Daphne had two students to whom she actually taught blade bonding. The others—exwires and certified exorcists alike—received a modified version of the course, only they didn't know it. Daphne had her suspicions that even Mephisto didn't know it. And that was because Daphne was still the only person who truly understood what blade bonding required.
She stood silent for a moment in the center of a sparing mat in the gym where she was to meet Katsumi and Hiriko for their semi-private lesson after school. Daphne had been teaching them since the beginnings of blade bonding as it was known at True Cross Academy. They were progressing steadily, and always punctual, but she didn't notice them enter that afternoon. She was focused instead on feeling the energies flow between Assiah and Gehenna.
It was chaos.
Gehenna pulled so hard on Assiah, but it felt like it was trying to move away, like it wanted to separate. The force was strong and demanding, and it made the energy in Assiah bend. Assiah felt about ready to snap. Daphne had never sensed the two in such diametric tension before. Not even when Morpheus had made a bid for rule.
But beyond all that, she sensed an energy she hadn't encountered before, one so small that she had to reach to grasp it—warm, like Rin's blue flame, and synced with her own. The first time she'd been pregnant she'd been too frightened to reach out and look for that other life, but now it was a comforting glow to soothe her own.
She only wished the forces between their two worlds were not also trying to tear each other apart.
"Okumura-sensei?"
Daphne's eyes snapped open and she found Hiriko and Katsume standing at the edge of the sparring mat. They both looked concerned at her heavy breathing and sweat-stained skin. Daphne offered them a weary smile.
"The energy is intense today," she said. "Take it easy. Don't push."
Together, the three of them moved through some warmups and then Daphne stepped aside to allow her students to seek out the spirits of their blades. A Knight with a demon sword ought to have the same relationship to their weapon as a Tamer to their familiar. A demon sword was a living thing in a way. Daphne had carried Castor, Pollux, and Helen of Troy since she was a child. They were part of her. She had long suspected that Katsume and Hiriko, who had also inherited their blades at a young age and hadn't yet been taught another technique, were the only ones who might follow in her footsteps and blade bond. Them and Rin. Nobody had a bond with a blade like he did, but he never showed up for lessons.
"When you feel you've connected, tap into the tension through your blade. Because it's strong, that will be easy, but it may overwhelm you, so tread lightly. See if you can attach the points of your blades to the mat."
She drew Castor and did exactly that, then detached it and looked at her students.
"Thirty reps," she said.
Hiriko and Katsume nodded, shutting their eyes and going to work. It was different for the both of them than it was for Daphne—Katsume's katana was a different shape than Daphne's swords and Hiriko's blade was nearly as long as she was, but they were both successful. Daphne watched the strain in their faces intently, ready to intervene if either of them tried to do too much.
"Am I interrupting?"
Daphne gasped at the sudden whisper in her ear, jolting to find Rin standing right behind her, looking sheepish. He grimaced, but it was half a smile.
"Sorry," he said.
"What are you doing?" Daphne asked. He'd changed his clothes. He was wearing work out gear. Daphne raised an eyebrow.
"My exwires are in exams today," he said. "I figured I should come…you know."
Daphne drew in a sharp breath. Yes, she knew. Whatever it takes. If blade bonding was something that might help them in the long-run, then maybe Rin would try to learn it in earnest this time.
"Warm up and then I'll give you a task," Daphne said.
Nodding, Rin swung Kurikara from his back then raised his eyebrows to ask if it was okay for him to draw it. Daphne nodded. Katsume and Hiriko wouldn't even be paying attention for now. Rin removed the blade from its sheath, igniting the blue flame, and started a warmup series. Behind Daphne, her students finished their reps.
"Need a breather?" she asked.
Hiriko shook her head, but did reach for her water bottle. Katsume flexed his hand over the grip of his blade.
"It is strong today, Okumura-sensei," he said, looking her way. "What happened?"
"I can't say," Daphne replied. "Focus on your practice. Thirty reps connecting the blade, then releasing it and recalling it to your hand." She demonstrated with Castor, holding her hand only an inch or so above the grip to recall it, then sheathed the sword. "Go."
They did, and Daphne turned back to Rin.
"What did you have in mind?" she asked him, and he shrugged.
"Shouldn't I start with the basics?"
"Let me see Kurikara."
Daphne extended her hand and Rin obligingly placed the sword in it. She gave Kurikara a couple of swings, then stood still, shut her eyes, and focused on the blade. She reached out to its spirit, and much to her surprise, Kurikara reached back.
In a flash of heat, Daphne connected with the blade. A coursing, wild, powerful energy swept through her body from the palm of her hand, and for an instant the world looked blue. When the moment passed, Daphne could feel Kurikara the same way she felt Castor and Pollux and Helen of Troy—but instead of her blades' cold and stoic energy, Kurikara was a spark of joyful warmth. The familiarity between that energy and Daphne surprised her.
"Woah," Rin said. "You okay? What happened?"
Daphne flexed her fingers around Kurikara's grip. "We bonded," she said.
"You what?"
Even as Rin started to ask another question, Daphne took a swing with the blade. It moved swiftly, slicing through the air with the same speed and control she typically had with her own swords, control she had not had on those first practice swings. Touching Kurikara to the mat, Daphne felt for the energies and the tip of the blade connected like sliding through soft butter. She let go, and Kurikara stood on end. Just to see, she tried recalling the blade to her hand, and she wasn't surprised when it met her skin, but Rin was. He stood staring with his mouth wide open.
"You bonded Kurikara," he gaped.
Daphne nodded. The blade tingled in her hand, a gentle vibration, almost like a limb that had fallen asleep.
"I've been carrying it in my seal a lot lately," she said. "And…" And now that she was connected to the blade, she could feel how that other little energy synced with hers had grown stronger. "I think the baby may have helped."
Daphne laughed. She hadn't meant to bond Kurikara, just get a feel for it, but here she was. Holding the blade out, she passed it back to Rin. He didn't take it for a moment because he was stuck staring at the shining surface, then her face. She laughed again when he shook his head.
"What?" she asked.
"I love you so much."
Daphne smiled. In spite of everything, she smiled. It amazed her still how Rin was able to do that—make her smile no matter how heavily the world weighed on both of them. He took Kurikara and Daphne caught his wrist as he started to move away. Pulling him forward, she touched a kiss to his cheek.
"I love you, too," she said, and felt the heat of Rin's blush on her own cheek. That amazed her, too. That she could still make him blush. She smiled when she leaned away from him.
"Try to connect Kurikara to the mat," she said.
"Thirty reps?" he asked.
Daphne laughed. "Why don't you just focus on one for now?"
Hiriko and Katsume were just finishing up their thirty reps recalling their blades across an inch, both of them sweating. The recall set had taken them nearly three times as long to complete.
"You two take a meditation break," Daphne said over her shoulder. "Excellent work."
"Thank you, sensei," they both said and bowed before sprawling on the ground in exhaustion. The expression on Rin's face had gone a little grim by the time Daphne turned back to him.
"Hard work," he said.
She nodded.
"And the whole…pushing your sword through your body thing? That's…?"
"A few years off."
"Yup. Yup, okay." He nodded, putting Kurikara's tip to the ground and taking a wide stance like he was prepared to stand in one place for a very long time. "Sounds good. I'll just, uh…do the connect-y thing for now."
Chuckling, Daphne adopted his stance and drew Castor, matched Kurikara's position with it.
"Close your eyes," she said. "And search for the energies between Gehenna and Assiah…"
Author's Note: I'm back! Hi, there. Glad to see you!
I have a question for y'all. Are any of you dorks like me and have a song (or several) that makes them think of Rin and Daphne? I'm building a playlist that I want to share with you guys, and I want your input! If you have any suggestions, pop me a PM or leave a comment! I'll probably share the track list at the end of the next chapter, if that's something you guys are interested in at all, lol.