That night, Yukio couldn't stop thinking about what Takeo had told him and Sora.
He worried about Sora and how that the dead god or whatever could be corrupting him, he was surprised when learning more about his Sensei and a little worked up to the point that he didn't get that much sleep.
Nonetheless, he and Sora met up outside of the dojo at five in the morning as instructed.
"What do you think we'll be doing?" Sora asked, also looking quite tired.
Yukio thought for a moment before replying. "Most likely it's gonna be another one of those two versus one sparring matches. Or maybe he has some new techniques to teach us."
At that moment, the two pushed open the door and walked inside the empty room and then inside the sparring room.
Takeo wasn't sitting at the other end with his sword on the floor. Instead, he was standing idly at the side with two actual Ninjato on the floor. One of them had a magenta and white handle and sheath while the other had a beige and golden handle and sheath.
Sora looked at the old man in confusion and Yukio's eyes widened in realization.
"They are gifts. Sora, yours is the one by your feet and Yukio, yours is on the other side of the room." Takeo said, watching as Sora knelt down to inspect his new sword.
The boy then looked up at Takeo with a bright smile. "Woah, sensei… thank you so much! It's so cool!"
Yukio didn't say much, he just walked over to his sword and inspected it.
He inspected the weapon, noticing that the name "Yukio" was engraved on the blade.
Looking at Sora, the other boy must've also noticed the same thing on his own.
"Now… you two must spar using these swords. The one who wins will become the successor of the Mirror Flower Swordsmanship." Takeo said, far more serious than usual.
Yukio and Sora looked at each other from across the room, both of their expressions were serious, but Yukio's was far more serious than Sora's.
"The rules are the same as when you fought me. Try not to kill each other, but it is not against the rules. The swords are made with a special alloy of metal that is kept within my family's treasury, its main function is to easily conduct chakra." Takeo explained.
Yukio picked up his blade but Takeo quickly interrupted.
"Both of you, take off those weights." He said sharply.
After listening to Takeo, the two took off their weights.
Sora felt way lighter, he felt as if he could fly.
Yukio only felt exposed, not used to being so light.
Takeo's voice cut through the tension.
"Begin."
Both of the boys hesitated for a moment, this was their first time using a real blade and it was against their friend.
Sora suddenly grit his teeth and moved first, of course he did.
He surged forward in a blur, the floorboards nearly cracking under the force of his launch, his blade snapping up and across as he entered striking range far faster than he had expected.
"Page One, Flower Reflection!"
He didn't say it calmly, Sora barked it, almost laughed it, his body angled off center as his stance disguised his distance and intent. His sword suddenly flew in wide and heavy, meant to dominate Yukio's position.
The younger boy didn't hesitate.
"Page One, Flower Reflection."
His stance shifted, but very subtly. Where Sora's deception was loud and physical, Yukio's was very quiet, almost invisible. His blade lifted just enough, his foot turned just enough so that Sora's cut passed where Yukio had been, not where he was.
Steel clashed, sending sparks flying.
The impact snapped through Yukio's arms, but he managed to absorb it, redirect it, let it slide past instead of contesting it. Sora twisted with the deflection, his strength turning the missed attack into momentum, his blade quickly whipping back around into a follow up.
Yukio was already moving.
"Page Two, Still Water Mirror."
He matched Sora's newly gained rhythm instead of trying to break it, feet stepping in time with Sora's breathing, blade rising and falling in a perfect dance. For just a moment, Sora imagined he was fighting himself.
His eyes flickered as they changed patterns.
Sora did the trick as Yukio tried it, he saw the young boy's chakra flattening, smoothing and syncing with Sora's own. He wasn't copying Sora's movement but he was anticipating and stealing his timing!
"Page Six, Shattered Reflection."
Sora snarled as he suddenly shattered his own rhythm deliberately, accelerating mid strike, forcing unpredictability through sheer strength.
Takeo nodded once. "Good, don't let the mirror choose your movements for you!"
Sora pressed harder.
He cut low, then high, then he snapped the blade sideways, attacks chained perfectly together in a sequence, each one of his attacks were devastating due to his chakra pouring into the blade, his speed was starting to blur into afterimages. Yukio retreated under the storm, parrying and redirecting as much as he could.
Then Yukio suddenly vanished sideways.
"Page Four, Butterfly's Edge."
He glided past Sora's flank, blade just barely brushing close enough to feel heat but never stopping, never fully committing. The motion was elegant, almost gentle… but very deadly if it were to land.
Sora quickly spun, suddenly laughing as if he were enjoying himself and lunged once more.
"Page Five, Shadow Invitation!"
It was a trap!
He stopped, just for a fraction of a second.
His body froze mid step, blade hanging wide open, chest fully exposed. It was so very obviously a lie that Yukio almost felt insulted.
He obviously didn't take the bait.
Takeo suddenly face palmed. "Good, don't fall into such obvious traps. Sora, don't announce to the world that you are placing a trap."
Sora's expression of fun suddenly faltered as he felt embarrassed.
Yukio quickly adjusted his angle, blade tightening into a guard, eyes flicking to Sora's shoulders, hips, knees. He waited for Sora to finally make a move.
Sora cursed and made a move anyway, abandoning the bait and forcing the battle forward through speed. Their blades collided again, sparks flying, steel crashing together as brute force met elegance.
Yukio shifted gears.
"Page Three, Mist Draw."
His blade vanished yet again.
The draw and cut happened in a single turn of the body, the edge of the blade flashing out from nothing, aimed directly at Sora's chest. Sora twisted violently aside, the fabric of his shirt tearing as the cut just narrowly missed his flesh.
His eyes suddenly sharpened. Yukio just went for the kill? He was not about to just let that slide.
"Page Six, Shattered Reflection."
Sora's chakra suddenly flared, his established rhythm immediately falling apart. He changed pace mid-stride, angle mid-cut, his speed spiking unpredictably as he forced Yukio to adapt.
The entire dojo blurred.
Even Takeo was leaning forward now, trying his best to track each motion as the boys became streaks of steel and flesh, footwork almost burning into the carpets.
Yukio quickly absorbed the pressure and adapted.
He didn't even attempt to outpace Sora, it was impossible.
Instead, he just anticipated what he wouldn't be able to replicate.
He had watched Sora's habits since they had first met. He knew how Sora favoured his right leg when accelerating, how his shoulders dipped before he'd attack heavily, how he could feel Sora's chakra before he'd fully commit. Yukio moved before any of those things could happen.
"Page Seven, Voice of the Flower."
Yukio struck one time.
Not too hard. Not too fast.
Although, it was perfectly timed.
The cut slid in during the smallest gap in Sora's motion, aimed for a joint, a place that didn't need much strength to end the fight. Sora barely managed to intercept, his sword snapping into place a heartbeat before Yukio could slash his joint.
The force rattled both of them.
Sora grinned even wider, exhilarated.
"You're not even holding back? You're seriously trying to wound me and end this?" He said, catching his breath.
Yukio looked him in the eye, his expression hardening. "It's only because I respect you, big bro. I have faith that you wouldn't let any of those blows land, so I'll continue to go all out!"
Takeo snapped. "Less talking, more focus."
The two boys collided once more.
Sora drove forward with raw strength, his blade slamming down heavily, his muscles burning and growing stronger and stronger until each strike felt like it could split the dojo in half. Yukio quickly retreated, readjusted, yielded his ground only to reclaim it a moment later.
Then it was Yukio's turn to change the rhythm.
"Page Eight, Falling Petals."
His blade flew in a controlled sequence of blows, cuts flowing from one into the next, each strike forcing Sora to respond with all he had and then respond in the same rhythm that Yukio was attacking. It wasn't Yukio's speed that was overwhelming, it was how close he was getting!
Sora managed to block the first.
He deflected the second.
Barely managed to catch the third.
And then by the fourth blow, he found himself retreating for the first time.
His eyes traced Yukio's chakra perfectly now, he could see how each motion was already accounted for, how the sequence left no wasted movements. Sora's breath suddenly hitched, muscles starting to ache from overwork, but they refused to yield.
He broke Yukio's sequence violently.
"Page Nine, Empty Bloom."
He didn't strike, but he did manage to withhold.
Yukio's next cut passed through empty space where he should've cut through Sora. His balance wavered for a brief second.
Sora didn't let this split second go to waste, a manic grin appeared on his face as he vanished from his position and exploded forward towards Yukio's space.
Steel met steel with a gut wrenching shriek that echoed through the dojo, the brute force of the attack drove Yukio three full steps back, heels burning against the padded floor as his arms went numb for a moment.
"Good. That's the cost of losing composure. Don't linger!" Takeo's voice cut through the dojo sharply.
Sora continued to press mercilessly.
He chained attacks together now, his eyes glowing bright and brighter as the battle fuelled him with excitement and adrenaline, managing to attack where Yukio was going to end up, not where he was. The younger boy retreated under the onslaught, breathing faster now.
For the first time, Yukio's expression was concerned.
Sora saw it.
He gathered all of his energy for one final, decisive motion, his chakra spreading throughout his whole body as he fully committed, blade soaring into a strike that could end everything.
"Page Ten, Mirror's—"
Yukio moved.
Not in any direction.
He turned his blade just enough.
The strike slid off Yukio's blade at an impossible angle, steel screaming as Yukio perfectly redirected the force by a hair's breadth, feet digging into the padded floor as he barely held the line.
The entire world felt like it was frozen.
Sora was overextended, his blade past Yukio's guard, breath ripping from his lungs.
Yukio stood trembling, arms in agony, blade still between them.
Takeo held his breath.
The moment stretched on for a moment before Takeo noticed something about Yukio.
"It's over."
And then—
*SLASH!*