Whipped into Shape

"I'm telling you, you're doing it all wrong!"

Hanabi whipped my hand with the wiry stick in her hand. Where had I heard that before?

"I just don't understand. Don't I want to hit people with the bladed end?"

"Of course you do. And the blunt end. And the middle. Use your whole weapon, not just the fun part."

I'd hardly call cutting people down fun. I'm just glad she made it out of bed.

It took several days for us to drag Hanabi from Lucinda's room. It had taken Lucinda lecturing her to force her out and it was by the old rabbit's behest that Hanabi had begun mentoring me.

"How, though? What good is hitting someone with the wooden parts when they're swinging axes and swords at me?"

"You're too focused on that. Unless they're on Yahime and my level, being bashed with a wooden pole is enough to cripple or even kill someone."

I couldn't argue. I'd been smacked in the head with bamboo enough to know how painful wood could be. I didn't want to know how much more hardwood would hurt.

"For now, just practice the basics. Your technique is effective, if a bit odd. It just needs refining. Your magic on the other hand…"

Hanabi shook her head like a teacher handing her delinquent student his fifth failed exam.

"Earth magic is hard to use offensively. And I'll never understand why humans waste their time on those incantations. What good is magic if you can stop it by covering someone's mouth?"

"That's just how it's done," I argued. I didn't understand the complex magical theory in Aurelie's memories. I just knew that the way humans and the other species used magic was fundamentally different.

"'That's just how it's done'. Do you hear yourself? So people should just give up on improving things because that's 'just how it's done'?"

"I didn't mean—"

A blue flame streaked through the air at me and I barely managed to bat it away with my weapon.

"Good. At least you've learned to keep your defense up."

Staying on guard at all times had been a core part of my lessons. It was no mystery why. Just annoying whenever Hanabi randomly ambushed me.

"Are you still training?" Taro held out two wrapped lunch boxes to us. He was smiling the same awkward smile he wore every time he saw Hanabi. I suspected an ongoing childhood crush. It's the only thing I could call it with the centuries wide age gap.

"We're about to wrap up once Aurelie does her sparring."

"Do we have to?" My stomach growled at the smell of the food.

We'd all been eating better since Hanabi's recover. It was too dangerous for the villagers to hunt in the forest with Richard skulking about, but the same rules didn't apply to Hanabi. On the same note, Richard had shifted his focus from the village to the mountains. Thankfully he hadn't figured out which one the cave to the Essence Stones was on.

"Stop complaining. You said you wanted to get stronger. That won't happen if you're lazy. Or do you want to keep holding Yahime back?"

I grit my teeth. Of course not.

Satisfied that her jab had put me in my place, Hanabi raised her hand in front of her. Thick fog rolled around us until I could barely see a meter in front of me.

"The same as usual. Find your target in the fog and hit them without getting hit yourself."

"Easier said than done," I grumbled to myself. "Yahime refuses to go easy on me."

That was the other thing. Somehow Hanabi and Yahime had grown closer, close enough that Yahime was willing to follow some of the kitsune's orders. I liked that they became closer. I was just jealous at how easily Yahime was willing to listen to someone else.

A thin black spike pierced the fog. I knocked it away and used my magic to summon a stone to my hand that I hurled back. A pained cry answered and I could hear Hanabi laughing at Taro's cursing.

I didn't have time to apologize before black claws burst through the shroud trying to grab me. I ducked low and went to counter with a sweeping attack, only to stop short. Instead, I held the polearm horizontal and shot upward. The impact reverberated through the wood, forcing me to clench it tighter and I followed through with a front pushing kick. It hit air.

"Stop!"

I froze at Hanabi's command and the fog slowly dissipated.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but good job Kyomi. Where'd she hit you, Yahime?"

Yahime stepped through the fog in her human form. She pointed at her chin.

"…face."

"Were you going easy on her?"

Her shoulders seemed to sag when she shook her head. Had I hurt her pride?

"There you have it. Now rest up. We've got a big day ahead of us."

A big day? There's only a few more hours of daylight. Not that it matters. Most of the beastfolk can see in the dark as long as there's at least dim lighting, and Yahime and I have [PERFECT SIGHT]. I guess I can't use the sun as an excuse.

"What are we doing?"

"Martoh wanted you to visit," Taro said.

"And afterwards we're going to some ruins I found a decade ago."

"I… play?"

I covered my mouth to hide my smile. I'd given Yahime free reign of the village and most of her time was spent playing with the children. They treated her like one of their own and I knew Yahime enjoyed her time with them.

"You can. I'll come get you after I visit that grumpy blacksmith."

It was Taro's turn to hide his smile. Martoh was talented, far too talented for the smith of a tiny village. The problem was his attitude. Despite being a mouseman, he drank like a sailor and always had an opinion to share. We'd given him the Essence Stones in hopes he could come up with a way to process them and I hoped wanting to see me was a good sign.

The thing that frustrated me the most, though, was still not being able to use [YOZORA MAGIC]. Hanabi was the resident expert at magic and not even she had ever heard of it. Then there was the [APOSTLE] skill. The tool tip was blank. It had evolved [OVERDRIVE], but beyond that it was another mystery. [KISS OF THE VOID] was the same and [WILL OF THE EMPRESS]…

[WILL OF THE EMPRESS]

SUBJUGATES LESSER BEINGS TO THE USER'S WILL. THOSE AFFECTED WILL OBEY ALL COMMANDS GIVEN.

It was the "lesser beings" part that gave me chills. What constituted a lesser being? Monsters? What about the villagers? With Hanabi's training the gap between us had steadily grown. I'd never liked the idea of mind control; assaulting someone's mind and stealing their agency… Just thinking about it made me sick. I hoped I'd never have to use it.

"So what's this all about, Martoh?"

I watched the mouseman scurry around the room, collecting seemingly random objects in his arms. Some were tools, others weapons I'd collected from Edgeton. The most confusing was the cookware.

"Don't gimme that, human. You asked a favor and I returned it. Now you want to hear the progress I've made or not?"

"Yes, yes, you're such a great guy for helping protect your own village."

The gruff mouse spit on the soot covered floor and dropped the collection in his arms onto the table.

"Enough of your sass, lass. I finally managed to fuse your fancy stones with other objects."

My eyes widened. I'd hoped, but hadn't held my breath, that he'd find a solution.

"Look here."

He picked up an iron frying pan and held it up. Other than the tiny glowing orb on the handle, it was completely ordinary.

"Why a frying pan?"

"Just shut your trap and watch."

Martoh swung the pan in front of him. A shining arc trailed the path of the swing and fired forward until it hit the wall, leaving a blue scorch mark.

"I used the pan as a test. Didn't want to destroy my workshop swinging a real weapon. Messy enough in here as it is since that brat Nyu won't help me clean up."

"You shouldn't rely on children to clean up after you," I countered, though I was more in awe of his accomplishment than his shitty attitude. "But you've tried the weapons?"

"Aye. Had Tapper and a few others try as well. Fills the person with a strange power so long as they're holding it."

"And the energy wave?"

"Shamed to say it's random. Or rather, no one in the village other than you and Lady Hanabi have the mana to test it right."

I reached for one of the swords only for Martoh to slap my hand away. What was with beastfolk and hitting my hands?

"Those ain't for you. Have a feeling it'll just shatter if you use them."

"Then what am I supposed to use?"

The mouseman grinned and shuffled away before returning with a long item wrapped in cloth.

"Used the last of that bastard's axe on this and reinforced the shaft with an alloy I made from the stone scraps. Can't say how it'll hold up, but it'll be better than the others."

He held it out to me and I pulled back the cloth revealing a beautifully polished stonewood pole embedded with thin strands of glowing metal. The blade was made of a similar metal, and just holding the weapon made me feel like I was going to burst. I loved it.