As Kira turned and left for her training grove, instead of going home as he’d said, Kagetsuna headed in the direction of the Clan Hall. Earlier that morning, his father had taken him aside and asked him to come there while Kira was out training. Although he really wanted to watch Kira training her mysterious techniques, his father’s requests took priority.

“Mom, Dad, Elders, what’s up?”

He entered the hall where his parents and the clan’s Elders were sitting. Seeing the serious expressions on the faces of his intelligent mother and easygoing father, he was naturally a bit curious as he asked.

“This concerns Kira. Sometime 2 days from now, we’ll need you to keep an eye on her, to make sure she stays safe.”

“Is she in some sort of trouble? Did that idiot cousin Yamanaka already come complain? Argh, that guy really runs fast for an attention-seeking bully…”

Immediately assuming what this meeting was about, Kagetsuna blurted out the first explanation that came to mind.

“What’s this about nephew Yamanaka?”

Kagetsuna clamped his mouth shut as he realised his error. His father had asked for this meeting before that incident so of course he wouldn’t know anything about it.

His parents seemed genuinely surprised.

“Ah, sorry, long story. Forget it. Please, go on.”

“You’ll have to explain this story about your cousin later. However, this matter…concerns the Oda Clan…”

“What? How? When did Kira have the chance to offend those people? In the first place, she isn’t the type to handle situations carelessly.”

Kagetsuna was definitely shocked. It was well-known that the Oda Clan was one of the two major powers in Edge. That Kira would intentionally offend them wasn’t something that he could comprehend. Between the Toyotomi Clan and the Oda Clan, one could say that the Toyotomi Clan was just slightly stronger, but not by too much. However, it was rumoured that the Oda Clan now had a mysterious, unknown backer behind the scenes.

“Let us, your parents and Elders, worry about the details. Your only job during that time is to protect your sister but, and this is important, do not intervene unless absolutely necessary.”

Kagetsuna was slightly surprised but still nodded. After mulling it over with his battle-centric way of thinking, he quickly understood.

He comprehended that this was his parents’ way of making the best of a bad situation. If Kira could endure the ordeal that was to come, her growth would increase exponentially. However, they needed some insurance that Kira would be safe. It seemed that they could not interfere personally in this matter.

‘I’ve always heard rumours of how mysterious and clever Mom is, but this is the first time I’ve been personally involved. In a way, she’s actually pretty scary.’

Kagetsuna thought as he glanced over at his mother who had her usual warm smile on her face.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to her. I swear on my life. If that is all, then I will leave first.”

“You may go.”

Kagetsuna bowed and left the room. Naomi and Koto smiled at each other. The heavens had indeed smiled on them for giving them such talented and obedient children. Now, unless the older members of the Oda Clan became involved, there was nothing for them to fear.

‘But if you seriously hurt our children…’

‘…Edge will be bathed in the blood of the Oda Clan.’

šOnce she got back home, Kira was surprised to find that Kagetsuna wasn’t around. He had said goodbye to her before heading towards their home. If he had forgotten something at the Training Hall, she would have seen him there on the way back. This really was odd.

As Kira was about to throw this thought aside, the spiky-haired youth came in through the front gate of their home.

“Brother, where were you? I thought that you went home ahead of me.”

“I realised I had some other stuff to do but I’m finished now.”

“That makes sense. I’ll enter first then.”

“Wait up.”

“Hmm, is something the matter?”

“Nah, not really. I just thought that we haven’t exchanged pointers[1] in a while. You seem tired now so how about tomorrow?”

After finding out that Kira would be in some kind of danger, Kagetsuna felt the need to test his sister’s current strength. Of course, at the same time, he was curious about her true abilities. He wondered if he could get her to reveal them in the more private setting and with someone she trusted. Perhaps, if he was lucky, he could use the opportunity to get her to explain where she had learned those strange and elegant sword techniques.

“For my honourable brother, how can I refuse such a simple request? I am free tomorrow at noon. Is that acceptable?”

“Of course. I’ll be waiting.”

“Then I will leave first. I need to eat while my body is still tired.”

With that, Kira turned and walked off towards the kitchen. Kagetsuna shook his head. Although he was used to the strangely formal way that Kira spoke, at times it made her seem rather cold and indifferent when he knew there was at least a bit of the warmth hidden in her heart.

Around their parents he would see that warm and friendly side more often but, with him, getting her to smile was already an achievement.

Kira had reached the kitchen and was warming some leftover stew in a pot over the kitchen fire as she thought about Kagetsuna’s request. It was true that she didn’t go out of her way to spend time with her family as training was her first priority. However, this invitation made her realise that, of all the people she knew in this world, her family would be there to support her no matter what happened.

‘I suppose I actually should spend more time with them. They are my family now after all.’

Family. Being adopted by the Takanashi Clan, this was the one thing she had spent quite a bit of time thinking about when not training. She would often come up with fantastical scenarios in her head as she imagined what her parents were like and what circumstances led them to leaving her with the clan. Even though she had covered up her longing by distracting herself with training, she was still a human being with emotions.

This sparring session with her brother would be a good first step towards strengthening their bond as she knew clearly how much of a battle-freak he was. She let herself have a small smile of excitement.

All said and done, her brother was the genius of the clan’s younger generation and would definitely put up a fight worth her time.

šWhen she finished eating, Kira returned to her room. The training program she had developed maximised her efficiency in raising her strength as fast as possible. In general, during the day, she would train her body, whether through cardio exercises, weight training or sword training. Overall, she tried to keep a balanced workout to train her body evenly to strengthen her Life Energy cultivation level.

At night she would dedicate the time to cultivating her Soul Energy through till the morning.

Kira sat on her bed and crossed her legs into the lotus position, her hands forming a strange shape, a seal, that helped the surrounding energy flow into her body more easily. Calmly taking measured breaths, Kira used her Soul Sense to feel out the natural energy around her and draw it into her body. Once it passed through the barrier of her skin, Kira guided the energy to her Soul Paths before drawing it through a specific route in order to refine it.

According to a scroll which she had found in the clan library, the route which the natural energy took as it was being refined into Soul Energy, also known as a cultivation route, determined qualities of the energy itself.

Back then, Kira had simply looked for the cultivation technique which would best facilitate fast growth while maintaining stability of her Soul Energy. She knew that with an unstable foundation her future growth would be greatly impeded. After all, no good building had a poor foundation. Once she completed this Foundation phase of cultivation and formed her Soul Core, she would look for a better cultivation route.

After being refined, the now-blue Soul Energy floated in a gaseous form within her body. As she was still in the Foundation phase, this energy was still mostly formless and couldn’t be used except for the weakest of Weapon Skills, at most, a few middle-level Basic Skills.

That older cousin Yamanaka, despite being five years older, was much worse than her, who was almost at the peak of the Foundation phase in terms of Soul Energy, yet he had the arrogance to think that he could effectively train a high-level Basic Skill with his meagre Soul Energy which, by her estimation, was only enough to use it once a day.

But, when she compared him to Kagetsuna, who was of the same age, who had formed his Soul Core when he was ten, three years after learning to cultivate, it could be seen just how much of a genius her brother was.

šThe next day, at noon.

The Suzuki Clan Leader’s residence.

Main courtyard.

The two siblings stood facing each other, about 10 meters apart, each with their own respective blunt-edged training swords on their hips. They both wore their usual black training robes which were specially-cut for easy movement and made of a soft and light yet tough material that wouldn’t chafe. Their training swords were made by the best smiths in Edge and were tailor-made for their preferences while taking into account their future growth.

As the genius children of the Clan Leader, no expense or effort was spared on them when it came to their development because, as far as the entire clan was concerned, these children were their future.

“Suzuki Clan, Foundation rank, Suzuki Kira. Please advise me.”

“Suzuki Clan, Core rank, Suzuki Kagetsuna. Please advise me.”

After giving customary greetings of respect, the siblings cupped their hands before simultaneously drawing their swords and assuming their ready-stances.

Never being the one to give an opponent a chance to prepare, Kagetsuna made the first move. Pushing off the ground, raising a small cloud of dust, he kept his body low as he rushed towards Kira while bringing his blade to his side.

Never one to be intimidated by an enemy, even one much stronger than herself, Kira remained calm and side-stepped to the same side as Kagetsuna was holding his sword while raising hers vertically to shield her body.

‘Not too bad little sis.’

Kagetsuna smiled proudly in his heart as he thought this. Kira’s calm exterior wasn’t just for show. She had known that, by moving to the same side that his attack came from, she could limit the amount of momentum his attack could build up by reducing his space to swing his weapon. Kagetsuna followed through with his horizontal strike, their colliding blades sending trails of sparks flashing through the air.

Kira’s arms shook slightly from the force of the impact of his incomplete attack. However, she didn’t let her position shift. To do so would be to create openings which Kagetsuna would undoubtedly take advantage of.

As soon as Kagetsuna felt that Kira was resisting his attack hard enough, he abruptly slid his blade off of Kira’s as he moved past, letting the snapback force power his cut towards her neck as he stabilised his stance.

Caught off-guard by this rapid transition and sudden loss of force to push against, Kira stumbled slightly but just about managed to duck below her blade as it formed a defensive metal cover above her head. Letting Kagetsuna’s attack slip off her blade like morning dew off a new leaf, Kira then stabbed straight towards his solar plexus[2].

Pleasantly surprised by Kira’s fast reaction, Kagetsuna skilfully controlled his blade, preventing it from dropping too far after his failed attack and, using the back of his sword, deflected Kira’s stab off into empty air. Without missing a beat, and while Kira’s sword was far from a position to defend her, he brought the tip of his sword to Kira’s throat.

“Looks like round one is mine. When you decide to attack, remember to commit yourself to dealing with the counter. You shouldn’t be thinking ‘Is he going to counter?’ but ‘How is he going to counter?’. Got it?”

“Understood, brother.”

After resetting to their starting positions, their clash began again.

“Haah!”

This time, Kira took the initiative to start the fight. With a soft yell to focus her thoughts, she rushed forward, sword held vertically near her shoulders. As she drew near, she followed the movements of her brother’s body as he moved to defend himself. Feinting her strike, she spun her body to attack his open weak side.

Not expecting a feint right at the start of the fight, Kagetsuna was momentarily startled as Kira’s body shifted and his prepared defence had to be completely abandoned as he reacted to her actual attack.

Instead of stepping back or to the side, he instead stepped into the attack.

When a sword swung, the fastest-moving point, and the point with the most cutting potential, was, obviously, the tip. As you get closer to the hilt, the acceleration of the blade is much less. Kagetsuna knew this and moving forward was the only measure he could take in this limited time.

Seeing Kagetsuna refuse to back away and instead move forward, Kira knew that her element of surprise was mostly gone. Although she had the advantage right now, it was a fleeting one that she had to make use of quickly.

As Kagetsuna’s blade met hers, Kira brought her sword up horizontally at chest level, her left hand releasing the sword’s hilt as she placed it against the back of her blade and pushed towards his incoming sword.

Feeling out her Twin Energies, Kira withdrew them and wound them together into a fine spherical lattice of ruby and sapphire. Mentally pulling hard on multiple threads of energy, the lattice shrank into a tiny sphere of compressed energy which appeared to turn golden under the pressure.

Mentally grasping the golden orb, Kira gave it a mental flick towards her Activation Paths where it followed a winding route between her Soul Paths and blood vessels and began to grow increasingly brighter.

Exiting the Paths, that brilliant golden orb split into two hemispheres, each one racing down one of her arms and into her hands where they froze. The flat surfaces of the hemispheres rotated to face each other and shot rays of golden light down the sword blade towards the other and, where they collided, a radiant wave of energy exploded out as a flash of gold shot across Kira’s pupils.

Kira’s brow furrowed slightly in concentration as the air rose around her and an unseen, halo-shaped force pulse blasted out from her. Being in direct contact with Kira’s blade as the force radiated outward, Kagetsuna got the worst of it and his balance was completely broken. As he stumbled backwards, in no position to defend himself in time, he could only watch helplessly as Kira raised her blade to his throat while panting slightly.

“It appears that we are even now.”

Kira said she took control of her breathing, feeling somewhat satisfied with herself.

“Still made you use a Skill first. Heh, that first-level Suzuki-style ‘Rejection’ was pretty good. Timed it perfectly as well.”

“But you could easily deal with it under normal circumstances.”

“You got me there, but I couldn’t now and that’s what’s important. Can you still keep going?”

“Brother, it appears that you are underestimating me.”

“Maybe, maybe not, show me what you’ve got…damn, that was a bad one.”

Kagetsuna’s excited and hyperactive personality when fighting couldn’t be compared to any other time and Kira held in her desire to smile at his horrible rhyme as the two siblings once again took up their ready-stances before engaging in battle once again.

[1] To spar (have a mock fight)

[2] Small area on the chest located just below the sternum.