"Ah?" asked Asuka, looking at Daisuke with a sudden frown as she grabbed his ear, instantly squeezing and drawing it so hard that he almost cried out. "Don't go making decisions like that without confiding in us first."
Daisuke held on to his reddened ear. "I'm not forcing you to join us. In fact, I would love it if the both of you sit this one out and head back to the village to live safely under Master Ronin." "And you think we would let you go without us?" asked Aya with a smile. "What do you take us for?" "What are you both angry about?" Daisuke asked, apparently confused about whether they wanted him to go or not, with or without them. "If you wanted to leave with me, then why are either of you complaining?" "You three seem to be enjoying yourselves" Mikasa said, taking note of their childish bickering. Then she stared at the ground while twiddlung her thumbs, as if remembering something she didn't want to. "I miss thosSatoru stood outside, leaning against the wall as he admired the beautiful crescent moon. The view of it calmed him, and the urge to sleep was slowly dawning on him. It was then that his wife came beside him, resting her head on his shoulder while placing a hand on his chest. He welcomed this gesture by placing his hand on hers. "Its beautiful" she said, also gazing at the crescent moon. Satori said nothing in response, his eyes still fixed on the starry sky. "It's very late, come with us to bed" she said. "The Ketsuki are nucturnal. They will keep watch all night, just as they always do." "I overheard what you discussed with them" Satoru said. "I'm sorry" she replied, gradually pulling herself away. "I didn't mean to play you like that." But he pulled her close, keeping her as she was. "I haven't forgotten about the oath we made to our parents when they died" he said. "We will stay true to the cause, no matter what." "To the bitter end" they both said in unison. Then she
Daisuke opened his eyes and could still feel the two sisters by his side, sleeping soundly. At the other sides of the room he could see Satoru already up and out of bed, strapping on his sword as if readying himself for battle, and Hina, still sound asleep. Satoru looked beside him and saw Daisuke, looking back at him.Mikasa and Hina were still both sound asleep, and the atmosphere showed that it was still dawn, maybe and hour or two before sunrise. This most likely meant that Daisuke and Satoru had barely slept for three hours that night, which made the young man wonder if he had gotten a long rest in the previous afternoon. "I thought I was going to have to wake you up, brat" Satoru said to Daisuke. "Come on, we have a long day ahead of us."Daisuke sighed as he gently got out of bed, careful not to wake the other two.Mikasa had told him before bed that her husband, Satoru would teach him more about how to weild and idea sword. Part
Satoru could still remember what happened when Daisuke was pushed to his limit. He remembered the strange power he exhibited when Nobuharu made him desperate enough to win. But now, he had the tip of his sword at Daisuke's throat, with one plunge, he could kill him. But why hadn't he done so? "What's the matter, big man?" asked Daisuke with a mischievous grin. "Could it be that you are afraid?" Satoru closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before getting off Daisuke. "I've given you my warning, that's all that matters", he said, facing a different direction. "Now pick up your sword." Daisuke didn't know that the move Satoru had just made was an insult to him. A swordsman showing his back to either a trainee, comrade in sparring, or opponent was a move that showed the other was incompetent. But Daisuke had no idea, and Satoru clicked his tongue, realising his move didn't have the intended effect. "Alright, I'm ready"
"Aya, what sort of wood is this?" asked Hina, who obviously knew the answer to that question, but was just using it as a means of teaching the amateur archer. "Hawthorn wood" Aya replied as she picked a piece up and examined it closely. "I think it is." "Good" Hina commended, still picking up pieces of wood and metal. "Any idea why we chose this kind of wood for our arrows?" "Because wood from the hawthorn tree is especially strong and tough" Aya replied as she picked another piece of sharp wood. "Good" Hina said. "It is also because it burns with the highest level of heat when used to fuel fire. Now, how would this be effective against stronger opponents?" "It would be most effective by its durability and affinity to both hardness and heat" Aya responded as she stood erect, looking around for any stray piece of wood or metal nearby. "You have spokem correctly, Aya" Hina said. "Now look around you. The
"Come on, Asuka" Mikasa said to her student, who was now struggling to get back on her feet, panting heavily, covered in dirt and sweat. "That was me holding back... Way back." They had been training for the past two hours, and Asuka looked like she wasn't making any progress whatsoever in what he was doing and there was long way for her to go in this. "At this rate, you won't learn anything today" Mikasa said, also panting, covered in sweat. Asuka got down to the ground, dropping her sword in slight frustration, and Hina sighed, pinning hers to the ground. "You know what your problem is?" she asked. "You are weak." Asuka looked at her with an arched brow. "Yes, no shit!" she responded angrily. "Thanks for being so helpful by pointing out the obvious. What else are you going to point out? That I'm young?" Mikasa sighed, walking towards her. "Get Up", she instructed, and Asuka did, expecting nothing
For the next three days the wild elven trio taught Daisuke and his companions, giving them the basics of everything they had known for a long time and leaving it to them to practice and learn by themselves, even though they barely had time to master it all. By the end of the second day, Hina and Aya had finished making a new quiver full of arrows, all refined pieces of wood with a sharpened tip. She was now learning to shoot them like regular arrows, and thanks to her talents for archery she easily became good at it. By the start of the third day, Daisuke had won his first sparring session with Satoru, and the two seemed to be getting along much better than the others had expected. By the end of that day, after a heavy supper, the both of them got drunk, and in their drunken state showed themselves the kind of fondness they never would if sober. It was a moment the rest of them would have etched into their minds and use to tease the both of
"Half breeds?" asked Daisuke with an arched brow. "What is that?" Then Asuka put her hand behind Daisuke and pricked him so hard that he almost screamed out. Hoshino looked at Daisuke with a slight frown, and the young man looked away, realising he had just crossed a line. "Please forgive my friend" she said to him, and Minato took a deep breath. "Its alright" Minato said to Asuka before looking at Daisuke. "As you know, there are several races in this world, among which two person of different races can copulate to produce offspring of either race. However, some races aren't compatible enough to do that, and instead of producing offspring of either race, they produce offspring that are a hideous mix of both. Such creatures are known as Halfbreeds. I and my brother are one of such. We never knew our parents, but we were told that they were a rich slave master who was a Ketsuki and an female elven slave.
"Seriously, Daisuke?" Aya said. "Did you really have to do that? Haven't you lived long enough with these people to know that it's not worth it to pick up a fight with him?" "Why are you talking as if he was the one who started it?" Asuka countered. "Ever since we got here, Satoru has always tried to provoke him with every chance he got while Daisuke has always remained silent. How long were you expecting him to keep quiet?" "Don't you think it would be better if we just got along for the short period of time we have with each other?" asked Aya. "Now this will only cause more friction within the group instead of fixing anything, unfortunately." "Then let it be so" Asuka replied. "It's better for things to remain this way than for us to go together into such a crucial mission barely tolerating each other." Then Aya looked to Daisuke, who was still staring at the little fire in the midst of them without saying anything. "What do