So I’ll admit that my anticipation for my so-called ‘magical training’ had come to a grinding halt. It had been more than a week since the Yukihana’s painfully awkward family meeting. If anything might have just been some calm before a violent storm… or simply a failure to follow through. I’d say that was a mixed blessing but I was really grinding my heels into the dirt with the continued monotony of my daily schedule.

It appeared Grampy and Uncle Takei were still dealing with business matters with the difference being they were playing host rather than guest. A slew of new people came through everyday to give, take, or negotiate tribune to the Yukihana. I still wasn’t sure what they actually did to earn money besides using their powers to fight monsters. So whether they worked for the local governments or were privately contract based could mean a world of difference in how they were regarded by the locals.

Meaning the difference between an official police or a self profiting mercenary group.

Since every guest dressed up it was hard to tell. Not that I got a chance to interact with any of them. This was the one week I was pushed to school fairly early and kept in my room the moment I returned. The reasoning behind this wasn’t hard to figure out. Better to be unseen and unheard by these guests who may question the sight of a boy who didn’t look like everyone else. Likely the Yukihana’s allies were of a similar conservatism as they were.

“Hey there Little Bro. Whatcha working on?” Poking his smiling face through the small window to my little shed was Yasue. He had been my one source of information on what was going on around the compound.

“Just going over my textbooks for the third time. I’m bored out of my skull.”

With little more than a blink of an eye the teenager’s physical body vanished and reappeared into the room. A casual feat that still left me envious every time I witnessed the sheer convenience it held. “Well that sucks. Wish I could do something to help out but I’m in the same boat as you with entertaining Uncle’s guests.”

“My heart weeps for you, truly.” I rolled my eyes, not taking the comparison all that well. At least he wasn’t locked in a shed. “You know you could help fix my boredom if you helped me start my magic training.”

“Sure and then Uncle Komuro will hang me by my thumbs like dirty laundry. I honestly wish I could show you something but it’ll be too obvious I had a hand in it if you suddenly started using magic after I dropped off your meals.” Yasue tugged at the dog tags around my neck. “It’s not like the proof wouldn’t be hard to find.”

Yes, my newest piece of jewelry which I had found myself fiddling with in my moments of boredom. It was strange to see the representation of my stats labeled so plainly. Even more so that they were relative as I had assumed. Everyone’s maximum potential should have been different mainly for the sake of being a truth of the world. It wasn’t a bad thing. Some people had inherent strengths that others could never expect to achieve no matter how hard they worked. It wasn’t meant to disparage them but show a sort of uniqueness to what humans were.

Magic, similar to technology, had become a sort of equalizer of sorts. Static values were given to each of the ten attributes. When one reached 10 then that limit was no different from any other who reached that same feat. But did that mean this was some sort of pinnacle to equality between all creeds and races?

Absolutely not.

Discounting the fact this world held these numbers as a literal manifestation of a superiority complex, the flaw in the system was that individual talent did play a role in this too. As Yasue had explained to me, some simply couldn’t raise their abilities as fast as others. One’s physical abilities could increase faster for the same reasons someone with longer legs could make longer strides; genetics.

So what did all this factor into my plans for the future?

They didn’t.

It was easier for me to fall under the assumption I wasn’t going to master everything since I lived under the notion that abilities were qualitative. Numbers didn’t matter under the sway of nuance. Subtle changes to the environment could affect anyone of these scores just as easily as one's natural aptitude to raise them more quickly. I wouldn’t delve too deeply into that at the moment. My priority first was getting a feel fore using magic and slowly increasing my abilities besides quantity.

Since even Toki seemed to have better stats when it came to quality, control, and recovery. I would take my abnormally large amount of magic for granted. I could quote the old adage of Quality vs. Quantity but I was shit out of luck at the moment to reference any sources on which was better. From my stats I wasn’t getting my hopes up.

“So when is my first lesson? Has Grampy deigned to give you that information?”

“Grampy! Ha ha ha! It always cracks me up when I hear you call Uncle that!” Yasue clamped down his laughter lest he get caught mocking the stern family leader. “Ha ha ha!”

Something the boy seemed to be failing at.

“Well? Do you know or not?”

“Tomorrow.”

“What? Tomorrow?”

“Yup. I overheard Uncle Komuro state that Toki will resume her lessons after she returns from school tomorrow. Cousin Takei will also be heading back out early in the morning so It appears you will be training alongside her with Uncle Komuro overseeing it by himself.”

Shit. I was hoping to at least have one friendly face around. “About that. I’ve gotta ask; How is Grampy going to train me with Light Magic? I have a feeling he didn’t shell out money for a private tutor.”

Yasue shrugged. “I dunno. Aptitude for light Magic is rare. I doubt anyone around here could properly train you so I’ll admit I’m also curious on how you’ll be trained.”

“Well I guess you’ll get a front row seat tomorrow.”

“Actually…”

“What?”

The teenager shuffled awkwardly and for a moment I could almost feel a slight chill run across the room. “I’m sorry but the training of the main heir is restricted for branch Ice Magic, not all of it is openly shared.”

“Not surprising. The Yukihana wouldn’t be so powerful if their best techniques were common knowledge. But then why…”

“Again, I’m curious about it myself, Little Bro. A lot of the family members are in fact. You are getting to see first hand techniques that I will never get to learn.” With that Yasue patted me on the shoulder. “Perhaps it’ll be me who’s asking you for training soon. I gotta head back now before Mom and Dad yell at me. See you soon, Little Bro.”

Vanishing from the room I went back to the fifth grade math textbook I had been filling my time with. My thoughts dwelling n tomorrow and this uncomfortable feeling that was starting to rise in my stomach.

[LH]

So I mentioned before that Hisato and Toki were basically opposites. Perhaps a bit of context was needed to really grasp the relationship between the two. Hisato Osawa was the cliché male best friend to the protagonist; Overly friendly, a bit spacy, and a shameless pervert to the numerous heroines that flocked to the Hero. Only small tidbits to this horrendous backstory I was now living seemed to peer through the cracks of the story. Much of his time at the Yukihana before entering the magic academy was hidden behind a cheerful smile most likely.

The only person this seemingly carefree character showed even the slightest amount of disdain for was Toki. The two were like oil and water. Naturally Hisato’s lewd comments never pertained to her and even went so far as to warn the protagonist against getting too friendly with her. Similarly Toki always mocked Hisato more harshly than she did with others. Only briefly mentioning the two were distantly related and that Hisato was a reject of the Yukihana family.

Now some might assume that when going through her story that the abilities of the Yukihana family were the reason for that. An outcast from the family’s specific trait. I myself wouldn’t argue against that fact either and largely still believe that to be true. The two of them did not like each other for the time they spent with each other growing up. Hisato likely took his new found freedom at the academy from his extended family as a blessing while Toki preferred someone like Hisato being far away from her as she took over the family as its rightful heir.

The question I had up until this moment was why this hostility seemed to conflict with their abilities. They were complete opposites and in turn matched up in a party so well it was down right scary how powerful the combination was.

It was after this first training session that I found out why.

As Yasue had said, Toki and I were called into the main dojo. Both of us had slipped into training Gi’s and entered the dojo with a firm bow. It was a bit nostalgic to be wearing one again while I was certain this time around would be vastly different from my time as a kid taking Karate classes at the gymnasium of a local High school.

“We will now begin training,” Grampy declared from his kneeling position at the head of the dojo. Toki and I were six feet apart facing each other. She had a bamboo sword in her hand while I was unarmed – not by choice, I might add. “Before we start, Toki, you shall demonstrate the fruits of your training in my absence.”

“Yes Grandfather!” Toki took a formal stance, raising her blade towards me.

“Boy. I assume you’ve had no training before now.”

“I know how to throw a punch,” I admitted as I stretched my arms.

“We’ll see.” Grampy gave me a look of disbelief but didn’t say anything to dispute it. “You’ll learn that much like the biting cold of the Winter that true discipline will come from enduring that cold and embracing it. Although… I doubt you’ll last long given how soft you’ve lived under your no good father.”

Biting down my instinct to argue back I merely smiled, “As you said; You’ll see.” I wasn’t going to comment how we hadn’t even covered anything on magic yet as another thought just hit all of a sudden. A sort of cringy realization as to what I was just about to do. “Woah wait! You’re not actually going to make me spar with Toki are you? Don’t get me wrong she looks tough for a ten year old girl but… I’d rather not hurt her.”

“You dare mock me!” Toki shouted. “Don’t assume simply because your star attributes are higher than mine that it gives you an advantage. I’ve trained since the time I could walk! Some soft city boy wouldn’t stand a chance against someone who’s never trained a day in his life!”

“Well said, Granddaughter.” I looked at Grampy who appeared to wholeheartedly agree with Toki’s boast. His face turned into a picture of an angry Oni at my wariness to fight her. “Boy! You insult this dojo by being so disrespectful to your opponent and to me as her teacher! If you don’t want to face my sword I would recommend that you focus on not dragging the heiress to the Yukihana family down.”

“Ugh… fine.” Reluctantly I took a basic fighting stance. “Just don’t blame me when she starts crying,” I muttered under my breath.

“Bow to your opponent!” Grampy shouted, raising his arm to formally begin the match. We both did as instructed, taking those few moments to size each other up. “...Begin!”

“Kiyaa!”

As expected, Toki came at me with no hesitation. A firm offensive character that held little value in defense. Her Shinai came down on a firm ninety degree angle straight on at my head. It was perfectly executed with no error in her posture or how she held the blade. It was just a shame that I knew just a tad more than knowing how to throw a punch. I almost felt a bit bad about lying to Grampy but… well, better to be humble in these situations. It’s not like the grouch would believe me anyway.

I honestly tried to be as gentle as I could. Just as the blade came down I moved into her right sphere and grasped her wrist. Then just as swiftly I held her wrist still guiding her forward as my right leg brushed up against her shin. With the slightest raise of my foot and the awkward forward momentum still guiding her, Toki flipped over and firmly landed on her butt – sliding a foot on the laminate wooden floor in the process.

Thud!

“Oww! That hurt!”

“That’s about what I expected.” I said, scratching the back of my head at this pitiful scene. Granted I did learn one major thing from this short exchange. “Well it’s definitely not turn-based combat.” I wasn’t even sure how that would work in real life without looking absolutely moronic.

Gramp didn’t look pleased at the scene and began to audibly growl. “Toki! Stand up now! You are the heiress to the Yukihana family! Do not shame the family by showing such a disgraceful appearance to this… boy.”

Ya… he didn’t call me boy.

“Y-Yes!” Toki stood back up, fighting through the pain and took another fighting stance. “You got lucky! I won’t hold back anymore! Kyaa!”

“Well you certainly have a lot of energy, if nothing else.”

By holding back it seemed she meant throwing her technique out the window. There was still some form to the wild strikes but any sort of decisiveness and calm had left. Had she been faster or had better each she might have actually hit me. As it was, it was easy for me to slide around to her blind spots, block her strikes, or simply throw her off balance.

Firmness had it’s place but I always found the Japanese sword styles held more power than grace. Fight was fluid, like a violent dance that required freedom of movement. Ice was water that lost its fluidity. Turning into something sharp and hard that could be shattered and broken with enough force. She lacked how to make Ice graceful and the inherent way that it could produce that.

“You lied!” Toki yelled, heaving for breath as I stood casually out of her reach. “Those techniques are from traditional martial arts!”

“Indeed. Wado Kai to be exact. You could say I’ve got a good grasp on the ways of peace and harmony… among others. Although, I never lied. All I said was that I knew how to throw a punch. I never denied not having any training.”

“That still makes you a liar!”

“How naïve. Consider this a free lesson for you then; Never reveal your true blade until one is pointed at you. Your opponent isn’t going to care about the rules and courtesies shown in a dojo. It’s better if you–!”

CRACK!

It took a few moments for my brain to process what happened.

It happened so fast that I couldn’t even perceive it happening even as I was focused on lecturing Toki.

I just never assumed that anything could feel so… excruciating.

My vision went blurry but I could still see just what happened as I looked at my left arm. The upper half hung limp as the bone in my forearm was snapped in two. A distinct red mark where the break occurred. That was all I could rightly comprehend before the pain began to register.

I threw up on the dojo floor. Nauseous hitting me on top of everything else. Body slumping onto my own vomit as I couldn’t muster up the strength to stand. Tears of pain streamed down my face as I couldn’t give justice to the pain I felt was heard by anyone within earshot.

“AGHHHH! GWAAAAH!”

Laying there I knew that Old Bastard was standing over me, the vague figure of a sword sheath in his hand. Even as my pain ruled over my mind his vile voice still managed to creep his way in! “How dare you! How dare you lecture anyone on the ways that the Yukihana have followed for centuries! No different from your worthless father! Spouting foolishness in a place he had no right to intrude in!”

“G-Grandfather?”

“You will go again! Get up boy! You will stand or you will continue to feel my discipline!”

In my most shameful of thoughts fear began to grip me as I now knew that what I was feeling right now was at the tip of the iceberg. That this man’s hatred towards Hisato’s father was so immense that he would not separate him from his son. Yes, to Komuro Yukihana I was the living proof of his greatest loss and no amount of talent would change that.

“From this moment on Toki shall focus on attacking and you, Boy, shall not raise a hand to harm her. You will learn that one's attributes shape one's destiny and yours is far below those among the Yukihana. It will be your duty to harness your abilities to heal and support the Yukihana and our allies. Failure to do so will be more severe than you could possibly imagine!”

Yes, I was to be her punching bag. Her means of raising her offensive abilities while I forcibly raised my defensive ones. It was this man that caused the rift between Hisato and Toki. How they were so diametrically opposed in abilities even when they were trained by the same person. The ten star attributes made it clear now. What Komuro’s intent for bringing me here to train with Toki was. How he intended to force my growth to learn Light Magic or risk living in endless agony.

So mustering every fiber of my remaining strength I stood up, vision still blurry but looking towards the frightened girl with every bit of defiance I had. If this was how Komuro wanted to play then I would use it to my advantage! The wisdom I tried to pass on to Toki that he viewed as foolishness would become the Bastard's very own undoing! I would simply be some shield that was thrown in front to protect this god forsaken family! No! I would hide and sharpen my blades and wait for my chance to strike back and be free of this place!

“Come… Come on then! You heard him! Hit… me!”

[LH]

Whatever Toki was feeling at that moment… I honestly couldn’t tell. I couldn't even tell how long the training continued after that. Only waking up when the sun was set and my body was riddled from head to toe with bruises. While they didn’t hurt as much compared to what Komuro had done, it was enough that I knew I couldn’t sustain this torture unless I learned Healing Magic.

I wouldn’t blame Toki for this though. She may have held the blade but wasn’t the one who commanded it. Even for the countless strikes she delivered against me under these circumstances I wouldn’t! No, it would be too easy to blame her as a child would. I was not Hisato Osawa. I held the wisdom of a man with far greater understanding as to how Komuro had poisoned his own Granddaughters mind.

“I’m sorry.”

“Gah!” Flinching at the voice I grunted in pain from flinching. I blinked thrice trying to catch a glimpse of the disembodied voice that spoke from the darkness. Whatever or whomever it was seemed to have disappeared. Only the glow from the moon casting a small beam of light onto the floor where a single object lay.

Unsure of what it was I crawled from sheets towards the object with my one good arm. Compelled beyond reason to know what just happened even if every fiber of my body was screaming at me to stay still. The hardback cover felt cool to the touch as I flipped it over to read its cover. A barely legible title scrawled in English rather than Japanese. A spurring in my chest erupting with hope as I could now see a glimmer towards a path to my destined future.

“Thank… you.”

[The Ten Aspects of Magic]