───

     HIMARI ALLOWED A SHORT PUFF OF AIR to escape her lungs as she perked up her right shoulder to messily wipe the sweat rolling down her cheek.

"himari-san, what are you doing still awake?", a voice suddenly asked, making the woman snap her head towards a tired getō.

"oh, just practicing, you?"

"I woke up to go get a drink, but then I noticed that you weren't in bed, so I was just making sure that you weren't kidnapped again", getō slightly smiled, making himari chuckle.

"well then I suppose your worries have been erased now", himari replied, continuously swinging her sword as getō could tell that the woman clearly held some pent up energy.

     "himari-san, I don't mean this in any offense, it's just simply out of curiosity, but why do you wield a sword, when you have many capable people around you to protect you?"

the woman then sighed out a deep breath of air, carefully leaning her sword against a nearby tree as she took a swig of water.

"because how can I prove that women are equally as strong when I've been the one holding us back this entire time?"

     getō was least to say quite impressed with how self-aware the woman was, considering she was very much like gojō: displaying a carefree attitude on the outside but bottling everything up on the inside.

"you're not—"

"I heavily relied on gojō in the cave and ryō when being kidnapped. if you guys didn't come in time, I might've already been at the zen'in household by now", himari weakly smiled, stretching her arms as she picked up her sword once more.

"so I need to train more to the point that I can at least protect myself and others when in danger", the woman determinedly stated, making getō inch closer to himari.

"then how about I teach you a new skill?", getō asked, making himari skeptical.

"does that include you poking and stabbing me with a stick while I try to fend you off??"

getō softly snorted as he shook his head.

"where'd you get that idea from?"

"your best friend", himari replied, rolling her eyes in the process.

"well unlike satoru, I like to think that I'm a slightly nicer instructor", getō smiled, taking the sword out of himari's hand as he gently placed it on the ground.

     "now close your eyes. we'll be honing your listening skills, as it's important to hear which direction the opponent is coming from. if you're adept, you might even hear them before they show themselves", getō instructed, to which himari had nodded, closing her eyes.

"first take a deep breath in and out. take a moment and tell me what you hear".

'your hot ass voice', himari wanted to say, but she decided to give the man a more practical answer.

     "umm...crickets...and the occasional swaying of the trees and grass?"

"mhm. now tell me which direction my claps are coming from", getō commanded.

himari waited for a second.

"left", the woman bluntly replied.

"good, and now?"

"mmm like northeast?"

      "now guess where I am from my voice".

     himari paused for a moment as she confusingly turned her head from side to side, as if expecting herself to see even though her eyes were closed.

     "umm...in front....?", the woman unsurely answered, to which she had suddenly twisted her entire body around once she heard a soft puff of air from behind her.

a closed-eye smile was given to the woman as she nearly tipped over from how close getō was, to which the man had conveniently caught her by supporting her waist, meanwhile himari's hands had instinctually grabbed onto getō's dark kimono.

     "I suppose I was being a bit unfair by moving, huh?", the man lightly chuckled, helping himari stabilize her footstep as she huffed.

     "ya think?"

     "would you like to continue, or is this enough training for the night?"

     "mm...could you help me tomorrow night too then?", himari asked, batting her eyelashes as she displayed a playful grin.

getō nodded.

"as long as you're willing to learn, I will for sure guide you to the best of my abilities".

"hai! suguru-senpai!", himari sillily saluted.

getō wasn't sure how to respond until he saw the woman give him a wink, prompting him to play along.

"then I'll expecting major improvement from you, himari".

     "why the hell must I be strapped to this white-haired man?!", muta complained, to which himari had just yawned.

     "because I don't got an extra horse for you, sir. be grateful that I'm not dragging you on the ground", himari retorted, holding bunny sukuna as tōji gripped onto the reins.

     "tch! my opinion on you will never change! you'll forever be that selfish, conceited, arroga—"

     "save your hatred for me later. I'm currently your only hope of saving your juliet, so shut the fuck up before I change my damn mind", himari interrupted.

     the woman's tone had immediately made muta shut up, but nevertheless, pissed.

"also, I've made up my mind. if you give me those supplies, I'll make you ice cream", himari said to gojō.

     "huh?! what's ice cream??", itadori butted in.

     "it's like this creamy dessert that's cold", himari smiled.

     "there's many different flavors and you don't even need to chew it. it's like a slushee...not that you guys would know what that is either, now that I think about it", the woman added on, making everyone intrigued.

"are you sure it's good?", gojō skeptically asked.

himari huffed.

"of course! remember the s'mores that I made you? you liked it right?"

gojō nodded, seeming to salivate at the thought of a new found dessert.

     "then lend me the materials, and I won't disappoint", the woman grinned, to which gojō had sighed.

     "fine, fine!!", gojō grunted, making himari smile as she winked at getō, who discreetly gave the woman a thumbs up.

     "oh, and I'm going to need your help, tōji", himari mumbled, making the man raise a brow.

     "hah? I have to do shit again?"

     "hey! I pay you monthly to just stay beside me, okay? the least you could do is complete this littleeee request that I have for you", himari retorted.

     tōji rolled his eyes as he nodded.

     "yeah, okay what?"

     himari grinned.

     "you'll see!!"