Thwack!

Inuchiyo’s spear and Goemon’s Kunai collided with the twins' wooden swords.

Crack!

Both Hikari’s and Hikaru’s wooden swords ended up breaking, forcing them to retreat.

Inuchiyo and Goemon were a bit stunned by the impact their bodies received from colliding with whom they could see were still children, younger than them.

Another shocking fact was that they got a massive boost to the strength of their base forms, meaning that no ordinary human, much less kids, could have such strength.

‘These children aren’t normal; are they like us?’ Inuchiyo briefly pondered as she and Goemon disarmed themselves.

Both she and Goemon could tell that both the kids knew Ginryu and Ginryu knew them too.

“Hikaru, what should we do? We ended up breaking our swords. Chichiue will be mad at us,” Hikari whispered to her brother.

“I know. Maybe we can swap them for the spare in the house,” Hikaru replied.

Flick!

“It hurts!” the twins both screamed out in pain as Ginryu had just walked up to them and flicked their foreheads.

“Still as mischievous as ever, Hikari, Hikaru. I am home,” Ginryu said softly while pulling them both into a light hug.

“Sniff! Sniff! Gin,” the twins suddenly started crying.

“Why did you leave us?” they asked while sobbing.

“Shhh, I am back now, no more crying. I don’t remember raising crybabies,” Ginryu playfully remarked.

“Sniff! We're not crying,” both Hikari and Hikaru replied while wiping their teary eyes.

Ginryu just chuckled at their behavior before lifting them both high up onto his shoulders.

“Are those Ginryu-sama’s children?” Goemon curiously asked Inuchiyo while whispering.

“I don’t think so; they look nothing like him,” Inuchiyo replied.

“You know that I can still hear you,” Ginryu said to the whispering girls.

“Inuchiyo, you know what to do; Goemon, call for a physician,” Ginryu instructed. The physician was to treat Yasuhiro’s injuries.

“Hai,” they both replied before going off to complete their tasks.

Yin had just woken up due to the commotion and found out that they had already arrived at the house.

The first people she saw were the twins whom Ginryu had carried up.

“Welcome back, Yin,” Hikari and Hikaru greeted as soon as they noticed that she was awake.

They had been with Yin since their birth, and Yin was the one who looked after them the most.

Yin was like their mama cat, even though she looked like a cub herself.

Yin let out a yawn and replied with a meow to their greeting.

“Come to think of it, where is your father?” Ginryu asked the twins.

“He is in the back meditating or something,” Hikaru replied.

He and Hikari had just begun learning meditation, which they both found boring.

“I see. I will go see him now,” Ginryu replied.

The twins started struggling to get down; they were afraid that Yoriichi would scold them for breaking their swords.

“If it’s about the swords, I will explain to him,” Ginryu said to put them at ease.

He could tell what they were thinking.

‘Yoriichi must have become quite the father. This healthy amount of fear for him is just right,’ Ginryu thought.

He too had employed such a means when raising them.

Dropping the twins back on the ground, Ginryu, along with them, made their way to the backyard.

“Yo, Yoriichi. It’s been a while,” Ginryu said to the meditating Yoriichi.

Yoriichi opened his eyes and stared at Ginryu, complex emotions reflected within his eyes.

The familiarity Ginryu treated him with was a bit startling, considering that they only knew each other and talked for a few days before Ginryu suddenly vanished for a bit over 2 years, leaving him with only a note.

“Greetings, Ginryu-dono,” Yoriichi hesitantly replied. He didn’t really know how to address Ginryu.

“Hmm, what happened to your swords?” Yoriichi asked.

“Well, Uhm,” the twins struggled to reply.

“They broke while practicing new moves on me,” Ginryu answered while ruffling their hair.

“Sigh, I told them so many times not to use them on people,” Yoriichi muttered to himself.

He had been hesitant in teaching his children the sun breathing style but ended up giving in to pressure from them when they saw him practicing and asked to learn.

“I do understand your point, but don’t scold them too much,” Ginryu said.

Their strength couldn’t hurt him, but it could hurt a normal person, considering the abnormal strength the twins both possessed.

“You kids go and play. I have some things to discuss with your father,” Ginryu said with a serious expression.

The twins first looked to Yoriichi, waiting for his additional approval before they left.

Yoriichi nodded his head in approval, before the twins left.

Ginryu noticed this and smiled.

‘This is how things should be,’ he thought as he watched the kids scurry away.

“It seems that you have completely become a father,” Ginryu remarked.

“Hmm,” Yoriichi replied with a smile. The past two years had been the happiest he had been in a long time.

"That's great," Ginryu said, returning a smile to Yoriichi.

"Care to have a drink?" Ginryu offered, pulling out some cups and sake from his inventory.

"You never cease to amaze me," Yoriichi muttered as he saw Ginryu manipulate space in front of his eyes. 

It was a bit shocking, but not too much. He had encountered several demons with spatial abilities in the past.

"Come on, it's some premium sake from the Oda clan," Ginryu urged upon seeing Yoriichi's hesitation.

"Sigh, just a bottle," Yoriichi hesitantly replied. It wasn't that he hated drinking, but he avoided it as much as possible. Alcohol weakened and confused the mind, after all.

Ginryu too didn't drink often as most alcohol couldn't get him drunk. 

Under the glow of the setting sun, a cool breeze blew, carrying the scent of aromatic flowers planted around the manor. 

The laughter and joy of the playing children whispered in the background as Yoriichi and Ginryu enjoyed their drink.

"So, what is the important topic you wanted to discuss?" Yoriichi asked Ginryu.

"Well, it's not extremely serious, but we will have to leave here in a few months," Ginryu replied.

"Why?" Yoriichi asked, having grown fond of their current location.

"Within the next few months, a large-scale war will begin," Ginryu said, explaining the signs of it that were already noticeable. He chose not to reveal the true reason he knew.

"I see," Yoriichi replied with a saddened expression. War brought back memories of his brother and how he changed from a role model to someone he had to take down.

"Well, the war would not normally affect us that much, but the demons are going to be a pain," Ginryu remarked, taking a sip from his sake cup.

"So, what plans do you have in mind?" Yoriichi asked.

"Hmm, I am not sure. On one hand, I feel that I should leave again, and on the other, I want to stay," Ginryu replied.

"I don’t fully understand," Yoriichi replied.

"To make things simple, I am currently involved in a whirlwind of human politics with potential human enemies. Then there is Muzan and the demons who would normally avoid me, but if I stay, then you and the children may become targets from both humans and demons once the war begins. Additionally you too have a lot of demon enemies" Ginryu explained.

"I see. I too am torn between my responsibilities as a father and hunting demons. I know they will eventually find me; that's one of the reasons I started teaching the children to fight," Yoriichi replied.

"Well, we can think of all this later; for now, we drink," Ginryu said.

Clink!

With the clink of their sake cups, Ginryu and Yoriichi drank, setting aside their problems for another day.