Being present in the moment, I looked at Shank. "You honestly think that they are ready?" I asked him seriously. He nodded his head confidently. "Yes. I sometimes go to watch as they spar with each other. Each and every one of them are sharp and deadly." he said. It was high praise coming from him. I would still want some proof. "Fine then." I relented, looking at the children. "You'll all be fighting in the next battle. Prove that you can hold your own and I will ask the hermit to let you use his boat." They all began hugging us. I hugged them back. Shank spared a lick of affection for his son. "Are we still training, or what?" one of the mercenaries asked. "They children are going to join you until the next battle. Maybe you'll be there too if Shank thinks you're ready." I said to them before walking off. We had a full day, so all my servants were dismissed so they could rest. I wanted to rest too. That did not happen as a child of one of the champions came over. He told me about the children and even some of the adults bullying all of the guardian Blade Spirits. Enough was enough.
Catching up to them, I saw a swarm of people harassing the guardian Blade Spirits in the worst way possible. Zox was having his ass groped by a mercenary. "C'mon. It will be fine. You can stop playing hard to get. We all know your sword comes out your ass. Just give it to me." It was clear that Zox was uncomfortable. I walked up to them and shoved him back. "What the hell is wrong with you!? You don't do that to people. It's gross and lewd." I snapped. He just looked insulted. "Lewd!? Tell that to the guy who keeps a sword up his ass!" he spat back. "This has gone on long enough. The Blade Spirits just want to be left alone to do the jobs they want to do. Being harassed, bothered by everyone like this is not fair. From now on, they are going to start defending themselves." The mercenary paled. "Y-you mean he's going to... k-kill us!?" he asked in a panic. I shook my head. "No way! It's going to be a punch to the gut or a flick to the forehead to the children." I clarified. As annoying as they were, I did not want any of them dead. "Just disperse for now. Give them space."
Doing that allowed the 5 guardians breathe a sigh of relief. "I really meant it. You don't have to let people, especially the adults, touch you inappropriately. You can chose a champion if they actually impress you, but if they can't take no for an answer, they prove they never deserved you. Then you can punch or flick them until they leave you alone." The 5 spirits nodded their hands. "Good. Now, let me tell you about our day." I told them everything that happened. The looked envious of the daggers they used to work with. None more so than Ahu. He was a carbon copy of Uri after all. I decided to throw them a bone. "I broke my word about Uri and Ras serving here until the next battle because I did not want them getting harassed like you were this morning. It was unfair to let you guys get overrun. To atone for that, they will be here as I take you to the across the river to fight the red oni. Does that sound nice as an apology?" I asked them. They all nodded. I decided that I would take Tev and Qwill first. It gave me a reason to take the children across. It was a win-win scenario.
