(Kaede's Vow)

*September 1st, 1918*,

*7:00pm*

The gang was eating dinner with Master Akito as everyone was engaging in conversation regarding everything that had transpired.

"I'm sure that everyone is curious regarding Nicholas II and my match right?" Akito spoke as he took a bite from his meat.

"Correct and Please tell us everything regarding the possible meeting" Tatiana responded as she sat down and said a small prayer before eating.

"But Are you aware of my Fa-Um! I mean Nicholas II is dead right?.." Olga said as she held back tears as she looked around to see everyone else doing the same

. "Oh dear! I'm terribly sorry for his loss and If I may ask what was the cause of death?" Akito asked as his expression was shocked and surprised.

"We've seen it on the Newspaper that he was…" Olga said as she was cut off by Tatiana.

"Let's please change the subject and we loved our Tsar so very much and it's hard for us to talk about but he sadly passed away…" Tatiana said in a sad tone as the room became silent for a moment.

"I understand. I wish I could have met him earlier but I'm truly sorry for everyone's lost" Akito said in a comforting voice as he noticed Kaede raising her hand.

"What seems to be the problem?" Akito said with a smile.

"I want to be your student!" Kaede cried out as gasps erupted from the room as everyone was filled with surprise and shock.

"Wait! You want to become Master Akito's student?! I don't know if he takes students anymore and It's quite hard to get accept" Kazumi said.

"He could be right and we have Bartok and Kazumi to defend us from any trouble and please don't put yourself on any stress…" Maria said as she gently touched Kaede to give her comfort.

"That's the issue. I just don't want anyone else to get hurt and I wanna defend my friends as well so please Master Akito! Take me under your wing! I'll do anything that you ask!" Kaede pleaded as she and Akito stood at each other for a couple of seconds as everyone remained surprised.

"She's serious isn't she?" Anastasia thought to herself.

"Kaede? Are you sure that you're making the right choice and we don't want you to get injured or worse" Bartok asked while Maria nodded her head in agreement.

"I'm serious guys and If I can use a sword and fight like how Kazumi and Bartok can then I could stand a chance against other people that may want to kill us" Kaede answered back as she was filled with determination.

"I see...I'll accept your proposal however It's not gonna be easy. My training is quite strict and we'll start tomorrow at 6am sharp!" Akito said as Kaede's face lit up while everyone became surprised.

"Thank you very much Master! I won't fail you nor anyone else in this room!" Kaede replied back as she got up and bowed in front of Akito.

"Tomorrow? If I must ask. Does she have time to prepare for her training?" Alexei asked as he took a sip of Water from his cup.

"Don't worry Alexei. I'm ready for the training! And I just want to become stronger! And I don't wanna lose anyone else!" Kaede answered back with motivation in her tone of voice.

"I understand and We should respect Miss Kaede's wishes and I know that she will do fine" Alexei had spoken to everyone on the table.

"Kaede? I know we're cousins however I just don't want you to get injured and Master Akito's training is very tough and challenging but I have this strange feeling that you will do quite amazing however the pre-test could be the challenging part…" Kazumi thought to himself.

"Kaede! I will work you to the bone! And You wanna get stronger right? Well then! We will see about that tomorrow at 6am" Akito said.

"Kaede seems to be serious and I honestly hope that she'll win this session" Anastasia thought to herself as Kaede looked back at her.

"Don't worry bestie! I'll manage and It's my motivation for everyone in this room which is making me do all of this. I know that what I could be doing is idoitic in everyone else's eyes but I'm at a point where I would die for my loving and amazing friends and everyone has brought me so much joy" Kaede explained.

"Good luck Kaede! And You can do this! And Let's all believe in our wonderful friend!" Yelena wrote in her notebook as she showed everyone her thoughts.

"Kaede and Yelena are right...It's like how I'm feeling at this moment. If I had a chance to die in order to save everyone here then I'll do it in a heartbeat and it shows how much I love and care for everyone in this room so let's all support Kaede!" Olga said in a motivated voice.

"HUZZAH!" everyone but Akito and Yelena shouted in agreement.

"Huzzah?" Akito asked with curiosity in his voice.

"It's used to express approval or agreement and right now we are agreeing with Kaede's choice" Tatiana replied with a smile.

"Thank you and you have wonderful friends Kazumi. Always cherish them until the end of time" Akito said while Kazumi smiled and nodded his head.

"I will Master Akito!" Kazumi replied with a smile.

"Tomorrow will be a long day so It's best to get plenty of rest my young student" Akito spoke to Kaede.

"Yes sir!" Kaede replied as she bowed and proceeded to walk towards the bedroom.

"Goodnight everyone! and See ya tomorrow!" Kaede said as she waved everyone goodnight and went to bed as everyone began to clean up the kitchen.

"It's only 7pm but I understand that Kaede must get plenty of rest for her big day tomorrow" Maria said as she cleaned up the plates.

"That is correct and I wonder if we should watch," Olga added on as she helped Maria with the cleanup.

"If that's the plan then we must head to bed as well and besides we're used to waking up early anyways" Tatiana said as well as she put the leftover food in the trash bin.

"Kaede is a woman and I fear Master Akito will be hard on her but Kaede's mental strength seems to be strong however just how much can she truly take?" Kazumi pondered to himself in his head as he sat down on the floor and sat back to continue his thoughts.

"Kazumi looks worried. I hope he's okay and Is Akito's training really that bad in the way he's making it to be?" Anastasia quietly said to herself as she walked over and sat down next to Kazumi.

"What's exactly causing you to behave this way?" Anastasia asked as she looked at Kazumi.

"It's just that Master Akito's training is pretty intense! Good! But it's something I fear Kaede won't handle but I also think she can due to her sheer will" Kazumi answered back as he looked at Anastasia.

"I'm sure Kaede will do it and If you put your mind into it then anything is possible" Anastasia replied back.

*Bedroom*

"I won't fail Master Akito nor anyone else!" Kaede said to herself as she prepared to fall asleep for her training.