Chapter 15: Future

"EDA, NO. Are you serious right now?!"

"…"

THE NERVE.

I MEAN, THE NERVE OF THIS WOMAN.

The only reason, the ONLY reason Raine did not agree to participate in the tournament was because Eda was too worried they would get hurt. And raine being raine, they trusted their girlfriend with this matter. After all, among witches, very few knew the human race as well as Eda did; seeing as she practically lived among them for years, decades even. To not trust her judgement here would have been beyond stupid.

And now…

When it's clearer than ever just how brutal and ruthless humans truly are…

SHE SAYS SHE WANTS IN?!

"Raine, please, listen-"

"LISTEN TO WHAT?! You saw the same thing I did, didn't you?! Crowley nearly died! Flora didn't even get to fight and she has a line in the middle of her whole body! Even the kids got horrible wounds! Those humans are dangerous, Eda! Titan, not even other humans are safe! Did you see how that Rasputin guy ended up?! ... …"

Raine had to take a second to breathe and calm down.

"Eda, you said you didn't want me to get badly hurt, and I trusted you, even though I had no idea what you were talking about. And I see clearly that you were right beyond any shadow of a doubt. I don't want you to get hurt either!... the curse was more than enough."

OUCH, straight to the yugular.

"….So Why? Why is it that you want to take part all of the sudden? When the Blight kid came to ask, you didn't jump to the chance then, so why now?"

Fair enough, the least she could give right now was answers.

"… It's… it's because I didn't know Gouki was going to be there, ok?... Although I should have guessed, he did say he was very close to this Tokugawa dude."

…

…

…

?

"Gouki?... you mean Shibukawa? The really old human?... You know him?"

"…yyyyeeeeahhhh. I know him. A fair bit, you could say?"

"You never told me about him. What are you two? He seems a bit too old to be your ex, if you ask me."

"Ok, first, ouch. Not everyone in my past is an ex-"

"Most of them are"

"… Ok fair, but not ALL of them. And second… he is my master… Some years back, I came across him in the streets of some big city I was visiting. Some thugs tried to mug him, but they got it bad instead. It was a 5 on 1 and he came out unharmed. Needless to say, I was amazed. I came up to him and said "Hey! That was awesome! How did you do that?" And he just laughed and said "well, they don't call me grandmaster for nothing, kid! That was Aiki." And I decided then and there I wanted to learn that. I have been learning Aiki ever since, but when we lost the portal last year, I was on my own… I haven't stopped practicing, even if I never use it…"

"Raine, I want to know if I made any progress. Aiki is amazing. It made me feel like I could still use magic when I was at my worst… It helped me a lot, and I want to thank my master somehow… He said that "a teacher's greatest joy is to know their student has surpassed them" … I don't think I'm there yet but… I want to know how close or far I am, you know?"

It was hard for Raine to stay angry after hearing that. Eda's curse has been weighing her down for years, decades even. It sounds that this "Aiki" was a great way to make her feel powerful again. They had never seen it in action, but if Alai's boxing was anything to go by, these "Martial Arts" have some incredible properties that can make them rival and even outclass magic itself.

…

A master's greatest joy is to know their student has surpassed them…

…

For some reason, that sentiment resonated with Raine.

"… Fine. You can join in. BUT, under 2 conditions: 1) You go straight to your master AND NO ONE ELSE, and 2) … I get to participate as well."

There was clearly something special about these fights. Raine talked to everyone involved in one so far, and they all seem radically different from before the fight … radically more intense, dedicated, like they discovered something they never knew of that ignited some sort of unique spark in them, except for Crowley, who was still in an induced coma. Sclep was working out harder than ever (and was lifting weights with her mouth for some reason?), Willow had actually left the Isles and went to some country in the human world called "Japan", alongside a "Sukune" person, the Blight kid was doing some sort of bizarre training in her own house, and so on.

Maybe Raine would find something as well in one of these fights. That idea alone made it worth a try.

And, with Eda being so insistent on this despite her previous protests, she was already guilt-tripped enough to accept.

Which she did.

They went to Amity to walk in as replacements, which she didn't have.

Conveniently, Eberwolf had tapped out of the competition. Every natural instinct in his body told him to dip after seeing Crowley get almost killed, and when he heard that the human that almost killed Crowley was brutally murdered himself, he did.

Which leads us to now, the 2 new competitors of the grand tournament walking in the streets of Bonesborough, looking for the grandmaster that stood as the unreachable peak in Eda's journey.

After a couple of minutes of looking,

They found him.

He was walking next to one of the other remaning competitors.

"Master!"

Both men turned around to see Eda and Raine coming up to them. A smile appeared on Shibukawa's face.

"HOOOH! Clawthorne-san! It has been such a long time!"

They both bowed to each other in a way Raine had NEVER seen Eda do. Was she always so... respectful? Polite? This man is already impressing Raine.

"It's very nice to see you master. Especially now."

"I can say the same! Say, how has your training been going? I hope you have kept up, you can be quite a slacker sometimes! BAHAHAHAHA!"

Eda got a bit flustered.

"And who might you be?"

"Nice to meet you, sir. My name is-"

"RAINE WHISPERS! I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO MEETING YOU! I know this is a bit sudden, but can I talk to you for a second?"

The other man that was with Shibukawa leapt to talk to Raine all of the sudden. He was oddly energetic and enthusiastic, but didn't seem to bear any ill intent.

"UUUHHHHH… S-Sure, w-what can I help you with?"

PANIC. SETTING. IN.

"I am sorry for being so forward. I have heard so much about you, just had to see by myself! I have been told you are a remarkable genius of bard magic, a master among masters, a prodigy among prodigies! Your skills are said to be beyond those of any other bard to have ever lived! I have even seen recordings of your abilities and I must say, you are quite incredible!"

"Say, have you ever thought to use your genius to propel the coming generations forward?"

"UUUHHH-uuummmm… w-well, no. But, it sure sounds… interesting?"

Titan, this guy was too much.

Which was odd considering how unassuming and non-threatening he appeared on the surface.

He was only slightly taller than Shibukawa, but much younger. Maybe in his mid-thirties. He had a broad and muscular build, his head was completely bald, and he had a beard with a moustache. He also had square sunglasses on. And his face was quite unique. He had a look of genuine kindness and warmth that Raine had never seen before. He looked so gentle and loving. And his words were filled with hope and expectation for the future.

"OH, WOW, sorry! My manners, my name is Jyaku. I have a school of martial arts with over 9,000 members. What I really wanted to ask you was this: would you like to make a school of martial arts here in the Demon Realm with me?"

"What?!"

"You see; I have a dream. I want to craft the perfect martial art of self-defense, and then pass it on to the next generation of our worlds. I could only ever dream to construct it with the martial arts of my world before, but ever since your world came into view, endless possibilities have appeared! You surely must have seen the many wonderful things that have already come into existence in this tournament alone! Wouldn't you like to be a part of that future? Wouldn't it be fantastic to pass your knowledge to a student, only to see them excel and even surpass you? Very few things in life can compare to that kind of pride, don't you think?"

"…"

"... You don't seem too convinced… I heard that you entered the tournament as a reserve to fill in for those that had to retire early, so here is an idea: fight me. Perhaps you will understand my dream if you can experience it in the flesh."

…

A master's greatest joy is to know their student has surpassed them…

Jyaku then put his hand out.

"Raine whispers, will you shake my hand?"

"Let me be clear: this is an attack. If you take my hand, we shall fight. I want you to understand, I want you to experience my dream. I want you to come with me to build the path that future generations will walk upon."

Raine thought for a while…

They fought and challenged the emperor without fear for so long.

What was it all for? It was clear, it was for the future.

They were just like Jyaku, they were fighting and building for the sake of the coming generations.

They were fighting for the future all the same. Raine challenged the oppressors, Jyaku built roads of martial arts. Each had their way to pave the way, but they both ultimately did it all the same. They did it for the same reason.

It was for the future.

Raine put their hand out, and grasped Jyaku's hand firmly.

Jyaku smiled a warm and honest smile.

"Thank you. I knew it, I trusted you…"

"I trusted that you would shake my hand!"