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Chapter 188: Nobume's Comfort.
There was always something about the island shrine that Ichika and his sisters was currently staying on, Ichika could feel that much from the island but so far hasn't been able to figure out what this 'something' was. That being said. The island held a structure that appeared to be extremely large for its size, The Structure showed no issue showing its Japanese artistry style of look that it added to the structure itself.
Put away its bewildering presence that it held on the island, Ichika felt that he was swallowed in this massive building due to its size. This led to Ichika and his sisters getting lost quite often when trying to find their sleeping quarters.
Putting all of this aside, the island held an ominous feeling that chilled Ichika's sisters to the bone. Madoka didn't know what it was, but neither did Chifuyu surprisingly. All they knew is that it was there and there was no way it was going away anytime soon.
Chifuyu suspected that there was something Nobume wasn't telling them but didn't want to interrogate Nobume quite yet. Waking up due to the presence, Ichika decided to sit up and take in the view of his sisters peacefully sleeping away. The idea of sleeping at this point in time whilst being wide awake was something he couldn't get his mind around to doing.
Instead, Ichika sat in the darkness of the large spacious room whilst the moon light beamed down on him through the windows.
"Hmmmm..."
"..."
Ichika smiled at the relaxed faces of his sisters and stared at them for a while. Finally breaking out of the gaze, Ichika turned his eyes towards the glass doors which lead to the balcony of this magnificent building. the endless stars outside was something that caught Ichika's attention as he looked up into the sky that seemed to go on for infinite amounts of time.
'Sleeping is getting me nowhere; I need some fresh air.'
Carefully Ichika tried to get up without making too much noise, Once Ichika was able to stand up, he stood on his tip toes as he creeped towards the two way door in-front of him, which lead out towards the balcony.
Opening the door, Ichika slowly moved the two doors as he wanted to be avoid making too much noise that could wake up his sisters, he knew they would be annoyed by the amount of noise being made, Ichika did not want to disturb them as they got their beauty sleep.
Ichika placed his hands on the railing and began to take in the soft touch of the delicate breeze. The breeze felt soft against his skin and it made feel at ease for once. Feeling like this, Ichika closed his eyes, and began to think to himself,
His thoughts crossed the girls from the IS Academy, Ichika couldn't help but wonder on what they could be getting up to these days, everything happening outside of the island was something Ichika had no idea about, to put it simply, the teenager had no clue what they were up to.
'I wonder what the girls are currently doing? I hope they are doing fine. well considering we are talking about them... they are more than fine.'
A warm smile began to grow on Ichika's face as he remembered some of the good times during the academy days, he knew it was far from over but not being around the girls made him realise that he should cherish the memories created between them.
They had been through a lot together since they joined the academy, all except for a few, were unaware of each other before the academy, Ichika wondered whether or not it was fate that brought them together.
Ichika knew he would never know the answer to that question as there is no answer to it, putting it simply.
"It's been a while since I was at the academy... heck it feels like time has been much slower here, there's only a certain amount of time until I go back there..." Ichika spoke the words that came to his mind as he leaned against the railing.
Unbeknownst to Ichika, a dark figure stood in the corner of the balcony that he was completely unaware of.
"Another month or so."
A voice called out to Ichika, this caught the boy off-guard for a moment until Nobume walked out of the shadows, Ichika's eyes widened as the clone of his mother wore a blank expression as she looked at him, for a few moments Ichika thought Nobume was his mother.
The boy chuckled at his own idiotic tendencies, he knew he wouldn't be able to see his mom for quite a while. Ichika knew he should accept that fact but a large part of him wanted to know what his real mother was like, what she felt like, what she acted like towards him.
To the young lad, when he looked at Nobume, he felt like he was talking directly to his mother, he wished that was the case.
"Oh Nobume."
Ichika made a small smile as his eyes met hers, the blank expression on her face looked absolute, no signs of changing what so ever, Ichika wondered whether or not his mother's clone was naturally like this.
Nobume wore the usual outfit that higher Orimura's would wear, combat boots with tactical pants and a black shirt with a vest over her shirt, the buttons at the top of her shirt were undone and her hair was let down to add to her beauty, Ichika found it hard not praise his mother's clone for being gorgeous.
"You look beautiful Nobume, what brings you so late into this night? could you not sleep as well?" Ichika raised his eyebrow at the expressionless face of his mother's clone as she met eyes with him.
" I could tell you were awake, I wanted to check up on you and to answer you question, I do not simply sleep often." Nobume answered before she turned towards the sky next to the two, looking back at Ichika she realised what he was looking at.
"I woke up and could not go back to sleep, I decided to use the time I am conscious admiring what this world has to offer."
Ichika leaned one arm on the railing to his left as he looked towards the stars in the sky, Ichika couldn't help but wonder what could be out there in the stars, Ichika had always been one to wonder such things whenever he was up late at night.
The idea of not knowing what's out there was something that he desired to know, at the same time the teenager didn't due to no longer having those nights which meant it was pointless him being up.
Ichika understood he was never going to get all the answers in his lifetime.
"I understand although i must implore you to sleep soon, you need your sleep for your training as running on low sleep can lead to you not performing at your best, Ichika." Ichika could of sworn he heard a concerned tone in Nobume's words, she hadn't shown much emotion and hearing that made the teenager slightly happy.
"Are you concerned for me Nobume? if so, do not worry, I plan to go to sleep but for now I will remain conscious." Ichika smiled warmly at the clone of his mother, Nobume moved a few loose strands of hair out of her face.
"I understand Ichika, as the servant to your mother I must make sure you are well rested, to make sure your progress in training goes as smoothly as possible." Nobume mentioned Ichika's mother which got his attention, his eyebrow raised, he made a small smile.
"Of course I am well rested and all of that, my mind is just elsewhere from here, I cannot truly be in the mindset to sleep when I have a few things that occupy my mind." Ichika admitted to Nobume as she nodded in response, the clone had gotten the same treatment from Izanagi a few times before, she knew there was no convincing Ichika to head to bed.
"Want to talk to me about the thoughts on your mind?"
Nobume offered with a neutral expression, a raised eyebrow threatening to breakout onto to her face as she stared directly at Ichika, the heir took a few moments to think before coming to his decision.
"Sure, my mind is mostly occupied with the different things I have to deal with in the future, my sisters of course is a big factor I have to deal with, catching up to them and dealing with them is one thing but it starts to become over whelming to think about having to also deal with those ladies at the academy as well."
Ichika scratched the back as he chuckled awkwardly, Nobume nodded as she understood now, what was on Ichika's mind, Nobume knew Ichika had a lot on his plate, she knew things were going to continue to expand for him with ever occurring problems the young teenager had to face in the present and future, placing a hand on his shoulder, the young teenager stared at Nobume with a raised eyebrow,
"I am not too good at this comforting thing... if it makes you feel better, as long as I can, I will be at your aid no matter what, even when we are not training together on this island, I'm sure if you needed my aid, you could ask Shiori-sama to get in contact with me."
Nobume made a small smile at Ichika before she removed her arm from his shoulder and bowed respectively, Ichika watched with a loving smile as she bowed at him, although not wanting to do so, Ichika had a feeling he couldn't stop his mother's clone from doing so.
After all he was the heir of the Orimura clan.
"Thank you Nobume, I believe I will need your help in the future, I am no where near the level I need to be to deal with the likes of my sisters... not only that but I am not as powerful I thought I was, especially when I compare myself to the likes of you and my mom."
Ichika talked about how significantly weaker he was compared to the other Orimura's, Nobume found him comparing himself to other Orimura's such as herself, unfair on the teenager as she knew it wasn't his fault and she didn't want to take the blame for such things.
Ichika stared at Nobume with a wry expression on his face as he watched her think deeply.
"Do not blame yourself so much, it is not your fault about strength now compared to the rest of us, you would be surprised to find out how different to the rest of us, you truly are..." Nobume complimented Ichika as she suddenly leaned in to hug her master's son, her desire to comfort him made it hard for her to deny her desires.
Nobume stared out to the dark sky, with a smile on her face as she sagged in the comfort of Ichika's arms, his arms wrapped around her shoulders as her arms wrapped around his waist.
"The only reason why you are not on par with the likes of us is that you were taken away from us... all that time ago."
"By years ago, do you mean when I was here with mom? "
Ichika nodded in response before placing a kiss on the forehead of his mother's clone, relishing in her comfort, Ichika felt at peace for the first time in a long time, it was an odd feeling for Ichika, he never wanted to part ways with Nobume.
"Yes, you would have been far more powerful if you did this training years ago."
Nobume replied to Ichika's question, which left Ichika feeling slightly sad as he knew what Nobume brought up, was very true indeed.
"Anyway Ichika, what matters is now and now we can get to teach what you and your sisters were meant to learned years ago. Nobume smiled with relief when she saw Ichika no longer thinking too much about her answers. pulling her arms around his waist, she slowly leaned back and looked up towards Ichika as he began to let go.
Nobume found herself oddly enjoying Ichika's company while he remained on the island.
"Right, you mentioned that I will be going back to the academy soon? will I have enough time to train here and complete my training for now? Ichika expression quickly changed as he raised her eyebrows, Nobume took a few moments to think as her index finger traced lips.
"There is an old cave that Orimura's from hundreds of years ago used to use during their training, I plan to send you down there for remainder of the training you will partake in, just before we expand that [Jusunia Reiki] power of yours." Nobume was brief on what Ichika's last bit of training was going to look like, the teenager understood and nodded in response, a part of him could not wait to start whatever Nobume had setup.
"I see... I hope you have not made the training easy, I will not become strong enough for any future threats if what I face is not powerful enough." Ichika smirked, letting Nobume know that he was prepared to partake in the training in the future. She knew what he had to get through to reach the end goal, she also knew he had to realize a few things as well.
"Of course, training from here on out, does not get any easier, that is why I was respectfully asking for you to sleep so you are well rested for the training to come." Nobume explained why she was pestering Ichika earlier, Ichika understood but knew he would be fine with less sleep.
"You have nothing to worry about, I am prepared mentally and physically, I am ready whenever we begin the training, sleep is the least of my concerns, of course I will sleep but for now, we are here..."
Ichika chuckled as he scratched the top of his head, hair falling in the front of his face, Ichika used his right hand to move the long strands of hair out of his face, Nobume stared at Ichika with a small smile plastered across her face.
"As much as I would love to stay here and talk to you as dawn rises, I believe you should be falling asleep soon, young master." Nobume felt weird calling him 'young master', she hadn't called him that since Ichika was a small child, she still remembered the countless times the child version of Ichika telling her to call him by his name instead.
"Right...Oh! and Nobume, please do not call me young master, I'm no master, I'm simply a teenager trying to find his way in life as he tries to bring the evil side of his family together with the friends he grew to care about..." Ichika stared at Nobume as she stood just in-front of the shadows.
A warm smile appeared on Nobume's face as she was hit with a wave of nostalgia, her mind running back to the several memories she had with the younger version of Ichika. She had cherished those memories for a long time and she hoped to create more with the boy she considered her own son.
"That's so like you Ichika..."
Nobume expression was nothing but happy as she walked back into the shadows of the balcony slowly, Ichika saw this and also smiled alongside her.
"Good night Nobume."
"Good night Ichika."
Before Ichika knew it, the woman who looked so much like his mother disappeared from him as quickly as she appeared, Ichika could no longer feel the intense aura that was behind the clone, leaving Ichika to know she was gone for now.
'I need to get her to teach me how to do that... It would make me so much cooler, I would be like that superhero... Batman...? I think it is?'
Ichika laughed out loud as he knew his thoughts were getting him no where, letting out a yawn, Ichika felt the feeling of wanting to drift off to sleep. Ichika wiped the tears coming from his eye from his yawn, he began to feel very tired.
The young lad wondered whether or not Nobume had done something to him without him noticing?
Probably not, Ichika assumed it was due to a lack of resting in-between training, Ichika turned his attention towards the door that led back to the inside of the spacious room that Ichika, Madoka and Chifuyu were staying in.
Their futons were placed very close next to each other, with Ichika being in the middle whilst his sisters were peacefully resting at either side of his futon, Ichika let out a sigh and walked towards the glass door before pulling the handle slowly to let himself in.
Being conscious about the amount of noise, Ichika made sure to slowly close the door behind him as he was entering the room once more.
"Hmmm..."
The sound of a moan escaping Madoka's voice could be heard by Ichika as he turned around, he could see his little sister had shifted positions to make herself much more comfortable.
"Ichika?"
A voice Ichika was very familiar with called out to him, Ichika recognised that voice as the tone behind it sound very tired, Ichika looked at his sister with a small smile on his face as he noticed her tired eyes watching his own.
"It's fine Madoka, I just stepped out for a few moments to grab some fresh air, please go back to sleep, you need it."
Ichika walked over slowly towards the edge of his futon before leaning down to lie on it as he threw the covers over him once more, Madoka watched him as she was unaware what was happening currently, her tired state still getting the best of her.
"Hmmm... Big bro..."
Madoka closed her eyes once more as she turned onto her side as she faced Ichika, her right leg tangled with her older brothers as placed her head onto his chest, Ichika's left arm went around her shoulder and his arm was used as a pillow.
"Rest easy little sis, you need it, your training has really been getting harder hasn't it?"
Ichika tilted his head so he could press his lips against her forehead, usually Madoka wouldn't of allowed Ichika to kiss her on the forehead but the younger girl was completely out of it as she clung to her little brother.
"Hmmm what were you... doing out there...?"
Madoka looked up towards her brother with sleepy eyes for a few moments before closing her eyes and resting her head back on his chest, Ichika looked at her with a warm smile as he began to explain briefly.
"I was just thinking about a few things, that's all..."
Ichika didn't feel the need to elaborate on what he was doing out there as his sister wouldn't remember most likely, or so Ichika assumed.
"Hmmm don't think... rest with me and nee-san... there is nothing to think about... right. now..."
Madoka sleepily spoke out as she tried to convince Ichika into sleeping, Ichika internally chuckled at his sister, she always had a way of making him smile, whether it was her denying her own true feelings or her being herself.
Ichika loved who Madoka was regardless.
"I know Madoka, I'm here now and I am not going anywhere." Ichika felt Madoka's arm go around his torso as she made it hard for him to get up if he tried.
"Hmmm good... rest with us..."
"I'm surprised you are clinging to me, usually you would be kicking me out or something..."
Madoka opened one eye and nodded as she couldn't come up with words to explain what she was doing, not only that but she was barely listening to her elder brother talk to her.
'Clinging to nii-san... I'm clinging to nii-san... IM CLINGING TO NII-SAN!?'
"W-W-What are you doing!? Baka-Nii!" Madoka began to struggle against Ichika's grip as he held her shoulders. Ichika opened his eyes to see his little sister bright red.
"Madoka calm down... You'll make yourself feel worse..." Ichika moved his head off of Madoka's forehead. "You're not ill... So, what's up? Your face is bright red..." Ichika questioned curiously whilst looking at his younger sister.
"Nothing baka nii! It's nothing... Don't worry about it..." Ichika knew there was something that he wasn't being told. This only motivated Ichika to find out even more to figure out what was wrong with his sister. Madoka turned away from him and looked at the doors behind her instead facing her big brother with her blushing at the moment.
Ichika did something that Madoka never expected him to do. It surprised Madoka when she felt the soft and warm hands of her older brother wrap around her tiny waist and his head leaned on the top of her shoulder. Madoka began to feel the warm breath of Ichika tickling her neck. She bit her lip in order not to say anything about it.
"You know you can tell me anything right? Don't feel afraid to tell me something you feel or something on your mind Madoka...I can tell when something's bothering you." Madoka for a few moments let herself enjoy being in her big brother's arms before snapping out of her stupor
"Please stop this Ichika... It's becoming harder and harder to go on without telling you..." Madoka turned with a glazed look on her face. Ichika turned Madoka around which surprised her. Ichika was caught off guard for a few moments before snapping back to reality to take in what his little sister had just said. Ichika moved his hands to Madoka's face to brush a few strands of her hair out of her face before cupping both of her cheeks and letting out a reassuring smile.
"You know you can tell me anything right? I don't care how bad or how terrible it is... I won't ever judge you … as you are my sister... and I care about you too much..." Ichika smiled a few moments longer before dropping his hands and placing them on her shoulders and bringing her into a hug for her own closure. Madoka found it even harder to lie to herself about not enjoying moments like this. Moments like this was all Madoka wanted after all.
'This is too good... I can't... Big brother...'
Madoka closed her eyes and rested in the hug of her big brothers' arms. Madoka could feel herself enjoying the sound of Ichika's heartbeat beating in a specific rhythm that she enjoyed very much. It had been a long time for Madoka since she was able to feel at peace for once.
Although for Madoka it made her desire to tell her brother how she truly felt about him even worse. For now, Madoka knew she would have to be satisfied with moments just like this for now. Although it did bring out a side of Madoka that she herself didn't feel too often. That side was the motivated side of Madoka that yearned to prove herself in any given situation so badly. Madoka wanted so badly to be the woman she thought of herself she could be.
"Hey Ichika?" Madoka paused for a few moments to ponder on the thought. "Do you think I could ever... truly be strong one day?" Madoka looked up at her big brother who was looking down towards her. Ichika just smiled when she finished talking.
"I believe that one day... Maybe not now or tomorrow... but I believe you will reach a strength that even you didn't believe was imaginable before... I believe you are more than what people give you credit for, that reach power that people can't believe after all..." Ichika gently patted his little sister's head before looking up the stars in the sky whilst waiting for his little sisters reply.
"I understand nii-san... Although, What do mean by that?" Madoka was confused on what Ichika was saying. Ichika looked down at his little sister who was giving him a curious look.
"Well I can't tell you what I mean by that in all detail so I'll sum it up for you in a short explanation."Ichika paused for a few moments and closed his eyes to let out a breath before reopening them. "I personally believe that you are different from Chifuyu and our sisters. Each of us have our own path. It's a difficult road to go down for all of us... What makes you different from us is that your desire to prove yourself is something unfathomable... I believe that even if you were able to tell us... we truly wouldn't be able to understand..."Ichika finished explaining on how he thought of his younger sister. Madoka's eyes lit up in happiness and shock when she heard what Ichika thought of her.
"Ichika..."
Madoka buried herself in Ichika's chest. She couldn't feel happier hearing the way he talked about her potential in the future. Madoka let herself enjoy her brother's hug a little bit more before she knew that it had to come to an end at some point. Finally parting from the hug, Ichika smiled at his sister before once again coercing her into to going back inside.
A few days later...
Location: Void Shrine
"Guh!"
Right now, Ichika was putting himself through hell. Ichika knew that if he did not go through this world of pain when working out to this degree. Ichika was currently pushing himself whilst doing more sit ups than he originally thought he could do. His abs were currently in pain as he pushed himself further and further to continue. Ichika also knew if he didn't... he would regret it later on tonight. Ichika took the saying 'no pain, no gain.' to a new level.
With a face full of sweat and sweat dripping down his body, whilst working out Ichika heard the sound of footsteps approaching him, making him stop entirely so he could see who this person was. That 'person' was none other than Nobume, she was carrying a tray full of food and drinks which looked to made for Ichika. Nobume approached Ichika as began to stand up properly whilst rubbing the sweat off of his face.
"Hey... Nobume..." Ichika took a few moments to breathe. "What are you doing here? I thought you were with the other two..." Ichika questioned his mother's clone who placed the tray of food on a table a few feet from Ichika before walking over to him and handing him a towel to wipe the sweat off with.
"Chifuyu and Madoka are training together today and are doing so I decided to visit you to see your progress in training has been like."Nobume explained her reasoning's for being here. Ichika nodded in response. And wiped the sweat that covered him whilst walking over the table with the tray of food.
"How come you brought so much food? I can't eat all of this... Unless you're planning to eat some to?" Ichika questioned Nobume before sitting down at the table. Nobume nodded her head in response to Ichika's question before she herself sat down opposite Ichika.
"I'll have a little bit..." Nobume picked up the teapot and poured herself her own cup of tea before placing it back. "You should eat as much as you can, you need it to function during training and during daily routines." Nobume explained before taking a sip of her tea. Ichika nodded in response and grabbed a plate and placed some of the food on it.
"Sounds like you want me to get fat." Ichika joked earning a confused look from Nobume. "It was a joke about people who are fat eating too much... I'll just shut up now..." Ichika went quiet and picked up and apple from the plate and took a bite. Nobume understood what Ichika meant now, she wasn't used to the outside world's problems yet.
"Well anyway... How's my sister's training going?" Ichika took another bite of his apple. "I assume now that we have been here for a while that you have started seeing differences in their training's, right?" Ichika hit the nail on head with that question.
"Definitely, that I can assure you. Madoka is slowly expanding how much [Jaaku Reiki] she can take in and how much she can use in battle where as Chifuyu is slowly gaining her control back from [Jaaku Reiki] once again." Nobume explained the results so far of his sister's training results as of now. Ichika felt proud that his sisters were becoming stronger as the days roll on.
"I see... It sounds like the two's results are finally starting to pay off..." Ichika paused for a few moments. "Well... I'm not surprised the two have been working hard for them to see their results anyway." Ichika smiled at the thought of the two reacting to their results paying off. Nobume smiled herself when she noticed Ichika thinking about it.
"Well as much as they made great progress so far... You yourself have made tremendous progress in the trials and training you have been put through... however, Ichika don't get complacent with stopping here because there is still a while to go after all." Nobume said to Ichika. Ichika took her words in before nodding in response.
"I know I won't get carried away..." Ichika took a bite out of his apple. "We still have a long way to go until I can even consider myself the definition of strong...I'll get there at one point but for now it's the road to that right?" Ichika smiled at Nobume who was looked as if she took what Ichika was saying and was now in deep thought about it.
"I think you already have exceeded my expectations on how strong you have become already... It amazes me to see how much dedication you put into becoming stronger and stronger already and you shouldn't stop as you will reach the height that you want to achieve with the right mindset one day..." Nobume explained to Ichika how she felt about his training up to now. Ichika had a shocked expression on his face for a few brief moments before smiling at Nobume.
"Thank you Nobume... I appreciate it..." Ichika put down the apple he held that was now finished. "But you weren't wrong. I can't get complacent yet nor do I plan to. I can't just be satisfied with just being strong right now as I have so many reasons why I need to be strong whether that be in battle or my sisters..." Ichika explained his main motivation on why he wants to become stronger and stronger.
"I see now... Let me tell you something about your father which you could learn from." Nobume took in what Ichika said for a few moments before responding. "The reason why your father Izanagi Orimura is considered one of the most dangerous Orimura's in history wasn't because he was as powerful as your grandfather for example... but was due to how he was a person... Your father wasn't just strong physically but strong mentally as his willpower to never give up exceeded anything we the Orimura's through our generations have ever seen."
The pair sat in silence for a few moments as Nobume allowed Ichika to take what she said to him into account for a while. It was a lot to process but eventually Ichika snapped out of his thoughts and back to Nobume.
"Is that why mom and our aunts fell in love with dad? Even you?" Nobume nodded to Ichika's questions. "I see now... well dad sounds like he is on a different level entirely when it comes to word 'strong'..." Ichika finished, chuckling at his own comment, Ichika could tell when he met his father for the first time in a long time, that he was very powerful.
The young man could feel the power oozing from his father.
"Your father's very powerful but you heard about his illness... Your father was almost there in terms of the 'perfect Orimura' but his own [Jaaku Reiki] held him back from making any progress over these years. Leading to him being so ill that he couldn't be around you or your sisters when you were all just children."
"Nobume there is a saying that you haven't heard... It goes like this 'You can only kick someone down so many times before they get back up.' I believe that it's only a matter of time before dad has had enough of his own powers controlling him before he snaps and takes back control." Ichika explained. Nobume hoped Ichika was right but couldn't help but have doubts about it as much as she didn't want to.
"You think so?"
I don't think so... I know so. We will witness my father showing the world what he has to offer...
"I'll hold you to it..."
Location: Unknown
"Hyah!"
The sound of swords clashing can be heard from a distance away. Currently, Ayaka was training Houki and Sakura in a training session for the pair. The idea Ayaka had behind this particular training season was to get Houki and Sakura to be used to fighting side by side. What motivated Ayaka to look into the pair teaming up in training battle was the dynamic between the pair could cause more damage together than separately. Ayaka and the two girls had been had been at this training battle for an hour or so as Ayaka made it her job to give the pair tips on how to fully utilise their team work. The pair naturally worked well together.
Ayaka was very impressed how Houki and Sakura would cover for each other if the other failed one attack. Ayaka never had any time to breathe during battle which left her constantly on guard. A few times Ayaka stopped the fight a few times to give the girls pointers on how to work even better together. This also taught Ayaka the potential both girls separately as well as on their own. Ayaka found herself to be intrigued to find out whether or not this type of training could be replicated with the other girls in pairs for now. As one could cover for the other's mistakes or mishaps.
It was something Ayaka put in the back of her mind to look into in the future with the other war diva's. For now, it was time for Ayaka to give the girls more attention in this training as they were becoming better and better in combat with each other.
"Excellent ladies." Ayaka dodged the attempted stab of Houki's sword before landing back on her feet. "Slow still but for what it's worth it is very good coordination you have going on, consider me majorly impressed,"
Ayaka said before the two girls appeared before her at an extreme speed. However, for Ayaka, it was too slow to match her speed. Ayaka had already disappeared before they could get an attempt at a hit landing. Ayaka was already stood behind them, waiting for the relentless assault to begin once again. It did not stop the two girls from quickly turning around and setting their sights on the diva.
Ayaka's intention and aura becoming clear as water.
Recovering quickly, Houki found herself once again launching towards Ayaka with another attack up her sleeve. Houki launched herself in the air and began to focus her attack as Sakura came from behind of Ayaka ready for Houki's signal to go. Instead of the plan going the way the two girls wanted it to go.
The matriach had already predicted her attacks before she even got a chance to perform them.
Ayaka grabbed Houki's wrist whilst she was suspended in mid-air and launched Houki into Sakura who was just about to launch her attack on Ayaka. Houki crashed into Sakura and the pair were sent tumbling into the ground with a loud thud.
THWWWAAAAAAAACK!
Although Ayaka knew she could never admit it, she was largely impressed by their fighting prowess.
Ayaka watched on as the pair began to scramble on the floor in attempts to get off of each other with an interesting expression on her face. The girls eventually made it to their feet after a few moments of scrambling to get to their feet. Before the pair knew it themselves, they were ready to continue the training once again. Ayaka signaled for them to continue their onslaught of attacks on her once again.
Sakura and Houki proved to be good opponents.
Houki moved at rapid speeds to move ever so closer at Ayaka before taking an attempt to finally land a hit on Ayaka. For Houki however, it did not work out the same way she predicted. Before she knew it, she was dismantled and set to the floor.
Houki watched on in amazement as she watched her teacher completely disarm Sakura before she could comprehend what was going on. Instead of continuing to watch, Houki quickly picked her sword and rushed to her feet to help her friend out in dealing with their teacher. Ayaka did not let Sakura have any time to breathe as she wanted Sakura to get used to a counter-attacking fighter that held a lot of power. That was the role Ayaka was using against the two girls today. Ayaka noticed that the two weren't used to fighting someone that could counterattack their attacks and were now left to using brute force which was never going to work on Ayaka.
Ayaka being so experienced had left the two girls scrambling for ideas on how to defeat her.
Houki's eyes watched for any movement.
Knowing all too well that her teacher could strike any moment from now.
Houki expected her teacher to counterattack her attack with her own attack. Houki did something Ayaka did not expect her to do. Instead of trying to directly hit her, Houki managed to get past her teacher to reunite Sakura against Ayaka. The few moments that Ayaka focused on Houki gave Sakura a chance to retreat enough for a breather. Now that the two had finally gotten together, they felt they could stand more of a chance against their teacher.
"That was close..." Houki took a moment to breathe. "You almost had me there... you are too fast..." Houki said as she regained her composure more. Sakura gripped the handle of her sword tighter as she prepared to attack once more.
FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!
Houki's eyes widened slightly from the sheer amount of power she could feel from Ayaka's attack.
"Enough talking girls, time to attack, we are going to wrap up training soon so you can rest your beaten and bruised bodies" Ayaka explained to the pair. Ayaka waved for the girls to come forward and attack her once again.
Using any strength, she could use, Houki and Sakura began their final attack on their teacher once more as they approached her at great speeds. Because of how the girls approached Ayaka, Ayaka dodged their kicks and attempts at landing an attack with their katana's. Ayaka was waiting for the perfect moments to counterattack the girls, until then she was going to be patient with her attack for now.
A few moments later came Ayaka's chance to counterattack Houki's kick.
Houki threw a roundhouse kick towards Ayaka who dodged her kick and landed a grueling stomach hit. Ayaka threw her shot weak enough to not hurt Houki too much. After all, she did not want to hurt her students after all.
Sakura attempted to use one of her techniques to use against her teacher however, Ayaka predicted Sakura would attempt to get a hit when her back was turned whilst facing Houki.
To counter Sakura, Ayaka used her speed to her advantage to disarm Sakura and throw her a few meters backward.
With both girls unable to continue their training any further, Ayaka decided that she wanted to end today's training session. She had learned a lot about her students that she needed to discuss with the war divas.
"Haaaaahh..."
"Haaaaahhh..."
Both girls took a few moments to breathe before standing up and facing their teacher, Houki felt physically drained and tired from such an intense battle session with her teacher today. Sakura also felt as drained as Houki too. She couldn't wait to rest her bruised and aching body. For Houki in particular, she felt like she hadn't rested her body in such a long time due to the training.
"You girls can go and rest now, you clearly need it after today's training." Ayaka told the girls. Houki and Sakura nodded in response before they began to walk away from their training session.
'Interesting... today was... very interesting... I must tell the others of my findings...'
Ayaka thought before she disappeared into the darkness of the shadows.
Leave a review if you enjoyed this chapter!
Many thanks!
-Kano
Date This Was Reworked: 25/01/2021 -15:39PM
