"Again…" He murmured, breathing hard, spitting some blood and wiping it off his chin with the already shattered and dirty sleeve of his blue kimono.
"Eiji-sama, we should take a break," the kitsune woman said, putting her naginata away, a look of worry directed to her liege. Eiji was in a pretty rough shape, exhausted, with clothes shattered and full of blood. His tails as well were stained with the crimson liquid, no sign of that royal and arrogant appearance being left.
"Again…" He said again, as if having not heard her first time.
"But, Eiji-sama, you're-"
"I said again!" He yelled, showing his bright white eyes, but they immediately lose colour as he gasped, falling on his knees as he clutched his chest. The sound of his metal sword falling by his side echoed to all of the present crowd's ears as they rushed by his side.
"That's it! We're ending this training right now!" The woman with the naginata shouted, seeing blood pour from her liege's chest, which was already bandaged many times before.
"N-no…" He murmured, grabbing her hand as he tried to stand up. "I cannot… give up now…"
"Why is this so important to you anyway!? Even if you're immortal, your existence can still be ended while stabbed by youki and magic infused weapons. Why exactly are you so stubborn…?"
"That's because he feels like he needs to prove himself to someone," Eiji's cousin, Yuudai, said as he came forward, a very serious and slightly worried face shown instead of his usually carefree one.
"Shut up, Yuudai…" Eiji growled, but Yuudai paid him no mind as he continued to speak.
"What exactly do you think you're going to achieve by getting yourself killed? That's not how you learn human magic."
"Then what else do you propose!? Akira had twenty-five years to learn it! I've only got a few months! Just what do you expect me to do? Sit back and let her go on the battlefield alone!?" Eiji shouted, springing forward, but as he felt his body ache with pain again he stopped in his tracks, his seven tails falling on the ground of the training grounds, motionless.
"Just as I've thought. You're not doing this for your own selfishness," Yuudai said with a slight smile, circling him with contempt.
"Just what do you want to achieve by coming here, Yuudai?" Eiji asked as he growled, suspiciously watching his cousin walk so proudly around him, who looked like a beggar in comparision.
"You asked the wrong question, but no matter. I can ask you the same thing. Just what did you hope to achieve by coming here, Eiji? It's been a whole mouth since you're here and you have made little to no progress. Are you even trying to learn magic at all, really?"
"You are crossing the line, Yuudai. Do not dare to make me mad," Eiji said, having slowly been releasing his Fear around him, intimidating many of these present on the training grounds, all beside his own cousin, who just ignored the fact.
"Am I not telling the truth, by any chance?" Yuudai asked, raising his eyebrow as he stopped moving, now standing tall before his cousin.
"Of course not, you idiot! I have come here for a purpose. I haven't come here to play around or to ditch my chores!"
"That is exactly what it seems to me, however. You have always been awful at casting illusions or shapeshifting, even from an young age. However, you have much more enchanted senses and abilities than anyone I've ever seen."
"What the heck are you trying to say now?" Eiji raised his eyebrow, annoyed and confused at the same time.
"What I'm trying to say is…" Yuudai sighed, exasperated, before piercing him with his gaze, releasing his own fear. "Most likely, there is no chance for you to ever learn how to properly use human magic."
"Now you've really crossed the line!" Eiji shouted and in his rage, his tails pierced the air and cut the distance between the two of them.
But they could never touch them, for Yuudai took out a long black but rusted sheath of a sword, using it to block Eiji's attacks. But the mere sight made Eiji widen his eyes.
"Yuudai, that's—"
"Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven, proof of your status as the Silver Celestial Kitsune, yes," Yuudai said, his eyes sparkling with meaning.
"Why have you take out it? The sword is too old to be used. It's nothing more than a symbol of my status, as you say," Eiji said, calming down a little, letting his tails return to his side as both of their Fears slowly vanished.
"The Three Regalia can still be used," Yuudai said, gripping the sheath in his hand, never faltering his look from Eiji's eyes, who was most shocked to hear his words now. "Amaya has long since begun using Yasakani no Magatama's power; since one hundred years ago, to be more exact."
"You mean she has figured out how to use their powers!? That's insane. It's just not possible," Eiji shouted, not believing this. It went beyond called a miracle.
"It is. I don't know how she did it, but she awakened the true form of the Regalia."
"You still haven't answered my question, Yuudai. Why have you taken it off the vault?" Eiji asked again, trying to understand the meaning of these events himself. Instead, Yuudai raised the sword, presenting it to him, as rusted as it was, with its jewels having lost their shine and with the red threat tying on its handle barely standing anymore.
"As I've said, you are awful at casting. But, maybe, you will be able to awaken your magic as a holder type. Cousin, use this sword, Kuranagi no Tsurugi, and win the games. Win everything and reach the peak of the world, opening the gates of freedom for us once more, like the Three Kitsune of the Ancient Times."
And as if called by the whispers of the sword, Eiji grabbed it, feeling a strange vibration rush through his whole body. Then, for the first time in thousands of years, the sword was unsheathed, but the blade was darkened and have long since rusted away.
"Become worthy of this sword and awaken it, Eiji. I know you can do it."
"Yuudai, thank you…" Eiji finally said, recovering from his depression. He'll do what he can, while she'll do what she can, he thought. And so, as partners, they will stand on top of the world. But first, he'll have to become worthy of holding this ancient sword.
"Oh, right," Yuudai suddenly said, having remembered something. "Akira-chan has summoned you to the Wind Temple. She said it's urgent so you'll have to go there today. It might take a while so I'll be holding on the sword for now," he said, grabbing the sword from Eiji's hands.
"THAT DAMNED GOLDEN FISH!"
The whole mountain of the silver foxes has heard their prince's shouts that day, but they couldn't help but laugh it off, knowing very well whom he was referring to.