Tsurugi's Trial

"Human... Are you still asleep?"

Huh? Where am I?

I slowly opened my eyes and found myself in an unfamiliar place. It looked like an old, traditional dojo. Confused and disoriented, I tried to get my bearings.

"You're finally awake." A girl with long pink hair, wearing a pink yukata and carrying three katanas on her waist, greeted me.

"Who are you?" I asked, still trying to make sense of the situation.

"Me? Pfft~ Ahahahaha!~ This is funny, human," she replied, her tone lighthearted.

"...The way you talk... Are you Tsurugi...?"

"Good observing, human," she confirmed with a smirk.

"W-what do you want from me?!"

"What do I want?" Tsurugi turned away from me, walking a few steps, and then suddenly drew a pink metal katana with a red-pink hilt. She tightly gripped the blade and charged toward me, startling me.

"Woah! Woah! What the hell!?" I exclaimed as I quickly tried to put some distance between us.

"Why are you running, human?" 

"Why do you think I'm running, huh!?" I retorted in panic as I kept running.

"Whatever, running is pointless," she muttered. Then, she whispered "Tsuki Kaze no Senko1."

Her sword danced and twirled in a mesmerizing display. As her movements intensified, the vortex of energy around her grew more powerful. The dance reached its climax, and she thrust her sword forward with tremendous force.

The Tsuki Kaze no Senko released a concentrated gust of wind that surged toward me, sending me tumbling to the ground with a pained cry. "Ack..!"

I slowly regained my footing and faced Tsurugi with determination. "Give me a blade, and I'll fight back," I declared, my voice steady.

he paused, considering my request, and then nodded. Tsurugi swiftly sheathed her katana and snapped her fingers. The sky seemed to respond, raining down a multitude of swords, which scattered all around me.

I stepped back, trying to avoid the raining blades around me. 

"As expected of the Herrscher who summons blades," she remarked. "I am Tsurugi, Tsurugi no Mai... The Herrscher of Blades. I am the strongest blade, and cut anything to nothing."

"Herrscher of Blades, huh..." I muttered, my grip tightening around the sword I had picked up from the ground. I took a defensive stance, preparing for the impending clash.

Tsurugi noticed my stance and smiled. "As expected... You and your brother are the same."

"Is that so? Well, here I go!" I charged at her, and she snapped her fingers, summoning blades from her back and using them as projectiles.

I dodged the incoming blades and launched an attack, but she sidestepped and created two blades from her hands, engaging me in a fierce exchange.

"Boy, I will teach you the way of the sword. I'll teach you everything," she whispered, her face closer to my ears.

Surprised by her sudden proximity, I redoubled my efforts, attacking with increased ferocity.

Tsurugi seemed amused, effortlessly blocking and parrying my strikes. She laughed, thoroughly enjoying our duel.

What a psycho!!

"Human, If you win this trial, I'll teach you everything," Tsurugi declared with a wicked grin.

"I already heard that!!" I gritted my teeth, frustration building as my slashes met nothing but air. My relentless attacks yielded no results, and I could feel the mounting pressure.

"Fufu~" She taunted, taking a step back as she unsheathed her pink katana once more. Her whispered incantation filled the air, "Hi no Kenbu," and her blade ignited into fiery.

Her crimson eyes blazed with determination as she took a ready stance, ready to dance with her fiery sword.

Tsurugi's fiery aura engulfed the dojo as she whirled and swayed with lethal elegance. Her pink katana crackled with intense flames, each swing releasing scorching waves of heat that licked at my heels.

I gritted my teeth, my determination unwavering despite the surging inferno. The air crackled with the intensity of her dance of flames and fury, as she closed the distance between us.

I leaped back, a quick evasion as she continued her graceful and dangerous dance forward. Her movements were as mesmerizing as they were deadly, and it took all my skill and agility to avoid her fiery strikes.

"You know you are literally not being fair here right now!!"

"Fair? Do you think the battlefield has its fairness and unfairness? Don't be an idiot." She took a stance and whispered, "Kaze no Kōri," and an icy chill swept through the dojo, forming cold winds.

Her sword transformed into a gleaming blade of ice, and she thrust it into the ground, causing icy spikes to burst forth.

I quickly pivoted and dashed away from her, narrowly evading the hazardous ice formations. Tsurugi withdrew her sword from the ground and slashed the air with a flourish, releasing a barrage of sharp, frigid shards that filled the air.

With a snap of her fingers, she summoned even more swords from above, creating a perilous dance of steel and ice that closed in on me.

Eek! This is more than a little ridiculous! I can't just let her attack me... I need to counter it!

I took a deep breath and skidded to a halt on the polished wooden floor, my feet leaving a faint trail of dust. I turned on my heel, sprinting toward Tsurugi.

"Oh? So you've decided to face me? I admire your dedication, human." Tsurugi conjured more swords from her surroundings, launching them at me like lethal projectiles.

I deftly swerved and evaded the incoming blades, my heart pounding in my chest. With an adrenaline-fueled burst of speed, I hurled the sword in my hand toward Tsurugi.

She watched with a hint of surprise as it closed the distance between us, but she had something more sinister in store.

In the blink of an eye, I found my head seemingly detached from my body, a disorienting sensation that gripped me like a vise

. My awareness snapped back to reality, and I was met with the realization that I had been checkmated by Tsurugi, her swords forming a menacing circle around me.

"Fufu~ That was a good fight, human..."

I grimaced and fell to my knees, panting heavily, my blades slipping from my grasp.

"You two are so alike... no wonder you two are idiots," Tsurugi commented as she snapped her fingers, conjuring a sword on her back. She gracefully descended onto the sword and seated herself.

"Don't talk about my brother like that," I shot back, my gaze as I looked up at her.

"Don't bark, dog... You're nowhere near his level."

"That... is true," 

I admit to knowing the vast difference in skill between me and my brother.

"What if you met someone stronger than you? What if this stronger individual decided to go after your friends as you watched them get beaten up? What will you do, Shin?" Tsurugi smiled, her words probing.

My mind painted a vivid and horrifying scenario, my friends enduring excruciating pain, and my helplessness to protect them.

A seething hatred consumed me, and the only thought that resonated was... 'kill.'

"That's right, Shin... Violence is an option, to protect your friends from danger... Your option is to get stronger." Tsurugi whispered softly in my ear, her voice coaxing, "Let it all out."

At that moment, my brother appeared before me, gazing down with a gentle smile.

The hatred that had filled my mind suddenly dissipated, replaced by a sense of understanding and purpose.

My eyes snapped open as I jolted awake, sitting up in bed, drenched in sweat. "Just a bad dream," I muttered to myself, trying to dispel the lingering emotions.

Fuck... This is worse than I thought.