35

Chapter 35: Pride in her pupilsNotes:

Hello! I'm back with another main story update. With my coursework becoming quite heavy recently I've had to neglect this story a bit. But no longer I say! This chapter was written as a series of scenes with timeskips in between so I can condensce the full training arc into a chapter but still have it feel like the time went by properly. After this we'll have one more chapter before dragon hunting time! I think this turned out pretty well and I hope you guys enjoy it too.

Chapter Text

I smile as I pluck my bowstring sending another volley of arrows streaking towards my cute students. Their progress continues to astound me as I've increased the velocity of my arrows by five whole percent in the last week. That may not sound like much but it's the equivalent of improving your time in a running event by five percent in a week, an absurd increase.

Through my Ki sense, I watch as they weave through the forest along the track, dodging or intercepting projectiles as they go. The volley I just fired is met by a streak of chain lightning that detonates them in an explosion of flames. The forks of lightning pierce skyward and I can see them from all the way over here.

What Raijin said to Akeno seems to have helped her with her Holy Lightning a lot. There's no longer that hesitation to use it she had before and the potency has increased by a fair margin. When I asked her about it she said she still has a long way to go.

The next arrow to sit on my bowstring swells, the flames flickering as they struggle to be contained. When I release the arrow it billows outward into a massive fireball. The sky is covered in a red glow as the projectile falls towards the obstacle course. As it hits the forest it gouges out a scorched plain for dozens of meters along its path. The kids had kicked it up a notch and already passed that area though.

A dozen motes of light form from my Ki and they streak outward multiple times faster than the previous shots, forcing my students to take the damage from some as they cut down the rest.

While Akeno's offence has improved, Takehiko's defence has made leaps and bounds. He still hasn't manifested Touki yet. What he has managed though is to increase his reaction time and harden his skin to a degree. Considering this is an extension of his breathing technique rather than an active use of his Ki, I have high hopes for his further refinement of that technique.

They've made it past their distance from yesterday so it's about time I knock them out again. It won't do if they make too large of gains in one sitting. My goal is to make their progress seem insignificant so they don't become prideful. Also, it will be fun to watch them realize how much progress they've actually made later.

Two arrows form on my bowstring, glowing brighter as my excitement taints the spell. The arrows streak away, far faster than even the light bombardment but carrying enough strength to knock my students out.

I put my bow away and start heading towards them as their Ki signatures flicker, unconsciousness swallowing them up.

My students weren't the only ones who needed to improve while we were here. To that effect, I started sparring with Akio and Kiyoshi at the same time. With them going all out and me alternating what abilities I was focusing on, I can get a decent workout in while honing a subset of my abilities.

"Take this!" Akio yells as he is launched from a branch Kiyoshi manipulates. His claws gleam in red energy as he falls at me like a meteor.

"Too easy!" I push my cupped hands outward and an explosion of flames blasts Akio backward.

Turning my flames into a physical force became a necessity to hold Akio back on days when I was only using them. If I couldn't do that he would just overwhelm me.

I duck as a razor-sharp tendril of wood whips through the space my head just occupied. That isn't enough as I have to leap upwards when the grass turns into a sea of blades. I look up in time to see Akio leaping towards me again, a feral grin on his face.

"Good teamwork." My left arm snaps outward and another blast of flames propels me sideways.

I laugh as Akio rages about missing me again while I land on a tree trunk, my legs coiling as I prepare to spring off into battle again. The wood wraps around my feet trying to hold me but I send gouts of flame into the tree destroying it.

My body is covered in a corona of flame and I focus it into my hands, laser-like beams of pure heat cutting through the forest as I swing my arms. Akio yelps as he ducks under them and I hear Kiyoshi sigh as I destroy the environment. He really hates the wanton destruction of nature.

As I land on the forest floor, a flock of birds dive bomb me and I scowl as I try to not kill them. It's really a cheap move throwing cute things at me when the only thing I'm allowed to use is fire. I stick my tongue out the side of my mouth and try to focus on more conceptual uses of flame.

The birds squawk and fly away in a panic as I use my connection to fire to stoke the flames of their fear. My manoeuvre isn't quick enough as I get a Touki enhanced punch to the gut from Akio that lifts my feet off the ground.

"Hah! Take that-" His exclamation is cut off as I spit out a condensed fireball that burns a hole through his throat.

As I land, a pillar of rock slams into the side of my knee and I stumble. Kiyoshi had planned for this apparently because I feel a rock formation patterned after a bed of nails cut through my skin as I fall on it.

"I actually hate you Kiyoshi!" I snarl at the woods not being able to sense where the bastard is hiding with my limited arsenal. I've already been trying to spontaneously develop thermal sense out of spite but haven't had much success.

I have to carefully melt the rock from the inside out so I don't have molten pieces of stone stuck in my skin. As I sit up Akio tries to kick me in the face and more tendrils of plant life seek to hold me down.

I tilt my head to the side, wrap my arm around his leg, and punch upward with my free arm. A concentrated burst of fire erupts just past my knuckles and even with his Touki, I see his skin start to blacken and bubble under the attack.

The heat is so intense that the plants around me catch fire off proximity alone, negating that attack as well.

I can see that Akio has passed out under the attack by the whites of his eyes but he has a nasty habit that I've learned. His grin widens, lips cracking and blood spilling out from his mouth, and he attempts to attack me again.

I dodge his frenzied claw swipes, the aura somehow sharper and distinctly more dangerous. Slipping around him I get him in a headlock and slowly suppress the raging bonfire that is his battle frenzy using my control of fire. When that fails due to his bloodlust being far more resistant than the fear of the birds, I simply choke him until he stops.

Fucking berserkers.

Akio goes slack in my hold and Kiyoshi steps out of the forest knowing I'll burn the whole thing down to win. "Well fought, Ibaraki-sama. Your flames are growing far more potent."

I groan and lie down in the ashes, "I fucking hate fire day."

"Um, shisho? Are you sure this is a good idea?" Takehiko grimaces as he stares down his opponent.

"Hm? Of course, I am. Akeno is off working on her lightning so it's my job to help you with your Ki use." Her statement would be reassuring if he wasn't staring down the barrel of her bow from far too close to be safe. He's used to the projectiles coming from kilometres away not less than a hundred metres!

"And this will help me, how?" He shivers as a thick arrow made of pure Ki forms on the bowstring.

"Well… you'll either need to use Touki to improve your speed enough to dodge from this distance, or you'll need to use Touki to tank the shot!" Takehiko shrieks -In a manly way!- as he dives out of the way of an arrow.

He turns to see that the projectile pierced through multiple trees behind him and shivers at the fact those attacks are being aimed at him.

"Ah, sorry, I held back too much with that shot." Ibaraki-shisho scratches her neck laughing sheepishly.

"That's the opposite of the problem!" Takehiko springs up, dramatically pointing at his sadistic shisho. Where did the enigmatic and mysterious teacher from before go? This is just an irresponsible woman!

"Don't be like that, this is for the best. Trust me!" Takehiko shakily moves back into position, eyes darting between the weapon and the destruction.

He gulps and looks hesitantly to his teacher, "Can you please explain Touki to me again?"

"Sure. You don't have to hesitate to ask questions." She leans on her bow a bit and the bone creaks. She grins viciously at the bow and once again he questions his teacher's sanity.

"Touki is essentially turning your Ki, Qi, or Lifeforce into armour. What that explanation leaves out is that it's less a coating and more of a constant emission. You're pumping out energy all across your body while pulling it back in towards your body." She holds out her hand and faint wisps of energy waft off.

After that display stops, she then shows a disc of ki hovering over the outstretched limb. Finally, she starts to make the first demonstration again before yanking the escaping ki back over the limb forming a coating. Takehiko can see how each demonstration comes together to form the final one but there's one problem…

"How do I move my Ki like that?" Ibaraki-shisho falls over when he says this, having leaned too far onto the bow and lost her balance in surprise.

As she gets up he hears her muttering, "I knew I was forgetting something. This stuff was so easy for me I forgot to teach the basics, I literally pulled off Touki on my first try."

"Right! Your Ki is completely tied to your breathing technique then, correct?" Takehiko nods, finally feeling like they're getting somewhere.

"I want you to focus on that breathing technique and feel around for that warmth that enhances your body. When you find it you need to grab it and bring it into your conscious control." She looks deep in thought for a second before she nods.

"Don't trade your breathing technique for this though. I think it will be better if you learn to do both." Not knowing the difference, Takehiko just shrugs and starts to breathe.

"Ibaraki-sama, what can this humble blacksmith do for you?" The old Oni blacksmith keeps hammering away at his work even as he greets me.

"Actually, I'm here to do something for you." I smile a bit sheepishly as he turns with a raised eyebrow.

He snorts and waves a hand dismissively. "You've already done enough. Us craftsmen are finally treated with respect around here. As if any of the warriors could get anything done without my weapons, hmph."

I smile at his attitude. I've been spending more time talking to everyone around the village and I regret not having done so earlier. So many interesting personalities that I ignored before.

"Well, if you don't want to know the forging method behind my sword and bow, I guess I'll be off then." The blacksmith moves so quickly he seemingly teleports across the room and puts his hand on my shoulder.

I turn around and he has a massive grin and a disturbing glint in his eye. "Now, now, don't be too hasty. Sit down for a moment! Take a rest! Maybe we can chat for a bit about forging, hm?"

I chuckle at the abrupt change in demeanour and take a seat. "I figured you would be excited. Honestly, this is long overdue. I'm not a skilled enough smith to make use of the technique and it's too good to let die with me."

"I agree." He leers at the bone sword which I set down beside me, licking his lips. If the sword had a mind of its own it would be running away in fear of its chastity.

"I'll head over to the other blacksmith after telling you." He chokes on air before frantically waving his arms.

"No! Don't tell that old hag anything!" I blink in surprise as he turns to sneer at the forge off in the distance; the only other forge in the village.

He turns back to me with a manic glee in his eyes, "If you teach only me I'll name my firstborn child after you."

He nods to himself before cackling and rubbing his palms together, "Yes! This will finally be enough for me to drive her out of business!"

I bite my lip to stop myself from laughing, schooling my expression into practised neutrality. "And why would you want that?"

"Tch, we've been competing since the inception of the village. Whoever drove the other out of business first would give their surname to our children!" I blink in shock at the… ridiculousness of that.

"Wait, so you two have abstained from having kids for hundreds of years… out of spite?" I stare blankly as he snorts in disdain.

"Bah, it isn't spite, it's pride! Whoever wins claims the name that will be passed down as our school of blacksmithing. This is putting our honour on the line so only one name will be remembered by history!" I scratch my chin and tilt my head as he clenches his fist and stares skyward.

"But… hasn't this time you've wasted meant neither name has become famous?" He chokes on the air and holds his chest like he's having a heart attack.

"Can you, err, leave the instructions here? I'll be back in a bit." I stare bewildered as he runs off towards the other forge. I sigh and begin to write instead of questioning this.

'Your people are crazy.' You know it, Byakko.

Akeno skips excitedly into the clearing where she and I are doing weapons training today. She's finally reached a level of skill I deem enough to use live steel in practice. To say she is happy about this development is an understatement.

"Where's Takehiko?" She asks, searching for her usual training partner.

"Since he's unlocked his Touki he needs to spend some time getting used to it. Therefore, I've given him the challenge of fighting some of the weaker villagers." Akeno looks a bit worried but doesn't question my decision.

I decide to assuage her worries since otherwise her focus might be affected, "I have a clone shadowing him today. It will step in if things start going wrong but it's important he doesn't know about the safety net."

With that explanation, Akeno is back to her excitement from before. I smile as I toss her naginata towards her. She catches it with practised ease and grins back at me.

"This is going to be so much better than running that course from hell!" I pout at her description of my training. I'm definitely having fun with that portion of their training, they should be too.

Tapping my foot on the ground and flexing my will causes roots to sprout from the ground and coil upwards. They grow into a thin pillar about six feet tall before condensing and smoothing out into a staff.

Could I have used a normal weapon? Yes, I could have.

The question is: would that have been as cool?

I snap the staff at the base, separating it from the roots, and spin it before levelling the end at Akeno. "Let's see how you've grown."

Akeno stares at me in deadpan, "That was far less cool than you imagined it."

"Just spar with me without killing my self-esteem, please. When did my cute ward get turned into this acerbic brat?" I huff depressed as Akeno jabs at me with her weapon.

A flick of the extended end of my staff knocks Akeno's jab off course. I follow up the deflection with a jab towards her stomach.

 Akeno follows the momentum of her naginata bringing the butt around to deflect my jab. She then jabs upward with the butt of her naginata aiming for my throat.

I curl my bicep, swinging my staff upwards and slamming it into her naginata. Redirecting the momentum, I bring my staff downwards in a diagonal strike.

Akeno matches my attack with an upwards slash, the blade of her naginata biting into my staff before I reinforce it. The blacksmith in Kyoto did a good job on Akeno's weapon considering how easily it cut through before I strengthened my staff.

Akeno retracts her blade just far enough to move it around my staff and take another stab at hitting me. I rotate my wrist, looping my staff around her weapon and pushing her strike off to the side again. This time, however, I don't wait for her response. I continue straight into a strike, combining offence and defence fluidly.

The other end of my staff swings at her temple and Akeno ducks, losing her grip on her weapon. As her naginata clatters on the ground, she trips and falls on her butt with an adorable yelp.

She puffs out her cheeks as she glares at me, "You're supposed to hold back!"

I laugh as I help her up, "I'm using a weapon I'm not familiar with while not enhancing myself. If that isn't holding back, should I fight with one arm, maybe blindfolded?"

"Yes! Exactly that. In fact, you should fight me with no arms and be blindfolded." She continues to glare at me as she picks her weapon back up.

"But how will I hold the staff then?" I spin the staff before pointing it at her again.

"Hold it in your mouth, you absurd creature!" I snort as she jabs at me again, starting the dance anew.

"My hair is white not moss green." She hisses as I rap her knuckles with a quick smack of my staff.

"Demon, fiend, beast!" She rubs the back of her knuckles while insulting me.

"Come on, Akeno. Again!" She grumbles but complies with my command.

"You've made good progress on your Touki, kiddo." Takehiko smiles hesitantly at the praise. He's spent enough time with me by now to expect a new task if I'm happy with his mastery of the old task.

"Now we're going to work on your sword intent. You need to be able to use it at will if you plan on seriously fighting in the future." He looks puzzled so I wait for him to speak.

"What do you mean sword intent?" I wrap one of my claws in the silver energy for him to see and he makes a face of comprehension.

"Ah, that stuff. I haven't used that though?" Now it's my turn to be confused because I've certainly seen him use it before.

"You use it occasionally when you get hyper-focused drawing your sword." His brow furrows as he tries to remember those times.

"That's just Touki though. It's even white like Touki, not that silver color of sword intent." He demonstrates an iaido strike to prove his point and sure enough the aura is a piercingly bright white. Still, he's wrong, that isn't Touki.

Before I can explain, Byakko manifests himself with a huff of displeasure. "That is soul energy wrapped around your blade, not life energy. What has Ibaraki been teaching you that you can't tell the difference?"

Takehiko frowns and moves to defend my teaching but is interrupted, "Your understanding of the concept 'Sword' is always going to be different than that of your 'Shisho'. Your views on the subject are irrevicably different."

"You want to be a hero, yes?" Byakko yawns, pretending to be aloof. The fact he's explaining this says otherwise.

Takehiko nods, the topic of his dream erasing his hesitation. "Yes, I'm going to protect people. Humans, Youki, everyone. That's my wish!"

"Exactly, you see your 'Sword' as a tool to protect. You kill with it to save people, a symbol of hope if you will. My cub here, she uses her 'Sword' to cut down obstacles, nothing more, nothing less." Takehiko nods and I can tell he's struggling with the explanation. We haven't talked much about the philosophy of powers yet in his training.

"What the grumpy cat means is that since it is 'Intent' your intent is literally what defines it. That reason is why Killing Intent scares people. It is by definition the resolve to kill something made manifest." Takehiko looks at his sword and smiles.

"So… the more I want to protect people, the better my sword will be at doing that?" I think about it for a moment before shrugging.

"Kind of? It's a mixture of your will, understanding, and experience. Simply wanting something isn't enough but it is a good start." Byakko is busy licking the back of his paw, actually disinterested this time to reply.

"Then I'll be the greatest hero and save a whole bunch of people!" I coo at how cute his determination is and ruffle his hair.

"Ladies are going to be all over you in the future if you keep being so earnest." His blush is atomic as he scrambles away from me.

I laugh as he runs off, not wanting to deal with my shit anymore.

"Hey, wait! We haven't even started training yet!" I take off after him as Byakko rumbles a laugh.

"As a reward for managing to complete a lap of the course…" I pause for dramatic effect as Takehiko smiles in anticipation and Akeno glares at me sceptically.

"I've increased the difficulty!" Takehiko slumps in dismay and Akeno just rolls her eyes.

"From today onward, one of you will be running on the ground whilst the other travels through the trees. Each day you'll switch. Sounds fun, right?" I put my hands on my hips and grin, proud at the fun surprise I've given them.

"I have wings. How will this be a challenge?" She gestures to the maze of branches which while adding a bit of difficulty won't be a true obstacle.

"Er, I don't have wings. How am I going to be doing this?" Takehiko shuffles his feet looking nervously between me and the new obstacle.

"Hello." Akeno and Takehiko jump in shock as Kiyoshi pops out of the tree behind them. From the slight smirk he's wearing he enjoys scaring them too much.

"Kiyoshi will be manipulating the trees to make things more difficult for you, Akeno. Doesn't that make you feel better?" Her fingers crackle with lightning as she alternates glares that promise death between me and Kiyoshi.

She grits her teeth and her shoulders bunch up. "Sure, this is fine."

"As for you, my dear student. You will be learning the fine art of three-dimensional movement." I mime a pair of legs hopping through the air with my hand.

"Oh okay, so you're going to show me then?" He smiles again reassured but I snort and shake my head.

"Nope! You're going to be learning as you go. Failure is the best teacher." I grin as he slumps again. Teaching is so fulfilling.

"Ok kids, off you go." They start running with Akeno taking the high road.

Before they get too far I call out to them, "Also, I expect you guys to finish nearly as fast as last time."

I bust a gut when Akeno flies into a tree branch.

"You guys have been working hard recently and I'm satisfied with your results." Takehiko pumps his fist in the air and Akeno even smiles faintly.

I smile softly back at them, proud of their progress. "In light of that, I'm giving you guys the day off. Take a break, relax, and let the training you've been working on settle. Okay?"

"Of course, thanks shisho!" Takehiko slings his arm around Akeno's shoulder and beams at me.

Akeno nods and grins at her training partner. "Come on Take-kun, let's see what we can do for fun around here."

The two run off and I get a surge of warmth in my chest when I think of how good of friends they've become. Shared adversity is a hell of an effective friendship builder.

"You're too soft on them." I turn to see Akio grinning as he watches them go, his words not matching his expression.

"They're pretty talented kids, huh?" Akio snorts and holds up an arm covered in electrical burns. The burns extend all the way across his chest and his back as well.

"Little Akeno is a monster. I still haven't healed since you let me spar her a couple of days ago. The boy's not so bad either." Not bad is accurate if a slightly unfair.

He doesn't have the natural advantages Akeno or we Oni have. If you take that into account his progress is just as monstrous as Akeno's. He's starting to reach a skill cap as to what I can teach him with a sword. I'm more of a power fighter than a technique fighter which limits how long I can help him improve.

"In a couple more weeks he's going to have to search out someone to improve his sword technique or his progress will slow." I take a seat on the grass and Akio joins me.

"He'd have to leave the village." Akio points out and I sigh but don't disagree.

"I'll be sad to see him go but it's for the best. I've taught him sword intent, Touki, the basics of Ki manipulation, and helped condition his body. The rest will be up to him. He's also getting antsy about 'becoming a hero'." He can't call himself a hero if he doesn't go save people after all.

"Speaking of seeing people go…" I groan as he starts to bring up what I've been calling the problem group.

"At this point, I want to send them off, if only so they don't bug me anymore. The issue is that I don't want to deal with the fallout of them destroying a city because they get bored." Akio snorts, not sympathising with my plight at all.

"Why can't you use a spell to have somebody come pick them up? Magic can do that right?" A stare blankly as my head robotically turns to Akio.

"I'm an idiot." He blinks at the dead tone but shrugs it off quickly.

"So you can do that?" I stare lifelessly at my palms as I remember that technology is a thing. I could call someone to escort the Oni to Kyoto. I have an entire organization at my beck and call. Why am I so stupid?

"Yes, I can do that." I shake my head, knowing how much time I spent listening to the Oni complaining about being cooped up in the village.

"Good. You worry about the weirdest things." Akio falls over backwards and stares up at the sky. He sticks a piece of grass in his teeth and chews on it idly.

"How so?" I watch him gesture inarticulately before sighing explosively.

"You act almost like you're scared, all the time. You have this nervous energy that you cover up with that playful attitude." I growl in warning but he just waves his hand at me.

"Like that! What, you think I'll challenge you for leadership or something? I'm not suicidal." He grabs a rock and flicks it into the sky, watching it get swallowed by the sunlight.

"Honestly, you worry about everything. Have some damn confidence in your strength. Do you think any of us would follow you if you were weak?" I scowl at him and fire a ball of black flames at the rock as it falls back down. My anger overpowers the spell and the air around it starts to get consumed.

"You speak like it's simple. There are people out there who are powerful beyond your comprehension." I have to focus to dispel the flames as they leap towards Akio. He just lies there unflinchingly.

"You speak as though that matters. Just become strong enough to kill them." He shrugs and I grit my teeth, wondering if he knows how stupid that sounds.

"I don't know if I have time to become that strong! What if someone I can't handle shows up before I'm ready!" He has the fucking temerity to shrug. Again.

"Then you die. Then we probably die too. S'not like it wasn't going to happen eventually. As long as you go out fighting I won't blame you at least." I gape at him with wide eyes.

"You forget, we all watched you fight the Elder. We saw how excited you were as you tore him to pieces. At that moment you were satisfied because you weren't worried about the future. You play at being complicated but you're a lot like me. A good fight, good food, and you're set." He stands up and brushes himself off.

"How do you expect me to just let go of my fears?" He turns and frowns.

"How should I know? I just like fighting stuff, I'm no healer or nothin'. You've been better about it since coming here so… focus on things you can handle." He crosses his arms and scratches at a bicep while furrowing his brows. His stomach growls and he looks off into the distance, sniffing at the air.

"Eh, all I know is that If you can't find a way to reach that state again, you'll never be that happy. Maybe kill some stuff and let the rest sort itself out? This emotional crap is too confusing." I watch him jog out of the clearing with a lot more to think about.

"Your conversation with the simple one has done wonders towards the stability here." Byakko's tail swipes sedately as he slinks through my mindscape with grace.

It's been a week since my talk with Akio and while I haven't been able to relax completely, I've been working on letting go of my extraneous fears. Unburdening myself like that has helped stop my mindscape from shifting as much.

The fact that the Golden Dragons sent a bus over near here and bring some Oni back to Kyoto also helped. It was as simple as making a call and my subordinates leap into action to make my order a reality. The number of traffic laws they had to violate to get the bus here as quickly as they did must have been insane.

"Good, we can finally work on external manifestation." Byakko nods to himself even as I trip over air.

"I'm sorry what?" I pull myself off the ground wondering if he'll repeat himself.

"External manifestation of your mindscape. You already do something similar when materializing your weapons, this will just be on a larger scale. Why do you think I've made you study barrier techniques recently?" He looks back at me unimpressed.

"I don't know, maybe a rational conclusion like making barriers? Defending the village or my house? Any number of reasons that don't require massive leaps to conclude?" My voice is dry as a desert as I list off far more reasonable explanations.

Byakko mutters under his breath, "No respect for your oldest friend. I see how highly I rate around here."

I snort as he turns his chin up and starts to walk away. "Fine, fine, I should trust the wisdom of Byakko-sama more. Your unfathomable depths of knowledge shock me to my very core and fill me with feelings of inadequacy."

He preens at my words turning back to me as though saying 'Of course, why haven't you realized before now.'

"You needed to learn how to place a sturdy barrier because otherwise, you would be attempting to cover the entire world with your mindscape." That… makes a bit of sense.

"So limiting my reach to what I can handle essentially." I vibrate with glee as I start thinking about having my own Reality Marble. I'm knocked out of my fantasy by the impact of a tiger's tail.

"This won't be as crazy as an infinite world of blades. At the start, this will only allow you to more easily manifest your abilities. Think of it like creating a water spell in a lake instead of in a desert." I frown at the denial of my dreams.

"No guaranteed hit slash insta-kill then?" He snorts and shakes his head.

"Not even close, cub. You'll be able to manifest your abilities anywhere inside your domain but not inside your enemies. With practice, you might be able to do more impressive things with your domain but at the start, things will be basic." That's still a useful ability though. Spawning a fireball right beside someone is a huge tactical advantage.

"If I need to cast a barrier that means I can't pull a Sukuna and paint a Domain right on top of reality either." I sigh silently asking why I'm not allowed to have nice things.

"With enough skill maybe but not for a while, if ever." He waves his paw at me dismissively, "Well, what are you waiting for? Leave and bring this place into the real world."

Hmph, rude.

Blinking my eyes open back in reality I pull on my mana and start to form the barrier spell. My sigil forms beneath my feet and the magic circle starts to expand outwards around it. Once I see the telltale shimmer of the barrier extending skyward, I focus on summoning my mindscape.

I slump after a couple of minutes of nothing happening. Byakko grumbles in the back of my head.

'Why are you trying to summon the whole thing? That's the last thing you should be attempting.' I was excited, okay? Reality Marbles are an otaku's romance!

'Start with your sword and bow then work your way up from there.' My sword and bow appear in a flash; materializing them being barely an inconvenience at this point.

From there, I focus on the rest of my shrine -It would be stupid to summon the grass and trees into an area filled with grass and trees. There's a stutter in reality as the black flames start to form the base of my shrine before they flicker into non-existence.

'Again!' I grit my teeth and strap in for a long lesson in domains from Byakko-sensei.

I feel immense pride in my students as they try to catch their breath, dripping with sweat at the end of the course. After these past months of training, they can run the twenty-five kilometres in under fifteen minutes.

For context, that's more than a half-marathon and those events don't involve three-dimensional movement or being pelted by projectiles. When you add in both Kiyoshi and I manipulating the environment to attack them and hinder their progress… Well, my students are now monsters in their own right.

That only accounts for their general fitness. In terms of combat potential? They've reached greater heights than I had anticipated when we first set out.

The two of them can handle enemies up to pinnacle low-class with their weapon skills and physical prowess alone. Takehiko can, with physical enhancements and sword intent, kill mid-class combatants. That doesn't sound like much but he's a barebones human with no special bloodline, Sacred Gear, or magic to close the gap. Almost a year of solo training with no guidance and four months of personal instruction have made him a credible threat.

Akeno, to put it simply, could nearly fight Akio at half strength. Granted, that is with her going all out and avoiding getting close but it's still damn impressive. She's only thirteen and a bit; I can't imagine how strong she'll be by canon now.

Her magical ability already outstrips mine and I'll have to strongarm Yasaka or someone into helping her reach mastery. I'd be embarrassed if I was talented in that area. Physically she's still a bit lacking for a supernatural species but she's a kid and Angels aren't exactly renowned for their physical prowess.

"If you've been training anywhere near as hard as you've pushed those kids, you'll make me look good next month." I turn and see Susanoo smirking beside me.

"I suppose it's time I gave you some pointers." He puts his hand on my shoulder and grins widely.

"I'll teleport the kids to Kyoto for you. That way you'll focus on my training." He snaps his fingers and my students vanish in a flash of light. I snarl at him only for my surroundings to warp into nearly pure darkness.

I stumble as I breathe in heavy, stale air filled with the scents of decay and death.

"Welcome to Yomi! Make yourself at home, we'll be here for the next month." Off in the distance, I can see movement in the darkness.

"Ah don't eat anything though. It'd be awkward if I had to find a replacement candidate because you're trapped here." I hear his laughter as he starts walking towards the palace in the distance.

"I'm going to visit my Haha-ue. I suggest making your way to her palace as well." As if to punctuate his statement, I see dozens of glowing eyes hone in on my position from the darkness. "Good luck, kid!"

Fuck you, Susanoo.