Chapter 9
Under the midday sun, Kiba and Hana were doing some light sparring. Kiba was using a training Katana and Hana was using a staff. They collided and separated moving quickly to gain the first strike. When Hana skillfully dodged a vertical swipe she was able to sweep Kiba from his feet. As Kiba fell he grabbed Hana's leg forcing her to bend at the knee but she positioned herself to land on top of Kiba.
Sitting on Kiba's chest Hana threw up a victory sign in his face with a grin.
They stayed like that for a minute when Hana asked, "hey what do you think about the major?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well do you trust him?"
".....yes"
"Why?"
"Well because my parents trusted him…"
"Is that so? how do you know you are just a kid? He could have just made it up to use you."
"Because he knows things only my parents would know!" Kiba said angrily. Hana was taken aback she had not seen Kiba snap like that.
She gritted her teeth and got up.
Kiba has a sour look on his face.
"Hmph," Hana glared at him then walked off.
"What's her problem?" Thought Kiba as he go up from the ground.
Hana walked over to the lakeside and sighed, "jeez, Hana that kid is more mature than you..." She thought. "Yuko and Kiba seem to trust him more than anything… what is this feeling I'm getting? Everytime I see him I get nervous, my heart beats like crazy, and my hands get sweaty. Is it my elfin fear sense… it seems different than that…"
Chapter 10
Class the next day had an air of tension as it began. Sahara had just entered the room and cleared his throat.
"Kiba and Hana as I discussed yesterday we will be taking on a witch horde."
Kiba was unaffected by this because he did not understand the dangers of a singular witch let alone a horde. Hana however was shaking.
"How… how do you expect the three of us to defeat a witch horde?" Hana asked with a panic
"Hmm well you two beat a Behemoth… witches are about the same," Sahara said plainly
"W-we nearly died…" Hana said downtrodden
"Hmmm that's true, but you did overcome it." Sahara smiled. "Don't worry Hana, we have two objectives to complete prior to our excursion."
Sahara held up two fingers. "One… you both will undertake a two week isolation training session. Two, I will teach to summon."
Hana was quiet. "It was true," she thought. "We are exceptional even if We're a team of a kid, a failed elfin War Mage, and a strange Major. We all possess incredible talents. The major is also one of the top ten fighters in the country…. I think we can do this… two week isolation training…" Hana's mind was firing rapidly one thought flowing to the next without pause.
A hand touch the sleeve of her mage robe, "Hana, we can do this."
Hana turned to look at the boy next to her who was emitting a confident smile.
Pride stirred in Hana's chest for the first time since she recovered from her near death experience. "Aye," she nodded.
Chapter 11
The three were standing in front of a cliff about five kilometers away from the Major's home. In front of the was a black hole with two statues of an unknown elfin spirit.
"This is what I call "Guru Cave" and it is where Kiba will be mediating. Hana if you don't mind I'd like to speak with Kiba in private before he goes in."
Hana nodded and walked off a ways. The spring air was cool and pleasant. There was the chatter of animals and the harmonics of insects buzzing. "Kiba, This will be the hardest thing you have experienced. You have had a lifetime of anguish in the last few months, but this will top it. If you fail this you will die. I believe in you though and you trust me. Your courage is unprecedented and your strength is unrivaled. Remember you will have to survive solely on your Vis while your arts, mind, and body try to self destruct. Just remember the one objective to survive!"
Kiba took a deep breath as his Sensei put his hand on the boy's shoulders. "Thank you for saving me, I won't die."
Kiba jerked away and walked into to pitch black cave.
Sahara let a single tear shed as he sealed the cave.
Sahara and Hana walked a kilometer away from where Kiba was to the northern edge of the cliff. A river must have run down from the mountains in the distance because there was a fairly strong waterfall cascading down in front of them.
"Hana you will be bound to the waterfall and the open space behind it."
Hana grabbed the Major's sleeve as a gust of wind blew between them, "Major, I will trust you. My elfin fear sense goes weird around you. My heart won't stop beating fast and I get sweaty. I do not understand why... I will complete this assignment…"
"Hana you don't have to trust me… I trust you. You may not have the same potential as Kiba, but you can easily surpass me if you try. That is the true reason I accepted the War Chiefs offer. Maybe it's my inability to relate to females that is making you not trust me, but if that's the case just know I'm trying to improve myself. Maybe one day we can be friends, but for that to happen you must survive this trial."
Hana looked at the ground for a while then suddenly threw her arms around her commanding officer in a tight embrace causing Sahara to blush. She panicked and pushed away raising her fists comically.
"I can do more than survive!"
Chapter 12
Kiba had an eerie feeling since he first entered the cave. All the ambient noise and sounds of woodland creatures vanished. It was absolute silence. He felt around the cave which was surprisingly cool since it was just an enclosed circle. He thought about illuminating the cave with magic but Sensei had warned him to not expend Vis, because he would need it to survive the two weeks without food or water. Kiba sat down on the ground for a while then he laid down. He felt weird the silence was deafening he could hear his body making all sorts of sounds that he was not use to. There was the sound of loose dirt crumbling to the ground, a sound almost unrecognized by ordinary hearing were amplified greatly causing Kiba to momentarily panic.
Kiba was sitting up again sitting here caused him to lose track of time. He felt like he had been sitting there for hours even though it was probably only thirty minutes. He was sweating and breathing was difficult because the cave was warming up. He decided to work on the breathing techniques he had learned. He closed his eyes and sat with his back straight. Then he took three shallow standard breaths in and out the did a much longer inhale and exhale on the fourth. He repeated this until he felt a cold crack of lightning run down his back… someone was touching him.
Chapter 13
Hana sat in the dank cave humming trying to figure the best way to achieve the most success out this test. She wanted to excel and then rub it in the Major's face. Granted she knew he believed in her, but she could tell he harbored doubt.
"Maybe one day we can be friends, but for that to happen you must survive this trial." She played that scene in her head and felt embarrassed for the Major and herself.
"I can't believe I just hugged the Major… I am acting like a schoolgirl… wait… I hugged the Major… Me… the girl who threw up from holding hands…" Hana smile with glee for a moment. "Ha it was just a kind thing he did and I returned a kindness… it's not like I like him or anything."
Hana stood up and began doing some stretching. As she stretched she thought about what the Major said, "You will have to rely on you Vis so refrain from using it."
"Gah why does he do these weird ambiguous challenges. How am I going to get better if I barely use it?" She sighed. "Well at least I get a source of water," she said as she looked at the waterfall.
"I guess I will just meditate for now."
Chapter 14
Sahara made it back to Edelweiss in the afternoon and was greeted by a concerned maid. The maid was a homunculus with the attributes of a wolf.
"My my what grim look on your face, Master."
Sahara who looked disjointed smiled wryly, "Yea to be honest, this challenge is the wildcard in my deck. If we are going to take out that witch horde it is the only way."
The maid frowned
Sahara continued, "I wanted to wait… I was not sure if they were ready, but they beat the Behemoth. Which I unintentionally summoned the higher tiered one. My plan was to show up and defeat it after they gave their all…but"
"Master," the wolfgirl said angrily.
"They were able.." *wack* Sahara's rambling was cut short by a slap
Sahara was surprised and looked at the dealer of the blow. It was Yuko the maid he was talking to. She just hit him but now was smilingly cheerful, "Don't lose your faith, Master. You are gifted with excellent foresight."
"H-hey I haven't yet no need to hit me." Sahara rubbed his cheek.
The maid pouted cutely, "it's your fault."
A few hours later Sahara was sitting in the large bath. "It's the first time I've been away from those two." He said as he reminisced the adventures and training they undertook. He was reflecting on how they both matured dramatically over the course over weeks. "Hana may be an adult already but she is still at the beginning of her blossom. Ha, and Kiba will soon be a man! I wonder if Honoka and Shin'ichi are proud…" Sahara smiled and stayed quiet for a while. "Hmmm, It's been a long time since I have seen Ruri. Maybe when we defeat this horde I will go see her and give her a proper apology. She lives in Taira now…. With our daughter."
Chapter 15
"Green…?" Kiba thought to himself as he reacted to the touch from behind. He momentarily saw something shine green in the darkness, but it vanished. He felt like he should have been frightened like when he encountered the Bog bodies, but he did not sense any malice in his surroundings.
He went back to his breathing exercises trying to learn how to use his Vis as sustenance.
After an unknown amount of time he felt completely drained like the time after he fought the Behemoth. He felt his hunger rising and his breathing was ragged. He never wanted something to drink more than this moment. He coughed and fell backwards into the blackness.
Hana had a strange look on her face as her stomach felt like it was eating itself. She could tell it had been about three days since she entered the cave. She could assess this because she got a surprising amount of light in the cave. She also had plenty of water to drink which she was thankful for. She wondered how Kiba was doing, because his situation seemed far more intense now that she considered it. Hana looked at the waterfall and wondered. "Say isn't training under a waterfall an old method for monks to achieve enlightenment or was it martial artists training their body?" Hana asked out loud to no one. "I suppose I could try that… I'm not making any progress and hunger is starting to drive me crazy." She looked around the cave and thought, "it's pretty dank in here, probably shouldn't get my clothes wet… well no one is around so maybe…" Hana began to take off her clothes. She got nervous when she thought she would be seen, but then she had her first moment of realization. "That's it! If I train naked underneath the waterfall that will help me build the courage I lack. It is true one of my biggest weaknesses is self-esteem and fear for my feminine form. This is a great idea, Hana!"
Chapter 16.
"What are you doing?" A familiar voices called out to Kiba who stirred from his sleep. Kiba sat up and was immediately thrown off. This darkness was different than the darkness he had been in. This darkness was ethereal versus the oppressiveness of the cave darkness. It was like he was floating in the night sky. A figure appeared before him. It was a man whose face had a shadow casted over it, but Kiba could recognize that figure anyway. It was his father.
"DAD!" Kiba cried out. The figure relaxed in a manner that suggested cheerfulness. "How are you, son?" The figure inquired.
"Dad! It has been awful," Kiba began to be overwhelmed with emotion. "Mom was killed by a demon and I have had to fight monsters. I see all sorts of weird undead and even ghosts. Why is this happening? Why can't it be like it was?" Kiba pleaded to the man to answer his questions.
"Do you remember what I told you before I left?" Said father
"W-what?" Kiba's eyes widen as he recalled that his father said that he should take care of his mother and home. He had failed at both.
Kiba got on his hands and knees to prostrate himself, "I am sorry Father I failed to do what you entrusted. I let mom die and I abandoned my home."
"Raise you head son, a home is not a set location but where the heart is. As for Honoka, I was able to talk with her recently. She said there was nothing you could have done, and that it was an inevitability for she had foreseen it."
"Y...y-you spoke to mom?" Kiba asked tears running down his cheeks.
"Yes she is doing well and has been watching you. She says you have grown tremendously and that you have made some friends."
"Yes… yes," Kiba thought of his Sensei, Hana, and Yuko.
"You also did exactly what I told you…. Honoka has a wonderful new home where she is being well taken care of. She said you made it for her. You are absolutely now a man and even more importantly an excellent son."
These words were like daggers to the shame and regret Kiba felt since he started his journey.
"I see Koyo Sahara is training you well," The voice laughed.
"Koyo Sahara?" Kiba asked wondering who that was when it dawned on him.
"Sensei! I never did get his name and Hana only calls him Major." Kiba rubbed his hands on his head embarrassment.
The figure of his father laughed.
"Dad?"
"Oh?" The figure said. "What is it?"
"Are you dead too?"
The figure paused and then responded, "No, I am not dead, and more importantly I am sorry for leaving the two of you… It had unforeseen consequences. I cannot tell you where I am, but I can tell you that I will return."
Kiba was about to say something but was cut off by his father suddenly stern voice.
"Kiba you are currently failing to achieve the goal of this challenge. Both Sahara and I achieved it this, so with your abilities you should be able to complete this."
"How?"
"First you must wake up!"
Chapter 17.
"Gaaaahhhh!!!" Hana exhaled as the water pounded down on her head and naked body. She was completely saturated and taking a massive beating from the waterfall. The flow of the water on her body was far more intense and dangerous than she imagined. Not only was she being assaulted by water debris would strike her. She was bleeding from a cut on her head from where a stone had hit her and several different spots had large scrapes and cuts. The water was dyed red with her blood be she didn't give up. This was her third attempt at this and she was using all her strength. Her body ached from the lack of food and she had fainted a few times. It had been at least a week since she came to the cave and she felt trapped.
"I can't fail," she said encouraging herself. "I know what this feeling is."
She was panting with fierce determination as steaming poured of her tanned skin.
"It's love!"
She then fainted. The last thing she saw was a shadow of a man.
Hana's eyes opened she was lying on the ground inside the grotto. Her body ached and her stomach hurt. Her nude body was dry and felt sort of clean.
"You will die if you fail to learn how to control your Vis." A gruff voice said from a shadow.
Hana panicked and bolted upright into a fighting stance. She felt her fear increasing exponentially due to her body being exposed. She immediately felt to her knees due to exhaustion.
"Now now little lady," the voice mocked. "I'm here to help." The figure step out of the shadow.
Hana's eyes stretch as the person made their appearance.
"I am the legendary Earl of Whitewater. Don't let my appearance frighten you."
As the creature in front of her chuckled, Hana was already trembling in fear. Before her stood a Lich.