“And I'm the Moonsilver Empress."

Kazumi replied sarcastically. It was clear that she didn't believe Kira's claim. Either that or she did believe it and was hiding it very well.

"You know what, it’s fine. Don’t tell me. I’ll vouch for you, you incestuous lolicon. Just go the fuck away. Oh, and teach that loli to come up with more believable lies.”

Those were Kazumi’s last words before she kicked them from the Testing Hall.

“She was…interesting.”

“Yeah, she’s quite a character. How I got tangled up with her is a story on its own. Short version is there was quite the crisis here a few years back that I helped sort out.”

“I see.”

While Kira was definitely interested in what had happened to make someone like Kazumi become infatuated with her uncle, she wasn’t going to press the issue. She held enough respect for him, after learning from him how to create Skills, that she didn’t want to pry into his private life.

“You’re really curious, aren’t you?”

“No.”

“C’mon, admit it. You’re burning to know about every juicy little detail. Don’t worry, before we leave here, I’ll tell you the whole story.”

Kira still didn’t know what to make of him at times. Most of the time his lazy manner would take precedence but then there would be times that he showed a keen sharpness. Like just then, it seemed as if he could read her mind.

“Anyways, I might as well get the stuff we need. Here’s a tip, look up the local dojos and see how much you can learn while we’re here. They're probably good places to test yourself."

As Tetsuya spoke, black light shone from his ring and he grabbed hold of a scroll of paper that materialised from within the light. Unrolling it, he revealed it to be a rather detailed map of the city that indicated landmarks and clearly laid out the different districts and income-bracketed areas as well as points of interest.

"We’ll meet up here. It’s where I stayed last time I was in the city. They’ll probably find space for us because of what I did for them.”

He indicated a tiny-looking inn near the poorer districts of the city before handing the rolled-up map to Kira.

“Oh, and if you get a chance, give the night market a visit. Khukuri is well-known for its daggers. I know you’re more of a sword person but it’s good to have a backup weapon. See ya later.”

With that, Tetsuya turned around with a casual wave and left the almost-eight-year-old Kira alone in the large city.

‘So irresponsible, leaving a ‘little girl’ alone in the city while he’s probably off to sample all the variants of this city’s sake.’

Kira thought pessimistically. It didn’t matter to her though. She was fine with exploring the city on her own. It wasn’t like she couldn’t handle herself in a pinch.

After eating a meal at one of the city’s many restaurants, under the gaze of many surprised adults including the waiter, she made her way to the nearest dojo on the map which was marked with a pair of crossed swords.

“Halt! You two, what business do you have in the city?”

The guard on duty at the Khukuri Eastern City Gate demanded. Coincidentally, it was the same guard who interrogated Kira and Tetsuya when they arrived at the city about a week ago.

As it was necessary to keep their identities hidden should Kira and Tetsuya still be in the city, the Murasaki master and student had replaced their purple hooded cloaks with more casual attire. The tall man’s bulky stature was on full display with his medium-length, grey beard and mildly-wrinkled face the only signs of his age. The walking stick he carried seemed unnecessary when looking at his perfectly straight back. His student beside him, Hideyoshi, was lean with short-cropped dark hair and a smile that made the female passers-by blush. The only hint that he was someone out of the ordinary was the finely tooled leather hilts of the twin daggers at his hips.

“I was hoping you could help me with that. There were some family members of mine that may have passed through here, perhaps you remember them. One was a man with a very ragged appearance and he had young girl with him.”

“Yes, I do actually. Wait…does that mean you’re also relatives of Miss Kazumi? I-if so, by all means, go ahead.”

Ignoring the trembling guard behind them, the pair entered the city.

“I wonder why he’s so scared of this Kazumi person.”

“A good place to start our search then.”

Entering the wide gateway onto the dojo grounds, Kira walked up to the entrance of the dojo itself before removing her shoes and announcing her presence.

“Excuse me.”

She slid open the sliding door and her gaze fell upon the rows of students sitting in seiza[1] with their Master seated at the front, facing them. Ignoring the gazes focused on her, she politely bowed towards the shrine at the front before seating herself inside, just next to the door, waiting for the Master of the dojo to acknowledge her. While she waited, Kira took the time to examine the inside of the dojo.

The dojo was standard fare with tall columns supporting the ceiling. While it couldn’t compare to her open-air Training Hall back home, it had all the necessities for a group training space, from polished wooden floors to racks of wooden training weapons and dull-edged iaito. What it lacked in comparison was, of course, the Boundless Soul Orb for measuring Soul Energy cultivation as well as the racks of Weapon Skill scrolls. This last part made sense as it was likely that the Skills of their School were secrets only passed on through the Master’s teachings.

Once the Master delegated one of the senior students to begin kata drills, he walked over to Kira who bowed respectfully from her seated position.

“Greetings, senior. This little one humbly asks if I may learn from senior during my stay in the city.”

The Master was an older man, looking to be in his sixties, greying with a short beard, but not yet having lost his youthful vigour.

“Little girl, you’re welcome to observe and practice the drills. However, I cannot allow you to learn any of my School’s Skills. I’m sure you can understand. Are those your iaito? Would you mind if I had a look?”

“With all due respect, you may only inspect one of them. I was told by my teacher never to draw this black sword unless absolutely necessary.”

Although Kira wasn’t explicitly told so by Tetsuya, from her own experience, that black sword would just draw far too much attention, so she didn’t feel too bad about telling this white lie.

Even though his curiosity was piqued, the Master gratefully received the dragon-motif sword as Kira passed it to him while not neglecting any formality. As soon as he drew it, surprise flashed across his face. It wasn’t an iaito as he’d expected but an actual, sharp-bladed katana! Why a girl this young would be armed with a real weapon was something he couldn’t fathom. His own students were much older than her but even they weren’t permitted to use real weapons except for tameshigiri[2].

“Senior, is something wrong?”

With her observational skills, how could Kira miss the change in the Master’s expression? She understood the importance of etiquette in this setting and was using it to her advantage. This time, the Master managed to keep his expression in check as he responded.

“You don’t miss anything, do you? Yame![3] Everyone line up along the wall.”

The students rounded up their exercise and bowed to their senpai [4]before arranging themselves orderly in sitting positions along the far wall, from the highest-ranked at the front to the lowest . Some of them, mostly the lower-ranked students, couldn’t help but stare at Kira in curiosity. They may not have had the best self-control, but they’d clearly noticed that their Master had found this seemingly ordinary girl interesting enough to disrupt the usual flow of their class.

“Today we have a guest. She’s from out of town but is also a student of sword arts. Little Miss, if you would introduce yourself?”

“Yes, Senior. I’m Suzuki Kira, Core Rank katana-user. Please take care of me.”

A few of the students drew breath sharply at this declaration and a low murmur spread through the line. A Core-ranked cultivator at that age? Was that even possible? Even the Master was distracted for a moment before he quietened his students.

“…That’s enough. I’m sure you’re as curious as I am as to this Little Miss’s strength. Are there any volunteers?”

“Master, please, allow me. I cannot allow lies like this to spread in our dojo. How old is she? Seven? Eight? There’s no way that she’s telling the truth.”

One of the male students about halfway down the row raised his hand as he spoke. It was clear that he was barely suppressing his outrage. His square-ish face contorted while his words were curt and biting.

“Watch your mouth, Shimon. I would’ve preferred someone lower-ranked to start, but seeing as you’re so keen, you may go right ahead.”

The Master nodded but motioned that he should hold back. Whether Shimon saw it or not was irrelevant to both Kira and him. His enmity towards her was clear with every movement he made. Kira could also sense that she’d angered him in some way. All that meant to her was that she didn’t need to hold back.

Walking up to the weapon rack, Kira thought back to when she had duelled her cousin back at the Suzuki Clan. He also hadn’t known what he was in for at that time. This time would be no different.

Having found a training weapon she was somewhat satisfied with, although it was too light for her liking, she took up her position. After bowing to the shrine in front and her opponent, she took up her stance.

For some reason the girl’s formal manner infuriated Shimon even more. She was acting like someone who was well-accustomed to a dojo and the related rules of etiquette. Instead of seeing it as a warning sign, Shimon felt as if she was mocking them, like a sheep dancing around in wolf’s clothing, thinking she wouldn't be eaten.

“Hah!”

Shimon made the first move, stepping in with a simple overhead cut, but at the last second switching to a horizontal swipe to Kira’s midriff. Having seen such simple feints countless times over her lifetime, Kira didn’t flinch, instead simply shifting her guard to her side. The moment his wooden sword made contact with hers, she stepped in with her shoulder knocking him off-balance. Using the opening she’d created, Kira moved like flowing water and cut towards his neck.

Shimon was taken aback by the sudden counter as Kira's charge had surprising strength and actually managed to make him stumble, despite her diminutive size, but he was, after all, no stranger to being on the back foot. You needed to make mistakes to learn from them, and he'd made many before. He knew his situation wasn’t good so he did what he could and took an extra step back, avoiding the incoming cut and conceding aggression in exchange for stabilising himself.

Kira nodded inwardly. This Shimon may have been angry but he wasn’t stupid. Forcing her to take an extra step to keep applying pressure was enough time for a good swordsman to formulate his- or her next move.

Good swordplay was often a game of distance and counters. Use an attack your opponent can’t counter and he loses unless he can manipulate space well. Kira’s shoulder charge had set up her cut to be at the perfect distance but he’d used the momentum to get out of her range.

Kira knew from that simple manoeuvre that she couldn’t look for a single-hit victory. She’d have to set him up step by step until there was no disputing that she was the clear victor.

Shimon's breathing was slightly heavier after just that short exchange, not because it was particularly tiring, but because he’d nearly lost after just a single exchange. This was something that actually scared him with how inconceivable it was. He’d been training for several years but almost lost to a child within a few seconds.

‘Who is this girl?’

He didn’t have time to ponder this as Kira moved forward, sword in a drawing stance, right arm held out as bait. He knew it was a bait as her posture was similar to some of the drills he’d done. As soon as he took it, she’d manipulate distance to avoid it and counter-attack.

The girl smiled as her presence seemed to fade into nothingness to the point where Shimon wasn’t sure whether he was looking at a real person or a ghost even though physically she looked the same. He blinked.

As his eyes opened, Shimon could’ve sworn that he was seeing double. One image was of Kira in her draw stance while another overlaid with the previous one. Only, this one was of her cutting towards his waist. As soon as he moved his hands to block, a third image appeared, going for the top of his head as the others disappeared. Quickly attempting to adjust his position, he stepped sideways as he raised his sword above his head to guard.

Making use of Shimon’s sideways movement, Kira rotated with him and finally completed her cut, not towards his head, but towards his arms, her wooden sword landing solidly on his sword-arm’s wrist, numbing it and causing him to almost lose his grip on the weapon.

Understanding clearly that his hand would’ve been cut off, Shimon placed his arm behind his back while attempting to fend off Kira’s following attacks, but by then there was no longer any suspense as Kira swiftly and precisely ‘severed’ the tendons in his right leg before using his lack of balance to ‘stab’ him in the solar plexus. ‘Pulling out’ her sword, Kira stepped back and ritually flicked imaginary blood off her wooden blade before ‘sheathing’ it.

The dojo was completely silent as what had happened was beginning to set in. Managing to be a little more composed than his frozen students, the Master spoke, breaking the stunned atmosphere.

“Shimon. Don’t forget your manners.”

His deep voice snapped Shimon out of his shock and he quickly got to his feet and bowed first to Kira then to the shrine before returning to his place in the line without a word. Kira’s pure sword technique had left a deep impression on his heart. Regardless of the ‘unfair’ way in which she managed to mask her presence despite being right in front of him, every movement of hers was executed with such precision, like a butcher dismantling a carcass or a physician performing surgery.

“That was quite the display, Little Miss. I haven’t seen such refined swordplay for many years. Indeed, and ironically, in this world of cultivators, pure swordplay becomes less important as one gets stronger in cultivation. It’s refreshing to see someone who has taken the time to put effort into sword work. If you don’t mind my asking, who was your master?”

“Regretfully, he…they’ve passed on. With all due respect, I’d rather not say. Senior definitely wouldn’t have heard of them. Also, just now, senior Shimon started off leniently. Otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to take advantage like I did.”

“For them to have a student of swordplay with such great skill and humility, I doubt I wouldn’t have heard of them.”

The Master was generous with his praise and said what he thought without sugar-coating anything.

“They are from a far distant land. I guarantee that senior would not know them.”

“Very well, I’ll take your word for it. Now, is there anyone else who wishes to test this Little Miss? No? Very well, then your next opponent shall be me.”

At this, even those most senior students couldn’t remain silent and muttered amongst themselves. Only Shimon kept quiet. He’d experienced Kira’s power first-hand and she had a completely different aura from their Master. Of course, their Master would never go all-out against his own students but Shimon had the feeling that even he’d have a difficult time against this girl.

At this point, Kira, who was used to a training environment like this, quickly realised the consequences if this duel had to take place.

“Please senior, it’s not necessary for senior to act. This little one is satisfied with being able to learn from senior. If by some chance I got lucky and won, then senior would lose face in front of his students. This isn’t something I want. If senior still insists, then I will immediately be taking my leave.”

At this point, the Master was conflicted. His blood was boiling in excitement from the fight he’d just witnessed. With his Soul Energy cultivation having just broken through to the Spirit Projector rank and his Life Energy cultivation at a similar level, combined with his sword techniques, he was confident in his victory. However, if it was as the little girl said and she got lucky, he would certainly lose a lot of face. To back down now had no shame in it.

“Very well, I retract my challenge. I don’t want to seem as if I am bullying you. Please, have a seat next to Shimon.”

The older students in the line made way for Kira without any complaint. Having seen her strength for themselves, they were in no position to dispute that she hadn’t earned her position. The impression she’d made on them wouldn’t allow them to.

At the end of the training session, the Master motioned for her to remain behind.

“What is it, senior?”

“If you have time tomorrow, meet me at here two hours before noon. I still wish to test your strength for myself.”

“I understand. Also, I wish to ask senior a favour.”

“Go ahead.”

“While I’m here, I’m looking for a sparring partner to practice my Skills against. If senior has someone in mind that would accept, I would be very grateful.”

“Hmm, I’ll see what I can do. Good night.”

“Farewell, senior.”

[1] Seiza - "An upright kneeling position which is traditionally used in Japan in meditation and as part of the preparation in martial arts." Source

[2] Tameshigiri - literally "test cutting"

[3] Yame - stop

[4] senpai - senior student (also used to refer to one's senior in one's workplace)