Four Legs, Two Legs, Three Legs, And... [Medeia, Mura]

The Head Master did jolt a small bit at the sudden crack of thunder, his arms still rested behind his back as Medeia appeared out of thin air, right by his soul-ridden student. It was very contrasting to see the confident, almost jolly witch next to the- was Mura about to fall asleep?! “Oi oi, you can’t just doze off in front of the fair lady, Mura! Snap out of it!”

*WHIP!*

Despite the Head Master’s lower stature and docile exterior, he was still as strict and demanding as any respectable Dojo Master would be. He picked up his thin cane and whipped Mura’s shin to wake his nerves up. “Ow ow ow, I’m awake, I’m awake! Gee… rough doesn’t begin to describe it,” he groaned, shaking his face to get some of that sleepiness off of his eyes… not the best results, but he was there.

“Straighten your back. This is no way to treat a madame – especially one who’s been so helpful to us,” the Head Master continued, eliciting a vein to press on Mura’s forehead, “But alas… you’ve worn yourself out this last month, too. Have you heard about it, miss? Sword of Miracles – I wished I came up with that myself. Ha ha ha ha ha!” A rising stunt star in Kyōto now – people have witnessed him surfing on the air with his sword, create small twisters, and even fling a few people around in a ring (they were all safe now)… but damn, compared to Tibet, not that many were that invested in his spiritually empowered antics. He had to grind hard to get here.

“… When the hell’d ya grow so fond of her, oldhead?” Mura asked. Despite everything up until now… he still felt a bit turbulent inside. What a strange world. “From the start,” the Head Master responded with a warm, innocent smile, prompting Mura to almost blow a fuse if not for the continuation, “Lightning Witch… or Denjo, for us Japanese folks. Such drastic changes in human nature don’t come out of nowhere… don’t beat yourself around the bush too much. You seldom need a reason to commit a kind deed.”

Perhaps the Head Master was a fucking psychic. He must’ve seen all of this coming – no way could he remain so calm and happy. And yet… argh, why’d he have to make sense… yeah, maybe Mura had been chained by his own worries for too long. He should be happy too.

“… Mhm…” Mura’s eyes twitched with annoyance at the Head Master nudging his leg. Words weren’t needed to understand – he wanted her number or something? Forget about it. Now that every ember of the lethal tension from earlier had died down, you expected Mura to be some sort of experienced, charismatic ladies’ man? He was as normal and normie as one could get when it came to stuff like that.

…

…

“Pardon my student here. His unrelenting pursuit for Kenjutsu has left little room in his head for the art of properly treating women. I take full responsibility, of course- ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow-“

In moments like these, the Head Master really was just the dad with all the dad jokes and the awkward shit he’d come up with, all embarrassing his son-in-spirit who was poking his bald head with the scabbard of his sword. Mura’s face was beet-red.

“But if I may ask… what exactly are your plans now?”

Good lord… now they were both teasing him. Like some oldheads… Mura wanted to bury himself.

The Head Master nodded in understanding and decided to take the money up, likely freeing a huge burden from Medeia’s shoulders. Her road ahead was still filled with the dirt of her past, and she needed to shove it aside. “I’m sure your road will look squeaky clean at the end of it all. Then you can look back to your life and not regret the choices you made,” he shared with her before turning around and heading towards the construction workers. In his own way, that was a word of goodbye. A last piece of advice.

Leaving Mura with her now. “Y-Yeah, I don’t know about all of that ‘ladies man’ stuff, he’s just messing with me…” he commented, scratching the back of his head with his one and only hand, “It’s not like I’m unpopular or anything. Just ignore him, about time age got to his head.” Looking back, things did seem to look like favorable change.

Damn, with everything the Head Master had said, now it felt a bit sad to see her go. But she had a path to walk now. “I hope… maybe, we’ll meet again. Or something.”