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"Looks like he just woke up." Yakushi Kiriko knocked on the door before stepping into the patient room.
"No need to come looking for me, I'm already here."
Inside, a middle-aged man with a strong, square face sat upright in bed, his hospital gown from another facility still draped over him. His eyes were sharp, his voice steady and full of energy.
"Doctor Kiriko, please talk some sense into my dad! He just woke up and already wants to get out of bed!"
Standing beside him was Ayatsuji Ayase, clad in her Hagun Academy uniform. The moment she spotted Kiriko, she launched into her complaint.
"Trust my skills. Your father is in excellent condition." Kiriko snorted lightly, tilting her head with a mix of nonchalance and pride.
"I've adjusted everything, his muscle atrophy, gastrointestinal function, circulation. Physically, he's no different from a healthy man his age. But he should eat something before moving around; he still lacks strength."
Despite being bedridden for two years, Ayatsuji Kaito's body showed almost no signs of deterioration.
His muscles had slightly diminished compared to his prime, but he was far from frail. His face was healthy and full of vigor, completely defying the expected weakness of long-term immobility.
This was the work of Japan's greatest doctor, one whose skills bordered on the miraculous.
"You can trust Kiriko San. Patients under her care don't even need rehabilitation."
Ryoji stepped into the room, backing up Kiriko's claim.
For Yakushi Kiriko, patients fell into only two categories, those she could save and those she couldn't. There was no distinction between weak and strong. If she decided to heal someone, she could restore their body to peak condition in a single day.
"Nangou... is that really possible?" Ayase looked skeptical.
Ryoji had felt the same way when he first learned of Kiriko's abilities.
After all, no normal person could fathom someone breaking their body down to the cellular level, only to reconstruct it perfectly moments later. The first time Ryoji witnessed it, he was so stunned he nearly forgot to breathe.
And it wasn't because Kiriko reassembled herself without clothing.
"Try and see for yourself." Kiriko waved a hand dismissively, offering no further explanation.
And soon enough, the father and daughter were left speechless.
Just as she had said, Ayatsuji Kaito was in peak health. He could move freely, and getting out of bed posed no issue. The only lingering concern was his heart, which remained fragile, but otherwise, he was completely functional.
"Doctor Kiriko, I can't thank you enough..."
"I just did what I was asked to do."
Ayase kept bowing to Kiriko, her expression filled with gratitude.
"Young man, you're a swordsman, aren't you?" Ayatsuji Kaito leaned against the bed, studying Ryoji intently.
"Ayase told me you managed to suppress that beastly kid with your sword alone. That's no small feat. Are you interested in inheriting my Ayatsuji sword style?"
Ayase likely hadn't noticed but Ayatsuji Kaito could tell immediately.
The young man before him carried an extraordinary sword aura, sharp, restrained, and meticulously controlled. It wasn't just talent; it was refinement. To find a swordsman like this, especially at such a young age, was a rarity even for him.
"I appreciate the offer, but I already have a master." Ryoji shook his head, politely declining the invitation, but then his tone shifted.
"That said, I'd love to learn the essence of the Ayatsuji style."
In truth, that was the very reason he had come.
"Hah! Now that's an interesting response!" Kaito blinked in surprise, then burst into hearty laughter. He hadn't expected such a bold, direct approach.
"Still, whether I can pick up a sword again depends on Doctor Kiriko's verdict..."
Even as he spoke, his gaze flickered toward Kiriko, clearly hoping she would intercede on his behalf.
"Dad!"
"Eat first. Then you can fight later."
Kiriko shrugged, her lips curving into a smirk filled with quiet satisfaction.
"Don't worry. Even if you were to drop dead right now, I'd bring you back. I stake my title as Japan's top doctor on making sure you live to the very end!"
Ayatsuji Ayase had nothing more to say.
"Then I can fight without regrets!" Ayatsuji Kaito laughed heartily, his fingers trembling with excitement.
Choosing to abandon the sword and retreat due to illness had been akin to denying his very existence as a swordsman, an admission that his ideals and lifelong efforts had amounted to nothing.
Never in his wildest dreams did he think that after two years, he would once again have the chance to hold a sword.
If he could spend the rest of his life with a blade in his hands, he would die with no regrets.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, Ryoji and Ayatsuji Kaito engaged in a pure swordsmanship match in the hospital garden.
"You let me win." A minute later, Ryoji bowed respectfully.
Ayatsuji Kaito looked down at the wooden sword lying on the ground and let out a wry chuckle.
"To think I'd lose to my own technique… This kid learned my ultimate move after just one demonstration."
For the first fifty seconds, Ryoji had only dodged.
In the last ten seconds, he launched a precise counterattack using the Ayatsuji sword style, ultimately defeating Ayatsuji Kaito with the very technique the master had prided himself on.
This generation of swordsmen was terrifying.
What Kaito didn't realize was that Ryoji had been holding back. If he had fought seriously, the match wouldn't have lasted even a minute.
After the match, Ayatsuji Kaito returned to his room to rest. Ayatsuji Ayase walked Ryoji to the hospital entrance.
"Nangou Kun, you've done so much for us. I don't even know how to thank you." Ayase lowered her head, her expression brimming with indescribable gratitude.
In just two days, her world had completely changed. Everything that had weighed on her, things that had seemed impossible to resolve, had been cleared away like a passing storm.
The man who had defeated her father had been taken down.
The dojo had been reclaimed.
Her father had awakened.
The crushing burden she had carried for years, one that had almost become an obsession, had finally been lifted.
And it was all thanks to Ryoji.
Without him, she would have been powerless, forced to watch as their family dojo was defiled and her father wasted away in an endless slumber. She wouldn't have been able to fight, wouldn't have even been able to see hope, let alone pick up a sword again.
Thinking about it, emotions surged in her chest.
"Um... I know I'm nothing special. I can't compare to the Student Council President or Miss Toudou in terms of looks or figure, but... this is the only thing I can offer as thanks,"
The girl fidgeted with her fingers, her voice barely above a whisper. Her face gradually turned red, as if steam might start rising from her head.
"If you don't mind, I can... offer myself!"
Her voice trembled slightly, but her sincerity was unmistakable. Even in her nervousness, she did her best to express her feelings, wanting to convey her gratitude in the only way she could think of.
So she finally lifted her head, "Eh? Huh?! Where did he go?!"
(End of Chapter)