Her eyes grew as she saw her sister. She never knew that the time has come for her sister to finally find her.
"Si-sister? Wh-Why now?" Toki asks.
"Let's just say, a master's call."
She looked at Toki with pierce eyes and immediately clashed blades with her.
Toki puts herself in defense because she always knew her sister is better than her.
Rin saw what was happening and immediately helped Toki. She saw Toki is not on her fierce look but rather have frightened face.
She immediately shoots barrage of arrows at Toki's sister, making Akame to fall back.
Ryu and the hooded girl continued to clash their blades when suddenly, one of the hoarder ordered a retreat.
"Tsk! Cowards.." The hooded girl says.
She immediately punched Ryu in the face and knocks him for a second.
Eijiro shouted,
"Ryu!"
Eiji saw Ryu got knocked out and immediately hurried to help him.
Akame saw Toki frightened and shocked.
"The next time we meet, you better not make that face. I'll immediately kill you if you do.." Akame says.
Toki was still speechless that is why Rin immediately held her and covered her.
Akame and the rest of the hoarders left. The team did not suffer any major injuries.
Rin then says,
"They'll comeback with an army, or worse more blood hoarders. I have to pursue them now."
Toki then tried to wake herself up and nodded at Rin.
"Don't follow me, it'll be much more dangerous." Rin added.
Ryu woke up from getting knocked out and immediately replied,
"Don't! It's obviously a trap!"
"What's the plan then?"
"They will comeback prepared by tommorow. And by that tommorow it means they'll outnumber us."
Rin looked at Ryu.
"I know that. I asked what's our plan?"
"We have no other choice, but to change location. Rin I know you have several apartments, we should head there now while the hoarders are replanning."
Rin smirks.
"So it is survival first then?"
"We need to survive if we want the downfall of these hoarders. Otherwise more innocent people will have the same fate as we do. It's either death or survival."
"Fine.. let's immediately go back home and pack things up."
The team agreed, Toki was still shocked her sister came.
Rin then asked Toki,
"Who is that?"
"My sister, Akame.."
"Suits her name well, she has red eyes. Tell me, why your sister is siding with the hoarders?"
"I had no idea.. All I know is that she killed our parents.."
Rin grew her eyes as if she was shocked.
"What a terrible person.. How could she do it to her own parents.."
"Her world isn't perfect because of us. It's mostly my father's fault. She holds grudges to my father until she includes us all."
"But still! That's a terrible thing to do.. Well it's not such a big deal to me, why do I even care."
As they finally arrived, Rin and the team packs up quickly and immediately left the apartment.
"Let's go! The next apartment isn't that far from here." Rin says,
"And where is that?" Eiji asks.
"Just a little down the road and we're there."
"I'll have Ryu take me there first, then he'll comeback to show the rest of you where it is." Rin added.
Ryu sighed.
"If there's any trouble here, text or call us immediately. We will quickly come to the rescue."
The rest of the team agreed. Ryu and Rin takes off immediately.
As the team waits, Eiji asks Toki about her sister.
"What happened between you and your sister?"
"What do you mean? You mean what happened lately?"
"Well.. That too, yeah. I thought you are always this fearless girl."
Toki remained silent and refused to answer. Shiro pats Eiji at the shoulder and shakes his head telling him to stop non-verbally.
As they wait for about 15 minutes. Eiji and Toki took a nap for awhile, while Shiro acts as a watchman. It took almost 20 minutes before Ryu finally returned.
Shiro wakes Toki and Eiji as they will now depart to head to the new place. Shiro rides with Ryu while Toki rides with Eiji just like before.
Eiji felt Toki shaking as if she's still frightened, but at the same time, holding him tight from behind.
Eiji couldn't do anything, but to sigh. He might just irritate Toki if he tries to comfort her or if he continued asking her about her sister.
They finally arrived at a new apartment. It is much bigger with larger space inside. The building is also five story, but it seems to have lesser population.
As they arrive, Eiji then asks Rin,
"I thought you hide at populated areas, why this place looks like no ones at home?"
"Because we have to prepare for tomorrow. I have a key for another room so we can do training there."
Shiro, Toki and Eiji were surprised.
"Me and Ryu discussed it as we get here." Rin added.
Ryu then interrupts.
"I want to teach you all my knowledge when fighting a hoarder. I'm sure this is what Shoto wants the day he seeks for me."
"Basically he'll be teaching us new skills to chant and a new way of fighting style. Well maybe just you three since I know a lot already." Rin added.
Ryu told them to take a rest and wake up early at 9:00 so that they can prepare for the training.
The entire team needs to rest to collect mana. Mana is what's consumed to chant skills. Once a person gets tired, it results drained of mana. The higher the stamina of a person, the lesser he/she drains mana. Basically, mana needs stamina in order for you to use it.
It is 9:00 and everyone got a fine rest. Rin opened the room next door and prepared some training dummies for them to use.
As the team prepares, Ryu tells them to regroup at the room next door.
"Ok, let us begin our training. First up will be Shiro."
Rin cheered at Shiro.
"Go sugardaddy!"
Eiji laughed, Toki was somehow upset at her for saying that.
Shiro summoned his long katana and prepared a ready stance.
Ryu then says,
"We'll do parry first, I want to see each and everyone of you parry."
As Ryu and Shiro prepared a stance, they then began parrying.
Shiro was somehow slow, giving Ryu the opportunity to trip him. Shiro then fell.
"I see that you are slow because of your long katana, but don't stop from there. I want you to strategize an attack while your sword is swung away." Ryu says.
"What kind of attack? Like physical brawl? Or maybe a backup weapon?"
"Exactly! Do you have another keychain weapon?"
"I don't, it's not like I have one.."
Ryu then handed Shiro a katana keychain.
"Another katana?"
Ryu nodded.
"Yes, but smaller. You see, you have Nodachi as a main weapon, but didn't you know samurais have a backup weapon?"
"It is called 'Wakizashi'. In the modern day, military soldiers uses handgun as backup or secondary. However, back at the Edo period, they used that as their secondary." Ryu added.
Shiro was amazed and began to summon the Wakizashi to make it his own.
Ryu then tells Shiro,
"I want you to increase your speed even further. That should save your life in case you are in peril."
Shiro nodded.
Ryu then calls Toki to be the next.
Ryu then puts a training dummy in front of Toki.
Toki asks,
"What's this? I thought we will parry?"
"We will, but first I want you to slash this dummy and then I want you to look at its face as you destroy it."
Toki shrugs and began to slice the dummy. It was then cut into half.
Toki asked again.
"Well? Is that good enou-"
Ryu smirked and immediately puts another dummy.
"Here comes another! Focus on its face as you kill it!" Ryu shouts.
Toki got irritated and began to cut the dummy into three slices.
"How about that!?"
Ryu immediately puts another dummy. Toki got irritated more and cuts the dummy again.
Everytime Toki cuts the dummy, Ryu kept resupplying it.
"What's the point of this!?" Toki asks.
Ryu then unsheathes his sword.
"Do you have the face of the dummy in your mind now!? Are you that irritated to the dummy now!?"
"Yeah! I'm so pissed of you right now!"
They began to clash. Toki kept surprising Ryu with her surprise attacks because she has the advantage of having two swords.
Ryu on the other hand is fast enough to parry both of her swords.
"You need to increase your strength. You are already fast, but speed is not enough.." Ryu says.
Toki got irritated, she then focused her strength on left arm and began to parry with Ryu heavily.
Ryu was surprised, but what surprises him more is the transfer of her strength from one arm to another.
Ryu then parried heavily with Toki's right arm and almost dropped his sword. Toki then began to spin resulting in pointing her right arm's sword at Ryu's neck.
Ryu was surprised to what Toki can do and began to smirk.
Toki stopped before it hits his neck, resulting of her win.
Ryu applaused Toki. Toki was exhausted and sat down.
"So? Did you picture me as a dummy while battling me?" Ryu asks.
"A dummy? I'm not sure, your face already looks like a dummy."
"Hahaha.. That's the point of my training for you. I want you the next time you battle your sister, think of her as just a dummy."
"The face of your sister brings back memories. Your past with her, your childhood memories with her, your fear with her, your hate with her and your love with her, but if you tried to wipe those memories with example a dummy. You might forget who she is again, giving you the chance to strike her just as how you striked me." Ryu added.
Toki looked down. She was about to cry, but she immediately wiped it off.
Ryu's words must had pierced Toki about her sister.
Eijiro and the rest were amazed from their battle. Both of them were really good with their swords.
Ryu then looked at Eiji and says,
"Eiji, you're next."
Eiji excitedly approached Ryu.
"We finally got a proper training Ryu. So what will you be teaching me today?"
"We all have special skills with us. Rin can switch weapons quickly and has good aim, Toki has both strength and speed, Shiro has the strength and could take on multiple targets at once, and I have the speed and tactics. What about yours?"
Eiji was speechless.
"I could teach my speed and tactic if you want, but it depends on you." Ryu added.
Eijiro looked down.
"I.. I wanna learn it all.. I wanna be strong like you guys!"
"Please teach me everything you got! I swear I'm a fast learner!"
Eijiro then bowed down to everyone.
The whole team were surprised. Toki had her eyes grew, Rin was smirking, Shiro was happy for Eiji, while Ryu had his eyes closed and pats Eiji's shoulder.
"That's exactly the point why I said each of our special skills. Eiji.. I don't know why, but I can sense you can be much stronger than us."
"Did you know that we inherit the strengths and skills from the previous beholder of our keychains? Do you ever wonder why Rin is much stronger than any of us?" Ryu added.
Eiji gulped. Toki and Shiro were surprised and began looking at a smirking Rin.
Ryu then asks Eiji,
"It's the same for me, but Rin has more keychains than me. Now you know why I gave you Shoto's sword?"
Eiji immediately took Shoto's greatsword and began to unsheathe it.
"Feel Shoto's spirit as you hold that sword, believe in yourself as you wield it."
Ryu guides Eiji.
Eiji then got a glimpse of Shoto. He remembers how Shoto wields the greatsword. The sword was heavy, making him fell on his knee, but Eiji believed in himself once more and began to stand with all his might.
Sooner or later, he wielded the greatsword Shoto used to wield.
The greatsword reminds Eiji of how heavy Shoto is when drunk. He remembered the time Toki and him carried Shoto back to the shop because he was so drunk. He never knew that carrying him would give him the step to wield Shoto's greatsword.
He began to cry quietly as he remembered Shoto.
Toki tried to comfort Eiji and cried along with him.
Sooner or later, Eiji and Toki then wiped their tears.
Eiji bows down to Ryu and replies,
"Thank you.. I promise to you that I will be stronger. No! I promise to all of you that I will be stronger!"
Eiji bowed down to everyone as well as he made his promise.
The team felt happy for Eiji.
Ryu then asked Eiji,
"So? Are you prepared to test out Shoto's strength within you?"
"Yes! Please!"
Ryu and Eiji then began parrying.
The entire team prepares for the battle to come..
Meanwhile,
Under the ground where the society of hoarders of the dark takes place. The hooded blood hoarder began to kill the person who told them to retreat.
"Remember your place, hoarders.." The hooded blood hoarder girl says.
"A-Are we in trouble too?" One of the hoarders asks.
The hooded girl then smirks.
"No, I have a mission for you. You better not fail. Don't worry, I need you back on this one.."
"Ye-Yes! Whatever your order may be."
"Find their new location. You better comeback to tell me that. Bring another person with you just in case."
"In case?"
The hooded girl then looked at him with dead fish eye.
"In case you ran, fail or die. I'll have your partner as my tortured pet instead.."
The hoarders gulped.
Akame just watched them from distance as she talks to the elder.
"It appears that you failed as well?" The elder asks.
"For now.. I'll find a way to struck my sword at her once I got the chance again."
"I will give you three chances to kill her. You now have failed once. You better not fail thrice.."
"Thank you for your consideration, I promise you I will not fail.."
The elder smirked. Akame walks out.
The team trains hard to prepare for the battle. The hoarders increased their numbers. The brushed hair blood hoarder healed quickly through a healing ritual. Akame then meditates while the hooded blood hoarder girl trains.
A huge clash of blades approaches once more..