“Okay, then… Duel!”
A moment of silence followed before Lawkey kicked the ground beneath his feet and launched himself forward.
Just before he got to his opponent, he jumped up, holding his sword above his head.
And then, he swung down at Munisai, sending a flurry of attacks at him.
One Shadow Sword Style - Third Stance!
Sudden Winter Rainfall!
“!”
Munisai quickly tightened the grip on both his crutch and sword, then blocked every swing with near-perfect counters.
Heh, not bad, kid. He thought all the while.
After the flurry was done, Lawkey quickly landed on the ground under his opponent’s gaze, immediately readjusting his grip on his sword to hold it in the opposite direction, and then swung it upwards towards Munisai’s head.
One Shadow Sword Style - Sixth Stance!
Early Spring Moonrise!
Following his moves, Munisai planted his right foot in the ground and raised his sword to parry.
Things were progressing as they had done in their last duel, but there was a major difference this time around.
Munisai blocked the swing, redirecting the sword away from him, and using that momentum to turn around and position himself behind Lawkey.
One Shadow Sword Style - Sixth Stance!
Morning Phantom Dance!
The mentor had used the same move he had done in their last duel.
But this time, Lawkey wasted no time and swung his sword behind him in a long arc in an attempt to get ahead of the head strike that usually follows.
It is in moments like these that the boy wished he could carry two swords, but alas.
One Shadow Sword style - Second Stance!
Evening Autumn Moonbow!
Just as his sword got closer to his mentor, he felt a sudden tug on the back of his Keikogi pulling him away.
He quickly realized what was happening.
This is…!
“That’s right!” Munisai affirmed Lawkey’s thoughts after noticing his wide eyes, “This is the fifth Stance!”
It was the same move that briefly held the giant wolf Kerberos in place and allowed the Sword Saint to land his attack back then.
One Shadow Sword Style - Fifth Stance!
Beast Of Darkness, Unseen!
Lawkey’s surprise wasn’t because he was just taken off guard, it was more due to the nature of the fifth Stance.
During his training, he had learned, and personally realized, that along with the fourth and ninth Stances, the fifth Stance was almost impossible to use without the shadow Manipulation Sign.
You could only practice it, but its very execution relied heavily on the Shadow Manipulation Sign to disrupt an opponent’s shadow and throw them off guard, or potentially hold them in place for a split second.
And yet, this old man had done the unthinkable in the midst of a fight using only his sword.
Something he had deemed impossible…
Lawkey felt the corners of his mouth stretch more than they had done in a while. The rising beat of his heart was almost audible.
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“Not bad, old man!!”
“Heh, you cocky kid! Who do you think I am?!”
Having delayed his followup move for just a second, Munisai quickly swung his sword at his opponent, but Lawkey had already kicked the ground to jump out of the way.
“Woahh! Lulu is actually doing really good against Sensei!”
“They should be using real, sharped edged blades… so they can be covered in-”
“Let’s stop there, Mai! But this duel really is interesting! We don’t get to see Sensei in action often!”
“Yeah, yeah! You’re right Yuyu! Even Zenzen is awake for this!”
“...”
All the students on the sidelines reacted in their own way, but two individuals were so entranced in the match in front of them, they couldn’t even hear them.
As red and blue eyes watched them closely, the two duelists rushed forward at each other again.
They both swung their blades forward diagonally, causing a clash of their Bokken that sent sudden shockwaves around the dojo.
One Shadow Sword Style - First Stance!
Endless Night!
In that brief moment where their swords clashed, they made brief, but sharp eye contact.
The same thought crossed their mind.
To attempt the impossible.
They each took a step forward, quickly phasing out of their opponent’s sight,
One Shadow Sword Style - Fourth Stance!
Late Summer Night Shade!
“?!”
All the spectators could see are mere afterimages of the two as they reached a speed beyond normal human capabilities.
And then, as if reality caught up with them, the result became clear.
“...”
Munisai stood tall over the boy on the ground rubbing his head.
“Ah! Point! Duel goes to Sensei!” Jun quickly came to and announced the winner.
“Dammit… I almost had you there.”
“You were just slightly behind, but to think you would try this and succeed…” Munisai said, his eyes not wavering, “I’m impressed, kid.”
“...”
“You have done well these past few months. I would go as far and say no one I have taught had made as much progress as you in that time!”
“Does that mean…?”
“Yes, you can retrieve your sword now. You have earned that right, be proud and don’t linger on this defeat.”
“Heh.” Lawkey chuckled as he got up, and bowed to his teacher, “Why would I?”
Munisai simply returned the bow with a smile, glad to see more than one kind of growth in his student.
“Can I finally show you that Stance I’ve been working on in secret now?”
“Don’t get too cocky, kid. It’s not that easy to create sword techniques.”
The two bowed again to their presiding referee before the Dojo was taken over by cheers.
“Lulu!! You did amazing!!”
“Now fight me with real blades.”
Emi went to hug him, but was stopped by Mai holding her back by her pink ponytail, making the silly girl stand in place with her arms stretched out in front of her.
Jun watched Yasuto and Zenga congratulate him too, while the last student stood waiting.
Before she could say anything herself though…
“All right, everyone!” Munisai called, “Gather around!”
With that, everyone quickly stood in a practiced line in front of their teacher.
“You all did well! While some of you didn’t have much of a chance to show off your skills today, I still noticed a good deal of progress! Especially…”
Munisai trailed off until he faced one of his students directly.
“Kojiro, I’m very proud to see the results of your training bearing fruit today. I’m sure that with your natural abilities, you’ll be a great asset to the clan one day, if that is what you wish. Keep it up!”
“...” Kojiro stayed silent for a second, then corrected his posture, “Thank you, Sensei!”
Munisai simply smiled, then continued.
“Now! You have all almost mastered eight of the nine Stances! Next, along with the second and third Principles, we will continue to hone the technique of the last, and the most difficult Stance in our school. The ninth Stance!”
“Yes, Sensei!”
They all answered in unison, their heartbeats rising at the thought.
But just then…
CLACK!
“?!”
“Sensei! You are being summoned to immediately report to Her Majesty, the Queen!”
“Kenzo? What’s wrong?”
Kenzo, the Castle Guard, came rushing into the Dojo, sword in hand. His eyes wavered as his head darted between the students and Munisai repeatedly.
“Let’s go!” Munisai, not needing any further clarification, grabbed his sheathed sword, Masamune, to the side and put on his Haori as quickly as he could.
“Brother! Is everything okay?”
“Yasuto… You should stay here with everyone, do you hear? Don’t go home, I’m sure everyone… and Aki… will do the same. Things will be back to normal soon, I promise!” Kenzo mumbled the first half, only to affirm his tone at the end.
“Wait!” Yasuto called to his brother as the Castle Guard turned his back to him.
“Everyone!” Munisai interrupted, “As Kenzo said, you are all to stay here until we are back! Leave it to us grown ups to take care of things!”
“...” His students didn’t answer for once.
“I need an answer!”
“Y-yes, Sensei!”
Before he completely left, he turned around one last time and addressed two individuals specifically.
“You two make sure everyone stays here!”
Lawkey and Jun gave him a firm nod before he disappeared from view.
“...”
A moment of silence followed in the Dojo after that.
Until the one person who couldn’t read the room stepped up to the occasion.
“Oohh! Do you think the Shadow Queen finally found a husband?!” Emi said as she held a hand in front of her mouth, her face red.
This time, everyone around could not find the words to respond to her. They simply stared at the airhead in front of them.
She didn’t even notice them staring, daydreaming about her theory.
But then she was quickly pulled out of it.
“I did hear from my grandfather that they had recently found signs of Umbra Wolves in the tunnel inside the dark cave. They were investigating it to see if a closed off path to the Shadow Valley had reopened again or if there were more hidden paths somewhere.”
“What?!”
Hearing that, everyone’s eyes went wide in shock.
“That can’t be, Koko!”
“If it is, it would be a disaster…” Yasuto held his chin while furrowing his brows.
“Let them come, I’ll kill them all.” Mai cracked her neck. “My family is always ready for anything that may threaten the Shadow Queen.”
“Why would they attack us now?! Didn’t they lose their Alpha?!” Zenga was somehow on his trembling feet, partaking in the conversation.
“That’s just the thing…” Kojiro started, “The new Alpha might have had different ideas now that the old one was dead.”
“?!”
“...” Jun clenched her hands in tight fists. Everyone could see the wrinkles in her face from how narrow she squinted her eyes.
Not again… Mother…
She thought, but then quickly turned around to check on something.
And to her shock, she had been right.
She had felt something right after hearing what Kojiro said at the end.
Following her gaze, everyone realized the same thing.
“Where is Law?!”
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image [https://i.imgur.com/KQmIY8F.png]