Genius

After a long chat with Orochi about their family, the two Kusanagi's returned to the dojo where they saw the children except Rentaro and Takeru sparring against each other.

"Finished catching up?"Tendo Kikunojou smiled.

"Yes" Orochi answered halfheartedly.

"Good! Kariya here was just bragging about how much of a genius the boy was so we have a little wager on our hands." Grandpa Tendo's grandfatherly aura disappeared and was replaced by that of a gambler.

"Wager?" Orochi said slightly interested.

"Yup, Each of our students against the boy, if he loses one match Kariya promised to take us out for high quality ramen."

'Seriously?'

Hearing the stakes Jun couldn't help but feel disappointed of the wager.

"So who's he up against first?" Orochi asked.

"My cute little granddaughter of course." He smiled looking at the white haired child.

---

'I guess I'm really going through with this... *Sigh* I shouldn't expect much.'

"Hey Jun!! Only use the Mujushin Kenjutsu!" Kariya shouted.

Nodding his head, Jun looked towards the girl standing opposite him.

The others on the other hand were confused when they heard him tell the boy to use the style that he was the successor of.

Seeing the looks on their faces Kairya proceeded to explain that Jun had another style that he developed himself.

"He developed his own style!" The group of sword masters gasped in shock.

"Told you he was a genius." Kariya said smuggly.

"Hmph... So what if he developed his own style, he'll still lose against my granddaughter." Grandpa Tendo proclaimed with the utmost confidence.

"We'll see." Kariya said in a mysterious tone.

"BEGIN!!" Busujima shouted.

Kicking off the ground Kisara slanted her wooden sword and dashed towards the white haired child with extreme focus.

'No hesitation huh...'

Although he knew that his master wanted him to display the elegance of the Mujushin Kenjutsu style, Jun didn't like wasting energy and preferred ending things as cleanly as possible.

With that thought in mind, he placed his right foot forward and bent it a little while his left foot was placed behind him in a straightened manner. Lowering his centre of gravity he held the wooden sword at his waist as if it was in a sheath.

When the sword masters and their disciples saw this their eyes widened.

'H-He couldn't be thinking of-'

This was also the first time that Sakura and Daruku had seen Jun fight with a sword and both were eagerly awaiting the result. Even though Sakura's eyes seemed blank and lifeless, a hint of intelligence could still be seen deep within them.

*SWOOSH!!*

*Clank* *Clank*

The sound of the air being ripped apart traveled into the ears of everyone in the dojo as the sound of a wooden sword clattering against the wooden floor echoed out.

"Huh?"

'W-What just happened?'

Feeling a shiver run through her body, Kisara looked in front of her only to find that the boy that she had been charging at had completely disappeared. And to make matters even stranger the palm of her right hand hurt. When she looked down at it something even stranger happened... Her sword was missing.

"I-Incredible..."

"Amazing"

Hearing the voices of both Saeko and Nobume, Kisara turned to them only to see that all the adults except grandmaster Kagetoki had lost their composed expressions.

Even Rentaro and that Takeru boy had looks of shock written on their faces.

'What are they looking at?'

Turning to see what they were looking at, Kisara's eyes became like everyone else's as they widened in shock. Standing behind her was the white haired child and next to his foot was her wooden sword. Turning to face the dumbstruck girl, Jun flashed her an innocent smile that sent her mind reeling as it suddenly occurred to her what had just happened.

"I-Iaido..." She stutter unable to completely believe what she was saying.

"YOU NEVER SAID HE COULD PERFORM IAIDO TO SUCH AN EXTENT!!" Grandpa Tendo got to his feet and shouted at Kariya.

"It must have slipped my mind." He smiled.

"You motherf-

"*Cough* *Cough* There are children around." Busujima interrupted.

Seeing that the kids were staring at him made Tendo huff before sitting back down.

"Well... I have to say that I never imagined that a young child would actually be able to perform such a graceful Iaido, what have you been teaching him?" Busujima asked Kariya.

Chuckling at his old friend's curiosity, Kariya explained how he first met Jun and how he was able to completely replicate his movements during their first lesson.

"*Sigh* Student of the Hand of God and relative of Grandmaster Kusanagi... What a heritage." Busujima muttered.

"It was a surprise to me that he would actually turn out to be your relative. I guess it must be fate or something." Kariya said to Orochi.

Orochi merely smiled at the comment and thought that it was nice to have such a competent descendant.

"Since he's your relative will you teach him the Kusanagi sword style?" Grandpa Tendo suddenly asked.

"Hmm... If his master permits it." Orochi answered while looking at Kariya.

"I don't see a problem with it. After all, I wouldn't want to rob the boy of his inheritance."

"Oh? I half expected you to completely reject my offer." Orochi said surprised by Kariya's sudden agreement.

"*Sigh* If it was any other child then maybe... But Jun... he's special." Thinking back on his last spar with the boy, Kariya couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.

"Anyway, who's next?"

This question left everyone quiet as they didn't know how to respond after seeing him perform such a fast and accurate Iaido.

While everyone was thinking about what to do next, a small but forceful voice sounded out.

"Master! I want to fight him!"

Everyone turned to see the brown haired boy by Orochi's side standing up.

---

While the adults were talking about who should go next, Jun was busy giving the girl her sword back.

"Good fight." He muttered while handing her the sword.

"I lost..." She said quietly while clenching her fists.

"Yeah."

"I'll win next time!" She said with resolute eyes."

"Good luck with that." He said scratching his head.

"Anyway, take the sword and go, my cousin is coming to get his ass beat and I want to get it over with quickly."

Taking the sword from his hand, Kisara gave him one last look before leaving.

---

"I will defeat you!"

"Go ahead." Jun answered lazily.

"Jun! Don't use Iaido." Kariya yelled.

'Urgh... such a drag.'

Ignoring his master he merely nodded to indicate that he wouldn't.

"Why stop him from using it?" Grandpa Tendo asked.

"Because it wouldn't be interesting if it ended too quickly." Kariya smiled much to Tendo's annoyance.

"What about you Orochi? Who do you think will win?"

"...Jun..." He answered.

"Seriously!? Betting against your own disciple?" Tendo answered somewhat surprised.

"Before he is my disciple he is a swordsman. And as swordsmen you should be able tell just by looking at their stances which of them is superior." Orochi commented while staring at two boys.

"Oh? I guess your right." Tendo said after looking closer at the stances of both boys.

"Either way... A Kusanagi will be the winner." He smiled.

As they were talking amongst themselves they didn't realize that there were two girls that were staring at Jun without blinking.

"BEGIN!!" Tendo shouted.

Charging at Jun Takeru lost all decorum of a stance and started swinging his sword wildly.

'How amateurish...'

Swaying his body to the side he easily evaded the wooden sword with minimum effort,

This went on for a while as Jun just kept dodging using the smallest amount of movement as possible.

'This is boring.'

He was about to end it until Takeru finally performed a technique that wasn't swinging his sword like an idiot.

"HORNET BLADE!!" He yelled before bombarding Jun with a constant series of endless thrusting strikes.

'Oh? Not bad.'

Smiling at his cousin's sudden usage of technique, Jun hopped from what foot to the other in a side ways manner that allowed him to match the speed of the thrusts and also dodge them.

"Hmm... It needs some work, but for a child at his age to be able to perform this technique is quite impressive." Tendo complimented Takeru to Orochi.

"Mmm." He responded while keeping his eyes trained on Jun's feet.

"While it is true that he is very impressive for being able to perform such a technique at his age... That white haired boy has yet to be hit." Busujima commented.

"Oh? You're right."

Pushing and pulling his arm forward and backwards at an incredible speed, Takeru started to feel his frustration increase as he yet to actually land a blow on this cousin of his.

"ARRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!!" He shouted pushing his body to the limit and increasing his speed.

*WHACK!*

Waving his sword upwards, Jun interrupted Takeru's flow and ended his technique.

Placing the sword on his shoulder he looked at the brown haired boy who was trying his hardest to regulate his breathing a smiled.

"That was fun, now show me what else you can do?" He said while pointing the tip of his sword at him.

"You!!"

Charging at him once more Takeru performed technique after technique with every single one failing to hit their intended target.

"C'mon Takeru, you're starting to bore me." Jun yawned.

"ARGHHH!!" He screamed and charged him again.

'Is that all he can do? Is he really related to me? *Sigh* I guess I should end it here... Might as well give that a try.'

<<True Light Style – Hornet Blade>>

With Takeru charging at him like a rampaging lion, Jun executed the technique that he had seen Takeru previously perform.

The only reason he let this fight go on for as long as it did was exactly for this reason. He wanted to completely comprehend the techniques Takeru was able to perform in the shortest amount of time and the only way to do that was to see and analyse it before altering it suit his taste.

And just like he expected, the moment he executed the technique it far surpassed what Takeru had shown him.

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

Countless sword thrusts slammed into Takeru's body inflicting him with sharp pain.

After analyzing the technique, Jun used his instant comprehension to bypass all the flaws that he saw in Takeru execution of it and tweaked it to the point that it was almost unrecognizable to him.