2 Mikoto's present: Part 2

'You're back,' said the young adult practicing his sword art. He was the same age as Ichiro, and they were built quite similar too. Not tall, but not short either, somewhat thin, but rather muscular, average 19 year-olds. 'How was it?'

'I'm done. But I will wait for you,' Ichiro sat down under a tree. 'Don't stay in one place. With your powers, you better be on an attack all the time. Try to learn how to breath, how to save energy, and how to use your whole body's weight.'

'As if I'm not doing it already, ha-ha!'

'You're not doing it using your Burning Emblem.'

Tomura raised his sword, and lowered it down. In an instance, his sword started flaming. Ichiro got up, and pulled out his own. "Don't burn down this place, Tomura," he thought.

Metal struck metal, and fire struck both, turning grips of the blades impossible to hold. Tomura distorted the view with each swing, and Ichiro found it harder to attack. Ichiro jumped back and forth, changing stances with each blow. Tomura, however, couldn't keep up, but his attacks turned more and more powerful. He turned to his side, and hid his sword from his opponent. Ichiro came closer to the person before him, in order to strike one more time. The long flash of red and black appeared right before his eyes, but he managed to dodge by making a step to the side. Tomura wasn't moving at all.

'You've made your weapon longer by creating more fire. That's impressive.'

'While you're hanging out with smith's daughter, I mastered quite a few new tricks. Ha-ha.'

His sword stopped flaming, and he put it down on a stone.

'We'll be there next year. I will leave you far behind by that time.' He smiled.

'Arthur, I'm gonna get married,' Ichiro said, 'When we're done with the tournament, I'll deal with some things of the past, and leave behind Mikoto's teachings altogether.'

'Before you arrived, I was already the only student of this school. Being one and only... I very much like it, ha-ha.'

They sat down under a tree.

'Ryu, I always knew it. You didn't have to tell me,' he smiled, 'But don't forget about our friendship, you hear me, Ryunosuke! Or I will find you wherever you are, and I'll beat the hell out of you!'

'Ha-ha, I won't. I promise,' Ichiro answered.

'Did you tell her your name?'

'Yes. Now, there are two of you.'

'That means you really love her, huh?'

'I really do.'

Ichiro and Tomura sat down in silence until the dawn. When the sun finally went down, they returned to the village nearby.