Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Vongrak.
Izumi POV.
Maki was a damn prodigy. That's what I thought as I held Mai in my hands, which blurred as they collided with Maki's weapon. Mai easily parried all of Maki's attacks before slicing Maki's spear in half, but that didn't stop her. Maki moved her hand, grabbed both pieces of the severed spear, and continued attacking with both weapons simultaneously.
We clashed our weapons a dozen times before Maki's weapons were shattered by Mai just as quickly. Maki didn't even flinch; it wasn't the first weapon I'd destroyed. It was around the tenth weapon Maki had wielded that I'd broken, and she was still going.
Maki grabbed the shattered remains of her weapons in her hands and threw them at my eyes. I easily dodged the distraction as Maki propelled herself forward, entering my personal space and almost pressing her body against mine. She spun around, her hand positioned between mine, gripping Mai's hilt. I could see her arm bulge from the effort as she tried to turn me around and take the weapon from me with a perfect Aikido movement.
I let Maki's strength spin me through the air, but I still held onto Mai. I twisted my body and landed firmly on my feet, using the momentum from the spin to slam my body into Maki's and throw her onto me with the same technique. Maki groaned in pain as she released Mai and was flung away from me, near the rest of the weapons I had released at the beginning.
Maki's eyes moved rapidly, she grabbed a couple of weapons from the ground and threw them at me forcefully. The weapons flew at great speed, but I moved Mai and intercepted them all, causing them to fall uselessly to the ground. Maki had not remained still in the meantime; she grabbed a dagger with one hand and a short sword with the other, and without even hesitating for a second, she launched herself at me again.
Her attack was relentless and executed with extreme skill, just like all the previous weapons. All different weapons, all different styles, and yet, Maki wielded them all with a mastery rarely seen.
One would think she would be the classic 'jack of all trades, master of none', but no, Maki definitely had mastery over all the weapons she had used so far.
And considering we had already gone through more than a dozen, that was saying a lot.
And it wasn't just in her handling of weapons; her fighting style was extremely flexible and adaptable. She didn't stop mid-fight to switch from one style to another, but simply changed fluidly in the middle of the fight, adapting to the nearest weapons she had or changing them on the fly without any problem.
Maki was a damn prodigy; if she was able to learn to handle so many weapons under the conditions she had lived in, it was truly incredible.
It's a real shame it didn't have an aura.
Maki is strong, without a doubt, but her strength, however much above that of normal people, would not be enough; she would defeat most Rank B fighters, but would start to have problems with higher ranks.
And it's not as if she had access to the 'Celestial Restriction', that definitely didn't exist in this world. Maki wasn't strong because she was born with extremely little Aura; she was strong because she had trained with determination. Her strength was pure physical strength, hard-won through years of training.
But even so, it wasn't enough. But that didn't mean it couldn't become enough. My hands tingled slightly, and my smile grew enormously at the thought of teaching Maki. Just the Total Concentration Breathing technique would greatly increase Maki's base strength, enough to fight an A-Rank head-on.
My hands moved quickly once again, this time much faster than I had been holding back until now. I spun Mai around, struck Maki's weapons hard, forcing them to release them. Mai continued to move and lightly cut Maki's skin.
A couple more superficial cuts on top of the ones she already had on her body.
We had arrived directly from the Zenin clan. Both Maki and Mai had been, and still were, dressed in the top part of a white kimono, an Uwagi, along with a Hakama, wide pleated pants. Maki's was dark blue, while Mai's had been purple.
Maki didn't have her glasses on, after all, she didn't need them; in the canon she used them to see the Curses, here it wasn't necessary, but she did keep her hair tied in a ponytail.
But now, her clothes and hair were a mess, her clothes were cut all over, bloodstains were beginning to appear on them, but she didn't even seem to care. She barely reacted to her injuries; she simply stamped her foot on the ground, or rather, placed her foot under a weapon and lifted it with ease, gripped it between her fingers, and attacked me again without even pausing.
I hit her once more with even more force, making her back away as she lost her weapon again.
"Alright, let's call this." I said easily as I lowered Mai almost reverently.
"What? No! I can't continue!" Maki said, frowning.
"Maybe, but I've already seen everything I needed." I said easily. Mai glowed slightly before reverting to her human form. Unlike Maki, who was a mess, Mai looked completely immaculate.
"That... that was incredible," Mai said, sounding slightly dizzy. "I beat Maki," she added, sounding amazed. Maki just snorted.
"He ended the fight halfway through! I could have continued! And even if I had lost, Miyamura beat me." Maki growled angrily, Mai looked at her arrogantly.
"Accept it, big sister, you lost to me." Mai said with a childish and mocking joy, Maki's eye trembled slightly.
"Please, you didn't do anything, it was all Miyamura's work," Maki grumbled, sounding almost offended.
"I didn't do anything? Let me tell you, my dear, losing older sister, that a Meister's victory is the victory of his weapon, therefore, his victory is mine, and that means you lost to me," Mai said petulantly with a huge smile.
"You little nuisance!" Maki growled. Mai didn't care; she just lifted her chin. Maki finally lunged at Mai, trying to tackle her. Mai shrieked and transformed into a katana once more, appearing in my hand. "Don't run away from me, coward! Let's settle this once and for all!" Maki exclaimed, pointing it in Mai's direction.
"You want a rematch?! That's fine by me, loser! Miyamura, kick her ass again, let's see if she learns how to lose!" Mai shouted in her weapon form.
"Giving orders to Miyamura? Can't you do it yourself?" Maki mocked.
"I'm a weapon, you idiot! I already told you, my Meister and I are one! Don't you even know that? Do they teach you anything at that fancy university you go to, or are you just a gorilla who knows how to hit things?!" Mai yelled indignantly. Maki gasped, completely outraged.
"Gorilla!? Did you just call me a gorilla?! Get back here, you damn metal stick!" Maki growled furiously as she took a step forward trying to grab her sister. Mai somehow started moving on her own, using my body to escape from Maki.
"Yes, Gorilla! You're a clumsy brute compared to my Meister!! All his movements were elegant, yours are like an elephant trying to juggle while trying to play the trumpet, noisy and very unrefined!" Mai sneered furiously. I could see a vein popping out on her forehead.
"You're dead, Mai!" Maki growled furiously. "Stop hiding behind Miyamura, you coward!!" Maki said, trying to avoid my body while Mai kept spinning me around and moving my arm to dodge Maki's grip.
"Idiot! I told you Izumi is my Meister! I can use him however I want!!" Mai mocked. Maki growled.
"My Meister this, My Meister that! First you didn't want to be used as a weapon, now you sound like a damn girl in love!" Maki mocked, Mai gasped indignantly.
"At least one man is supporting me, and I'll let you know he's my fiancé, I can talk about him however I want!! When was the last time someone was interested in you!? You're probably a gorilla with no social life, let alone a love life!" Mai retorted furiously, Maki blushed furiously.
"That's none of your business, you idiot! And I'll let you know that your 'Meister' is also my fiancé! I can do whatever I want with him too!" Maki retorted with the same fury.
"Please, why would he want to do that? He already has the Superior twin in his hands." Mai sneered.
"Superior?! Superior?!?!" Maki looked terribly offended. "How dare you!?" Maki growled, this time she crashed into my body, I let her throw me to the ground and immobilize me, Maki climbed on top of my hip and smiled triumphantly.
"Izumi! Don't let that gorilla beat you! Kick her ass!" Mai yelled angrily.
"Accept it, Mai, you can't beat me!" Maki exclaimed with childlike glee as she tried to grab Mai. Mai began to thrash around in my hands, trying to prevent Mai from grabbing her, until finally my hand, around Mai's hilt, struck Maki in the face, pushing her slightly backward. They both fell into a terrible silence.
"That's it!" Maki growled furiously. That was until I finally broke down. I let out a huge laugh as I started laughing at their exchange until I was almost breathless.
""Stop laughing! It's not funny!!"" they both exclaimed at the same time. I just kept laughing.
"That was hilarious," I said, laughing. I finally calmed down and smiled at Maki. "Are you planning on staying on top of me any longer? Not that I'm complaining," I said playfully. Maki glanced at me before realizing she was still sitting on my hip, and she began to blush deeply.
"Get off me, Meister, you damn pervert!" Mai screamed as she continued to move on her own, trying to hit Maki.
"I'm on it! Stop attacking me!" Maki exclaimed, embarrassed, as she stood up. Mai growled once more before reverting to her human form. I chuckled as I stood up.
"Okay, then, several things." I said cheerfully, clapping my hands. Then, a huge deer began to emerge from my shadows, surprising us both. Round Deer slowly approached Maki, who looked at me confused. I simply nodded, signaling her to touch it. Maki gently placed her hand on Round Deer's muzzle, and its wounds immediately healed completely.
Maki looked at it in surprise, as did Mai.
"Wow, you really can heal wounds." Maki said in surprise as she looked at her body for wounds, I nodded.
"Yes, my quirk can summon 10 summons, each with its own ability. Right now, I have access to 5 of them. Round Deer can heal wounds," I said cheerfully. Maki whistled in admiration.
"Speaking of winning the power lottery," Maki said, sounding impressed without a hint of annoyance or jealousy in her voice.
"Yes, getting back to the topic. Maki, you're incredible." I said completely honestly. "Your weapon handling is some of the best I've ever seen, your strength is also superior to most, if it weren't for your lack of Aura, you'd definitely be a B-rank or even an A-rank." I said honestly, and Maki smiled proudly.
"I know," Maki said proudly. Mai snorted as she looked away.
"The important thing is that you already have a huge foundation to work with. It will be incredibly easy to teach you something I developed myself: Total Concentration Breathing," I said with a smile. I saw Maki and Mai's confused expressions and began to explain everything about it. When I finally finished, Mai looked at me incredulously, while Maki seemed incredibly eager and excited.
"That can't be true, it sounds impossible! The human body doesn't work that way!" Mai said incredulously.
"Oh, shut up! If he says it works, it'll work." Maki said excitedly, Mai just snorted. I laughed slightly.
"It works. There are about 10 people I've taught it to, and they've all experienced a huge increase in their physical abilities, and you'll have even more. This ability doesn't require aura in the slightest; it's simply your body working in a much more efficient way." I said easily, and Maki's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"When do we start?" Maki asked eagerly.
"Tomorrow." I said, cutting short her excitement. Maki pouted, and I just sighed and pointed to the sky. "It's getting dark, we have to go back to UA. I also have some things to do for my classes. I'll try to make a training schedule; I'll teach you the basics, but you will be by yourself for most of it."
"Like I said, I have Work Studies, I'll be interning with a hero, and it will probably take up a lot of my time," I told her honestly, and Maki just nodded.
"Don't worry, I'm used to training alone. UA allows any student to use some of its gyms, just tell me what to do, and I'll do it." Maki said without hesitation, and I nodded.
"Okay, now, Mai." I said as I looked at Mai. "You called me Meister several times, you may have been joking, but I'll ask again, do you want to be my sword?" I asked seriously.
Meister, a person who fights and combats using the weapon forms of people with that type of special quirk. It was a term popularized by Shibusen and adopted by the rest of the world.
"I-" Mai tries to say before falling silent.
"I will be a hero and a hunter, and a very strong one, you know, I'm in S rank, possibly national rank, I will fight against strong people and monsters, stronger than most people will actually fight in their lives."
"I really want you to be my sword, but if you truly don't want to be a part of it, I won't be upset if you refuse. It has to be your decision." I told Mai, staring intently at her. Mai squirmed slightly, biting her lip. Maki was about to speak, but silenced her with a look. This was Mai's decision, Mai's alone. Speaking of Mai, she had a frustrated look on her face.
"Argh, fine!" Mai suddenly shouted. "I'll do it! Hell, I'll do it! It was nice having a Meister for the first time, and one as competent as you, Miyamura, so yes, I'll do it, hell, even though I hate it! But the moment I completely hate it, I'm leaving! Maki can handle the Zenin and all that hero/hunter stuff, I'll get on with my life! Are we clear?!" Mai asked firmly, and I chuckled.
"Perfectly clear." I said playfully. Mai grunted one last time before sighing.
"So, now... what? Do I have to transfer to UA? How do I do that?" Mai asked while squirming, I smiled broadly.
"I haven't the slightest idea!" I said cheerfully. Mai looked at me stupidly before her hand hit her face.
"I'm already regretting this." Mai sighed wearily. Maki laughed mockingly while I smiled broadly. Well, at least I got a new katana, or something like that.