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ShuKirisaki: Don't worry. I write this fic in class too.
Chapter 8: Mentor
"Out," Shiro demanded. Akane just looked at her child, confused.
"Excuse me?" Akane tilted her head. She wasn't irritated or annoyed. Just curious.
"Get out of the kitchen," Shiro replied, his tone just as demanding.
"Why, if I may ask?" Akane asked.
"I'm cooking breakfast," Shiro said, eyes burning a hole in Akane's forehead.
"Don't worry about breakfast, honey. I'll—" Akane froze when Shiro put hand on his sword. "On second thought, I have to talk to Kenji about Elizabeth's new teacher."
Shiro nodded and waited for Akane to leave the room. She then went to the table and sat down across from Kenji.
"I thought you were making breakfast," Kenji raised an eyebrow.
"Shiro strong-armed me out of the kitchen," Akane pursed her lips.
"Wha—"
"Shiro strong-armed me out of the kitchen," Akane repeated, her voice suddenly more irritated.
"Alright…" Kenji sipped his coffee. "So, what are we going to do about Elizabeth's tutor?"
"There are a few people I have in mind," Akane said. "There's Steven, our old Flame Arts teacher…"
"We both know how harsh he is," Kenji massaged his temples. "With how protective Shiro was yesterday, I doubt he would survive the week."
"Urk…" Akane winced. She almost punched the old man more than once. "What about Cassandra? She's nice and quite skilled too."
"I did some digging after she stopped by and it seems she's a fresh graduate. She's only twenty years old," Kenji shook his head. "Maybe if she had a bit more experience, sure. She's a prodigy when it comes to high level Sword Arts, but I don't know if she's capable of teaching someone."
"You're right…" Akane sighed. "What about Anderson?"
Kenji froze. The two remained silent for a couple seconds,
"You know this is a bad idea, right?" Kenji asked. Akane nodded and Kenji threw his hands in the air. "Fine! I'll write the letter after breakfast."
"Breakfast is ready!" Shiro called as he walked out of the kitchen holding two plates. He placed the plates in front of his parents and smiled. "I hope you enjoy it."
"What did you make?" Akane asked, looking up at the boy. "It looks amazing!"
"Just a little recipe from home," Shiro replied with a smile. "I used to make onigiri with my friend when we were younger. I was feeling a little nostalgic today so I made these. I didn't see any meat, but there was a bit of fish. I hope you don't mind that I filleted it for you."
Akane looked down and smiled. The rice was shaped into little triangles with round edges and was plated behind pieces of raw fish that were masterfully cut. She remembered her parents serving raw fish when she was younger. She never mastered the art of properly cutting the fish, so she hasn't had it in awhile.
"Thank you, Shiro. It looks wonderful," Akane said.
"You could eat it with your hands, but I fashioned some chopsticks from the wood dad was chopping last week," Shiro said, offering a pair to each one of his parents.
"Man, I haven't used these since we were back home," Kenji chuckled as he took one. "Thank you, son."
Akane gingerly took the utensils and took a bite of the fish. It… it tasted like home.
"It's wonderful," Akane murmured. Kenji also seemed to be in his own world as he ate. Shiro, on the other hand, just smiled widely.
"I'm happy you enjoyed it."
Viscount Anderson Giliard sighed as he heard another explosion from the backyard. He was extremely proud of his twin daughters, Rose and Lubelia, but they were… eccentric. During get-togethers, they were more well-behaved than the grown women who attended, but at home, they were competitive and oftentimes vulgar to each other. When they got their Swords, however, things took a turn for the worse. The both of them somehow mastered elemental Sword Arts within a year and instead of working together to advance their abilities, they started blowing things up during their fights.
"Papa?" Anderson looked down to see his five-year-old daughter, Chloe, pulling at his pant leg with the cutest look on her face.
"What's wrong, Chloe?" Anderson looked down at his daughter. She had his pale-blond hair and his mother's red eyes. Anderson knew that picking favorites was wrong, but Chloe caused the least amount of property damage, so he was inclined to choose her.
"There's someone at the front door asking for you," Chloe tugged on his pant leg again. "Are you in trouble, Papa?"
"Of course not," Anderson said as he placed a hand on Chloe's head. "Let me go see what it is."
Anderson made his way to the front door to see a young man he didn't recognize at the door.
"What is it you need?" Anderson asked idly while crossing his arms.
"Ah, you have mail," The young man handed a letter to Anderson.
"Thank you," Anderson smiled as he took the letter and placed it in his pocket. "First day on the job, huh?"
"H-how'd you know?" The boy looked away.
"Ah, the old one told me he was retiring last week," Anderson put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. You're doing a great job."
"T-thank you, sir," The boy bowed and walked away. Anderson closed the door and made his way to the couch. He sat down, opened the card, and started to read. As he did, he sighed.
"Honey! Get the kids!" Anderson called. Anderson's wife, Abigail, made her way into the room. She had long, black hair and ruby red eyes.
"What's wrong?" Abigail asked with a concerned tone.
"Akane and Kenji wrote," Anderson leaned back on the couch and sighed. "They're calling in a favor."
A whole month passed before Anderson arrived at the small, unassuming town. He looked at the card his comrades-in-arms had sent him and started to look for the house.
"Excuse me?" Anderson asked one of the shopkeepers. "Do you know where I can find the house of Akane and Kenji?"
"Oh, if you turn the corner, it should be the third house on the right," The shopkeeper said with a smile. "If you do go there, can you tell little Shiro that Andrea says hi? He's such a polite young man."
"Thank you, I'll be sure to do that," Anderson said with a smile.
Shiro, huh? I wonder what kind of kid he is, Anderson thought as he found the house. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"Coming!" He heard a familiar voice call. After a couple seconds, the door opened to reveal Kenji with a broad smile on his face.
"Ah, Anderson!" Kenji ushered the viscount into the small house. "Come in, come in!"
"It's good to see you again, old friend," Kenji said. "Thank you for coming."
"It's good to see you too," Anderson said with a small smile. Kenji was always the more eccentric out of the two. "So, I heard I would be training your child?"
"My son?" Kenji shook his head vigorously. "No, you're going to be training his friend, the wielder of Excalibur."
"Excalibur?!" Anderson shouted. "You're having me train the wielder of Excalibur over your own son? Wouldn't the wielder be fine?"
"Well…" Kenji looked away. "It's better if you see for yourself."
Kenji led Anderson to the backyard where two children were sparring while Akane watched.
"Ah, Anderson! It's nice to see you again," Akane smiled gingerly at the man.
"Akane," Anderson greeted the woman formally. He then turned his eyes to the duel and his jaw dropped.
The child with Excalibur was already fighting like a trainee and the Knight's Academy. She had a Strengthening Art activated and was wielding Excalibur with confidence and strength. The boy, however, was on a completely different level. He also had a Strengthening Art activated and he was wielding twin swords of eastern descent. What flabbergasted Anderson however was the way the boy wielded them. There seemed to be no set style to his moves, but he seemed to adapt to every move his opponent made.
"By the Goddess," Anderson muttered.
"I know, right?" Anderson chuckled. "I'm so proud of my boy."
"Actually, Kenji wouldn't want you to know this, but he actually lost—"
"Don't say it!" Kenji clasped his hand over his wife's mouth. Anderson sighed at the couple's antics and turned back just in time to see the boy, who he assumed was Shiro, kick his opponent's hand, causing her to let go of the sword. He then spun around and placed the black blade on the young girl's neck.
"I win," he declared with a smirk.
"It's not fair!" The young girl stamped her foot as Shiro lowered his blade. "How do you keep winning?!"
"You'll get there someday," Shiro rubbed Elizabeth's head as his sword turned into a longsword before the boy sheathed it.
"What…? How…?" Anderson looked at Kenji and Akane who just shrugged.
"Oh, Lizzy! It looks like your teacher's here!" Shiro then exclaimed. Anderson turned to see the boy staring directly at him.
"Why do you think I'm her teacher?" Anderson asked. It was a test more than anything. He wanted to see what kind of child came from his two strongest comrades.
"Why else would someone so strong be here?" Shiro tilted his head. There was a small pause before Anderson laughed.
"Hah! You've got a good eye, kiddo!" Anderson said jovially. All his previous speculations were gone. WIth his performance and his intuition… this kid would be a monster when he grew up. "My name is Anderson Gilian. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"My name is Shiro and this is Elizabeth," Shiro turned to the young girl who was in the midst of picking up her Sword and sheathing it in a sheath that matched the Legendary Blade's colors.
"Ah! I'll be in your care!" Elizabeth ran up to Anderson and bowed at him.
"How polite. I wish my eldest was like you," Anderson smiled and shook his head.
"How are your kids?" Kenji walked up to the viscount.
"Well Chloe's an angel, but Rose and Lubelia…" Anderson sighed. "I miss my shed."
"That bad, huh?" Kenji chuckled.
"They're prodigies in every sense of the word," The man replied, but he wasn't smiling. "It's just that they… compete a lot, and these competitions usually end with some part of my property exploding."
"How old are they?" Akane asked.
"They turned eight a few months ago," Anderson replied. "I was able to get them their swords early, but it turns out that was a mistake."
"Oh, so they're the same age as little Shiro!" Akane clapped her hands together and smiled. "I'm sure they'll make great friends."
"Considering the performance he just put on, I'm more scared than excited," Anderson muttered under his breath. "Oh yeah. Shiro, Andrea says hi."
"Oh by the Goddess," Shiro grumbled as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I bake one apple pie for her and she's hounding me for employment. I'm eight for goddess's sake."
"You can't blame her, pumpkin," Akane said with a slightly amused smile. "Your apple pie is the best in town."
"If you insist," Shiro rolled his eyes. "Anyways, I'm going to go get cleaned up."
"Should I get started?" Anderson asked, looking at Kenji and Akane.
"Whenever you're ready," To Anderson's surprise, Shiro was the one to speak. Before the viscount could reply, Shiro entered the house and closed the door.
"Be careful. Shiro's very protective," Akane giggled. "He pulled his sword on someone who tried to grab her last week."
"I'll keep that in mind," Anderson heaved a sigh and turned to Elizabeth. "Aright, young lady. Show me what you got."
Elizabeth fell to one knee, panting as she used her Sword to support herself. Her new mentor didn't look any worse for wear, however.
"You did good to last as long as you did," Anderson sheathed his sword. He then turned to Kenji and nodded.
"You lasted thirty-eight minutes and four seconds," Kenji said before pocketing the pocket watch Anderson lent the man. "You lasted longer than a second-year at the Academy usually would."
"I was asked to focus on your endurance, and I'd be inclined to agree," Anderson nodded. "Your swordsmanship is way above the level of someone your age, but from what I heard, Excalibur has some very costly Sword Arts."
"Y-yeah…" Elizabeth said between pants. She had been training hard, but Artoria refused to let her unleash Excalibur again since her spar with Shiro the previous month.
"Alright, let's take a fifteen minute break and then we'll start with running," Anderson nodded. Elizabeth groaned. Today was going to be a long day.
The school arc is starting soon so expect a timeskip in the beginning of this chapter! I'll be doing a lot of worldbuilding this coming arc so stay tuned for that! Anyways, please do consider leaving a review! I would love to read and reply to your thoughts. As this is an original world, I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. Also please join my Discord! I would love to talk to you all and answer all your questions! I talk a lot about my thought process while writing, so if you're interested in that, do consider joining. The url is discord . gg (forego the spaces) followed by a slash and CpVs7R8KXz. Unfortunately you'll have to type the rest of the url in manually because I'm not allowed to post links. Thank you for reading and I'll catch you on the flipside.