Ten years ago, an eight-year-old Miko was walking through the halls of the royal palace with his mother.

“Hello, Sasha and Miko.”

They ran into two persons. It was Karim and a young Rin.

“Hey, Karim. I thought that you would still be at Niflheim with Dario. When did you come back?”

“Just this morning. I heard that today’s the day Kirika will start teaching Miko and Rin. I volunteered to bring Rin to the Tertitus Branch to see her. I take it that’s where you’re heading right now?”

Sasha nodded. Meanwhile, Rin approached Miko.

“Hey, Miko.”

Rin’s voice was vibrant and overflowing with excitement.

“Hello, Rin.”

On the contrary Miko’s normal, also to the point of indifference.

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you excited? Kirika herself is going to teach us!”

“I’m not really a fan of swordsmanship. I prefer to fight with my fists.”

“What? That’s boring. Nothing beats the feeling of cutting through something with a sharp blade!”

“Is that so?”

Miko didn’t seem convinced. Karim placed his hand on Miko’s head.

“I understand how you feel but don’t underestimate swordsmen, Miko. Some can cut even the heavens using a stick.”

“A stick?”

Miko’s eyes sparkled.

“Are you feeling excited now?”

Miko nodded vigorously.

“Alright. Let’s go start your lessons, shall we?”

Sasha smiled. They all went to meet Kirika. This meeting would change Miko’s and Rin’s relationship forever.

Currently, Miko and Rin were face to face. They were in a dimension that was covered in snow.

“This is nostalgic, Rin. The two of us facing off like this. We used to do it all the time when we were younger.”

“Yeah, before you gave up on everything and became a living corpse.”

Rin pulled his katana from its sheath.

“I’m glad that you crawled your way back to the battlefield.”

He grinned.

“Now we can finally settle the score!”

Miko stretched his hands out to his sides and Ishma and Regis took their sword forms. Their sheaths appeared on his hips.

“Then, let’s get to it!”

The two kicked off the ground. They instantly cut the distance. Miko lifted his swords overhead and swung them down. Rin slashed upwards.

*Clang!*

Sparks flew between them. A shockwave cleared away the snow at their feet. Their eyes and swords locked together.

“Heh.”

They kicked each other in the stomach and were forced apart. Miko stumbled back. He lifted one sword overhead and blocked Rin’s downward swing. He thrust his other sword at Rin’s chest. Rin pulled his wakizashi (Japanese shortsword) and parried it. He leaped back. Miko chased after him and slashed at him from two different directions. Rin jumped over the slashes and swung his sword at Miko’s neck. Miko bent backward and evaded it. Rin landed behind Miko on one leg. He spun on that leg and flew at Miko, thrusting his sword. Miko crossed his swords in front of him and blocked his strike. Miko used the impact to distance himself by jumping back. Rin sheathed his wakizashi and accelerated. Miko quickly sheathed Ishma and dashed forward. Miko used his sword to fling the snow on the ground into the air.

(He’s obstructing my vision?)

Rin leaped into the air and scanned the area.

(As expected, he’s gone.)

He landed on a tree and kicked off the side. He focused his strength in his arm and swung his sword low. The snow was blown into the air creating a white veil in the sky. The ground had become clear. Rin scanned the area once again. His ears twitched.

“?!”

He spun around and blocked Miko’s sword with his own.

“Oh? You made it look like you were relying on sight to find me but you were actually relying on sound.”

Miko smiled.

“Impressive.”

“What’s impressive is the fact that your skills haven’t dulled as much as I expected. But you’ve yet to show anything outstanding.”

Rin grinned.

“Holding back?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

They separated.

“Let’s get a bit more serious.”

Rin coated his sword in demonic Vita.

“Let’s.”

Miko coated his with mana. They moved at the same time and started a high-speed clash in the snowy lands.

“….I’ve been wondering this for some time, but why do I always feel some tension between Miko and Rin?”

Al-Shura looked at the Secondus Branch

“You guys and Miko are first and second cousins, right? I mean, Nero and Rouge married a pair of sisters after all. I remember seeing Miko and Rin getting along as kids and then this tension came out of nowhere. What’s the cause?”

Karim frowned.

“You’re asking the wrong people.”

He pointed at Kirika with his thumb.

“……..”

Kirika remained silent and continued to watch Miko and Rin’s fight.

“Well, this is new. Normally, it’s Alec who causes the problems. So Kirika makes mistakes too.”

“I didn’t make a mistake, Sophia. I simply stayed true to myself.”

Meanwhile, Miko and Rin were moving through the snowy fields at lightning speed. They lunged at each other, swinging their swords. Sparks flew as they passed each other. They ran through the snow and attacked their opponent whenever they saw an opening. Rin evaded a slash from Miko before leaping back. He sheathed his sword and lowered his center gravity as he slid on the ground. A red light appeared at his feet.

“?!”

With a red flash before his eyes, Miko suddenly found himself staring at the top of Rin’s head. He had cut the distance in a flash.

“Demolition Arts: Red Flash.”

*Bam!*

He felt a heavy blow to the chest. His body was blasted away. Blood gushed from a wound on his chest.

(Talk about fast!)

Miko spun in the air to land safely. Before his feet touched the ground, Rin was already in front of him. He slashed at his waist. Miko thrust down Regis and blocked it. The force behind Rin’s attack propelled him to the side. He spun in the air and landed on a boulder. He blasted off that boulder, destroying it. Rin accelerated again. Miko quickly pulled Ishma from her sheath. Ishma and Regis started glowing their respective colors. Miko eyes turned demonic and his body gave off a crimson glow. A violent reddish aura surrounded Rin’s body. The image of a crow and dragon entangling around a crimson demon appeared behind Miko. The images behind him turned into green, crimson, and azure flames. The flames wrapped around Miko and his swords.

“Heh.”

Rin saw this and grinned. His speed increased.

“Demolition Arts…!”

He turned into a streak of red light.

“Hell Piercer!”

Miko swung his swords.

“Mad Beasts of Avicii!”

The light clashed with the flames. An enormous explosion erupted. Shockwaves and waves of heat blew the snow away and instantly evaporated it. The sky cleared and the ground broke apart. Flames of all colors formed a pillar towards the heavens. When everything faded a deep crater appeared. In the center of that crater, a burnt and rugged Rin was locking blades with an equally damaged Miko. Their bodies trembled and their blades cried as they battled for supremacy.

“This brings back old times doesn’t it, Miko?”

“Yeah. It sure does, Rin.”

Miko swept Rin off his feet with a low kick. Rin hit the ground hard. Miko thrust his sword down. Rin rolled out of the way and to his feet. He twisted his body to evade a sword thrust. He backstepped and created some distance. Miko cut that distance with his swords burning. Rin parried his attack. He stepped in and hit Miko’s chin with the bottom of his sword handle. Miko stumbled back but kicked the approaching Rin in the chest. He managed to stabilize his footing.

(Looks like he can’t use that speed from before consecutively?)

Miko focused his power in his legs. He kicked off the ground.

(Is what he wants me to think.)

Rin’s figure flickered. He appeared behind Miko who spun and slashed at him. He disappeared and reappeared at the side. A shallow cut appeared on his chest.

“So you didn’t fall for the bait, huh?”

“Sadly, I’ve experienced too many battles to be baited that easily!”

Miko’s feet touched the ground. He moved with lightning speed.

*Clang!*

He appeared behind Rin. Blood sprayed from their shoulders.

(…His kinetic vision and reactions are really out of this world.)

They slowly turned around and faced each other.

“As I thought, your talent for swordsmanship is far greater than my own.”

Another cut appeared on Miko’s chest.

“You were able to attack twice in the time I could only attack once. That’s really impressive.”

“What are talking about?”

Rin pointed his blade at Miko.

“I’ve always been the superior swordsman. This is nothing new.”

“And yet, Kirika chose me to be her apprentice.”

Rin’s eyes narrowed.

“That’s in the past. The decision of that woman means nothing to me anymore. She had her reasons.”

“Says that guy who says he wants to settle the score.”

“Yeah. I want to settle the score.”

Rin sheathed his sword and lowered his center gravity. He placed his hand on the handle.

“That woman made her decision and there’s nothing I can do about that. But I just want to show her and everyone else.”

The ground started to tremble. Cuts started appearing in the earth, trees, and boulders.

“I want to show them how wrong that decision was.”

A violent red and black aura danced Rin’s sword and body. His hair and eyes would change between these colors from its original azure color every few seconds.

(So he’s already able to use Sword Intent better than I can?)

Miko’s grip on his swords tightened. An excited grin appeared on his face.

“You’re really a sword-loving idiot, Rin!”