"If that's all, then please excuse me, Young Boss. I need to tell those bastards about your return." Masa said with a proud smile on his face.
"Yeah. Thanks for the information, Masa."
Atsuku watched Masa walk away down the corridor before closing the sliding door. A rather nasty grin was written on his face as he sat on the window's frame, with his leg raised, looking at the cherry blossom tree.
He then couldn't help it and let out a low laugh, thinking how funny the information from Masa was.
"Hahaha! So there are only a few of them. In that case, I can take care of them before the second Trial. I don't want any kind of thorn to be on my side when I focus on clearing the Trial."
The information Masa had gathered while working under Atsuku's mother was really useful. Because everyone trusted the man since he had served the family since he was a kid, he was able to blend into the branch family and managed to catch some rumors going around.
Thanks to that, Masa found out almost everyone who plotted behind Kiyo's back, trying to take over the family by recommending their child as the family's successor.
Some also supported his step-sister, but Atsuku wasn't worried about that faction. Because Atsuku knew that girl wouldn't even think of betraying him or Kiyo. If you asked why Atsuku trusted that girl so much, it was because…
"My older sister doesn't want to work hard in the future. She's the one who cried loudest when I left because my mother asked her to handle all my workload. My condolences. I will say that I am sorry for leaving her."
Atsuku laughed as he remembered the memory that he had almost forgotten. It was funny when he remembered it again. The lazy girl cried when her brother left because she didn't want to work instead of missing him.
"I need to take it rather easy today. I bet there will be a meeting between the members to celebrate my return. All of them love parties and are always excessive when preparing for one. So I am looking forward to it."
He began to form a plan inside his head. What was the best way to dispose of them? And how should he take care of them while getting recognition from the others in the family as well?
Those things were child play for him. But it was a play nonetheless, so Atsuku was a bit happy, relieving the feelings he once had in Fantasia.
"It's exciting. Should I torture them? Should I exterminate their entire family? No, no, they're too valuable to be exterminated. I have yet to find my own ally. They are not even a traitor, only people who are hungry for power. As long as I tame them well, they can still be useful."
While Atsuku listed the possible options he could take against the one who opposed his family succession, he saw Yamada walk toward him from the garden.
"Yo, Atsuku! Are you free right now?" Yamada asked as he raised his hand.
The blond boy had a big smile on his face. The bandage around his head was already taken off, and the wound he suffered only left a small red mark. The healing power from Abaddon's ability was really commendable.
Atsuku stopped thinking about it and turned to Yamada. "Hmm? I am quite free right now. What's up?"
"Good timing then! Say, wanna have a light spar at the dojo?" Yamada pointed at a building located beside the main house. "It's been a long time since we sparred in a Kendo match."
"Kendo match?" Atsuku asked.
It really had been a long time since he held a bamboo sword. He remembered he always trained in it once a week before he was transmigrated to Fantasia.
So hearing his friend ask him for a spar was something he was grateful for. He wanted to move his body which was filled with energy.
"Why not? Let's do it."
***
It was still morning, and most of the members of the Fujiwara group were out to deal with issues that happened due to the first Trial. They reorganized themselves due to the recent situation, and some of them followed Atsuku's sister to the branch family to protect her.
Even so, the dojo was empty without a single soul in it. It was natural, though.
No one had ever used it except for Atsuku and a few other people, but this building was still clean because the members of the Fujiwara group always took care of it.
The equipment, such as wooden swords and the kendo uniform, was also taken care of. However, both boys didn't wear any protective gear; they only changed their clothes into a white practice uniform and dark blue baggy pants called Hakama.
They stood in the middle of a vast hall with a wooden floor while holding the sword tight in their hands. Atsuku held one sword with a relaxed stance, while Yamada used two swords instead of one.
"Dual wielding? How bold of you, Yamada." Atsuku said, but he wasn't by any means looking down on Yamada.
Dual wielding was hard. However, if a skillful person used the technique, then it would become troublesome and deadly. The attack was unpredictable and fast. They had the advantage of moving two weapons at once instead of one.
But still, once again, it was a hard technique to use. Not anyone could master it without hard training.
"I feel like I can do it like this. Swordsmanship is not really my forte. You know that. I am more like a gun guy." Yamada inspected the swords in his hands before going into a stance. His left hand extended out while his right was behind his body, ready to strike his opponent anytime.
"Then why don't you use your weapon of choice? There is a BB gun in the storage." Atsuku asked curiously, fixing the grip on the wooden sword to get a feeling of its balance.
"I want to train my swordsmanship too. Having a spare weapon that doesn't need ammo will help a lot." Yamada put on a stance and continued, "Now, enough chatting. Let's start."
"Alright, on three."
"Yeah!"
The atmosphere became tense as both fighters were ready to fight. Somehow, at the same time, both of them shouted.
""Three!""
They immediately moved forward with their newfound speed, faster than a normal human could follow. Yamada swung the sword in his right hand wide, aiming at Atsuku's lower body.
An attack from a blindfold was hard to dodge, but Atsuku's honed instinct warned him about the incoming danger. He only moved a little to dodge it.
His experience in a battle made him able to respond to any kind of attack in less than a second. Rotating his body and using his right leg as a pivot, he quickly sent a sharp counterattack in the form of a thrust. It was fast and split the wind.
Swoosh! Pang!
"Woah!" Yamada was surprised, but he was able to deflect the attack with his left sword. "That was dangerous! How about this?" He said with a smile, then sent another attack with both hands at the same time.
"Useless!" Atsuku didn't panic. He stepped back, dodging the attack, and sent a sharp swing toward the blonde boy's neck. His attack was deadly and precise; right after Yamada's swords passed him, his attack flew toward him.
Swoosh!
"Guh!" Yamada tried to step back, but to his surprise, his legs got tangled, and he fell to his butt. Atsuku's attack only lightly grazed his head, turning it red, but there was no real visible wound except that.
Atsuku calmly put his sword near Yamada's neck and stated, "It's my win."
He put his sword away and extended his hand, helping Yamada to stand up.
Yamada took Atsuku's hand and stood up, laughing. "Haha, yeah. I was careless."
He scratched the back of his head and appeared to be embarrassed because he lost by falling to the ground. How could a fighter trip on his own leg? It was an embarrassment at a high level.
"Yes, you are. Do you want to go again?" Atsuku offered.
"Yeah! Let's do it again! I won't lose this time."
"Try it."
Both boys went back to their initial position and clashed their swords again. The sound of wooden swords meeting each other rang in the dojo without stopping as both guys fought to their heart content.