The Lightning Knight of the Hero Village

by domgk115

Arata Tojo has always been in his brother Basara's shadow. Despite loving his brother he always craved recognition, but didn't get it, even when he drew the legendary sword Takemikazuchi. Now years later after being forced away from the village Arata has new stepsisters who are strangely perverted.. but he'll need to show all his power to protect them(M for sexual content)

5. A Fox & A Samurai

OC Voice Actors that appear in this chapter:

Arata Tojo: English VA: Brandon Winkler: Eugeo (Sword Art Online)

Japanese VA: Nobunaga Shimazaki: Eugeo (Sword Art Online) Shido Itsuka (Date A Live) Ritsuka Fujimaru (Fate Grand Order)

Miyamoto Tanka: English VA: Lizzie Freeman: Kizuna Kizayama (The Rising of Shield Hero) Cardinal (Sword Art Online) Chizuru Mizuhara (Rent a Girlfriend) Chisato Nishigiki (Lycoris Recoil) Ritsuka (Gudako) Fujimaru (Fate Grand Carnival) Yanfei (Genshin Impact)

Japanese VA: Ayane Sakura: Miyamoto Musashi (Fate Grand Order) Yotsuba Nakano (The Quintessential Quintuplets) Kureha (Sword Art Online Fatal Bullet) Ochaco Uraraka (My Hero Academia)

Tamamo no Mae: English VA: Abby Trott: Nezuko (Demon Slayer) Anette (Fire Emblem Three Houses) Tae Takemi (Persona 5)

Japanese VA: Chiwa Saito: Tamamo no Mae (Fate CCC, Fate Extella, Fate Grand Order)

Ritsumura Tanaka: English VA: Anairis Quinones: Mito/Misumi Tozawa (Sword Art Online Progressive) Echidna (Re:Zero) Yuki Yoshikawa (Horimiya) Mirko (My Hero Academia)

Japanese VA: Inori Minase: Mito/Misumi Tozawa (Sword Art Online Progressive) Hestia (DanMachi) Rem (Re:Zero) Itsuki Nakano (The Quintessential Quintuplets)

The Hero Clans Village, years ago…

"Now… go!"

"HIYAH!"

I could remember the exact combo that Senpai had shown me. With two wooden swords in both hands I still felt a bit off-balance since she had just began showing me dual sword style, but I was coming along quick according to her. The first strike she blocked easily, she was going to block them all easily of course, because my Senpai was just that good, but it was the technique that mattered according to her.

It was sunny outside and I had a healthy dose of sweat dripping down my neck but I focused and after the six-strike combo landed, I spun and went to strike for her back like she had just demonstrated not long ago. Like I expected, without even looking she threw her sword behind her back and when my wooden sword clanged and locked against hers, I saw her turn around with that massive smile on her face.

She always wore that same kimono when she trained with us. Blue with red and tight to her body, no sleeves as it went down to her mid-thigh. She had black stockings up just past her knees and arm sleeves up her to the middle of her biceps, and her obi sash fit her two katanas perfectly. Her light blonde almost white hair was held together by a black and red bow and somehow it always managed to look perfect.

Yes, our Senpai was beyond beautiful even when she was sweating after training.

"Excellent work," She gushed, spinning around and petting my head. "A dozen kouhai points for you Arata, that combo was perfect!"

"Yeah, great job Arata!" Kurumi said, rushing over from the shade of the tree. "You looked so cool!"

Now that really did make me blush. No matter how beautiful and in love with my Senpai I felt, it was always going to be Kurumi who had my heart first, I even knew it now despite how young we were. It also made it easier because I knew deep down Kurumi loved Senpai too. But the two of us? We were the forgotten ones, the siblings nobody paid attention to, we'd shared that bond our entire life.

"Haha, are you sure you don't want to try Kurumi?" Senpai said, coming up next to us.

Kurumi blushed and shook her head. "It's okay… I need to figure out how to better use one sword first, before I can even think about doing what you and Arata do."

I could see she looked upset and quickly moved to make her feel better.

"You're really good Kurumi! You'll pick it up in no time!" I told her, grabbing her hand. "Besides, you're better with magic then any of us, so don't worry about it too much."

"Arata's right Kurumi," Senpai said, coming over and petting Kurumi's head now too. "You're a prodigy when it comes to mastering spirits and magic! Even if the sword isn't your thing, I'm sure you'll be an elemental master!"

Kurumi's face got red but her smile grew as she hugged her. "Thanks Senpai!" then, she turned and latched herself onto me too. "And you too Arata!"

I blushed and hugged her back, a little too enthusiastically which made Senpai laugh behind her.

She smiled and clapped her hands together. "Alright! Lessons are done for the day kouhais! Now, why don't you both go get Basara and Yuki? Tonight is Tanaka udon night! Let me hear your excitement!"

"YEAH!" Kurumi and I both cheered. One thing we both knew was there was nothing better than Senpai making udon.

She giggled contentedly and we all turned to walk back towards the village. "Ah, I'm glad to see you so excited kouhais! One day I'll teach you the secret trick to udon! It is a secret passed through-."

"Sissy!"

We all turned, and coming running up the hill was another girl, who caught her breath with hands on her knees. She was the same age as Kurumi and me. Her hair was a bright vibrant orange, and according to Senpai it had been the same color as her mothers. The girl looked up with eyes that were an equally fiery color, initially she was excited, but when she saw Kurumi and me, her smile slowly faded.

"Ah, hey Ritsu!" Senpai said, smiling as she walked over to her younger sister, petting her head as well. "Did you have a good day of training? You certainly looked like you sweated sufficiently!"

Ritsumura Tanaka, our Senpais younger sister, the second child of the Tanaka Clan. I'd known her my entire life, and even grew up with her as my sister considering I lived with the Tanaka Clan until I was six. When we were younger, Ritsu-she hated her full name like Senpai-had been different, she was always smiling, laughing, me and her had done everything together those few years we lived together, we learned from Senpai her older sister, we trained, ate, even slept in the same room for a few years.

She'd even cried just like I did when I went back to live with Dad and Basara. Even after that, since I continued training with Senpai and Kurumi, we saw each other all the time. She used to even be a part of our little training group; she was good, really good.

But one day… she'd stopped coming, and Kurumi and I both knew why. It was why I turned my head, unable to look at her.

"I… I did, I wanted to come back up and show you one of the combos I just learned!" She said, looking up at her older sister with pleading eyes. "I worked really hard on it, Papa says it was great!"

"Oh? Well that's high praise coming from Papa," Senpai said, smiling. "Why don't you show me now? Oh! Or better yet, why not have a match? Alright kouhais step up! One more lesson, Arata do you-."

"No!" Ritsu said, her face getting red as she cut her sister off. She crossed her arms and looked away. "I wanted… I wanted it to just be you, not him!"

I felt my stomach churn, and Kurumi next to me seemed to feel just as awkward.

Senpai's eyes went to me, and then down to her sister. She knelt and sighed. "You know Ritsu, I tell you every morning when my kouhais and I are training. You're more than welcome to start joining us again, I think we'd all like that, right Arata, Kurumi?"

"Yeah! It'd be awesome to have you Ritsu! We miss you training with us," Kurumi said, smiling with her infectious smile likes he normally did.

I stammered but managed to look over at her. "Y…yeah… it'd be nice if you came with us again."

"See? There's no reason we can't," Senpai said, turning back to her sister who only looked at the ground now, her fists clenched. "But we can start again tomorrow! Come on, it's udon night! And if anyone knows how good that is, it's you Ritsu-."

"NO! I refuse!" Ritsu yelled again, tears coming down her face now as she looked up. Her eyes were on fire, her anger and sadness evident. "I won't be associate with him! I won't be associated with the one who stole my families sword, who stole my sissy! I won't-."

"Ritsu!" Senpai said, cutting her off, sterner this time. "I've accepted it, Papa has accepted it. It's time for you to do so as well-."

"No! I won't! You have no idea what he's done!" Ritsu said, turning and running past me, Kurumi and towards the village.

"Ritsu!" Senpai yelled after her again as she stood.

I watched her run away with Kurumi, orange hair billowing behind her. My heart nearly collapsed in my chest.

It was another reason I needed to get stronger, I needed to prove to not only myself, Kurumi, Senpai, Basara, Dad, but Ritsu as well, that I was worthy of that sword.

The Lightning Knight of the Hero's Village

Episode 5: A Fox & Samurai

Arata

"Ugh… damn dreams," I muttered, getting to the bottom of the steps. I could smell breakfast already cooking. "Morning…."

"Morning!" Basara said, a lot more chipper than usual. He looked up and scoffed when he saw the state of me. "God you look horrible."

"Gee thanks," I shot back at him as I dropped into a dining chair. "What are you making?"

"Pancakes, Mio asked for them last night," He said, as I saw him put a cup of coffee in front of me before he sat down across from me. "Jokes aside, what's got you looking so tired, bad dream?"

"You could say that" I told him, sipping the coffee. "You… you remember Ritsu right?"

Basara scoffed. "Of course I do, other than Kurumi you may have been her best friend."

"Her and Kurumi were best friends before I got my sword," I sighed. I traced my finger along the rim of my coffee cup. "Had a dream about all of them. I… I guess I've just been thinking about all of them since we've seen Yuki again. Ritsu… Miya, and… well, I never stop thinking about Kurumi."

Basara smiled and put a plate in front of me. "Even I know that. I hope you get to see her soon. Seriously, I don't know anyone who had bluer balls then you-."

"Fuck off," I told him, throwing one of the bacon strips at him which he annoyingly caught and ate.

Groaning I looked at the pancakes and bacon before I began stuffing my face. Basara just chuckled and joined me. It was golden week so we had the next five days off, and luckily enough it was Monday through Friday. I realized as I cut the pancakes and dosed them in syrup before my brother did the same, this was the first time that Basara and I had really had breakfast together in a while. It had only been three days since our fight with Akune and Lars, and thankfully it had been quiet since then, but that was mainly thanks to our recon.

I also realized that it was a lot quieter in the house then usual.

"Well, either way you gave Yuki your letter for her," Basara said, downing orange juice. "But I think we'll probably run into her soon."

"I hope so…" I said. I looked down at my half empty plate of food. "By the way, it's suspiciously quiet in the house. Where's Maria, she normally cooks breakfast."

Basara chuckled. "Ha, she ran up to the corner store to get us more milk and sugar. Mio's still sleeping but she should be up and showering soon."

"Oh wow, so you're saying Mio's gonna manage to take a shower without having you fondle her tits? I'm so proud of both of you-."

I dodged the piece of toast he threw at me. "That was childish."

"Shut up!" He yelled back, red faced before stuffing his face again.

I smirked knowing that I got him back, and when I went back to eating I tried to plan out my week in my head. Since we had five days off this would be the perfect time to train. I'd drag Basara out to it too even if he protested. After what happened against Lars and Akune, I didn't want to be unprepared again, especially if the Demon Lord really did send someone even stronger. I had a hard time believing I'd find anyone stronger then Akune was, but I wasn't ready to risk not being prepared.

And not to mention… I need to perfect Heavenly Eye, I need to be able to reach the void of swordsmanship, I thought, piling the last of the pancakes onto my fork and stuffing them into my mouth. Which means, I need to train not just my sword, but my mind and body too! It's like senpai always said, the best swordsman never stop!

"Yeah!" I said, slamming the cup-now empty of coffee-onto the table. "Never stop!"

"Gyah! What are you talking about?" Basara said, jumping at my sudden outburst. "What's got you suddenly so peppy?"

I smirked pointing at him. "Me and you are going to train Basara! All five days of Golden Week, no exceptions!"

Now that I finally had him for a few minutes without Mio or Maria around, I could get him to focus. The two were very slowly growing on me, but if I wanted to make sure that we were prepared for another attack, I needed to start training Basara like Miya had trained me.

Even though deep down, I knew Basara was already stronger than me, I still couldn't let him slack.

"HUH?!" Basara said, looking mortified. "All five days are you serious?!"

"As a heart attack!" I said with a glare. "Don't think your pervy little succubus sex pact with Mio is gonna be all you need! It's been ages since we trained, and so we're not caught unprepared for the next attack we're going to train, both of us all week, and you're not going to get distracted."

"Distracted?! What in the world do I ever get distracted by?!"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" I said with a deadpanned glare. "And I don't just mean swordsmanship training, we're going to train physically and mentally. You're going to the gym with me today and you're not going to complain understand?!"

And well… if I do see Miya or… or Kurumi again, I want to be in the absolute best condition possible, I thought, looking down at my sword hand, a newfound determination.

Yeah… when I do see you next Kurumi, I'll have mastered Heavenly Eye! I'll reach the void for you, Miya, for everyone.

And if she wanted to kill me when we first saw each other again, I'd let her get out as much anger as she wanted, but I'd still tell her I loved her afterwards, no matter how bad she did me in.

"Ugh… bossed around by my little brother," Basara sighed as he took my plate and went back to the kitchen sink. "But fine, I guess you are right. Do you really want to spend your entire week at the gym though?"

"Gym? You guys are going to the gym?" Mio's voice said, and when I looked to the steps she was at the bottom of the steps in her outfit for the day.

She was wearing a black skirt with white stockings up past her calves, and a white blouse with her red hair tied up like normal.

"Oh, good morning Mio," Basara smiled as he went to the counter. "Sit, I'll get some breakfast on a plate for you. Maria should be back soon."

"Morning, thanks Basara," Mio said, sitting next to me. She looked over with her cute smile. "Morning Arata, did you eat already?"

"Morning, and yeah, I did, now I need to write out a workout routine for me and Basara, something like senpai used to write out for me," I told her, leaning back, stroking my chin as I thought. "Maybe we'll start with an inclined treadmill five-kilometer run…? Yeah, then we'll come back and practices sword katas!"

"I don't even think you could do all of that…" Basara muttered, placing Mio's plate in front of her and sitting next to her. "Last time I checked, you didn't do much training either the last few years."

"I still did more then you!" I corrected him, before passing Mio the syrup. "And besides Senpai-," I stammered before correcting myself, "I mean Miya would make me do warmups twice as long! She always said, sometimes in a fight two swordsman will be evenly matched and the one who has better fitness will come out on top!"

"Are you just going to quote Miya all day and use that as an excuse to drag me around…" Basara asked over the rim of his coffee cup.

I glared at him, anger shooting up my chest. "Senpai was never wrong so of course I'd listen to what she said! Besides, this isn't about looking good or getting abs, we can't get caught unprepared if the Demon Lord strikes again! Or what if Lars and Akune come back? Mio's safety is contingent on us being ready!"

I realized with a jolt that I'd said a little more then I intended. Mio looked up at me from her plate of pancakes with the bottle of syrup halfway over it. I could see her slightly blushing, before a tiny smile came to her face. I chewed at my lip and cleared my throat, looking back to Basara before she could say anything. I wasn't in the mood for any mushy confessions of feelings of any kind at the moment, especially after the dream I had last night.

I thought I had something close to a sister before in Ritsu, but I hadn't been able to fix that relationship. There wasn't a chance I'd let anything happen to Mio or Maria now, I wasn't going to lose anyone else, that was something I was determined to do. For once, I agreed with my brother, being worthy of my sword didn't matter right now, all that did was protect everyone in that house.

Of course, I wasn't going to admit that to either of them out loud, they'd never let me live it down.

"We… need to be in better physical and mental shape Basara!" I told my brother from across the table. "We'll go to the gym today, and after that I'll make us a… why the hell are you smirking at me like that? Knock it off before I smash your teeth in!"

He'd started smirking at me halfway through my speech and I knew exactly what he was thinking, and I blushed from it. Mio did too apparently, because she giggled into her hand.

Basara chuckled and held up his hands. "Ha… alright, whatever you say, we'll go."

"Okay… and I'll go too!" Mio said triumphantly, smiling at them. "I can't let you just prepare to protect me alone! I'll pick out some gym clothes and-."

"Yeah no, sorry you're not coming."

"What why?!" She demanded of me, looking offended.

"Yeah, come on Arata why not?" Basara asked, his question sounding innocent enough.

I glared at him, he knew exactly why I didn't want Mio coming with us.

Still, I looked back to Mio apologetically. "Sorry Mio, I can't have Basara getting distracted at the gym."

"Huh?! Are you saying I'd be a distraction to you guys?!" She said, puffing her cheeks out angrily.

I scoffed. "Are you kidding? Of course you would, at least to Basara, I don't need your little sex pack magic going off in public whenever Basara looks another-."

"Quiet! We said we wouldn't discuss that!" Mio yelled, standing up completely red faced now.

Basara choked on his milk. "Yeah don't bring that up! Quit acting all high and mighty, as if you don't partly just wanna get into shape incase Miya shows back up soon like Yuki did!"

It was my turn to choke. "I… that is not true! Senpai just says that all swordsmen need a clear mind for a clean swing of their sword! If we're distracted we won't train as efficiently! Senpai has nothing to do with this!"

It was a lie of course. In the back of my head, ever since Yuki had told me her and Miya had wanted me and Basara to come back to the village, I was hoping to see her again soon. If Kurumi was the first person I ever loved, Senpai was the second, and I knew I still did. In the back of my head, I'd been thinking that if Yuki was around, and Miya really was the strongest in the village like she told me, that maybe my Senpai would come to the area… and maybe I could see her again.

And, if I was going to see her again, I wanted to make sure she knew she hadn't wasted all that time training me, only entering the void and Heavenly Eye for a second to defeat Akune wasn't good enough. I knew that even now, my new demon rival was probably working to master Heavenly Eye himself and would have it down by the next time we fought. There were too many people I needed to get better for, to get stronger for.

Kurumi and my Senpai were at the top of the list. Again though, there was no chance I'd admit that to Basara.

He just laughed at my flushed face, while Mio just pouted before stuffing her face with pancakes.

"You know, I've heard all about this Senpai of yours, you always mention her!" She said between her chewing before she swallowed. "You must be pretty dedicated to her!"

Is it just me or does she sound… bitter? I thought, glaring at her, annoyed as she downed her milk without looking at me.

My brother scoffed. "Obsessed is more the word, you should have seen him at the village, he and Kurumi wouldn't leave her side for a second on training days. It's like he has some kind of Senpai fetish-."

"Fuck off Basara!" I yelled at him, before looking over at Mio. "If you have to know Mio, I owe my Senpai everything. Between her and my Dad, they taught me all I know… yeah, so I owe it to them to be strong now."

Mio's face softened. "Basara said, her name was Miya?"

I stammered, realizing I'd revealed far more then I anticipated. It wasn't that I didn't trust Mio or anything, I just didn't particularly want to drudge up the past then. My Dad had always told me focusing on the past often times made you miss what was going on right in front of you in the present. And, while I missed Kurumi, Senpai, even Ritsu, I wanted to focus on the now.

Thankfully, Basara answered her for me. I looked away, red-faced, as I realized how much I really did wanna see her again.

"Aha, Miyamoto Tanaka, the first daughter of the Tanaka clan, I'd say she's probably the strongest hero in the village now," Basara explained, as I embarrassingly fell back into my seat as Mio listened with rapt attention. Basara went on. "Arata lived with the Tanaka Clan until he was six, so he grew up with Miya and her younger sister Ritsu. After he moved back with me and Dad, Miya kept training him, and then when he got Takemikazuchi, their family sword she really ramped it up."

Mio slowly nodded. "I see… so she's really like your big sister huh?"

I realized she was looking at me and coughed into my fist. "I… uh… suppose you could say that yes."

"But, I don't understand, why did you go to live with them in the first place?" Mio asked, looking between us both. "Did Jin ever tell you why?"

"Nope, as you know he likes his secrets our Dad, he really is the worst," Basara said only half-joking.

I scoffed. "I've asked a hundred times and he just cryptically says, 'you were where you needed to be'."

Mio laughed. "Haha, that's actually a good impression!"

I managed to smile at that, and Basara did the same. I loved our Dad, but he really was indeed sometimes the worst. And for a few minutes… it was nice laughing at the breakfast table with my siblings.

"Ha… either way, yes, I do think the world of her," I admitted, looking between Mio and Basara. "But my relationship with my Senpai doesn't matter right now. What matters is that we need to be prepared. Mio if you want I'll take you another day, but Basara, me and you are going to train today, anymore objections?"

Mio smiled. "Okay, I'll hold you to that Arata."

Basara smirked. "Alright. I don't know about a five-kilometer run but… I suppose I could knock you around with the blunt edge of my sword a bit. Shouldn't be too hard."

Mio laughed, probably at the instant angry reaction on my face.

"Oh yeah tough guy?! We'll see what happens," I yelled over the table, as now Basara and Mio laughed, which only made me angrier. "I swear, I'm gonna knock that panty dropping smirk right of your cocky face you arrogant sack of sh-."

"MIO, BASARA, ARATA LOOOOOOOOOOOK!"

I almost reached for my sword when a succubus burst through the door and slammed into me, throwing her arms around my neck. The whole thing only made Basara and Mio laugh more, as I blinked after screaming from the surprise, when I looked up I felt Maria's boobs pressed against my chest and her crotch rubbing dangerously close to mine as she squealed extremely excited about something.

"GAH MARIA!" I yelled as she clung to me. "Get the hell off me you damn loli succubus!"

"Hehehehe sorry, I just soooo excited!" She yelled, leaping off me to the ground. She wore nothing but her kitchen apron and some shoes, how they let her in the store was beyond me.

"Welcome back Maria!" Basara said gleefully as he watched me pull the succubus off me. "Did you get everything you needed at the store?"

"I thought it was suspiciously quiet," Mio said with a smile. "You look excited Maria, what is it?"

"Fufufu, we have good reason to be excited!" Maria said, as I looked and realized a dropped gallon of milk and bag of sugar. I grumbled and went to pick them up as Maria proudly held up a flier that was in her hand. "Look at this you guys! They're having a fireworks festival tonight not far from here!"

"A fireworks festival?!" Mio said excitedly as I walked past them with the milk and sugar. She looked at Basara. "I've always wanted to go to one of those! I even have a yukata that I've always wanted to wear!"

"Me too! It's perfect!" Maria said, smirking as she looked up at Basara, rushing over to him. "We can go, right Basara?! It'll be so much fun! Imagine it, you with Mio on your arm, me lovingly grabbing the arm of my tsundere younger bro-."

"No, not happening!" I yelled from the kitchen my heart jumping. "Basara and me are training today, he already agreed to it!"

I closed the door to the fridge and turned to glare at all three of them. I expected as usual them to crumble under my glare and reluctantly agree. However, I learned in that moment that I had been underestimating them or overestimating myself, it seemed that they'd grown used to my little outbursts no matter how right I knew I was 90% of the time.

All three of them just stared back at me with deadpan glares in their eyes.

"Don't look at me like that you idiots!" I yelled, joining them in the living room. "Incase you all forgot we were attacked by a pair of powerful demons just last week. We need to train and prepare, but you all wanna go galivanting at some festival out in public?!"

"Jeez, you know Arata you're probably the sexiest wet blanket I've ever met," Maria sighed, crossing her arms indignantly.

I blushed and stammered. "D…don't call me that! Basara you just said-."

"Oh come on Arata, what's the harm?" He said. "It's just one night, besides it's Golden Week we got time off from school let's enjoy it a bit!"

"But what about our training?!" I shot back at him. "You just agreed we need to be ready! Neither of us are nearly as good as we were back at the village, we need to be ready for-."

"I'm sure next time you see your Senpai and Kurumi you'll be in great shape," Basara said, reaching out his hand for my head. "But for tonight we can just- OWWWW!"

"If you ever try to pet my head like that again I'll break every one of your fingers," I told him as the minute he put his hand on my head I grabbed it and twisted it around until I heard a snap. Of course a regular humans hand would have been broken instantly.

Basara however, only smirked and yanked his hand away. "Oho, you think you're tough now huh?"

"Tougher then you asshole."

"You're so cute when you're angry," My brother said, smirking still. "What's wrong, scared of seeing girls in yukata?"

"I'm scared of the bill for fixing the wall when I throw you through it," I said, shoving him away from me, to which he just laughed. "Seriously! It's not happening, Mio and Maria you stay put, Basara you and me are going to-."

"Oh please, Arata!"

"Gah get off me!" I yelled at Mio as she clung to my arm.

She didn't budge, not that I tried hard to push her off. My arm got pulled between her chest and she looked up practically pleading.

"I've never been to a festival like this before and I've always wanted too!" She begged, squeezing and pulling my arm even closer. "I promise I'll make sure Basara trains with you tomorrow!"

"Hey! Don't promise things for me," Basara yelled.

I stammered. Mio's eyes were so wide and not once since I'd known her had she really begged for anything like this. Suddenly, the story about her my Dad had told us came flooding back into my mind, how her old life had been ripped away from her, her old parents killed. Had she really never gotten to go to a festival like this before? Dad had dragged Basara and me to a few before, and I never really enjoyed them, fireworks were too loud, and the food was always expensive, I also just didn't like being around that many people.

I really didn't see any advantage to going to any festival, if I was being practical, both me and Basara's time would have been better spent training that night.

But… am I really going to say no to her? I asked myself, looking down at the pleading eyes she gave me.

"Yeah please Arata!"

"GYAH! Dammit Maria!" I yelled as the succubus clung to my other arm.

"We'll stay right with you the whole time if you want!" Maria added to Mio's begging. "We just wanna go and have fun in yukatas! Come on, please, please, pleaseeeeeeee!"

"Please Arata! Pleaseeee come on!" Mio begged equally from the other arm.

My body tingled, my face went red and I desperately wanted both of my arms back, but the two of them just held onto me, repeating heir begging over and over. Worst of all, I looked back at Basara who was trying to contain a laugh.

"Please!"

"Please Arata let us go!"

"Pleaseeeeeeee!"

"UGH FINE! YOU WIN!" I finally yelled, my face nearly exploding as I yanked my arms away from them, turning away not daring to let them look at the front half of me. "WE CAN GO JUST SHUT UP!"

"YAAAYYYYYY!" Mio and Maria both yelled, their jubilation evident.

"Haha, thanks Arata!" Mio said happily, walking past me towards the steps. "Maria, lets go see if those old yukatas still fit!"

"Right behind you!" Maria yelled, rushing up towards the steps with her.

I growled as they passed me. "Jeez… I really am going soft."

"Soft on them but hard in other places huh? Ha, and you call me a perv," Basara said, as I felt his hand on my arm. "You really are just a big softy on the inside aren't you little bro- GYAH!"

*CRASH*

"I'll take it from them but not you," I told Basara walking past him and the now flipped over couch I'd punched him into. "I'm going to wherever this festival is and scouting the place out."

I groaned as I grabbed my jacket and walked towards the door past my groaning brother.

I needed to get out, I didn't need him to see me secretly smiling.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Mio

"You know, you didn't have to come with me," Arata said, hands in his pockets.

"I know, but I couldn't just let you do it on your own!" I protested, rushing to catch up to him. "I told you already I won't stand by and just be protected!"

"I appreciate the sentiment, but we're supposed to be protecting you," He said. "But you do realize I'm scouting for threats to you right? So if I ran into one, you would also be in danger, kinda defeats the purpose of scouting out threats to you don't you think?"

I stammered, Arata did that all the time, he used stupid logic to make me feel stupid. Still, I was coming to learn that was just part of his personality, he was stubborn, know it all, and frankly a big jerk sometimes.

But he'd still never let me down, and I didn't think he was ever going too. I also sometimes caught him doing little things, like watching me when he saw me at school, doing my extra laundry, making my bed in the morning when I forgot, always making breakfast, dinner, tea exactly how I wanted it. Yes, he wasn't as outwardly affectionate as Basara was, Basara seemed to wear his heart on his sleeve, while Arata kept it buried beneath a few layers, which was fine to me, because I could see it shine through at times. Like just now, when I had begged him to let me go and look at the festival grounds with him, and he'd reluctantly let me come with him when I begged a bit.

He wasn't one for long emotional speeches… but I still finally felt like I could trust him.

"I… well, I suppose you're right, I just-."

"What am I gonna do with you…" He sighed, he looked down and with a small smile reached out and patted my head. "Just stay close alright. We don't know if any demons are still lingering around here. I did just fight here not long ago."

I felt my face heat up as I slowly nodded, and he smiled. It was rare, but I liked it when he did.

After removing his hand, he looked around the park. "I still can't believe this place is completely unharmed, he really put up a barrier before we fought… asshole."

"Isn't that a good thing that he did?" I asked him as we stood in the middle of dozens of stalls.

He sharply inhaled, and I almost laughed at how embarrassed he looked. He hadn't told me about his first fight with that Demon Samurai Akune. I'd heard him complaining about it multiple times though, which I didn't really understand, he'd won in the end, and according to Yuki and Basara accessed a sword technique normally impossible for every other swordsman.

It was a cool day, the sun was bright but the wind was chilly enough that Arata in addition to his black jeans had on a brown coat, his messy brown hair gently tossed back thanks to the wind. Around us, there were dozens of people setting up multiple stalls for the festival that night. Every time I saw a new one being filled I got more and more excited, I had never gotten a chance to go to one of these before… and now I got to go with Basara and Arata. Arata had said he wanted to scout out the location, but I had a feeling that deep down he was just as excited as I was to be going later.

He turned away from me, red faced. "It's not a bad thing! It's just… god dammit, I just… can't stand that I kinda like him."

I scoffed with a laugh. "Like him?"

"Not in any positive way, I guess you could call it a type of respect," Arata said, looking down at his sword hand. "It's something about the way he fought. He didn't take cheap shots, he matched me blow for blow and didn't back down, he showed me respect as a fighter, it's something a swordsman like me can always appreciate. That's what he is… yeah, he's a true warrior."

The whole idea may have sounded a bit silly coming from anyone but Arata, but from what I'd learned about him the last few weeks it really did mean a lot to him. I'd met people before who joked about 'wanting to be a hero', or 'wanting to be a warrior', but Arata? He and Basara were really the first ones who really seemed to encapsulate what I thought of as a hero.

Someone who was willing to risk everything for the ones they loved, no matter what they had to do.

"I… see, I won't pretend to understand any warrior code or anything," I told him, not wanting to waste this chance to deepen my bond with him. "But I think what you did was awesome Arata. You beat that demon-."

"He beat me too; I don't really consider it a win."

I puffed out my cheeks, he did that too, he interrupted all the time. He was talking to me yes, but he also hadn't moved along like I expected him too, he was standing in the middle of everyone rushing and bustling around. I couldn't tell what he was doing, he was speaking to me, but seemed focused on something else.

He must be scouting, he did tell me his sword sensed when enemies are nearby, maybe he's just checking for them, I thought, deciding to trust him with the scouting, I hadn't come to scout with him really anyway. I'd come to spend more time with him and see the festival grounds myself.

And… for a much more selfish reason.

"Well, I still think it was awesome!" I said, trying to sound upbeat, I stepped closer and looked up at the side of his face. "That ability, Yuki and Basara told me about it, Heavenly Eye, they said pretty much nobody else can do it!"

He stopped his scouting for a minute and stammered. "That… that isn't true. I'm sure by now Senpai can use Heavenly Eye at will. My Dad can do it, I'm just a product of that… yeah, him and Senpai."

I did my best not to scream. For the first few weeks I'd heard him mention her, I hadn't thought anything at all. But now, whenever I heard him mention this Senpai, I felt a flash of annoyance shoot up my chest. He talked about her and Kurumi, Yuki's sister all the time. Kurumi I understood, but the more I heard about this 'Senpai' an apparent 'Big Sister' to him, the more jealous I felt. I knew it was stupid jealously, but I couldn't help it.

If I was really going to pay Arata back for all he'd done, I needed to be just as good a sister to him, and I found myself ready to do almost anything. If that meant being the best big sister I could, I'd do it! I knew that… he didn't have any interest in me romantically, in my body, but that wasn't going to stop me, I'd earn his trust in other ways. Each time I thought about it, I got upset, upset at no matter what he said now, what he promised, at the moment I wasn't even his second favorite sister.

No… I'm stuck behind this Senpai of his AND Yuki! I thought horridly, feeling myself blush, before a shot of determination ran up my chest.

"Well, I still thought it was amazing!" I told him, annoyed he still didn't look at me. "Although… I won't pretend to understand what it really is."

He shook his head. "No… I wouldn't expect you too."

He took one step closer to me, still not looking down at me, his eyes were narrowed past the crowd, on the stalls, on the trees and rest of the park behind them. I was about to say something, but he spoke up again.

"Heavenly Eye, reaching the Void, nothingness, going past absolute zero. Clear your mind of all other desires, sharpen it, focus on your goal, all of your mind body and spirit," He said, slowly leaning down near my feet. "If you can do this, if you can reach nothingness, reach the Void, go past zero… you can cut through even fate itself. That's Heavenly Eye, putting your all into one goal, clearing your mind of all other desires… at least that's what Senpai always said."

My face got red and I balled my fists. "Well, I suppose she really is that great then if you're saying it all the time!"

"She is, she paid attention to me when nobody else would, gave me and Kurumi a chance nobody else would," Arata said as he came back up with a small pebble in his hand. His eyes looked almost sad, but I saw him smile. "Dad was always away… and the adults? They didn't want to focus on anyone but Basara and Yuki, made me feel like I just didn't have the talent, like I'd be stuck forever, but Senpai? She didn't see it that way, she promised me I could be a hero, just like everyone else, and that's what she trained me to be."

I felt a ping in my chest, and suddenly, very guilty. Arata himself had told me I had to work on letting my jealousy get the best of me.

"O…Oh… I see, she does sound great then," I said quietly, my chest ready to burst out through my sweater. My chest did explode and I grabbed onto one of his arms. "Arata! I… I really want to be the best sister I-."

"Get down."

I didn't have time to react before I saw his hand rear back. I yelped and ducked. Arata spun towards me and chucked the small stone that was in his hands past my head. His aim was so precise that while some people yelped and glared over at him, the stone hadn't hit anyone. It flew past the people, and between two stalls flying into the grass right near a tree in the park that wasn't far behind. A loud *YELP* sound came, followed by a small animal rushing out from behind the tree.

An animal I recognized.

"A… fox?" I said confused, turning back to Arata. "That's so weird, I just saw one-."

"The other night, I saw one too, and I'm betting it's the same one," He said, his eyes harder and more narrowed down the street of stalls now. "I think it's been trailing us these last few days."

My eyes went wide. "What?! How can you be sure, there's probably dozens of foxes in the park!"

"Yeah, but none of them are going to have a magic signature like this one," He said, grabbing my wrist. "That thing… it's on the level of a demon."

"A demon?! Demons can really just shapeshift like that?" I asked, grabbing onto his arm.

"I bet it's a kitsune, fox yokai, sometimes they're good, sometimes they're bad, I'm not interested in finding out," He said, before his eyes fell on one stall. "And just like I thought… it went running right back to them…"

"Huh?! To who?" I asked right away.

"Four stalls down, behind it, they've got a black coat and a hood," Arata said, his voice growing tenser. "They've followed us this whole time, I was waiting to see if they left. I bet the fox was scouting for them… they've got good presence concealment it's lucky I sensed them."

My eyes followed Arata to where he was looking. Sure enough he was right, jeans, a black coat with the hood up obscuring their face. They had a slender frame but looked to be athletic enough, and while I didn't sense anything from them, Arata surely did. The fox ran behind the stall that the person was waiting at, and my stomach dropped when I felt Arata grip my wrist tighter.

"Mio, you're going to listen okay?" He said, not letting his eye leave the person. "Stay close to me, text Basara tell him what I said, we're going the long way around the park to try and lose them. Do not stray too far at all okay?"

I blinked, my heart racing. "Do… do you think it could be another demon like Akune and Lars?"

"I sure hope not," He said, finally looking back down at me. "Now come on lets- GO!"

He grabbed my wrist and started running. I yelped and almost tripped as I ran to keep up with him.

I looked back, and the person who had been following us was already gone.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Mio

"They're persistent I'll give them that!" Arata yelled as we got to the top of the park, right where the other night I had been saved by him and Basara.

I came to a stop with him, my hands on my knees panting. "I… I don't see them anymore did we lose them?!"

"No, they're concealing their presence and well too," Arata said, looking around frantically at the ruins, the tress, and everything else, his hand near his waist. "Did Basara text you back?!"

"Let… let me check," I said, pulling my phone from my skirt pocket, relief washed over me. "Oh, thank god! Basara said he and Maria are on their-."

"MIO!"

*CRASH*

I didn't have time to react, but thankfully Arata did. He dashed forward and picked me up before jumping to the ground. We rolled for a bit and I came up spitting out dirt while Arata quickly shot back to his feet, I turned around and my eyes went wide when I realized the spot we'd been standing in was completely blackened, a new crater where we'd been only a few seconds prior. I looked up at Arata and felt relief when I saw that he was okay too. Lighting started bouncing around his arms, I heard the distant bang of thunder as above us, darker clouds started rolling in.

"T…thanks!" I said, getting up and feeling magic come to my hands. I stood back-to-back with him and scanned the treeline.

I couldn't see anything now. The ruins were still a wreck from the previous night Basara and Arata fought the demons, but luckily there were no humans around. I felt a surge of power running up my arm as around us, the lightning and thunder clouds started rolling in, since they were so close my elemental lightning magic in addition to my demon power was going to be increased. Arata wasn't an expert on demon magic, he claimed he was nothing compared to Yuuki's sister Kurumi, but he'd still sat me down and taught me as much as he could, how to funnel magical energy, how to disperse it so it was useful to you, between him and Maria I liked to think I had some kind of control over it now, not a lot, but some.

I felt my nerves start to tingle when he was silent. "A…Arata, do you see them?!"

"No… dammit!" He cursed; his back staying leaned against hers. "I know they didn't run away they… huh?!"

My eyes widened as I looked up around up. "What's that?! It's only the afternoon the sun won't do down for hours, what… what's with the sky?!"

"A barrier… someone's put up a bounded field," Arata slowly said, looking up around them. "If this is Akune again I swear I'll-."

"Arata right there!" I yelled, panic welling over me when I finally spotted someone.

Arata was right about the barrier. I realized it now, as around us, the sky was blotted out, you could still see, there was light but a yellow tinge set over the entire park. It was going to keep magic in and keep humans from seeing what was happening. My blood wouldn't stop racing as magic kept flowing through my hands and my magic circle got bigger. Next to me, Arata's gaze narrowed up to where I had pointed.

It wasn't the barrier that had frightened me, it was the person who'd been following us. And now, they weren't alone. Two figures stood above them, ontop of the broken stone pillars from their previous battle, black hoods obscured their faces, but when I looked above them, a miniature storm was brewing, dark clouds floated in above them, and my face suddenly started to feel wet, as I realized it was raining inside the barrier now.

Arata stepped up in front of me. "I'm guessing you were the one following us, and the other is your kitsune, the fox you had following us."

I stood behind Arata and looked up at them. The two figures didn't move, although one did seem almost giddy, practically bouncing on their toes. Arata clearly didn't take too kindly to his words not being acknowledged, because as was usual when Arata got angry, a loud boom of thunder clapped that almost made me jump.

"Who sent you both?! The Demon Lord? Lars? Akune?" He yelled again, and when he received no answer again he growled. "I know you've had that fox watching us since that fight a few nights ago, what the hell are you getting at?!"

Nothing, no response again, my chest started beating at an alarming rate.

"A…Arata… what do we do?" I asked him quietly, ready to throw magic if I had too.

Arata sighed and held out his hand. With another clap of thunder his sword appeared in his hand. The blood red katana was wet but crackled with lightning when it appeared, and with another clap of thunder, a second smaller katana appeared in Arata's other hand.

"You know, I really hate bad guys like you, quit being dramatic!" He yelled, thunder coming again as the rain started. "Come down here and… huh?! What the hell is…"

"The… the rain! Arata the rain it… it's…" I stammered, watching the drops of rain around them from Arata's storm come to a complete stop.

The wind started shifting around them. I looked and saw the drops of rain start to blow with the wind, it almost knocked me off my feet. I stumbled from the power of the gusts and even saw Arata almost fall as well, he cursed and grabbed the ground to steady himself, and then grabbed onto my arm and pulled me back up. He planted his feet on the ground and with lightning in his eyes looked back up towards their followers.

And when he did, his eyes went wide. "What…?"

I followed his eyes as the rain was all swept away, the droplets all spun in the wind upwards, all the way to the sword one of their attackers had pulled out. They held it up in their air and it glew with a bright blue light as the rain, the wind, the storm itself was swirling around the blade of the sword. The second one seemed to giggle and jumped away, but now, Arata and I were defenseless on the ground.

"What… what is that?! I've never seen anything like it," I asked Arata, my eyes couldn't leave the display above me. "Arata, have you-."

"MIO RUN!" Arata yelled.

"Huh?!" I said, turning to him, before I saw him reach for me. "Arata! What's- ARGHHHH!"

He grabbed me by the arm and physically tossed me back. I was going to yell at him for it, but when I looked up I saw the massive swirl of storm and energy leap down from the ruins. I screamed but I couldn't move fast enough. It smashed down towards Arata and I felt the very park itself start to shake beneath my feet. A giant cloud of smoke shot up into the air, and it was followed by a bolt of lightning.

"ARATA!" I yelled, relief filling my body as he was still in one piece.

His eyes were exploding with lightning and so were his blades as the attacker had leapt down and smashed their sword into both of Arata's. I looked at the sword and didn't recognize it as any kind I'd seen before. It was straight with wavy ridges; I had no idea what it was but it wasn't a katana like Arata's. Arata's eyes were wide as he pushed back with both his swords and eventually pushed the attacker back. They leapt, their hood still up, but from their figure becoming clearer it almost looked like….

Is that… is that a woman?! I thought, quickly getting up with magic in my hands. "Arata! I'm here, I'll help you-."

"NO! Mio go run and find Basara!" He yelled back at her. "They're on a completely different-."

He didn't have time to finish the sentence before his attacker shot forward. They moved so fast that Mio didn't even see them until their sword clashed down and locked Arata's. I saw a look in Arata's eyes then that I had never thought I'd see. It was something that looked so foreign on him that it was scary even to me.

He was completely and utterly outclassed, and he knew it.

Arata tried to block the strikes that came, but they were incomprehensible to me even from a short distance away, I couldn't imagine what they looked like up close. Arata knocked the wavy sword away and leapt backwards, lightning crashed between the two of them and Arata's armor appeared, the sleek samurai armor was dripping with wet condensation and now he held one sword in his hand. He looked like he was ready to strike back out, but before he could even go to swing his sword back a gust of wind sent him back and slamming into a tree.

He coughed up blood, and before I could even scream his attacker didn't relent. Arata rolled away and when they swung their sword next a new gust of wind smashed into him and sent him flying backwards further away from me. I heard him yelling as he smashed into more trees before his attacker with hood still up bounded through the woods after him.

"Arata!" I yelled, rushing through the field after him. It had stopped raining with Arata being knocked back. Despite what he told me, and how obviously powerful this attacker was, I wasn't going to leave him alone. "I won't let you d-."

"Ahahaha, Mio Naruse, you're just as pretty up close!" A voice cut me off, followed by a large wall of purple magic stopping me in my place.

"Huh?! Who's there?!" I yelled, spinning back around to see another hooded figure. My hand went up, magic ready to explode. "I'm not afraid of you! I'll kill you a hundred times right here!"

"Aha, I'm sure you will! Oh you are just so adorable!" The voice said, clearly a woman's. She held up her fingers and snapped, making a golden light envelope her. "Not as cute as that Arata is! Ah, he's so gallant jumping in front of his sister like that, yes, I know now for certain I've made the right choice!"

My mouth fell open, my eyes widened as I kept my hand up ready to fire if I needed to. However, my concentration almost completely collapsed when I saw her without the hood on. Arata had been right about her being a fox spirit, a kitsune… and he'd been right, her magic signature was extremely powerful, almost on par with mine, I could feel it. Her fox ears were bushy and standing straight up, and her tail wagged back and forth excitedly.

But her beauty dwarfed all of that. Long pink hair that was tied above her head with a ribbon and fell down both her shoulders. A blue kimono with a golden obi sash, long black stockings and sandals. She was regal, more beautiful then anyone I'd ever seen, but the strangest part was the mirror, a mirror gently floated around her, and I could sense a massive amount of magical energy from it.

Despite all of that however…

Why… does she have that look on her face?! I thought, as while she was certainly intimidating enough, she had a fond, daydreaming look on her face, her hands held together she cooed and it sent a shiver down my spine.

"You're both after Arata then…?!" I yelled back to her, as I tried to not get distracted. "Why are you after him, and what do you mean you 'made the right choice?'"

She cooed even more, her voice high, practically gushing. "The right choice to be my new husband of course! Yes! I'm going to make that boy mine and be the best wife I can be!"

"HUSBAND?!"

My knees started to shake, as my mind exploded, what in the world was the fox talking about marrying Arata for?! Wasn't she just here to try and attack us?!

"Aha! He'll be my new husband, oh he's so sweet with his tough little tsundere act! But the minute I saw his true compassionate gallant nature I fell in love!"

I groaned with my magic still active. "You would get along well with Maria…"

The fox sighed and shook her head. "I'd go fix him right up now, but after all I did make a deal with Miya. I promised her some alone time with her kouhai, and I'd test you here. I still don't understand why we had to do this and couldn't have just gone to your house!"

That made my heart drop to my stomach. I slowly put my hand down, my head ringing. "Wait… did you Miya? And… her Kouhai?! Wait, does that mean-."

"But I won't pretend to understand the minds of heroes, who knows maybe it's a fetish thing with the two of them," The fox said, ignoring me. She narrowed her eyes across the field, the mirror floated next to her, and I saw my reflection in it from across the field.

The fox then held up her hands and snapped again. A shadow overtook me, a purple shadow, I looked up and saw a massive wall of purple magic circles, and when I looked back to the fox, her gentle giddy smile was gone, replaced with narrowed eyes and straight lips. She held out her hand and pointed directly towards me, and I could feel her power exploding.

"But no matter what, I'll honor my promise, prepare yourself Mio Naruse, show me the power you wish to one day master," She said, the magic circles growing with each word. "I am Tamamo no Mae! The great nine-tailed kitsune, if you wish to one day be worthy of your power, come at me with everything you have!"

My mouth fell open again and fight away my own magic circles formed behind me.

T…Tamamo no Mae?! Arata told me about her, she's one of the Three Great Yokai, and she's probably the most famous… I thought, narrowing my eyes as magic exploded from my fingertips.

I gritted my teeth as more of my magic circles formed behind me, it didn't matter who she was, what she said was right. I needed to master this power, I couldn't let myself continue to be a burden to Basara and Arata after they'd done so much for me.

"If that's what you want then I won't hold back at all!" I yelled back. "I don't care if you're one of the Great Yokai, if you're after Arata I'll stop you here!"

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Arata

"I can't… remember the last time I got my ass kicked like this…" I groaned, pushing myself to my feet. Dirt fell from my armor, and I scooped up my one sword, spinning around in place looking for the one who attacked me. "Dammit… the one time I could use him."

I'd certainly never admit it to his face, but in that moment I wished Basara was with me. It'd make the whole situation a lot calmer for me, having someone watch my back. My eyes scanned the trees, nobody had come yet, but I could sense the magical presence, the sheer overwhelming power of whoever it was that was attacking me.

But she did take me off guard… I'm ready now, I hope Mio's okay… I thought as I scanned the trees. I could tell whoever it was, was a woman by their build and the sounds they made when they attacked. Even if I wanted to get back to Mio right now, I knew I'd be cut off, so there was no point in trying. I'd been protecting her the last month, I had to trust her abilities now.

"That sword… it controlled the water, the wind…" I said quietly, as the clearing was completely silent. "I doubt that's her only… huh?

A shadow overtook me, and I looked up just before I could be knocked away.

"LIGHTNING GODS SWORD!"

My one sword exploded with lightning and grew in length. Above me I felt water drops on my head as a massive sword of water was coming crashing down. I yelled and brought my sword up, the lightning smashed into the water and I leapt back just before a massive *BOOM* sent up a huge plume of staticky smoke. I looked and saw a massive, long crater formed on the ground, and a sinking realization set in.

"Even that attack… it overpowered me," I thought, shooting to my feet and trying to see through the fog. "I need to think of-."

I shut up and yelled out when I swung my sword again. A long crescent shaped blast of energy came speeding towards me. My sword smashed it away but when I touched it my arms shook, it made my knees buckle, and when I blinked another came out of the smoke, and then another. I knocked them both away, but the last one sent me stumbling backwards.

My mouth went numb, as I knew what they were. "That… was from void stance…"

My mind started going a mile a minute, more smoke formed around me and I knew the girl could be anywhere. If she knew how to use void stance, a form of Niten-Ichi-Ryu, I knew I had to be dealing with someone from the village, only a few ever learned the Tanaka's secret fighting style like I had.

I let out a shaky breath, trying to concentrate and held out my hand. "Third configuration…"

The second sword appeared in my left hand, and I slowly held up the both of them, falling into water stance, one of the fight styles of Niten-Ichi-Ryu.

And the minute I did the smoke clear.

"HYAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

*CLANG*

The sound almost made my ears bleed, as I looked directly up into the hood of the woman as her wavy sword that had controlled the wind pressed down on mine. She moved so fast I had no chance to make out any discernible features as she leapt back and across from me. Once the smoke had finally cleared, she stood with her sword in both hands, hood still up somehow.

"Did the village send you?! Mio's not been made an elimination target yet!" I yelled over at her, and when I got silence in return I growled and held up both swords in water stance still. "If you're going to be quiet then I guess I'll just beat it out of you!"

I couldn't see her face, but I was sure she smirked. She held out her wavy sword in one hand. It disappeared in a puff off yellow light just like my sword always did… and that was when she reached for her waist. She pushed back the cloak she'd been wearing and underneath it, I saw two katanas. She slid them both out of her belt with precision, and when she did… my heart exploded and nearly burst my chest open.

"That… stance…." I said, my mind and body starting to feel numb. My arms almost fell from the stance I was in, my mind focusing on both her swords. "I… I haven't-."

"HYAAH!"

She didn't give me time to think because she attacked again.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Mio

"Ahahaha! Not bad at all Mio!" The fox yelled floating up on the mirror now as she annoyingly dodged every blast of magic I sent her way. "You've been learning to channel the magic better haven't you?! Did my future husband teach you that, aw, he's so gallant isn't he?"

"UGH SHUT UP!" I yelled, as fire exploded from my hands. It should have been enough to set the entire park ablaze, but annoyingly the fox raised her mirror shot from under her feet to absorb the magic and send it flying back into the sky. "I won't let you kill Arata, I don't care who you are!"

"Huh? I don't want to kill him; I want to marry him!"

"WELL I WON'T LET YOU DO THAT EITHER!" I yelled stomping my foot indignantly.

As I did, a massive blast of magic exploded out from all of the magic circles that formed behind me. My eyes went wide, I hadn't meant to shoot them all. Despite being inside a barrier I didn't want to destroy everything around me, my eyes went wide as all the blasts shot towards the fox woman. I almost yelled for her to get out of the way when I saw the massive explosion of red magic shooting towards her, my energy felt drained and I even stumbled to one knee as I looked up and saw the fox with a calm expression on her face.

Then, she smiled with a sigh and held up her hand. "You cannot hope to control magic power like this if you can't control your own emotions now, Mio Naruse."

"Wait!" I yelled out. "What are you-."

*BOOOM* I had closed my eyes when the explosion sent up a large plume of smoke. I felt the ground shake, but when I opened my eyes the magic simply swirled in place. Above the ground, the massive swirling ball of magic that I had fired, the magic from my father, the power of a demon lord was being held in place by one woman. Of course, my magic now wasn't nearly as powerful as it could be… but seeing her hold it there with one hand, it sent a pang of jealousy up my chest.

I saw her chuckle, her pink hair blew back behind her as she snapped her fingers, and her own magic circles appeared. They were massive, purple and radiated more magical energy then I could ever hope to muster in my current state. The swirl of my magic that was shot towards her was consumed by her magic, and with a loud *CRACK* was snuffed out like a fire at the end of the night. It sent up a massive plume of smoke in the barrier, and I could only fall to my knees, my head spinning.

"That… that was…" I muttered quietly, looking down at my fingers, my chest ready to collapse. "I never stood a chance… not against magic like that… how… how will I-."

"Of course you didn't stand a chance! That's because you haven't had a teacher like me yet!"

"GYAH! GET BACK!" I yelled as my heart exploded. The fox woman was right behind me, only a foot away so instinctively I brought my hand up and fired.

She only laughed and held her hand up as well. The two blasts of magic collided and sent me flying backwards. I braced myself, ready to slam into a tree… but I never hit one. I looked and realized, my body had been caught and encased in a bright purple magic light. I panicked and tried to wriggle free, but then I looked in front of me, I hovered just off the ground and the fox girl sighed as she walked in front of me with her hand out controlling the magic.

She clicked her tongue and looked genuinely upset. "Blasting first and asking questions later always got me into heaps of trouble over the last few thousand years. I'd prefer if you didn't fall down that same path, or who knows… perhaps they'll brand you a monster."

The magic that was holding me disappeared and my legs crumbled beneath me. Panic shot through me as I looked up at the fox girl. She raised her hand again above me, and I tried to scramble back or shoot more magic, but my body wouldn't respond. I was completely drained and the girl didn't even have a scratch on her, I had used all I had and still hadn't touched her… and now I was going to pay for it. I had felt useless plenty of times the last few weeks… but this was when I felt it the most.

"Ahhh…." She sighed, and instead of blasting me with magic, her head patted down on mind. "I suppose we'll have to work on that. We're going to have so much fun together Mio!"

My heart almost stopped. I looked up and saw her hand patting my head. She knelt down and hugged her knees, a huge smile returning to her face. She was even more beautiful up close, and the pang of jealously shooting up my chest only grew harder. Still, my mind started becoming awash with questions. What was one of the most legendary spirits in Japanese history doing here, and why were they attacking Arata and me?!

But then, something she said rang in my brain.

"Wait… you mentioned someone named Miya didn't you?!" I said, as I scrambled to my feet. "Is it Arata's-."

"Oh, wait one moment, it seems someone's trying get into the barrier," The fox said, smirking, she snapped her fingers. "Ahaha, even a banishing shift won't work on one of my barriers! Unless it's a full one of course."

"GYAHHHH!" "OWWWWW!"

My eyes went wide, as when she snapped her fingers, two people fell to the ground. I heard the clanging of a sword and when I saw them a shot of relief ran through me.

"Basara, Maria!"

"Mio! Ugh get off Basara!" Maria yelled, pushing Basara's legs off her as he groaned. "Are you okay?! Where's Ar…."

"Ow…" Basara groaned as he sat up and shot to his feet. "Mio! What happened?! For Arata to ask for help it has to be… who are you?!"

Basara's hand went to his sword as Maria rushed over to me. The sword materialized and Basara pointed it at the fox girl, but she didn't seem phased by the weapon pointed at her. Instead, she looked more curious. She pursed her lips and with a snap she disappeared.

"Huh…? Where did she, HEY! Get off me!" Basara yelled swinging his sword wildly behind him.

"Mhm… so you're the Basara Tojo everyone talks about…" The fox said, and even when Basara swung his sword around, she just vanished again. She vanished and reappeared, examining Basara as if he was some kind of foreign object. She clicked her tongue and sighed as she appeared inches in front of him. "I don't really get what they're all gushing over! You're handsome yes but lack a certain gravitas! Unlike my beloved Arata! Yes, he has just what I'm looking for! We'll live happily… Hey! Swinging a sword at a lady's head is rude you know!"

Basara's sword had come around to swing near her neck, but she held up her hand and magically held the sword in place. The fox pouted and pushed Basara's sword away and Basara stumbled back.

"Honestly you're all so mean!" She said, a disappointed look on her face. "I hope Miya's little game with her kouhai is worth it! Huh… I guess I should introduce myself again! Tamamo no Mae! A great nine-tailed-."

"Miya?!" Basara cut her off. "Miya?! Miyamoto Tana-."

*BOOOM*

"What was that?!" Maria yelled as she helped me up to my feet. "And why… why is the rain stopping like this…?"

I looked around, the four of us did, and the rain that had been falling again stopped in place. If I reached out my hand I could poke one of the drops, but before I could try it all of them were sucked towards the trees, like tiny shards of ice they sped past everyone's face towards the woods where I had seen Arata get sent flying.

Tamamo sighed as she put her hands on her hips. "There she goes, getting overly excited again. Well, I can't say I blame her! She loves her kouhai after all!"

I didn't have time to say anything, because I saw Basara's eyes go wide and rush past us.

"Wait, Basara!" Maria said, turning to me. "Mio what's going on-."

"ARATA! BASARA!" I yelled, rushing after him.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Arata

I never expected to see you again like this for the first time… but it's actually fitting… I thought, smiling as I watched both swords come one after another. It was just like I remembered, every single move, every single strike, it was as beautiful as she was under that hood. Her movement, her blade alignment, her footwork, each blow being so perfectly precise. It was and still was to me, the most beautiful display of swordsmanship I had ever seen. All I could do was move to meet her strikes, and still I knew she was holding back.

And this made me realize another truth. I was still so dreadfully behind, not nearly as strong as I needed to be, I hadn't come close to perfecting Niten-Ichi-Ryu, perfecting the art of the sword, perfecting the power she and Dad always told me I had.

But it doesn't matter, I'll get there, I'll attain this level of swordsmanship, I'll reach the void and my style will be as beautiful as you! I thought, my heart lurching out of my chest as she swung the wavy sword towards me. I leaned back and watched it soar over my head, I leapt backwards and kicked my foot up. It hit her sword, but she stayed on balance and leapt back as well. Her hood was still up, but I recognized the stances now. Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Void… she switched between them all, and now, I even heard her giggle, which turned into a laugh.

Hearing that… made my heart nearly explode, and I smiled, as I sheathed both red swords into my waist and leaned forward slightly with my hand on one. I could already see the rain stopping and the water floating over to her sword, the wavy sword which I knew was as legendary as mine. She held it with one hand above her head, and I could feel the water in the air, the very moisture in the sky all rushing towards that blade. I knew what she was doing, she'd never unleash the true power of it… but that didn't mean she wasn't going to test me.

"Ha… you really are the only one crazy enough to do something like this," I yelled across to her, leaning down, as I placed my hand on my sword again. I looked back up my face exploded with a smile. "You could have just come to the house but… that would have been awfully boring! This is just like you!"

I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt that giddy, as I leaned down and felt another crack of lightning strike nearby as I grabbed the hilt of my sword again. If she was really here to see how far I'd come, then I wanted to show her exactly how far I'd come, even if I knew I still had a monumental gap to leap over to reach her level.

I sucked in a deep breath and looked over at her, as her sword collected power and so did mine. "Namu, Tenman, Daijzai Tenjin! Nioh Kurikara, shotenshou!"

"Oh sacred water… trickle and flow, rush to the sea like a star," Her voice was commanding and powerful, just as I always remembered.

I unslung Takemikazuchi and with both hands on it my hair blew up from the wind and lightning, it's massive beam of light sprung to life from my sword stretching up to the sky. Across from me, I saw the water from the rain, the wind, magic spiral from her sword as she held it in front of her face before raising it like I did. I felt a surge of adrenaline rush through my body, I knew she was just like me, I'd learned it from her, this was what swordsman lived for, the chance to face opponents like this, it was why I'd actually enjoyed my fight with Akune.

"Open the gates, the path to his power. With my god I'll cut a path to righteousness! I'll severe your essence, my sword is my soul, my path to the void!"

"This is life, drops of creation from which the very stars were formed!"

I really think I hadn't smiled more then I had that day as I unleashed the pent-up power, the beacon, the beam of power from my sword exploding with lightning and magic.

Across from me, the water exploded from the top of the sword. My face was wide with a smile as I saw the form of a massive eight headed water dragon explode out of it.

"ISHANA DAITENSHOU!"

"SPECIAL TECNHIQUE: EIGHT-CURRENT RAGING STORM!"

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Arata

"Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi… so this is the power of a divine construct, the power of the earliest heroes of the Clan," I whispered, my bones aching as I protected my eyes from the debris. "Man… I still have a long way to go."

But despite that fact for the first time in weeks, I felt happy. The two attacks had collided and shook the very ground beneath us. If not for the barrier I had no doubt it would have destroyed the town at the least, I had no idea who had set up the barrier, I could only assume it was the Kitsune she was with, but she had to have serious skill with magic to be able to have her barrier withstand such a massive collision of power and not shatter. A steamy cloud shot up from the lightning and torrent of water colliding, and I felt giddy at the idea that neither of us had really been at full power.

I knew Kusanagi had to have even more power then she'd just shown… and as for my sword? That was it's greatest attack, but someone like me was far from bringing out its full potential, and I also knew there was power hidden within the sword I'd yet to even master despite all the reading and practice I'd done. My armor had disappeared, but my red katana was still in hand, my knees were buckling but I was proud of myself for at least staying on my feet after using the attack this time.

With just a little more power she would have obliterated me… but I was happy I lost, for the first time ever. Not because of the loss itself… but because I knew what this meant.

"She… she really came… like Yuki said," I whispered, my heart was racing. After smiling for a few minutes, I came to a horrible realization. "Oh shit I look horrible! I… I'm not nearly as sharp as… wait… where did she-."

"ARATA!" "ARATAAAAAA!"

I spun around to see all three of Basara, Maria and thankfully Mio running towards me. None of them had any weapons out, so I had to assume they were out of danger. After thinking we were under a serious attack, seeing Basara actually set my mind at ease. Of course, I wasn't going to tell him that though.

"Jeez Basara, what the hell took you so long?" I said, walking to meet them. "Were you busy jerking off or some-."

"ARATA!" It was Mio who yelled and pointed behind me as she sprinted.

I heard the whoosh of wind and felt the kick at my legs way too late. If it had been anyone else attacking me I probably would have been able to react in time.

However, she wasn't just anyone.

"GYAH!" I yelled as I was tripped, dropped my sword, and looked up to see her, I saw her bright blue eyes and the strands of her hair falling out of it. "DAMMIT-."

My heartbeat loudly in my chess, even after all these years… my face still got red looking at her.

She caught my hand before I fell. I saw the smile under her hood, and for a moment I was really speechless. She didn't look that different all these years later, she was the same, but yet somehow stronger. I tried to say something, as she held onto my shirt with the wavy sword poked gently to my chest, but there were no words that I could say that could properly convey what I was feeling at that moment.

"Minato Tanaka's book of the five paths, earth, section 1, line 12," She said softly, still holding my shirt to stop me from falling to the ground. "Never assume your battle is over, not until…."

"Until your enemy concedes or is incapacitated," I finished for her, remembering the text cover to cover, every line of every section. "I guess this counts…I…. senp-."

"STOP! DON'T MOVE!" Mio's voice suddenly yelled.

My eyes went wide, but she didn't move as Mio appeared behind her. I heard Basara yell for Mio to stop, but all I could see was Mio standing behind her. Mio's finger was pointed at the back of her hooded head like a gun, her magic ready to explode at point black range. I could see how angry she was, and while I wanted to yell at her to stop, I really couldn't blame her for being so spooked, after all even I had thought at first the two of us were being followed and were under attack.

"I don't care who you are, let him go right now!" Mio yelled, a magic circle swirling around her finger. Her face was red as she yelled, and she almost sounded nervous. "Touch him again and I'll blow you pieces you-."

"MIO! Relax," I yelled to her, looking slowly from Mio back over to the inside of the hood above me. "If she wanted… she could take me, you, Basara, Maria… all of us at the same time. She's also the only one crazy enough to do something like this… isn't that right, Senpai?"

Mio only grinded her teeth, I didn't hear Basara or Maria, but I hoped that they were trying to get her to calm down. After I finished talking, I saw her begrudgingly move her finger away from Miya's head. It fell back to her side and I let out a breath I'd been holding. I really would have hated for anything to escalate… but I could tell that Mio probably saw the secret jubilation I was feeling. I slowly looked back to her, and when I saw her face again under her hood, she smirked in a very senpai like way, and pulled my shirt up to I was on my feet.

When I stood in front of her it was embarrassing to admit, but I didn't know what to do with my hands. I was a few inches taller then as she was now, which felt odd, I had gotten really used to her reaching down and patting my head. She had to be twenty now, but she looked the same really, she was still the same senpai who I owed everything too. So what was I supposed to do in this situation? I probably looked like a mess, I probably seemed scrawny, and that fight we just had? She'd been in control the entire time; I barely had any time to react. I was woefully unprepared for seeing her again.

So I sheepishly stuck my hands in my pocket, as I looked away blushing, hoping she'd say something to ease the tension. I'd thought for years about what I'd say to her, Kurumi, and everyone back at the village when I saw them again, but as usual my entire plan went out the door now that she was right in front of me. I couldn't see him, but I was sure Basara was smirking at me right now, waiting to make some smartass comment.

But instead of saying anything, she just started, something I should have expected.

"Ha…. AHAHAHAHAA!"

I only blushed more; I sheepishly rubbed my head as she did. I managed to turn around and look at Basara, who with Maria doing the same thing, was smirking at me, I had to assume he'd told Maria exactly who this was, and now I was going to have both of them never letting me live this down. Right before I could threaten Basara by putting a pipe bomb in his room, I heard Mio groan.

"Ugh okay we get it! You didn't have to do all this if you just wanted to see Arata again!" She said indignantly turning her head from senpai as she laughed.

"AHAHAHA! HAHAHAAA!" She laughed again, before she held out her hand, and the Kusanagi sword disappeared into mist, and finally she pulled down her hood, strands of her tied up dirty blonde nearly white hair blowing back in the wind. She bowed but laughed while doing it. "Ahaha, I'm sorry, I'm sorry but like he said that would have been so boring! Ahaha… the great Miyamoto Tanaka has arrived!"

"S…Senpai… Miya…" I said, as the small bit of me that thought this could be some dream had finally gone. I ignored Mio's glares, Basara's snickers… all I could do was look at her. My face was beat red, and I felt myself smile, I was ready to explode. "It… I'm so happy to see you sen..."

I cleared my throat as I sheepishly blushed and bowed instead, seeing I had gotten too excited. There was no way I could say all that I really wanted to say here, certainly not in front of Basara, he'd never let me live it down until the day I died. I felt her eyes on me, they were so blue, as beautiful as the day I saw them, my chest really did feel ready to explode as she smiled ear to ear at me, and all the feelings I had felt growing up came rushing back at once.

I bit my tongue to stop myself and bowed low to hide my red face. "I mean it… it's very good to see you again… senpa… I mean, Miya. I've… tried to keep up with my-."

"Awww come on kouhai! Not like that!" She said, lowering her head down in front of mine, her face inches from mine as she smiled wickedly and lovingly at the same time. "Why are you acting all formal?! This isn't the reunion I pictured at all!"

I saw a pouting look on her face as I stood up and looked at her. She was wearing a pair of jeans shorts, and an orange cut off shirt underneath her black jacket. It didn't matter what she wore, she looked absolutely amazing, and as she pouted and spoke I felt my body tingling, my face only getting hotter as I looked away, not wanting to embarrass myself further in front of her and everyone else.

I stammered. "I… I'm sorry Miya I… I just-."

"Come onnnnn! Kouhaiiiiii!" She begged, her eyes pleading with me as she stepped closer, her body now only a few inches from mine. "Say hi like you always did when we started lessons!"

"What?! No! I'm not ten anymore!"

"Pleaseeeeee! Come on Arata, don't deny your senpai this!" She said, her big eyes looking slightly upwards to meet mine. They were pleading with me, and she even cooed and gently poked my cheek. "Just this one time, I'll never ask again, promise!"

"I… I well… I…" I stammered, my body stiffened and I even whimpered when she touched my face, her chest hovering just over mine as she leaned towards me. "Do I really have to?! We have more important-."

"Nope! I won't say anything until you say it just like when you were little!" She giggled, even reaching up and rubbing my hair again, now her chest was pressing against me. "Come on, you're still my adorable little kouhai aren't you?"

"I… well… yes but I-."

"Oh come on Arata, are you really going to deny that face?"

"Basara I swear to god I'll murder you-."

"Nope, just look at me!" She said, gently touching my face and turning it back to face her, her body still pressed against me as I looked down and saw her big eyes. She pouted again, looking so incredibly cute you would never believe she could destroy a city. "Please kouhai… grant your dear teacher this one request!"

I could hear Basara snickering and laughing behind me, and I could see Mio trying to glare a hole through Miya's back like she often did with Yuki. I shakily sighed, and looked down at her, her very large chest pressed against me as she touched my face. I cursed the teenage body I had, and the thoughts in the back of my head about how good her boobs felt, I really didn't want to turn into Basara.

But beyond that… I really couldn't deny her, I never could.

"Fine…" I muttered, looking away from her.

"Yay! Hehe, I'll start!" She said happily, leaning off me as she stood and smiled still only a few inches from me. "Alright kouhai! Are you ready for today's lesson?! Let me hear your excitement!"

I bit the inside of my lip hard, very hard as she did. The back of my head was screaming at me again, she was so unbelievable cute and I knew it, and I fought to not let my mind wonder into fantasies. Kurumi and I had both been in love with her as much as we were with each other after all. I sighed embarrassed as I could practically feel Basara smirking with Maria, and still saw Mio looking very annoyed at the whole situation.

Finally I sucked in a breath and in as excited a voice as I could muster, I felt like I was ten again.

"I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU TODAY SENPAI! I'M READY FOR MY LESSON!"

I heard my older brother right away begin laughing, Maria even started joining him, Mio simply pouted and turned around. I knew that this was going to be teasing material for months to come.

But… I found myself not caring, because Miya smiled, and finally I felt the reality set back in. After all these years… I finally saw my teacher again.

"Ha…ahahahaha! I'm so happy to see you kouhaiiiiii!" She said, leaping up and hugging around neck, surprising me and knocking me back onto the ground. That didn't stop Miya, she laughed and squeezed me harder, her body on top of mine. "I missed you so much! You're so tall and handsome now, ohhh I'm gonna have to reach up to pat your head and give you kouhai points now!"

Her… her boobs! I thought, feeling them press against my chest, thoughts I didn't want to have right now in front of everyone coming back to me. She laughed and continued talking, gushing, sounding as if she was the happiest person in the world.

That helped me forget the embarrassment for a moment. I found myself smiling as even with her on top of me, I hugged her back, squeezing her as if my life depending on it.

She's real… she's real and she's here… now… I just need to find you again too… Kurumi.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

The night before….

"GYAAAAH NO!" The woman screamed, the demon standing over her.

I would have leapt down to help, but I saw Takashi come up behind the demon. Byakko was powerful, not as powerful as senpai's Kusanagi, Brynhildr, Tsukiyomi, or… Takemikazuchi, but it was still effective enough for a simple demon. The spear thrust through the demon, and I watched as the woman quickly and smartly got up and ran. I watched her run down the street, making sure that no demons remained to chase after her, I looked down the street she ran… and wondered if he was nearby, I found myself wondering that a lot every since we got into the city.

And each time I did, I thought about obliterating him.

"Ah, well done Takashi," Shib said, coming out of the shadows as the woman ran away. "You're as sharp as ever."

"I still don't understand why you had to be here," Takashi said, his spear disappearing. "I could have handled this on my own."

I rolled my eyes, cocky brat.

Shiba seemed to think the same thing. "Haha, you think you could have handled all of them? By yourself?"

"Of course I could have, Basara's nothing but a traitor, and if he doesn't scare me, his little brother certainly doesn't either," Takashi said, turning and looking back up to me. "If Yuki's report is right and the demon lords daughter can't control her powers she won't be a threat either. And that means, Basara and Arata won't be any trouble… right Kurumi."

I felt myself snap. "What the hell are you trying to say Takashi? Quit goofing around and just say it."

I knew exactly what he was trying to imply. He hadn't stopped glaring at me the entire trip after I had volunteered to come. As soon as I heard Yuki's report… I knew I needed to be on this mission, even if it had been already full when I asked to join. It didn't matter now, I was here, he was here, this town… after all these years I finally knew where he was.

Takashi scoffed. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Come on Shiba, you can't seriously believe she's going to go through with this."

Shiba as usual showed basically not emotion. He only turned and looked up at me with that twisted smile. "Well Kurumi… what do you have to say to that? Are you sure you'll be okay going through with our mission?"

I grinded my teeth and glared at them from the roof. "This is the last time I'll repeat myself… I'll have no problems. Basara is just a traitor, he won't-."

"It's not Basara we're worried about with you, come on Kurumi," Takashi spat at me. "It's your turn to quit goofing around. Everyone knows you were Arata's little girlfriend years ago, you expect me to believe-."

"I expect you to shut your damn mouth and don't talk about things you have no idea about Takashi," I yelled at him, shooting to my feet on the roof. "That… was years ago, Basara means nothing, A…Arata means nothing. I came to do the mission, so let's quite messing around and do it."

I tried to put a tone of finality into my voice, but that was hard being up above him on the roof. It was also because I knew for a fact he didn't believe me.

Takashi scoffed. "'Means nothing', quite lying to yourself, I know you still got a picture in your-."

A roar caught him off guard. Right away I was on my feet as it pierced the quiet knight and my eyes went down the street. I started calling the spirits around me, which would only be wind ones thanks to Takashi's spear, and was ready to take off towards it, when before I could it came to us first. Takashi spun his spear and Shiba looked on disinterested as the snake came around the corner. My eyes wide and my heart raced, we'd seen far too many snake-like demons like this already.

"Another one?!" Takashi growled, annoyed as he leveled his spear. "What the hell is wrong here, what are these things?"

Shiba chuckled. "Well, it certainly seems spirited I'll give it that."

It roared, it was the size of the smaller buildings around us, it had two heads with sharp fangs dripping poison as it came rushing down the street. I growled, they weren't overly strong but still dangerous, I was ready to take off and launch an attack next to Takashi, and I saw him ready to take it down, but before I could, it stopped and spun around. My heart leapt to my throat as its head spun around and tried to snatch up someone who'd run up its long back and leapt upwards from its back.

I looked up and relief washed over me as I saw the bright orange hair blowing behind her, two swords as black as the night in her hands.

"Zekken, Mukyuissen!" She yelled, before bright purple magic, energy from the void itself encased her and the swords glew.

I breathed out and let my hand down, as with a loud squelch, Ritsu shot down so fast in was incomprehensible. Back and forth for a rapid eight to ten strikes with her two swords, she landed with her head down, both blades dripping blood onto the ground from the snake. The serpent wailed as its two heads were cut clean through and it slowly disappeared into dust.

Dark orange hair blew back in the wind, as both of her two black katana disappeared like Takashi's spear. She let out a sigh of relief, and turned, smiling, her golden eyes that matched mine beaming.

"Kurumi's right, you're worrying too much Takashi, you always were a hardass," She sighed, walking over next to Kurumi, she smiled and put her arm around my neck. "Kurumi's just as dedicated as the rest of us are! If you have a problem with it, feel free to tell me," her eyes narrowed, "but make sure that Byakko is out and ready."

Even I shivered. I knew she really was just a goofball, but when she got serious Ritsu was downright terrifying. Her golden eyes seemed to shine even brighter than mine, brighter then the lampposts in thar dead street. She had such a dominating and radiant presence despite being the same age as me, she just felt so powerful I was almost jealous.

But I guess that's what you get when you're Senpais younger sister… I thought, feeling my chest grow a bit warmer at her reassurance. She even winked at me, the last few years, she really had been the one keeping me sane… helping keep all the horrible memories at bay.

Takashi scoffed, he looked angry, but I knew he wouldn't dare challenge Ritsu. Other then Shiba, she was without a doubt the strongest one who'd come on this mission. She was also the only reason that I had been allowed to come. They didn't wanted to send me even though I had volunteered, but Ritsu who had already been picked promised them I'd be a great help. It wasn't that I was doubtful of my own skill, I knew how strong I was but… that wasn't why I knew I needed to be on this mission. No, I didn't do it to prove my strength, or even to see Yuki and bring her back if I could.

No, I went on this mission, so that I could force Arata to look me in the eyes this time. So I could make him do that before I pounded him into the dirt.

"Say what you want, you should worry about more important things Ritsu," He said to her. "Like where the hell your sketchy sister is."

Ritsu's teeth clenched, her eyes narrowed and I could feel the heat from her body rising as she got angrier.

"Sissy is out on her mission; do you really want to doubt her word?!" She said, taking another step towards Takashi. "You're free to challenge me Takashi, but I'd hate to fight Arata and Basara with one less hero, not that I'd be worried."

Shiba chuckled good naturedly. "Now now no fighting! I'm sure Miya's going to pop up eventually. We should focus our efforts on the Tojo brothers, and the Demon Lords daughter. I trust Kurumi, and I trust you Ritsu, I'm sure you're up to the task yes?"

Ritsu scoffed and tossed back her orange hair, she turned with a smirk as she looked down the street. "Of course I am, you won't have to worry about me. I don't care what you do with Basara or the Demon Lord's daughter… but Arata… yeah, I'm going to be the one to take him on…. I'll destroy him, you don't have to worry about that. Take my family's sword… take my sister… Arata Tojo… you and your brothers days are numbered."

I felt a pang in my chest as my hand gripped at my side. My eyes fell down to the ground, I couldn't look Ritsu in the eyes when she got like this. She really was my best friend, going all the way back to when we were younger. She'd stopped talking to me when Arata and I started training with Senpai full time but… the last few years? She'd been everything for me, her and Senpai. It was just like when we were younger again, and I'd come to cherish that… but it wasn't completely like it used to be.

Arata… you were always with us too, Ritsu… you adored him before he got that sword, and I… I… always have… I let out a shaky breath, not daring to finish the thought. I still let it filter into my brain sometimes, those damnable feelings coming up from my heart, but I knew now was the time to squash them. Soon, I'd bury them for good.

"See you soon…" I whispered under my breath. "Arata…."

Next Time, chapter 6: When Old Love Strikes: After the surprise appearance of his old Senpai Miyamoto Tanaka, Arata scrambles to impress his old teacher with just how much he's grown and learned! The problem, however, is a very touchy feely Kitsune keeps getting in his way. Mio, meanwhile, isn't all to thrilled about more members of the Hero Clan moving in. Basara and Maria laugh on at their flustered younger brother at the fireworks festival, before it's back to school, and new threats start to arise again. After Yuki makes a surprise request of Mio, the inevitable clash with their past is in store for Basara and Arata, and for Arata… it comes in the form of the first person he ever loved.

A/N: Arata is back ya'll! He's back and he's even got some absolutely phenomenal fanart which as you can see I've used for the cover of this story which is quickly becoming one of my favorites to write haha. The amazing artwork you see of Arata and Kurumi in the cover was drawn by the absolutely amazing kagukana on twitter, who also drew my Bell and Cian art and is drawing more for future stories for me! Go and follow her, and me on twitter akira_archer if you want updates on my stories, want to chat about anime, or just wanna see me simp for genderbent historical figures from Fate, it's a fun time all around!

Now onto Arata… we have a bit more of a lighthearted chapter after the madness that was the fights in the last one. My sister who reads my stories told me, that this story is 33% cool fights 33% ecchi and 33% Basara and Arata either roasting or beating the piss out of each other and I'm inclined to agree xD A few people told me in reviews and privately that they really liked the addition of Miya and Tamamo into the story and I'm so glad! Once again, if you want to get a visual for them, it's quite literally Miyamoto Musashi and Tamamo no Mae from Fate Grand Order, now again DON'T WORRY IF YOU DON'T WATCH FATE, the characters in this story will not require you at all to have read or watched any Fate. Our new character, who was mentioned briefly before Ritsumura Tanaka, her design if based off Gudako from Fate Grand Order, and again you don't need to watch read or play FGO to know anything.

Ritsu is also going to be the last brand new character added to this story. As many of you know, I like to add heroes and antagonists to my OC stories since if I kept it exactly like cannon most times that would make those fights seem boring. Seriously, Basara, Arata, Mio and Maria against Takashi, Kurumi and Yuki would be VERY one sided especially if Basara and Arata go all out, but the addition of Ritsu, Miya's younger sister? That's going to make it much more exciting I hope! We'll see more about her, and get back to the main plot next episode, I REALLY liked using this chapter to develop more of Mio and Arata's relationship and establish his old ones. This is going to be the last completely original chapter for a while as well haha we're back on the main Testament plot!

Next chapter, the first half is going to be fun at this Fireworks Festival, and after that we get back to school, and finally FINALLY in the moment of truth, after seeing her for the first time this chapter, Arata and Kurumi are going to come face to face, the biggest moment in the story so far, and then we'll get right into the massive fight after that. I hope you're all excited!

Okay, so the next update is definitely going to be Cian I can confirm that! I'm also debuting a fic for Oshi No Ko soon as well so if you're a fan of that stay tuned! I'm starting to roll writing wise as I've settled into school, so I hope you'll all stay with me and keep enjoying! Please review if you have time, they mean a lot, and I hope you all have an awesome day!