A/N: Not much to say, this chapter was pretty good so I did not need to rework it... lol
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Many thanks, lads!
Original story owned by Imherepresent.
Chapter 189: Reflection
"..."
Ran looked up from her book and noticed how quiet the library in which she sat was, the more Ran thought about it, the more she realized that it had been a long time since she was able to hear the sound of silence. Ran leaned back on her chair and began looking around the spacious library.
Books were neatly stacked next to each other on the shelves, not an ounce of dust gathering within the room, and the floor and the wall were completely cleaned as if it was done recently.
'I wonder if this entire villa that the four of us are staying in gets regularly cleaned?'
Ran thought to herself knowing she wouldn't know the answer unless she asked her teacher Lee Jin.
Ran sighed before putting her head in her palm in defeat. Ran felt a sudden wave of tiredness wash over her body as she ached for rest. Ran looked towards the pile of books down to her right and let out a breath when she realized how many books she had picked out.
"Perhaps I went overboard with the books..." Ran sulked in defeat. The mere thought of reading was beginning to take a toll on Ran.
"No... No... I got this... just read a few more books and then we can call it a night!" Ran continued. She then sat up straight and grabbed the next book she was supposed to read with a resurgence of the motivation behind her.
Ran found herself curious when she read the title of the book in her hands. The title eluded to so much that it made Ran question what the book could be about.
'The art of Deception'? What kind of lame title name is that? These people that named some of these books really need to come up with better names...'
Ran shook her head before opening the first page.
Ran noticed some of the words had been scratched out from the first page. Ran made a confused expression before reaching over to her cup and taking a sip of her beverage. Ran embraced herself to learn what the book was going to be about.
'Her beauty appeared to never change, after all of this time... she held this evil malice behind that terrified everyone around her to her bones. I - - was even terrified when I first met that woman... everything about her made her... different. - - was the first woman I ever fell in love with... and the only woman I will ever love, one day... I will see her again when I do... I will prove to - Orimura that I am the only suitor for her. It does not matter whether or not our families do not agree with our relationship... they will learn to accept it... I will have her... nothing will stop me.'
Ran held her breath as she sat back in shock, Ran could not figure out or muster any words to describe what she had just read. It seemed to dawn on Ran that there was more to Ichika's family than there appeared to be.
'This type of love story with Ichika-san's family... always appears never to work well... could history be repeating itself?'
Ran shook her head as she tried to get the thought out of her head.
"I need to find out what happens..." Ran sat back up and continued to where she left off.
'Dammit! I thought she would be untouchable! She was the ultimate prize... I devoted every second of training to reach her level...Instead... she ended up with him! I will kill him! No matter what stands in my way! - - - - She knew how I felt... She threw away my love and allowed herself to be claimed by a man that isn't half of what she was! - - She tried to convince me that it would never work... even though we were childhood friends... she begged me not to go after an Orimura... maybe she was right but... I always get what I want and when I want it. Soon I will end her lover's life and end the Orimura's power within this world. For now, I will wait in the shadows for my chance to strike.'
Ran closed the book after reading the first page before putting the book down on one side of the table. Ran allowed herself to let the words on the page sync in. Unbeknownst to Ran, a certain blonde-haired female alongside a small-sized girl with jet black hair with tan-colored skin. Ran was too caught up in her own mind to notice the two females entering the room.
"Hey, Ran-san!" Cecilia called out as she continued to walk over towards Ran who was sat at the table a few feet away from the two. Ran snapped out of her own thoughts and looked at her two friends with a small smile as she waited for them.
"Hey, you two." Ran said earnestly whilst watching the two. "I thought you would be using your free time to use the hot spring that Yu Na and Lee Jin were talking about?" Ran questioned with a curious expression on her face.
"We were using the hot spring." Marika added simply as she sat down alongside Cecilia and opposite Ran. "We got bored so we decided to see what you were up to." Marika continued vaguely. Ran nodded before picking up the book that she had read prior to the two girls coming in.
"I was reading a book called 'The art of deception', from what I can tell... It's based on a man falling in love with an Orimura woman." Ran pointed out as she showed the girls the cover of the book. "I haven't read loads of it yet but... it's quite fascinating to find out little bits and pieces of Ichika san's family's origins." Ran explained with confidence lacing in her tone. Cecilia nodded before reaching out for the book.
"Let me take a look..." Cecilia managed to take the book out of Ran's hand as she leaned over the table. Cecilia sat back down and opened the book. Silence filled the room for a few moments as Cecilia began to read the book. Marika leaned slightly over towards Cecilia and also took a look at the first page.
"Whoever this guy is... he's a creep." Marika pointed out as she continued to read the first page. Ran giggled when she realized what Marika was talking about.
"Agreed... I couldn't bare something like this if Ichika-san was to be like this." Cecilia looked up and towards Ran with a wry smile. Cecilia looked towards her friend and handed her the book instead. "From the little bit I read... Ichika-san's family seem to be... different." Cecilia did not know what to say. Ran nodded and agreed with her.
"I agree with Cecilia, Pineapple-chan." Marika agreed with Cecilia. Ran's eyebrows raised as she realized what she was being called.
"You are still using that nickname?" Ran questioned. Cecilia watched the two go back and forward with each other with a small smile across her face. "I shouldn't be surprised actually... I think I may need to come up with a nickname for you." Ran began to ponder on a nickname.
"..." Marika's expression went blank.
"Relax I was kidding." Ran awkwardly giggled at the small girl.
"Ummmm..." Cecilia interrupted the two. "What were we talking about before the pineapple-san?" Cecilia questioned the two.
"Oh right..." Ran sat up straight up let out a cough. "We were talking about Ichika-san's family history." Ran got the conversation between the three back on track.
"Anyway, I was goi-" before Cecilia could continue, she was interrupted by the sound of the library door opening.
"So, this is where you girls were." Cecilia and the other two turned around to see who the mystery person was. "I was looking everywhere for you guys and you are in the one place I did not expect." A small smile appeared on the girls face as she approached the three.
"Yu Na-san, you sure took your time. What were you doing that took a long time?" Cecilia asked her friend. Yu Na smiled and took a seat opposite Cecilia and Marika alongside Ran.
"Sorry." Yu Na apologized. "I was dealing with some personal issues to do with my mother and the training we will be going through in the next few weeks." Yu Na giggled slightly. Ran nodded as she understood what Yu Na was saying.
"Speaking of training actually..." Ran thought to herself for a few moments. "Your mom mentioned that we will be doing some training at some sort of shrine tomorrow?" Ran couldn't remember the name of the shrine she was talking about. Yu Na nodded as she understood which shrine Ran was talking about.
"Ah yes, me and my mom will discuss the inner details when we start our training tomorrow." Yu Na replied vaguely to Ran's question.
"More training huh?" Ran leaned back onto her chair and rubbed her face. "The training we have is already hard enough..." Ran let out a cute yawn before wiping the tiredness from her face. Ran felt the sudden wave of tiredness once again.
"You sound tired Ran-san." Cecilia analysed her friend's actions. "Did you get enough sleep last night? You look like you haven't slept much now that I think about it." Cecilia brushed the strands of golden hair behind her ear.
"I struggled to sleep last night due to reading..." Ran closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax her tired body. "I do wonder, what is Ichika-san doing right now?" Ran thought out loud. Ran's question made the girls think about what Ichika was doing.
"Ichika-kun huh..." Yu Na's mind drifted off.
"Ichika-san is probably training hard like we are, maybe even harder?" Cecilia leaned on the table with the palm of her hand on her chin. "Ichika-san has always been a hard worker when it becomes to training after all..." Cecilia giggled slightly. Yu Na realized that she hadn't seen or spoken to Ichika in a while
"I just realized..." Yu Na stopped herself from talking. A particular moment came to her mind. Yu Na's cheeks went a slight tinge of pink which did not go unnoticed by her friends.
"What is it Yu Na-san?" Ran asked with a curious expression on her face. Marika watched Yu Na like a hawk as she waited for her friend to respond.
"It's nothing..." Yu Na tried to stray the conversation away from her. "Anyway, I'm sure that Ichika kun Is working hard in his training." Yu Na tried to distract herself from thinking about her and Ichika's kiss.
"Yu Na-san... there wasn't something that happened between you and Ichika-san...right?" Cecilia watched Yu Na as she continued to go red.
"I'd be lying if I said there wasn't something that happened between me and Ichika-kun..." Yu Na looked away like a guilty criminal. Cecilia's eyes lit up like a yandere whilst Marika and Ran waited for answers.
""" Explain."""
Cecilia, Ran and Marika all replied at the same time. Yu Na made an awkward giggle as she began to feel like she was being interrogated.
'Uh oh... I'm in trouble...I need to run quickly.'
Yu Na thought to herself as she began to look for any ways to get out of the situation, she was in. The three girls crowded around her as they waited for her to confess her own secrets. Yu Na eyed the door for a split second. The three girls leered around Yu Na like prey, Yu Na waited for the perfect chance to get out of the situation.
"""Do not think you can escape from us!"""
The three girls practically read Yu Na's mind, Yu Na in response widened her eyes as she began to relax from all hopes of escaping. Cecilia, Marika and Ran leered over her for a few more moments until they realized that Yu Na got the message. With that, Marika and the other two began to relax and sat back in their seats.
Yu Na did not know how she was going to get out of this.
"So..." Cecilia sat forward with an eager expression and wide eyes. The other two girls also did the same. "You can begin explaining now Yu Na-san..." Cecilia's voice was void of any sort of emotion as she waited for her friend to answer.
"Where do you want me to begin?" Yu Na giggled awkwardly as she began to feel like she was being interrogated. "We can start with Ichika kissing me if that makes you girls happy?" Yu Na almost wanted to wince at herself asking such a question. Yu Na watched as the aura behind Cecilia began to grow bigger and bigger. Ran stared at Yu Na with no emotion in her eyes whatsoever.
"I see..." Marika's aura also began to grow around her alongside Cecilia. "Ichika-san has chosen death huh?" Marika lifted her head up to look directly towards Yu Na.
"Wait ladies..." Yu Na tried to calm down the girls as best as she could. Yu Na's mind began to go back to the memory of their 'special moment'. "As much as I would have liked Ichika-kun to kiss me that way... I think it was one-sided..." Yu Na's lips began to become dry as she struggled to say the words, she was trying to say
"What do you mean Yu Na-san?" Ran wore a confused expression as she became clueless about what Yu Na was trying to say. Cecilia alongside Marika reigned their terrifying aura as they also became confused alongside their friend.
"At the time... I was interrogating Ichika as at the time he wasn't being himself and I could tell he was frustrated... that's when he kissed me and left." Yu Na stopped herself to move a few strands of her hair out of her face. "Whilst he kissed me... it didn't feel passionate? It almost felt like a desperate attempt at escaping." Yu Na traced her lips with her fingers as she reminisced about the time Ichika kissed her. Unbeknownst to the girls, Cecilia's expression suddenly turned to a smug expression.
"I just hope that it wasn't a pity kiss." Yu Na continued before looking at the girls with a wry smile, Yu Na noticed Cecilia's smug expression and raised her eyebrows. "What is with the smug expression on your face Cecilia?" Yu Na waited patiently for an answer from her friend. Cecilia smirked before brushing a few strands of her golden hair behind her ear.
"Oh? Nothing, do not worry about it." Cecilia acted rather suspicious and the three other girls caught on to her very quickly. "What's with everyone looking at me like I did something wrong? I must say... it's rather rude to look at a friend like that." Cecilia coughed at the end of her sentence to emphasise her point.
"You definitely did something wrong."
"Spill it out!"
"It's not fair if I am the only one getting interrogated so explain Cecilia?"
Cecilia's eyes widened and her expression quickly changed from a shocked expression back to a smug expression as she began to feel haughty.
"Well it would be rather unfair if I told you ladies." Cecilia folded her arms and smirked at her friends. "after all I am the only one here that has shared a passionate kiss with Ichika-san." Cecilia gloated about it in front of her friends.
"Cecilia..." Marika's terrifying aura began to grow and expand around her as she became increasingly annoyed.
"Ichika-san is such a womaniser!" Ran complained and threw her head back in disappointment as she let Cecilia's words soak in.
"Oh my..." Yu Na wore an amused expression on her face as she began to imagine the scene between her friends. "That's kinda hot now that I imagine it." Yu Na's mind began to wander to obscene places.
"Now, I do not want to gloat bu-" Cecilia was interrupted by Marika.
"You already went way past that..." Marika's eyebrows began to twitch as she stared at Cecilia with eyes that were void of any emotion. "I didn't think you would be the one to betray us Cecilia-san..."
"Wait hold on!" Cecilia gained the attention of her friends before continuing. "I must say it is rather unfair to call me out on this when the others have also kissed Ichika-san too!" Cecilia mentioned it to her friends. Instead of calming the two down, it did quite the opposite.
'Ichika-san... you womaniser!'
Marika began to curse Ichika's name in her mind, her annoyed expression was clear for the other girls to see as they were also somewhat annoyed.
Somewhere out there, Ichika begins to have a sneezing fit.
Marika proceeded to grab her blonde friend Cecilia by the yukata and shake her whilst Ran and Yu Na leered over the two with amused smiles crowding their faces.
(Scene Change)
With Houki, Sakura and Laura.
The three are currently are training in Osaka with Ayaka.
Houki, Laura and Sakura were currently training in one of the many luxurious places that lay hidden behind the trees in Osaka.
To be specific, the three and their teacher Ayaka, were currently training in the [Blade Garden].
"You three need to be more elusive when attacking each other." Ayaka commented with a blank expression as she watched over the three. Ayaka was looking for specific problems she could gloss over and teach the girls, to be more specific, she was looking for flaws in how they fight.
"Right!" Houki exclaimed to Ayaka as she patiently waited for her comrades in arms to make the move first.
Laura was the first one to bite the bullet as she began her barrage of attacks on Houki with Sakura following behind. Houki was forced to retreat as all she could do was deflect the attacks from Laura and Sakura with her sword. Houki bit her lip and bounced back a few feet to create space between her and her friends.
Sakura with quick speed, collided swords with Houki before backing off and adding more pressure to her array of attacks on Houki once again, Houki sensed Laura was about to land a very direct but critical hit, Houki quickly jumped out of the way to dodge the attempt.
"Houki your right seems to be unguarded, if you cannot focus and see incoming attacks from both directions, listen closely for them." Ayaka offered her student some advice as she paid close attention to the sparing match.
Before Houki could let Ayaka's words seek in as she regained her composure, Laura quickly swept the legs from under her friend before turning her attention the youngest in the garden, Sakura Tachibana. Sakura whom had her haired tied up using a bobble, quickly sprang into action as she quickly deflected her senpai's attacks as best as she could.
Houki kicked herself onto the floor before joining the attack alongside Sakura. This time Laura was the one the dealing with two opponents at once. Laura deflected Sakura's attacks as quick as she could before turning to deal with Houki's entourage of attacks, Laura managed to dodged Houki's attack by mere milometers before using the handle to hit Houki in the stomach.
Laura turned around to kick the bokken out of Sakura's hand responding with her with her own attack that Sakura dodged with relative ease. Sakura moved her head to dodged Laura's attack before throwing a roundhouse kick to the Germans' stomach. Laura tumbled to the ground as Sakura watched over before locking eye contact with her senpai whom was across from her.
'Interesting... these two will face off until Laura recovers... They say styles make fights, I'm sure this will be interesting.'
Ayaka made a small smile as she felt intrigued to watch on, Ayaka's curiosity to see how the fight continues to play out, hit a new level as her eyes consistently went back and forward with each girl.
"I guess it's us two until Laura gets up." Houki smirked at her friend.
"It seems that way senpai." Sakura's light pink eyes lit up with excitement. Sakura bent down slightly as she picked up her bokken. "No holding back senpai!" Sakura said a few moments before colliding with her friend.
Houki and Sakura pushed against each other in a battle of dominance and strength to prove themselves against each other. Both used any strength they could muster up against each other, the two were a complete match for each other in terms of strength and speed. Houki backed off of their collision before waiting for her chance to strike. Sakura quickly moved with blistering speed and began swinging with intention as she tried to keep pressure on.
Houki tried to counter Sakura by deflecting her strike and sweeping her off of her feet.
Sakura quickly reacted by kicking herself back onto her feet and landing another deflected strike on Houki's bokken. Sakura looked for an opportunity to exploit the pressure she was putting on her friend as continued to pursue her relentless strikes on her friend. Sakura found her opportunity when Houki attempted to strike her torso. Sakura quickly deflected the attack and used the mantle of her bokken to stun Houki before throwing a roundhouse kick to send Houki to the floor.
Sensing Laura behind her, Sakura quickly turned around and collided with Laura. Sakura used her height advantage and her strength advantage to her success and push Laura back slightly before Laura dodged out of the way before Sakura could get close to landing an attack on her. Laura quickly got up and threw a roundhouse kick towards Sakura at blistering speed. Sakura managed to dodge the attack and quickly capitalise on her Laura with her own attack. Laura caught on quickly and deflected Sakura's bokken before dismantling the bokken out of her hands.
Laura quickly threw her own roundhouse kick before Sakura ducked the attempt and landed a critical hit in Laura's stomach, the sheer power and speed behind Sakura's punch sent Laura tumbling to the ground.
Without any time to react, Sakura quickly turned around and caught her senpai's attack from being able to damage her. Sakura caught the bokken with her two hands as she was forced to take a knee as Houki continued to use any strength she could. Sakura gritted her teeth in response as she began to feel the tiredness take a toll on her. Sakura quickly swung her leg behind Houki and tripped her over before backing off to regain her composure.
"Very nice Sakura." Ayaka applauded with a small smile plastered across her face. "You are able to hold your own in training, consider me impressed." Ayaka praised Sakura.
Sakura took the compliment in and reached for her bokken before keeping her eye on her friend as they waited for the other to make a move. Sakura regained her composure and began to circle her friend as waited for the perfect time to strike; Laura forced herself to get up as she eagerly wanted to join in on the duel.
"Do not counter me out yet..." Laura let out a breath as she watched the two like a prey.
"I refuse to cave in just yet." Houki gripped her bokken like it was her lifeline as she held a smirk on her face.
"Same here senpai's." Sakura prepared for another round in their battle once again. Sakura squinted her eyes at her two friends as she found a new level of confidence within herself.
A few minutes later.
Ayaka continued to analyse the three girls as they continued their sparring session with each other, Ayaka couldn't help but feel impressed by the girls as they continued to work harder and harder each day. Ayaka noticed the movements of the three girls were becoming sloppy as they had been fighting for a long time.
Ayaka continued to watch the three individually, taking notes of any weaknesses or any critical problems with how they thought, Ayaka made a mental note to let the girls know about their weaknesses that she found. Whilst Ayaka had made sure to remember what to teach the girls, she couldn't help but pick up on the unique styles that the girls held.
Ayaka also made a note about the pace of the fight, Ayaka had a bone to pick with the speed of the fight as she felt the girls were being a bit too careful. Putting all of that to aside, the three girls largely impressed Ayaka with how they fought against each other.
"So, this is where they have been training huh?"
Ayaka nodded with a blank expression as she recognised the voice and the familiar aura. Ayaka felt the familiar aura surrounding the person coming from a mile away, Ayaka kept her eyes on the fight that was in-front of her as the familiar person walked closer.
"Correct." Ayaka replied vaguely, refusing to show an ounce of emotion.
"Those girls are really giving it their all aren't they?" The mystery stranger came to a standstill as she continued to watch from the side lines alongside Ayaka. "Well I shouldn't be surprised; those girls were always hard working around Ichika-kun too." The figure made a small smile as she began to analyse the girl's movements.
"You aren't here for chit chat, are you?" Ayaka cut right to the point and fired back with her own question. "Whatever you're here for you may as well spit it out now as I've got to have these three girls learn from their mistakes." Ayaka ushered the figure along. A smirk began to rise on the figures face as they began to take notice of Ayaka's impatience.
"Fine... Fine." The figure groaned a little and moved a few strands of her blue hair out of her face. "Mom has caught wind of [Phantom task] and Orimura clan are beginning something... ambiguous?" The girl couldn't find the words to describe the message she was sent to give Ayaka.
"I see..." Ayaka closed her eyes and looked down as she began to remember her past 'encounters' with the clan. "Makes sense... after all it was only a matter of time before they began to pop their heads back up once again." Ayaka re opened her eyes and turned to the girl.
"It seems that Ichika-kun's family is continuing to strive against us." The girl acknowledged the elephant in the room. "Mom also wanted to let you know that she will let you know on what happens next from here..." The fight seemingly got more intense which caused the two to pay close attention to it for a few moments.
"You can go now Tatenashi." Ayaka dismissed the blue haired girl. "You have your own training to get on with whilst we have time on our hands." Ayaka waved the girl to leave, Tatenashi pouted slightly before giggling a little.
"Not just yet..." Tatenashi began to become concentrated one specific thing, or one person. "When do they stop their training for today? I was thinking about staying around to have a chat with Sakura." Tatenashi watched and analysed Sakura's every move.
"They will begin to wrap up their training as soon as I see fit." Ayaka vaguely responded to Tatenashi's question.
"Well I hope you do not mind me staying around for a while." Tatenashi giggled awkwardly at Ayaka's brash response. A wide grin began to appear on the Kitana's face as she began to think deeply. Ayaka noticed this and narrowed her eyebrows at the grinning Cheshire cat.
"Do not try anything otherwise you will meet a hell that you didn't know ever existed." Ayaka's cold eyes glared daggers into Tatenashi as she made her statement to the young girl.
(Why does it feel like she does not want me here?) Tatenashi smiled nervously as she turned her attention back to the three in training.
With the Orimura's
A few hours before.
"..."
"...Where are we supposed to be going again?" Ichika asked as he continued to follow Nobume down an eerie cave. Nobume waved the torch in-front of her to see what was up ahead before turning her face slightly to Ichika
"Down there." Nobume turned around and pointed down towards a light in a big hole below the pair. Ichika walked forward ever so slightly and saw what she was talking about immediately. "We will be going down there to begin a crucial part of your training." Nobume located the stairs on her right and made her way towards them with Ichika and the others in pursuit.
"What is this place?" Madoka asked Nobume as she analysed her surroundings with caution. "Whatever this place is... It smells, has mould on the wall and has vines coming from the rocks." Madoka wanted to cover her noise from the fowl stench as she continued to walk down the stairs.
"I figured this place would reek of whatever this smell is..." Chifuyu leaned over slightly to see how far they were from reaching the bottom. "Like our little sister said. What in the hell even is this place and how haven't I heard about it yet?"Chifuyu asked Nobume with a persisting attitude. Ichika looked over towards the wall of rocks to his side as he made his way down alongside the others and noticed carvings in the wall.
"You have heard of it Chifuyu."Nobume replied to Chifuyu's question. Chifuyu looked at Nobume with a confused expression written all over her face. "You can call this place [Kako no hajimari no kiseki]. You should recognize the name by now Chifuyu." Nobume specifically spoke to the eldest out of the three.
"That explains the writings and carvings on the wall..." Ichika continued to look at the writings on the wall. "This place holds a lot of history behind it doesn't it?" Ichika turned to Nobume before asking the question. Chifuyu watched her brother with a keen eye for a few moments.
"It does indeed."Nobume looked over her shoulder with a blank expression as she answered Ichika's question. "You can feel it can't you? This place has been here since the beginning of the reign of the Orimura. This place is used by the most skilled Orimura's that come looking to control their [Jaaku Reiki] in ways that most wouldn't even be able to fathom." Nobume answered to the best of her ability.
"This place sure is different... I don't know how to explain it..." Ichika scratched the back of his head as he thought of a way to explain what he felt. "It's strange... it's as if this place is alive... I can feel multiple different types of aura's as we continue to walk down." Ichika pointed out as Ichika's sisters didn't understand what their brother was saying.
"I don't feel anything..." Madoka replied.
"Me neither. Am I supposed to feel something?" Chifuyu also added.
"That would be the past leaders of the Orimura clan." Nobume explained vaguely. "You two are [Jaaku Reiki] users so you are used to feeling the raw power of our own however, Ichika isn't used to feeling it as well as you two quite yet so it sticks out more." Nobume explained the best as she possibly could.
"So, our clan's past leaders are alive of some sort?" Nobume's explanation rattled Ichika slightly. With that, Ichika was now more curious than ever to find out what she meant. Chifuyu and Madoka also listened with intent.
"They aren't alive but their auras still are." Nobume replied as vague as ever. The three nodded as they understood now. "Although if your mother commanded it, we could bring back the past leaders of the clan." Nobume pointed out.
"Mother did explain to me and my sisters that It was indeed possible when I was young but I never found out why none of them were brought back in the end." Chifuyu knew exactly what Nobume was talking about.
"They could cause big problems for the new generation of Orimura's." Nobume vaguely responded once again. "We know that some of the past leaders were so persistent in leading the Orimura clan that we believe that they would try to battle to be the leader of the clan once again." Nobume explained to the three siblings.
"Surely, they would be used to the idea of future generations of the Orimura leading the clan, right?" Madoka asked with a confused expression. Madoka couldn't quite wrap her mind around what Nobume was saying.
"I think you are forgetting that they are Orimura's..." Nobume adjusted her head to look over towards the little sister. "You should know it yourself, Orimura's can be pretty predictable and not trust worthy in the slightest." Nobume turned her head back around as she continued down the steps. Madoka acknowledged Nobume's words as she stayed silent.
"We all know that isn't necessarily true." Ichika almost found himself chuckling at such a comment by his mother's look alike.
"How do you know that?" Nobume verbally challenged Ichika. Nobume made a small smile as she remembered how futile it was to argue with Ichika over the Orimura clan. Nobume found herself oddly eagerly waiting for a response from Ichika himself.
"If the Orimura clan is untrust worthy then how come you haven't tried anything since we have been training with you?" Ichika asked Nobume with a curious expression on his face. Nobume continued her stride down the stairs as she thought on the rhetorically asked question from Ichika.
"I don't know how to answer that..." Nobume's mind went completely blank as she couldn't figure out what the right words were to say. Madoka couldn't help but feel caught slightly off guard as she watched Nobume's blank expression.
"It's because you cannot answer it."
Chifuyu and Madoka looked around them as they began to take their surroundings in. To either side of them stood different routes that the four could go down. Ichika took his last steps down the stairs as he was behind the others.
"I feel growing aura's coming from both of these different directions." Chifuyu stated as she began narrowing her eyes between the different routes that the four could take. "Whatever these auras are... they certainly aren't friendly... but it is astonishing that such a power can be achieved." Chifuyu closed her eyes and let out a breath as she regained any composure, she had lost.
"Between this place looking like it's about to collapse... this place keeps getting weirder and weirder..." Madoka admired the cracks within the cave's walls as she scanned for anything out of ordinary.
"""..."""
"...What?" Madoka turned around to the three as they watched Madoka with a blank expression plastered across their faces
"Oh Madoka..." Ichika let out an amused expression as he walked a few steps in-front of his little sister. "you know you are pointing out the obvious...right?" Ichika chuckled slightly as he softly petted Madoka's head.
"Stupid Nii-chan..." Madoka softly punched her brother in the arm.
"Well if you two are done with your romantic affairs now..." Nobume continued to wear a blank expression. "We must continue onto the main task at hand." Nobume walked ahead of the three as she made her way in-front of the different routes.
"HAAAAAH!?" Madoka exclaimed very loudly. Madoka's expression quickly turned from an embarrassed expression to an angry expression "WHY WOULD I WANT TO HAVE SOME ROMANTIC AFFAIRS WITH THIS STUPID BIG BROTHER OF MINE!?" Madoka shouted as loud as she could as she tried to get her point across whilst simultaneously punching her brother repeatedly in the shoulder.
"Ow! Madoka that hurts!"
"Shut it Nii-chan!"
'I may as well begin this training on my own... It would be much easier than having these two-causing commotion for me...'
Chifuyu placed her head as she facepalmed. A few moments later Chifuyu lifted her head out of her hand and walked over towards Nobume as they waited for the other two.
"They can get like this sometimes..." Chifuyu rolled her eyes as she pointed that out. Nobume made sure to make a note of the scenario unfolding right in-front of her eyes.
"I figured..."
Nobume watched on for a few moments, analysing everything Madoka was doing to Ichika and how Ichika was taking the situation. After a while, Nobume closed her eyes and began to think.
'I suppose I should let Izanami-sama know on what the relationship between Ichika and Madoka is... I believe... they call Madoka a... tsundere?'
Nobume tried to remember what the right term was for Madoka. Eventually, after thinking like a commoner, Nobume was able to remember, Nobume was not well versed in what normal humans called different types of people, she considered herself a higher being than those out of the domain of the Orimura clan.
"Oi... Ichika and Madoka are you done yet?" Chifuyu called out to her younger siblings, Madoka stopped punching her brothers' shoulder and Ichika let go of his little sisters' shoulders. "We haven't got all day and we need to begin this training already!" Chifuyu continued as calmly as she could be.
"Right! Sorry!" Ichika apologized as he made his way over to the two women.
"Hmph!" Madoka turned her head to the side before her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "Sorry..." Madoka apologized as earnestly as she could.
"Well now that we are back to normal and ready to begin." Nobume held out her hands as she patiently waited for something to happen. Ichika, Chifuyu and Madoka wore confused expressions as they did not know what was supposed to happen. Nobume forced the two different aura's that blocked the routes into her hand.
"Umm... what is supposed to happen?" Ichika asked as he narrowed his eyes in confusion. Ichika felt a sudden shiver as he felt two different auras' quickly pass by him unexpectedly.
"There we go." Nobume signalled for the three to look at the two main routes she was pointing at. "I've effectively opened the door to both of the routes." Ichika and his sisters could see the clear difference in the routes now, before hand when they first arrived, Ichika and his sisters couldn't see past the first few steps as the aura's crowed the entrances.
"Woah..." Ichika looked at the entrance to his right. Ichika began to feel fixated on the route, Ichika felt like something was telling him to go in. The hairs on Ichika's body began to prick up as he felt on guard more than ever.
"That right there Ichika is where you will be training today." Nobume explained vaguely as she noticed Ichika staring into the abyss in-front of them. "You will see things that you will need to overcome and if you overcome them... you will feel like a new man entirely." Nobume also looked into the abyss alongside Ichika.
"I see..." Ichika hesitantly turned to face his aunt and his sisters as they watched on, "I guess I should start mine first..." Ichika waited for one of the three to reply as he continued to look back into the abyss.
"Be careful Ichika..." Chifuyu replied with worried tone lacing within her words.
"Watch yourself Nii-chan... you don't know what could be waiting within there." Madoka also added with worry.
"I'll get these two started with their training right after you go Ichika." Nobume stopped herself from talking for a few moments. "A few words of advice... Do not go gentle into that dark night." Ichika looked at the floor for a few seconds as he began to comprehend what Nobume meant. Ichika nodded towards his sisters and Nobume before clutching the sword tightly and stepping closer towards the abyss in-front of him.
"Make sure you two stick together Chifuyu... Madoka... we do not know what is beyond either of these doors." Ichika said before taking his last few steps into the abyss. Nobume, Madoka and Chifuyu watched him disappear into the abyss of the cave which they could no longer see into as Nobume returned the aura back to the door.
"..."
Ichika began to look around and take his surroundings in, the room was sanctioned in nothing but darkness. It was so quiet that Ichika began to hear the sound of water dripping somewhere within this darkened abyss of a cave that Ichika was in. Ichika could just about make out his surroundings as he noticed many rocks spread out around him. Ichika made sure to be careful with each step he took as he did not trust the environment he was in currently.
Ichika began to hear his own footsteps as he slowly made his way forward into the centre of the gigantic cave. Ichika looked up and noticed the stalagmites dangling from the ceiling above him and made sure to stay as clear as possible from them. Not knowing anything about his surroundings or what lay within the room, made Ichika feel all sorts of emotions. Anxious and terrified is what affected him the most.
The sound of water dripping from the ceiling could be heard alongside Ichika began to feel the ever-rising feeling of an aura growing around him. Ichika narrowed his eyes as he began to analysing the surroundings more carefully, Ichika looked out for any sort of sign of life. Ichika knew there was someone within this room as began to feel the aura grow.
Ichika began to feel an ever growing to sneeze as he continued to walk deeper into the cave, the sound of water can be heard dripping from the ceiling from all different angles, that was the least Ichika could make out. Ichika made sure to take every step with precaution as he was unsure about his surroundings.
'Somethings very much off... I can feel it, but what is off with this place exactly.'
Ichika narrowed his eyes to make sure that there were no enemies laying within the cave he stumbled into.
(BAAAAAAAAAAAANG!)
Ichika quickly turned himself around to check where the noise came from, the stalagmites that sat on the ceiling above the cave began to collapse one by one near the entrance, this caused the entrance to soon be blocked off with Ichika now on high-alert. As the stalagmites finished falling down, Ichika narrowed his eyes towards the shadows in each direction. Ichika felt a presence of another person within the cave for a few moments before the presence disappeared.
"I know you are here." Ichika gulped before tightening the grip on his sword. "There is no point in hiding anymore, you may as well come out." Ichika patiently waited for any sort of response from the shadows.
Ichika began to take notice of the little things within the cave, such as the water dripping from the ceiling can no longer be heard. The darkness in the cave became slightly clearer when it came to Ichika being able to see.
'I guess aunt Shizuka's teaching me wasn't all for nothing. I guess I need to thank her at one point.'
Ichika made a note to thank his dear aunt before coming back to reality. Ichika noticed someone moving within the darkness of the caves, his eyes watched the shadowery figure as he made a notice to not lose sight of the person.
"If you are trying to keep yourself hidden then you are doing a terrible job." Ichika watched closely as the shadowy figure stopped in place.
"I wasn't trying to be hidden."
The person standing amongst the shadows took a few steps forward before coming to a stop, any more steps and Ichika could see who the person was. However, Ichika could already tell whom this person was from the mere voice.
"That voice..." Ichika reaction quickly turned from a calm expression to a shocked expression in a few seconds. "Oh great... not this again, why am I always encountering myself...?" Ichika mentally cursed at himself, Ichika recognised the voice as his own.
"Probably because you have a long journey before you become strong enough." The look-alike Ichika walked out from the shadows and faced the real Ichika in with a smirk across his face. "You could say I am the result of what happens when your [Jaaku Reiki] manifests itself." The look-alike smirked evilly with a glint of blood red eyes appearing.
"Wha...?" Ichika felt like his was looking into a mirror when talking to 'himself'. "how... I didn't... feel you manifest..." Ichika couldn't figure out how his own Reiki manifested itself, this left Ichika in a state confusion.
"You still have a long way to go Ichika..." the look-alike manifested a sword. "This is your first test... adapt to being handicapped, and survive at all cost..." Ichika watched himself glow with red eyes as his look alike prepared to fight.
"I thought I had some control over my [Jaaku Reiki] somewhat..." Ichika held up his arm and manifested a sword from his [Jusunia Reiki]. "That thought has now gone completely out of the window, I will defeat you then learn to control that part of me." Ichika vowed as he also prepared himself to fight.
"Good."
Before Ichika knew it, his look-alike was already attacking him with intense power behind his shot, Ichika instantly deflected the shot and regained his composure as his look alike backflipped and backed off. Ichika moved with blinding pace as he quickly collided swords with himself as he tried to keep the pressure on his opponent. The look alike quickly deflected Ichika's flurry of attacks as he was beginning to be pushed back from such pleasure.
Using the opening he could, the look alike quickly dodged the oncoming attack and got clear of himself. However, it was not for long as Ichika tried to keep the pressure on his lookalike. Ichika's lookalike dodged Ichika's flurry of swings as he waited for the perfect time to strike.
"Sloppy." Ichika's [Jaaku Reiki]Manifestation pointed out. "Do not forget, anything you think you can use to beat me is something I know about beforehand." the manifestation let down his guard.
"I know." Ichika gritted his teeth as removed his sword from the wall. Ichika watched his manifestation as he waited for any signs of movement. "The same goes with you, anything you do I already know."
"And how true do you believe that is?" Ichika's manifestation smirked evilly with glowing red eyes. Ichika noticed the outline of his own [Jaaku Reiki]began appearing around the frame of his own manifestation.
"We both know that you are at a disadvantage."
"Good point, enough talking."
Unexpectedly, Ichika met his own manifestation in the middle with both of their attacks colliding with each other. Both [Jaaku Reiki] and [Jusunia Reiki] began to explode out of the two as they pushed against each other.
(BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!)
The ceiling of the caves began to shake from the intensity from both [Reiki's] clashing with each other. Rocks began to fall down around the two as they continued to push against each other with all the strength they could manifest. Ichika used any willpower and strength he could muster to push harder against his own power that had a big hold on him. The glowing [Jaaku Reiki] sword of Ichika's manifestation began to show cracks from the intense pressure as it struggled to push back against the stronger aura.
"It seeming to become even more clearer who has won this battle..." Ichika gritted his teeth harder as he came ever so closer to destroying his manifestation's sword. Ichika smirked at seeing his manifestation with cuts beginning to appear on his shoulder.
In an instant, the Manifestation's sword broke until pieces and dropped onto the floor leaving nothing but the handle remaining. Ichika instantly took his chances and collided with his manifestation in one last attack to finish the battle.
It's not over when you are open."
Ichika felt himself be taken of his feet as he fell to the ground from a leg sweep from his own manifestation. Ichika's sword fell out of his hand and towards his manifestation whom grinned evilly as he reached for the glowing [Jusunia Reiki] sword. Ichika instantly kicked himself up onto his feet and regained his composure as he waited for an oncoming attack.
"You might be the stronger one in battle but we always leave ourselves open to be exploited like that." The manifestation swung the glowing white sword in his hand. Ichika narrowed his eyes at his manifestation and pulled something from his pocket.
Ichika instantly began to swing the new weapon into action as it began to expand and grow in-front of his own manifestation.
"A bo staff?" The manifestation questioned. "Interesting choice, something I did not expect.". The manifestation began chuckle evilly.
"I know."
Ichika collided with his manifestation once again with a different weapon in his hands this time, although a bo staff wasn't something Ichika used very often, Ichika knew how to use one to the best of his ability. Ichika span his bo staff around as he tried to hit different points on his own manifestation's body. Unfortunately for Ichika, all attempts to break down his manifestation were blocked.
'This isn't going to work; I need to change how I am going to beat myself; he is blocking everything.'
Ichika stepped back as he stopped his barrage of attacks at once, he knew full well that any attacks he attempted were not doing any damage.
The manifestation smirked as he saw Ichika stop attacking all together, using the opportunity that was presented, the lookalike started his own array of attacks on Ichika.
Ichika was now defending as he came up with some way to beat himself without the manifestation expecting it. The manifestation's continued to keep pressure on Ichika as he did not allow Ichika to rest or have time to think. Ichika was forced to concentrate on the next attack he was going to be hit with rather than figuring out how he could beat himself.
'What about countering him? for now until I can come up with something.'
Ichika thought to himself as he began to keep an eye out for the perfect opportunity to strike, the attacks towards Ichika felt like they were perfectly timed and well driven, Ichika found it like a up hill battle to win.
The manifestation continued to swing against Ichika with intent to kill as he tried the same tactic Ichika used earlier. The manifestation swung his sword high as he went for Ichika's head, Ichika retaliated by deflecting the attempt away from him before his manifestation attempted to swing his torso. Ichika caught the attempt just in the nick of time before deflecting and quickly throwing everything he had into his own attack.
Ichika instantly went for a critical hit on his manifestation as he left his face unguarded, Ichika span his bo staff around and landed an effective hit on his own face. The manifestation instantly fell onto the floor next to Ichika as he spat out blood from his mouth. blood began to drip from the look a like's nose and a bruise began to gather on his cheek.
"And you call me the sloppy one." Ichika watched as his look alike began to recover whilst he was lay on the floor.
"SHUT UP!" the manifestation's eyes lit up with rage and pulled himself off of the floor below him and onto his feet. The aura behind the look alike began to grow bigger and bigger each second.
'Is this how I act when I lose all control of myself?'
Ichika rhetorically asked himself, Ichika almost felt embarrassed at seeing the desperate side of himself that was the manifestation.
The look alike instantly assaulted Ichika with a barrage of strikes with Ichika's own blade, Ichika dodged them with relative ease as he waited for his own to strike. The lookalike made sure to keep Ichika on his toes with every hit towards Ichika as he was forced to either dodge or deflect the attack with his own weapon.
The manifestation threw a round house kick towards Ichika whom caught the leg and threw it to the side before firing back with his own attack. Ichika instantly threw a punch into his manifestation before grabbing his look alike by the neck.
"I've got to thank you." Ichika made a serious expression as he stared down his manifestation. "Seeing this desperate side of me which is you made me realize that I am a bigger fool than I thought I was previously." The manifestation of Ichika gritted his teeth and broke free of Ichika's clutch before dropping back.
Ichika also dropped back as he calmly eyed his own manifestation, the look-alike of Ichika looked ready to kill any moment. Ichika mentally prepared himself to finish off himself. Ichika's eyes began glow a bright white as his own hair turned a complete white. Ichika closed his eyes as he let the emotions, he felt guide him to battle. Ichika's [Jusunia Reiki]began to glow a bright white coat around the outline of Ichika.
Ichika felt a sudden warmness wrap around him as began to feel his [Jusunia Reiki] work with him in harmony. Ichika felt unstoppable and held a certain calmness about him as he prepared to go all out and defeat the evil within him. The manifestation of Ichika's [Jaaku Reiki] began to grin evilly as the lookalike was ready to go all out. Ichika threw his Bo Staff to the side and held up his arm as he manifested a new [Jusunia Reiki] sword.
'It has to change... the desperation I feel to get power isn't going to give me power, to become as strong Chifuyu and the others... I need to do this myself... Nothing will stop me... No one will stop me...'
Ichika [Jusunia Reiki] began to swirl around him like a tornado as Ichika began to feel motivated to defeat the darkness. With new found motivation in hand, Ichika stared him manifestation down with a confident expression.
"If you are done playing about, I'd like to begin already." the manifestation chuckled darkly.
"Shut up."
(BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!)
Ichika with blistering pace quickly met his own evil in middle as they collided swords once again, Ichika used any strength he could to push against his own evil as the manifestation began holding his own and pushing back against Ichika. The two began to feel cuts on their bodies as the aura's constantly fought against each other for dominance. Ichika shoulder had now been cut open by his own [Jaaku Reiki] and the look a like's cheek had now been cut open by the [Jusunia Reiki].
The ceiling began to collapse on its self as the [Reiki's] fought for dominance, the sheer amount of pressure in the room was enough to collapse the ceiling and create massive cracks in walls. Half of the room was lit up with Ichika's [Jusunia Reiki]whilst the latter was filled up with the evil [Jaaku Reiki]. Cracks in the floor that showed nothing but darkness also began appearing as the two pushed even harder against each other.
Ichika gritted his teeth as he began to feel pain in multiple parts of his body as his own [Reiki] was also fighting back against him.
"I'm not going to let you win..." Ichika exclaimed as his [Jusunia Reiki]began to grow even more in size.
"Shut up." the manifestation began to grow tired of Ichika's new found confidence.
Ichika threw a head butt towards his look alike as it caught the manifestation off guard. Reacting quickly, the manifestation quickly dashed back before Ichika could capitalize on his counter. Ichika quickly caught up and threw a barrage of hits with his sword which the look alike barely dodged. The manifestation countered Ichika with his own attacks as Ichika was forced to deflect any attacks coming his way.
Ichika continued to deflect his evil counterparts' attacks as he waited for his time to come. Ichika came very close to receiving a nasty hit as he barely dodged the barrages of attacks. The pressure from Ichika's very own [Jaaku Reiki] began to cause him damage as Ichika to notice the damage building up.
Ichika quickly retaliated his counterparts attack by knocking the sword out of his hand before throwing a roundhouse kick to his counter parts stomach. The counterpart landed deep enough in wall so that he didn't fall onto the ground. Whilst the counterpart tried to recover, Ichika walked over in pain as his left arm held his ribcage.
"I told you..." Ichika let out a breath and let the pain sink in properly. "You aren't going to win..." Ichika looked down and noticed his shadow over seeing his counterparts one.
"Screw you..." Ichika's counterpart replied as he tried to get out of the wall.
"See that?" Ichika pointed towards the shadow on the ground. "Whether you like it or not... you are in my shadow... you might think... you can control me but in reality... it's always been the opposite hasn't it?" Ichika laughed lightly as blood began coming down from his forehead. Ichika regained his composure and let out a few tired breaths
"Shut up..." The counterpart broke himself out of the wall with force using [Jaaku Reiki].
"This is where it ends for now..." Ichika let go of his hurting ribcage and placed both hand on the handle of his sword.
"No..." The counterpart eyes glowed bright red and gripped the handle of his sword as hard as he could. Ichika closed his eyes after letting out a few months
"Orimura-ryu Ougi: Kosuku!"
Ichika Suddenly vanished from his counterpart's field of vision, the manifestation of Ichika's [Jaaku Reiki] began desperately looking around for any signs of Ichika.
Ichika at a blinding pace, set his eyes on his own manifestation.
Ichika with everything he could muster swung with god-like speed and power towards his counterpart.
(BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!)
The very room that the two stood in, began to be absorbed in bright light as Ichika's [Jusunia Reiki]devoured everything in the cave and began to devour Ichika's evil counterpart as he tried to bloke the attack. Nothing could be seen except the smallest bit of Jaaku Reiki trying its best to fight off the wave of [Jusunia Reiki].
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The counterpart shouted before succumbing to the intense power of Ichika's [Jusunia Reiki].
A few minutes later, the room slowly began to turn back to normal when Ichika noticed the massive crevice left in the ground from the attack he unleashed on his counterpart. Through the dust clouding his vision, Ichika could see his own [Jaaku Reiki] making his way back to him.
'So, [Jaaku Reiki] was taken away from me when I didn't notice... I clearly still have a long way to go if my own aura can be used against me.'
Ichika thought to himself as he watched for any signs of life within the crevice, he stood in.
Ichika's [Jaaku Reiki]began to create a thin layer on top of his [Jusunia Reiki] as it began to settle back in once again. The cave that Ichika stood in no longer resembled the dark and damp room he first stepped foot in earlier, instead, the room had now grown exponentially in size with a hole in the ceiling that allowed light into the center of the room, where Ichika stood.
Ichika looked up towards the only source of light coming into the cave with a smile.
'I wonder what the other girls are doing back at the academy?'
Ichika continued to smile as he was curious to know what his friends were up to. Unbeknownst to Ichika, he did not know his friends were also training as well.
After a few peaceful remaining minutes after the battle, Ichika shook his head and came back to reality.
"Enough of that thought, time to go deeper into the cave." Ichika walked away from the only light source and deeper into the cave. Ichika found himself being lured deeper into the cave. Ichika couldn't help but wonder what trials lay next to in front of him.
If you liked this chapter, please leave a review!
Many Thanks!
-Kano
