The "Schemes" of the Onmyoji Couple

[You kept Watanabe no Tsuna at the residence.]

[However, you still felt a thick barrier between him and you and Minamoto no Yorimitsu.]

[You realized that if you wanted to know what Watanabe no Tsuna had truly experienced, you had to get closer to him.]

[You decided to discuss the details with Minamoto no Yorimitsu.]

Night.

On the futon above the tatami mats.

Ian and Minamoto no Yorimitsu had gone to bed.

Ian had deeply filled his wife's cave with his essence as there was still a scent of intimacy.

As a married couple, they naturally expressed their intimacy before sleeping.

However, neither of them felt sleepy at this moment.

Finally, Minamoto no Yorimitsu spoke first.

"Husband, are you still awake?"

"Yes," Ian replied quickly.

"As expected, you can't sleep either..." Minamoto no Yorimitsu said with some emotion. "Are you thinking about Watanabe, like me?"

"Yes."

Just as Minamoto no Yorimitsu said.

Watanabe no Tsuna's appearance reminded them of many things from their time in the village.

Especially when he held the same goal as Minamoto no Yorimitsu did back then, the feeling became even stronger.

"Then, husband—"

Minamoto no Yorimitsu looked at Ian, who was beside her, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Do you think we should give this child some help?"

"Well, what do you think, wife?"

Ian also looked at Minamoto no Yorimitsu and put his arms around her waist.

Their eyes met for a brief moment, and they reached a unified opinion.

Helping was definitely necessary.

But the question was how to help?

Watanabe no Tsuna's problem was too complex.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu didn't have a good solution.

Seeing his wife's expression, Ian felt a little heartache.

He pondered and then said, "Wife, I have an idea."

"What idea?"

"It's..."

Ian looked at the "Higekiri" and "Hizamaru" swords on the sword rack—these were the wedding gifts his father, Minamoto no Mitsunaka, had given them.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu liked martial arts.

Such weapons were naturally perfect for her.

The great onmyoji's eyes lit up with cleverness.

"Wife, since Watanabe is so concerned about his half-broken blade," Ian said.

"He must be very sensitive about such things."

"If we show him our martial skills, we'll definitely have a chance to communicate with him, right?"

"Eh?"

Minamoto no Yorimitsu's eyes lit up slightly.

"That makes sense."

"Then, husband, let me show him. What do you think?"

"No," Ian shook his head.

"Wife, I'll do it."

"Then what about me?" Minamoto no Yorimitsu asked, puzzled.

"As for you—"

Ian looked at the beauty in his arms.

"You have something more suitable to do."

[You and Minamoto no Yorimitsu reached an agreement.]

[You began practicing using Higekiri in your and Minamoto no Yorimitsu's residence.]

[This was quite a novelty.]

[Because no one except Minamoto no Yorimitsu knew that you were skilled with a sword.]

[They began to discuss it.]

[These words quickly reached Watanabe no Tsuna.]

[You often saw him holding his half-broken blade, secretly observing your movements from the shadows.]

[You knew the opportunity had come—it was time to collaborate with Minamoto no Yorimitsu to put on a good show.]

"Hyaah—"

Ian let out a powerful shout in the courtyard.

Then, the wooden sword in his hand struck the wooden post in front of him with great force.

Immediately, a conspicuous mark appeared on the wooden post.

No one would doubt the man's skill with the sword.

If he had a real sword in his hand, the wooden post would probably have been cut in two by now.

All of this was seen by Watanabe no Tsuna in the shadows.

Holding his half-broken blade, he watched Ian swinging the sword in the courtyard, his red eyes filled with undisguised longing.

He gripped the nearly broken sword hilt, carefully imitating the man's handsome sword swings.

After "learning" for a while.

A gentle voice came from the side.

"Are you imitating my husband?"

The boy was startled and quickly turned around, seeing Minamoto no Yorimitsu looking at him with a warm smile.

He was uneasy;

He was anxious;

His heart was filled with panic, like a mischievous child caught by his mother.

Watanabe no Tsuna hid his half-broken blade behind his back and shook his head repeatedly.

"No... I wasn't imitating."

Such clumsy tricks couldn't deceive Minamoto no Yorimitsu.

However—

She didn't intend to expose the anxious Watanabe no Tsuna's inner thoughts.

She brought up another matter.

"Watanabe, if I remember correctly, you came to Kyoto to find a great onmyoji, right?"

"..."

Watanabe no Tsuna didn't respond directly to Minamoto no Yorimitsu, but just nodded silently.

"Then—"

Minamoto no Yorimitsu looked at Ian, her eyes filled with affection.

"Actually, Mr. Abe is the great onmyoji you're looking for, you know?"

"?!"

Watanabe no Tsuna looked at Minamoto no Yorimitsu, then at Ian, his eyes filled with disbelief.

After a long while, he managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"Re-really?"

"Of course, it's true."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu still had a kind and gentle expression.

"If you don't believe me, you can ask anyone."

"Everyone in this residence knows one thing—that the most powerful onmyoji in Heian-kyo is right here."

Hearing this, Watanabe no Tsuna's eyes lit up with surprise.

But soon, he became inexplicably worried.

The solitary boy looked at Minamoto no Yorimitsu and asked softly, "Then, will he teach someone like me the art of killing oni?"

"Hard to say."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu pretended not to know.

"Maybe you should ask my husband yourself."

This was Ian's entire plan.

Both he and his wife had some skill in swordsmanship, so either of them could demonstrate it to Watanabe no Tsuna without any problem.

But the key was how to handle his emotions after the demonstration.

Just telling Watanabe no Tsuna how skilled he and Minamoto no Yorimitsu were with swords wouldn't make him take action.

After all, he might not think he was qualified to learn such things.

Only when Watanabe no Tsuna realized that "he had a chance to gain the qualification to be taught" could they achieve their true goal.

Clearly—

If they wanted to achieve this, it would be much easier for Minamoto no Yorimitsu, who had a better relationship with him.

Thus.

The full picture of the plan emerged.

One person demonstrates martial arts, and the other persuades.

This was the little "scheme" of the onmyoji couple.

At the same time—

Watanabe no Tsuna understood the hidden meaning in Minamoto no Yorimitsu's words.

Holding his half-broken blade, he looked at Ian in the courtyard, his eyes beginning to show a hint of struggle.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu knew that he only needed a little push now.

She smiled warmly and said, as if giving a hint, "Watanabe, my husband's mood improves a lot when he practices swordsmanship."

[Minamoto no Yorimitsu's words gave Watanabe no Tsuna enough of a hint.]

[He realized that a rare "opportunity" was waiting for him.]

[He didn't hesitate anymore.]

[He walked towards you with his half-broken blade.]

[You quickly noticed this.]

[You knew Minamoto no Yorimitsu had succeeded.]

"..."

Watanabe no Tsuna came to Ian's side, looking carefully at the skilled man in front of him.

Although the great onmyoji understood the boy's inner thoughts, he could only pretend not to know anything and ask him.

Because their goal was for Watanabe no Tsuna to make the request himself.

"What's wrong?"

"You... are very skilled."

Watanabe no Tsuna looked at Ian and the wooden sword in his hand, praising him.

"Even though it's just a wooden sword, you can use it to such effect."

Ian didn't need anyone's praise.

Especially not the praise of someone much younger than him.

But he knew this wasn't the time to show off—the most important thing was to get Watanabe no Tsuna to express his thoughts.

"Is that a sincere compliment, or are you just flattering me?"

"..."

The boy hesitated for a moment and then replied,

"It's sincere."

"So—"

Watanabe no Tsuna hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.

"Can you teach me this sword technique?"

"I want to use it to kill oni."

[You once again felt the same heaviness you felt when you first met him on the streets of Kyoto.]

[He must be carrying some unbearable past.]

[You decided to dig it all out.]

[And that half-broken blade was the best entry point.]

"Why do you want to kill oni?"

Ian asked the same question to a different person.

Hearing this, Watanabe no Tsuna instinctively looked at the half-broken blade in his hand—almost the same action as before.

His red eyes quickly filled with panic again.

Seeing that everything was about to repeat itself, Ian directly snatched the half-broken blade from his hand.

"Give it back! Give it back!"

Watanabe no Tsuna shouted, having lost his blade.

This shout alerted Minamoto no Yorimitsu, who was waiting nearby.

She looked at the half-broken blade in his hand and walked over, looking worried.

"Husband, what are you doing..."

"Wife, you should know that learning the art of killing oni requires absolute focus."

Ian held the half-broken blade, looked at Watanabe no Tsuna, and spoke with an extremely serious tone.

"So—"

"Watanabe, if you really want to learn the art of killing oni from me,"

"You can't act like this."

"Husband, isn't this a bit too..."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu was interrupted by Ian's gesture.

"Wife, please don't interfere this time."

"If this problem isn't resolved, even if I teach him the art of killing oni, I'll only be harming him."

"..."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu didn't say anything more.

Because Ian rarely spoke to her in such a tone—it proved he was serious.

She chose to trust him.

Watanabe no Tsuna's hands trembled.

Clearly, Ian's words had struck a deep chord within him.

"Must I give up that blade... to learn the sword technique to kill oni?"

"Yes."

Ian looked directly at Watanabe no Tsuna.

He spoke with the authority of a master.

"If you give it up, I'll teach you the sword technique to kill all the oni in the world."

"Otherwise, it will all be an illusion."

"..."

Watanabe no Tsuna looked at the half-broken blade in Ian's hand, his throat constantly moving.

After a long while, he finally spoke.

"I understand."

"I'll give up this blade... please, you must teach me the art of killing oni!"

[Watanabe no Tsuna's inner knot was untied.]

[You shattered his half-broken blade.]

[You and Minamoto no Yorimitsu finally learned about what he had experienced.]

[Just as you and Minamoto no Yorimitsu had guessed—the source of it all was an evil oni.]

[Watanabe no Tsuna originally had a happy family.]

[But for some unknown reason, an oni attacked his village at night.]

[The half-broken blade was his father's last memento, left after fighting fiercely with the oni.]

[Seeing it reminded Watanabe no Tsuna of that terrifying night.]

[And the words spoken by the oni with yellow hair and yellow eyes.]

["Hate me forever."]

[But now, thanks to you, he was no longer afraid of it all.]

[As promised, you began teaching Watanabe no Tsuna the art of killing oni—specifically, the art of killing oni with a sword.]

[Because he wasn't skilled in ordinary oni-slaying techniques.]

[Everything seemed to return to that summer of years past.]

[But this time, Minamoto no Yorimitsu was by your side.]

[Watanabe no Tsuna, having untied his inner knot, worked very hard and respected you and Minamoto no Yorimitsu immensely.]

[You saw all of this.]

[You were very satisfied with his performance.]

[Nearly a year passed.]

[One day, Minamoto no Yorimitsu wanted to talk to you alone.]

"Husband, please enjoy me."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu said as she took off her upper garment.

Ian didn't resist, as he leaned on her magnificent breasts.

He sucked and tasted the sweetness that belonged only to him and praised her.

"My wife's taste is always so sweet."

"However—"

"You seem to have something to ask of me today, right?"

Minamoto no Yorimitsu was surprised.

"Why do you always understand my thoughts, husband?"

"Because my wife is kind."

Ian lay on Minamoto no Yorimitsu's lap and replied.

"Just by looking at your expression, I know what you're thinking."

"...I've lost to you again, husband."

Although she said this, Minamoto no Yorimitsu didn't look sad.

On the contrary.

She seemed to enjoy being seen through by Ian.

"In that case, husband must also know my purpose today, right?"

"It's about Watanabe, isn't it?" Ian replied quickly.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu nodded.

"As expected, these things can't be hidden from you, husband."

"Wife, there's no need for such formalities."

Ian looked up at Minamoto no Yorimitsu, who was revealing her soft skin.

"If you have any ideas, just say them."

"We don't need to hide anything from each other, do we?"

"...That's true."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu's purple hair fell onto Ian's face, carrying a fragrant scent.

She always paid attention to her appearance in front of her husband.

"Then, husband—"

"Do you think it would be a good idea to adopt Watanabe as our adopted son?"