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“Umm well… It’s been a while.”
“Hahah, you’ve really grown a lot. You were just a small grade schooler back then.”

Saying that, he began ruffling her hair, just like he did all those years back, making Kou flustered.

Somehow…he looked exactly the way Kou remembered him.
His face had a rather rugged look, but it also had a strangely sagely and relaxing side to it.
His hair was kept short on the front, but behind it was long and tied, of a rich red color that was hard to believe it was natural.
From a distance he appeared thin, but he was not weak by any measure. Even the area around his neck that was exposed showed he had a toned body, with muscles that seemed forged out of iron.

“Kou, who’s this man?”
“Ahh, do you remember when me and Subaru went to that dojo years ago? There was this one time when someone new taught us for a few days. He was really strong, and even our instructor approved of him, saying he was stronger. This is him…”
“I’m Hasekura Reiji, nice to meet you both.”

He grinned as he introduced himself, like a rowdy child that grew up without changing his ways. He held out his large hand as well, which Kou shook.

*Woah, even his skin feels really tough.*

His red hair made it easy to see him as some frivolous person, but in reality that could not be further from the truth.
There were no callouses to be seen on his hands, as they virtually covered them entirely, likely from a lifetime of training with a sword.
His natural stance also revealed that his core and leg strength far surpassed the average person’s. Those were all things that Kou had not been able to take note of all those years back, but now she could.

“…Kou?”
“Ah, sorry…I blanked out for a moment.”

For some reason her brain had gone straight into running simulations to see how she could strike a hit against him, gradually becoming desperate as she could not find an answer… Until Hijiri made her snap out of it.

“Hasekura…does that mean you’re..?”
“Oh right, grandpa told me you always went every so often to tend to the dojo. That’s something I should’ve been doing myself, so thank you a lot.”

Saying that, Reiji bowed deeply to Kou.
As he explained, he had been away for work and could not return to Japan for many years, and had been worried about the dojo.

“He told us his grandson left the dojo before, was that you?”
“…Well, yes, that’s me. I still feel bad for abandoning him like that.”

He sounded genuinely sorry for what he did, looking down as his voice lowered in volume. At the same time, Kou felt bad for thinking so negatively of the grandson that abandoned the dojo instead of inheriting, while also recalling what the old man had said.

“Don’t worry, when we spoke he said he was proud of his grandson who left to fight for something more important.”
“He said that… Hahah, he never says things like that directly to me.”

He laughed awkwardly, and Kou also could see what he meant, recalling how her old master could be a bit eccentric at times.
Then Reiji noticed that Kou and Hijiri were looking at him with the same warm smile, so he coughed a bit and switched topics.

“You know, I really wish I could introduce my wife and daughter to you…but sadly they’re staying somewhere for the night.”
“Ohh, you’re married then?”
“Yup, I am. She went to see her family…I guess? Basically she’s seeing her home after a while too.”

He did not seem too sure of how to word things, and Kou could only assume that there were some complicated reasons behind that, but decided it was best not to pry.

“…Either way, I’m guessing you’ll also be coming with Amari to the vacation house?”
“Ah…is your family going there too?”
“We’ve known each other for a long time, and Kikyo too. You’ll get to meet my wife and daughter there then, but I’ll warn you now, they’re really pretty so try not to faint the moment you see them.”
“Ahahah… Alright, I’ll be looking forward to that then.”

The way he smiled and his cheeks reddened as he boasted of his family showed just how much he loved them.

“So…is that the girl you told me about before? Back when I asked you why you wanted to get stronger, and you said there was a girl you wanted to protect?”
“Hey… Why are you bringing that up?!”
“Huh, me?”

Kou desperately tried to silence him when he suddenly began exposing her like that, but it was too late… Hijiri’s eyes went round, blinking rapidly trying to process what she heard, her cheeks quickly becoming red.
Having that episode from her innocent childhood revealed was also embarrassing for Kou, who got red to the tip of her ears as she looked down to hide her face.

“Hahah, sorry sorry. Okay, I think I’ve taken enough time away from your date, so I’ll let you be now. I’ll be staying here for a while so I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

Seeing that Kou would not raise her head, and Hijiri was also clearly flustered and unsure of what to do, he laughed a bit while turning around and left.

Some time after he left…

“Hmm…”
“Hm? Is something wrong, Hijiri?”

All of a sudden Hijiri had become pensive, letting out a pensive grumble.

“Say, Kou. It’s been many years since you last met him, right?”
“Huh? Yeah, why?”

At least that was as far as Kou could remember, and she knew she would remember other encounters with someone with such a striking and unusual hair color in Japan.

“He also remembered you as a boy, but then didn’t say anything at all about you being a girl now, did he?”
“…Ah!”

That was true. He had behaved the entire time like he was talking with an old friend, not once questioning why Kou was a girl now.

“Maybe someone from the dojo told him beforehand?”
“Hmm…maybe we’re just overthinking things…”

While they were not fully satisfied with that answer, they decided to stop thinking about it and focused on picking up that cake.

Afterword:
And there’s the previous protagonist.