And so the training began, and it was a vigorous one. Step-by-step, Hiroyuki taught Chizuko once again the basics of kendo and as he does, he saw the glow of determination in her eyes. Every day was never wasted, for the old man trained the girl to the fullest and he was so happy with her progress and he finally sees in her the markings of a true swordsman, the ideals he thought she lost after the massacre. A week after the start of their practice, Hiroyuki asked her why she decided to relearn kendo again, besides the fact that he is willing to train her. Chizuko replied silently, telling him that she must regain the pride the Kagayama clan lost from the murder and that she cannot allow another bloodshed like that to happen again. The old man understood her point and gave her some warning, of which she wholeheartedly keeps in mind. He told her that the sword is not used as a weapon of murder instead, it is a weapon made to protect and save people's lives. Unless used in that sense, the sword can never unleash the beholder's true strength and it would only result to a senseless death.
Seeing through Chizuko's resolve, the man took their training to the next stage. Instead of using one sword, they will now practice the two-sword fighting style. He asked her if she has practiced with this style before and she told him that her father did not allow her to practice such technique since having a sword in each hand would pose a burden to her small frame. Hiroyuki laughed at the thought and went on to continue with their training.
Six years has thoroughly passed and Chizuko already mastered the two-handed sword style and the twin-sword fighting style. A few days before her 14th birthday, the old man taught her 13 sword forms appropriate for the two-sword fighting style and Chizuko was bewildered when she saw one of the forms is similar to the one her father used in the battle seven years ago! She then confronted Hiroyuki and asked him a lot of questions which she should have asked years ago. Seeing that the circumstance is unavoidable, the old man told her everything.
His real name was actually Hiroyuki Kagayama… Chizuko's long-lost grandfather and the one the whole clan thought was already dead after he went missing twelve years ago! Chizuko was shocked at the revelation in front of her but her grandfather calmed her down and went on to continue his story. He did fight in a battle that almost got him killed since he used the incomplete 13th form and due to his determination to perfect this critical move, he isolated himself from the family and went on living alone in the mountains, at the exact place where they are living now. After years of isolation, he went back to the clan just to see it crumble into dust when those mysterious people murdered his whole family. He was too late, too late to even use the perfected 13th form to protect his clan from the invaders but he saw a flickering hope when the man who killed Kazehiro posed to give Chizuko the final blow. Hiroyuki went on his way and used it to repel the man, of whom he badly wounded, and send his granddaughter and son to the hospital.
Chizuko never spoke a word and just cried heavily. When Hiroyuki hugged her, she hugged him back tightly as if grasping for strength in his arms. At last she learned the truth about her missing grandfather and she now felt that she was never alone. With all that said and done, she wiped her tears, garnered confidence and asked her grandfather to continue with their training, the last part of which the current head of the Kagayama Household will pass on to the next head all the knowledge and secrets that revolve around the family's well-known two-sword fighting style.
Things should have been fine for the old man and his granddaughter until another fated day came. A month after Chizuko's birthday, Hiroyuki caught a terrible illness that caused his body's immune system to weaken and this was greatly affected by his old age. Chizuko was so depressed at her grandfather's condition and the fact the she have not completed the 13th form yet makes it even worse. Seeing the frown in her face, he reassured her that everything will be okay and that she does not have to worry if she did not get that critical move at her first try. He also added that the genuine power of the 13th form will only be released when Chizuko reaches her limit in a battle and that she could only use it when there is no other possible way but to use it, when in effect the 12 other forms are of no use against the enemy. He forced her to make an oath to never use it in battle unless it is a highly critical situation, for he fears that her body could not stand the impact the blow may deliver (and now he is regretting why he taught her that stance, but that must be done in order to abide the rules that accompanied their clan throughout the ages).
Before he died, he gave Chizuko the Kagayama Household's most prized possession: the Saisei no sou Ken (Twin Swords of Rebirth), the twin swords that are only given to the next true successor of the clan, and the golden pendant that Kazehiro kept as it got severed when the unknown enemy attacked Chizuko before (the man gave it to his father before he died, and Hiroyuki managed to get it fixed). He also advised his granddaughter to go to Namimori and find a certain man, her father's best friend that goes by the name of Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, for he might know something about what exactly happened before the Kagayama massacre.
After saying that, Hiroyuki caught his final breath and died. Chizuko silently wept beside her grandfather's body and then gave him a decent burial. She left the place where she stayed for more than six years to start another journey in her life. Carrying with her the will of her family and the strong and resilient spirit her grandfather left her with, she sets sail to Namimori in order to find a piece of the puzzle that would help her solve the mystery behind all that happened long ago…
Original Story (c) windwalker035 [lilanie-kun]
Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Characters (c) Akira Amano