(A/N) For the sake of clarity I will say that Mystery (magecraft, magic, servants, etc) does not exist within this world, everything supernatural will be related to/explained by Mato and the Peaches… with potentially one small exception (still on the fence with that one).
Anyways, thank you for all the kind words and enjoy!
"What the hell are you doing here?!"
Riu Myouga grabbed at Tsuda's face and pulled his cheeks hard– hard enough for him to feel as though she was trying to rip apart his face. The young man accidentally dropped his sword when he tried to grasp at her arms and push them off of him.
She continued to pinch at his face for a minute before finally letting go. She took a step back and crossed her arms, glaring at the young man. Tsuda rubbed at his face with a cringed look.
"You need to leave, or else she's going to freak out." The old Chief scolded.
"She knows what I'm doing," Tsuda defended, "she wouldn't have made this sword otherwise."
While Riu was chastising the young man, Tenka had grabbed his sword and placed it back within its sheath. "Do you two know each other?" She asked, handing the weapon back to Tsuda– who responded with a murmured 'thank you'.
Riu shook her head. "No, but Masamune and I still keep in contact, and for the longest time she wouldn't stop talking about this child that she found in a demolished town."
"Masamune…" Ren tested the name, taking a second to remember where she heard the name. "That's the nickname of your old Vice-Chief, is it not?"
Riu nodded, "One of the best bladesmiths out there, her swords were the best against the Shuuki."
"Mune didn't mention any friends…" Tsuda racked his brain, attempting to remember any mention of Riu. He couldn't think of anything; however, the closest that could fit the old woman's description was when Masamune talked about– "Oh, right!" He snapped his fingers.
"You were the old ha…..old woman," He attempted to correct himself, a bead of sweat trailing down as the old Chief glared holes into him. "That Old Mune talked about a few times."
Riu's glare softened as she asked, "I'm guessing she referred to her friend as 'Old Hag'?"
"Ah… well…" How ironic that the boy who had challenged the Head-Commander just minutes prior found himself sweating at the current situation. As his adopted mother used to say, 'hell hath no fury like an old woman's scorn', or something like that. Thinking about it now, Tsuda thought that Old Mune really just wanted an excuse for her bad temper.
The tension surrounding Riu Myouga dissipated, however, as a chuckle left her lips. "That rotten woman, we're the exact same age."
In an attempt to change the subject, Riu took the insult well but Tsuda knows that he's definitely not going to step on a landmine like that again, he brought up something else that the old bladesmith used to mention.
"Ah, she also talked a bit about her favorite customer, the husband of her… uh… old friend."
A bright and nostalgic smile graced Riu's face. Her eyes seemed to look beyond the confines of the room, far into a past life.
"Hah, that's right, every sword she made for us was an experimental one." She laughed, memories rushing to her mind. "She liked to use us as guinea pigs for her new ideas, a lot of them didn't really work out so well.
A few seconds passed before her eyes refocused back to the scene in front of her, she looked towards the sheathed blade held within the young man's hand. Then she looked back into his eyes.
"She knows what you've planned to do with this sword?"
Though not expecting the question, Tsuda hesitated before nodding. Riu picked up on this and asked. "What's with that hesitation boy?"
"She uh…" He faltered, were this a cartoon one could have heard him audibly gulp. "She knows that I want to train by fighting Shuuki but she doesn't… she doesn't know that I sneaked into Mato to do so."
Silence reigned in the room for a full three minutes. All three women within the room just stared at the young man, who only now realizes how crazy he most likely sounds.
"And how did you accomplish that?" The Chief of the First Unit asked.
Tsuda's eyes suddenly found great interest in the ceiling above them, "I lied to her about knowing someone in the Corps who could give me a safe passage."
Despite the confession, Riu found herself chuckling. "She's going to give you hell when you see her again."
The young man visibly deflated. "I know."
"Well?"
Tsuda looked up, "Well what?"
"Was it worth it?" Riu clarified. "Sneaking in. Did you get what you were looking for? Were you looking for anything to begin with?"
Tsuda took in the question and stood still in silence for a full minute, thinking about the answer. He wasn't particularly looking for anything outside of just getting better at the sword. Even getting better at the sword isn't his 'main' goal, no, his main goal is achieving that technique, which he doesn't know if it's possible or not.
Then he remembered the events that occurred before Riu Myouga interrupted. He side-eyed the Head-Commander, who had sat back down and made herself comfortable on the chair behind the desk.
"Not yet." He finally answered. His grip on his sheathed blade tightened and he stared into Riu's eyes.
"I still haven't fought someone yet."
"Hm." The old lady hummed. She crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and tilted her head. A decision popped up in her head but she's hesitant about following through.
"Then…" Finally, after a minute, she unfolded her arms and gave Tsuda a choice, "Would you like to prove yourself?"
Tsuda's hand twitched, he took a step forward with hope in his voice, "Can I?"
Riu looked towards the Head-Commander, while Tsuda looked towards Tenka.
Ren stood up, and they both nodded.
With a nod of her own, Riu looked towards the young man before motioning towards the door, "Let's go then."
Tsuda quickly followed after, too quickly in fact. Ren looked towards Tenka with a raised eyebrow. "You brought in someone quite interesting."
A smug smile graced Tenka's face in response. "I know."
Ren, Tenka, and Tsuda followed Riu into the backyard. Along the way they passed a young girl, with short wavy hair, who greeted them. "Ginna." Ren motioned for the young girl to follow, and despite the papers in her hands she obeyed nonetheless. Tsuda took notice of the way she sideeyed him, and the disgusted glare on her face as she did.
One of those, he thought, though he found that it didn't really bother him. Solely because he didn't care, he had something far more important to be focusing on.
Outside of the base of the 10th Unit, the dark bluish and black stone covered the area towards the horizon. In the distance tall mountains stood over the view like pairs of guardians.
While Tsuda had been taking in the view of both Mato and the Head-Commander's base, the new girl, Ginna, had been drawing a large circle around the yard.
"You." She walked up to him, and he noticed the way she cringed as he turned towards her. "Write your name here." She handed him a plank and a brush. He did so and handed it back towards her.
He tried his best not to sigh as she quickly grabbed the plank from his hand, and reacted as if she was forced to pick up dog feces. He knew there was going to be some people like this. Seeing it first hand would have been comedic, were he not on the receiving end.
She quickly dug a hole and grabbed a stack of planks nearby. Tsuda noticed that the names of the Chiefs were also on the other planks.
With a clap of her hands a large and bright barrier surrounded the yard, Tsuda looked on with both astonishment and confusement.
Tenka walked up to him, having noticed his confusion.
"This is Ginna's ability. Only those who have their signatures written somewhere within the barrier are allowed in, and also…" She held out her hand. "Can I see your sword real quick?"
Tsuda raised a curious eyebrow but he obliged nonetheless. Handing the sheathed nodachi over to Tenka. She gently unsheathed a bit of the blade and ran her finger over it, cutting herself.
"What–" Tsuda attempted to ask, but he was stopped as she held out her cut finger towards him. He watched as the small cut healed itself at an unnatural speed. She wiped off the blood that had escaped and showed him her finger again. It looked as though nothing had happened to it.
"Those that are allowed within her barrier also can heal any damage done within the barrier."
"Woah…" Tsuda said in awe. He felt a poke in his shoulder and looked down to see Tenka returning the sword back to him. He gently grabbed it back.
"Is there a limit to the damage that can be healed?"
Tenka took a second, placing a finger (the same one that she had cut to demonstrate the ability) under her chin. After a few seconds she shook her head.
"According to her, even if you were beheaded, so long as you were and are in the barrier, you will be healed."
Tsuda whistled, looking up at the barrier that surrounded them.
"Of course," Tenka continued, "No one has been beheaded while in a barrier, but I have seen people lose an arm and leg that were healed because they lost them while in the barrier."
Then she faced her entire body towards him and crossed her arms. "And just so you don't get any ideas, just because a lost limb can be returned doesn't mean you should go trying it."
"I wasn't thinking that, I'm not a masochist or suicidal." He said with a tilted smile. He definitely wasn't thinking about testing the limits of the barrier's healing ability…
Well, he wasn't intentionally thinking about it.
"Recent developments have made me think otherwise." Tenka teased.
"Are you ready?" From across the area– within the barrier– Riu Myouga called out to Tsuda.
The young man looked towards Tenka, who nodded. "Good luck." She walked away with a smile and a wave, moving to stand right next to the Head Commander and Ginna.
"Um… Commander?" Ginna, who had been brought here with no prior warning, leaned over to her Chief and whispered.
"Hm?" Ren hummed in acknowledgement, giving permission for the younger girl to continue.
"What's…" She looked towards the Chief of the First Unit, then towards the random young man across from her. "...all this about?"
Ren tilted her head towards the Chief of the Sixth Unit, "Tenka here brought us something interesting, so out of kindness for her decision, I allowed for the boy she brought to prove himself."
"Him?" She pointed towards the young man with a cringe. "What's so special about him?"
"Now that," The Head-Commander sideyed Tenka with a sharp smile. "I hope to see too."
With a hand on his chest Tsuda took in a deep breath, attempting to calm his rapidly beating heart. It wasn't because of anxiousness, rather the opposite. He was too excited to think as clearly as he wanted to. After a few breaths he released a final exhale. With a sharpened look he quickly unsheathed his nodachi and took two practice swings.
"I'm ready." He said, loud enough for Miu to hear from the other side.
With a nod, the Chief of the First Unit took a breath, then she placed her hands together in front of her and with her elbows pointing outwards.
"White Mausoleum."
From within her palms a bright white light proceeded to glow. As clearly outlined by the name of her ability, a white japanese-styled mausoleum appeared from next to her. Its large doors proceeded to open, allowing for a shadowy figure to emerge. As it fully exited the doors, the figure came into full view. An old man– one who seemed to be around the same age as Myouga– with spiky gray hair, donned in a traditional white kimono. A sheathed katana held within his hands.
Throughout the entire display, Tsuda's eyes had gone through a myriad of emotions, from confusion, to intrigue, to excitement, to an attempt at serenity.
"The man you see before you is my late husband, Toshihiko Myouga." Riu Myouga began to explain. "In this state, his physical capabilities have been increased to superhuman levels."
One word stuck out to the young man. "Late?" He called out.
With a nostalgic smile, Riu nodded. "My husband has been dead for some time now."
"Ah…" Not knowing how to respond, Tsuda defaulted to what he assumed would be just common courtesy, bowing his head lightly and apologizing.
"Don't apologize boy, besides," She motioned towards the old man, who proceeded to unsheath his own katana. "Does he look dead to you right now?"
Tsuda stood upwards, giving a curious glance over the old man. Obviously he didn't look dead at the present moment, but that would mean…
"Is your ability–"
"He's not undead, if that's what you're thinking." Riu shot down his question right away, causing Tsuda to deflate slightly. "However, I wouldn't necessarily say that's too far off."
By this point, the large mausoleum had already vanished, leaving only the old man present on the field.
"For the sake of this 'spar', think of the body you see before you as an automated puppet, designed solely for battle." That is essentially Riu's Myouga's ability. The dead "summoned" by her become puppets whose sole purpose is to fight. Normally Riu herself would be fighting alongside them, as one of the benefits of this ability is the boost in power from both the summoned and the summoner. This time, however, Riu stood to the sidelines, wanting to measure the boy's capabilities from the side.
The feeling of excitement came back in full force, and at this point Tsuda just decided to try and ignore it. Riu's next words caused an unnaturally sharp smile to spread across his face.
"So if you want to truly prove yourself, do not hold back!" The Chief of the First Unit roared. "Fight as if your life's on the line!"
She held her hand up.
"Three!"
Tsuda subconsciously licked his lips and moved into a stance. One that he's copied from his idol. He tilted forward before kneeling with both hips. Moving his sword forward before moving it back so that the hilt was right next to his face, tilting it so that the sharp part aimed upwards.
"Two!"
The old man stood still, not having moved an inch since he unsheathed his blade.
"One!"
Riu swung her arm downwards, mimicking a chop. "Fight!"
The very moment the word 'fight' left her mouth, the deceased warrior took a step forward, before seemingly blinking out of view.
Tsuda felt a breeze pick up near his face. There! As quickly as he could, Tsuda flipped the sword within his hand, its sharp end now facing downwards. Within a blink he moved his arms back so that the hilt was just behind his face– still to the side of it– and then he swung forward and downwards.
Right as he swung the old man appeared in front of him, swinging his own katana upwards. The two meet in the middle with a loud clang. A sharp breeze emanated from the clash.
Tsuda didn't want to use that technique so early, but this moment felt like the perfect chance. Not wanting to give the old man time to act, Tsuda quickly tilted his blade and swung upwards. Obviously, the old man dodged, the blade barely trimming his beard.
Tsuda knew that this was the outcome, he used the force from swinging the blade upwards to quickly swing it back down. The old man's eyes widened, not expecting the speed at which the blade traveled.
He quickly tried to step back, but the blade hit its target. Tearing the front of his kimono and leaving a hand sized cut on his chest, Although it was a shallow cut, barely any blood poured out.
All of this happened within a blink of an eye.
Tsuda clicked his tongue, had he used the technique the correct way– swinging downwards from above before quickly swinging back up– at that distance, then he would have definitely gotten the kill.
That thought left a bad taste in his mouth, but he quickly shook that feeling off. The man in front of him was technically already dead, so it wasn't technically "killing".
Tsuda didn't have much time to think as despite the injury the old man was quickly on the offensive. It seemed the technique, despite being sloppy according to Tsuda, was enough to impress the old man, as the old warrior appeared in front of the young man and swung downwards.
Tsuda quickly held up his nodachi, blocking the swing, but the old man kept pushing. After a second of struggle between the two, the old man quickly brought his hand up once again before swinging downwards again, this time the force caused Tsuda's defense to drop, while the nodachi still remained in Tsuda's hand, it had been pushed down, beneath his chest. Luckily Tsuda was able to keep his torso a safe distance from the katana–
Tsuda's eyes widened as the old man tilted his katana, and quickly swung it upwards. At the right moment, Tsuda quickly stepped back and leaned back. The katana missed both his head and torso.
Tsuda took another step back to regain his posture, straightening himself up. The old man swung again, this time from the right side. Tsuda quickly retaliated by swinging from the left. Once again the two blades met in the middle with a loud clang. The sheer force of each swing caused the blades to bounce off on another. The old man quickly gathered himself and swung again, still from the left but this time from below. Tsuda quickly gathered his own blade and swung from the opposing direction, still from the right but from above.
Another clang echoed, and once again their blades bounced off each other. They swung again from opposing directions, this time the blades slid off each other, which allowed the old man to switch his swinging arm, moving his sword from right to left, Tsuda retaliated once again.
The clanging of swords reverbed across the ground as the speed of both swordsmen picked up. To Tsuda, the clanging of these two blades was deafening. He heard nothing but the swords in front of him, saw nothing but the opponent in front of him. His smile widened to manic proportions. His eyes were nearly bloodshot. He was so fixated on the fight that he didn't even notice that the old man had cut into his arms twice already.
The wind picked up as they both sped up, Tsuda's heartbeat picked up the pace as well, though of course not as fast.
Someone from a distance would have thought that a person was firing off a machine gun, in fact, someone did pick up the noise and moved to investigate, a full two minutes passed between the two swordsmen, enough for a certain someone to hide next to a boulder and watch from one of the hills in the distance. Their presence did not go unnoticed; however, as Ren perked slightly. She moved her head to where the culprit was, letters in her eyes.
Upon seeing the culprit her eyes widened before she looked back towards the two men fighting. With a blink the letters in her eyes vanished and she couldn't help but release a sigh.
Tenka caught onto the sigh but she was too fixated on the battle in front of her. Not once since the fight began did her eyes leave Tsuda's figure. Ginna had been staring with wide eyes the entire time as well. At first she thought that the Chief of the First Unit was going too far with using her ability, but that thought was quickly thrown out the moment Tsuda drew first blood.
She tilted her head towards the two chiefs next to her. "Are we sure Peaches don't work on men?" She couldn't help but ask, which got a snort out of Ren. Tenka didn't respond, still fixated on Tsuda's movements.
The clashes were deafening, the wind picked up rocks and dirt from around them. They're arms nearly becoming a blur.
In contrast to Tsuda's manic smile, the old man's face was as stoic as it was when they started, but eventually that stoic mask began to crack. Every now and then a clash between the two caused the old man to cringe, his eyebrows wrinkling.
From above, from below, from the left, from the right. From above then to the right, from below then to the left, from above then back down, from the left to the right, from below then to the right. From left and above, from right and below, from left and below, from right and above.
Finally, Tsuda took a step forward, which allowed for the old man to get a few strikes in, but this didn't stop the young man. As quick as he could, with his muscles aching and his hands shaking slightly, he held his nodachi towards the sky before swinging downwards, with enough force to create a gust of wind.
Of course, he took too long to strike, so the old man was able to easily dodge; however, what no one (even the spectators) expected was Tsuda to completely halt his movements before his sword hit the ground, and faster than a blink of an eye he swung upwards with all his might, creating another gust of wind.
The upwards strike stabbed into the oldman's torso, and sliced upwards towards and out his shoulder, releasing large splashes of blood. Tsuda held his hands and the sword upwards, his breath labored. Despite finding it hard to breathe, the smile on his face never once left. Silence reigned in the area, before finally the old man dropped his katana.
His left shoulder hung off his torso, and blood poured down like a fountain. One droplet of blood accidentally flew towards Tsuda, landing on his face and breaking him out of his high.
He blinked, dropping his sword to his side and gazing at his defeated opponent, who still stood upwards.
He blinked again, feeling the blood on his cheek.
"Oh shit–"
He dropped his sword in a panic. "Oh, crap oh crap–"
He stopped his panic as he heard a noise, a noise that came from the old man, who didn't make a single noise up until this moment. It took a second for Tsuda to realize that the noise he heard was a chuckle.
With a smile, the old man gave the young Tsuda a pat on the shoulder before vanishing in a brilliant white light. Though his blood remained.
The words that Riu told him prior to the fight echoed again in his mind, despite the blood the person he just fought was not a living being. He did not just kill a person. With that affirmation in mind Tsuda released a loud sigh of relief.
His heart had been on cloud nine the entire time, and it still hadn't calmed down. He dropped to his knees and stared at his aching arms. His hands were an unnatural red from the stress and pressure. Another wave of relief swept over him as his cuts began to heal at an unnatural rate. I guess that's the barrier, he thought.
After a few breaths he released a chuckle upon hearing footsteps. He looked up towards the three Chiefs (and the barrier girl).
"Well?" He did not need to finish the sentence. The three chiefs exchanged glances, after all three nodded to each other, Ren walked up to him and held out her hand.
"Welcome to the Anti-Demon Corps, Housekeeper."
(A/N)
When I was working on the last chapter, I was actually going to have him fight Ren, but then I realized that was just overkill, so out of the kindness of my heart I allowed for my boy to actually get a win— i.e fight someone who wasn't Ren.
Anyways, for the reason behind the long breaks; I have a commitment problem I think, the moment I realized that this slopfest was actually going to be something that I want to be passionate about, my doubts just skyrocketed. Not only this, but I have too many ideas (not just for this fic but for every fic I have and every potential fic) and I can't focus for too long on a single story. I wanted to keep a schedule for this fic but idk if I'll be able to keep my word. So I decided that I won't keep a schedule. I'll go about my own pace with my stories, but I'll attempt to still push myself because I'm genuinely passionate about writing. I mentioned this in a comment on QQ, but I described this story as wish-fulfillment but my wish as the author is to make a "cool story". I want to add onto that and say that my wish is to make a "cool and satisfying story (to me, at the very least)." Maybe it's objectively trash or maybe it's just mediocre, either way I'm still going to try.
With that said, thank you for reading!
Much love
-an Idiot on the Internet.