Chapter 11: Yoriichi Becomes Fukuzawa's Disciple...
On the way home with Fukuzawa Yukichi, I leaned on Yoriichi's shoulder and secretly observed this tall, aloof, silver-haired man. He looked younger than when the Bungo Stray Dogs story began, but his aloof and serious aura remained the same, giving people a sense of awe and unapproachability.
Of course, I know that's all just an act. President Fukuzawa is a complete cat lover. He's been sneaking peeks at me several times along the way, probably thinking about how to get me to sit on his shoulder.
I find the president's unexpected charm kind of cute!
So, where is the story at now? Judging from the fact that Kurohime only looks about fourteen or fifteen years old, he probably hasn't even met Chuuya yet. So, this is at least seven years before the beginning of the story. Although the Armed Detective Agency must have already opened, it seems that apart from Edogawa Ranpo and Yosano Akiko, the other members of the detective agency haven't arrived yet. This is not good!
Realizing that the Armed Detective Agency, which could rival the Port Mafia in the future, is still missing so many members, I felt a pang of worry. Although Mori Ougai has only recently taken office, he already has superhumans like Momiji and Hirotsu under his command. In particular, the man who will be joining the Armed Detective Agency in the future and is known as the "theater in hand" is currently working under him. Suddenly, I felt very worried about President Fukuzawa!
I looked at Fukuzawa Yukichi with more worry in my eyes, while his gaze fell on Yoriichi, who hadn't said a word the whole way, and he asked in a cool voice, "What's your name?"
Although I sensed that the president was trying to speak to Yoriichi, who seemed to be autistic, in a gentler tone, his voice was stern and cold as soon as he opened his mouth, probably due to his personal temperament. He had such a strong aura that if I were a real cat, I would probably be furious by now.
"Tsugukuni, Yoriichi".
Yoriichi shut his mouth after saying his name, looking like he wanted to shut himself away, which made the taciturn president Fukuzawa look a little embarrassed, as if he didn't know how to talk to this clueless kid.
He noticed the wooden sword that Yoriichi always held in his hand and casually brought up a topic, "You really like kendo?"
"dislike."
This answer surprised Fukuzawa Yukichi, and seeing Yoriichi fall silent again, he continued to press for answers.
"Why?"
"The feeling of hurting others makes me uncomfortable."
This answer surprised Fukuzawa Yukichi even more. For the first time, he looked at the child seriously and then asked solemnly, "And why are you holding a sword now?"
"We must protect the song."
Yoriichi's words made me affectionately nuzzle his cheek; I just thought he was such an angel. And he was so gentle, even though he wasn't very talkative, he always answered every question. He answered whatever President Fukuzawa asked; he was so innocent!
It was fortunate that the one who asked the question was the virtuous Fukuzawa Yukichi; if it had been the scoundrel Mori Ougai, he would probably have already been considering how to exploit Yoriichi's weaknesses.
Fukuzawa Yukichi's gaze towards Yoriichi seemed to hold something more. He must have already noticed Yoriichi's responsive nature, and when he asked, he no longer hesitated to choose his words as before: "Why are you homeless?"
Yoriichi remained silent for a long time, and Fukuzawa Yukichi waited patiently before finally speaking slowly.
“I am an unlucky child; I will be sent to a temple to become a monk when I am ten years old.”
“I left home immediately after my mother passed away from illness, but I never went to the temple.”
"I've always wanted to run freely under the boundless, beautiful sky. After running for a day and a night, I encountered a song in the mountains."
"The song brought me home, and we lived together there; that's my home too."
"Now that Ge and I have come to this unfamiliar place, we don't know how to get back to our old home?"
This is the first time Yoriichi has spoken so much in one go since we met. I'm quite shocked. It seems that Yoriichi's journey to the Bungo Stray Dogs world is not as uneventful as it appears on the surface. He's just too reserved, which makes it hard for people to see his emotions.
Do you have any other relatives?
“I have an older brother.” Yoriichi’s eyes lit up with longing as he mentioned Kokushikatsu Tsugikuni, and he couldn’t help but add a few more words, “My older brother is very gentle and cares about me a lot. I miss him very much.”
There he is! Yoriichi Iwabuki from Tsugikuni. The famous line that "admiration is the furthest distance from understanding" is perfectly suited to him!
Fukuzawa Yukichi lowered his eyes and said after a moment, "Do you want to go back and live with your brother? I can help you reunite with your brother."
You could tell he was very confident about this, and he certainly had the ability to back it up.
With President Fukuzawa's connections, reuniting a runaway boy with his family would be incredibly easy. Unfortunately, he encounters someone from another world; the moment Yori nods in agreement, President Fukuzawa is instantly proven wrong!
Fortunately, the embarrassing situation did not occur. Yoriichi gently shook his head and said, "I will not go back. Although I am far away from my brother, as long as I have the flute that my brother gave me, it is as if my brother is with me."
Fukuzawa Yukichi gazed at Yoriichi, whose faint smile appeared whenever Iwakatsu was mentioned, and suddenly asked an unexpected question, "Why did you choose me to take you in?"
“It was the song that chose you,” Yoriichi said very seriously.
What about you? What are your thoughts?
"You are very strong."
After practicing his conversation with Fukuzawa Yukichi, Yoriichi was no longer as slow to speak as he had at the beginning, and even took the initiative to express his own thoughts.
"So strong that it makes me feel threatened."
Fukuzawa Yukichi actually smiled when he heard his description, and his cold expression softened, making him look less unapproachable than before.
"So, will you become my disciple?" The tall, silver-haired man said, reaching out to ruffle Yoriichi's hair, his usually cold gaze softening noticeably.
I was stunned. What did I miss in the previous conversation? Why did President Fukuzawa suddenly want to take on an apprentice? I was thinking of using my innate advantage of being a cat to build a good relationship with President Fukuzawa and become his apprentice. How did Yoriichi beat me to it?
Lemon! Lemon! Lemon! Lemon! Lemon! Lemon! Lemon! Lemon!
"Why?"
Yoriichi looked at Fukuzawa Yukichi with slightly vacant eyes, puzzled as to why he had suddenly made him his disciple.
In fact, I don't understand either. Yoriichi didn't use any amazing sword skills in front of President Fukuzawa, so how did he catch the president's eye?
"The first time I saw you, I felt that you had the potential to reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship."
Fukuzawa Yukichi slowly explained his reasons, which immediately convinced me that he truly deserved to be recognized as an officially certified master of swordsmanship in Bungo Stray Dogs. He had a keen eye for talent and immediately recognized Yoriichi's unparalleled swordsmanship talent, which was as if he had cheated.
“This is not the main reason why I took you as my apprentice,” Fukuzawa Yukichi said in a low voice. “You rejected the way of the sword because you did not want to hurt others, but you were determined to take up the sword in order to protect your important friends. This is why I value you.”
Indeed, in a sense, the famous Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu user, Kenshin Himura, was his peer.
President Fukuzawa chose to stop wielding a sword because he couldn't see his own heart clearly and couldn't distinguish whether he was killing for the country or for the sake of that moment. But later, he picked up the sword again to protect others.
Thinking about it this way, it's not surprising that he wanted to take Yoriichi as his apprentice.
"I'll ask you one more time, do you want to be my disciple? I will teach you both swordsmanship and ancient martial arts with care."
Yoriichi fell silent upon hearing Fukuzawa Yukichi's words, seemingly unwilling to agree, which immediately made me meow anxiously.
Hurry up and agree! Putting everything else aside, just learning President Fukuzawa's assassination experience would be incredibly beneficial!
Who has ever heard of an assassin listening to the victim's inner thoughts before killing them? After being carefully instructed by President Fukuzawa, Yoriichi promised to just cut Muzan down when facing him in the future, without caring about such trivial questions as why Muzan was alive, and thus he wouldn't accidentally let that great enemy escape.
This is practically world-saving experience! Quickly become an apprentice! All the people in the Demon Slayer world suffering from demonic persecution will thank President Fukuzawa!
When Yoriichi heard my urgent meows, he patted my head and asked, "Uta, do you also want me to be his student?"
I nodded frantically, signaling him not to refuse and to immediately become President Fukuzawa's student to learn assassination skills so that he could kill Muzan with a single blow in the future.
“Alright.” Yoriichi looked at Fukuzawa Yukichi and calmly agreed, “I’m willing to become your disciple.”
"Yoriichi, from this moment on, you are my student."
Fukuzawa Yukichi said with a serious expression, then naturally picked me up and put me on his shoulder, leaving me, who had suddenly risen in height, completely bewildered.
Meow? Could it be that petting Yoriichi's cat after taking him as a disciple was also one of the main reasons for accepting him as a disciple?
A note from the author:
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