'Conscious Focusing' sounds rather promising. It is 3 of my points, but by the description, it is like the meditative state you see in martial arts and with those Buddhist monks.

It’s the top result in the search anyways, and I've noticed by now that it's pretty good at getting close to what I need. I guess it’s picking up my thoughts rather than my search term being taken completely literally. Even that silly first search I did for Blade summoning honestly did its best.

Well... increasing my actual sword fighting skills is probably pointless without this first. Unlike Kiku, I don't have the benefit of a lifetime of training that automatically gives her the right mindset.

Actually, she'd probably hit me, if she knew I was thinking thoughts like that. I am likely trivialising her efforts.

I take it. I get a headache briefly.

I open my eyes again.

"Okay, so I think I have something to help with that lack of focus." I say.

Kiku blinks a couple of times.

"Um... if anyone else said that, I'd think them just mad. But I guess this is Nii we're talking about. Hehe..."

Aria and Seria chuckle off to the side as well.

She shrugs, and hands me another training stick, taking up two herself and casually adopting her usual dual-wielding pose.

I think about concentrating. This skill didn't come with a manual, but that should be a good start.

Suddenly, a mantra of some sorts comes to mind.

There is only the blade.

I surge forwards instinctively.

...

...

...

Without any thoughts in my head, I barely feel or understand what happened. I sure as hell can't remember. It seems like the ability turned off automatically though.

Ouch. Crap, that smarts fierce.

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I'm on my ass again, and have snapped the stick underneath myself. I sigh and sit up.

However, Kiku is wide-eyed as she stands with her blades to the side.

She is silent for a moment.

But then she grins and starts giggling to me.

"Wow! That was fucking amazing, Nii! Hahaha... Sendervil's balls! You scared me for a second!"

She bounds over and jumps at my lap. With some surprising agility she manages to wrap her legs round me in the process. Her feverish breathing and sweaty neck become a focus point.

"Not a kilsel of hostility. Just like Dad does it! Hehe..." she whispers in my ear. "Well... your attack still sucked... but it’s really a scary awesome change!"

Then she kisses me fiercely in her feverish state. Yikes!

To be honest, I'm still rather exhausted from the training, but... hey, you can't fault my downstairs for reacting anyway, right?

"Ahem. Boy, would you terribly mind not sparring to that extent? Especially with a captive audience." Seria sighs.

"Eeep! Eh wot!? Fuck! Um...!" Kiku is broken from her trance, and suddenly almost backflips off me.

I look around and see Aria is covering the eyes of a struggling Aeris from behind in quite a comedic scene.

Seria is merely facepalming with her free hand.

Aeris suddenly breaks out of Aria's restraint.

"Eh? What was going on?"

"Nothing you needed to see, Aeris-chan." Aria answers for me.

Aeris looks momentarily confused, and then pats her fist against her palm knowingly with a grin.

"Ah! Master was kissing the girl shapes again, right? I've seen it all before!" She nods sagely, pushing up her nose.

Aria sighs in exasperation. I don't quite know what she was hoping to achieve. Although, in theory, if Aeris was technically created during my second harrowing... it means one of the first things she saw was probably me kissing and making love to Aria.

Poor thing.

"Un. But anyway, master really got it together there! I felt it! It was pretty awesome!"

She jumps over, pirouettes, and bunches her fists excitedly.

She's such a jolly little thing as always. I ruffle her metallic head.

"Um... yeah... I... um... maybe we should call it a day there, Nii. I don't really know how much normal sword teaching will help you." Kiku sighs and scratches her head.

I roll my eyes at her.

"Nope. Don't start that again. The training was useful, Kiku. Even if I can take crazy shortcuts with some things, without the basics, I'm still gonna be hopeless."

I nod and smile at her. She momentarily goes wide-eyed, but then nods and grins adorably.

"Hah... well, maybe you should go and take a bath, Onii-chan. You kinda stink from all that falling over." Aria snickers.

I laugh at her double pun and she closes one eye and sticks out her tongue.

Seria just shakes her head with a whimsical expression.

"Un... I... will... stay here..." Aeris looks shifty.

"Why is that?" I ask.

She has a difficult expression.

"Rust." She squeaks.

I laugh.

I guess cleaning this small girl shouldn't be done with water. She is liable to rust and cause a huge electrical shock at the same time, I guess...

But does that mean I should oil her? Would putting her against a grindstone be like a massage from her perspective?

The implications are eyebrow raising. In many ways.

Ahem. Well, Aria is right...

My clothes need a soak as well, they must be 50% sweat right now, and my muscles surely need a break. I've already had the full tour of this place, and there is indeed a lovely Romanesque bath here, maintained in stasis by the magic of this place. It would be nice to give it a task after so many years of dormancy, wouldn't it?

Little did I know what was about to ensue.