Welcome to Chapter Nine! Around this point, I'm going to start covering things stuff like Ian's kendo training, Kazuto's introduction to Origin Story, and around Chapter Ten or Eleven, the red armored smartass of the Crimson Warrior Chronicles. I'm really happy that I've gotten this far, and I'll be even happier when this story wraps up and Red vs Blue: Reach comes to the spotlight once more (although that's not guaranteed, since I'm on an SAO roll right now). As always, thank you for reading my stories, and a follow, favorite, and review would be appreciated.

Kirigaya Residence, Kawagoe

Japan, Real World

May 28, 2022

Ian Becker

Over the course of the past few days, Ian had slowly grown closer to Suguha, and today was special for them. Today, he would begin kendo training with her. During day four, she brought him along to watch her practice against some of her classmates, and he personally watched her as she kick their butts, so he knew that she could teach him her knowledge.

Normally, Allan would discourage such an idea due to trust issues involving other people, but after meeting the young practitioner, he decided to let Ian take unofficial classes from her, under the condition that he came along.

"That's not a problem, Allan-san." Suguha told him after he stated his condition in a happy tone: she was truly desperate for friends, but good-willed nonetheless.

Ian and Allan were in their apartment, eating breakfast and preparing to leave. While they ate, they discussed the events of their first week in the land of the rising sun.

"So, you've managed to successfully set up your business here." Ian asked.

"Yeah. And you've befriended a kendo quarternationalist." Allan stated. "So, how did you do it so fast? You normally don't trust people until you've known them for years."

"I don't know. I guess things just clicked." Ian said. "I think we might be able to get closer at some point through training."

"Well, if she kicks your butt, don't come whining to me." the older brother said.

"I won't. I'm going to keep going until I'm able to beat her, and maybe beyond that point."

"I like your enthusiasm." Allan said, smiling. "I think a certain someone would like that too."

"You better not--!"

"I'm talking about your twin, dumbass. Seriously, man, you need to unwind."

Ian didn't say anything as he finished his breakfast and changed into a T-shirt and jeans. After some extra thought, he realized that he did need to wind down, for a variety of reasons. Sighing, he stood up and walked over to the door, where his shoes were.

"Leaving already?" Allan asked his brother as he put his shoes on.

"No, I'm just getting ready." Ian curtly replied, tying the laces of his left tennis shoe.

"Alright, I should be, too."

Ian's phone rang, alerting the two of a call. Since the ringtone was the Destiny soundtrack "The Great Unknown," Ian had a pretty good idea who the caller was.

"I've got this." Ian told Allan as he picked up the phone and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, bro." Nikki yawned. "How're you doing?"

"Uh, I'm okay. I've successfully lived here for a week." Ian told her.

"Good job, dude." Nikki commended. "How's your new friend?"

"She's doing fine, and starting today, she will be my new kendo teacher."

"Wait, really?" his twin asked, surprised.

"Yeah. She can do it, too. Me and Al went to some of her classes and we got to watch her kick everyone's butts."

"Sounds like someone got lucky."

"Yeah. Al has a workplace for his lure company now, and we're looking to get a better place to live."

"Are we now?" Allan asked jokingly; they talked about getting a better place to call home, and they decided on doing so, but given the property laws in Japan, that was proving to be difficult.

"Okee-dokee." Nikki said. "Well, don't rush things, you two. I'm not missing you that bad."

"We'll take our time. By the way, isn't it a bit late over there?"

"Oh, come on, 10:32 P.M. isn't that late. I only got into bed five minutes ago."

"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, I need to go."

"Okay. Goodbye, you silly brother of mine."

"Bye, bumwich." Ian hung up and stored his phone in his pocket. "So, any plans for today before we go to the Kirigaya residence?"

"Grocery shopping."

"Only that?"

"I'm looking forward to seeing you get your ass kicked because you can't hit girls. Not that it'd hurt her that much because that bosom would absorb all the force." Allan snickered.

"Oh, come the fuck on."

A few hours later...

After a busy day of shopping and home searching, the brothers were now heading to the Kirigaya residence for Ian to begin his training. During the trip, they kept each other occupied by talking to each other about random things.

"So, are you sure you don't have any crushes on anyone, little brother?" Allan was asking.

"No. I have no idea what I'm going to do in that department." Ian replied.

"You don't?"

"No. I don't know if me and Sophia could work out as a couple, and I haven't known Suguha for that long."

"Doesn't mean you can't have a crush, idiot. Do you love Sophia?"

"Well, how can I say no? She's been an important part of my life ever since we became friends."

"Ugh, I meant to say, do you have feelings for her?"

Ian thought long and hard on that subject. Was he in love with the redheaded girl? He wasn't sure about that, but his siblings always teased him and her about it. During the times that they spent together, whether it be aggresively gaming or doing things outside, the boy had always cherished them, and had long ago surmised that yes, he may have had feelings for her after all. However, how was he even supposed to convey them if he couldn't confirm that he had them?

"I'm not completely sure." Ian decided to say. "Either, I'm in love with her or... I view her as a sister and think that I'll break taboo if I choose her."

"That's deep, man."

"I know. Maybe I can talk to her about it."

"That sounds like a good idea." They turned left and continued down that road into the neighborhood the Kirigayas lived in.

"Yeah. Do you have any crushes?" Ian asked curiously.

"Uh, no." Allan replied curtly.

"Okay. I can't help you with that."

"No, you can't. I can't wait for you to get your ass kicked, though."

"I'm not going to get my ass kicked." Ian said defensively.

"Well, you can't hit girls, so..." he said again.

"I don't think it'll come to that. We're here."

They stopped in front of the Kirigaya residence, anticipation ripe in their minds. If the house wasn't enough of an indicator, then the black-haired girl practicing kendo in an old-styled set of robes was enough to tell the brothers that "This is it."

"So... should we say something...?" Allan asked. "She looks pretty busy..."

"I'll handle it." Ian said, raising his hand to block Allan, not that he would try to go ahead of Ian if he knew what to do. "Kon'nichiwa, Suguha!"

Suguha looked up to see the brothers at the driveway and smiled. "Kon'nichiwa, you two."

After slowly entering the front yard, the brothers bowed in Suguha's direction, then approached her. After bowing at the brothers, she straightened up and turned to the dojo.

"Um, that's the dojo, right?" Allan asked uncertainly.

"Hai. It's pretty old, and it used to be where our grandfather trained at. He used to be a kendo champion, and he wanted me and Kazuto to follow in his footsteps. For some reason, Kazuto ended up quitting kendo and my grandfather wasn't really happy about it."

"You're mincing words, Suguha." Ian told her.

"Well, he was really strict, so he ended up beating him for quitting. I didn't want Kazuto to suffer, so I told him that I would practice kendo enough for both of us."

"And you did just that."

"Why did he--?" Allan was trying to ask.

"I don't know. He might have found out about something I don't know about and gotten distressed over it."

"I'm pretty sure we didn't come here to talk about personal matters." Ian cut in.

"Yeah, sorry." Suguha said in an apologetic tone. "I don't really have people to talk to, and my parents are workaholics."

"It's fine, you can vent at us when you need to, Suguha. Right, Al?" Ian added, looking at Allan.

"Um, yeah, totally." Allan said, confused. He clearly didn't expect to be a venting outlet.

"Okay. Let's get going." Suguha started walking at a brisk pace towards the dojo, hands behind her back as she led the brothers to it. When she reached the entrance, she made a quick bow before taking off her shoes and entering the structure.

"Is someone in there?" Allan asked confusedly.

"No. It's just tradition, I guess. Take off your shoes before you go inside." Ian instructed and went up first, bowing before he took his shoes off and walked into the dojo. Allan soon followed, with Suguha and Ian checking his feet.

The dojo's interior was a bright white and immaculately clean, with windows at the top of the left and right walls letting light in. The shorter wall that was to the right of the door had a shrine of sorts on a medium-length shelf, which had Japanese Kanji-looking dialects in frames to the left and right of it, along with what looked like candles.

"This place is amazing." Ian said in amazement.

"It looks well-taken care of." Allan commented.

"My grandfather wanted us to maintain it to the best of our ability when he passed, so we clean it up after every practice session or match." Suguha said, pointed at a barrel that contained shinais. "Take a shinai from that barrel and come over here, Ian-san."

Ian complied, grabbing the one in the center of the barrel and carefully rearranging the others so they were neatly positioned.

"Uhhh..." Suguha didn't know what to say as she watched Ian's OCDs take effect.

"He's a little autistic, so he's got OCDs and likes for things to be all neat and stuff." Allan said, smirking. "However, it hardly affects him otherwise, thank God."

"Oh, I didn't know that." Suguha said, watching her student finish rearranging the shinais and face her.

"Alright, I'm ready." he said, standing up straighter than usual. His eyes reflected his enthusiasm, but also determination to do well.

"Yeah, I was just watching you mess around with the shinais, so I'm sorry if you don't like being watched."

"I'm cool with it." the boy said nonchalantly.

Suguha smiled before she walked to the center of the dojo, her hands on her shinai as she faced her new student.

"So, we're just practicing, right?" Ian asked.

"Yeah, unless you want to do a match." Suguha said, smirking confidently.

"Yeah, not right now. I'll go for a match next time." Ian told her, glaring at Allan. He was not going to get his butt kicked.

"That's okay." his instructor assured him. "Um, first, could you try the shinai out, see how it is? I can gauge your performance that way, too."

"Yeah, I can." Ian held the shinai out, both of his hands firmly gripping the wooden blade, and he took a combat stance, his feet spaced apart with the right foot placed behind him.

"It's a tad bit heavier than I expected, but it's probably very durable..." he noted idly. "I like the length, too."

"It's made of thick bamboo, so it's gonna be heavy." Suguha told him.

"Makes sense." Ian waited a few seconds, then he decided to start swinging, starting with an overhead strike, then he swung horizontally and diagnolly, made a second horizontal slash, then he thrusted forward, imitating an impaling attack. He then mimicked sheathing his shinai and stood straight.

"Wow, that was pretty good for your first time, Ian-san." Suguha complimented. "Have you practiced somewhere else?"

"Yeah. Back home, I used nice, sturdy sticks and swung them around every now and then."

"That didn't look like every now and then."

"You're right." Ian said, sighing. "I still suck at it, though."

"Well, you're here to improve, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am."

After a couple of hours were spent training, Ian was partially exhausted, but having tons of fun at the same time. Not only was he getting exercise, but he was also learning potential swordfighting skills (since kendo was used as a form of samurai training in feudal Japan before the samurai-in-training recieved a real sword to train with) that could potentially be used for self-defense. After successfully pulling off a move Suguha showed him for the fifth time in a row, Ian decided to wait a little before he started again.

"So, you did alright, since that move was a bit difficult to pull off, but you were a little too slow." Suguha noted, looking at Ian as he got into position. "Maybe..." She got into a combat stance and prepared to strike, looking at Allan for approval, who then nodded his head and grinned, "this will help!"

Ian turned around with a startled yelp and barely parried a lightning-fast surprise attack from his teacher, who seemingly decided to ambush him in an attempt to boost reaction time and overall speed (if he guessed correctly). Jumping backwards to get some breathing room, Ian readied his shinai and raised it diagnolly, blocking a horizontal strike and a vertical one before he stepped to the side to attempt to attack Suguha.

However, Ian's attack had no effect, as the kendo quarternationalist had already dodged it, and Ian quickly jumped to the left, his shinai held diagnolly in case Suguha tried to attack him. After landing near the dojo door, he found himself blocking another quick attack, his opponent's weapon dangerously close to his shoulder as they locked blades.

"Wow, looks like you're faster than I thought." Suguha commented, sweat forming on her face.

"Well, you attacked me out of nowhere, so I had to be. If that's what you intended, then mission accomplished." Ian told her.

"If you want to stop, then we can stop."

"I don't run away from fights." Ian pushed the girl back with all his might and lunged forward, using his own skills along with stuff he learned to attack. The first three attacks were blocked with precision, but the fourth one found its mark in Suguha's side, causing her to wince slightly and grunt in minor pain.

"Nice one, Ian-san." she complimented. "Just know that I'm not backing down from this, either." Suguha swung upwards, forcing Ian's shinai upwards and opening him up for a horizontal slash.

The boy winced as well, his grunt in pain more evident as his muscles weren't as dense as his sensei's. However, he recovered quickly and jumped back into the fight, slipping behind Suguha and swinging downwards. But like the last time he tried to hit her while her guard was down, she was gone, and he got a shinai to his back for the effort.

"Wow, you're fast." Ian noted, finding Suguha bouncing backwards to face him again.

"Yeah. You're not too bad either."

"And you said I was slow a minute ago. Then again, I was relaxed."

Ian launched himself forwards, allowing his momentum to carry him to his opponent and swinging horizontally. The attack was blocked, but it gave the boy enough time to flank Suguha and score a hit in her side. Immediately after, he stepped backwards and parried another set of strikes, this time with more precision and speed.

"Looks like you're more skilled than I thought!" Suguha yelled as she tried to flank Ian, who blocked her attack again and struck at her.

"Well, I kind of lied about the 'every now and then' when I answered your question before. Sorry about that."

"It's fine. I think you practiced with Allan-san, though." she added, blocking Ian's attack and pushing him backwards.

"I did, in fact." Ian ran at Suguha for a few seconds before sliding around her and uppercutting with his blade. Since she didn't see it coming fast enough to block, Suguha was hit in the abdomen and lost her balance.

"Whoa, bro!" Allan yelled in English, surprised. "I'm nominating you for the Most Unpredictable Fighter of the Year Award!"

"Nani?!" Suguha asked, clearly not understanding the English that came out of Allan's mouth.

"Sorry, that was English." Allan sheepishly apologized in Japanese.

"Okay!" Suguha managed to hit Ian's leg, but the boy put everything into not feeling the pain from it it and he attacked her again, putting her on the defensive as he relentlessly attacked her.

No one heard the footsteps coming into the dojo, nor did they hear another shinai being drawn from the barrel, but when Ian moved in to take advantage of a gap in Suguha's defense, he was hit in the head by that third shinai, sharp pain flaring in the impact site.

Ian tumbled to the floor, but keeping a grip on his shinai, he got up on a knee and quickly blocked a horizontal strike from a teenage boy with slightly long black hair and eyes of the same tone, which were filled with fury as he tried to subdue the teen he seemingly percieved as a threat to his family.

Crap, this must be Kazuto! Ian guessed, pushing the boy back and getting to his feet while assuming a combat stance.

The boy, who Ian presumed was Kazuto, didn't wait for Ian to make a move and lunged at him, attacking to incapacitate. The American blocked his initial three strikes and dodged a fourth, landing close to Suguha, who was trying to get an opening to stop the fight.

"Suguha, is this Kazuto?!" Ian asked, blocking yet another attack from his new opponent.

"Hai! Onii-san, stop, he's a friend!"

Apparently, Kazuto didn't hear her, as his attacks never ceased and Ian was forced to go on the offensive just to get some breathing room.

"Did you even hear her?!" Ian yelled at Kazuto, who he had locked blades with. "I'm friendly!"

"Then why were you attacking her?!" the other boy asked furiously.

"Because she was teaching me kendo and we decided on a match!" was the reply given.

"What?!" Kazuto asked his opponent as he unlocked his weapon and swung horizontally, only for Suguha to block it. He simply looked at her with a look of complete and utter confusion.

"He's my new friend and student, Onii-san." Suguha told him firmly, panting. "And I started it, so please put the shinai down so we can talk."