Chapter 2 / The Differentiation Formula, Part 2

"Greetings. My name is Ikaruga Houou. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise! I'm Isayuki Kagura! Let's get along!"

The next morning, Ikaruga and Isayuki made their introductions.

It went as smoothly as Murasame expected, not that he thought there would have been any problems. Ikaruga was far too patient and calm to let any stray comments get to her and Isayuki was, well, very Isayuki-like. He was excited to meet Ikaruga, on the basis that she was Murasame's younger sister. While their conversation over breakfast was simply on the surface level, they both seemed to enjoy the atmosphere.

It was strange, considering it was merely rice, miso soup and a few other side-dishes, but since Isayuki was enjoying it a lot, Ikaruga took the time to talk about its nutritious value. Although Isayuki listened closely, asking appropriate questions along the way, something told Murasame that he wouldn't be retaining any of that information.

"Is it true that you don't remember anything, Isayuki?" Ikaruga asked curiously.

Isayuki wryly laughed at the troubling recollection. "It really seems like I can't recall anything from my past. Even sleeping on it, nothing comes to mind. My first memory would be seeing Mister Murasame pulling me up from the river and anything before that, total darkness."

"That is rather concerning. I don't think this is any regular kind of amnesia."

"Not like we can do anything about it." Murasame took a bite of a rice clump. "Whether it's a normal case of amnesia or not, it's not something we need to concern ourselves with right now. You're just wasting valuable resources into needless objectives."

"Don't you think it's important for Isayuki to know his past?"

"Take a look at him. Do you think he's concerned about it?"

While Murasame didn't bother to look at Isayuki himself, he could already tell that he's finishing the breakfast without another care in the world. For the average person, rice with miso soup would have been the most basic breakfast ever, but Isayuki is treating it like a delicacy.

"I'd say to not worry about other people's problems if the person doesn't even see it as a problem." Murasame sipped a bit of his miso soup. "We've got other things to worry about."

"Other things?"

"No, never mind. Forget what I just said."

Murasame knew Ikaruga was attentive enough to see the black bags underneath his eyes, but his appearances were the only state that was troubling him. He spent far too long investigating the documents and reports last night, leaving himself with only a few hours of sleep. He would still be telling the truth though if he mentioned that he wasn't tired. He had gone multiple days without sleeping before, all for the sake of getting some business ordeals done.

"Then in that case," Ikaruga continued, "I'd like to ask something. Considering that Isayuki doesn't have his memories, there is the matter of keeping the shinobi world a secret to him. He has, however, seen the yōma for himself, as it would seem. Since you're the one who would be in the position of responsibility for Isayuki, I would like to hear your thoughts on the matter."

"That's all he knows of it, which is that a yōma is an unsettling monster. It doesn't mean he knows about its connection to the shinobi world. In fact…"

Stepping out from their conversation, Murasame called out to the distracted boy.

"Do you know what a shinobi is, kid?"

"Shi-nu-bee? Is that another meal that's coming up?"

The cocking of Isayuki's head with a happily clueless expression was all that Murasame needed to provide to Ikaruga his point. He dismissed the boy to return back to his food.

"That about says it. If he doesn't know, there's no need to pull him in. I'd have to explain a lot less in that case too, so it works to my benefit as well."

Although, Murasame thought it was still strange in that case. The power behind Isayuki's speed and power had been certainly greater than the normal person. He would dare say if he had any knowledge of proper combat etiquette or strategy, he might have been able to prove himself as a proper shinobi.

"That doesn't mean that he might not have been a shinobi in the past, Murasame. I don't believe any normal person would end up in Isayuki's position."

"It doesn't matter what he might have been in the past," Murasame scoffed. "He knows nothing now, right? Then it's proper shinobi rules that we shouldn't let him know more than he needs to or however that ruling goes. Shouldn't the honors student know better than to bend to rules here and there?"

"That's not what I was…" Ikaruga shook her head softly. "I'm simply trying to give you another perspective on the situation."

"Which doesn't matter," Murasame waved dismissively. "All that I care about is my own perspective and what I'm going to do about it. If it isn't going to immediately blow up in my face, I can deal with it when I cross that bridge."

The group wrapped up breakfast around the same time as Murasame caught Ikaruga up to speed. Meanwhile, Isayuki kept asking for refills for his rice and soup. Murasame reprimanded him for eating so much in the morning and soon, the group had finished with their meal.

"I must take my leave now." Ikaruga bowed. "I have classes to attend soon."

"Classes?" Isayuki rubbed his chin. "Oh! You mean, like school, right?"

"What else would she be talking about?" Murasame raised an eyebrow. "Take care, Sister. Don't overwork yourself too much."

"That should be my line, Brother."

With Ikaruga's departure, it left Murasame and Isayuki to themselves. Fortunately, the days lined up nicely because today had been a day-off for him, so there wasn't any work in his backlog. However, he wasn't sure what he should have been doing on his day-off right now. Usually, he'd take the time to laze around, practice his arts, and whatever fancied him for that occasion.

When he glanced over to the boy, he only remembered what he really needed to take care of. If Murasame Houou hated one thing, it was delegating tasks to do at a later time when it could have been done much earlier. Now that he had the spare time, now was the moment to get things done.

-/SK-EV/-

The streets of Tokyo were bustling as always. The sidewalks filled with people walking around, the roads filled with people driving about, and Isayuki sat up against the limousine's window to soak it all in. This was his first sight of seeing the main downtown area of the city, a striking contrast of headcount compared to the quiet roads leading to the hospital and the surrounding area close to the Houou manor.

"Do you remember anything of your past after seeing these streets?"

"Nope!" Isayuki answered energetically. "Not a thing!"

"At least one of us is up in their spirits about that…"

"Where are we heading off to again?"

"A popular clothing store that my family typically orders from," Murasame answered, crossing a leg over the other, "though I had the entire department reserved for the day."

"An entire department reserved?" Isayuki looked over his shoulder in shock. "As in, you've taken an entire department for yourself…?"

"Yeah? Since I'm rich, powerful, and important, my family can't have anyone else around us while we go to shop or else there might be a commotion from those of the lower world. For everyone's sake, this must be done. It is regrettable, but I've gotten used to it."

Murasame left out the fact that it was mainly the presence of his father, his mother and his sister that stirred up the masses of the average folk. For Murasame himself, there was barely anyone who would dare to take a step close to him, due to his infamous attitude.

"By the way, we're here, Lord Murasame."

The chauffeur opened the door for Murasame and Isayuki to leave. A tall department store building stood in front of them, leaving Isayuki to gasp at the height. He didn't even get a chance to take in the fancy signs, the reflective glass panes and the window displays.

"M-Mister Murasame…? I-I'm fine with something a little more cheap, you know…"

"What are you shaking for? Are you scared of expensive products?"

"I-It's not that." Isayuki tapped his fingers together nervously. "It's just that I feel like it would be a waste to give me such expensive clothes like this. I-I mean, I don't think I can count up to whatever price tags that might have in there!"

Murasame shrugged. "I personally think these clothes are already on the cheaper side of things."

"They're already cheap?" Isayuki's trembling faded away, covered with a confident nod. "Oh, I see. I made a mistake in making a proper assumption based on appearances. The building looked super nice, so I thought this place was filled with expensive things."

Isayuki walked to one of the window displays.

"Now that I have a better look at it, I can say that it's…"

Isayuki blinked.

"... Mister Murasame?"

"Yeah?"

"There's a lot of zeros at the end of this price tag."

"So you can remember how money works. That's one less explanation out of the way. Anyhow, hurry on now and get inside. I hate wasting time."

As if Isayuki's spirit was released into the wild, Murasame had to physically drag his so-called assistant into the building before there could be any wayward eyes that caught them. It took a moment for Isayuki to recover, but he was not in a comfortable position. He kept looking away, both amazed and appalled at the expensive clothing being hung on the racks and the walls. All he could think now was how much money Murasame's family might have if he had considered this place to be cheap without a second thought—and it was not as if he thought once for a moment that Murasame had bluffed.

Not that Murasame did. Murasame could genuinely buy everything in the store without batting an eye and still have enough in his personal bank account to do it a couple dozen more times.

If he said that, Isayuki might not have been able to fathom what that really meant. He was already sweating bullets upon seeing some of the other price tags on the in-store displays.

Isayuuki was so caught up in his own little world, he failed to notice that the store clerks went silent the moment they saw Murasame. It made sense to him; when he had made the reservation for the department store, it was under the Houou Family name, rather than his own. Under normal circumstances, they would expect his parents or his sister.

Murasame never typically came out to buy clothing in-person, so it would be natural that they would be tense. It didn't bother Murasame, mainly because he doesn't like to be bothered in the first place, but it did make selecting clothes much harder. He wasn't very knowledgeable about this field.

"W-Welcome…" That was why he was thankful that the clerks made the first move, even if they had cramped smiles on their faces. "What kind of clothing may you be looking for?"

Murasame pointed out the absent Isayuki. "Pick something appropriate for my new assistant over there. I'll leave the details to you, but make it quick. I don't have all day."

"R-Right away."

When Isayuki turned around to the attention of the store clerks, they were a bit taken back by his appearance. To the untrained eye, he looked just like a beautiful girl and unfortunately for Isayuki, they didn't stop to inspect the further clues that might have suggested otherwise.

"Ooh… We might have just the thing for her."

"Her? Who are you talking about? W-Wait! Where are you taking me!?"

The store clerks excitedly pushed Isayuki into a deeper part of the store, much to his will. A pleading expression was fired off towards Murasame, but considering how he wasn't moving a single inch, Isayuki figured that this was supposed to happen. He didn't think this was how store reservations worked, but he started to think otherwise once he saw the clothes that they were pushing onto him.

Murasame stood idly near the entrance, not knowing where to go to wait.

After a few minutes, Isayuki had emerged from the back with a new outfit.

And if Murasame had a drink in his mouth, he would have spat it all out.

"What are you fools doing!?"

"I-I didn't think you wanted me in this kind of clothing, Mister Murasame…"

"I don't! They're the ones who misunderstood the assignment here!"

When Isayuki stepped out, Murasame found him in a maid-like attire. It was a navy-blue dress with an apron over it, decorated with laces at the ends. The boots appeared practical, but it had an elegant sheen to its white color. It all came together with Isayuki's white hair, topped off with a typical headpiece.

He had to admit that while it did look comfortable, the store clerks completely missed the mark of its audience. Isayuki's eyes were spinning constantly, unable to even mutter a sensical thought.

"Is it not to your liking, Mister Murasame?" the store clerk asked. "We have more options."

Some of the store clerks pulled out a varied degree of clothes, ranging from casual formal to something far too risky and unexpected from a store like this. Just imagining it on Isayuki made Murasame shudder. There was something uncomfortable about the whole situation.

"No, that's the problem here!" Murasame groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "What made you think that my assistant was female?"

"Is she… not?" The store clerks all gazed at Isayuki simultaneously, unable to understand how such a beautiful girl, who was pulling off the attire perfectly, could be anything other than a beautiful girl.

"If I have to say it, don't you think there might be something wrong with your assumptions!?"

Murasame grumbles continued. "And you, kid! Why didn't you say anything to them!?"

"I-I thought this is what you wanted…"

"Hell no! Why would I want an assistant that crossdresses!? I mean, you can do whatever you want in your free time, but while you're my assistant, there are standards I expect you to keep!"

"Whaaaa—!?" Isayuki's face turned red. "I-I don't want to crossdress like this, even in my free time! I'm not that type of person!"

"Then get out of it already!" Murasame snapped towards the store clerks. "Give him an actual outfit to wear as my assistant instead of fulfilling your strange fantasies or whatever!"

The store clerks didn't argue back and frantically got back to work, leading Isayuki into the back again. Murasame felt like he was about to have an aneurysm, but it wasn't as if he couldn't understand the confusion. Isayuki certainly made things difficult for people to understand his gender.

"Now that I think about, Ikaruga was probably the only other person so far to get the gender right without being corrected. As expected from my sister."

A few more minutes passed as Isayuki stepped out once more.

"Now this one is looking better."

Isayuki was now wearing a sleek dark suit, one of the French Continental variations. He readjusted the cufflinks to loosen their grip on his wrist, but the monochromatic palette had popped away with the crimson dress shirt underneath. It was tied back together with his black necktie and dress boots that looked rather functionable in movement.

They did a favor for Isayuki and tied his long hair into a ponytail. As a comparison to what he first looked like, Isayuki could be passed off as a professional.

"I look so cool!" Isayuki's eyes sparkled as he proudly showcased his new appearance.
"How do I look, Mister Murasame!?"

"Fine enough."

That is, if he didn't bother to talk.

"Isn't this expensive though? Wouldn't I have to pay you back for this?"

"I think of this as an investment on my end," Murasame answered, crossing his arms. "I don't expect for you to be paying me back, so you can perish the thought. You can focus more on how you can be a better assistant to me if you're worrying so much."

"Alright! I'll try to be the best assistant ever!"

Murasame told the store clerks to grab a few more of the casual variety, alongside a few more of the same clothes that Isayuki was wearing right now. The most important thing to Murasame was the clothes that Isayuki would wear while he was accompanying him and this had fit his demand perfectly. There was even a bit of a playful contrast between their suits, now that he thought about it closely.

After payment, Murasame ordered the clothes to be directly shipped to his manor and once that was done, their business here was complete. There was no point in dwindling around here for any longer, so without even a nudge of thanks, Murasame left with Isayuki, who did bow their gratitude to the store clerks. Although, it was a wary action, considering what they forced him through.

"... You think that boy was being coerced into something by Murasame?"

"Nope. It looks like that boy is genuinely happy to be there."

"Maybe he sees something in Murasame that we can't."

"Murasame is rather scary though, so maybe it's fear?"

The store clerks started to gossip about Murasame and Isayuki once they left.

-/SK-EV/-

The conversation with Ikaruga rang again in Murasame's mind as the limousine was stopped at a red light. The topic of Isayuki and the shinobi world had been on his mind since he decided to bring Isayuki on as an assistant, but it was still Ikaruga who made that confrontation more inevitable. While Murasame had no plans to have Isayuki go the path of a shinobi, he couldn't shake off the fact that his speed and power were akin to those of the same road. It was through a messy technique, but his body might be unfamiliar with hand-to-hand combat. At least, that was Murasame's current guess.

If his assistant knew how to fight, then it would mean that Murasame wouldn't have to fight the battles that he didn't want to fight. That is to say, Isayuki would deal with the battles that Murasame would obviously lose, but he would never have admitted that to anyone, even himself.

"Make one stop along the way," Murasame said to the chauffeur.

"Where to?"

"I need to fix my kusarigama. That last commotion made the chains and the sickle unusable, so I need the materials to do my own repairs. You should know where to go for that."

"Right away."

While repair could be done by the weapons shop that shinobi clans have access to, Murasame preferred to do his own customizations to his kusarigama. The combination of chain and sickle had been a concept that Murasame built upon by himself after his father brought Ikaruga into the family. The first version of his kusarigama had actually been crafted from the ground up by himself and while it was rather shoddy, breaking rather easily, he was nowadays confident in his crafting skills related to his weapon. It was so much so that he doesn't even think twice about it, as if it was as natural as breathing.

Once the chauffeur arrived at the location, Murasame and Isayuki left the limousine and entered something that looked like an abandoned building. To Isayuki, it didn't look like they were entering a weapons shop, but that was because it was hidden. Not only was it illegal to be selling dangerous weapons in Tokyo, but it was a business deeply involved with shinobis, so the public couldn't be provided access to it. The building itself was sealed off, so no one would be able to accidentally stumble their way in, but a few knocks at the door allowed them to enter.

"Welcome, Mister Houou. Your kusarigama broke again?"

"Shut up and give me what I need."

"Right away. Hmm? That's a new face behind you. Is she…?"

"Don't worry. He's with me. Just keep conversations on the down low. His common sense seems a little broken, so he won't think twice about this place."

Unlike the clothing store, Murasame was somewhat of a regular here.

After clearing up Isayuki's gender, Murasame asked for the usual materials, a new chain and a handle attachment to keep the chain connected to the sickle. He did his usual inspection to make sure everything was up to his standard before shrugging like it was no big deal and paying for the items.

On the other hand, he noticed Isayuki was looking at some of the weapons on the wall. Considering his curious nature, Murasame knew this course of events would happen and tried to play it off naturally, as if this was a detour to his schedule.

"What's wrong, kid? See something you like?"

"I-I was just browsing around."

"You know, if something catches your attention, you're free to try it out. This place has a training ground of its own for people to test out weapons."

"I don't want to waste your time!"

"I have time to spare. I've already accounted a bit for your distractions leading us astray from the schedule, so why don't you take some of that time for yourself?"

"Ah! You've really thought of everything!"

Isayuki turned back, rubbing his chin.

"Then this one!"

His hand instinctively pointed at one of the katanas on display.

If he gravitated towards it, it likely meant that whoever Isayuki was before his amnesia, he was familiar with that weapon. The store clerk took the katana and provided it to Isayuki before leading the two down the hall and into the aforementioned training room.

A training dummy appeared onto the field as Isayuki was allowed to approach it. Murasame and the store clerk merely stood from a distance to watch the action unfold. The entire area was bounded by a shinobi barrier; one of its special properties was for damage to be migrated to its surroundings, so shinobi customers didn't need to hold back against their inanimate opponent.

"All I have to do is attack that training dummy for a bit?"

"Preferably, but one thing before you start."

"What is it? Is it a strategy to wield this katana better!?"

"... I'd advise unsheathing it first."

Murasame sighed, hiding his face in a hand. Isayuki swung the katana to toss the sheath away rather recklessly as the store clerk was forced to watch the merchandise bounce against the ground a few times. If it was damaged, Murasame didn't have a problem paying for it, but that wasn't the issue here.

"Just swing the katana and let's get this over with…"

It was already clear that Isayuki wanted the katana because he thought it looked cool, not because he had a past connection to the weapon type. Murasame had a thought that this would end up badly. The only question would be as to how badly.

"Alright! Here I go!"

As expected, Isayuki's speed was no fluke. He closed the large gap between himself and the training dummy within the blink of an eye. He tightened his grip with the katana's handle and swung it out widely, though it was more akin to a baseball player swinging their bat. The technique was rather rugged and sloppy, but Isayuki did manage to score a solid hit on the training dummy, but then…

Murasame ducked.

A flying projectile flew over his head as it dug into the wall behind him. He looked back to see that the katana, the same one Isayuki was holding mere moments ago, had been sticking out as the culprit.

"Where did the katana go?"

All the while, Isayuki was looking at his hands, trying to find where it disappeared to.

The store clerks themselves were shocked at the incident, but Murasame merely grumbled, reaching up to grab the katana's handle and pulling it out. He didn't want anything to do with this katana anymore though and he handed it off to the store clerks immediately.

"Take this away from here."

The store clerk rushed the katana out of the training ground, leaving Murasame to deal with the boy's confusion. He stepped out onto the field, pulling Isayuki's attention back.

"Mister Murasame! I think the katana turned invisible!"

"I think that's a sign that the katana is not meant for you."

"If you say so. What do I do about the katana then?"

"The clerks will deal with it." Murasame looked over the dummy's damage or rather, the lack-there-of. If he was being honest, there wasn't much of a dent after a closer look. "Are you sure you wanted to use a sword?"

"Even though it feels more comfortable to punch things, I wanted to use a cool weapon like you do, Mister Murasame. Can we try something like your weapon next!?"

"My weapon requires a high level of skill and expertise to use on a basic level. If you can't use a katana, what makes you think that you can use a kusarigama?"
Isayuki's head drooped. "I guess I'm not cut out for that then…"

"If you're more accustomed to melee combat," one of the store clerks said, as they were retrieving the sheath, "we do offer bracers for your hands."

"Bracers…?"

Murasame pondered upon the idea. It was Isayuki's claim of comfort that made him readjust how he thought about the situation. Of course, it might have been the fact that Murasame didn't know much about hand-to-hand combat to know if Isayuki's technique was truly messy or not. Very rarely, Murasame was willing to compromise his opinions.

"I'd say give it a shot. In your previous fight, you relied on your fist, so why not double-down?"

"Great idea, Mister Murasame!"

"Of course it is. I'm the one who came up with it!"

The store clerk quietly slipped away to get the bracers for Isayuki. It wasn't as if they wanted to see Murasame pat his own back in the first place. Before the minute had gone by, the store clerk returned with a pair of metallic bracers. The surface was smooth with a wing-like design being engraved upon it. It didn't cover the fingers, but it covered the knuckles which was arguably more important.

"Oooh…"

"This is the Twin Caladrius Bracers. It's a product of the Konohana Corporation."

"Konohana Corporation?" Murasame recalled the name. "Ah, right. I remember them. My father tried to partner up with them in order to have their group be a part of our conglomerate, but he could never close out their unreasonable deals. It makes a little more sense as to why my father put his best foot forward for them if they were also a part of the shinobi world."

"I don't understand, but it sounds like you're not surprised, Mister Murasame."

"Yeah, and if I ramble on any further, you wouldn't understand," Murasame sighed, rolling his eyes. "I don't want to waste my breath here."

While Murasame had been musing his own thoughts, Isayuki equipped the new bracers. He raised them up high as if he was holding a trophy.

"It slides in so well!"

"The bracers are designed to be a single size that fits all. The straps simply tighten accordingly," the store clerk explained. "Feel free to readjust to your liking."

As Isayuki took his place again, Murasame's memory flickered back to the critical moments Isayuki was able to take during the fight in the hospital and the fight with the masked man. The evidence had already been there for Murasame, so it was easy to picture that this was probably the way to go. There was also the fact that it was mainly difficult to mess up an attack on a stationary objective.

The irony was certainly lost on Murasame.

"Alright! Round two!"

Just as before, the gap between Isayuki and the training dummy disappeared. He pulled back his arm and heaved a fist over his shoulder, slamming it cleanly into the object. The impact struck with such force, it split apart the wood upon impact before sending it flying from its position.

"Did you see that, Mister Murasame!?"

"Went as well as I envisioned it." Murasame waved his hand to the store clerk. "We'll buy it."

The transaction went without fault as the store clerks provided Isayuki with the holsters to hold his bracers. It was similarly-styled like the bracers themselves, letting the weapons hang around the bottom of his spine. It would make equipping and unequipping the bracers as easy as putting his arms behind his back. Isayuki did so a couple of times to ensure he could do it flawlessly.

"That weapon," Murasame announced to Isayuki as he walked up to the distracted boy, "is a gift from me to you. I didn't have to get you those bracers because we were only here for my materials, but if you're going to be my assistant, you should help out a bit if we do end up in a scuffle of some kind. While I can handle those types of events from the hospital and the facility by myself, I don't want to be dragging dead weight around when something like that happens again."

"Of course!" Still wearing the bracers, Isayuki slammed his one fist into his other open palm. "You gave me these bracers, so it's only right that I use them to help you however I can! It feels like I'm owing you more and more as the days come!"

"This is not a debt. It's an investment." Murasame wagged his fingers while smirking arrogantly. "And I never invest in something that will bring me a net loss, just so you know. What kind of businessman would I be if I couldn't have a sixth sense for that?"

"I'll try to do my best then!"

"No, you won't try. You will," Murasame answered, crossing his arms, "or else my name will be tarnished! Don't forget that!"

"Then I'll have to get started on improving myself!"

Isayuki started shadow-boxing before Murasame which amused him for a bit. The default stance that he was holding was still exactly the same one as Murasame taught him, so it was nice to see that Isayuki was able to retain information easily. With Isayuki clumsily firing out a heavy swing though to end the motions, Murasame knew it was far from the perfect image of a fighter.

"Let's stop wasting time here. I need to get back to the manor to do some work."

Isayuki nodded and unequipped the bracers. "What should I do to help out?"

"Nothing. Your help isn't needed yet. That will start tomorrow."

"O-Oh…"

Murasame left the building with Isayuki waddling behind. He noticed that Isayuki was almost dragging his feet after being told he couldn't help him. It wouldn't have been a satisfying conclusion to his first day as his assistant, even if the job technically hasn't started yet.

"You can probably use the time to play around with those new bracers though. Ask one of the manor staff to bring you to our training room. That way, you can stay out of my way while being productive. It's a win for everyone, got it?"

Isayuki's eyes immediately drew up into a sparkle.

"You've got a training room like that one?"

"Of course I do!" he boisterously declared, throwing his arms out. "I'm Murasame Houou! That much is the bare minimum for someone of my standing!"

He looked over his shoulder as the chauffeur opened the door for them.

"As my assistant, you're free to use that training room whenever you want. There's no need to ask anyone once you figure out where it is."

It worked out for not only Isayuki, but for Murasame as well. For what the problem behind Isayuki's punches were, with some attacks landing with high precision and others whiffing badly, he had to work on consistency. No one would get anywhere without a little practice, so if Isayuki can work on that on his own time, he would not only be a mere assistant, but a sufficient bodyguard who was prepared to take on the heavy work when it came to it.

Murasame was quite the genius, if he himself had to say so. He admittedly wasn't much of a teacher though, so hopefully, Isayuki would be able to pick up his own tricks without much guidance.

-/SK-EV/-

When Ikaruga returned home that afternoon, she had some spare time on her hands. It sounded like Murasame and Isayuki returned home before her, considering that Murasame was holed up in the manor's makeshift workshop. It was personally made for Murasame, considering how he liked to fix his own weapons, but Ikaruga sometimes used the room to attend to Hein as well.

"I suppose that if I have some free time, I should do a little training of my own."

Wielding the family nodachi in her hands, she walked down to the basement where the training room was, but she started hearing grunts from inside the room. It didn't sound like Murasame, not that he would willingly use those training grounds for himself, but who else would suddenly be using it?

Unless…

Ikaruga stopped pondering about the identity of the trainee, knowing that the answer was right behind the door. She stepped in to see Isayuki, right as he was dashing across the room to strike one of the training dummies with his fist. The speed was incredible, surprising her. Ikaruga could still track where he was, but it wasn't something she had expected out of him.

That was no regular speed that a normal person could achieve.

However, the speed looked like it was too much for Isayuki as he completely missed the target and accidentally flung himself into the wall. The sheer shock of the unfolding event left Ikaruga frozen for a moment before her senses got a hold of her again.

"Isayuki!? Are you alright!?"

She quickly came over to check on him, but while the wall was stained a little with blood, Ikaruga couldn't see any noticeable wounds. There were however patches of dust and bruise marks everywhere, hinting that it wasn't his first accident here.

"Huh? Oh, Miss Ikaruga! Nice to see you again!"

Isayuki greeted the princess of the household as if he didn't just crash into the wall.

"I'm feeling a little lightheaded, but that pales in what I have to put myself through if I want to be a good assistant for Mister Murasame! I'll need to make some sacrifices to be better!"

"I'm not sure that's how…" Ikaruga shook her head. "Never mind that. Can you stand?"

Ikaruga extended her hand to pull Isayuki up to his feet. He thanked her accordingly while Ikaruga complimented him on his new clothes. Isayuki was clearly ecstatic about his new outfit, especially since it was an investment from Murasame, as he would say it. Ikaruga knew it was simply a gift, but Murasame was too prideful to call it as such. Nevertheless, she kept quiet about that.

"Did my brother tell you to be here?"

Isayuki nodded. "I've been staying here to improve myself! Mister Murasame told me that if I wanted to, I could train myself here to do so! Did you come here to train too, Miss Ikaruga?"

"You could say that."

Ikaruga glanced over her shoulder at the training dummy.

There were signs that he landed a few hits, but the damages to the surrounding area spoke more volume about his hit percentage. None of the damage was permanent, but the fact that Isayuki was making such damage in the first place made her curiosity run for a bit.

"My brother asked you about shinobis this morning." Her brother said he wanted to be the one to deal with it, but she couldn't hold herself back. "Are you sure you have no idea what they are?"

"It's not food, is it?"

Isayuki's confusion was rather genuine.

There was no hint that he was hiding anything regarding the subject matter. The fact that he knows nothing because of his amnesia at the moment didn't necessarily mean that Isayuki didn't know what shinobis were before his amnesia.

The fact of the matter was that Murasame found him floating down a river.

Was it possible that Isayuki had been defeated on a shinobi mission beforehand, assuming he was formerly a shinobi? It still wouldn't make sense though, seeing how his combat abilities were not up to expectations, so there would be no reason to believe that higher-ups would let him go on a mission.

"Please ignore my question," Ikaruga continued, choosing to step back and respect her brother's wishes. "You said you wanted to train, right? I could show you some pointers in improving yourself."

"You would!? That would be amazing, Miss Ikaruga! Thanks!"

"And please, you may refer to me by my name. There's no need for honorifics."

As the training session went on for a bit, Ikaruga used whatever lessons she remembered from her days at Hanzō Academy. Since she used a nodachi, her standards had been different to how Isayuki might want to fight, but there was someone in her elite class who fought with their hands as well. It might have been a category of unarmed combat more different to what Isayuki was looking for, mainly because her former classmate had a unique style, but the overall guide worked well in both manners.

"Take this! And this! I got you now!"

However, as Isayuki was being outplayed by a stationary target, being far too fast for his attacks to connect properly, Ikaruga started to think how clumsy he really was, but he never showed signs of giving up. The entire time, Isayuki had a determined smirk. While he was rolling across the ground, slamming his body against the dummy and tripping over his own footing, Ikaruga smiled softly.

"It's no wonder as to why my brother took a liking to him."