Watari stirred awake, stretching with a deep inhale. The Chūkan air was crisp, light. He loved waking up here.
There was something about this pce—like every muscle, every fiber of his being felt restored the moment he opened his eyes.
He exhaled, running a hand through his hair.
“Man… Chūkan mornings always hit different.”
His thoughts drifted. They were supposed to leave today, but maybe he could get some training in first. Just a quick warm-up—nothing too crazy.
With that pn in mind, he slid out of bed and made his way toward the training grounds.
As he walked, a familiar scent drifted through the air.
Food.
His stomach growled.
“Breakfast?”
He sniffed the air again, debating.
“Well, I can eat after training. Doesn’t really matter—”
The sharp cng of steel shattered the morning stillness.
Watari’s thoughts halted.
Someone was already training.
Another csh. And another.
It wasn’t just training.
These weren’t practice swings.
His pace quickened, steps falling silent as he neared the training hall. The wooden doors stood slightly ajar, giving him just enough of a view inside.
And what he saw—
His breath caught.
Yumi stood in the center of the hall. Bloodied.
Her breath was ragged, her stance unsteady. Sweat dripped from her brow, mixing with streaks of crimson along her face and arms.
Watari’s body moved before his mind could process—
A step forward—
But the moment his foot crossed the threshold—
Everything stopped.
Weight.
A crushing, suffocating presence smmed into him.
It wasn’t an attack. It wasn’t even directed at him.
But it was so dense, so absolute, that for the first time in a long time—
Watari couldn’t move.
His breath hitched. His heart pounded in his chest.
This pressure…
His eyes darted across the room.
Standing opposite Yumi, unscathed, barely even breathing hard—
Koharu.
She stood there, arms crossed, sword loosely held at her side, the picture of unbothered supremacy.
And yet, despite the sheer gap in their conditions—
Yumi still stood.
Through the haze of blood and exhaustion, she gritted her teeth, gripping her Reibaku as she used it to push herself back onto her feet.
Koharu sighed, tilting her head.
“Just give it up already.”
Her tone wasn’t mocking. It wasn’t cruel. It was just… matter-of-fact.
“We’ve been at this all night.”
“You haven’t touched me.”
“There’s no point.”
But Yumi didn’t move.
Not yet.
Instead, she exhaled slowly, raising her Reibaku once more.
The bde trembled in her grasp—but not from weakness.
From something else.
Her lips curled into a defiant smirk.
“Watari’s been teaching me a little more about Resonance.”
The air around her shifted.
Koharu’s brows raised slightly.
Yumi’s Tamashkii flickered, raw and untamed—Kiyohime’s presence burning at the edges.
“And Kiyohime’s telling me…”
Her grip tightened.
“My fmes can for sure burn you.”
Then—
She lunged.
CUT TO WATARI’S POV
From where he stood, peering into the training hall—
He barely saw it.
No, that wasn’t right.
He didn’t see it.
One second, Yumi moved.
The next—
She was already on the ground again.
Watari’s breath stilled.
“What—”
His thoughts scrambled, his mind racing to process what he had just witnessed.
Even Ikazuchi—even the sheer speed of his own strikes—
“No. This was—faster.”
“Faster than even Ikazuchi.”
His eyes darted to Koharu’s bde.
It wasn’t drawn.
It wasn’t anywhere.
Was she… even using a form?
Or was this just… pure overwhelming presence?
Koharu exhaled, rolling her shoulders.
“Well…”
She rested her hand over her Reibaku, her fingers ghosting over the hilt.
“I guess if you want to be so stubborn, we can send you on the mission a little ter.”
A smirk tugged at the edge of her lips.
“One person showing up te won’t be a big deal… right?”
Then—
She whispered something.
The words were too soft to catch.
But the world responded.
Watari’s eyes widened.
The moment the words left her lips—
Something bloomed.
A gentle wind stirred through the hall. It was soft, barely noticeable—
Until the flowers began to bloom.
From Koharu’s Reibaku, petals unfurled, spiraling outward, as if called forth by the very essence of spring itself.
A shift in the air.
A presence undeniable.
Power.
Koharu lifted her bde, pointing it at Yumi once more.
“Last chance.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to give up?”
Yumi, still on the ground, spat blood to the side.
She smirked.
“I’m not a quitter.”
Silence.
Then—
Koharu sighed.
“Fine.”
Her Reibaku glowed—
The petals spiraled, swirling into the air, drawn toward the tip of her bde.
And then—
She moved.
Instant.
Untraceable.
Unstoppable.
A technique so fluid, so natural, it didn’t feel like an attack.
春滅 (Shunmetsu) – “Spring’s End”
A technique embodying the arrival of spring, as gentle as it is inescapable. A single, graceful stroke that ends all resistance before it even begins.
And yet—
Yumi was already moving.
Not by instinct.
By sheer force of will.
Before Koharu’s strike could fully nd—
A roar of fme.
Yumi’s Tamashkii fred, the very air igniting around her.
And then—
She vanished.
八衝炎爪 (Hasshō Ensō) – “Eight-Cwed Bze Rush”
A blitz attack that could only belong to Kiyohime herself. A dragon’s rampage, fangs of fme carving through space itself.
Koharu’s eyes widened.
For the first time all night—
She had to adjust.
She had to react.
And she did. Barely.
The moment passed in an instant.
A csh. A flicker of motion.
Then—Yumi colpsed.
Watari watched it all unfold from the doorway.
He exhaled, shaking his head.
Then, a small, proud smile.
“That’s my girl.”
“Even when all odds are against her.”
The camera lingers on Koharu.
She isn’t unscathed.
She’s panting.
A bead of sweat rolls down her temple.
Her grip on her Reibaku is just a little too tight.
Because Yumi… had almost caught her.
The flicker of realization in her eyes.
Then—
CUT TO BLACK.
