Chapter 26: Zoro's Desire for a Challenge

"Father!"

Hearing Teacher Gengsilang say this, Sister Guyina's forehead throbbed with a visible vein, "Why do you say everything out loud?"

"Oh?"

Teacher Gengsilang said with a beaming smile, "Suddenly feeling shy in front of your idol? Yet you are still holding onto his arm?"

Hm?

Sister Guyina subconsciously looked down, her cheeks instantly burning as if on fire, turning red all the way to her ears; she hastily released her arm, bowed deeply, and said, "My deepest apologies! I was rude, Lord Siano!"

"It's nothing, it's nothing."

Siano waved his hand; of course, he would not take it to heart, nor would he interpret this as any sort of romantic admiration between a man and a woman.

Sister Guyina was only eleven this year, one year older than Zoro, and thus the same age as Nojiko.

For a little girl just Entering Puberty, her personality changes every day, making her incredibly hard to guess; suddenly becoming a fan of someone, then suddenly losing interest and dropping that fandom, are both very common occurrences.

"Lord Siano."

As soon as Sister Guyina sat down, she couldn't help but ask again, "Are you just passing through here temporarily? You won't leave tomorrow, will you? Why not stay a few more days? This opportunity is rare, and I still wish to seek your guidance in swordsmanship."

Truly, what one fears most is exactly what happens.

"No rush."

Siano gave a dry laugh, rubbed his empty stomach, and cast a pleading glance at Teacher Gengsilang, "How about we start the meal first?"

……

The dinner was held in a spacious side room on the west side of the dojo.

A low, long table ran across the middle, and everyone sat along the tatami mats on either side.

The Isshin Dojo was not small in scale; there were about ten people sharing dinner together.

Besides Teacher Gengsilang and Sister Guyina, there were two assistant instructors from the dojo, an old woman who cooked, and several children who both ate and slept here.

Zoro was among them; the little rascal hadn't finished his extra training tasks yet and had been dragged back halfway by Sister Guyina, wearing an expression of extreme reluctance.

The dinner style was very simple: rice as the staple, several kinds of stir-fried seasonal vegetables, accompanied by grilled eel and miso soup.

The color, aroma, and taste were all ordinary, but Siano's stomach was so hungry that his front chest stuck to his back; at this moment, anything in his eyes was a delicacy of mountain treasures and sea flavors.

After they began eating, Siano keenly noticed that a gaze was occasionally stealing glances in this direction.

Looking up, he saw Sister Guyina quickly withdraw her eyes, acting as if nothing had happened as she held her bowl, chewing her rice in small, ladylike bites.

At first, Siano thought he needed to maintain his image and kept his eating manner relatively restrained, but later, annoyed by Sister Guyina's staring, he stopped caring.

—This unlucky child, peeking once or twice is fine, but why can't she stop?

He simply stopped pretending, rolled up his sleeves, and began devouring the food with a clatter; in an instant, the mountain of stacked plates grew higher than his head, which conveniently blocked the young girl's line of sight.

"This guy eats so much..." Zoro, sitting directly opposite, watched with his mouth agape, "And his table manners are even worse than mine..."

"Shut your mouth!"

Sister Guyina immediately showed displeasure, glaring fiercely at him, "A powerful swordsman having a large appetite is only natural; as for you, a guy who can't even defeat a girl, do you have the nerve to serve yourself a fifth bowl?"

"You!"

Zoro flew into a rage; how could this smug brat be so double-standard today?

He wanted to retort, but strangely couldn't find any reason to do so.

Especially thinking about how he had just lost to her for the 1950th time this afternoon, he felt even more stifled and aggrieved.

He could only lower his head unhappily to stuff rice into his mouth; when he stood up to serve himself a sixth bowl, he quietly sized Siano up and down again.

Senior Brother Junichi said this guy is strong, and Sister Guyina also says this guy is strong; exactly where is he strong?

He couldn't see it.

Zoro narrowed his eyes; perhaps... he should find a chance to test him later?

……

After dinner ended, the night grew deeper, and a pattering light rain began to fall.

In the Japanese-style courtyard, the rustic bamboo shishi-odoshi occasionally emitted a soft "Clack," startling the fish in the pond into scattering in all directions.

Siano stood under the eaves silently watching the rain when Junichi suddenly walked in with hurried steps, "Boss, everything at the clinic has been settled."

"How is the situation?" he asked.

"That child named Sanji is nothing serious; after taking the medicine, his complexion has improved greatly, and if he rests for a night, he should be jumping around lively by tomorrow."

Junichi sighed, "However, that Uncle Zeff has wounds that are infected and festering, making them a bit troublesome to handle; Grandma Grandma Zilan isn't strong enough, so we just called Teacher Teacher Gengsilang over; the two of them are figuring out a solution together, and it should be properly resolved tonight."

"Hard work."

Siano nodded; just as he was about to say something, his shoulder was suddenly patted from behind.

Turning around, he saw the moss-headed little rascal struggling to stand on tiptoe, trying his best to look him eye-to-eye, but due to the excessive height difference, he ultimately ended up looking up.

"Hey! Lord Siano!"

"What is it?"

"Let's have a spar! How about it!"

Zoro grinned, shaking the two bamboo swords in his hands, "That sword on your back looks very formidable; I'd like to see if you, as a swordsman, are worthy of wielding such a sword!"

Siano glanced back at his Masamune blade, raised an eyebrow slightly, and said nothing.

"Zoro." Junichi frowned slightly, "Boss Siano is very tired and has no time to indulge your nonsense."

"But Senior Brother, I trained all day today and am also very tired; isn't that perfectly fair!"

Zoro still stared straight at Siano, "Are you afraid?"

Siano couldn't be bothered to argue seriously with this little brat; he shook his head and was about to stride away, but after sweeping his gaze over the other's bamboo swords, he suddenly changed his mind.

Very well.

Since he couldn't dodge it anyway, he might as well settle this troublesome matter all at once.

"Fine, then let's have a sparring match."

Siano reached out to take the bamboo sword, but Zoro pushed his hand away, glaring as he said, "What do you think? That I'm going to share one with you? I'm a Two-Sword Style swordsman; I need both of these swords!"

I really forgot, Siano thought with a smile, signaling Junichi to fetch one for him, when he suddenly turned his head to look toward the end of the corridor.

"Young Lady of Mr. Teacher Gengsilang's house, why don't you join us as well?"

"Eh?"

Under the dim light, Sister Sister Guyina behind the pillar widened her eyes, her hands nervously clutching the hem of her clothes; when did he discover her hiding here, peeking?

……

The dojo's backyard.

This open space was sheltered by a thatched rain awning; usually, if the weather was bad, the dojo's outdoor activities would be moved here.

"Hey! Are you serious!"

Zoro was so angry he was practically bristling, pointing his bamboo sword at Siano opposite him, "We agreed to spar, so it should be one-on-one, right? How did it turn into the two of us fighting one of you!"

"Zoro!"

Sister Sister Guyina scolded, "Mind your manners! Mr. Siano is a renowned swordsman of the East Blue; the mere fact that he is willing to grant us a sparring opportunity is rare enough. The two of us should work together and go all out to be worthy of this honor; why are you still shouting and making a scene?"

"What kind of bewitching drug have you taken, that you keep speaking up for outsiders!"

Zoro grew even more irritated, "Fine! Then we'll fight this round; anyway, I'm attacking on my own, so treat it as a duel—I won't coordinate with you!"

"As if I care."

Sister Sister Guyina clicked her tongue, gripped her bamboo sword tightly, and solemnly addressed Siano opposite her, "Then we're starting our attack; be careful, Lord Siano!"

The girl who had just been shy and bashful facing her idol now, the moment she entered a serious state, straightened her back like green bamboo, her entire aura suddenly becoming sharp.

"Come on."

Siano smiled as he weighed the bamboo sword in his hand.

Under the eaves behind them, Junichi propped his forehead with one hand and let out a quiet sigh.

This scene was far too familiar; even using his big toe to think, he could guess what would happen next.

(End of Chapter)