90

Chapter 90:

The forging of his two swords finished, it was time for the the final work that would bring out their true beauty and functionality. With this, Murasame left the forge and returned to his house, where his workroom resided. First came the sharpening. Using a rough grindstone, Murasame methodically sanded away the metal leading up to the edge, carefully shaping it to a razor's sharpness. It was precise work, and Murasame frequently had to check to ensure that the edge was properly aligned.

It was at this stage that smiths could add other aspects to the sword, such as grooves along the blade, or even horimono, decorative carvings. It was also when most smiths signed their creations on the blade's tang. Murasame had opted to forgo any decorations at this point. Grooves could serve a functional purpose, lightening the blade, but Murasame had already determined that he did not need grooves in this sword. Instead, he went straight into the rough polishing, and then the final polishing.

Sword polishing was an art all its own and, throughout history, sword polishers were dedicated artisans on the level of the smiths themselves. However, Murasame's long life had enabled him to master the art of polishing as well, enabling him to work the sword from start to finish. And now, he set to work with a series of increasingly fine polishing stones, gradually bringing out his creation's luster, and bringing out the beauty of its hamon.

With each successive round of polishing, Murasame's work became more detailed, until he had reached the final stages, using tiny flecks of stone to finely wear away just the right parts of the steel, so that the crystalized steel of the edge stood out perfectly from the darker color of the softer steel, the difference produced by the layering of clay during the quenching process. From flakes, Murasame worked with a slurry of fine grains, using that to bring out the final details of the sword. Working this part put his fingers in extreme proximity to the sword's razor-sharp edge, threatening severe injury if he made the smallest mistake. However, Murasame's movements were sure and confident, and not a single drop of his blood was spilled.

With the polishing finished, Murasame moved on to the mounting. Unlike the typical materials used for the hilt, Murasame chose something different. Just as it had for the sword he had based his design on, Murasame intended to make hilt and sword one and the same. It seemed fitting to him. As a Huntress, Ruby would want to have a weapon that could serve her completely, and Murasame felt it best if she did not have to worry about wearing down the handle.

So he chose to make the handle from steel. In order for it to function properly, he chose to compose the handle from softer steel, like the kind he used for the core of the sword. On his forge, he shaped it into an elongated rectangle. He rounded off the edges, to ensure that they fit comfortably in the hand. The handle was where Murasame chose to add decoration, carefully chiseling out the shapes of roses, growing from thorny vines, winding their way around the block. In one of the gaps between the vines, Murasame inscribed the sword's name.

Then, once he was finished...Murasame split the whole thing in half lengthwise. Along the cut surface of each half, he carved a groove. With careful heating, he melded the tang of one sword into the groove of its chosen handle, using his Aura to guide the process, so that the handle and the tang were one, yet not completely one, which would prevent the shock of any impact traveling up the blade from going straight into Ruby's hand, when she wielded it. It was then that he inscribed each sword's name, chiseling the kanji into the smooth surface of the cut section of the handle. One blade he named Bara, the other Ibara.

Both swords now finished, the last step would be the most unique...and difficult. Working with extreme delicacy, Murasame heated the spines of the swords, from the very tip, all the way back to the handle, heating the cut sides of the handle as well. It took extreme care to perform this step, heating the swords just enough to make them pliable, without threatening the tempering. This part could not be accomplished with any mundane heat, but only through the application of his Aura. Finally, Murasame brought the glowing portions of the two swords...and pressed them together.

A snapping sound, like a spark, rang through the room. The heated portions of the sword cooled instantly, the heat being absorbed, consumed even. The two blades became one, from tip to handle, even the seam of their joining disappearing, producing a single, double-edged, sword, the straight edges running perfectly parallel to one another, all the way down to the angle of the tip. But that wasn't the only thing to happen.

The sparking sound and the disappearance of the heat, born from Murasame's Aura, had resulted in the emergence of something else. From within the sword, Murasame could feel the pulse of life, like a newborn taking its first breath. That sensation grew stronger with each passing minute, increasing, until it was an intense buzz.

Murasame smiled, tears leaking from his eyes. He could feel it, the life and will of his sword. It was stronger, more vivid, than any sword he had forged before. In fact, he felt as though the strength of its Aura might even rival that of Kyo's Tenro. Perhaps that was overly prideful of him, but it truly seemed an accurate assessment.

More than anything, he could feel his creation's heart. "Welcome to the world, my dear child," he said softly, lovingly tracing the petal-like pattern of the hamon with his eyes. "I dub thee Akaibara. You are the brightest child I have yet brought into this world...and I have a special place for you."

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RUBY-CHAN!" cheered her friends and classmates as Ruby blew out the candles on her cake.

As always, Ruby blushed. It was a bit harrowing, being at the center of attention, even for something like her own birthday. As always, her entire class had been invited to the event, which they had all been happy to accept, considering that, as always, it was being held in one of the pavilions in the Royal Palace, with Sora and Sasame overseeing the whole thing, along with members of the Taishiro and Goyosei popping by to deliver their own well wishes and presents.

It was a fun experience, particularly since Ruby no longer needed to worry about her classmates holding any negative feelings towards her. Whatever the disposition of opinions about her amongst the Mibu in general, Ruby was held in fairly high esteem in her own class, and not merely because of her connection with the Royal Family. Even Yuuko and Akane had long since warmed up to her, and now Ruby considered them to be good friends, even if they weren't in her closest circle of friends.

Some of them maintained a careful distance from her though. That was mainly due to the fact that, whatever her classmates thought about her, such thoughts were not necessarily maintained by their families. Like Akane and Yuuko, there were a couple of others in the class who came from some of the Mibu's more prominent, older families. The members of those older, noble lineages formed the core of those who continued to stubbornly oppose Ruby's presence, and her attachment to the Royal Family. Though Ruby had never confirmed it with Sasame or Sora, she also suspected that they were the main instigators behind the different assassination attempts she had weathered throughout her past few years.

But even those families didn't dare bar their children from attending her birthday party. The very same obsession with status that had them scorning Ruby so violently also kept them from doing something as uncouth as refusing an invitation from the head of the Taishiro herself.

It was nothing to worry about. Sora kept the adults occupied with polite, friendly conversation, while Sasame led Ruby and her friends through the various games and activities that were part and parcel to a birthday party, some seeming a bit overly childish, given that Ruby had just turned thirteen, but entertaining all the same. Ruby had come to absolutely cherish her birthday, and the chance to celebrate with her family. Someone had even either evicted Sasame from the kitchen, or had convinced her to bend, seeing as the cake had been chocolate this time.

Of course, there were also the presents. Ruby liked to believe that she wasn't too greedy. But she had to admit that it was always fun to get so many presents from her friends. Most of them were relatively small and casual, candy and other treats, but some of them were quite meaningful.

Miyu and Setsuna had worked together to get Ruby a brand new set of zori and tabi, both made from excellent, durable materials, in anticipation of her upcoming training excursion in Anima. Ruby could sense the potent infusion of Aura in the garments, improving their resistance to wear, and staving off dirt and stains. She couldn't ask for a better set of footwear for her trip.

Natsuki had gotten Ruby a brand new tea set, and even a canister of excellent matcha to go with it. In the years since she had come to the Mibu, Ruby had come to enjoy tea quite a bit, and had even been educated in the Tea Ceremony by Sora, though she'd rarely ever been to one. Not many of her classmates had the patience to sit through such a slow-paced event.

Sora had commissioned the creation of armor, laminated metal plates that formed a pair of rectangular paldrons (or sode, as the Mibu called them) that she would wear over her shoulders, as well as a set of tassets (kusazuri) to wear over her hakama. The rectangular plates of steel were the same red as her haori, and Ruby was excited to get the chance to try them on.

Various guests cycled throughout. Shinrei, Keikoku, Chinmei, and even Taihaku circulated through to offer their own congratulations, as did Makoto. The excitement and energy were such that it took Ruby a while to notice that a certain person hadn't shown up. Perhaps it was arrogant of her to expect him, but he had shown up without fail for all her previous birthdays, and often stayed a while to talk with her and her friends.

"Where's Murasame-sama?" asked Ruby, managing to make a discreet inquiry to Sora.

"His workshop, perhaps," said Sora contemplatively. "He's been quite busy on a project, these past few weeks. I've hardly seen him since early-September."

Perhaps it was odd, but Ruby had been too busy to notice that she hadn't run into Murasame in the halls of the palace for more than a month. Usually, she bumped into him at least once a week, often with such regularity that she was beginning to think that the Blademaster was actually making it a point to check up on her regularly.

"Is everything all right?" asked Ruby.

To her surprise, Sora smiled. "Oh, it's fine. It's likely that Murasame is working on a new sword. He makes weapons fairly regularly, mainly to stay in practice, or as the mood strikes him. But, every now and then, he gets especially impassioned, and can spend a month or more on a single blade."

"Wow..." Ruby whispered. If he had been indisposed this long, then Murasame must have been especially impassioned about this sword.

Sora used her sleeve to hide her widening smile, and a titter. She had a very good idea of the reason Murasame was so wrapped up in his work this time. She suspected that they would see him before the day was over.

However, Ruby was pulled back to the party by Natsuki before she could make any further inquiries on the matter. Ruby was once again swept up in the fun and excitement, the day only getting better with the arrival of Kyo, who had been off on one of his excursions to another continent, mainly to give outlying settlements respite from the Grimm. He had done so quite often, during the past few years, disappearing for months at a time. Sometimes, Sasame accompanied him. However, she seemed more inclined, lately, to stay behind. Whether it was to attend to her work as Makoto's apprentice, or to remain close to Ruby, she wouldn't say.

In fact, Sasame had taken on an apprentice of her own lately. The previous year, Miyu had expressed an interest in learning the Healing Arts. Sasame began to test her, providing Miyu with textbooks, and guiding her to practice with her Aura. Before long, Miyu was accompanying Sasame on trips to the hospitals around Onmyo to get experience with treating different types of wounds and ailments. Sasame had often told Ruby that Miyu had considerable talent and, probably thanks to her exposure to Ruby, a good bit of dedication to her work.

In fact, Murasame did show up, a little over two hours after the party had wound down, and most of the guests had gone home. Only Ruby, Kyo, Sasame, Sora, Natsuki, Miyu, and Setsuna remained. As had become a tradition over the years, Ruby's closest friends remained behind for a post-birthday sleepover, spending the evening talking and playing together, before setting up cushions around the living room in the Royal Family's quarters, and falling asleep.

They had been in the midst of playing a board game, when Murasame entered the room. "Good evening," he said cheerfully. "I hope I'm not too late." He had a long, wooden box tucked under his arm as he made his way into the room.

"Well, you did miss Ruby-chan's party," observed Sora, "not entirely by accident, I'm guessing."

Murasame chuckled. "Guilty as charged, I'm afraid," he admitted.

"Huh? It's not like you to skip out on Ruby-chan's party," noted Natsuki.

"Yes, well...I have a present for her, and I felt it was for the best if only a few people were immediately aware of this," said Murasame.

That got him quite a few curious looks. Murasame had given Ruby a present each year, and had not been shy about doing so. Why was it then that, this year, he was suddenly wary of letting too many others see what he had for her?

The three other adults, however, were already hiding eager smiles of their own. "In that case," said Sora, "let's not waste any time. Please show her already."

"Gladly," said Murasame, setting down the box he'd brought on the living room table. "Ruby-chan...this is for you."

Ruby swallowed, approaching the box nervously. She could already tell that this was different from any other present she had gotten, not merely this birthday, but every one she'd ever had. The box was rather plain-looking. Unlike most of her presents from earlier in the day, it had not been wrapped. It was a simple rectangle of wood, with a lid that lifted off. Nervously, Ruby brushed her fingers along the box's upper edge. Strangely, none of her friends, not even Natsuki, urged her to hurry up. There was a strange gravity to the situation that they could all sense.

Slowly, Ruby removed the lid of the box, setting it aside, everything else falling away as her lungs filled from a stunned gasp at the sight of what lay before her. She wasn't the only one. There was a collective intake of breath from everyone, even her mother and siblings.

Ruby's eyes watered as she regarded the slender blade within, forged from bright-red steel, and a rectangular handle of darker-red. Her eyes traced the petal-like pattern of the hamon, running up the length of the blade, along both of its edges. It was a work of craftsmanship and beauty unlike anything she had ever seen before.

"Oh my..." whispered Sora, having to cover her mouth with a sleeve to hide the fact that her jaw was hanging slack.

"Magnificent," said Kyo, his voice as exultant as it was quiet.

"Wow!" squealed Sasame.

Their voices didn't even register to Ruby's ears. The world seemed completely muted as she examined the sword. It was lying in a recess in the padded interior, with its intended sheath resting in a recess next to it, leaving the blade on display. The instant she'd laid eyes on this sword, she'd felt something like a spark between herself and the blade. It was as though mere visual contact had created some kind of connection. Already, she could feel that this blade was hers...and hers alone. Tears began to run down Ruby's cheeks.

"Wha-what's her name?" asked Ruby, not taking her eyes off Murasame's creation.

"I named her Akaibara," said Murasame. "That word typically means Red Rose. However, as you can see, I used the characters for 'aka' and 'ibara.' So the name also means Red Thorn. I made her a flower of beauty to match your own...and a thorn for your foes."

"She's..." Ruby sniffled, having to wipe her eyes. "...She's amazing! I...I..."

"Go ahead and take her up," said Murasame.

Gingerly, reverently, Ruby slipped the fingers of her left hand around the handle, lifting the blade free of the box's confines. The handle felt perfectly natural in her hand, despite its odd design. Lifting the blade free, Ruby carefully rested the flat of the blade against the fingers of her right hand as she let her eyes trace along the sword's length, taking in the rippling of the grain produced by countless layers of meticulously folded steel. Even though its shape and design were completely at odd with the blades she had trained with, Ruby couldn't help but feel that this sword was perfect for her.

That was...until she felt a sharp pricking sensation in her hand, an angry jolt from the sword's Aura. "Ah!" she exclaimed, jerking the sword away from her fingers, nearly cutting one of them. "Huh?" She felt a sensation almost like repulsion from the blade. If the sword had been a person, Ruby got the feeling she would be huffing, and turning her head away.

Murasame chuckled. "As you can see...she's a bit prideful and contrary. Earning her respect and cooperation will take some doing. I didn't want to make this too easy for you, after all."

"...I don't get it," admitted Ruby, after a moment's thought.

"You will...in time," said Murasame. "I know that she is quite a bit different, both in form and appearance, from the swords you've trained with. However, I promise that she will be quite suited to your style. Given your aspirations as a Huntress, I was moved to include a certain transitional element in her design, just how I've heard the weapons of Huntsmen and Huntresses can often transform."

"What is it?" asked Ruby.

"I think I'll leave that for you to discover," said Murasame. "You'll have to gain her trust more, before she'll allow you to use her full potential. Rather than color your expectations, I want you to explore your potential together, and find out for yourself just what your new weapon can do."

Ruby sniffed. Despite the indifferent attitude Akaibara was currently demonstrating, Ruby had already fallen in love with her new sword.

"Congratulations, Ruby-chan...and happy birthday," said Murasame, smiling warmly.

"For now, it's probably best if you sheathe her, and take her back to your room," suggested Sasame. "You can begin practicing with her tomorrow."

"Okay," said Ruby, taking out the sheath, then sliding Akaibara's blade into it.

She quickly took both the sword, and the box it had come in, bearing them out of the living room, and down the hallway to her own. As she did, Sora approached Murasame.

"Just as you said you would," she noted.

"Yes," agreed Murasame. "She does tend to sway people very easily. I thought it would be to her benefit to have to struggle a little."

Sora giggled. "Oh, I hope you haven't underestimated our Ruby-chan. She has never allowed struggle to deter her."

"I'm counting on that," he said.

"Congratulations on your new sword," said Shinrei, when Ruby arrived at the courtyard before the Fourth Gate. "I heard Murasame-sama knocked out a real doozy for you."

Calling Murasame's creation a "doozy" seemed unfitting to Ruby. She'd barely been able to sleep through the night, practically salivating at the idea of being able to try out her new sword. Sora had needed to admonish Ruby to attend to her friends that morning, in order to keep her from running off to put Akaibara through her paces, and abandoning them.

Fortunately, they could all understand her excitement. After all, Akaibara was no mere birthday present, and Murasame's presenting her to Ruby was more than an act of generosity. Ruby had been granted a tremendous honor, not merely being entrusted with one of the Elder's creations, but having one forged especially for her. It was the kind of thing that supposedly only happened once a generation, if even that. It was the kind of thing that happened in stories and legends, which had been depicted in some of the books Ruby had read, or the plays her family had taken her to. She'd certainly never imagined that she would be granted such an honor.

As a result, spending the morning playing and talking with her friends had almost been torture to Ruby, when she would have liked nothing more than to take out Akaibara and bear her straight away to practice. When the time had finally come to see her friends off, Ruby had done so with all the haste she could manage, without seeming impolite, before practically sprinting to her training session with Shinrei, eager to begin trying out her new weapon as soon as she could.

"Ready to give her a go?" asked Shinrei. "Her design's a good bit different from what you're used to, so we'll just spend today getting a feel for her."

"Okay," said Ruby, already staring eagerly at the sheathed weapon in her hands.

"Well...go ahead," beckoned Shinrei.

Ruby nodded, tightening the fingers of her left hand around the handle, while firmly holding the sheath with her right. Then, Ruby pulled...

...

...

The blade didn't move. Ruby frowned. Perhaps the sheath was a bit tight, and required a bit more effort to slide it free. Tensing her arms, she grasped the sword even tighter, and pulled harder.

...

...

The sword didn't even budge.

"Huh?" grunted Ruby, confused. She thought Akaibara had slipped rather easily into its sheath the previous night, to the point where she might have been worried that it would slide out too easily, had she not had complete faith in Murasame's craftsmanship.

Gritting her teeth, Ruby pulled even harder, straining her arms. If she pulled the sword free now, she might wind up accidentally slashing out with it. As such, Shinrei took a cautious step away from her. However, as Ruby continued to exert more strength, to the point where her arms were trembling from the strain and sweat was beading on her forehead, Akaibara remained stubbornly unmoving, almost as though the sword and sheath were all of a single piece.

Finally, after well over a minute of grunting, growling, and pulling with all her might, Ruby relented, panting for breath, her right arm feeling light and tired from the intense effort trying to wrest the sword free of its sheath. Oh God! Did I do something wrong already? What if I stored her wrong last night, and she warped so much I can't get the sheath off?

Seeing that Ruby was beginning to panic, Shinrei stepped closer. "Can I see?" he asked.

Reluctantly, Ruby nodded, and handed him the sheathed sword. Shinrei took it up, grasping the handle with his right hand, and pulled. There was a moment of hesitation, then the blade slid free with a click. "Oh...I get it."

"What did you do?" gasped Ruby.

"Whoo boy..." said Shinrei, sliding the sword back in, to Ruby's dismay, "...you might not like hearing this."

"Hearing what?" asked Ruby.

"The reason you can't draw her is...because she won't let you draw her," said Shinrei.

"Wh-why not?" asked Ruby.

Shinrei sighed. "To put it bluntly...your sword doesn't respect you."

"What?!" gasped Ruby, horrified.

"Murasame-sama certainly forged a pretty neat piece of work here...which is putting it mildly," said Shinrei. "It wasn't easy for me to draw her. I had to subordinate her will, and basically make her bend to mine. But that approach definitely won't work for you."

"It won't?" asked Ruby.

"Nope," said Shinrei. "For starters, she's strong...and getting stronger. She's freshly forged and finished, so her Aura is still coming together. But before long, she'll start to mature, and I get the feeling that, once she does, even I won't be able to make her do something she doesn't want to do."

"Oh..." gasped Ruby.

"Besides, if you just force your sword to obey your will, you're basically stifling her potential," said Shinrei. "If you want to be able to draw her, you have to earn her trust and respect."

Murasame-sama said something like that, last night, thought Ruby, taking the sheathed blade back from Shinrei.

Seeing Ruby holding the sword uncertainly, both hands now gripped around the sheath, he frowned contemplatively. "Well...we won't get much training done if you can't even draw her," he pointed out. "At this point, do you want to set her aside, so that we can do the training? You could work on figuring out how to draw her later."

"Uh..." Ruby stared at Shinrei awkwardly. Then her gaze dipped down to the sheathed sword in her hands, then back up to her teacher. For a long moment, Ruby's gaze darted back and forth. But rather than try to prod her out of her hesitation, Shinrei waited patiently, his expression completely neutral.

"Um...Shinrei-sensei...actually...uh..."

"Yes?" asked Shinrei.

"I uh...that is, I...if you don't mind, I'd...like to...keep trying..." stammered Ruby.

"Keep trying what?" asked Shinrei.

"Uh well...I'd like to keep trying to draw her," said Ruby, glancing down at her sword.

"Why?" asked Shinrei. "We won't get any training done like that."

"It's just..." Ruby swallowed. "I get th-the feeling that...if I just act like I can just use my regular swords, if I can't draw her...she...she'll feel like I'm giving up on her...and that won't make it any easier for me to draw her."

This girl is smart, thought Shinrei, trying his hardest to keep his face from breaking into a wide grin. "Well...are you sure...?"

"I-if it's all right with you," said Ruby. "I mean...I think this is important. But...I don't want to waste your time."

"Ruby-chan...if you really feel like this is what you need to do, then I'll let you," said Shinrei earnestly.

"I...I do," said Ruby, nodding.

Shinrei nodded back. "All right then. So, from now until it's time for you to go back for dinner, just focus on figuring out how to draw your sword."

"Yes, Sensei," said Ruby. "Do you have any advice."

"Nope," said Shinrei, smirking. "This is one of those things you're going to have to figure out for yourself. You'll need to listen to the voice of your sword, and figure out how to get your sword's respect."

"Okay," said Ruby.

Ruby settled onto the floor of the courtyard, crossing her legs under her as she stared at her sheathed sword, transferring her left hand back to handle. She began to tug on it, though the blade remained stubbornly locked into the sheath. Sighing, she closed her eyes, emptied her mind, and opened her awareness to the sword in her hands.

Behind her, Shinrei finally let his grin show. That's it, Ruby-chan, he thought eagerly. Right now, learning how to use that sword is gonna be your top priority. Once you learn how to use her, you're going to grow by leaps and bounds.

That sword's no doozy. Murasame-sama forged a genuine masterwork, a bonafide Treasure Blade. Her Aura is still young. But once she matures, she's going to be equal to Tenro. With a partner like that in your hand, Ruby-chan, there's gonna be no limit to what you can accomplish.

"Ruby-chan...?"

"H-huh!?" Ruby perked up in her seat, blinking in confusion.

"You're doing it again," deadpanned Natsuki.

"Oh..." Ruby slumped in her seat slightly.

"You've been awfully distracted lately," observed Miyu. "Is everything all right?"

"I'm okay," said Ruby, before sighing, a melancholy frown appearing on her face. "It's just...I keep thinking about my sword."

"It really bothers you, doesn't it?" asked Setsuna.

"I wouldn't call it bothering," said Ruby. "It's just...I just can't figure out what she wants."

Ruby's friends exchanged worried looks. Given the magnificent honor of being bestowed a custom-forged sword, made by the hands of Murasame himself, they had expected Ruby to practically be buoyant with excitement, come Monday. However, instead they had been greeted by a slightly-depressed girl, whose mind now seemed to wander repeatedly. She'd even lost focus in class on multiple occasions, earning her an admonishment from their teacher.

They missed having Kyoichiro as their teacher, but he could teach only so many classes, and they had graduated above the grade he normally worked with. There had been a little worry that their new teacher would be biased against Ruby for her outsider heritage. But Kyoichiro had stringent standards, and vetted his teachers very carefully. There had been no signs that their current teacher bore Ruby any ill will over where she had come from. In fact, given the fact that Ruby was a very good student, all told, their teacher had almost never had to scold her for not paying attention in class before.

Which only made her current situation all the stranger. Ruby had even come with her usual dual-katanas hanging from her sash, rather than her new blade. At least that had a fairly understandable explanation. Just as it had been with living with the Royal Family, when she'd first come to Onmyo, Ruby wasn't exactly sure that the revelation she'd received a sword personally forged by Murasame himself as a birthday present would go over well with her less-understanding peers. For the time being, she opted to keep her original swords, if only for the sake of keeping up appearances.

The fact that Ruby brought her swords to school wasn't considered odd anymore. After the first attempt on her life, Ruby had been granted permission to wear her kodachi to school, and keep them with her in the classroom. That had started a few angry whispers about "favoritism" and "special treatment," almost to the point of resetting her relationship with her classmates almost all the way back to the days where she was being scorned for being an outsider...But then a woman wielding an urumi had tried to kill her in the schoolyard, when she and her friends had gotten off for the day. After that, the rest of her peers were more understanding of why Ruby got to bring her weapons to school.

Once they'd gotten to their lunch period, Ruby's friends had managed to get the story from her; Ruby explaining that, once Akaibara had been sheathed, the sword had stubbornly refused to be drawn, Ruby spending her entire scheduled practice session the previous day trying to get the sword to open up to her. In the end, she had been called back to join her family to dinner...having only met with failure.

And now, here she was, in school, not proudly bearing Murasame's gift, but carrying her usual swords, still stewing in frustration over her failure, yesterday. As such, Ruby's mind continuously went back to Akaibara, wondering just why her sword still refused to accept her.

It wasn't that Ruby couldn't hear the voice of her sword. Ruby knew for a fact she could. After all, she'd been able to hear the voice of every weapon in Murasame's armory. She could sense Akaibara's presence, even get a whiff of her will. It wasn't so much that she couldn't hear Akaibara's voice as it was that her sword just refused to speak. Once again, Ruby got the impression that, if Akaibara were a person, she'd be huffing and stubbornly turning her head away. (In future years, during her time at Beacon, Ruby would come to consider Akaibara, during this phase of her training, to have been almost like a "Sword-version of Weiss". Weiss would not appreciate the comparison.)

"Ruby-chan...you're doing it again," said Natsuki, noticing that Ruby's focus was slipping once more.

"Sorry..." sighed Ruby, feeling miserable. This was going to be a long day.

"I imagine she's having a difficult time in school, right about now," said Murasame, chuckling slightly as he sipped at his tea.

Across from him, on the other side of the small table at the center of the garden pavilion they were currently relaxing in, Sora raised an eyebrow, giving Murasame a crooked smile. "I never pegged you for a sadist...taking so much enjoyment in my daughter's misery."

"Talent only takes one so far," said Murasame. "Ruby-chan is already remarkably talented, taking to her training like a duck to water. But she also has that exceedingly rare talent of a natural-born inclination towards diligence. Thus, she works studiously to practice even the things that come easily to her. However, I believe this marks the first time she has ever truly come up against a wall in her training."

"Even though Shinrei always thrashes her during their sparring sessions," noted Sora.

"She does not perceive that as a wall," said Murasame. "Rather, she sees her sessions with Shinrei as a road. He is perpetually leading her down a path towards becoming stronger, faster, and more skilled. Only when she reaches the point that she can truly fight him as an equal, will he become a wall to her.

"On the other hand, when it comes to wielding her new blade, this is, I believe, the first time that all her efforts have resulted in complete and utter failure. Shinrei told me that, by the end of her first session with Akaibara, Ruby-chan was no closer to drawing her than she was at the beginning."

"And you seem to find that a good thing," said Sora.

Murasame closed his eyes. "This will be the first true test of Ruby-chan's diligence. How willing is she to continue to pursue something that seems well and truly impossible to her? If she can work her way past this, then she will reach the point where no level of growth shall be out of her grasp. She could even come to surpass the likes of Kyo and his father...or you."

"Truly..." said Sora. "And just what is it that Ruby-chan is doing so wrong, that her sword even refuses to leave its sheath? Not even Tenro ever did that."

Murasame smiled. "Though I found myself inspired by the design of Muramasa's Hokuto Shichisei, I came to the realization that I could never match or surpass him if I continued to simply try to ape what he has done. While the form may be almost identical, I realized that I needed to find my own essence, to impart to the blades I forged. I needed to find a vision that was distinct to me.

"Muramasa's swords were forged in an era of perpetual conflict, when feuding warlords waged battle continuously. His own student, the First Kyo, was a renegade from the Mibu Clan, forever under the threat of death. His creations were true demon blades, for a time when demons were needed.

"On the other hand, in this era, what the world needs are those who are willing to fight for and protect the weak, who are willing to stand against the darkness, and preserve the light of life and hope. I believe I forged Akaibara to help Ruby-chan realize that end. As such, I figured that a sword that was less...violent...in its reprimands would be better suited to her.

"And...as for her current difficulties...I believe they stem from the fact that Ruby-chan has a tendency to do everything right."

"Everything right...?" Both Sora's eyebrows went up. "Just what do you mean by that?"

"Ruby-chan's talent is incredible," said Murasame. "On top of that, she has a small and simple soul, and a very open heart, able to open herself and hear the voices, loud and quiet, of all the blades I forged at once. Such an open heart is...hard to pair a proper sword with, the main reason I did not try to grant her any of the ones I have already forged.

"To that end, I forged Akaibara to be...spoiled. She's selfish. She doesn't just want Ruby-chan to be open to her, she wants Ruby-chan's full will and attention. As ironic as it may seem, if Ruby-chan's greatest strength is her ability to open her heart, then the solution to her first hurdle in dealing with Akaibara will be to close herself off, to a certain extent. In order to proceed, Ruby-chan will need to learn how to be selfish."

"Interesting..." mused Sora.

"I've noticed that a truly great sword is not merely forged to be wielded," said Murasame, "but that it also forges the one who wields it. Sword and user will grow together, their separate strengths coming together to give rise to a power far beyond the sum of their parts."

Sora chuckled. "If that's true, I look forward to seeing the end result of this."

"I, on the other hand, shall savor Ruby-chan's struggle in the present," said Murasame. "It will be a true joy to watch her persevere in the face of real adversity."

Before Ruby knew it, two whole weeks had gone by. From her perspective, they seemed completely wasted. Every time she should have been training with Shinrei, she instead spent trying to coax her sword from its sheath, only to have the blade remain stubbornly locked in place. In the course of those two weeks, she hadn't practiced a single kata, nor had she exchanged any blows with her teacher. Instead, she spent each session seated on the courtyard floor...all her senses bent towards her sword, trying to figure out just what Akaibara wanted from her.

It was beginning to affect her life outside of training too. Ruby only grew more and more distracted in class. On top of that, it was hard for her to focus on her homework. Her grades were suffering and, worst of all, she could tell that her friends were worried about her, that they wanted to help. But they didn't know how. Ruby didn't know how they could help, or even if help was even possible in a situation like this.

Instead of spending time with them, she had increased the time she spent trying to figure out her sword. Her friends were more than understanding, thankfully. As it was, Ruby was growing moody and withdrawn, as her frustration at her lack of success mounted. (In future years, once she was at Beacon, she would refer to herself during this time as being quite "Blakey". Blake would not appreciate the comparison.)

At the end of her second week spent on her sword, Ruby emerged from school for the day, ready to return home and spend another afternoon wrestling with her sword in both body and spirit. Abruptly, however, she found her hands seized by Natsuki, who was stubbornly refusing to let her go. "Natsu-chan...?"

"Nope," said Natsuki firmly. "You're coming with us, today, Ruby-chan."

"Huh?" Ruby looked to Miyu and Setsuna for confirmation, only to see them nodding in agreement.

"You need a break," said Miyu.

"But I-" Ruby began to protest.

"We know how important this is to you," said Setsuna. "But, at the same time, this is hurting you. You need time and space."

"Yeah, so we've got a special plan," said Natsuki, grinning and sweeping her arm out to encompass the freshly fallen snow. "We're going sledding on the mountain, today. And you're coming with us."

"I'm afraid we won't be taking no for an answer," added Miyu, showing an uncharacteristic smirk.

"And if you were thinking of trying to escape by force, we've talked to your mom and sister about it," said Setsuna. "They aren't gonna let you blow any time on your sword today either. Sasame-sama will march you out to meet with the rest of us herself."

"Just give it up and come have fun with us, Ruby-chan," said Natsuki, grinning fiendishly. "Your mean ole' sword will still be there tomorrow."

Ruby wanted to point out that Akaibara was definitely not old, but that was splitting hairs at this point. Her friends were clearly going to have their way, whether she liked it or not. So Ruby resigned herself to spending the afternoon with them.

It was, Ruby decided, a good way to spend the afternoon. With the arrival of winter, the residents of Onmyo had set up some impressive sledding courses down the side of the mountain, with paths winding between trees and around rocky outcroppings. By the time her second run had started, Ruby was smiling and laughing, simply enjoying being with her friends, forgetting all about her previous frustration.

In a way, it was euphoric, a reminder of what she'd been missing out on for the past two weeks. She could have been spending time with her friends, enjoying those last few weeks before she and her siblings set out on a journey that would take them away from home for the better part of a year. But instead, she'd spent all that time fiddling around with a stubborn sword that just wouldn't tell her what it wanted her to do, even though she knew it was perfectly capable of doing so.

Wrapping up their session, with the sun descending towards the horizon, Ruby and her friends made their way back. Ruby would split away from them before long, heading back to the Palace on her own. Ruby's path took her along the forest that dominated much of the mountainside. Many of the trees had lost their leaves for the year, but there were a few evergreens supplying some color beyond the white of the snow, and the gray and brown of exposed trunks. A faint breeze blew along them, stirring their branches, making wood groan softly.

Ruby's ears picked up the sound of another rustling, separate from that caused by the wind, the groan of weight settling onto an exposed branch above her. However, it didn't immediately register to her mind. The next thing Ruby heard was the sharp whistle of air being parted by a descending blade.

With a gasp, Ruby threw herself forward, going into a roll that barely managed to carry her out of the path of the slash, the blade nicking the edge of her haori. Coming back up on her feet, Ruby spun around to face her assassin.

The man was dressed in an unremarkable, brown kimono, with a bandana wrapped over the top of his head, and a second one covering his mouth. His eyes were featureless white orbs, disconcerting, as they seemed to glow slightly. In his right hand, he held the katana he had just attacked Ruby with, while the left held several metal spikes, larger and longer than the needles the Kurosasori-Ryu practitioner Ruby had fought over a month ago had used.

A crinkling at the corner of the man's eyes indicated he was smiling, and it wasn't a pleasant smile either.

Ruby frowned darkly. As if I didn't have enough to worry about, she thought. Something else occurred to her though. This man was broadcasting his murderous intent quite openly, yet Ruby had almost been caught by his first attack. Now that she thought about it, there had been signs of his approach. He wasn't nearly as stealthy as that Shirogarasu-Ryu fighter had been before, so Ruby should have noticed him coming.

But she hadn't...and Ruby realized why. She'd been distracted, off-balance. The conundrum of her sword was making it harder for her to keep her awareness open, to sense incoming attacks. On top of that, she'd gone a full two weeks without engaging in any training. Her responses were getting dull and rusty.

Anger hummed through Ruby's veins; anger at herself, for allowing herself to be distracted; anger at her attacker, for coming for her at such an inconvenient time; anger at her new sword, for being so uncooperative that its refusal to allow her to even draw it was now serving as a dangerous distraction in her life.

However, now wasn't the best time to be stewing in anger. This assailant certainly wasn't going to stand back and wait for her to get over her present issues. Sheathing his sword, he reached up with his right hand, hooking his fingers over the bandana covering his mouth. From his pursed lips, he blew a stream of gray powder into the air. It looked like ash, floating and drifting, obscuring everything like a cloud of fog, made up of countless tiny particles. The cloud engulfed Ruby, who waited warily. Her senses didn't convey any immediate danger, which suggested the cloud wasn't any kind of poison, or harmful in its own right, understandable, given that the assassin was within it too.

Reaching into the flap of his kimono, the assassin drew forth another set of spikes. With three in his right, and three in his left, the assassin attacked, flinging the spikes for Ruby. Ruby could see that the back ends of the spikes were anchored to wires, which the assassin continued to hold in his hands.

Drawing her swords, Ruby parried the spikes, aiming to knock them away. That was when she realized the danger. As her metal blades contacted the spikes, they sparked against each other, a combination of Aura and metallic impact. The particles in the air ignited, generating a searing explosion, which caused Ruby to shriek as she jumped away. The realization of what she was up against came a little too late though, and she felt the heat burning at her Aura, and her clothes smoldering from the flames. Meanwhile, her opponent simply pulled on the wires to bring the spikes back to his hands.

She tried to dodge out of the cloud, but the assassin appeared able to control it to some extent, the dust billowing around her, spreading to keep her encompassed, even as he hurled his spikes at her again. This time, Ruby dodged, rather than try to parry, and set off another explosion. But a slight tug on the wires allowed the assassin to alter the course of his spikes, so that two of them struck each other, creating more sparks, and setting off another explosion, this one almost directly behind Ruby.

The shockwave sent Ruby stumbling forward and, almost before she knew what was happening, she found two more spikes less than an inch away from piercing her eyes. Yelping, Ruby jerked aside, barely managing to avoid being blinded, but having one of the spikes scrape a line across her cheek as it passed. Then, of course, the assassin manipulated the wires to have those spikes clash against each other as well, setting off another explosion that sent Ruby sprawling.

Prone on the ground, Ruby's ears picked up the whistling noise of more spikes approaching. Desperately, she pushed off, launching herself away from where she was laying, her ears picking up the thud of the projectiles striking where her head had been. Managing to come back to her feet, Ruby noted that the spikes didn't trigger an explosion this time. Because they had struck soft, damp earth, recently cleared of snow, there was nothing to spark.

More importantly, Ruby saw an opportunity. Her attacker was now just outside of the dust cloud, ensuring that he would not be hit by any of the explosions that he sparked. His choice of weapons told Ruby everything she needed to know about certain particular limitations of his style. He had sheathed his katana and was now relying entirely on ranged weapons, trying to keep her at a distance, so he didn't risk blowing himself up. Therefore, the most expedient solution to her plight was to get close, and stop him from igniting his dust.

When her attacker threw his spikes again, Ruby immediately shot between them, heading right for them. She didn't even mind that he triggered an explosion behind her, as the shockwave lent speed to her footwork, allowing her to close the distance even more unexpectedly. Smiling victoriously, she slashed with both her swords as she closed in.

Her blades cleaved through the man's body, carving him into quarters. Too late, Ruby noticed of the lack of resistance to her swords. A second later, the man's body dissolved into just more of the dust he had breathed out.

A shadow fell over Ruby from above. She looked up just in time to see the spikes descending towards her, already too close for her to dodge. Desperately, she fended them off with her swords, only for the sparks of impact to trigger numerous explosions practically right in front of her. Ruby screamed in pain as the flames seared her body, the shockwaves driving her to her knees. Seeing only one way out of this, she shrugged out of her haori.

The assassin tossed his spikes down once again, sending the metal piercing through the smoke and flames. His eyes narrowed in satisfaction as he saw them punch through the red garment. Landing, he retrieved them, only to find the fabric of Ruby's haori clinging to them, the garment's wearer nowhere to be seen. It would be the work of just a few seconds for the assassin to free his weapons from the fabric...but those were seconds Ruby had no intention of giving him.

Abruptly, the assassin lurched, a pair of swords piercing him from behind, their points punching out through his torso. His back arched, and he let out a pained gasp. The spikes fell from his grip, dropping to the ground.

Gasping for breath, cut, bruised, and burned, Ruby leaned into her attacker's back, thrusting her swords all the way through, before pulling them out with a slicing motion, causing them to cut through the muscles of her attacker's abdomen, sending blood spraying through the air. Stepping back away from him, Ruby staggered, swaying drunkenly. Meanwhile, the assassin collapsed to the ground, no longer moving.

"That was closer than I would have liked," admitted Sasame, once again seeming to appear out of thin air. Ruby suspected that one of Sora's Guards had fetched her again, though she had no way to be sure. That was the furthest thing from her mind at the moment though.

In fact, she barely even noticed Sasame, as her older sister crouched down by the dying assassin, and began to heal him. Instead, Ruby's feelings and thoughts were directed inward...and they were angry.

Stupid! Careless! Sloppy! Ruby berated herself fiercely. I wasn't paying attention at all. I practically handed my head to him on a silver platter, let him do whatever he wanted, and nearly got myself killed...all because I was too busy thinking about that stupid sword. I've been spending so much time on it that I've slacked off.

Sasame stood up, ready to turn her attention to Ruby's injuries. However, she paused, seeing a look of absolute fury that looked utterly uncharacteristic on her younger sister's face. "Ruby-chan...?"

Ruby didn't even seem to notice. Instead, she turned sharply, and stalked off, heading back towards the palace.

"Well now..." said Sasame, quickly turning to make sure that a member of Sora's Guard was seeing to the assassin, before heading off in pursuit of Ruby.

The sound of Ruby's stomping feet on the wooden floorboards of the palace hallways was a foreign one. It had been a long time since Ruby had felt so furious, not since before she had left her old home, on Patch. She didn't care that she thudded her way past Sora, drawing a concerned look from her. She didn't care that Kyo watched her warily as she went past him, heading right for her room.

All she cared about was that, right there, resting on its rack, was her sword...her sword. Pulling off her old swords, Ruby set them aside. There was an impulse to throw them, throw something...but Ruby refused to show such disrespect to the implements that had saved her life. Instead, she kept her frustration focused on the cause of it all.

She snatched Akaibara from its rack, not even bothering to leave her room, glaring down at it. "I'm sick of this, you stupid hunk of scrap metal," she growled. "I've had enough of you being so damn stubborn. If you're going to be like this, then fine...I'm through being nice. But, one way or another, you're coming out of that sheath."

With a wordless snarl, Ruby clenched her left hand around Akaibara's handle with all her might, pulling, not merely with all her strength, but ever ounce of her will. This was her sword, and it was time to make that clear.

Akaibara slid forth from her sheath as though the inside had been coated with oil. The ease with which she emerged was such that Ruby almost swung her straight off the draw, stumbling back clumsily as her intended exertion met with far less resistance than she had expected.

"What...?" Ruby blinked, staring at her sword in confusion. Why...?

For the first time, Ruby felt a genuine response from her sword, something more than the brief expression of disdain. Suddenly, she felt a sensation of smug satisfaction radiating from the blade, as though her sword was saying "It's about time."

Ruby swallowed, feeling a strange lump in her throat. When I was angry with her, she suddenly cooperated with me. But that doesn't make sense. Why would she respect me for being angry with her?

A confused frown spread across Ruby's face. Maybe there's more to respect than just being nice to someone or something, she mused.

At the end of the day, Akaibara, for all that she had an Aura, and even a personality, was not a person. She was a sword, steel forged with the purpose of cutting down her wielder's enemies. Perhaps such an object was not drawn by kind words and warm thoughts. Instead, Akaibara wanted her wielder to show spine, to assert herself, and invoke her own will.

Of course, Akaibara wanted that will to be centered on herself. Just listening, as Ruby had with Murasame's other weapons, would not be enough. Akaibara wasn't like any of those blades...she wanted to be the true focus of Ruby's attention, in a way that would never work for any other weapon.

"You're so high maintenance," grumbled Ruby. Then, despite everything that had just happened, her anger evaporated. Whatever else, she'd found a way forward. I guess we'll just muddle along.

A giggle drew her attention to the door of her room.

"So you managed it," observed Sasame.

"Y-yeah," said Ruby.

"I'm proud of you, Ruby-chan," said Sasame earnestly. "That was probably the hardest obstacle that's ever been set for you, and you've cleared it."

"It's not over yet," said Ruby, staring at her sword, feeling Akaibara's Aura pricking at her hand. "She's going to take some work to get along with."

"I get the feeling you'll manage," said Sasame. "Now then...how about letting me treat your injuries. And then...you could use a bath."

Ruby let out a small eep, staring down at herself. Her clothes were tattered and smudged, and she sported cuts, bruises, and burns across her body. The realization of them all caused the pain she'd suffered to come to the forefront of her mind. "Oh...ow."

Sasame laughed. "Put Akaibara away, and let me see to your injuries. Then get your bath, Ruby-chan."

Ruby nodded, submitting to her sister's ministrations. I've got a long way to go.