An Assassin's Respite

The Katsuchi Style

Kazuna found himself in a peculiar scenario. Kagura was bowing in front of him and had asked him a question he hadn't expected to hear.

"C-could you repeat that?" He stutters in disbelief, thinking that he may have misheard her.

"Can you please teach me your sword style," She repeats.

Kazuna's surprise only increases as he realizes he hadn't misheard her. The fact that she was asking him to train her wasn't what surprised him. It was the fact that she had asked to learn his family's sword style.

"How did you know about my family's style?" He asks.

"In the fight against Ken, I saw you use some sword technique that I have never seen before. I asked Ria about it, and she said that it was probably the Katsuchi style," Kagura answers.

"Sorry if I'm overstepping my boundaries. I'll understand if you deny this training due to the sword style being meant for the Katsuchi clan alone," Kagura says.

Kazuna takes a deep breath and calms himself. 

"No, you're perfectly in line. I was just surprised to hear you ask me to train you in my family's style. I never thought the day would come where I would train someone else in it," Kazuna explains.

"Then, you'll teach it to me?" She asks as a smile begins to spread across her face.

Kazuna nods, and Kagura jumps and shrieks in excitement before hugging Kazuna. She realizes what she did and quickly backs away from him. Her face turns bright red as she shrinks down a bit from embarrassment. 

"G-great, so w-when do we start?" She asks.

"I haven't been shadowing any classes so we can start whenever you want," He answers.

"I"m supposed to be shadowing a class in about an hour, so we could start tomorrow," She replies.

"That should be plenty of time." Kazuna states.

"Wha?!" She chokes in surprise.

"Don't worry, we won't be doing any physical training, I'll just explain the techniques and show them to you," He adds.

"I guess that will be fine," Kagura says.

The pair head to one of the arenas and grab their swords. They didn't bother changing since they wouldn't be doing anything that required them to. 

"Now, before we begin, there are some questions I need to ask," He starts.

"Right," Kagura nods.

"First, your sword, what is its purpose?" He asks.

"It's purpose?" She repeats, drawing a nod from Kazuna.

"Nobody should see their weapon of choice as nothing but a tool. It is a part of them and has a purpose," He states.

Kagura looks at her sword for a few moments, deep in thought before answering.

"Its purpose is to protect those that need to be protected," She answers.

"I see—next question. Despite there being numerous different sword styles, no sword style perfectly fits an individual. Whether we do it consciously or not, we change those styles to better fit our needs and our styles. You are one that tends to do things by the book, but you'll have to change that mentality. Do you think you can do that?" He asks.

"I've done it before, and I'll do it again," She replies.

"Good, now, final question. The Katsuchi style is meant for assassination. Knowing that, are you still willing to learn a style that is meant for killing?" He asks.

"You said it yourself. We change swords styles to fit our styles," She replies.

She answered with no hesitation bringing a smile to Kazuna's face.

"Well said," He says.

"Now, the Katsuchi has five strikes. The 1st strike; sheathed s***h, 2nd strike; double s***h, 3rd strike; fang of the dragon, 4th strike momentum, and finally, the 5th strike; assassination," Kazuna draws Kirin as he begins to demonstrate the strikes.

"You've seen sheathed s***h before. It's a strike that happens so quickly that it appears as if you never drew your sword at all. Double s***h is just as it sounds, two quick strikes. The purpose of the first strike is meant to break your opponent's defenses while the second strike finishes them off. Fang of the dragon is a jab meant to pierce the heart of your opponent. Momentum is a technique that gains in speed and power as the number of strikes increases. If you're fighting someone equal to you or just faster, stronger, or a better fighter, this technique can allow you to overcome any differences in ability," He pauses for a brief moment to make sure Kagura was keeping up. 

Once he was satisfied that she wasn't lost, he continued his explanation to the last step. 

"Last is assassination. Just as it sounds, it is purely meant for assassination. This strike can only be used by someone that has gone through vigorous assassination training. It involves matching your footsteps with your opponent's heartbeat. The catch is that your steps must be completely silent, and your eyes have to be cold and ruthless. Your eyes incite fear, and the opponent's heart only increases that fear," Kazuna states.

"That's the one you used on Ken, right?" She asked.

"Yes, if Kari hadn't stepped in, Ken would not be alive. Are you still willing to learn this style even while knowing that?" Kazuna replies.

Kagura nods, her determination unwavering. 

"I've already made up my mind about this," She responds.

"Very well then, we will start training tomorrow, and I will not go easy," He states.

"Have you ever gone easy?" Kagura asks.

"No, but when it comes to sword training, especially in my family's style, there will be no room for mistakes. I won't let you get away with good enough," He says.

Kagura nods once more, inciting a smile from Kazuna. They hear the warning bell for the start of their next period so Kagura hurries to get to her class.

"I readily agreed to train her in my family's style, but can I really train her properly? I never fully finished my training with my grandfather, so I can't even say the Katsuchi style I use is the same as my grandfather's. Will that lead to problems, or will it turn out to aid her?" His mind was filled with doubts about the training, but he pushes these doubts out of his mind.

"No, it's not about if I can do this or not, I will do it. This is the sword style my grandfather passed down to me, he would want me to continue spreading it," He tells himself as he continues to class.

Kagura and Kazuna were in one of the arenas continuing their training. She was already being pushed even before they started actually training in the actual style. She was tasked with repeatedly swinging her sword until she couldn't swing anymore. This was the third day of her doing this, and her arms felt like jello. It had become a task for her to do anything with her arms, even mundane tasks such as writing or opening doors. She would swing her sword for hours a day before she gave out, and every time Kazuna would tell her that they would continue doing the same thing tomorrow. Her arms had finally given out, and she dropped to her knees. She looked over at Kazuna, sweat dripping from her entire body, hoping he tells her that they'll be doing something else.

"We'll be doing the same thing tomorrow," He says as he hands her a towel and some water before leaving.

She wipes away her sweat and gulps down the water. She stares at her hands that were covered in blisters and were rugged from the constant swinging. 

"I wonder if he's actually training me or if he's trying to get me to quit?" She asks herself.

"Having doubts?" She hears a voice say.

She looks over and sees Ria appear next to her.

"Were you here the entire time?" She asks.

"Yes," She answers.

"Why?" Kagura asks.

"Never mind that you're worrying about nothing," She deflects.

"You mean about the training?" Kagura asks.

"Kazuna went through the same thing when the old man trained him," Ria explains.

"He had to do the same thing?" Kagura asks.

Ria nods and sits next to her.

"Kazuna's really awkward, more so than you may realize. He wants to train you properly because that's what you want, but he wants to go easy on you because he doesn't want to see you struggle. But he hasn't quite figured out how to be hard on people when he needs to be without being harsh. So be patient and believe in him. If you stay focused and keep training hard, you'll see results," Ria states.

Kagura looks at her with a shocked expression before her face softens with a smile.

"You know, I always thought you hated all of us, yet here you are giving me advice," Kagura says.

"I don't hate any of you. Actually, I'm thankful to all of you. You all managed to do something I was never able to. You managed to free Kazuna from his past. All I could do was trap him there," Ria says.

Ria had a sad look on her face as she rested her chin on her knees. She must have been struggling with that thought for a while now.

"You shouldn't beat yourself up over it. I'm sure Kazuna never thought of you as a burden. You were probably what allowed him to keep fighting on. From what I can gather, once his grandfather passed, you were the only person he had left that understood him and knew what he was going through. You must have been his peace of mind that kept him sane," Kagura states.

"You... you really think so?" Ria asks.

"Think so? I can see it clear as day. It's obvious that he feels most comfortable around you. And he cares a lot about you, that's why he tries to keep you away from any conflict. Even in the fight against Ken, your part was clearly a last resort. I'm sure he regretted his decision once he saw you get hurt, but he would never admit to something like that," Kagura adds.

The girls laugh together before letting silence take over. 

"You know, I wouldn't mind losing to you," Ria suddenly says.

"Lose to me?" Kagura repeats in confusion.

"You're in love with Kazuna like I am, right?" Ria asks.

"Wha-, how...?" She starts to stutter out a defense but sizzles out.

"Yes," She quietly replies.

"If I were to guess, I'd say that you were the main reason Kazuna chose to come to this school and are the one that has influenced him the most. If Kazuna were to choose you, although it would hurt, I would be okay with it," Ria states.

"Ria," Kagura mumbles.

"But don't take that as a sign of me admitting defeat. I won't lose, I'll be the one to win Kazuna's heart," She says with confidence.

Kagura slaps both sides of her face, grabs her sword, and continues to swing it.

"I thought you were done for the day?" Ria says.

"Done? I can't just sit around and do nothing when I have some strength left. Especially after you basically declared war," Kagura says.

Ria smiles as she leaves Kagura alone in the arena, swinging her sword.

Kazuna enters the arena after school. He and Kagura had been training for the past few days. He exits the hallway and enters the open arena and sees that Kagura was already in the center, swinging her sword. He smiles to himself as he heads to the sidelines and sits down without saying a word to her or even acknowledging her. For the next several hour's Kagura swings her sword while Kazuna sits in silence before Kazuna breaks the silence.

"You pass," He says.

Kagura stops her swing and looks at him with a surprised look.

"I... what?" She replies in confusion.

"You pass. We're going to be moving to the next step," Kazuna reiterates as he begins to stand.

"Although I'm happy to hear that, what did I do differently to pass?" She asks.

"There were a few things that you did. First, you came here to train early on your own without my guidance. Second, you swung your sword for a longer time than the previous days, and it looked as if you could have gone for several hours longer. And last, you had a different look. Sure, you were determined to learn my sword style, but you didn't have the proper motivation. Determination is nothing without motivation. Whatever motivation you found recently, remember it and stick to it and you'll easily be able to master the Katsuchi style," Kazuna elaborates.

Kagura's face goes red at the mention of her newfound motivation. She knew very well what her recent motivation was, but there was no way she could tell him what it was. 

"That, that's good," She mumbles.

Kazuna continues to explain the next step.

"Normally, you would have to examine your sword and familiarize yourself with it, but you've used it for long enough that we can mostly skip this step. So with that in mind, place your hand on the hilt of your sword," He says.

Kagura quickly follows his instructions.

"For now, I want you to get used to the motion of the attack. Follow my lead," He says.

He begins to demonstrate the sheathed s***h slowly. He unsheaths his blade and slashes until his arm is fully extended. He stops, rotates the sword, and sheaths it. 

"That's the motion; It’ll be tricky getting the speed, timing, and power down. Too much speed and your timing will be off. Too much power and the speed of your sheath will be slow. You'll have to move the motion into your muscle memory before adding the other components. Only through repetition will you be able to properly learn the technique," Kazuna explains.

"I see, so the first step was a prelude to the training," Kagura notes.

Kazuna nods.

"My grandfather used to say that everything poses a chance to learn. Pay attention and use what you saw to improve," Kazuna states.

"Your grandfather seemed like a wise man. I would have loved to have met him," Kagura notes.

"I'm sure he would have liked to meet you as well. Now, start swinging," Kazuna says.

Kagura nods as she begins to swing and sheath her sword repeatedly. Lurking in the tunnels of the arena was Yua. 

"Look at those two getting cozy," Yua says through gritted teeth.

"You don't have any room to be jealous," Ria says as she appears behind them.

"How long have you been there?" Yua asks in surprise.

"The whole time," She answers.

"That's just a little creepy," Yua teases.

"Says the girl stalking Kazuna," Ria retorts.

Yua lets out a squeak at the remark.

"You're one to talk since you're the person that's always stalking him," Yua notes.

"Unlike you, I know that Kazuna can sense my presence. So I'm not stalking, he knows I'm there, and I know that he knows," Ria states.

"So, are you saying..." Yua says as she looks over at Kazuna in time to see him turn away from them.

"Busted," Yua says.

Yua lets out a sigh of defeat, and Ria sighs as well, albeit for a different reason.

"Honestly, surrounded by all these girls and he couldn't be any more clueless," Ria says.

"He is pretty dense," Yua adds.

Ria walks away, leaving her there to continue her stalkerish task.

"Kazuna Katsuchi, the dragon's shadow, a warmhearted softey turned into the most coldhearted assassin the clan has seen in generations. How did he regain his calming presence for so many people? Why couldn't I bring him back? I guess you don't need me anymore," Ria thinks to herself as she exits the arena.