Question's Line

Yumi leapt back gaining more distance from the incoming blades, though in the time that she had between the blades and herself made it only possible for her to parry the strikes rather than escape their reach in time. While in the leap, she parried two of the blades that had undodgeable lethal strikes. The remaining two she leaned her body allowing her to shift just enough to let the third miss and tried to block the last.

At the end of the attack, Yumi popped out of her leap sliding back on the ground with the blade of Masa’s katana hovering only millimeters away from her cheek. A tiny shallow cut streaked over her skin letting out a thin trail of blood.

The katana returned back to Masa’s side with a look in her eyes of surprise and respect for Yumi. ‘She managed to see my strike and parry it…she’s more skilled than I gave her credit.’ While the technique wasn’t a finishing move typically, the speed at which she used it against her enemies had become one. It was the last resort for someone that managed to live against all of her other attacks. ‘Only the Demon Lords could see through that technique…’

Turning a quarter turn away from Yumi, Masa tilted her head toward the woman challenger. The katana gleamed with the sun reflecting off its highly polished and well cared for blade. Despite the countless deaths it brought, it still looked as though it had been freshly delivered from the blacksmith. “It would seem I have to acknowledge you’re no glory seeker. Who is the woman that exchanges blades for a question?”

Resting her white blade at her side, but still close in defense, Yumi allowed for a break in the fight. It had been so long, she couldn’t even remember if they ever exchanged any words in their two previous meetings. She couldn’t remember if she actually gave out her name or at least had the opportunity to do so. Masa was a maelstrom in the battles going at her own pace and ignoring anyone that wasn’t an enemy.

Meeting eyes with the woman that she chased for five years and having her finally look back and see her felt like an achievement itself, but she wasn’t about to stop there. She had only reached the starting position. The goal remained ahead of her still. “Yumi Mizuno, a wandering swordswoman like yourself,” she answered, exaggerating the claim a little, but it made things simpler in explanation than saying that she was a psychic as Yuki described her or an esper which was an even more difficult term to explain.

“You claim to be a swordswoman, but I don’t recognize your style.”

“It’s not widely practiced and the only master died before I completed my training.” Part of that was true, since Saki did die, though Yuki had picked up where she left off. But it wasn’t like either of them knew a sword style to teach her. All they could help with was martial training and melee fighting. In the end, all of her swordsmanship was instinct and improvised. Neither were facts that she wanted to share with Masa.

There wasn’t an immediate response from Masa, as she expected there might be. But she followed through with what she planned on her saying all the same. “Your swordsmanship lacks any sort of focus or consistency.” Which was about what anyone could expect from someone not trained in sword arts and making it all up as they went along.

Her flaws being called out hurt a little more than Yumi thought it would. She wasn’t about to disagree with the statement. Masa was right and likely as a master swordswoman, she found Yumi’s style likely disrespectful and offensive to watch. There were no points to be had in her form. But this is what Yumi insisted on doing. “I’ll keep that in mind for the future.”

Chapter 471 – Question’s Line

Masa promptly shifted her stance, taking a familiar one as before when she prepared to strike, though this time with her katana free. She still kept her undefended side to Yumi with her sword behind her. But unlike before, there was very little build up to the attack. In an instant, she crossed the gap between the two and unleashed a completely invisible attack.

Yumi tried to block the impossibly fast blade, but failed with the force behind it shattering her white sword. The katana cleaved through the blade of energy letting the severed part fall to the ground and disappear into particles. A grimace washed over her face as a bit of blood drew up at her waist, the blade didn’t actually get through her whole body as Masa intended. She looked closer to see a second blade in her other hand behind her back, having stalled it enough with her first block that she could awkwardly block it, though not fully. It ended in a shallow cut for Yumi.

The swordswoman looked at Yumi fading between frustration and respect for her quick reflexes. Before the blade even hit, she knew it was going to be too much for her to stop with one a single sword. Even with her speed and it being too fast for her to see, the instants before it struck Yumi had been able to make all of the calculations needed and made the call. She let her think that she was going to block it with just one weapon, keeping the second hidden from her line of sight with her body.

A risky play by Yumi that the swordswoman could appreciate. It took guts to stand still and hold the line rather than retreat when it was almost certain to be a failure. Masa started to find Yumi a little interesting and compelling for her. She ceased to be anything like her mind conjured up to explain her sudden appearance.

Everything needed to be re-evaluated from the beginning.

Especially when Yumi’s boldness required Masa actually to dodge seeing that she had in fact locked her blade in with her sword preventing her from blocking or parrying as she would have normally. The speed at which they battled made every instant a waste of time. Yumi planned it all out well to try to get an opening in her defense.

All Yumi managed was to cut a little bit of the cloth of Masa’s coarse fabric that made up her hakama. ‘She’s got good instincts. She couldn’t have seen the strike, but still took advantage of it to make me retreat…’ It felt a little like a message from Yumi to her.

‘Thank you for getting serious.’

Responding in kind was the only thing that she could do now. Their battle had to step up again. It wasn’t enough for either of them to be truly serious. And Masa had still been treating her like someone that she casually cast aside using basic techniques from her sword. But Yumi proved herself to not be that sort of person.

Masa ignored the slice in her hakama and reset her stance. No longer being casual about her approach, her sword gleamed in the sun, suddenly seeming to be sharper and deadlier than before. If it was possible she had channeled her resolve into the blade.

‘She’s changed,’ Yumi commented to herself, noticing how much the attitude that Masa had altered from before. ‘Her previous strikes had been only trying to end the fight quickly or prove that she was far superior to me. Now she’s actually ready to face me. I’m finally seeing her for real now…’ A white sword appeared in front of Yumi to replace the one that she broke, blocking Masa’s previous attack. Next to the blade appeared ten more matching swords.

Narrowing her eyes, she focused her power smashing all of the blades together giving the single blade a more opaque appearance. Yumi grabbed a hold of the enhanced blade showing the proof of her resolve to Masa not backing down from the challenge that she presented in her aura. She slid into her personal stance that felt comfortable ready for Masa to begin again. ‘This isn’t going to be like before…I’m going to need to start getting more serious now…’

Quakes rumbled through the ground reaching to the outside of the dome barrier where Yuki and Manekamaru sat together waiting. “Sounds like they’re getting serious now.”

“Yes, they’re back to moving too fast for me to monitor.”

“What’s your instinct on how Yumi compares?”

“This Masa has the obvious advantage in skill and experience. Yumi’s currently restricting her abilities to match Masa out of fairness.” This wasn’t the sort of side that she had shown him previously in their battle or any of the other demons. She brought everything that she had to use against her target to kill them. That method only seemed to be enhanced further after her training from Saki.

“You sound a little confused.”

The demon corrected his slip up, noticing that he had broken from his carefully maintained appearance. He hadn’t even realized that he had dropped his guard around Yuki, his calm and passive demeanor lulled him more than he thought. Looking at Yuki, he figured some of it out. “You then.”

“I can’t really take credit for that. I didn’t tell her anything for this fight.”

“But she’s been fighting only you for the last few years after she completed her training with your Saki clone.”

“I’d hesitate to say that she was fighting me considering how far beyond me she’s gone. At this point, I could only win by cheating. Saki was right about her. It’s a little surprising.”

“The way you fight, your style in making it a fair fight and not abusing your powers. She’s picked that up.”

“I can understand how she feels. This fight for her isn’t about winning at any cost. She’s not fighting for that reason anymore. She’s changed her mindset as you wanted her to do.” Yuki looked directly at the demon who didn’t slip from his regained composure any more. “You’re a part of this aren’t you.”

“I’m just an observer.”

“You are now anyway.”

Inside the dome, the battle between the two swords had increased the intensity and power being thrown around. Swings of their swords were enough to crack the ground and collisions created shockwaves that crumbled the rubble to pieces. And they still remained restrained from exercising their full strength. It was nowhere close to the conclusion of the battle with Hokuren yet. They were still not putting everything on the line yet.

Their battle hadn’t become more lethal yet. Despite the increase in their power, their strength remained fairly well matched. The previously invisible blades had become a blur for Yumi. It no longer had the same sort of feeling to it of killing her. ‘This pace…’ Yumi countered Masa’s sword, throwing it off and charging in with her shoulder knocking Masa back.

With their sword fighting so far, the shoulder charge took her off guard. She slid back over the ground with her feet dragged through the dirt. The ground that they fought on no longer was firm with it being loosened up or completely knocked away from their swords. Traction wasn’t the same as before. She rubbed her torso absentmindedly where Yumi surprised her. ‘She’s got more tricks…so she’s not really a swordswoman…’ Masa could feel that the hit was stronger than any of her strikes and with a greater confidence.

Her hand tightened up on the hilt of her katana staring across at Yumi. It wasn’t the sort of feeling that she expected. Frustration soured the taste in her mouth. ‘She’s intentionally handicapping herself…’ Masa charged forward in an uncharacteristic attack against Yumi.

She easily read through Masa’s movement and threw her over her shoulder to the ground and swung her blade at the prone woman. Even in the shock of being thrown, Masa had enough reaction awareness to block the blade. Though it didn’t manage to block cleanly as had been her style before. The bad angle and position left her own blade’s back hitting her tearing into her sleeve and drawing up a shallow bit of blood.

Dragging her blade out to push back Yumi, Masa flipped back, kicking her in the arm as she blocked. It gave Masa enough room to be able to stand up and find her center once more after that. She dusted off her clothes a little from the fall bringing her focus back. “Gave up trying to pretend to be a swordswoman?”

Yumi tilted her head letting a subtle pop come out as she cracked her neck letting out some pressure. The tension broke free letting her smile finally in the fight reaching the point that she wanted. She bounced softly on the balls of her feet, getting a little more energy into her step. “Far from the truth actually,” she said cheerfully feeling great now that she finished breaking through it.

‘She’s different now…’ Masa noted, seeing how much the countenance altered from the first part of their battle. Yumi kept focused and observant. Even if she didn’t have the speed to react to everything, she kept coming at her, making up for her lack in skill with determination and raw speed. “You seem happy.”

“I am! I’m finally getting to fight you. You’ve been all that I’ve been thinking about these past years and couldn’t be happier to finally be living in this moment. I want to see everything!”

“You’re a strange one getting such enjoyment from fighting a killer like me.”

“I’ve learned to appreciate all fights even if our lives are on the line. I’ve gotten sucked into this world partially against my will, but I kept walking forward even after. This is very serious, but I found that this actually excites me. It’s a whole new world for me and I’m still discovering new things about myself. So I can only embrace these things now and stop the repression that’s been my whole life. I’m in no one’s shadow any longer!”

Masa looked in silence for a moment at Yumi’s feeling like she got more of an answer from her than she wanted. She wasn’t seeking a life story from her strange stalker. Though there was more change in Yumi as she talked. ‘It seems like she’s lighter somehow…as though she’s needed this for some reason.’ Things made even less sense for Masa now. Her challenger was happy to fight and getting even more excited to continue. “You don’t look ready to fight the way you’re bouncing around…”

A bit of an absentminded glance to the side by Yumi slowly turned back to Masa. “Oh this? You’ve been showing off the style you’ve mastered. As you already saw I’m not very good with the sword, compared to you. But my training did let me develop a style all my own. Yuki wasn’t too fond of it and found it troublesome to deal with. So you’ll be the first one I get to really test it against.”

“Your own style?” The notion of some amateur in swords developing their own style of sword fighting churned Masa’s stomach a little. She didn’t like the idea of someone like that disrespecting the long tradition of the sword without even seeing what Yumi had planned. None of the foreboding from Yumi registered for her.

Not taking Yumi seriously on her word became Masa’s first mistake of their battle.

Yumi bounced on her feet a little more before tossing her sword into the air. The downward motion of her body suddenly blurred in a weird way for Masa as she disappeared briefly. Correcting her vision, she saw Yumi dropping down with her leg forcing her to block with her sword. The force of her leg broke Masa’s guard and suddenly the thrown sword dropped into Yumi’s hand as she swung down.

Blood sprayed up into the air.