“Oneeee~! Twooooo~! Threeeeee~!”

Dammit, already!? Fuyuka cursed under her breath as she grabbed Sayuki and ran. “Come on, we need to get away from her!” Sayuki nodded and the two girls synchronized their jin’i, leaping away. I need to get away from her as fast as possible…! Yume Tsubakuro… She’s the worst out of all of the Elite Guard…!

“Fouuuuuur~! Fiveeeee~! Siiiiiix~!” Ahaha~! I knew that would work~! I wouldn’t be able to show how cool I am if there isn’t something like this to liven me up! Also… That girl… Her demeanor doesn’t quite match the girl when I first met her before the tournament started. Hmm… I remember my darling telling me that he has some “shadows”. Would she be one of them? Yume put her hand to her chin as she thought in a cute pose. “Eh, the only way to find out is to chase after them! Seveeeeeeen~! Eiiiiiiight~! Niiiiiiiiine~! Teeeeeen~!! Ready or not, here I come!”

Honami and Sayuki had already bolted away as fast as they possibly could, leaping across rooftops and running across the city. Honami’s—or to be more accurate, Fuyuka’s—plan was to escape to Koganezawa Park where she can find a sleeper cell of the Mokusa organization; she hoped to reach them and escape with their assistance. She took one glance behind her and noticed that Yume was already closing in. Dammit…! Next to her, the scenery blurred as she upped her speed and in no time at all, both girls had arrived in Koganezawa Park but that is also when Yume finally caught up to them.

As it was the middle of the night, there was no one around. Yume entered utsushi, drew her sword in one swift movement, and struck the two girls at a speed that could only be described as lightning. Thunderous crashes rang out as Yume’s sword clanged against the other two swords, throwing out sparks akin to a fireworks display for several meters until Fuyuka managed to slam Yume backward. Both Fuyuka and Sayuki found themselves with their back to Fukashiro Lake, their swords pointed at Yume. “Wow, you girls are super fast! I’m having so much fun right now!” She raised her sword in a stance unique to her sword school, the Ten’nen Rishin-ryū, what was known as a hira-seigan-no-kamae (in English, flat seigan stance). Blade edge perpendicular to the ground, she stabbed but Sayuki stepped forward and swept aside Yume’s blade; Yume herself comically shouted, “Waaah!” and lost her balance only to immediately regain it, spin on her toes and knock Sayuki off of her feet, her sword now inches away from her neck. “Just kidding~!”

Fuyuka, however, would not allow that. She stepped in with a rising cut, sending Yume’s blade skyward before it could behead Sayuki and giving her the precious second she needed to get back up to her feet. Fuyuka proceeded to follow up with a sharp series of cuts, with the precision of an origami artisan. Yume’s eyes widened as she was truly momentarily forced into full defense. “Hoh…! This clinches it! You aren’t that wuss at all…!”

Hah, she might think she’s figured it out but that’s also not quite right. Fuyuka allowed a tiny smile to creep onto her face. We had already swapped out by then; I simply chose not to react upon you approaching me. Besides, I managed to get some juicy information… To think Kazuyuki-sama already has his snares around her…! Of course, she was referring to the earlier conversation she and her principal had with Yume where the latter revealed her status as Kazuyuki’s future wife. Fuyuka decided that she should keep the misunderstanding going especially after Yume added, “That sword style… Shinkage-ryū? No… This is Arichi Shinkage-ryū, is it not?”

The two girls kept exchanging attacks before finding themselves with their swords locked. As Fuyuka brought her face close enough to touch Yume’s nose, she replied, “Correct. As expected of a member of the Elite Guard. Quite the level of dynamic vision to identify the sword style with but a few clashes.”

The two girls then stepped backward before clashing once more. “Who are you then, imposter?”

“Would you be so kind as to stop fighting me if I introduced myself?”

“That wouldn’t be fun at all!”

“I suppose…” Fuyuka sighed, breaking away from their deadlock once more. She readied herself before she too plastered a smile on her face. “In that case, I, Honami Mitsumine, challenge you to a duel.”

“Still clinging to her?” Yume cackled. “Tell me your true name!”

Fuyuka gritted her teeth as she found herself on the receiving end of a high-speed barrage. “Before I answer, let me pose my own question.” Fuyuka once again put herself and Yume into a swordlock as she stared her straight in the eyes. “Are you the designated bride of Kazuyuki Yanagi?”

Yume’s expression blanked out for a few seconds before she tilted her head in confusion. “What sort of question is that?”

“Just answer me.”

Yume slashed her away and stepped backward. “Hmm. Well, the name of my future husband isn’t classified so I suppose a reintroduction is in order. I am Yume Tsubakuro, Fourth Seat of the Elite Guard and the beloved one of the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven. It is with my sword that he fell in love with and it is with his sword that I shall die.”

“Hoh?” Fuyuka grinned. “In that case, I shall name myself. I am the kagemusha, the shadow warrior, of the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven, Fuyuka Takamiya. I wield my blade through the darkness so that my master remains in the light. If my master orders me to fight, I shall fight. If my master orders me to die, I shall die.”

“Ahahaha!” Yume laughed. “I see, I see! My dearly beloved has done some very interesting things in the time I haven’t seen him! If I bring you in, will he come to save you?”

“Keep dreaming,” Fuyuka replied as both she and Yume charged for another pass, however, they were stopped when Sayuki leapt in between them, her free hand grabbing Fuyuka’s wrist while her blade locked with Yume’s.

“… Stop,” she pled. “Stop…! I am not a puppet…!” She stepped forward, putting her strength into forcing Yume off balance; she let go of Fuyuka, returned to a double grip, and began a relentless barrage against Yume. The two exchanged rapid-fire blows: a rising cut, followed by a horizontal slash, followed by a falling cut, followed by another rising cut; these strikes continued until Sayuki was able to slash at Yume hard enough that she flew backward, colliding into a tree.

“Owie!” Yume groaned. As she lay against the ground, she cackled. “Aha, is that how it is? Sayuki-chan, you’re so much fun!” Yume kicked off from the tree she crashed into and attacked again. “Come on, come on, keep playing with me!”

I… I don’t want to just depend on others. I want… to stand on my own two feet. “For that…” she said. “I have to defeat you!”

“Good, good!” Yume said excitedly. “Very good, Sayuki-chan!” Yume’s elation seeped into her sword as she attacked Sayuki with the fastest speed she has mustered so far in their short duel. Fuyuka forced herself in between the two to help Sayuki weather her blows as they were getting heavier and heavier.

“Oy, Yume, what the hell are you doing?”

The concentration of all three girls broke as they jumped apart, lowering their swords. “Tsk.” Yume loudly clicked her tongue as she glared at the newcomer.

“Renpu’s President Hachimiya…” Fuyuka muttered. Tch, of all women to show up…

“Stand down,” she demanded. “This isn’t the place for a defective product like yourself.” She ordered with her eyes for the elite Toji she had brought with her to enter utsushi and surround Yume, Fuyuka, and Sayuki; both Yume and Fuyuka were completely unperturbed while Sayuki was already showing an expression of resignation; in response, Fuyuka silently wrapped her hand around Sayuki’s to show her support.

Yume eyed the girls around her before sighing. She dismantled utsushi and sheathed her blade. “‘Kay, ‘kay, understood~,” she vocalized. She then cupped her hands behind her head and began walking. Her carefree expression irritated Azusa but she didn’t say anything, however, when Yume walked past her, she suddenly vanished. Upon reappearing, she had her hand on the hilt of her blade as if she had just drawn it. She then continued walking and stole a glance backwards in satisfaction as she saw the ten Toji collapse.

“Yume, you…!”

“What a total waste of my time,” Yume sighed, cutting her off. If I recall, those are some of our country’s Doubles… What an untalented group. I fear for our country’s future if the quality of our Doubles is this low.

She was definitely holding back when she fought us! Fuyuka growled internally. To think she was able to down ten Toji almost instantly… I’m quite sure I recognize some of them as among some of the more higher-ranking Double Digits. She then latched her arm around Sayuki’s waist and bolted off in another direction while Azusa was distracted by Yume’s outrageous behavior. In any case, I have to escape and bring her to my master. Fuyuka looked back to see the principal shaking her fists in some random direction. Hah, she’s truly a clown.

Meanwhile, as Yume wandered off into the night, she bit her lip, stifling a groan of pain as she clutched her chest. It… seems like I don’t have much time left. Suddenly, she stuck her hand out to a nearby tree to support herself then coughed. Covering her mouth with her free hand, she hacked for a few seconds. When the fit stopped, she removed her hand from her mouth and chuckled at the blood she saw. I was hoping to at least kiss him but it looks like I’ll die before that happens…

0727

Fuyuka had contacted her principal, Chikage, and informed her of everything that had happened since her disappearance from her ryokan; Chikage had accepted the reports, expressing surprise at how they managed to escape from Yume Tsubakuro, then scolded Fuyuka for taking unauthorized action. She didn’t reprimand her for long and simply arranged for a transport with the Mokusa sleeper cell in Koganezawa Park so that Fuyuka could rendezvous with Kazuyuki at Mokusa’s main hideout of Notojima off the coast of Ishikawa’s Nanao.

Kazuyuki was already waiting at the port when the small boat that carried both Fuyuka and Sayuki landed. Noticing him, Fuyuka immediately got out of the boat and knelt at his feet. “Kazuyuki-sama, it is a pleasure to be allowed within your esteemed presence.”

“Ugh, you know how much I hate formalities,” Kazuyuki groaned. He immediately grabbed Fuyuka’s arm and pulled her up; she responded with a cute, “Yeek!?” He yanked her up to his face and with the distance between them closed to the point their noses were almost touching, he continued, “If you have something to report, do it directly to my face and not to the wooden floorboards of this pier.”

As her cheeks slowly colored, Fuyuka said, “I-If you order me to…” Kazuyuki grunted in reply and let her go before leaning back against the pole and signaling her to start. He’s so unfair to just suddenly grab me like that… I am a kagemusha! I shouldn’t be allowed these kinds of feelings… Her thoughts spiraling in confusion, she pinched her arm behind her back to reset herself. “As you may already know from President Serizawa, I’ve retrieved Renpu’s pet Toji, Sayuki Asahina. I was reprimanded for taking individual action but I believed that this was best for our plans.”

“Indeed, her current rank may be that of a Quad but her potential is on the level of a Double,” Kazuyuki nodded.

“Truly?” Fuyuka said.

“Yeah, gauging other people’s strength and future potential is more or less right up my alley,” he replied. “At the very least, it should be a skill a Single like myself should hone.”

“Magnanimous words, Kazuyuki-sama,” Fuyuka bowed. She smoothly ignored the irritated glare Kazuyuki sent her way as she waved Sayuki to her side. “Here she is.”

“Hmm…” Kazuyuki stared at her enough for Sayuki to tremble slightly in confusion. He then clapped his hands which quickly sent Sayuki into panic mode, however, she suddenly felt calm. Kazuyuki sighed and turned around. “In any case, welcome to Notojima. This isn’t the right place if we want to have an extended discourse so come follow me.” He started walking forward with his hands in his pockets. … Did I misjudge? Clearly, she has the potential but that timidity is a major issue. I even had to use a spell to calm her down. Ah, well, I’ll just find out later.

As Fuyuka watched the back of her master, she gently wrapped her hands around Sayuki’s. That… was the Destressing Charm. I see Kazuyuki-sama still has the tendency to intimidate those he first meets with the aura he has meticulously polished as the number one Single… Even I was affected by it. She sighed and said, “Don’t worry, Sayuki-chan, he may seem like that but Kazuyuki-sama is gentle.”

Sayuki looked at her, with her eyes incredulously saying, There’s no way that’s true. Fuyuka laughed quietly. “He is the older brother of the rank No. 1 Toji, Maihime Tendou-sama, and her ‘other side’. In other words, he is her equal.”