He's a bit lazy but he's got the spirit

[Hidden Mob: Can I ask a question?]

[Traveler: What is it?]

[Hidden Mob: How do you politely decline a spar with your powerful superior?]

[Traveler: ...Your superior where you work at challenged you to a sparring challenge?]

[Hidden Mob: Yeah... She's known to be very stern and well-taught in fighting... I can't defeat her...]

[Vago Mundo: Perhaps you should calmly discuss it with her.]

[Hidden Mob: I'll get scolded, for sure.]

[Frostflake Heron: Where do you work @Hidden Mob?]

[Hidden Mob: That's a secret, you know? Anonymous and all...]

[Sprout: Then... why don't you just try to finish it as soon as possible? Struggle for the first minute or so before purposely getting defeated.]

[Traveler: What @Sprout actually makes sense. Why don't you try it, @Hidden Mob?]

[Hidden Mob: Fine...]

[Traveler: By the way, @Vago Mundo, I have a question.]

[Vago Mundo: What is it?]

Asakura didn't continue reading and let them talk.

Tucking his phone away, Asakura looked at the blade he just got from Kujou Sara.

'I just need to fight long enough to admit defeat, that's all.' He thought to himself.

Fighting Kujou Sara was no joke. She was well-versed in military tactics and a great warrior too.

Not to mention that she came from a race that is quite specialized in speed.

Asakura sighed and stood up from his seat. While holding his wooden sword, he left the armory.

On his way to the sparring grounds, a Tenryou officer saw him. The officer then looked at him clearly. "You're... that guy that was unfortunately picked by General Kujou to be her sparring partner for today... right?"

"Yeah... I mean, yes sir." Asakura nodded. He politely spoke as he recognized that the person was high-ranking.

"Haha, good luck." The officer tapped his shoulder. He then whispered, "I'll call the medical team. They should wait for you after the spar."

"...Thank you, sir." Asakura thanked him. He then walked away with a grieved face.

The officer looked at him and nodded before leaving. But not before mumbling something to himself. "My dear sister... go easy on him."

* * *

Asakura arrived at the starting grounds and opened the sliding door.

There, he saw Kujou Sara with her sleeveless tunic with a high collar. She was also wielding a bow and was sweating a bit.

"You're here." Kujou Sara saw him. She then placed down her bow. "Get ready, we'll start in a moment."

"Since you yourself admitted that you weren't injured, you should be able to fight, yes?" She added.

"Yes, General Sara." Asakura nodded while holding his wooden sword.

Sara nodded with a stern face and picked up her wooden sword. She then walked to the center of the sparring grounds. "Come, let us commence."

Asakura nodded and walked closer. He then unsheathed his wooden sword and aimed it at her. "Please go easy on me."

Sara saw his confident look and admired a confident soldier like him that would soon join her army. Unfortunately, this was a spar she needs to determine her strength if she had dulled or not.

"Here I come." She warned first before lunging towards him.

She did not use her vision and merely moved with her sheer speed. In less than a few seconds, she arrived near Asakura.

'...Already over...' She thought to herself disappointingly as she saw him get startled by her arrival.

However, before her wooden sword could reach him, he evaded quickly.

Asakura's body immediately evaded her attack because of his fast reaction time from the template card. 'That was close.'

'?!' Kujou saw his swift movement and backed away. "..."

"You have good reflexes," Kujou commented. She then assumed a posture. "Then I shall now exert more prowess. Prepare yourself."

With a quick movement, she immediately assumed another form and swung her blade.

Tang!*

However, instead of hitting Asakura, it hit his wooden sword.

"Pl-please go easy on me!" Asakura "weakly" begged as he stopped her attack with his strength.

Kujou Sara inspected Asakura and saw that he was defending against her attacks perfectly.. 'Fascinating...'

Kujou Sara didn't let Asakura have a breather and continued to bombard him with constant attacks. Meanwhile, the latter was blocking every move she made with his wooden sword while backing away.

This continued for a few more moments. With Kujou Sara continuously advancing and Asakura defending.

'This should be enough,' Asakura thought, with a clear intention of ending it right now.

'He's able to block my advances until now...' Kujou Sara thought as she looked at him with even more interest. 'Let's see how much you can go...'

He then noticed that Kujou Sara changed her form and that she was going to attack him from the side. 'This is it.'

With this in thought, he purposely let Kujou Sara get past his defense and attack his rear. Asakura then clicked his tongue. "Tsk!"

Tang!*

Immediately, Kujou Sara's wooden sword was blocked by Asakura and the latter was sent flying away.

Tud!

Asakura then landed on the ground after being blown away a couple of meters away from his previous location.

Realizing what she had done, Kujou Sara returned to her normal demeanor and quickly ran to Asakura and helped him get up. "I... Are you alright?"

"Kuk... Yes... albeit barely," Asakura weakly stood up with a pained expression. "Still, thank you, General Sara, for this spar. I still have a lot to lea—"

"No," Kujou Sara cut him off with her voice. "I believe that with enough training... no, with my guidance, I believe that you will attain more prowess."

"..." Asakura was momentarily speechless and looked at her with a blank expression. "...excuse me?"

"I made up my mind," She then stood up straight and extended her hand to Asakura who was crouching. "From now on, I will be your mentor."

"Yes?" Asakura heard what she said and didn't know what to say. He then began to realize the situation.

'Me? Becoming Sara's student?' As he thought of this, a thought flashed through his mind. Countless beatings and sparrings were the first ones that rose in his mind.

Realizing this, he quickly tried to dent it. "Wait, wait, General Kujou, I think your decision is too quick... can't you think of this more?"

"No, I believe that my judgment is right," Kujou Sara insisted. He was someone that was able to persist and continuously block her attacks.

She had seen the potential, and she was not going to let that potential go. "I'll take care of your transfer papers. From now on, meet me in front of the Kujou Estate every morning."

"Well then," She then turned around. "I'll be seeing you more often now."

"But—" Before Asakura could voice his complaints, Kujou Sara had already walked away. "..."

'How did it come to this...' It felt like a forced situation. He didn't even get to express his opinion.

"Haa..." He then sighed and took out his phone.

With a depressed mood, he began to type in the chatbox.

[Hidden Mob: I'm now her student... and it was forced too...]

[Blond Traveler: ...Is that a bad thing?]

[Vago Mundo: Oh.]

[Sprout: Uhh... Sorry?]

[Frostflake Heron: It's not that bad...right?"]

*

*

*

As Kujou Sara walked out of the sparring grounds, she looked for her assistant who is also a Tenryou officer. "Find information about Oshiro Asakura and bring them to me."

"Yes, General Kujou," The assistant nodded at her orders.

An hour later, she received a document about Asakura, including his birth year, address, and hobbies.

Sitting on a chair behind a table, Kujou Sara silently read through all of them. "Oshiro Asakura... Age 19... Lives in Hanamizaka... His parents died when he was young... Hobbies are admiring the scenery..."

"When the vision hunt decree happened, he was enlisted in the Vision Hunters and did his tasks without fail..." She read through his deeds while he was in the Vision Hunters. "He fulfilled them up to the Shogun's intentions..."

After reading through all of these, Kujou Sara was left pondering one thing. 'All of these points out that he is loyal to the Shogun's cause and will do his missions without compliance... A role model for soldiers, if I have to say so myself...'

Kujou Sara most and foremost have the Raiden Shogun's will as her first priority. It was obvious that she was loyal to the Raiden Shogun.

'And...' She then looked at one detail about him which states that he loves to take naps and admire the lands. 'He seems to also have a carefree character...'

A small smile then appeared on her face as she became even more intrigued about the man. "Very well, Asakura... In my name, I will make sure that you would be molded into someone useful to the Shogun..."