Obanai Iguro- Serpent Hashira, judgmental, brutal, sharp, and harsh in his actions. That's how this man was. As his tsugoko, you didn't have it easy. He only constantly criticized you and sent you to the ground for training. If you didn't do something, he punished you brutally. He trained you until you fainted, sometimes even using you in his own training sessions, and his snake, Kaburamaru, didn't make it easy for you either. He never forgave you anything, he never forgot, he only reproached and judged you, he never gave you an "easier" because you felt worse or exhausted. It was hell. But judging by what you've heard from others, he sometimes mentions you at pillar meetings, even positively, but only minimally.

You didn't hate him, but you were personally fed up with his teaching methods. Recently, because your sword accuracy was 14/15, he tied you to the training beam for the rest of the day. 14/15, almost perfect, and yet he did this to you. Sometimes you get the feeling he cares more about his snake than his own Tsugoko. But when he talks to Mitsuri or mumbles about her, sometimes your frustration subsides a bit. Then this brutal man acts like a shy, lovesick puppy. It's even cute sometimes.

Yesterday he made you train until late, you don't even remember how long. The moon must have already been up when you crawled painfully into his mansion after training, exhausted. It was raining heavily, and he was sent on a mission. You went to sleep in your room, hoping he'd return soon and maybe finally appreciate your efforts.

You woke up early the next morning, getting ready quickly out of habit. He always criticized you for being late...even if it was just a minute or a half. You left the room and ate something, and immediately after that you went to the training ground where your sensei was usually. Empty. Surprised, you checked the training room. Also empty.Thinking that maybe he hadn't returned yet, you decided to go back to your place and take care of your bird until you heard a sound...like a cough.

You turned your head in surprise. It was coming from his room, where you had a strict No Trespassing Order threatening to tie you to a tree in the middle of a demon-infested forest for the entire night if you broke it. A shiver ran through you as you remembered him doing this once before. But when you heard that sound again, curiosity got the better of you.

Gently, with the utmost care and caution, as quietly as a cat, you moved shoji just to "peek inside" to see if he had returned from his mission. What you saw made you stop in your tracks.

The hot air, the sickly air, the futon, and the bandages beside him that Iguro usually had on his face around his mouth. He slept there, coughing every few minutes. You couldn't see his face from this distance, but this revealed secret drew you in, and you slowly stepped inside.

His face was pale, with a faint, feverish flush, and scars stretched from the corners of his mouth to the ends of his cheeks, like the mouth of a snake. He was breathing shallowly, slightly heavy and fast, and his hair was sticking to his forehead. He was small, well, 162 cm height. You were taller than him, which sometimes made you laugh because you were younger than him.

Sick? You thought for a second, slowly and involuntarily reaching out your hand to check if he had a fever, when suddenly Kaburamaru appeared out of nowhere and hissed at you loudly, almost biting your hand. You instinctively pulled it back with a small sound of surprise, and Obanai suddenly opened his mismatched, two-toned eyes, and instinctively reached for his nichirin, covering his mouth with his sleeve.