Kyuden Shika

He considered her words for a moment, unsure what to make of them. "Kaito Oubaihime of the Phoenix" He said rather flatly. "But she is far from a source of bad luck, more like an island in a sea of it."

Mitsuki blinked. Thrice.

"You're fighting... for the Phoenix shrine maiden? I was expecting the Scorpion courtesan to be honest from your previous description.

I... Why the Seppun would even be interested in her? She's a nice person sure, and would be a good match for a lot of people, but she doesn't seem politically relevant enough for him as far as I know."

"I don't know why he seeks her but it seems certain to me now that he does." he took a few steps back to make sure he didn't strike the Moto and took a few feeble swings with the bokken. "But that is the hand the Fortunes have dealt."

"This is weird as hell. I don't know what game he, or the Shika, or both, are playing there."

Mitsuki was still assuming for now the Kaito wasn't a wolf in sheep's clothing, though the seed of doubt had now be planted.

And then suddenly she snapped the bokken out of Soyokaze's hands with a strike of her own.

"I'm not a duel specialist, but if you were one of my soldiers, I would forbid you from taking part into the next fight, and maybe the one after that to. A hot head definitely gets people killed on the battlefield, but not on the right side of the army."

"Yes, I have several flaws and being overly emotional is likely chief among them but I also have the determination to see this through. If I have to train for a decade before I can challenge him I will. Are fury and determination not traits you seek in a warrior? "

"Skill is what makes a warrior a warrior. Fury is but yet another technique, a full-out offense more controlled than it looks like on the naked eye. Determination is knowing what your limits truly are, and thus what you can still do in spite of exhaustion and wounds."

Mitsuki pointed her bokken at his neck.

"The one who doesn't fear death enough is not a warrior, just a fool. The warrior treats death with all the deference it's due. Most of their training is dedicated to protecting their own life and then only to inflict harm on others. No warrior who died at the start of a battle from having disdained to protect themselves from stray arrows has ever lived long enough to make a difference.

If you train only to kill, then the only person you will end up killing is yourself."

Mitsuki grabbed the bokken on the ground and threw it back at the Asahina:

"High guard. We're practicing deflecting attacks today. When you'll manage to stop twenty of my strikes in a row, then we'll talk about going further."

He wasn't sure what to make of the Moto's mood but wouldn't question her instruction. He knew what the stance looked like, having watched plenty of bushy train at the academy, but knowledge and practice are not the same. He took his stance.

Mitsuki raised her bokken... and swiftly struck at his left knee instead. The blow wasn't an agreeable sensation.

"Skill is the first thing that keeps warriors alive. The second? Armor. There will always be hit a warrior won't be able to avoid or parry, and in these cases only a good protection can save their life.

Every armor you won't make because you lost yourself in your silly revenge quest is one extra life lost.

...

I'm just so disappointed Asahina-san. You seemed like someone who had their head screwed on right. And now... You're just self-destructing."

His leg buckled and he winced hard, taking a moment to regain his feet. "I should let this child continue to insult me my family and those I care about? To live in his delusion that he is untouchable and infallible his whole life?" He regained his feet quicker then may have been expected as he internalized the pain and he resumed his stance.


The next strike will come from the left, probably at my ribs, be ready.

Mitsuki didn't strike, her words already harder than wood:

"The mongoose does not kill the cobra by spitting venom at it. You're not setting foot on a path that will allow you to defeat anyone but yourself.

If you truly wish to take your revenge, hone these skills of yours that can be made great instead of imitating... I'm not sure who. Yuzu? Reina? Me? Someone that you aren't and will never be anyway, in both good and bad.

Face the truth boy. You're never going to get a clean slice at the other kid. But you can forge the blade that will eventually do so."