Dash whined as Yakeru stood triumphantly. After all these days of being clowned on, humbling the fox was a welcomed and most satisfying change. Itsuki clapped as he rose from his seat.

"Very well done. Your agility and control have seen big improvements. As for your overall speed and coordination, although good, they could use more work."

Yakeru plopped down on a log to catch his breath and rest his throbbing legs. "Right."

"Rest up while you still can." Itsuki began heading inside. "There's still one more thing we have to do."

Although curious about what the next phase of his training was, he didn't have the energy to dwell on it for very long. He'd been honing his mentor's technique for almost a month now and he still hadn't reached a level of mastery he was satisfied with.

Regardless, he was still impressed. His senses had become sharper and his reflexes had gotten faster. He also noticed that his calf and thigh muscles had become more defined over the past few weeks of use. Even his upper body had adapted to a degree to compensate each time he needed to brace himself.

He wondered how long it would take to reach Itsuki's level. He hadn't seen much of what he could do but his brief sparring session with him proved he was much stronger than he was.

In the midst of his thoughts, Yakeru happened to sneak a glance in Dash's direction who was drinking from his bowl. As the fox looked up and made brief eye contact, his face turned pouty, and snapped his head away with a light huff.

"You're such a sore loser." Yakeru teased.

As Dash continued drinking, his ears perked up, detecting slight movement in the distance. Alert, his head shot up and before long he was darting across miniature wasteland that was Itsuki's backyard. Yakeru lifted a confused brow but assumed he picked up an intruder's scent. Soon after, Yakeru was engulfed in a shadow. He looked up to find a human silhouette rapidly approaching from the roof of the house and, by reflex, quickly infused his legs to blitz away at the last second.

The figure crashed into the earth with a resounding boom as a gust of violent winds spewed dust in every direction. The boy broke into a fit of coughs as a claymore sliced away the smokescreen, pointing in his direction to reveal Itsuki.

"I thought you were letting me rest?" Yakeru asked, confused.

"On the field, you'll have little time for that. You're a ranger so you should know you should always be on your toes."

"Right. 'You gotta expect the unexpected'." Yakeru replied, recalling his sister's words.

"Now, let's see how well you apply what you learned in combat." Itsuki infused his arms.

Dash hopped into Itsuki's lounge chair that had toppled over from his owner's extravagant entrance and watched from the sidelines. Yakeru remembered the last time he'd 'fought' Itsuki. He didn't stand a chance when trying to get him to move even an inch so he opted to switch his strategy.

Yakeru initiated the engagement, launching forward as he drew his sword. Itsuki held his claymore low as the boy approached the side his claymore was on. For a moment, Itsuki found this odd since he could easily block or parry it but didn't think too much of it. However, as soon as Yakeru saw him raise his sword to block, he pushed off of his right leg, fainting and swinging for his blind spot.

Itsuki's lips curled in satisfaction as he quickly leaped back, avoiding the attack. Yakeru didn't waste a second, pushing off again to resume his assault. Since claymores were heavier than katanas, they were inherently slower. With this in mind, it'd be difficult to defend against an onslaught.

The young swordsman unleashed a flurry of quick slashes but to his surprise, Itsuki was having little trouble blocking what he could and avoiding what he couldn't. The veteran had spent years developing his fighting style and had put in place countermeasures in the event he faced a faster opponent.

Now that they were legitimately sparring, Itsuki could gauge not just the boy's capabilities but his potential. Just from this little exchange, he saw much of Akari in Yakeru as the kid performed movesets strikingly similar to his former party member. Although he lacked her finesse and elegance, there was clear effort put into honing his swordsmanship to make his style his own.

It hadn't even been a full month and the boy had learned faster than he'd anticipated. Every counterattack Itsuki threw at him was met with air as Yakeru swiftly dodged his attempts.

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"Good reflexes, kid." Itsuki praised as he pivoted and raised his sword. "But you've become too predictable."

He aimed at an empty spot on the ground before Yakeru appeared there. The youth's eyes widened as he watched the claymore's rapid approach. He instinctively brought up his katana as the claymore slammed into his blade with tremendous force that tore through every muscle fiber in his body.

A web of cracks split the earth beneath them as Yakeru gritted his teeth, struggling against his mentor's sheer strength. Fortunately, his infused legs could withstand the pressure thanks to his training.

Locking blades, Itsuki casually swiped his giant sword and flung Yakeru backward. Gathering himself, he looked back at Itsuki who was now smirking. He'd read Yakeru like a book to the point that he could accurately predict where the kid was going to be. Yakeru needed another strategy. Fortunately, they were surrounded by obstacles that could be advantageous for him.

Infusing his legs once more, he darted to a nearby boulder, using it to propel himself around the training grounds. Soon, Itsuki found himself standing in the middle of a web of amber whizzing from every direction. Noticing that his mentor was disoriented, he launched himself toward him. However, Itsuki merely smirked again as he, for the first time, infused his giant sword and plunged it into the earth, a shockwave ripping out from the impact.

Yakeru was once again sent hurdling backward. Shards of debris fired in his direction as he took cover behind one of the only remaining obstacles on the field. When the commotion passed, he peaked his head out to find the field, once cluttered with nature's scraps, now void of any cover.

"You almost had me there," Itsuki pried his sword from the small crater he'd created. "Now let's see how you fair when your advantage is stripped away."

Yakeru gulped and stood to his feet again. They haven't been sparring for long and his lower half was already beginning to feel sore. As he patted himself down, he tried to recall the last time he was outmatched but came out victorious. His first dungeon experience came to mind when he was forced to battle infected guards. His strategy then was to obscure their vision before making his move.

With a new game plan, he infused his sword and launched a crescent of radiance just below his mentor. The unfazed Itsuki, having years of experience under his belt, merely stood nonchalantly and watched, knowing the attack wouldn't hit him.

Upon striking the ground before him, a thick dust cloud formed around him. Although he couldn't see the boy, he could still make out the faint jingling of the bell he still had on him.

'He probably should've dropped that before we started.' Itsuki thought as he charged toward the sound.

As he burst through the cloud with his claymore raised, he was about to take a swing at the approximate location of the sound when he suddenly stopped. The bell was lying on the ground. Realizing it was a trap, he swiftly swung behind him to find Yakeru winding up as well.

The claymore's blade halted mere inches away from the boy's face, the force of the swing sending a gust of wind that whipped his hair. Yakeru on the other hand stopped mid-swing, shocked that despite his mentor's heavier sword, Itsuki's blade would've reached him before his katana could complete its arcing path.

"You did well, kid," Itsuki smiled, resting his claymore on his shoulder. "With a little more experience, you'll turn out to be a much better combatant."

Yakeru sheathed his katana and dropped to the ground. "You're still quicker than me."

"No, I'm not. The reason why I won is because I was forced to predict you're movements. If your opponent can do that, then it doesn't matter how fast you are."

"I see," Yakeru panted, rubbing his throbbing legs. "I would've gotten you had you not cleared the field. Most of the time, there's going to be some kind of terrain around for me to work with."

"True. But if you're gonna be fighting humans now, that means your opponents will be smarter. The more they recognize your strengths, the more they'll strategize to nullify them. If it ever comes down to it, you'll have to play dirty."

Yakeru simply nodded in understanding before looking down in thought. "It's in two days now. Do you think I'm ready?"

Itsuki patted the kid's shoulder with a smile. "You've trained hard and have gotten farther than I anticipated. Although you can make some improvements, I believe you're in a good position to give even the Fiends a run for their money."

"Well then"—Yakeru bowed to his mentor—"thank you for training me up until now."

"No thanks needed. It was a treat for me too."

Dash was still noticeably salty about his loss but begrudgingly accepted Yakeru's goodbye pat, Dash's tails wagging in harmony despite how much he pretended not to enjoy it. Although the fox had frustrated him more than he would like to admit, the two still formed a bond during their time together.

Heading home allowed him time to think. The Clan Skirmish was in a couple of days and his nerves were starting to get to him. His biggest threat, from what he knew, was Kane. Their last bout left him beaten and humiliated but he was sure he'd trained long and hard enough for a round two. He hoped that the others had been training just as hard as he had to make up for their lack of numbers.

Arriving home, he walked into the house, greeted by the welcoming aroma of steaming steak. Turning the corner, he found Akari already preparing dinner.

"I'm back." He announced himself, tiredly setting aside his sword.

She shot him a warm smile. "Welcome back. The food will be ready in a bit."

He nodded and went to wash up before coming back thirty minutes later to her setting plates on the table, their contents consisting of sizzling strips of steak topped with spices and mashed potatoes on the side. As they sat down to eat, they conversed about his training.

He'd gotten used to going on missions so frequently that he almost forgot the comfort his home brought him. Although he was nervous about what was to come, his only family gave him peace. Taking a break from it all, seeing his sister, training with Itsuki, and even recruiting allies had helped with taking his mind off his trauma also.

He knew very well that these next couple of days might be his last in this house so he planned to make the most of it. However, that wasn't to say he was going to give the Fiends an easy time either.