CHAPTER 27
Megumi woke up feeling refreshed after a long night's rest. Sprawled on the bed, he slowly pulled himself up and walked out of his room.
He made his way to the bathroom, washed his face, and applied some toothpaste to his brush, ready to brush his teeth. Just as he was about to start, though, the door to the bathroom slowly pushed open, and a girl with short red hair slowly walked into the room.
Her eyes were slightly swollen with dark bags under them, and she was dressed in a nightgown, dragging her feet across the floor as she approached him.
Now that her sister had joined the academy, and she had no one to stay with her, she was residing in the mansion with him at his mom's permission. It wasn't really much of a surprise for one reason.
Since they were both now coming of age, it would only be a while before the treacherous life of sorcery would be fully thrust upon them, with tedious lessons occupying most of their schedules.
From what he knew, there would be children from the lower branch clans and households joining them as well, and a year later, they were finally going to have their first demon hunt, right before joining the academy a few years later.
Thinking about it a bit more, the thought of the question he wanted to ask Gekka began to linger in his mind once more…
He quickly dismissed the thought, turning his gaze to Yuki.
Even after sleeping for more than ten hours, she still appeared horrible after crying so much yesterday. Closing his eyes, he turned away without making a comment, quickly handing her the toothpaste.
They both quickly brushed their teeth and got ready for the day; it would perhaps mark the beginning of their journey as not just sorcerers, but exorcists sworn to protect humanity.
******
Now dressed in one of the many simple training outfits he had, Megumi was seated on his bed, peering his eyes over a book he was holding.
The cover of the book was black with nothing special written on it; it was a journal, and he was going through a list of fighting styles of which he had knowledge and had written down.
The styles were lined up into categories: 'Martial arts,' 'Sword arts,' 'Archery,' and many more. He had composed the list the other night in hopes that he would be able to find something that suited his way of fighting.
He wasn't fast and ruthless like Rikiyo, nor was he grounded like Yuki. Megumi preferred a more straightforward approach to the battlefield, and he needed a battle style that complemented his approach well enough.
A style that, unlike Shadow Dance, revolved around strength. Dragon's sway required grounded footwork, allowing the wielders of the art to seamlessly weave in attacks while remaining defensive. It was much less sophisticated than Shadow Dance but still a difficult technique to master.
Tiger's Claim seemed like something that would fit him—a powerful, aggressive style that allowed for grapples and throws. It would be something great when facing off against fellow martial artists, but it would require him to maintain physical contact with the opponent for a decent amount of time, which was something he did not want to risk. Plus, it required a decent amount of size and weight, which he clearly lacked.
Then, there was Raven's Flick—a technique that focused on agility and finesse. It was perfect for fast, light, and nimble fighters like Tsukina and Yuki, but certainly not for him.
'Damn it. Are my tastes really that bad?'
His eyes continued to dart around the pages of the book as he searched for a style that would be perfect for him.
He turned his gaze to the list of 'Sword Arts.' He had, and soon closed the book as he heaved a sigh, clearly unsatisfied.
For a while longer, he placed his hand on his chin, pondering what he could do to perhaps grasp a technique he could weave into his style of fighting. Instead of trying to adapt to a fighting style, he was thinking of how he could adapt a fighting style to himself.
Arts and techniques of battle took months and years to master—unless one was a demon like his elder sister—and crafting something entirely new would be an impossible task, not when he didn't even have a technique he had grasped yet.
Or perhaps he could adapt to the fighting style and have his philosophies altered, but it would be worth it in the end. He didn't know what it was about his current way of fighting that made it impossible for him to incorporate all the different techniques he had seen.
… But he was going to change his battle aesthetics, weave in a different way of fighting, and then he would learn Raven's flick.
*******
Soon, he was at his usual training ground once more: behind the mansion. He was performing a few quick hurdles back and forth on a hundred-meter track.
It was a bit of speed training, and after having run for more than ten kilometers, he was sweating profusely and drawing hoarse breaths as he hungrily drank from a bottle of water he had with him.
After he was done drinking, he carefully placed the can to the side and took a stance once more.
'I'm so close.'
Instantly, he shot forward, covering the distance and back in just a few seconds, but it came at the expense of a considerable amount of his innate energy and stamina.
'Yeah, that's it; that should be good enough.'
A wide grin went across his face as he sat on the ground, seemingly satisfied with his results. Agility training was great so far—though it still needed to be refined—he now needed to train his finesse and precision.
The problem now, though, was that he did not know how to…
Heaving a sigh, he got up from the ground and drank from the bottle once more, gasping as he turned around and slowly began to walk away.
'I should get a teacher soon.'
While he was still in thought, he felt a sudden gust of wind blow past his face, ruffling his hair while stirring up the dust on the ground. He instinctively covered his eyes, taking a quick glance to see who it was.
Gekka stood tall, dressed in a simple black outfit that was slit at the sides, allowing for a view of the black shorts she wore underneath.
The short ends of cloth flowed in the air while an incandescent hue of blue lightning continued to emanate from her body.
"I heard there was an aspiring exorcist hiding around here."
Her voice sounded warm and cheerful as she slowly moved closer to him.
A bright smile gleamed on Megumi's face as soon as he saw her, his mind dwelling on the thought of the best possible people who could help him with his agility, precision, and finesse.
His smile turned slightly cheeky as he raised his thumb toward her.
"That's one aspiring exorcist coming up!"
Chuckling slightly, he then took a step forward and politely added,
"I need you to teach me!"