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She simply sighed, the bird happily chirping on her shoulder as the duo strolled through the gardens, Amane at the woman's side, her hands tucked her sleeves as she walked silently beside the halfling.

"I apologise for the ignorant way I acted, Amane-sama." The halfling's voice tore through the kind song of the birds as the duo's steps thudded around the stone ground, two of Amane's children trailing behind the duo, one of them carrying a small bag as they spoke to one another.

The bird tilted its head at the halfling as Amane responded, simply nodding as she took the woman's hand. The woman parted her lips at this. "It's nothing to worry about. You were in a panic and you didn't know what to do." Amane spoke kindly, looking at the woman from the corner of her eye. "But if that is to happen again, please be understanding."

The halfling blinked, rather surprised by the lady's understanding of the whole situation, but she was grateful nonetheless. She smiled gently, nodding. "I will. Thank you." (Y/N) hummed out, turning back out into the gardens.

It was only a moment later that the duo fell into a small silence, only letting their thoughts get carried through the wind as they stepped on the pavement, the leaves draping just above their heads, all before Amane spoke up. "May I ask where the bird suddenly came from?"

The halfling seemed taken aback by this before she gave out a soft chuckle, allowing her usual stoic demeanour to slip. "Ah yes...well, not even I know the answer to that." She sighed to herself, watching the bird jump from her shoulder and land on her head as she walked. "As you know, I usually spend my time at Rengoku's grave. I went there after what happened and all of a sudden, this little thing jumped out of the brush and hasn't left me alone since..." She lifted her finger to the bird on her head, where the bird tilted its head and gently poked its beak at her skin.

Amane simply hummed, watching the interaction with a gentle smile. "I see.." she sighed, turning back to the garden as she let her eyes soften. "Have you thought of naming it yet? It doesn't seem like it's going anywhere for a while..." her voice letting out a soft chuckle as she watched the bird twitch its head to the side.

The halfling simply looked up at it, smiling gently to herself before she nodded. "I suppose I should.." she hummed in thought, looking back to Amane with a nod. "I'll start thinking of one..."

Amane simply smiled before gesturing over the young white haired girl who held the bag. The girl nodded with a small smile before she stepped forward and bowed her head in respect. "We've actually come with some gifts from the chief of the Swordsmith village." Amane spoke, gently taking the bag from the child.

The halfling huffed as the bird on her head glanced down at her with a tilted head. "I don't need any more of their junk.." she huffed, almost annoyed. Ever since she was announced to be the protector of the village, the chief sent over gifts every few months, however, it was mostly just unneeded junk which the halfling was sure was just sitting around in his trash...

Amane simply gave a chuckle, turning to the halfling as the duo paused their work. "I think you'll like these ones..."

The halfling rose a brow, crossing her arms over her chest. "You said that last time, and he sent me a dulled piece of nichirin as well as a handle which didn't even have a good grip...and I don't even use katanas to fight!" She huffed, teeth gritting with annoyance.

Amane simply moved to pat the woman's shoulder with her kind smile, obviously holding in a laugh. "Yes, however, I really mean it this time..."

And with that last sentence, she dipped her hand in the bag around her forearm, gently pulling out a small piece of nichirin that caught (Y/N)'s sharp eye. "Is that..." her voice trailed off, watching as Amane held out the nichirin knuckle guard and handed it over.

Amane nodded as the halfling took the metal, inspecting it delicately in her palms. Obviously, it came in two's, but looking closer...the metal was cleanly cut, obviously by a professional at their work..the dips around the small points were almost perfect, all being completely equal and all having that same soft glnt of black before the edges of the small blades slowly formed into a (f/c) hue, which allowed the halfling to let out a hum.

She looked back to Amane, brow raised. "Since when did he care about giving good gifts?" She inquired, almost in a deadpan before Amane chuckled, her hand still in the bag and waiting to pull out the final item.

"Since they realised they couldn't protect themselves with the defences they have.." Amane hummed, nodding to her child, letting the child step back to the other one.

"I suppose you have a point.." the halfling let out a half chuckle, looking down at the pieces of nichirin in her hand with a nod. "They're pretty good."

Amane nodded before smiling up at the halfling. "Yes, and that's not all they gave you..." she sighed out before she pulled out a small mask from the bag, and the halfling's eyes widened slightly. As she pulled it out, you could see the gentle designs of the mask, made for covering the bottom half of the face, but also a link to her demonic abilities...

An oni mask.

If she were to put it on, it would only cover the bottom half of her face, but she knew it was used for something more, and she might know what this is..."that's..."

"A mask crafted by the chief. He knows about your issue with Marechi blood, and he is one of the only ones who knows about it..." Amane paused before handing out the mask to the halfling, which she slowly took. "This mask was crafted, not only to hide your face, but also to block out any scent...including Marechi."

"Is that even possible?" She inquired, looking down at the half oni mask in her palms, tracing each intricate detail with the pads of her fingers. "I mean, it's a very strong smell.."

Amane simply gave a small shrug, tilting her head slightly. "Meet up with Shinazugawa-san if you want to try it out. I'm sure he would be more than happy for another training session." She smiled, holding her own hands in front of her politely.

The halfling hummed, brows furrowing before she let out a gentle smile. "If this works..I'll have to pay that chief a visit.."

"I'm sure he would be glad to have your company."

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"So Tengen has retired, huh..." The halfling spoke, her hands holding a sheet of paper, the exterior of the letter on her nearby bedroom desk, a small see-through vile of blood beside it, as she stood, facing the window, but her eyes trained on the letter.

The bird chirped, flying over to a shelf before tweeting sweetly. "I knew it was only a matter of time, but still.." The woman sighed, turning to look at the bird. "What do you think about this?"

The bird only sang, waving it's wings and its red chest puffing out, as if it were passionately expressing its thoughts...

The halfling deadpanned, a bead of sweat running down the side of her face. "Sorry. I forgot you were a bird..."

The bird suddenly cried out, swinging from itself over the woman before it began to peck around her head angrily. She tried to gently swat it away as it cried, almost seeming angry. "Okay- okay, I'm sorry!"

The bird suddenly seemed to huff before landing on her shoulder, singing a small, almost angry tune. The woman deadpanned again, brows furrowing at it. "For a bird, you have plenty of personality.."

Suddenly, a name popped into her head for the small Robin, and she let out a small smile, looking at the bird as it jumped off the shoulder and glided around the room to perch on the shelf once more. "(b/n).." (Bird name) The woman hummed thoughtfully, smiling up at it.

The bird suddenly tilted its head to her once it heard the name. "Hey, how does (b/n) sound?" The halfling inquired gently, matching the bird and tilting her head.

All of a sudden, the bird sang a sweet and happy tune, seeming to like the new name it was just given. It seemed to nod, its wings flapping around it as it continued to sing and the woman chuckled gently. "I see. (b/n) it is.."

Suddenly, a knock sounded from the woman's door.

The bird jumped with surprise while the woman calmly placed the piece of paper on her desk, tilting her head and silently wondering who was at the door. She furrowed her brows.

Her room was in the Ubuyashiki estate, so for a visitor to arrive, it wasn't common...Amane would usually be the one to knock, but after seeing her earlier on, the halfling doubted it was her. The next best option would be the children of the estate, but they usually didn't come knocking at her door.

The woman went to the door, gently pushing down the handle before she peeked through the slowly opening at a rather tall boy. He looked unbothered, his arms crossing over his chest and his face holding a permanent scowl..The woman pursed her lips, recognising the facial features..."Does he even have a brother...?" She silently mumbled to herself before fully opening the door and looking at him with a raised brow.

The bird flew around the room until it landed on her shoulder. "Hello?"

Once the door opened, Genya was expecting a man, a much bigger, much more threatening man who could grant him access to go to the swordsmith village to get a new sword, but when his eyes landed on a woman- a very beautiful woman- who had an overpowering presence, he stood silent for a moment.

The woman blinked, watching as his face slowly started morphing into a very red blush, his confident demeanour slowly slipping away and replaced by a tall, obviously nervous boy, who simply looked to the ground, attempting to avoid the woman's gaze.

"H-hello..." His voice was rough, bit his face spoke otherwise, minus the few scars on his face, he looked nothing like a threatening boy, he looked rather nice, actually..

The woman tilted her head, brows furrowing with worry. "Oh dear, your face is very red..do you have a fever? Do you need help?" She inquired, stepping closer to the boy, who only tensed in his space.

The woman was genuinely concerned for the boy, not caring for the solution that he was flustered by her presence, and instead moving to her older sister mode and attempting to care for him and help.

The boy simply shook his head, his voice growing soft. "N-no...!" He gritted out, his fists clenching at his sides, still looking down. "I need..I need directions to the swordsmith village.. "

"Ah, I see." The woman hummed, nodding her head before she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. "You must be Genya, correct?" Earlier, on their small stroll, Amane mentioned that she would need to escort a boy named Genya to a group of kakushi who would take him to the village. She didn't question it in the moment, since it was just another order, but seeing the biys similarities to the wind hashira...she grew curious.

The boy stepped back to let her pass, even as the bird on her shoulder swooped away to land on her head as the woman turned on her shoulder to look at him with a soft smile. "Follow me. I will take you to a group of Kakushi that will take you there."

The boy nodded, still holding a very bright blush as he looked down. When the woman began to walk down the hall, he flinched before he followed after her.

The boy didn't dare to speak. He was a young boy in puberty, after all. Practically every woman he has had recent contact with, especially the ones in the butterfly estate, he had been a blushing mess around, and now the blush was due to that, and the embarrassment of thinking this beautiful woman would be a towering man.

But, to be fair, most of the people in the butterfly estate have only heard of her, never seeing her appearance. The ruthless half demon who showed no mercy to no man- to him, it seemed a title of a bloodthirsty man with giant scars and bulging muscles- and, to be fair, that's what many other slayers thought as well.

The woman was well aware of how the slayers thought of her, and she didn't bother to correct them. For one, it helps hide her identity to avoid inconvenience, and second, she silently loves seeing their theories and small rumours that could spread. They amused her, to say the least.

The woman suddenly spoke through the silence with a small chuckle. "You thought I would be a towering man, didn't you?" She inquired him, looking over her shoulder with a small smirk.

The boy didn't speak, only silently nodding, still looking down with a pounding heart. The woman only hummed, turning back around and lifting her index finger for (b/n) to perch on.

Now that he was looking at her, Genya didn't seem to think she was all that dangerous- yes, that lingering thought of her bringing the most deadly person in the corps was still in the back of his mind, but she seemed...peaceful.

She even smiled at him, kept a Robin- a gentle creature attracted to kind souls- in a loving hold, and she seemed very understanding. Her presence itself even made him seem at ease, in a strange way....

It wasn't long before she led him to one of the man gardens, but this one had a kakushi standing in the middle, a blindfold in hand. "This man will drop you to another kakushi after a while, and the other kakushi will take you to another, and so on, until you reach the village."

The woman smiled, walking over to the kakushi and taking the blindfold with a smile before she turned back to the boy. "Unfortunately, to ensure the safety of the village, we must blindfold you the whole way. You will ride his back until you reach the checkpoint."

Genya silently nodded, his gaze lifting to watch as the woman made her way towards him with the other man. The man turned around, kneeling down so the boy could get on his back. The boy deadpanned before he scoffed to himself and made his way to the crouched man.

Once he was safely on his back, the halfling smiled to herself and extended the blindfold in her hands, the Robin falling on her shoulder as the kakushi stood up, and kept the boy carried on his back. She made her way beside the duo. "Let me put this on for you.." she gently spoke.

Genya did nothing but blush deeply, nodding softly before she smiled. Without much more time to waste, she gently wrapped the fabric around his eyes and tied it around his head before leaning back and patting the kakushis shoulder. "I wish you safe travels." She bowed her head respectfully.

The kakushi grinned at her. "I will ensure his travel is as smooth as possible, (Y/N)-sama!" He cried out in determination before he slowly began to walk down the path. It only took a few moments before the duo disappeared over the path and through the trees.

"Come on, (b/n). We're on patrol today.."

And with a small happy song of the bird and a smile on the halflings face, the duo slowly made their way to their post together.

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Tashiro Secrets!

. Hagenezuka was actually the one to craft the knuckle guard!

. After Genya was dropped off to the next Kakushi, his blush still hadn't worm off!

. (Y/N) usually speeds much time with Kiriya and his siblings since she knows they can get lonely!