Training: Part 2

I heard a faint voice calling to me. Their voice was muddled, so much so that I couldn’t make out what they were saying. It was accompanied by ringing white noise. My senses slowly expanded, registering the searing pain in my head.

“Aki! Are you alright?!”

I was finally able to comprehend their words. They were filled with worry, making my heart sink. My eyes focused on the source of the voice, specifically recognising strands of silver hair.

“Natsu? Uhhh, what happened? My head’s splitting like crazy.” I rubbed the back of my head, trying to ease the pain.

“Thank god, you’re awake! You had me worried sick!” Her eyes were wide open, as though I had come back from the dead.

She explained that I had gone to help take some equipment from the storage room as a job for the Volunteer club. However, I was gone for an unusually long time, causing her to worry and rush towards the storage room. Seeing me knocked out with a bunch of boxes covering my body gave her a large fright.

“I guess some boxes fell on me when I tried to grab that bat.” Somehow, I was still holding on to the bat: my objective for this mission.

“Be careful next time!” Natsu adorably shouted. I gave a wry chuckle, angering her more.

I missed her so much.

—-----------------

“Aki! Wake up!”

A piercing shout made me jump up like a cat getting its tail stomped on. In front of my face was Yukino, staring at me wide-eyed. She wasn’t alone, however. Riku and Chiyo stood beside her, observing me intently.

“What happened? I can’t remember anything.” My brain was muddled from top to bottom. Whatever happened before I got knocked out was a complete blur. I waited for an answer from those three, but all I got was silence.

All three of them stared intently at my eyes.

“Your pupils are star-shaped now…” Yukino commented with worry and confusion.

“Not just that, his hair’s green now. Chiyo, what on earth happened here?” Riku voiced out.

That’s when I finally remembered. I had read a line from a book to learn observational magic. Reading those words gave me unbearable pain in my eyes and clouded my vision. If it weren’t for Chiyo’s healing magic, I was sure I would have become blind.

“If I had to guess, Kurokawa must have an abnormally high compatibility with observational magic. It’s almost as though it’s permanently seared into his eyes. The colour of his hair must have changed due to some reaction with that spell,” Chiyo answered.

She then bowed down to me, her head touching the tatami’s floor.

“I’m sorry, Kurokawa. My naivety and carelessness caused you terrible damage. The pain I inflicted on you can never be forgiven.”

I was taken aback at her seriousness. Chiyo was the last person I thought would act this sincerely toward me.

“Please don’t apologise. I was the one who asked to learn observational magic. I should have been ready for the risks when trying a shortcut method. And hey, I’m completely fine now, aren’t I? See, there’s nothing to worry about.” I flailed my arms trying to show her that I was healthy.

Instead of calming her down, my actions made Riku burst out in laughter. Even Yukino was hiding her giggling.

“You follow up her apology with a circus show? Aki Kurokawa, you’re a peculiar man indeed. Maybe you should have become a performer instead of a strategist!” Riku howled in the midst of his laughter.

“Come on, Aki. You can do better than that.” Yukino joined in, now fully laughing.

“...PUHAHAHAH!” All of a sudden, Chiyo’s head shot up. She was laughing even louder than Riku. She rolled around the floor, unable to control herself.

“It can’t have been that funny…” I despondently looked at the floor, completely embarrassed. At least my attempt at calming her down had a better result than expected.

—---------------------------------

After some final checkups, I was allowed to leave Chiyo’s room freely. She gave one warning, however: I was only allowed to practice magic in her room. I agreed. A situation like earlier was something I did not want repeated. I remembered what I had seen when I first attempted to use that magic.

I recalled seeing Emperor Nobunaga in his quarters while the generals were training, or studying in Mr Arakawa’s case. The image in my head wasn’t clear, but I could barely make out their silhouettes. If I had to guess, I was using my observational magic then and probably overloaded my brain. However, something did not seem right with those visions.

There was another image in my thoughts, but it wasn’t as clear as the others. A silhouette of a girl stood far from my reach. Her locks of silver hair flowed with the wind. It reminded me of Natsu. But how could I see Natsu when I was in this world? It did not make sense.

I slapped my cheeks together. It was useless thinking about it now. My current priority was leading Aogiri to victory. Although I missed Natsu and wished I could see her soon, winning the war came first. I returned to the library to plan our next moves.

The afternoon sun hid under the sea of stars above. Mr Arakawa and I hadn’t realised how much time had passed. All the soldiers had disappeared, leaving an abandoned ground seared with footsteps. I bade goodbye to him and made my way to my room, awaiting a good night’s rest. But something caught my eye.

Shwing! The silver blade sliced cleanly through the air. She carried the katana not like a weapon but an extension of herself. Each swing was calculated with precision and grace. Her footsteps were light, like a ballet dancer gliding through the air. It was bewitching. It was breathtaking.

“Still working hard? Shouldn’t the princess be getting a good night’s sleep?” I sarcastically asked.

“A good night’s sleep never saved anyone in a war.” Even when focused on her training, Yukino was still able to quip back at me.

“You must have practised a lot to get this good.”

“I’ve been carrying the sword since I was 7. As a child, I was awe-struck by my father’s swordsmanship. The way he held the katana was as gentle as he was when carrying me. But the moment he slashed, an immense pressure would pierce outwards from him. I’ve yet to replicate that form.”

She gripped the katana’s grip tightly, its hilt tearing into her skin. Yet her form remained beautiful. It made me wonder how skilled Emperor Nobunaga must have been. I wish I could reach that peak one day.

“Hey, can you teach me how to use a katana?”

The words came out of my mouth before I realised.

Yukino stopped practising her form and glanced at me. Her eyes were shooting daggers at me, which reminded me of our first meeting. Did I insult her in some way?

“Choose your next words wisely,” said Yukino, her words icy cold, “Learning the way of the sword for a feeble reason is a death sentence.”

Yup. I definitely pissed her off.

I pondered my next words properly. If I said the wrong thing, my head would be chopped off without a doubt, literally.

“Sorry to disappoint, but it really is a simple reason. I just want to learn a way to protect everyone I love with my own hands. My strategies alone aren’t enough. I want to protect you and everyone else using my own power.”

I held out my hand towards her and gripped it tightly. I wanted to be confident enough to protect the people I cared about using my own skills, not with anyone else’s. Not to say that I was afraid to rely on others; as a strategist, it was my duty to do so. However, if I could even get a little stronger, I would jump at that opportunity with no regrets. Was that enough of a reason?

For some reason, Yukino was turned away from me. I tried to gauge her reaction, but she refused to show her face to me. All I could see were her ears. They were scorching red.

“What are you two lovebirds doing here in the middle of the night? Is the princess of Aogiri partaking in a tryst with our newly appointed strategist? How spicy!” Riku, unwelcomingly, commented out of nowhere. I had forgotten that he had insomnia and would walk outside for some fresh air.

“There’s absolutely nothing between us, Riku! Take your mind out of the gutter!” To be honest, Yukino’s sudden denial hurt my feelings a bit.

“Then what’s this serious conversation that I’ve seemed to intrude on about?” At least Riku was self-aware.

“I’m trying to get Yukino to teach me how to use a katana. Seems like my proposal has been rejected, though.”

“I never said that! It’s just your reason caught me off guard, that’s all. I’m happy to teach you some tips and tricks.” Yukino smiled at me.

“Thank you, master!” I bowed to Yukino at a perfect right angle. As her student, I had to show the right amount of respect.

“You don’t have to call me master! Just Yukino’s fine. I’m only teaching you the basics after all.” She waved her arms around, her face blushing a bright red.

“If you say so.”

“Why do I feel so left out.. I really am a third wheel.” I completely forgot Riku was still here with us.

“You can help me train Aki. He needs a sparring partner when I’m checking his form.” Yukino delegated a role to Riku, though it seemed more out of pity than necessity.

“Understood, ma’am!” Riku saluted, receiving a kick in the shin from her in return.

Yukino gave me her sword, ignoring Riku in the corner, wincing in pain.

“Try some vertical slashes first. Get used to the weight of the blade. I’ll check your stance as well.”

For about half an hour, I continually did a vertical slash while Yukino and Riku checked my stance. Of course, there were major mistakes in my form, but I tried my best to clear them. Time passed quickly, even when doing a monotonous activity.

“That should be enough for tonight. Any more and the aches in your body would be unbearable.”

At Yukino’s order, I sheathed the sword and returned it to her. Even from doing only one motion continuously, my entire body was aching from top to bottom—every muscle in my body, especially my forearms and thighs. If I relaxed for even a second, my body was sure to collapse.

“Good job for your first time, Aki Kurokawa. You’ll surely improve with constant practice,” Riku unexpectedly complimented me.

“Thanks, you two. I don’t know what I can do to repay you.”

“Easy. Help us win the war.” Yukino kept her fist at my chest, her usual stance for motivating me.

“Keeping your promise to both of us is enough. I really want a good drink when this is all over,” Riku continued while yawning.

“Wait, how do you know that I kept a promise to Aki?”

Oh no. I had a bad feeling about this.

“He told me, of course. How else would I know?”

That’s it, my life was over.

“AKIIII! THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SECRET!!”

Her face was bright red, like the devil. Whether it was due to embarrassment or rage did not matter. She chased me at Mach speeds, pointing her katana at me. At this moment, Yukino was way more terrifying than a demon.

The night closed with me being endlessly chased by Yukino, with the cacophony of Riku’s laughter in the background.

—-----------

2 months had passed by in a flash. Every day, I followed the same routine: greet the Emperor in the morning and give a brief report of the previous day, plan some strategies and analyse past battles with Mr Arakawa, learn more about observational magic with Chiyo, then practice swordfighting with Yukino and Riku at night. On certain days, I informed the soldiers about our planned strategies or joined their training regiments, usually with Mr Hide, to boost morale. Thanks to this, my body was much more fit, and my stamina had improved drastically.

As usual, I rose from my bed at Mr Hide’s wake-up knock and got ready. This time, however, new circular-rimmed glasses and a pair of long chain earrings with a star shape were kept beside my clothes. Once I changed, I greeted Mr Hide.

“I like the new look, sir! It looks good on you!”

The ground was empty. Soldiers were running around the area instead, grabbing last-minute supplies. I noticed Riku and Mr Arakawa helping with the move as well. As usual, Emperor Nobunaga sat above the commoners, overseeing the operation.

“Good morning, your majesty.”

“Good morning to you, too, Mr Kurokawa. I see you’ve received my gifts.”

“You mean these earrings and glasses?”

“After doing some research on observational magic, I asked a professional blacksmith to prepare some equipment to help ease its toll on you.”

Observational magic was incredibly taxing on the brain. Right now, I can only use it for about 2 hours maximum in one day. I would immediately drop unconscious afterwards, though.

“The earrings store extra mana in case you run out, whereas the glasses focus your vision during observation. Use these tools wisely,” Emperor Nobunaga explained.

“Thank you, your majesty. I’ll ensure that these gifts will not be wasted.”

It was a great advantage to have these items. I was basically Aogiri’s satellite at this point.

“I’m surprised at how calm you are right now. Just 2 months before, you would have been shivering constantly. Your growth has been impressive, far surpassing my expectations.”

This was not true. I was trying to mask my fear by only forcing my leg to shake while gripping my palms tightly to prevent them from shivering. I would be surprised if anyone was calm at this moment.

“Well then, it’s time for you all to make a move. I wish you the very best.”

The time had come at last.

In one more day, the Sovereign’s Tourney was about to begin.