Chapter 5
"One Hit"
Senri's Training Ground — Early Morning
Three weeks into the twins' training. The routine is set now — the twins arrive before sunrise, Touma arrives at sunrise, Senri appears shortly after with tea and no ceremony.
Today is different. Touma is quiet in a way he usually isn't.
He runs his footwork drills without speaking. No muttering. No complaining about the cold. He moves with his jaw set and his eyes somewhere far off.
HIRUMA
(Low voice, to Ayato.)
"Is Touma-san okay?"
AYATO
(Also low.)
"He's been like this since yesterday."
HIRUMA
"Did something happen?"
AYATO
"Don't know. Don't ask. He'll talk when he's ready."
HIRUMA
"What if he's never ready?"
AYATO
"Then we never know. Hold your stance."
Hiruma holds his stance. He watches Touma out of the corner of his eye.
( Something's definitely going on with him. )
Training Ground — End of Morning Drills
Senri calls the break. The twins sit. Touma does not sit — he stands with his arms crossed, facing the fence, back to the others.
A long silence.
TOUMA
"Sensei."
SENRI
"I hear you."
TOUMA
"The acceptance exam for the Knights Academy. It's in a month."
He turns around.
TOUMA
"I'm going to take it."
Silence. The twins look at each other.
HIRUMA
"Knights Academy?"
TOUMA
(To the twins, straightening up slightly.)
"The Knights Academy. In the Kingdom of Lumina. It's the only official path to becoming one of the Elite Knights."
HIRUMA
"...What are the Elite Knights?"
Touma blinks. Then looks at Senri as if to say: really? They don't know?
Senri gestures: go ahead.
[THE ELITE KNIGHTS] The highest order of warriors in the Kingdom of Lumina. Sworn defenders of the crown, serving directly under King Ciprus Luminos IV. They are not simply soldiers — they are the kingdom's finest, chosen for exceptional skill in both magic and swordsmanship. The Elite Knights are deployed only in matters of the highest importance: protecting the king, defending the kingdom's borders, and responding to threats that regular forces cannot handle. There are fewer than a hundred of them at any given time. Every knight is known by name across Lumina.
HIRUMA
"...That's incredible."
AYATO
"You want to become one of them?"
TOUMA
"Since I was twelve."
He says it without embarrassment. Like it's a fact of geography — just something true about him.
TOUMA
"My fire came in when I was ten — same as everyone. But when it did, I felt something. Like the element wasn't just power. Like it was pointing at something. A direction."
"I don't know how to explain it better than that. I just knew: this is what it's for. I want to serve the kingdom. I want to be one of them."
The twins are quiet. It's one of the rare moments where even Hiruma doesn't have an immediate response.
HIRUMA
(Quietly.)
"So why didn't you go at thirteen? Isn't that when most people start?"
TOUMA
(A beat. He looks at the ground briefly, then back up.)
"Because I was weak."
Flat. No drama. Just honest.
TOUMA
"At thirteen I could barely control my fire. My swordsmanship was a joke. I knew if I walked into that exam in that state I'd embarrass myself and come home with nothing. So I didn't go."
"I found Sensei instead."
HIRUMA
"How long have you been training with him?"
TOUMA
"Three years."
AYATO
"And now you're ready."
TOUMA
"Now I think I'm ready. There's a difference."
AYATO
( That's an important distinction. He's not arrogant about it. He's careful. )
HIRUMA
"But won't you be the oldest in your class? If most people start at thirteen and you're sixteen—"
TOUMA
"Yes."
HIRUMA
"Doesn't that bother you?"
Touma is quiet for a moment. A real pause, not a deflection.
TOUMA
"It used to. Now? No. I'd rather arrive late and capable than early and useless. Three years of training under Sensei is worth more than arriving on schedule with nothing to show for it."
He glances at the twins.
TOUMA
"That's actually why I don't think you two are crazy. Starting sword training at eight with no element yet — it's unusual. But if you build the foundation right, by the time your elements come in you'll have something most people your age won't."
Hiruma stares at him.
HIRUMA
"Touma-san. Was that a compliment?"
TOUMA
"Don't push it."
Training Ground — Continued
SENRI
"Tell them about the Academy."
TOUMA
"I was getting there."
He sits down. Finally. Cross-legged on the packed earth, elbows on his knees.
[THE KNIGHTS ACADEMY — KINGDOM OF LUMINA] The only official institution that feeds directly into the Elite Knights. Located in the capital city of Lumina. Accepts students from age thirteen and above. The programme runs for three years. Students are trained in swordsmanship, magic control, military strategy, and kingdom law. Graduation does not guarantee a place among the Elite Knights — it qualifies you for the selection trials. Only the finest graduates are considered.
HIRUMA
"Three years of studying AND then trials after that?"
TOUMA
"The studying is the easy part."
HIRUMA
"How is that the easy part—"
TOUMA
"Because it's structured. You know what's expected. The trials are different. They test things that are harder to prepare for."
AYATO
"Like what?"
TOUMA
"Don't know exactly. Nobody does until they're in them. That's the point."
AYATO
( A test where you can't over-prepare. They're looking for something that training alone can't manufacture. )
HIRUMA
"So the exam next month — that's just to get into the Academy?"
TOUMA
"Right. The acceptance exam. Physical assessment, magic demonstration, basic technique evaluation. Pass that, you're in. Fail, you try again next year — if you still qualify by age."
HIRUMA
"Is there an age limit?"
TOUMA
"You can't be older than eighteen when you start. So for me, this is the last year I can take the exam."
That lands quietly. The twins absorb it.
HIRUMA
"Then this isn't just 'I think I'll try.' This is the only shot."
TOUMA
(Meeting his eyes.)
"Yes."
Training Ground — Later That Morning
Senri has been quiet throughout. Listening. Processing.
Now he sets down his tea. Stands. Moves to the center of the training ground.
SENRI
"Touma."
TOUMA
"Sensei."
SENRI
"You say you're ready."
TOUMA
"I believe I am."
SENRI
"Then show me."
A pause.
TOUMA
"...Real swords?"
SENRI
"Real swords."
The twins go very still.
HIRUMA
(Under his breath.)
"Real swords—"
AYATO
(Grabbing his arm.)
"Don't move. Don't speak."
Senri goes inside. Returns with two blades — both sheathed, both real. He holds one out to Touma, hilt first.
Touma takes it. Draws it slowly. The steel catches the morning light.
He has held this sword before. Trained with it. But something about today makes the weight feel different.
( This isn't a drill. He's actually testing me. Everything Sensei has taught me for three years — it has to show up right now. )
Senri draws his own blade. No ceremony. No announcement. He simply steps into stance.
...
The training ground holds its breath.
SENRI
"Whenever you're ready."
CLANG!!
Touma moves first. A clean Iron Style opening — direct, powerful, driving forward. Steel meets steel and the impact rings out over the fence and into the quiet village beyond.
CLANG!! SKRK!!
Senri redirects. Doesn't block — redirects. Touma adjusts mid-swing faster than he would have a year ago, catching himself before the momentum carries him too far.
( Good. He's improved. )
CLANG!! CLANG!! CLANG!!
Three fast exchanges. Senri gives ground on the third — not retreating, repositioning. Touma reads it and doesn't chase. He resets.
HIRUMA
( He's not just hitting. He's thinking. That's different from what I saw before. )
They circle. The morning is very quiet except for the sound of their footwork on packed earth and the occasional ring of steel.
WHSH— CLNG!!
Senri attacks. Once — just once, to test the response. Touma doesn't panic. He steps into Whisper form — absorbing the angle, redirecting the force to the side.
Not perfect. But real.
AYATO
( He used Whisper technique. On reflex. Three years of drilling it and it's actually in his body now. )
The spar continues. Two minutes. Three. Touma is breathing hard. Senri is not breathing hard, which is deeply unfair.
Then — a moment.
Senri steps right. Touma has seen this step before — in drills, in sparring, a hundred times. His body moves without asking his brain. He doesn't follow the step. He cuts to where the step will lead.
CLAK!!
The flat of Touma's blade connects — clean, controlled — with Senri's forearm.
Not a wound. Not a slash. A hit. One clear hit.
They both stop.
...
Touma steps back. Lowers his blade. His chest is heaving. His hands are steady.
Senri looks at his forearm. Back at Touma.
SENRI
"You read the step."
TOUMA
(Still catching his breath.)
"You always move right when you're inviting a follow-through. I've been watching it for three years."
A silence.
Then something happens that the twins have never seen before.
Senri smiles.
Not large. Not long. But real.
SENRI
"Sheathe your sword."
Touma does. His hands are trembling slightly now — the adrenaline finding somewhere to go.
SENRI
"You are ready."
Three words.
Touma exhales like he's been holding that breath for three years.
TOUMA
"...Thank you, Sensei."
SENRI
"Don't thank me. You did the work."
He sheathes his own blade. Turns back toward the house.
SENRI
"Take the exam. Pass it. And do not embarrass this training ground."
TOUMA
(A breath of a laugh.)
"Yes, Sensei."
Training Ground — Shortly After
Senri has gone inside. It is just the three of them now.
The twins are standing exactly where they were during the spar. Neither has moved much.
HIRUMA
"...You hit him."
TOUMA
"Once."
HIRUMA
"You HIT Sensei. With a real sword. I didn't think that was possible."
TOUMA
"It's possible. Just takes time."
AYATO
"You said you'd been watching that step for three years."
TOUMA
"I noticed it about a year in. Took another two years to be fast enough to actually use it."
AYATO
( He turned an observation into a weapon. He stored it and waited until he had the skill to spend it. )
HIRUMA
"So what happens now? You just... wait a month?"
TOUMA
"Train. Rest. Prepare. The exam tests physical condition too — I can't show up exhausted."
HIRUMA
"Are you nervous?"
Touma considers this like it's a real question worth answering honestly.
TOUMA
"Yes. But not about whether I can pass. I'm nervous about whether I'll hold it together on the day. That's different."
HIRUMA
"What's the difference?"
TOUMA
"One is about ability. The other is about nerve. I know I have the ability. The nerve is the part you can't train in advance."
He looks at them both. Something shifts in his expression — not quite softness, but something adjacent to it.
TOUMA
"You two — keep showing up. Every morning. Don't let the routine slip while I'm focused on the exam."
HIRUMA
"We will."
TOUMA
"I'm serious. Sensei won't go easy on you just because I'm distracted."
AYATO
"We know."
TOUMA
"Good."
He picks up his practice sword from the rack — habit, even now — and turns it over in his hands.
TOUMA
(Quietly, mostly to himself.)
"Elite Knights. One step at a time."
HIRUMA
(Also quietly.)
"You'll get in."
Touma looks at him. Hiruma is completely sincere — no performance, no noise, just a statement he means.
TOUMA
"...Don't say things you can't know."
HIRUMA
"I'm not. I watched you spar just now. You'll get in."
A long beat.
Touma puts the practice sword back on the rack.
TOUMA
"See you tomorrow, kids."
He walks away through the gate. The twins watch him go.
AYATO
"He's going to be one of them someday."
HIRUMA
"Yeah."
A pause. The morning has gone warm now, the sun properly up, the village fully alive around them.
HIRUMA
"Hey, Ayato."
AYATO
"I know."
HIRUMA
"I didn't say anything yet."
AYATO
"You were going to say you want that too someday."
Hiruma is quiet for a second.
HIRUMA
"...Yeah."
AYATO
"Me too."
Neither of them says anything else. They don't need to.
Some things, once said between brothers, are simply understood.
Somewhere in the Kingdom of Lumina, in a palace that neither of them has ever seen, King Ciprus Luminos IV sits on a throne attended by fewer than a hundred of the finest warriors alive.
Two boys in a small village don't know it yet.
But the road there has already begun.
— * —
End of Chapter 5