3 months ago...
------------------
Yuki was dueling a young girl, 15 years old at most. Although Yuki was 4 years older and had been going to this martial arts dojo for far more years, she was completely on the defensive!
As Yuki barely managed to avoid her opponent's fluid-like attacks, she began to sweat rivers. They were using real swords here! Why were her opponent's attacks so recklessly powerful?! She was beginning to regret her plan..
Of course, they dojo did have sparring swords, but experienced trainees preferred to use real swords that had been dulled slightly since the shape didn't hinder their movements as much. Imperfections that quickly appeared during high-level spars were bound to appear within shabby wooden swords. And, after all, they were confident in their own defense, so asking their opponent to do such a thing would make them lose face, especially for top-tier duelists.
A cut appeared on Yuki's hand. It was negligible for most people, but for duelists, perfection was a must. Pain could cause openings, and it did just that. Yuki missed a defense at her shoulder, and her opponent used the chance to go for a disarm.
Yuki couldn't allow that, though! She flipped her sword backward, and let go! Her sword cut her opponent's wrist, not very deeply of course, catching them by surprise. Their attack connected with the hilt of her sword and bounced it back into her hand, where she flipped it forward and left another, slightly larger cut behind on the opponent's torso. Using this chance of the opponent's obvious disorientation, she finally disarmed her and kicked away the sword.
The spectators went into an uproar! Since this was a battle between the top two swordfighters in the dojo, Yuki being first of course, was definitely a sight to see. None of them had the confidence to pull off a false opening like that! And the relentless attacks of her opponent was definitely not inferior to even the dojo masters there!
Recovering from the shock, since they were fully prepared to have to announce the other part's victory, the judge quickly announced, "The winner has been decided! Yuki Gurando keeps her title as #1 spot in the dojo!"
Yuki smiled as she wiped off her sweat. She had to battle the top 5 swordsmen and swordswomen every other day, and although it was exciting, she always won with relative ease. Even combat against second place was starting to lose it's fun.
In fact, Yuki had purposely defended the entire match so she could extend it past the minute mark! Just how much of a genious she was, the Dojo couldn't fathom. Unfortunately, the country was quite poor; she had no way to get better swordfighting education, and all her skills were either self taught or very basic.
"Congratulations on your win, Yuki," a disappointed voice said behind her. Yuki looked back, smiling.
"You've improved a lot since we last fought, Netsu. If not for the fact that opening was false, it would have been extremely dangerous for me." She said.
Netsu sighed, "Still, it's like you are unbeatable! Just how long did you train in swordfighting for? You aren't much older than me, after all..."
"Come on, be proud of yourself! You've secured yourself second place for a long time now, which is very impressive since the top 10 always had the tendency to change hands every few days."
Netsu shook her head. "No, I won't settle until I claim first! We will fight again soon, Yuki!"
With that, she swiftly ran off to grab some bandages.
Yuki watched as she ran off and sheathed her sword.. or at least thought she should have.
The blade stopped around the halfway point Yuki stared at the point where the blade broke; the point right where the final strike was defended. It was twisted and, somehow, even slightly melted! It wasn't very visible, and she definitely would have overlooked it. Yuki couldn't help but look in the direction Netsu ran off to.
-------------------
Present Day
-------------------
Yuki walked up to a doorstep, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door. It slowly creaked open, and Netsu stood before her in her training uniform. Yuki quickly got to the point, "You were able to melt my sword a little in our fight for first place. Just how did you do it?"
Netsu looked at her, surprised. "No thanks, I wasn't expecting company."
Yuki then was met with a door in her face once again.