Chapter 748 - Night Sakura Among the Bamboo Leaves
—Tonight, may I have a moment of your time?
—Of course. I will be waiting for you in the usual place.
On the night following the grand event that had concluded with great success. On a forest path where a gentle breeze pleasantly caressed his cheeks, what welcomed the walking Irori was the soft whisper of bamboo leaves.
In the sense that he remembered it every time he wielded his sword in this virtual world, it might not be an exaggeration to call it one of his formative landscapes. A different world he had once immersed himself in, a world of encouragement.
It was embarrassing, but it was a place he had for some time avoided due to emotions he had selfishly harbored.
And yet now, to walk silently on the pathless road—and to push open the gate he had reached with his own hands… it felt so anticlimactic he could almost laugh at how little weight he felt.
Under the clear moonlit night, she was there.
"…………Good evening, Master."
"Good evening, Irori-kun. Welcome."
Even in this other world, her brilliance was undiminished. In a clearing illuminated by the giant, perfect circle of a moon that looked down upon the virtual world, a gray that lost to neither gold nor silver swayed with its presence.
Her smile, for this moment alone, was his—laughing inwardly at the self that once would have felt such a girlish sense of superiority,
Without fear, he approached.
"Though belated, your sword dance today was truly magnificent. As a swordsman… and as a player. My heart was struck once more."
These were not words directed at a fragile object of admiration, but words for a beloved and respected 'Master.' At these words, carrying unconcealed affection, she blinked her eyes slightly.
She blinked, and then, with a hint of shyness, she let a smile slip.
"I am honored by your praise, Lord [Peerless]."
"Please stop, Lady [Sword Saint]."
Back when they were master and student. A time when their relationship was certainly connected, at least in form, a form that was not yet in the past tense. If he wasn't mistaken, her words now carried a little more familiarity than even back then.
Originally, there wasn't much 'conversation' in the time they spent together.
There were only questions and answers regarding the sword. Respect for the 'Master' and affection for the 'student'—and a mutual reservation that was never erased until their relationship became a thing of the past.
He believed it had been a good relationship, one where respect was never lacking.
But all along, Irori had felt a sense of powerlessness, of 'not being able to answer.' And she, a sense of powerlessness, of 'not being able to teach.' It had been a frustrating relationship they both shared.
And now, Irori holds absolutely no regrets for any of it.
Because it was none other than her figure that had taught him.
"If you raise your head, the path certainly continues."
"…………"
"If you don't look away, the guide will surely be shining."
Her eyes, which listened to his heart without words, were so very gentle.
"Today, finally, I felt as though I met you for the first time. …However."
Between two whose hearts were cleared by the spring breeze.
Because of that, the feelings from when his heart was once captured by a single swordsman were rekindled. And so, Irori honestly followed his own desire and visited this place.
That is why he doesn't hold back his selfishness as a former student.
"The fact that it was through a screen is unsatisfactory."
"…, …Fufu."
It seemed to have invited a rare, buoyant laugh from his master.
"You two are, after all, quite similar."
"I won't ask to whom, but may I ask in what way?"
"That would be… in your childish and adorable aspects, of course."
"…………I shall make a note of one more grievance, then."
Just like someone else, it was a beautiful smile he once couldn't look at directly. Without resisting being captivated, he narrowed his eyes… and a single swordsman touched his sword.
"Master… no, Istia's First Seat, Lady [Sword Saint]."
"Yes."
And then, without a shred of hesitation, he drew his blade.
"Not as your student, but as a fellow swordsman—I request a duel."
"………………Yes."
Seeing this, her heart remained unshaken.
But, if he wasn't mistaken, if it wasn't just his conceit, her eyes flickered ever so slightly.
"I humbly accept."
At the same time as she bowed to the offered blade,
"—, ————"
With an overwhelming sword aura, she swallowed the very air.
Irori, who barely managed to keep breathing, kept his gaze fixed ahead. The [Sword Saint], who had calmly, quietly, and slowly taken a step, then two, back, turned to face him.
And then,
"'Open.'"
As if to prove there was no falsehood in the 'future' she had shown today, she unhesitatingly chanted her 'power.'
In that moment, a clear, resonant sound, like a hammer striking something, echoed through the space. The phenomenon that followed was… while the details of her unknown power were unclear, it was supremely simple and visually immense.
It was a swarm of 'swords' that overflowed from the cracks of a fractured space behind her.
Innumerable blades dancing in the air, reminiscent of the abnormal Anima boasted by none other than the partner of the [Acrobat], that 'Maiden of the Scales'—a sight he was seeing for the first time, despite their reasonably long acquaintance.
What on earth was about to happen? In the midst of the duel he recognized had already begun, Irori's grip on his blue sword tightened as he revealed his caution.
She looked at him with eyes so terribly calm, devoid of any tension.
"Fufu… do not worry. I am not capable of such feats as Sora-chan."
She smiled and reached for the air.
And so, a single sword. A blade that stepped forth from the countless others was drawn to her as if summoned… no, as if offering itself, it settled into her small hand.
"Originally, this child is not an 'Anima' used for battle. It has merely chosen a sword befitting the respect I wish to show you at this very moment."
"…………I see. That is an honor."
Understanding isn't necessary, trust alone is more than enough—and so,
"Irori-kun."
"Yes."
She would show him respect, and face him with her full strength. From that conviction, Irori felt a pure sense of inspiration, and as he began to hone his concentration to the absolute limit,
"To be both the 'path' and the 'guide'… from now on, I too shall reach out my hand."
The supreme one, gazing at him as if at something dazzling, once again declared her 'resolve' to the world.
"—[Futsunomitama]."
And so, before the swordsman who had lost his breath, a 'crown' that no one had ever seen revealed its name.
A ring of light too brilliant to be called 'white,' yet one that would capture all eyes in the world without burning them. A sign of brilliance that at first glance could be mistaken for an angel's halo.
Soon, it unraveled into a thousand pieces. And at the end of the crown becoming countless threads that melted into 'ash'—her hair, which had been cut at her shoulders, grew long, long, and swayed in the air.
"………………"
She looks like a celestial maiden. Without shame, Irori let such words float into his mind as she smiled.
"—Ready yourself. No tricks, I shall come at you from the front."
Not a celestial maiden, but a swordsman, she speaks her heart with her blade.
And for that very reason, it is what I desire.
"Gather… [Ice Flower]."
To the man who showed his spirit with the sword of his journey, a woman like a young girl.
"………………Trial First Strike."
Looking at him with eyes that seemed utterly delighted, cherished, and content,
"[Ice Cherry Blossom]."
She simply swung that sword—that heart—and delivered it.
Only by blooming can the flowers scatter, and at the end of scattering, there is blooming.
*Note: It's Prototype "First Strike" `Ice Cherry Blossom`. The one who unleashed the technique was the Sword Saint. Irori-kun is in a two-sword stance.