Many days had passed.

Sanemi was taking a bath in his Estate.
Once he got dressed, he went to the kitchen to get some food.

His crow flew to him, landing on his head.

"Sorai?"
Sanemi looked up at the bird.

"There's a meeting this afternoon, Sanemi!"
The crow cawed, flying away.

Sanemi sighed.
"Alright..."

He prepared some rice balls for breakfast.

There must be a new mission...
He thought, chewing on his food.

He looked outside, the sky was clear.
Sanemi smiled at the sight.

The weather looks nice...
He thought.

"I wonder what Tomioka's doing right now..."
He muttered.

___________________________________________

Giyuu was in his Estate, making some tea. It had almost been a week since he'd talked with anyone except for Kanzaburou.

"Giyuu..."
The bird flew to him, landing on the table.

"Hey..."
Giyuu patted Kanzaburou's little head.

"There's a meeting this afternoon."
The crow said.

"...A meeting?"
Giyuu wondered.

He sipped some tea, opening the window and letting the fresh air enter the house.

It could be a new mission...
He thought, looking at the clear weather outside.

After relaxing for a while, he went to the backyard, practicing with a wooden sword.

He continued till he was all sweaty.

He finally took a bath.

___________________________________________

It was almost time for the meeting.

"Hurry up, Sanemi!"
Sorai flew over his head.

"Yeah yeah! Okay!"
Sanemi made his way to his Master's Mansion.

On his way, he found Giyuu.

"Tomioka?"
He called out.

Giyuu turned back.
"Shinazugawa-San?"

Sanemi ran up to him.
"You're going to the Mansion?"

"Yes."

"Let's go together, then."
The two walked to the Ubuyashiki Mansion.

As they reached, they found Kagaya already sitting there.
Kagaya heard the footsteps approaching.

"Sanemi, Giyuu..."
He smiled softly.

The two Hashiras bow down.

"Sorry for being late, Oyakata-Sama."
Sanemi said.

"It's okay..."
Kagaya replied.

"I've called you two for an important reason."

The two looked at their master, alarmed.

"Head to the south of Tokyo tomorrow, it wouldn't take you long enough to reach there by foot. There are demons lurking there..."
Kagaya said.

The two looked at him with a determined expression.

"I have assigned the Mansion where you will be staying. Finish off those demons and return safely."

"Yes Master!"
The two bowed.

As the meeting ended, Sanemi stood up.
Looking at him, Giyuu stood up too.

The two walked back.

"So, see you tomorrow, then?"
Sanemi said.

Giyuu nodded in response.

___________________________________________

It was the next morning.
The sun was shining as brightly as ever.

Sanemi woke up, yawning as he rubbed his eyelids.

"Time to get moving, I guess..."
He said to himself as he got out of bed.

He splashed some water on his face as he stared at his own reflection in the bucket of water.
He took a bath and got dressed up quickly.
He had his breakfast, finally walking out of his Estate, making his way to Giyuu's place.

Giyuu was all ready for the mission.

"It's time to go..."
He muttered to himself quietly.

Giyuu opened the door as he walked out, only to bump into Sanemi who was just about to knock on the door.

"Ah! Shinazugawa-San..."
Giyuu blushed slightly.

"...You ready yet?"
Sanemi asked, his voice cracking a little.

"Yes, let's get going."
Giyuu replied as the two walked out of his Estate and started off their journey to the south.

It was a bright sunny day.
The sky was completely clear. A cool breeze blew, that relaxed them a little.

"It's a long walk from here, isn't it?"
Giyuu asked Sanemi.

"Yeah, it is a quite long way...
We'll reach there if we walk faster. So, stop walking slow and hurry up!"
Sanemi snapped.

"S-Sorry..."
Giyuu replied to Sanemi, who was really annoyed.

It had been half an hour already. The sunlight was shining on their faces. The two started sweating heavily as the temperature rose up.

"Can we go rest somewhere...?"
Giyuu asked Sanemi.

"No, we need to hurry up to reach our destination faster! You need to control yourself and keep walking... Now, hurry up. We'll reach in no time!"
Sanemi replied.

Giyuu sighed out.
"Okay..."
He said.

After a complete hour of walking, the two finally reached their destination.

"Do you have any idea of how the Mansion looks like?"
Sanemi asked Giyuu, scratching the back of his neck.

Giyuu shook his head.
"I don't know..."
He replied.

"There they are..."
They heard slow and gentle footsteps approaching them.

A short, old woman walked up to the two of them, stooping. She had a sweet smiling expression, wrinkles all over her face. Her gray hair, tied up into a tiny bun. A few hair strands were poking out from her bun. She smiled at the two gently.

"Hello, young boys."
She wished the two young men as she stepped closer.

"Master has assigned me as your caretaker for this mission... Kindly follow me as I take you to the Mansion where you will be staying..."
She smiled.

This Grandma is our caretaker...? She's the one that needs to be taken care of!
Sanemi thought, his expression twitching to a mix of anger and confusion.

"Do you need any help in walking, Grandma...?"
Giyuu asked, concern etched over his features.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking... Now, follow me."
She smiled.

The two nodded in response as they followed the old lady to the Mansion.

As she opened the door, the two walked in, completely exhausted by the heat outside.

"Its such a hot weather today!"
Sanemi grunted, stretching his arms.

Giyuu nodded in response as he took a deep breath in.

The old lady looked at the two with concern.
"You too must be feeling very hot because you have walked all the way to the south in such scorching heat..."

Giyuu and Sanemi looked at each other and then looked at the old lady.

"It's the summer months, and, there is no doubt that it would be this hot outside..."
She said.

"...But don't worry at all, you two can take a bath. I will set up your rooms till then. Please enjoy your stay while you're here. If you have any problems just call me and I will be right next to you. Let me know if you are hungry!"
She walked away in a slow pace.

Giyuu and Sanemi sighed as they looked at each other.
"This stay is going to last long."
Sanemi said as Giyuu nodded.

"I will be looking forward to this one."
Giyuu smiled at Sanemi, causing him to blush.

___________________________________________

Alright!

.
.
.

A few facts about this Grandma for context!

Her name is Mayumi but Giyuu and Sanemi can't call her that because she's way older than they are. They stick to calling her Grandma.

She makes delicious riceballs, and when someone compliments her for it, she makes more and more until they're full.

Yep, that's it!

🍩
:)