I've got to say, this really is a first.
My sword came down, as casually as I could make it go, with one hand.
Zekka jumped back, her feet skidding across the dojo floor at the force of her leap.
Usually, when I'm dealing with a girl's problems, they sort of just spill them all out on me without much or any prompting.
Zekka doesn't move from her new position, even as I lazily pull my sword back up and perch it upon my shoulder.
So many openings, lost in an instant, because she's refusing to act.
I've also fucked them already by that point, or am getting around to it by then at the very least.
I breathe, and my next step becomes like a dozen. I catch Zekka's eyes widening as she sees the blur of my movement, and I practically appear behind her.
In reality, though, I may as well have walked around and right up to her back.
That isn't going to fly here, and to be honest, I'm kind of going in blind here. I'm assuming this has something to do with her shyness, but I'm not at all sure how that connects to her martial ability.
It's a damn shame too.
My sword swings like a bat for her neck, but strikes out in the air.
Zekka ducked, kneeling just in time for the oversized wooden stick to pass right over her.
I can tell, even though she won't attack, she can fight. Even if I didn't know about her family or gear, I can tell.
She's holding back massively.
Not out of necessity, no, I know she's not underestimating me.
I get the feeling she's underestimating herself in truth, not in regards to her ability exactly, but somewhere far deeper.
I sluggishly hold my sword off to my side, just standing there.
Zekka turns, her stance tight, sword kept close like a form of armor.
She doesn't even try to lash out, not even a little bit.
"Zekka-chan!" The shrimp calls out from the side, her hands raised and clenched into trembling fists, "Why are you being so stubborn!? Attack! You see the openings, don't you!?"
I think the pinky over there feels it too, even if she's not crossing swords with the girl.
Unfortunately, I don't think Zekka is hearing her right now.
I stare down into the shy girl's eyes, mine narrowing in no small amount of annoyance, "You need a target sign to go with all these openings?"
With a shrug of my shoulders, several places across my body light up like big candles, soft glowing flames becoming like light indicators.
My neck, shoulders, forearm, chest, groin, knees; hell, I may as well just be on fire. That's how open I'm leaving myself right now.
I hold my arms out and state plainly, "Here you go. That good enough for ya?"
Zekka's eyes merely narrow, considering, extremely cautious.
Huh.
I think my sarcasm and taunting are legitimately flying over her head right now.
"Aim for the groin, Zekka-chan!"
Wow. Okay. Brutal pinky, brutal.
Fortunately for me, Zekka did not aim for the groin. She didn't aim anywhere at all, again.
Instead, she leaped back and away once more, and I couldn't help but groan.
"Are you kidding me right now!?" I exclaimed, exasperated.
Zekka merely tilted her, giving me this defensive and confused look, "It could have, easily been a trap."
"Yeah!" I flung up my arms, damn near done with this shit, "In a normal match! But we're sparring! Sword only!"
"...Such a thing, was never specified."
I blinked at Zekka's answer to that, and swiftly moved to correct her.
My mouth opened, and then I remembered exactly what I said before the match began.
I want to see where you two stand.
I didn't exactly go into it beyond that.
Fuck.
My mouth shut, and I clicked my tongue before holding up a finger and speaking properly, "Okay, that's fair, I actually didn't specify, you got me there."
Zekka nodded, but I wasn't entirely done.
"Still," I point at her, "that doesn't mean it wasn't heavily implied! After all, this is all for a club called Cult Sword. I don't think fiery explosions are a part of that."
"Unless they come from a sword!" Avi chimed in to add.
Zekka blinked, before her stance slumped slightly, her gaze diverting down, a strained expression stretching across her face.
I sighed, my arms falling loosely to the side, the grip on my sword so lazy even a stray breeze could probably blow it from my grasp at this point.
If this keeps up, this is just going to get sad. There's something in there, but it's clear she doesn't want to use it, for whatever reason.
I could probably pull it out with force. Maybe pulling what Vali did against Issei in volume four would do the trick, threatening loved ones.
Though that might be crossing a line, even for me.
Damn it! This is even worse than that time I beat some sense into Akeno's Dad!
That time, I knew what the problem was, and could punch him physically and verbally! Here, I have barely a clue!
Well, I do know one thing for sure.
"This can't go on like this." I huff out, almost at a loss.
If it does, nothing's going to change.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see the shrimp look between both of us, her face set with concern, before she abruptly walks out onto the floor proper.
Right up to Zekka.
"Zekka-chan…" Avi murmured, though Zekka didn't move her head to acknowledge her presence at all.
From where I'm standing, I could see the look of pure and utter concern for the girl on her face from here, clear as the cloudless sky.
It struck me like a thunderbolt, not any physical attack, but the missing piece to this mental and emotional puzzle.
Zekka is a shy girl who, if my initial impression of her continues to hold, likely doesn't have any friends.
When we first met, I focused more on who she was, not what logically came about from it.
She doesn't have friends. She probably doesn't feel like she has many who care about her, if any at all.
Then, when you consider she's still just a kid…
Huh. Is it really that simple?
Well, only one way to find out.
Time to pull a softer volume four Vali!
I take a single step forward, the grip on my sword tightening.
Zekka, for once, doesn't react, but Avi does, her hand twitching toward her thigh, of all things.
My eyes narrow, and I can just barely make it out.
That the little pink midgets got a knife strapped to her thigh!
It's incredibly hard to see, but if you look close enough, you can see one of the straps for it just barely peaking out from under her skirt!
Not going to lie, that neat little tidbit for some reason makes me somewhat excited to test the pinky's skills.
But, for right now, time to play a part!
"Oi." I start, "Better move out of the way, pinky. I don't remember the match being called just yet."
I take another step, slowly walking toward the two girls.
It takes the shrimp another moment of looking at Zekka before she finally replies.
"...No." Avi ground out, impossibly quiet for her.
Oho? I raise an eyebrow and stop, a mere few steps away from the two girls.
"No?" I parrot, curious.
"That's right." Avi turns toward me, her face now set with a stern frown, "No! If…If she doesn't want to fight, she doesn't need to! You can't force her!"
"Force her?" I snort, "I didn't force her, though? She agreed, not even a peep in argument."
Avi stumbled, "T-That's…still!" She clenches her fists and looks me in the eyes, "Right now, clearly, she doesn't want this! I can see it in her eyes! I'm calling the match, you can fight me instead!"
I could already feel the tension, a thick, ominous, shadowy thing, building around us like a dull, silent noise.
My smile at her words ensured it became real, a smog wrapping around the floor.
And my response?
"No."
Ensured it became very real.
Avi, almost on instinct, stepped back, reeling in surprise, "N-No?"
"Mhm." I hummed back, "This fight isn't over until I say it's over. And so far, you can't even really call it a fight. It's been more like trying to hit a runaway piñata."
"That's because she doesn't want to fight!" Avi fired back.
"Sounds like a her problem." I responded, casually.
Avi's mouth gaped, "W-What!?"
"I'm not exactly sure what you're confused about." I sigh, putting my weapon over my shoulder, "I said I'm going to test you both. You'll have your turn, right now, it's Zekka-chan's."
"She doesn't want to be tested! Clearly!" Avi expunged once more.
"And?" I once more deflected.
"And nothing!" Avi finally had what seemed like enough, stepping forward, right up to me, "You better stop pushing, Mr, or we're going to have problems!"
"Oh yeah?" My smile never left, even as I leaned down to look her right in her eyes, "What kinda problems?"
And released my aura, the aura that I had, up to this point, been containing so as not to overwhelm the two girls before me, and not freak out the school that's very close to us right now.
Of course, I don't let out everything, no, just enough.
Enough that my entire body lights up like a comet entering the planet's atmosphere, and the entire building begins to shake.
No.
Not the building.
The swords. The demon and yokai swords are trembling in the presence of my divine power.
It's impressive, then, that the pink midget in front of me has a far more subdued reaction.
Oh, just like the swords, she's trembling, but to a far lesser extent, even though she's far closer to my aura than the swords.
Thus, she can feel its effects far more directly.
Which explains the small nosebleed trickling out of her nose as she stands before me, defiant, despite the instinctual fear within her eyes, she won't allow her face to show it, and the fire in her eyes does well, somewhat completing the mask.
Still doesn't completely trick me, though.
As if awakened from some kind of sleeping spell, Zekka's attention finally snaps forward, toward us.
"A-Avi-senpai…!?" She intones, befuddled.
As though prompted, Avi turns her head and looks back at her, albeit not entirely, "I t-told you, Zekka-chan!" She gives her a thumbs up, and a beaming smile, despite the blood flowing down her face, picking up in intensity, "I'd figure something out!"
For a brief moment, Zekka stared, shell-shocked at the situation unfolding before her.
I could almost see it in her eyes, as the gears turned, the thoughts formed, and her mind ran with it. Memories, connections, realizations.
She has someone who cares about her. Who's willing to stand before a divine being for her. Who's willing to bleed for her.
Who may, in fact, even be willing to die for her, too.
"Now," I began, no longer addressing pinky, who turned back to try and glare up at me.
"Hey!"
I ignored her, looking right over her, right at Zekka, "Isn't this all you need to fight? A friend to protect, who will protect you in turn?"
Zekka's eyes widened as though she gasped, completely and utterly silently.
I saw it in her eyes, the moment everything she was thinking clicked in her mind just right.
Zekka righted herself, her slumped posture, her sagging stance, all of it, she corrected, smoothly sliding into becoming battle-ready in almost a heartbeat.
Finally seeing where I'm looking, just as she was about to speak up again, Avi turned to follow my gaze, and immediately seemed to recognize the changes in Zekka.
"Ze-Zekka-chan, you don't have to," She began, only to be cut off.
But not by me.
"I'm sorry, Avi-senpai." Zekka cut her off with a shake of her head, "For the pain I made you endure, and that I'm making it all for naught, but…I must fight."
Avi perked up, her eyes widening and glimmering with something I couldn't quite describe, "Zekka-chan…!"
Her gaze moved up from the shrimp to me.
"I will have you pay, for hurting Avi-senpai." Zekka said matter-of-factly.
I raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Oh really now?"
Zekka nodded, resolute.
Then, in a whirlwind of blinding white aura, she vanished.
My hand snapped up on sheer battle instinct before I could focus my eyesight, my mind just barely registering the fact that Zekka pulled out Touki on me all of a sudden, as a loud wooden ringing sound echoes throughout the dojo.
In my outstretched hand, between two fingers, I held Zekka's sword.
"From now on," Zekka grunted, pressing her blade down in midair, aura flaring around her and her weapon like a growing campfire, "I'll be serious!"
I smile, the divine power around me calming, words are no longer required.
Instead, golden aura flickers across my hands, pressing into the blade.
Said blade then promptly pops like a balloon, sending wood chips and splinters falling like rain around us.
Zekka's gaze sharpens as she begins to fall, weaponless.
I give her no time as I swing my sword over the shrimp's head, hefting the wooden blade straight for Zekka's throat.
"Niten Ichi-ryu-"
She calls out, right before she lands.
"Liriope!"
My blade cuts right through her throat, right as she lands.
So clean the cut is, that there's no resistance, only the air.
The figure of Zekka then fades away like a distant haze.
Heh. So that's how afterimages feel?
The sound of bamboo swords beating and shifting together briefly whistles across the dojo.
I turn around, bringing my sword down once more with a single arm as I do.
Right in time to meet an aura-clad Zekka, now wielding two wooden swords taken from the pile Avi left where she was originally standing.
Her swords came up, crossed, her fighting spirit blazing around the fragile wooden blades as my massive beat stick barrels into them, smashing into the center.
It sounded like three full-sized trees smashed into each other at full force, yet without the breaking, that hollow wooden ringing is all that resounded. The floor shook beneath Zekka's feet, taking the brunt of the blow as it traveled down her shaking arms and into it.
My smile turned into a smirk.
Zekka looked up at me, and mirrored it.
I pulled one arm behind my back as Zekka pushed, sending my sword back where it came.
She stepped forward without hesitation, straight into my guard, and stabbed forward with one sword.
I pulled back, taking advantage of her smaller stature and sword, easily dodging the jab.
Only Zekka wasn't having any of it; she followed, pouncing after me like a predator trying to spear their prey, her second sword swinging down with her.
The way she moved felt as though whatever heavy thing that once weighed upon her brow, shoulders, and shins had vanished.
I swung up, sending her sword skidding across my larger blade and away from my body.
Yet she stepped into it, locking her second sword against mine before attempting to push both her blades up into my torso.
Relentless.
But even with her fighting spirit straining around her, she isn't beating me physically, even with me bracing with only one arm.
I show her this by pushing back, stepping forward, and bringing my weight to bear, her swords get pressed back, going so far as to push her swords against her chest, which finally forces her to leap back.
She doesn't dally, right as she lands, she's dashing forward once again, her swords ready.
I love a good dance, and what a great dance it quickly became!
A rapid pace assault assumed, with both of her swords swinging to take a piece of me.
The clash would last a mere few swings, but in a battle of blades, that's all it takes to end an opponent.
And at the speed at which our battle commenced, it may take even less.
Across the dojo floor, we dashed around, dual swords meeting great sword, several blows against larger, heavier ones, the sounds of wood clashing against wood almost like those radiating from a windy bamboo forest.
Until both of us came to a stop, near the center of the dojo.
The battle didn't end, no, but we had stopped because it couldn't continue like that, as beautiful as it was.
A beautiful dance, unending, loses its beauty over time.
So too would a battle.
Someone had to give and break first.
And it was up to us to force the other to be that someone.
Zekka held her dual swords out, aura cascading like a raging river across their edges.
She entered a stance, one sword held out in front of her, the other behind her, as she began to intone, "Niten Ichi-ryu, 1st Esoteric Technique-"
Ah.
You know what?
For old times' sake.
I breathed.
No aura nor flames cascaded down my blade, not this time, but it was needed as I slid into the stance, putting both hands on my sword at long last as I followed, "Hinokami Kagura-"
Zekka's eyes widened, but she didn't hesitate; she moved. Her swords sing out as they cut through the air.
"Profuse Bloom of Falling Petals!"
My sword spirals out to meet hers.
"Burning Bones, Summer Sun."
Our swords met at long last.
And the dojo itself cried out in shock as the blades exploded against each other. Air and power, cries and gasps, the dojo's very floor and walls creaked as it was pelted with glowing shards and splinters.
Zekka and I were sent flying away from each other, just a part of the debris, landing on opposite ends of the dojo.
Off to the side, Avi stared, unmoving, clutching either side of her face in awe as she looked between us.
She never did wipe the blood off her face for some reason.
Slowly, I sat up, my smirk never having faded.
And directly across from me, Zekka rose much the same, grasping the side of her head a touch as she did.
Her eyes met mine, and she gave me a much smaller smirk back.
"Well," I begin, "I think it's safe to say you pass with flying colors, yeah? Or flying…" I pick up one of the many, many wood chippings splayed across the floor, "Wood chunks? Either or."
Zekka looked at me oddly, "This was that, kind of test?"
I nearly face-palmed, but was stopped as Avi hurled herself right onto Zekka.
"Weh!?" Zekka recoiled as Avi grabbed onto her.
"You are amazing! I knew you were strong! Hahaha!" The little shrimp laughed heartily and loudly, a nice pair of lungs on that one, that's for sure.
I simply leaned forward, smiling as slowly, perhaps unconsciously, I saw Zekka wrap an arm around Avi, her face growing concerned as she eyed the blood still on the smaller girl's face.
Cute~! I think, for right now, I'll let the two have at it.
Then, well, I guess I'll see if pinky is ready to pull that knife on me!