Chapter 24 :

Episode 6 : Hidden Quest (2)

Raiden and I began training again..

‘Concentrate..’ I thought as the black katana came forth in my grip.

Raiden got into his position while drawing out his katana.

The hallway was soon saturated with silence as we stood there, waiting for the moment to strike.

I exhaled to relax myself and dashed toward him as he was walking to me.

In that short moment, our swords collided, causing them to make tiny sparks.

I pushed back his blade, so I could attack his neck but he easily blocked it with his sword.

Realizing my attack didn't land, Raiden knocked my blade out of his way to slash his sword at me.

However, I ducked down which allowed me to land a low spinning sweep kick. The kick forced Raiden to be off balance and that was a perfect chance for me to thrust my sword into his heart.

Caught in the middle of eventually winning against Raiden in a sword fight, I almost stabbed him..

Almost..

If it weren't for the black katana sudden pause, I would have ended Raiden's life there.

Aware of what I would have done, I immediately let the katana disappeared and quickly offered my hand to Raiden.

"Sorry! I almost got carried away.." I apologised sincerely.

Raiden smiled as he grabbed my hand to support himself upward. "Whoa! You're getting the hang of it!"

"I am? Oh, thank you."

"Your swordsmanship is a bit polished and elegant now." Raiden praised me.

‘It might be because I have ‘Weapon Mastery’ Lv. 1.’ I said this to myself for the reason that I couldn't say it out loud.

"I thought you killed me there! Good thing, you stopped yourself." Raiden laughed it out wholeheartedly.

‘Should I tell him it wasn't me but the katana that did it? ..Nah.’ I shrugged my shoulder.

I asked Raiden. "Does this mean I get to learn your techniques?"

"Ah! Yes, you can but until you polish your swordsmanship first."

"Hm.. How long will it take?"

"Since you're getting better now, I presume maybe 2 more days?"

"2 days.. so I have 6 days remaining to completely learn your techniques."

"That's right! You must try harder, my student!"

"Then shall we get on with our training, teacher?" The black katana appeared again in my hand, I took a stance to prepare myself as I gripped the hilt with both of my hands.

Raiden grinned while rushing in front of me with his blade ready to thrust in my direction. "We shall."

At this moment in time, I was smirking as if I had waited such a long time for this familiar duel.

Raiden could very well see my expression. What he saw though, was an unexpected devilishly smirk suitable for my villainous face..

———

After 4 days of training and finally learning the first part of Raiden's technique.

I could only be thinking of Mirai who hadn't even set foot in the hallway after she left.

And because of that, I couldn't focus much while I was practicing. ‘Why hasn't she come back yet? I understand she is powerful enough to be alone but isn't she lonely?’

That thought stuck to me until one night, I finally went out of the hallway to look for Mirai.

I shouldn't be going alone, but I couldn't help it since I didn't want to wake Raiden up from his peaceful rest.

There was a torch on the wall, so I took it to help me clearly see in the dark as I was walking through it.

Minutes after minutes, I couldn't seem to find where Mirai was.

‘If only there was an easy way.’ I sighed.

Out of a sudden, a voice creeped up behind me. "What are you doing here?"

I turned around to discover Mirai with her arms behind her back as if she was hiding something there.

I answered her question. "I was looking for you."

Mirai raised her eyebrow up and asked me again. "And why would you do that? Didn't Raiden and I tell you to not leave the hallway?!"

"Yes.. but I was worried that you might feel lonely or such."

She looked away as her cheeks slowly turned to red. She mumbled. "Arigato.. baka."

( ‹Arigato› means ‘Thank You’ in Japanese. )

"Huh..?" I couldn't quite hear what she said.

"Anyway, since you're here.." She revealed what she was hiding from her back and handed me clothes before continuing her talk. "I made them for you using my silk."

"Eh?!" I was greatly stunned as to why Mirai would actually make this.

"Don't get me wrong. I only made it because you looked ugly with your dirty clothes. ..And because I'm going with you."

"What? You're going with me?" I blinked thrice from being perplexed.

"Put the new clothes on right now. I won't look." She covered her face with her fan and turned her back on me. "Tell me when you're done."

"..Okay." I was genuinely more surprised..

During that time, I didn't want her to wait long, so I removed the clothes I was wearing right now and instantly put on the new clothes that Mirai had created for me.

They were a white shirt, black pants, a black trench coat and dark combat boots..

After I confirmed I was done, I told Mirai. "You can look at me now."

Mirai uncovered her face and slowly her eyes opened wide when she saw me.

"How do I look?" I smiled before closing my eyes to think. ‘I'm anxious if I look good or not.. because I don't want her clothes to be wasted.’

Mirai embraced me into a tight hug which surprised me again. "Mirai?"

"..."

"Is there a problem?"

"Captain.." She muttered sadly, given that she was extremely close to me, I could definitely hear what she was muttering now.

"I'm not your captain." I told her that being said she was still embracing me.

From her perspective, she might see me as her captain.. No, maybe she's hallucinating him instead of me. However.. Do I really look like him? Never mind that, she must truly miss him.

I patted her head in a gentle manner before gradually hugging back.