Chapter 32: Dedication & Resilience
Upcoming Reiryoku flowed in the air.
"Haaa!"
*BANG!*
"Haaa!"
*BANG!*
"Haaa!"
*BANG!*
"Your back is sloushing, Mikoto!".
"Hai!"
Ryōma trained his Shunpo while occasionally focusing on Mikoto and Sakuya's stance as they struck the tree that by now was riddled with marks from the bokken striking it. However, with time all marks were focused exactly on the same spots.
Kurayami was on the side, still thinking and looking, wondering what sort of training that was... although it wasn't weird to strike an immovable object, she wondered what was the point of hitting the same spot over and over again.
"You fail to grasp these two don't have a violent background... they hadn't grasped a sword in their lives. The purpose of this training is for them to get used to holding a sword, striking one, and maintaining a stance with discipline" Ryoma explained what she was probably thinking given her odd expression.
"How did you come up with it?"
"I didn't... Sakuya did".
"Huh?" The dark-skinned beauty looked at a blushing Sakuya, confused... if she hadn't grasped a sword in her life, how could she come up with this method of training?
"She knew that wielding a sword is painful, she knows her mind has limitations and she was afraid of the pain of wielding one. So, she did just what she was afraid to do... and by constantly repeating this process, she gets rid of that fear, it is as simple as that".
"Then what about Mikoto".
"She? She's just following her big sister around" Ryoma smirked and Kurayami frowned, feeling a dejavu, "Unlike Sakuya, she is not afraid of the pain of wielding a sword, this training holds little purpose for her other than discipline. So even though they're doing the same thing, one is more efficient and is ripping more fruits than the other".
"..." Kurayami's thoughts were a mystery.
"Doesn't that remind you of someone?~"
Ryōma went back to his training while occasionally staring at Kurayami who was just sitting there, doing nothing.
"How long are you going to be there? It is getting late" He mumbled.
"Can't I?"
"Do whatever you want..."
Ryōma sighed and didn't mind her presence anymore. He continued training his Shunpo. Kurayami watched him do this and realised it was a completely different method from what was taught in the academy. Ryoma was in the same spot while the air fluctuated around him in different directions.
'He is breaking kido into natural parts instead of following a pre-made formula...'
She thought his method was working but it was bound to take a long time before Ryōma could master it. Rather than stare at his method enthralled, she stood up, looked around the courtyard and there were real swords in a weapon rack at the side.
She picked one up without asking and peeked around, Mikoto and Sakuya weren't paying attention and neither was Ryōma. So she put a stance with that sword and exhaled deeply, then she struck forward, starting from the basics.
*WHOOSH!*
A single strike produced a gust of wind that got everyone's attention. Kurayami broke a sweat and removed her Reiryoku from the next strike.
Ryōma smiled and continued his training, and so did Mikoto and Sakuya until the moon rose. Mikoto and Sakuya took peeks at Kurayami continually during their training and in her they saw what they wished to become.
...
After the training period was finished, the young man sighed in pleasure. He had taken a cold shower and now every fibre of his body touched the lukewarm water of the massive bath. Ryōma stretched his arms at either side, he opened his eyes and there she was, the dark-skinned beauty with long white hair relaxing in the bath with her big boobs floating on the surface, she had her arms spread just like his with a towel wrapping her long white hair.
"..."
"..."
"Why are you still here?" He asked nonchalantly.
"Can't I?" She asked back.
End of conversation.
Mikoto and Sakuya walked in shortly after once they had their shower, they got in the bath and leaned at either side of Ryoma until a conversation sparked between them asking Kurayami what the Shin'o Academy was like. The three ladies quickly started to gossip with Ryoma in the background, wondering why Kurayami's chemistry was so compatible with Sakuya and Mikoto. He realised that other than a strong woman who knew how to wield a sword and strike first, she was quite charming.
Ryoma looked at Mikoto and Sakuya's jiggly boobs enthusiastically... but then he saw the audience's big dark-skinned jiggly boobs too and sighed, there wasn't going to be any action in the bath for him tonight.
...
After taking a while longer than the girls to take his bath, Ryōma headed out to the dining room. He saw Mikoto and Sakuya cooking while Kurayami was awkwardly cutting the vegetables with a katana.
"..." He rubbed his temples and sat at the table together with Murasaki who was napping on the table while Ryota and Ryosuke were playing, his gaze set on them and the two boys flinched
"Now that I think about it... where were you two? weren't you training?"
Both kids shivered, "B-Big bro we're going one step at a time! A-Also the boys in the neighbourhood invited us to play so–"
"You both better start making your luggage to go to the Shiba Clan" he threatened with a smile.
"We will work harder, big bro!".
"Uh-huh... sure".
The family sat down to eat, Ryōma took a sip of Sakuya's hotpot which was delicious as always. He felt somebody kiss his left and right cheek, they were Sakuya and Mikoto respectively, giggling happily by his side.
Ryōma nodded and looked forward to seeing Kurayami sitting across and also enjoying her hotpot next to Murasaki and the kids who didn't pay her any heed.
"Why are you still here?" He asked nonchalantly.
"Can't I?" She asked back.
End of conversation.
...
After dinner, followed by some evening meditation with Shitsutora and Hebimaru it was time to sleep to wake up early for a new day. Ryōma headed towards his room, on the way there was Sakuya's room. He slid the door slowly and found Sakuya dead asleep while hugging Mikoto.
"..." He sighed as there wasn't going to be any midnight action for him tonight and continued onwards to his room. Opened the door and lay down on the bed... soon after an arm lightly tapped his face, followed by some yawning.
Ryoma removed that arm and rose to see Kurayami lying down on his bed, spread like a starfish and wearing nothing but a piece of Sakuya's underwear and a shirt that was a bit loose since Sakuya's chest was bigger.
"Why are you still here...?" He asked nonchalantly.
Kurayami yawned and rubbed her eyes, looking at Ryoma.
"Can't I?" She asked back.
"There are twenty rooms in this manor".
"But this is your room"
She yawned and stretched like a cat, displaying the sharpness of her body. Then pulled him down and put the quilt all over... in less than two minutes she was snoring and holding Ryoma as if he were her scratching pillow.
"Shitsutora" He couldn't help but ask for opinions.
'Hmn?'.
"Do I look like a pussy today?" He asked just for clarification.
'You do, actually~'.
"... you're not helping. Hebimaru?"
*Hissing*
"Do I look like a complete pussy today?".
*Maddened Hissing!*
"..."
'You see, we agree on something~'.
"... is everyone in the Shihōin clan this willful?".
'No, Yoruichi is worse'.
"I don't care if you're sleeping or not... but I'll tell you know, the next time you crawl into my bed without my permission, you're getting it..." With his warning delivered, Ryoma focused and within minutes he was asleep.
Kurayami's eyes opened and then closed, a small grim poked out before she fell asleep again, hugging that pillow tightly.
The following morning Ryoma groaned and removed Kurayami's sprawled body out of his, when she slept... she slept like a log, literally.
After cleaning up Ryoma headed downstairs and found breakfast was already prepared on the table wrapped up for him, Murasaki, Kurayami and the kids.
Confused he headed to the courtyard and found Sakuya and Mikoto were already training, striking that wooden log with a lot more force than before, it was already the seventieth strike for the first round. Ryōma was amazed and didn't expect this much dedication from them, especially from Sakuya.
'I guess I wasn't wrong. She did have potential and only needed a bit of a push'.
****
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