“Ifoundmylove,andmyheartsaid‘yes,let’sgo’,andthespellontheboardchimedinagreement。Myinstructortoldmetogointothemagigofthebuildingthem,andgratulatedmeontheachievement。”
“That’ssoromantiee。Doeseveryouallyfindtheirown?”
“No。Lessthanhalfareabletofindtheirownpath。Ifastudentstillhasn’tfounditbyage20,thenwasservicestaffbybeingatradeapprenticeistheusualoute。Don’tbeanxious。Magiardener,wealltributetoKageyama,andKageyamaisthehometoallofus。”
“AOnee,Ifeelsomuchbetternow。MayIeatmymealswithyouifthat’sacceptable?”
“Sure,Kagami!Ienjoyhavingalittlesisterlikeyou。Let’shavemealstogetherfromnowon。”
**********
ThatcludesChapterFive。
Thankyoueveryone!
Hitomi
ChapterSix
Theprece(kagami) 鑑
Them,KagamigladlyjoinedAkishiatthebreakfasttable。“Excitedforyourfirstclass?”Akishiaskedattheendofthemeal。
“Slightlynervousbutyes,lookingforwardtomyfirstclass。”
“Youshouldbe。Arashiwillbedoingthefirstdemoofthesemester,withyourfirstlessononswordsmanshiptofollow。”
“Really?NowI’twait!Iapologizefortakingmyleavesoearly。”
“Ghtahead~”
KagamicouldhardlykeepherexcitementtainedwhenArashitookterstage。Havingruogetfrontrowseating,shedidn’twanttomissaailofArashi’sdemo。
Arashidreracticesword,andfilleditwithherspirit。Hereyeswerefilledwithdetermination,andtheswordresonatediement,lettingoutasublimehumofpurity。
(“About220Hz。”)hephysicsteacherinKagami’spreviousidentity。。。
Then,anaurabecamevisiblearoundArashi’sbodyandtheswordinherhand--anauraofsharpness,unstoppablestrength,andinvincibility。
Eyeswideopen,Kagamicouldfeelherpalmssweatingarag。Evehinghadbeoredifficult。
AndsoonKagamidiscoveredthatitwasnotanillusion。Previouslyinvisiblemagicelementsthathadbeenfloatingaroundwerelitupbythisaura;theynowresembleddangspecksofdustinthesunlight。
Moreover,themightoftheaurawasundeniablyftheelementstoorbitArashi,whonowstoodatthetreofthestormofmagicelements。
BeingtooclosetoArashi,Kagamihadtofightharderandharderinordertobreatheair,whichwasbeingspeedilycarriedawaybythewhirlwind。
Suddenly,Arashiattackedtheemptyspafrontofher。Visiblepushedforthfromthesword,andcutopeormofelements。Inaninstant,alloftheglowingmagicelementsweredrivenforward,alongwithalltherestofthemagicelementsintheroom,tothewallsofthelecturehall,likebulletsbeingfired,likeashockwaveafteranexplosion。
Thewallstookthebombardment,andreverberationechoedthroughthespace。Suddenly,thelecturehallbecamedevoidofmagicelements。Theairwasrefreshingandlight,asiftherewasacoolbreezethroughabeautifulforestofcedarandspruce。
(“Thatwassuchapowerfulimpact!Skillfulandwell-calibrated,too。Theenergyonlyhitthewalls,anddidn’ttakeoutmyheadalongthewayeventhoughIamsittinginsuchcloseproximity。。。”)
Studentsstoodupandbowedtoexpressgratitude,andwithanod,Arashilefttoattendherownclasses。
Ayoulemanassumedtheterstageasclassenced。“WewouldliketoweleaudenttoKageyama。”HegesturedtoKagami。
Kagamistoodup,turnedaroundtofacetheclass。“Goodm,IamKagami。Ihavealottolearn,pleasetakecareofmefromnowon。”
Thestudentssmilediurn,gavealightroundofapplause,andKagamiresumedherseat。
“Iwillnowgivearefresheronthebasics,andwewillhavevolunteersboutonstage。Iwillthenanalyzeandgivesuggestionsforareasofimprovement。Thiswillrepeatuntiltheendofclass。”
Kagamiwatchedtheinstructorillustratethebasicswordteiques,andthentwostudentsvolunteeredtoeonstage。
WhileArashi’spersonalswordwaslong,straight,andslender,remiofaRenaissancerapier,thepracticeswordsusedinclassremindedKagamiofmilitarysabres,sturdyandreliable。
Watgthebladescutthroughair,Kagamikhatshewastooweak。
(“TobeabletoavoidthebladewithfootworkrequiresadefthatIwouldneedyearstotrainfor。Indeed,myfirsttaskistobeephysicallyfit。”)
Kagamialsohadafeelingthatshemightbeaskedtotrytheswordheendoftheclass。Notwantingtobedefeatedinmereseds,Kagamirememberedwhathergrandunclehadoaughther,batheotherworld。