Chapter 25 - No story
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Chapter 26 : Quietly Blooming Killing Intent
On the second day, Yuuki showed up again at the Ryougi house like nothing had happened.
Because his body hadn't recovered from overexertion, he performed worse than before.
Then the third day, he came again.
The fourth day, he somehow completed the training and immediately asked for a spar with Kaname.
"Alright—today, Yuuki, you defend. If you can block or evade my attacks for thirty seconds, you win."
The result didn't need imagining. It was a crushing defeat. Yuuki's stamina bottomed out; he couldn't even mount a proper defense and was dismantled with ease.
The fifth day, Yuuki returned again and completed the training.
"Today's rules are…"
…
In the blink of an eye, more than a month passed. Time slipped to the end of August.
Late July through all of August was summer vacation. As if it were the only natural thing in the world, Yuuki came every single day to find Kaname.
In truth, even failing to complete ten thousand swings in a day didn't matter—so long as Yuuki didn't abandon his purpose. Because Kaname had never actually said it had to be completed in one day from the beginning.
It was the same kind of wordplay Yuuki himself liked to use.
At first, Kaname thought Yuuki simply hadn't noticed—because he was too anxious.
Neither Shiki nor Kaname believed Yuuki had any reason to be anxious. But now, Kaname could almost confirm it: Yuuki truly had something weighing on him.
Even so, whatever the reason, Kaname didn't intend to interfere.
Because over this month, Yuuki's growth was genuinely enormous.
Whether it was latent talent, or the sheer force of obsession—no matter how Kaname raised the bar, Yuuki grit his teeth and met it. And every three to five days, he'd suddenly break through his slump, as if the exhaustion and the hidden injuries from forcing his body had been "healed" overnight.
Now Yuuki could complete ten thousand swings and still have enough strength to trade a few exchanges with Kaname—who was using only one hand.
During training, Kaname also discovered something unusual: Yuuki's combat intuition was absurdly high. A week ago, Yuuki had nearly survived the full thirty seconds by pure evasion and parrying—so badly that Kaname never chose that rule again.
Recently, Kaname even had Yuuki practice with his eyes closed—swinging blind, dodging blind—considering whether to teach him the technique of [Mind's Eye].
It looked very much like Kaname was cultivating Yuuki as "family."
But while Kaname grew increasingly impressed with Yuuki, Shiki grew increasingly irritated.
She stubbornly refused to meet Yuuki directly. She only watched him from time to time—and every time, her emotions grew more tangled. Even when she complained to Ori—her inner self—the replies never matched what Shiki wanted to hear.
Because Ori was satisfied with Yuuki's performance too.
"Yep, yep. For a stubborn Shiki, clinging and refusing to let go is exactly what works."
Shiki could practically hear Ori saying that, cheering Yuuki on. She couldn't understand why Ori liked that man so much after only a few encounters.
Shiki hated the feeling—like she was the only one being childish.
And the more she saw Yuuki's stubbornness, the more irritated she became.
Wanting to cut off that irritation completely, it twisted into killing intent—thicker and thicker.
If this continued… maybe one day, that thread would snap.
"Yuuki—if you fought Shiki right now, you'd probably die ten times out of ten. But if you train like this for a year, it should be enough. And purely in terms of strength, you might already be above her."
After all, Shiki was a girl—Kaname said it lightly.
Yuuki kept swinging with his eyes closed.
Swish.
Swish.
Swish—!
"A year is too long. I want faster. I want to… get closer to Shiki."
Behind the door, Shiki watched him and couldn't help remembering the night they'd stumbled upon the murder scene—Yuuki stubbornly placing himself in front of her like a shield.
If one day he became as strong as Kaname… if he truly could protect her…
The irritation surged harder.
Shiki bit down on her fingernail and whispered so softly nobody could hear:
"Why…? If you do that… doesn't that mean I have to kill you?"
…
"By the way, Yuuki—I have a job in Misaki Town tomorrow. I won't be back until the day after."
Meaning: even if Yuuki finished training tomorrow, he wouldn't be able to spar Kaname.
Kaname looked at Yuuki's obvious disappointment and smiled.
"Come on. It's been over a month. I'm tired too. Think of it as a day off for both of us. Don't rush so much."
"No. I'm just useless. I've wasted so much of your time."
"You're already impressive. Watching you improve this fast makes me lose confidence."
That day's practice ran deep into the night. As always, it ended in Yuuki's defeat.
Maybe because it had been a month—because he could clearly feel himself growing stronger—Yuuki had begun to slacken a little.
On the way home, he closed his eyes and opened the Moonlight Greatsword panel for the first time in a while.
Moonlight Greatsword (A−)
Strength Requirement: 16
Dexterity Requirement: 11
Intelligence Requirement: 38 — Insufficient
If you meet two requirements, you may equip. If you meet all three, you may perform Mana Discharge.
Upon release, converts moonlight into a torrent and unleashes a large thrust forward. Damage increases with local moonlight intensity. If requirements are not fully met, release may fail to achieve full effect and may damage both user and Noble Phantasm.
At full moon: lowers release risk; increases release power.
A week ago, Yuuki had finally reached the Strength requirement. That meant he could equip it, use it, and swing this A− Noble Phantasm like an ordinary weapon.
At the same time, the description had expanded—revealing details he hadn't known before.
But because he still didn't meet the Intelligence requirement—a number towering far above the others—Yuuki had no idea what "Mana Discharge" actually was.
Did he even have "mana" at all?
Maybe once Touko arrived in Kanbu City, he could finally get answers. As for "release," he hadn't tried it.
The risk was too high. Even if he tested it, he'd wait until the next full moon.
Yuuki lifted his head.
The moon was missing a corner—late month.
He'd been so consumed by training that he hadn't visited Miss Fujou in a while. And Tama… every so often he'd had to burden her, too. Even if her body had adapted, he still hadn't given her the compensation he'd promised.
And Fujino, too…
At first Yuuki had assumed he'd run into Araya again soon. But Lio had been dead for a long time now, and nothing had happened.
"I was thinking… if I could make up with Shiki before August ended, I'd invite her to the fireworks festival."
Yuuki vaguely remembered that this year's festival had something unusual about it—but his attention had been elsewhere.
Walking home alone after leaving the Ryougi house, he muttered with regret.
Kanbu City's fireworks festival was fairly grand, but it usually didn't run into September—meaning tomorrow would probably be the final night.
The two women at home hadn't gone, mostly because they were worried about him. Yuuki felt guilty. He decided that tomorrow night, he'd invite Fujino and Tama at least—to watch the festival's finale.
Truthfully, Yuuki had never been to a fireworks festival. He'd only heard that crowds of men and women in yukata filled the streets, and he was curious.
Lately, he'd occasionally seen girls walking around in kimono. Sometimes he'd even mistake them at a glance and feel a stab of illusion—as if Shiki had finally come to see him.
Like the girl up ahead right now.
For some reason, she looked like Shiki.
Yuuki stared at the kimono girl in front of him, head lowered.
An orange kimono embroidered with chamomile—strangely familiar.
[Destiny Power +1]
After an entire month, Yuuki heard that notification again.
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