U-undress? Like right now?

"Ena, if you may". To his call, Ena stands up on her barefoot feet and picks up two sets of clothing behind one of the tatami closet doors, then brings it over to us. Two sets of white Kimonos. She gives one to each.

"These are your clothes you are going to wear for training. You will have some fashion for casual wearing prepared in your rooms."

Yuuna is in the process of getting up when Mister Abe halts her for a bit longer.

"Before you go, I would like you to answer something." We look at him curiously. Is this another test?

"What is your goal? What is it that you are after? Why do you want to become stronger? Is there a reason? Do you have a clear goal in mind or is it just for the sake of becoming stronger?"

[Yuuna's Perspective]

A reason....what is my reason? I haven't really thought about it. Sure, a demon destroyed our district and took people I love from me, but I came to accept it the same way as if a tornado or an earthquake did all of that instead. It doesn't make me want to go and exterminate all demons, it's just something that happens and can't be stopped. Maybe my comparison is twisted....but that is how I see it at least. I'm sure the one responsible for the tragedy has been dealt with on the same day too.

I look at Hidiku still sitting on the tatami flooring. His gaze has curiosity in it with a hint of surprise. Somehow, seeing him like this reminds me of everyone that has been taken away and puts a clear image of all of them into my head.

Mister Abe and Miss Nagi observe patiently as I'm ready to give my answer.

"I want to get stronger, because I hate how weak I am, I hate the fact that I can't protect anyone despite being from a district of guardians. Once I'm strong enough, I will look for my friends that were forcefully taken away from us, but....I don't know where I want to go from there."

"That is good enough, you will figure it out along the way. What's most important is that you have a clear goal in mind. Speaking of your friends, everyone that has been led out of there that day has been transported to the military located in the city of Taiyō. If finding them is what you are after, you will need to enter it yourself but to do so you will first need to reach the age of fifteen and pass the trials."

That means we have about two years....do we have enough time? No, it's not a question of time rather than of determination. I will do whatever it takes to find them....

I slightly bow towards him and leave with the new pair clothing.

"She's learning fast. I hope you will follow her example, Hidiku." Hidiku gives him an awkward laugh as Mister Abe pokes him around behind my back.

What is it that I want to do once I find them? Do I want to take revenge on the demons? Maybe I can just protect the people of the city?

I grab my head from both sides as this is hurting my brain and soon enough I give up on thinking about it. For now at least.

———

Groomed in our training outfits, Hidiku and I are set before the wooden structure as Mister Abe and Miss Nagi stand on its veranda. Master Nagi is dressed in the same style as us, will she be joining too?

It is finally time, the reason we are here for. My excitement is pumping and hard to contain, but when I look at Hidiku, I see the pure opposite expression and feeling he's giving out. With a confused yet curious look I glance at him.

"What's wrong, Hidiku? Didn't you want to train?" I quietly mumble just loud enough for his ears to catch.

"It's not that....Did I really need to get rid of the sword? I loved it so much, it was like an irreparable brother." He sighs.

Hey hey hey.....don't forget you have an actually 'real' brother. Don't go replacing him with an object....

Two claps resonate throughout the area just before Mister Abe clears his throat.

"Heads up please." Our concentration sharpens and our view is directed to him.

"The goal of your training is to make you strong enough to be accepted in the military, for that you will need to go through many hurdles. Don't think that just because you are still children I pull my punches, quite the opposite actually. The younger your bodies are, the better you learn and adapt, that's why for the next two years we will be pounding everything we can into those little meat sacks of yours."

His smile as he says it makes him seem fairly sinister. I have this odd feeling he will put the two of us through some unimaginable hell.

"I will be merely watching over your sessions which will be under Ena's command." Everyone puts on a face of surprise. Even Miss Nagi didn't see it coming!

"B-but Master, you know I'm still serving for the military, I won't have time to train them. Not to mention, I'm not a trainer, I'm not capable of teaching them, not as well as you can!"

Mister Abe diverts his gaze to her with a carefree expression. "Fear not, I have already gotten the approval from your higher ups. As for your other concern, I fully trust you and your abilities. I've tutored you for long enough to know what you are cable of and what not. Be more confident about yourself"

He refers back to the pat method used previously and once again Miss Nagi calms down, as if a spell has been cast upon her.

"I'm sure Yuuna and Hidiku would be happier to have someone closer to their age teach them, don't you think?"

Hidiku and I give her a comforting smile moments before she lets out a sigh resembling more positivity than negativity. Though, one thing makes me wonder. Isn't being a Kagi an important role for the military? Not to mention, she's going to be absent for two whole years. How did he manage to get such an approval? And he knew about how the soldiers took away most of the people from the town too. Who is this guy?

"Alright, you kids get at it. I have some business to deal with." And with that, Mister Abe disappears behind the white tatami door.

I'm at the verge of letting my exhilaration burst out like an erupting volcano when the curiosity gets the best of me. "Miss Nagi, what will we be doing?" She gazes upon my face with eyes glittering as the stars on a clear midnight sky.

Miss Nagi directs her full focus towards us after which she silently clears her throat with a hand before her lips. "First thing first, I would like to ask you to drop the 'Miss Nagi' and use 'Ena' instead.

And so, we counter in unison "Yes, Mistress Nagi!"

"I asked you to drop it! Not to escalate it!"

Even when Mistress Nagi is upset, she's still cute!

Mistress Nagi positions her hands on both sides of her hips "Alright you two, now listen closely as I will explain what today will look like. This week will merely prepare you for what's coming next. Normally it would be a month but based off the district you come from and the academy you have attended, both of your physical abilities should not be a problem."

I suddenly become self-cautious and begin to touch and inspect myself all around when Hidiku gives me a weird look while witnessing my act. "Uh....Yuuna, what are you doing?"

I look at him with wary lingering within my glance. "Do I look too thick? I don't have too much muscle, do I?"

"What are you talking about!? A stick is thicker than you! You should eat more!" Why is he upset? Did I say something wrong? Oh, I see! He's jealous! Poor thing, he must be gaining weight really easily.

I pat Hidiku a few times on the shoulder as I look at him with the most comforting and gentle expression I can pull off.

"It's alright Hidiku. Remember, if you ever need help, I'm right here happy to give it to you." Huh...what's this face he's giving me. Why do I feel like I'm being judged hard...

As we are doing our thing, something suddenly hits the ground near us really hard. What was that sound? Both of us are unaware of what's about to come when Hidiku and I direct our views in the direction. It takes us a moment to process what's going on when confusion takes over our minds after pinpointing the cause of the sound. What we find is Mistress Nagi holding a big fat chunk of a tree on each palm.

"HOLYYYYYYYYYYY" I yell out together with Hidiku. And I was worried about being too muscular?! What is this strength? But...now that I look more closely, her arms don't look muscular at all.

Mistress Nagi drops both of the logs onto the ground. "S-so, what are we supposed to do with those..." Cold sweat drips down Hidiku's forehead as he points towards the two chunks.

"It is simple really. You will tie these wooden logs around your waist with a rope and pull them out of the forest and back." Hold up! All the way out of the forest? Isn't that a bit too far?! She must be joking.

She throws the ropes beneath our feet. She isn't joking....

Hidiku looks kind of disappointed when he questions our task "And what will we do if we are attacked? I mean....you have already taken my sword away from me....my family. Can I get it back, please?"

Good luck with that one....

A smile emerges on Mistress Nagi's face, it comes close to a smug, almost as if she is boasting about something. "You needn't to worry, Yuuna will be there with you. Only low-grade demons roam this forest, being attacked by more than one demon at a time is not a common occurrence as they like to hunt alone. You were quite unfortunate yesterday. Now get going, be back by dawn!"

And so, we bound the wood to our bodies. We don't even need to tell her how fed up we are as our expressions make it painfully obvious.

"Let's go, I want have it over with." Hidiku begins to march across the whole residence towards the point where the forest connects. Mistress Nagi and I stand in silence as we are watching him.

"Should we tell him?" I ask her as it's apparent Hidiku is going in the wrong direction and wasted energy by dragging the log across the whole area. I'm kind of curious about his reaction.

———

We are in the middle of the forest, not too far from our base. The sky is covered by dark clouds, it is pouring hard, anyone could tell after seeing us covered in mud. Surprisingly enough, only a single demon attacked us, but when it did, Hidiku tripped and it flew right over him, then hit its head on a tree pretty hard. All I had to do is finish off the unconscious monster.

We are close to our destination when my legs begin to give up on me. Not now, we are almost there! Honestly, I'm impressed with myself, to think I could pull this thing this far. Even though Hidiku is also exhausted, it doesn't seem to be remotely close the level of exhaustion I am experiencing.

Thoughts of tasty food and the comfy bed swirl up within my mind, when suddenly, my log gets stuck between two trees and the force of the tense rope makes me slip on the gooey earth.

I hit the mud face first....hard enough to have Hidiku hear the splash sound.

"Yuuna?" Hidiku calls out to me. Bubbles emerge from the watery earth as I'm drowning. I don't have enough strength to get myself up.

Hidiku starts yelling, then I hear another splash sound. I slightly tilt my head upwards, it's the most I can do, just to see Hidiku also diving into the mud.

That's it, I'm drowning here.

Unexpectedly enough, I get pulled by the back of my collar. I can barely keep my eyes open, I feel so dead. I look at the person holding me, their face consists of mud only.

".....a monster." I receive a rapid slap.

"Don't you give up on me, we are getting out of here!" he unties the rope from my waist, then frees the log from the two trees imprisoning it. I'm once again standing on my two feet when he bounds me back to the chunk of wood and grabs my arm as he drags me with him. He looks really irritated.

When we finally arrive, Mistress Nagi is sitting on her knees, patiently waiting on the veranda just before she spots us.

"So you have made it, good work. Your sleeping attire and bedding as well as the bath are prepared. Feel free to go ahead and rest."

"Damn straight I will, its finally over." Hidiku mumbles to himself as he lets go of my arm.

The world is spinning....my legs are becoming wobbly.

Unfortunately, Hidiku holding me was the only reason I was able to stand but now that he let go....

I fall over and once again hit the ground face first, just that this time it isn't the mud but hard ground.

"YUUNA!" is all I hear from both of them as I pass out.

———

What's this? Where am I? I look around.

I see....it's the all familiar pitch black room with that single beam of light still aiming at myself.

"Yuuna....our family is on the move." The shadow....my other half. It's behind me, clinging to me as it wraps its hands around my waist.

"Family? On the move? W-what are you talking about."

"You need to hurry..." I still feel fear towards it, but weirdly enough, its voice didn't sound sinister at all. In fact, it feels calm, with a hint of wary. What is going on? Am I talking to the same entity here?

I can feel it on by body, it's slowly fading away.

"Wait! Tell me, what do you mean by that?" It's gone...I'm left alone as the space begins to crumble. But before I wake up, I feel a kind of itch on my cheek. It slowly escalates and the itch becomes more and more painful with each second.

I wake up from the dream, the ache isn't gone. I attempt to get up and look at the reflection of myself in the window but before I do, the pain reaches its peak.

A single heartbeat resonates through my body, it's a single loud beat. My body goes into a state of shock right after and I'm stopped in my tracks. I fall over and start taking in deep breaths as it seems my lungs aren't functioning well, they are whistling.

The pain....it's the mark that appeared after the demon's attack on our town. It burns!

Hidiku wakes up and finds me on the floor in pain as I'm sweating hard and pressing the mark on my face with my palm.

"Yuuna?!" He gets up and runs over to me just before grabbing my shoulder to attempt communication. "Come on Yuuna, what's wrong?!" I'm unable to answer him, the pain won't let me.

Suddenly, Master Nagi that was sleeping in the room next to us bursts in.

"Mistress Nagi! Please help, there's something wrong with Yuuna!"