After leaving their village, Yakeru and Akari hitched a ride on a carriage and began making their way to her supposed friend. She didn't give any information on this person so Yakeru was confused as to why she brought them up in the first place. He still had much on his mind so he initially wasn't too keen on going with her but she insisted.

"Who's this friend?" Yakeru asked curiously.

"A buddy of mine before I gave up my old life." She answered vaguely.

"That doesn't tell me anything."

It was unlike her to have dragged him along at a problematic time like this. Meeting a stranger he wasn't acquainted with wasn't exactly at the top of his list of priorities. He could've been doing something more productive like training or recruiting rangers for the skirmish. Surely she knew time was of the essence...or perhaps she was fully aware that it was all futile. Maybe she wanted to redeem a solid and make arrangements to move into a new place beforehand. Now that he thought about it, that was most likely the case.

The carriage pulled onto the main road of a small village a couple of hours away from his hometown. The village didn't appear too different from his own with houses dotting the grassy fields, the only difference being a stream meandering through the quiet village. Every house looked relatively the same from the outside with one story and an empty yard. All except one.

Unlike the wooden homes before it, this one was made from bricks and most of the yard was dirt with patches of grass here and there. Stopping in front of the house, Akari tipped the coachman and got out followed by Yakeru. As they approached, they felt a small tremor in the earth, making Yakeru stumble. However, when he looked around he was surprised to find that the villagers weren't too concerned about it as they continued with their daily lives.

"Seems like the big guy's working." Akari assumed, casually ignoring the quake to walk around the property.

'What kind of work could he possibly be doing to make the ground shake?'

As they rounded the corner, Yakeru's eyes widened in surprise. The mixture of small craters dotting the field, fallen logs, and boulders gave off a wasteland vibe. The only indicator that anyone was here were the makeshift targets randomly placed throughout the area.

Amidst it all was a tall muscular man wielding a claymore with expert precision. The sword was almost the size of him but with just a simple twist of his body, he sliced a boulder in two and destroyed the intended target behind it. What shocked Yakeru the most wasn't the fact that he'd sliced through a rock weighing several tons, it was the man himself. Just before every attack, he caught a glimpse of amber being infused into, not his sword, but rather...

'No, that can't be right.' Yakeru brushed off, chalking it up to his eyes playing tricks on him.

It was only when the boulder's top half slid off onto the ground producing a dry thud that the man noticed he had an audience. Once his eyes landed on the one standing next to Yakeru, he rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. When he opened them again, she gave him a casual wave.

"Akari?" The man questioned as he drove his blade into the ground and made his way over.

"It's been a while." She smiled.

"It is you! Wow, I haven't seen you since our time in the Fire Glades."

Shaking her hand, as he was too grimy to embrace his old friend, Yakeru got a better look at him. He had short spiky dark hair and there was a scar that stretched horizontally across his face just underneath his brown eyes. He wore a simple white tank top now drenched in his sweat and grey sweatpants.

"I like what you did with your hair." She teased, noticing streaks of grey on his sideburns.

"Stylish, don't you think?" He quipped back.

Akari glanced behind him to get a better view of the destruction he'd casually left behind.

"I see you haven't lost your touch."

"Nah, I'm past my prime so I'm a bit rusty." He looked over at Yakeru to acknowledge him. "And who might this young man be?"

Akari pat Yakeru's back. "I'd like you to meet my troublemaking brother."

"So 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 is Yakeru. Akari couldn't go one mission without mentioning you. I'm Itsuki. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." He offered his hand.

"It's nice to meet you too, sir." Yakeru accepted.

"Please, don't start with the formalities. Itsuki's fine." He smiled warmly.

They spotted movement from the makeshift training ground, a shadow weaving through the rubble before coming out in the open. Exposing itself to the light, Yakeru could see that it was nothing but a twin-tailed fox trotting up to Itsuki's side.

"Oh, and this little guy is Dash, " he introduced. One tail was black while the other was bright red, the two colors wrapping around the small fox in a spiral pattern.

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"Hey, buddy." Akari knelt down, allowing it to sniff her extended hand. It recognized her scent almost immediately and excitedly jumped to its hind legs to lick her face. "I know, I missed you too." She laughed softly as she scratched its chin, both tails wagging. "You've gotten bigger. Has this old man been treating you well?"

"You're a tamer?" Yakeru asked Itsuki.

"I am. I've had him for ten years now."

Yakeru had heard of tamers before but they were rare to come across. Although it was perfectly fine to own domesticated beasts, as a precaution, it was made illegal to bring them into the Capital. This was the reason why he hadn't seen any rangers walking their pet steel-quilled bears in and out of the guild.

Pleased with the amount of affection it received from Akari, the fox sniffed Yakeru a moment before turning away, appearing disinterested, and darting back to the training ground which Dash more than likely saw as a playground.

"Please, come in," Itsuki said, snapping Yakeru out of his thoughts and gesturing them inside.

After following him inside, they were struck by a sense of rugged strength. A spherical artifact flickered to life above them, illuminating the house's interior. The main living space had sturdy furniture, each bearing marks of wear and use. Spare claymores rested along a large weapon rack. However, what caught the kid's attention was what was above the rack.

Scales and the heads of monsters were displayed as trophies on the wall, showcasing the man's previous battles. As the young swordsman lagged behind, his gaze tracing over the slain beasts, he recognized some of the monsters, some from his sister's stories and others he had actually fought himself.

Making their way to the couch, Itsuki offered his guests some refreshments which the two respectfully declined. As Itsuki sat beside his former teammate, they immediately started catching up. They chatted about what they'd been up to since they last saw each other, their conversation filled with light teasing and laughter. Yakeru could tell the two were quite close just from their instant rapport. Eventually, Akari stated the reason why they were there.

"So about our visit. How do you feel about being somewhat of a guardian?"

"A guardian?" Itsuki echoed as Yakeru raised an eyebrow, just as confused.

"Yeah. You see Yakeru here is a full-fledged ranger now. But unfortunately, he tends to find himself in...dire situations."

"Situations that aren't entirely my fault. I can handle myself." Yakeru defended himself. He remembered her mentioning finding him a guardian before but he didn't think she was serious.

"Right, because landing yourself in the hospital every time you go out is considered 'handling yourself'." She rolled her eyes, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "But that's not the only reason why I wanted your help. You see, this brat here has gotten us involved in some drama."

Yakeru fidgeted as she explained their current situation, still ashamed. He could tell by the slight widening of Itsuki's eyes that he wasn't expecting to hear this. His gaze shifted between Akari and Yakeru occasionally as if looking for confirmation that what she was saying was true. At the end of her explanation, Itsuki sat there tapping stubble on his chin.

"That's quite the predicament," Itsuki noted as he turned to Yakeru. "The Fiends can't be taken lightly. Do you have a clan of your own?"

"No. I was hoping a few rangers I usually go on missions with would help though."

"Oh? How many would that be?" Itsuki wanted to confirm.

Yakeru scratched his cheek. "Two..."

Itsuki sighed, a look of doubt flashing across his face. Even if they recruited a veteran such as himself and a couple of other rangers, the Fiends were still a large clan.

"How long until the Skirmish?" Itsuki asked either one of them.

"About a month from now."

Yakeru doubted he'd lend a hand but surprisingly Itsuki's lips curled into a smile.

"Come with me outside, kid."

Confused, Yakeru and Akari followed him out back to where his training ground was. Akari stood in the shade next to Dash who was drinking greedily from a bowl that they assumed was designated to him whenever he played outside for long stretches of time.

Yakeru watched as Itsuki pulled his claymore out of the ground and turned to face him.

"Alright, kid." Itsuki firmly planted himself. "Move me."

Yakeru regarded him with another look of confusion while Akari shook her head knowingly.

"Move you?" He confirmed.

"You heard correctly. You may use whatever means to do so." Itsuki added.

"Uhm, okay?"

Yakeru knew there was some kind of caveat he couldn't see but he wouldn't know unless he acted. He gripped his sword's handle and dropped into a stance before launching forward. Using his signature opener, in one fluid motion, he unsheathed his sword and swung for the muscular man's midsection.

His field of view flashed with amber and a clang reverberated through the air, sending a sharp jolt through his body. Suddenly, Yakeru found himself tumbling backward, a dust trail forming behind him. Lifting himself to his knee, he was stunned to find himself back where he started. After he recovered, he took the time to assess Itsuki who had his sword positioned in a way that would've blocked his strike.

What the kid didn't understand was how he was knocked back assuming the man had only blocked. It was as if he hit a brick wall that somehow pushed him back.

"I hope that's not your best attempt," Itsuki smirked.

Dash had emptied his water bowl at this point and was spectating in amusement alongside Akari. Yakeru narrowed his eyes in concentration, now focusing on Itsuki's legs. Lunging forward, the kid infused his blade in hopes of overpowering his opponent's defense, swinging low as Itsuki prepared to block once more.

A high-pitched metallic wail resounded the moment their blades met, staggering Yakeru once again. However, the force of the collision didn't knock him backward this time as he was expecting. Instead, Itsuki unexpectedly swung for a counterattack. It wasn't the attack itself that caught the boy off guard but rather how slow and nonchalant it was.

Having ample time to bring his sword up, they clashed once more but surprisingly, despite how sluggish his attack was, it still sent him soaring several meters backward before tumbling to a stop. The sight of a kid getting launched away was so silly even Dash shook his head to how cartoonish it seemed.

Yakeru was flabbergasted. None of it made any sense. The man hadn't infused his sword once and yet he was still able to pull off bizarre feats? Was it due to a combination of his large sword and muscular build? No, a counterattack like that would've lacked the strength to send him flying like he did.

He took a knee and examined his opponent and that's when he noticed it. He'd seen it earlier but was convinced that his eyes had deceived him. It was for a brief moment but his arms were...flickering with radiance before it dissipated.

"Do you see it now?" Itsuki asked, driving his claymore into the ground.

"H-How are you doing that?" Yakeru stuttered in complete disbelief.

Ignoring his question, the man walked over to the boy still on one knee.

"So a guardian, eh? I'll do you one better." Itsuki smirked, offering his hand to the dumbfounded Yakeru. "How about a mentor?"