.

After so many years he still remembers me.

"I won't tell your secret, but I don't understand why you would do it. You should let your true self known, if not you'll continue hiding who you really are. Prove to everyone that even if you're a girl, you are capable of standing even more."

I raised my hand up to touch my hair, Shion is right.

"I won't treat you any different. From now on I am your Master and you are my student. Our bond will only grow stronger, no matter what happens we have to be there for one another."

Tears continued to fall down my face. I sniffed began to wipe my face in a hurry. "L-Let's head back inside before they notice we are gone."

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

The village was suddenly attacked one day, most people passed away and so did my adoptive parents. I was left with no one but Shion now, he took me in as now onto his student but to live with him.

I was 20 now and still working and going on missions. Shion and I continued to train but everytime he would win or we would match, I wanted to finally win him but failed everytime.

Over time I grew confident of myself and was accepted when I revealed I was really a girl, some accepted and some did not. But, thankfully I wasn't the only girl.

It didn't take long for me to finally have a student of my own, but I would always consider Shion as my master. My student was resting after suffering a broken ankle but he said he would quickly recover.

Not only did I have a student, but Shion had taken another one in. He had once around the same time he started training me, but info he had to end his once students life when he chose the wrong path in life.

Now a young man known as Tenza was his student. He remained sitting next to my student and began cheering for me to defeat Shion

Both of us quickly dodging ones attacks or almost being able to hit each other.

"When are you finally going to defeat me, (Y/N)?" Shion asked almost bored at the amount of times I've told him to fight me.

I huffed and continued to lunge forward with my attacks when Shion easily blocked his sword from my attacks.

I grin and didn't fall back, "Ha! I'll defeat you one day and when that day comes, You're definitely gonna become my husband and marry me. You'll see!" I exclaim.

Earning odd looks from my student and Tenza. "There she goes again with the flirting. Just marry already!" Tenza shouted.

"I don't think Master Shion might feel the same.." my student making me gasp.

Over time I became confident in myself, and my needles flirting. Shion must've taken this as a joke but I was blurting my true feelings for him known when it was mostly just the both of us alone

In a sense I guess it was a way to repay him for everything he's done for me. Everything I said was the truth, I only wanted to die back then by Shion gave me a different view in life. It may de forbidden between us, but I want to marry him if possible in the future.

"Master..quit embarrassing yourself." I heard my student mutter and hide his face.

"I think it's fun seeing them together." Tenza continued to say.

Shion tilted his head and sighed loudly. "Let's see you try then."

I swung my sword back to my sword and blushed when looking back at him. I'll surely defeat him someday..we ended the fight in a watch and went back to meet with our students who continued to tease me.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Tenza was with the criminal known as Nurugai, surely they mustn't have gone so far. I sniffed the air and could smell two nearby. I began to run faster through trees and spotted two familiar figures.

"Tenza!" I exclaim and I saw him turn back and smile at me.

"(Y/N)!"

We raced towards each other and the first thing Tenza did was hug me and blush. The girl besides him pouted, "You hug her and not me?"

The criminal pouted I stopped hugging Tenza and turned to the criminal. They seem tiny to be a guy..and doesn't seem like a threat at all. Seems very nice.

"Ah, don't worry! Tenza is a friend of mine. You'll have him don't worry." I smile and see Tenza blushing.

"Don't say those embarrassing things." He sighs and stepped back.

I look at them both and saw they weren't harmed. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, still looking for what we came here. It feels like we've been here forever."

The three of us began walking together hoping to find any clues and trying to not come across demons.

We remained together in the meantime that was until we finally came across, "Shion!" I exclaim finally seeing his tall figure appear.

I ran forward and felt the need to hug him, but it would unprofessional. The last time I hugged him, I hugged him so hard he almost passed out. He did always say I almost an immense strength.

"Shion! It's so great to see you again." I said blushing.

"I knew nothing would happen to you, Master." Tenza said as we all surrounded Shion.

Shion nodded at us both, "Seems like you've been on your own, (Y/N). What happened to your prisoner?"

"He decided to attacks me, so I swiftly killed him before he had the chance to harm me." I inform him and showed no sign that I was scared.

"You've grown to become an exceptional woman, (Y/N)."

Shion praised me! I smiled wide and felt my entire face turn red. "I-I just did as you told me to, nothing more!"

I closed my mouth and we all turned around and remained silent when we felt the air getting heavy, something isn't right. "What's going on?" We remained silent and suddenly a woman appeared before us with bright orange and yellow hair.

One of the denizens.

The woman quickly turned into a man and started to attack Tenza. Tenza began to slice the demons arms, head and eyes out. The four of us beginning to run away when we began to leave the demon behind.

Tenza, Nurugai and I were quickly running ahead since Shion had thrown his sword at the demon and it pierced it leaving it on the floor with the sword onto the tree.

"We're pretty far away." Shion said when we all reunited.

Both Tenza and Nurugai were out of breath. Once Tenza regained his breathing he eagerly turned to the young boy, "Nurugai, now that this guy's here, we'll be okay."

Ouch. I stared silently glaring at him, "Geez thanks, Tenza."

Tenza shivered and began to chuckle awkwardly. "Don't take it as an offense! It's just.. he's more experienced than you."

"A-Anyways, Nurugai! I owe Shion my life, and he taught me how to use a sword.

Tenza received a light smack on the head by Shion's sword. "You were relying too much on your speed, and your movements were sloppy." Shion began to scold Tense for his actions.

"I could hear how lukewarm your lungs were, too. Each strike should be executed carefully." Shion continued to scold and hit his student.

"Nonetheless, I'm glad you're both alive. Last time I saw you both was on the ship."

Tenza rubbed the back of his head still looking at Shion. "Wait a minute, Master. What have you been doing by yourself?"

"After finishing my duties, I tried finding a way back home, but found no current. There's only so much a blind man can do."

Shion said and I watched him begin to take his sword out until he aimed it boy next to Tenzen. "It's your turn to explain. Why are you protecting a criminal? You were told to execute criminals immediately. That's what I did. She tried to seduce me. So I executed her."

I flushed furious and grabbed Shion's arm and began to try and move him back and forth but he wouldn't let go of the sword.

"How dare you let a woman sit on you like that! Was she beautiful?!" I was now rocking him back and forth with Tenza trying to get me to stop but was now protected Nurugai.

Shion didn't seem to mind me continue to try and push him away since he didn't even move. "Care to give me an explanation, Tenza? Depending on your answer I'll execute the order."

Tenza was deep in thought until he began to say and remember when Shion took him in, how he said Tense had the probability to make this a better world and how kid Shion actually is and wouldn't do it.

To that Shion smiled and pulled his sword back. "Yay! We knew you were a good man!" Tenza and I exclaimed with Nurugai looking at us weirdly.

"I knew you had it in you, Master! You were the one to save us from our previous lives after all!" I praise reaching out and grabbing his arm and holding onto him tight.

Shion didn't seem to mind the action so he said nothing.

"If protecting her would threaten the Yamada clan or you…"

Our mouths fell open when Shion said "Her." I glanced back at what I thought was a boy and back at Shion.

"What's wrong?"

"Her? I'm impressed you figured it out." Tenza said, making me smack his back.

"You knew she was a girl and didn't tell me?!"

"I-I thought it was kinda obvious!"

I look back at the now girl and was surprised by my stupidity..how can I be so blind and not realize it?

"Of course I did. I've got a good eye for evaluating people." Shion said smiling to himself. "I'm honestly surprised (Y/N) didn't know about it sooner, considering she was crossdressing back then."

Tenza tilted his head and sigh, "You sure go love making jokes like that, being able to see."

Nurugai in her spot was now embarrassed between both men. "Nice to meet you, Master." She said looking up at Shion.

Shion lowers down to her level. "Nice to meet you, Nurugai. But you needn't call me 'Master' I haven't taught you anything."

"You can call him Master if you'd like!" I exclaim at Nurugai as I wrapped my arms around Shion's arm again. "Shion here will become my future husband!" I said making the young woman smile.

Shion sighed but smiled down at me and patted my head. "Whatever gives you the motivation I guess."

Tenza stood between us and smiled as well. "Okay then! Let's not waste any more time. We have to see how we get back and face that things back there-"

"Don't underestimate me." We all looked back and saw the thing that attacked us. Shion grabbed the three of us and pulled us back further until we were at a safe distance from the demon.

"Master Shion!" I knelt down with me and held onto Shion when we saw blood pouring from his neck.

"Huh? I thought I'd taken his head off. Not bad." The demon said almost bored.

I glared at it when it's in it's female form. I took off my scarf I always had with me and tightly but carefully ties it around Shion, making sure he could still breath and to stop the bleeding.

I remained by Shion's side and looked up to see Tenza taking care of the demon, I've heard about them, Zhú Jin. Tenza began to get deeply hurt with blood quickly covering his uniform, I can't let this happen. I placed my hand against Shion's back and I forced a smile and stared lovingly down at him.

Tenza had been bleeding since the demon continued to attack him, Shion's throat was almost cut where it would've killed him. Zhú Jin continued to hit Tenza many times but it kept on rising back and fighting.

I am determined to kill him.

Forgive me Master. I quickly rose up and began to move forward and I pushed Tenza aside and shouted for him to get back to safety.

"You almost killed my friends just for fun. Prepare to die!" I swung my sword forward and groaned when Zhú Jin seemed to enjoy this.

I watched it move quickly and continued to fight with its hands. I felt a strong pain in my chest and I fell almost to my knees and began to couch, blood came out, my hands began to shake when I saw more blood on them. Am I seriously in danger? Will I die? No, I won't. I promised to continue to live and to marry Shion.

At the same time it had sliced me, it also sliced my sword, easily breaking it in half.

I took out the kunai from my uniform and held onto it, He..she..no they are powerful, very strong but I'll make sure to kill it. I won't let Shion, Tenza or even Nurugai die.

Holding onto the kunai tightly I began to dodge the demons attacks and jump back when it almost hit me again.

"(Y/N)!" I heard Shion and Tenza shouting my name. Nurugai not far ahead wanting to help as well, but she would be easily killed if she were to get in the way.

"I'm close to killing! Don't worry I can handle it." I lied feeling my limbs heavy and growing tired of keeping up with the demon. Zhú Jin continued to bleed heavily but kept on regenerating the wounds.

I've never seen something fight this so strong and faster. A human and a demon, the demon will surely come on top and kill the opponent.

Tears began to form in my eyes as I continued to hold onto my kunai and try to continue standing.

"Quit fighting, (Y/N)! You'll only get yourself killed!" Shion shouted for me.

I forced a smile on my face and now felt the tears flowing down my face. "Then I'll die then, if it means that you and Tenza make it out alive then I'll happily give up my life!"

The demon continued to easily dodge my attacks. I kept on fighting with a smile on my face, remembering the many times Shion and I spent time together with my student and Tenza all together.

I cherished spending every time I had with Shion. Wether he saw me as a friend or not. If I were to someday reincarnate, I wouldn't mind going through the same if it means that I would meet with Shion again.

"Take Tenza and Nurugai with you!."

"(Y/N)!!" I felt bad hearing Shion call out to me, no scream my name. I never him so angry before.

"I'm grateful I got to meet you, Shion." I whisper and I looked over to him and smiled with tears running down my cheeks.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

"(Y/N)? What are you doing?" I heard Shion coming to join me outside once we had finished working for the day.

I enjoyed the sun light and stared up at the beautiful cherry blossoms and felt so peaceful being here, like this with him. I felt a nice breeze and saw the beautiful sakura petals falling down from the trees and onto the ground.

"The cherry blossoms are especially beautiful this season. It's a shame they don't last forever.." I said staring up and smiling staring in complete awe at the flowers.

What wouldn't I give to stay like this forever and enjoy my life with Shion by ourselves.

"Wouldn't it be lovely to get married at a time like this?" I joke knowing he mustn't feel the same for me.

I enjoyed the seasons cool breeze and felt a few sakura petals land on my clothes and hair. I hummed surprised when I felt Shion's hand on my hair, picking up a sakura flowers that fell on me. He moved my hair to the side and placed it above my ear.

"When this is all over. I'll make your dream and wishes come true."

I gasped lightly and stared up to look at Shion smiling down at me with a slight blush across his face, I blushed as well and smiled wide looking at him as I placed my hand above his.

"We'll get married then and have lots of children."

Shion continued to smile as he nodded, "I did swear to myself that I would find and be with you until the very end."

Shion and I held hands until I felt him leaning down and pressing his lips against mine.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

I stared at the demon surprised and I felt a sharp sensation inside me, y eyes slowly wandered down to my chest shocked looked at the demon, the being expressionless. The kunai I had saved so dearly, was stabbed right through my heart.

"Shion…I.."

I coughed up blood and began to feel weaker and dizzy. I began to stumble a bit but could feel someone trying to say my name, I looked to the side and smiled at Shion.

Though already defeated I wanted him to know that I would depart this world happy and not scared or sad.

I heard footsteps running away and could see Tenza and Nurugai being taken away from the scene. I finally fell down to my knees and couldn't sense a thing, strange I've received many cuts and had a blade through tm heart but I can't feel a thing.

The being known as Zhú Jin held onto my hair tightly when I fell down to my knees and kept looking down at me, displaying no emotions whatsoever.

I could see his lips moving but couldn't understand what he said. He let go of me making me fall onto my own puddle of blood on the grass. I fell to the side and could feel my body getting cold and numb.

I was now alone. I fell onto my back and stared up at the bright blue sky and it's many beautiful flowers. I know Shion will be alright without me, he's a strong man, despite many years of being lonely and feeling worthless.

Shion was the first man, this person to ever show me kindness and love. The only man who I ever fell in love it. Someday.. we'll meet each other again and no matter happens I'll continue to fight for and with him.

My eyes adjusted to the clear sky and I felt my breathing beginning to slow down, and slowly I wrapped my hands around my necklace, the cold ring resting against my chest.

Don't give up one hope, Shion. I'll continue to protect you just as you did with me. I smiled to myself and slowly felt like I was being embraced by my adoptive parents, their warmth around tm shoulders.

I will continue to love you Shion…until we meet again.

[hellsparadiseessays]

Aza Brothers Week - Day 4

And the week keeps going, with Part 3 of my Aza Bros Analysis! It was originally released in early May on r/Jigokuraku, right after chapter 55 got out (and got me distressed af for obvious reasons). More under the cut!

Aza bros, an analysis - Part 3 : who really is in danger as of chapter 55?

As a disclaimer, three things need to be mentioned. First, thy enter spoiler territory; flee while thy can, new reader! Second, I am not Japanese/Chinese nor raised in Japan/China, so my take is solely based on the academic documents I read, what I know and what I understand. If there’s a mistake in my understanding, please, feel free to address it. Third, English is not my native language, so while I’m fluent in it, I don’t promise a 100% quality and may make some grammar mistakes here and there. On this note, let’s start a not-so-academic write up. I hope you’ll deem it an enjoyable or educative read.

Screw the initial “two posts only” I guess, depending on the future events in-story, the Aza Siblings write-ups should keep going. To be honest, I initially wanted to wait for more chapters before going at it again, but chapter 55 was most interesting for various reasons. Considering the characters involved, this part will mostly be focused on Chôbe and Lord Tensen, starting with a reminder of Chôbe’s overall strength based on what we’ve seen until now and with the addition of the material provided by the latest chapter, then following with some observations about Lord Tensen – and more specifically, Rien. You already know some of my thoughts on him (considering it’s canon for the seven aspects of Lord Tensen to favour one gender or the other, and that until the end of chapter 55, Rien has solely been seen with a male form, I’ll use masculine pronouns), but I’m going to expand on it and something I said in part 2 considering Lord Tensen’s nature. I’ll then end it on mixed observations and questions concerning the stuff I suspect will happen next in the story. Overall, again, it’s mostly opinion-based – though justified as much as possible by canon information -, so you’re all invited to share your thoughts or cry with me in the comments.

1. Friendly reminder of Chôbe’s mental and physical fortitude

A whole point of Part 2 has already been dedicated to Chôbe’s strength so I’ll start with this, before pointing out what has been shown in chapter 55. Right in the first 9 chapters, we get to learn a lot about him. First, he’s exceptionally strong at a physical level and a solid fighter: kicking a man up to 6 meters in the air easily, starting a fight to death with fellow criminals and remaining alive at the end of it while he has his hands tied, he can handle an entire month of torture and withstand three to four days on an unknown island, with barely anything to eat or drink, and while fighting his way in to the point of having his very physical being modified via a form of alchemy... A transformation that actually makes him even stronger, to the point a Doshi, one of Lord Tensen’s apprentices, who’s probably been doing everything he could for centuries to reach his current level, was not only overpowered, but also openly deemed Chôbe a threat that should be destroyed before he gets to Lord Tensen.

Furthermore, Chôbe isn’t just dangerous at a strictly physical level, he’s also blessed with an incredibly keen mind and isn’t afraid of taking risks when he deems it necessary. When we get to read his train of thoughts during a fight, we can see how methodical and calm he is behind an apparent savagery, wondering if X thing is possible, trying it, and immediately adjusting his tactic as a consequence. He’s also incredibly strong-willed, which has been openly spelled out in chapter 55, when Chôbe himself points out that he’s been constantly fighting against the Waitanhua in him ever since he’s been out of the Tan pit, and that’s why the human Tao prevails for now. But what makes him especially interesting is that despite being qualified as a murderous bandit, ruthless when fighting and often showing a behaviour that could easily be described as unhinged from an external perspective, the insights we obtained by accessing both his thoughts and his flashbacks showed us the human behind that thick wall of ruthlessness and resentment. And what we saw behind was a lot of love for his little brother, to the point of being borderline overprotective while still trusting Toma with various tasks, as well as, in chapter 55, the will of not abandoning his brother the way he feels they have been abandoned by their father. He even pictures Toma as smiling softly with a fairly confident pose, during the dream he has when he’s passed out. Chôbe has such a positive image of him, which makes the gap with Toma’s own perception of himself and his recent progress even more jarring. We even get to see new glimpses of Chôbe’s own point of view, as a small child crying with yet again these still cryptic words, come apart, break down. Whatever these words mean to him (and I wonder if they have something to do with their Lord’s actions), it’s clearly a painful memory and something bad enough to seriously trigger him.

Remember Mei’s “strong weak”? Well, UG is giving us a lot of it with the Aza bros, and it’s what makes them both so strong (little reminder that despite his apparent more delicate nature, Toma is considered a prodigy among the Yamada and can come out unarmed of an all-out fight against an entire group of Soshin. He’s not weak). It’s in their own fears and hang-ups that they find their strength and it’s also what keep them moving forward. It’s also what makes me love them so much (aside from the fact that they’re the type of characters I tend to quickly become fond of in a story). Now, let’s compare that to the other character (s?) we got to see during chapter 55.

2. Lord Tensen: humanity and state of godhood

In Part 2, I had already commented on Lord Tensen and how, in my eyes, they felt so human despite thousand years of efforts to move beyond their condition and reach immortality. Lord Tensen truly is a curious case of scientific madness, in my opinion. And no, I don’t say that just because I’ve been qualifying Mu Dan and Rien of Mad Scientists for some weeks now. They, themselves, are the successful products of experiments on Immortality, and they consciously repeat the process to obtain an even more successful result. The way they organised the island and the hierarchy on it is especially interesting, because it doesn’t just feel like some sort of pseudo-Paradise. The entire organisation – as well as the narration – seems to purposefully place them in a position of Godhood right from the start. After all, meeting them didn’t end well at all for Tenza, Chôbe and Toma, and more generally, all the corpses found in the Tan pit weren’t there for decoration. Even the Palace in Hourai, at the center of the island, seems to have a godly vibe about it – and what’s with the awesome training room Taisei arranged for the Doshi and the seven aspects of Lord Tensen, looking like the postal card of some idyllic beach and hotel in the Carribeans. The thing is, it’s all fake, it’s all pretense despite their intimidating powers. They want to be immortal, but they aren’t. They just happen to be the strongest fish in the pond at the moment, but the recent arrival of humans changed the paradigm without them fully understanding the situation yet. They aren’t immortal, nor are they omniscient. And the Doshi who was aware of Chôbe’s strength never got back to the Palace, he’s still with the GabiGang.

This is the one thing that had me gleefully smiling as Rien got seriously interested in Chôbe as an accidentally successful experiment. Lord Tensen lacks crucial information concerning our Bandit King and is thus not as far ahead of everybody as they think they are. Worse even, Rien let himself be blinded by Chôbe’s abilities and put his full focus on him instead of investigating further on Mu Dan’s suspicious demise. Maybe he sent someone else in his stead? Either way, it’s a bit too little too late to obtain proper information in my opinion, especially with Chôbe representing a distraction in the Palace and the GabiGang not being likely to stay put for too long for various reasons (general security on a dangerous island, a ship full of murderous ninjas and executioners...). I suspect one of these reasons may also create further distraction for Lord Tensen, either because of exceptionally strong people that could serve their research or because of the general mayhem caused on their island (something they doesn’t seem to enjoy that much).

All of that to say, that as big and scary Lord Tensen be, they have blind spots and our band of misfits is in a better spot than we could expect because of that. Because they have the upper hand when it comes to information. Even worse, I suspected Chôbe to become the Wolf among the Sheeps, and it’s happening (despite the bad situation he’s currently in IhateyouRien). We already know he’s an incredibly fast learner – that’s how he got the upper hand on a Doshi with hundreds of years of experience, that’s how he was deemed a danger to Rien himself by the same Doshi -, now Rien is basically giving him free lessons to have better mastery of his Tao and more than that, gives him a good reason to be pissed at someone Chôbe doesn’t consider human (he calls Rien a creature, in chapter 55). What I’m saying here, is that by trying to reach a higher state while living on a fairly isolated island for centuries, Lord Tensen seems to have forgotten what humanity is and how much strength one can get from it.

3. Various observations relating to the turns the story may take

I’d like to add one potentially important thing about Chôbe, highlighted by Toma: his ability to come on top, even when he’s technically the one in a position of weakness. His ability to take split-second hard decisions, his sharp intellect and strong-will already allowed him to take control of a group apparently stronger than him in the past. Considering his actual level and the predicament he’s currently in, I personally wouldn’t treat him as a Princess in Distress. At. All. Granted, Toma’s help will most likely be welcome and a relief (especially for someone suffering from abandonment issues), but I can’t see Chôbe staying still. Well, he’s not the type to rush blindly either, but we may see a switch of role between him and Toma, with Chôbe being the sneaky one until he sees an opening, while Toma focuses on polishing his techniques and becoming stronger.

That’s why, as much as I love Chôbe, I wish to get the focus back on the GabiGang for now. A lot of things will happen on their side, and I suspect it all to happen real fast. Also, I’m still upset by the end of chapter 55 (though definitely not mad at UG, if anything I applaud him for his story-telling), so I don’t know about you all, but switching focus for the following chapters would be a bit of a breather for me before I get pissed at Rien again, as soon as I see his face.

Well, that’s all for now. I’m expecting not only UG to potentially destroy my speculations tomorrow, but to exceed them as well, because I certainly didn’t expect Bochu Jutsu to happen so fast for Chôbe. Just thinking about it makes me uncomfortable, this is the reason why Mei wants out after all, and in this situation, Chôbe is still perceived as a puny human and an experiment so I don’t think it’ll be the greatest moment of his life, no matter how Rien puts it (“how do you like it” to the dude kidnapped, tied to a damn bed, openly disapproving the situation with a scowl and a good dose of snark because that’s literally his only defense at the moment - even his smile has a drop of sweat next to it, and that's visual manga code for "uncomfortable". Did I already say I hate Rien’s guts?).

[Note as of 3 Oct.: Well when it comes to information, Chôbe spilling the beans to play along (and maybe get rid of both the Tensen and the competition in a single strike) and bid his time kinda destroyed my point on Lord Tensen’s lack of info lol But that’s fair, it was a cool twist and one I should have seen coming tbh]

[nevermeyers]

Says “I know a spot”

» And then Tenza takes you to a rose garden for a romantic picnic

» And then Shion takes you to a restaurant near a cinema and jokes all the time about seeing a movie

» And then Fuchi takes you to an autopsy room

» And then Shugen takes you to the library to go over the bushidō in depth

» And then Jikka challenges you to guess where, waits for you to say a random place and then tells you that you have guessed it

» And then Sagiri takes you to a cute cafe

» And then Eizen takes you to an afternoon of self care in a beauty shop

» And then Kishō offers yourself to teach you how to use a katana at a training camp, after which you have a picnic

» And then Senta takes you on a museum date

criminals ver.