(16 years and 6 months after reincarnation)
[Takina's POV]
(Objective)
➡Find "Severance" Blade
"Zzz.... Mmm..." The morning sunlight shone on my eyes, making me wake up in my warm futon.
"Yawn..." Looking to the sides, Sora is still sleeping soundly.
His sleeping face is calm and relaxed, it makes me feel somewhat warm inside. Is this what Lynn felt like when she took care of me back at the Bostnia Continent?
Today is Monday.... I have training with Kenshin.
I got out of my bed and then decided to get changed in the room before Sora wakes up. I'd not want to disturb his sleep by making him go out of the room, so I'll just do it quietly then.
As I undressed myself and got down to my underwear, 'Rustle...' I heard noises from behind me.
Shit, did Sora-sama woke up?
"....." I turned around, and it seems that the kid just switched sides while he was asleep.
"Phew...." Things would've been awkward if he saw me changing.
[Sora's POV]
(I saw her naked.... I never thought I'd be glad at being able to pretend that I'm asleep.)
Once I got changed into my training robes, I headed out of my room to the restroom before going to the dojo.
'Tik! Tak!' As usual, sounds of bamboo swords clashing with each other could be heard at the dojo.
"Good morning, everyone."
"Morning." (?x)
I looked around inside the dojo, I can't seem to find my master.
"Hmm...."
"If you are looking for Kenshin-sama, he is in his room talking to Genji-sama." Said one of the apprentice in the dojo.
"It's rare for Genji to be talking to Kenshin-sama in his room.... Oh well."
I turned around and left the dojo for Kenshin's room....
Two months has passed since young Matsumae became my new Lord.... It has been three months already since I arrived at the castle, growing accustomed to the lifestyle here without any issues.
It feels like home living in Japan like I used to be back on earth.... I think I might grow attached to this place.
Besides this, my training with Kenshin in the Water Stream Style Swordsmanship has been going well. I've learned how to use a lot of techniques of this kenjutsu, and has become way better at sword fighting as a result.
However, I still prefer to use the Shadow Style's quick draw techniques. It just feels easier for some reason.
As I was absorbed in my thoughts, a familiar maid passes by me. She's one of the worker responsible with maintaining the floor that I'm on, so I know her really well. "Good morning, Kazo-san."
"You too, Fujiwara-dono." She said as she bowed her head to me and then continued walking.
Soon, I had arrived at Kenshin's room. I slid open the wooden door and opened my voice.
"Kenshin-sama, Genji-sama."
"Do you never knock before you enter, Takina...?"
"It's a pain, and I've seen all you could hide anyway."
One time I walked in on Kenshin reading a book, which isn't a problem if I didn't found out later that he was reading an Erotica. I guess this is just part of being a bodyguard huh?
"You've gotten better at picking a nerve with me, cheeky brat... Anyway, what's more important now is that you are here. You picked a great timing, have a seat."
"Fujiwara-dono.... Good morning." Genji greeted me as I walked into the room and sat down next to Kenshin. I responded to him with a small nod before I sat down in a seiza posture.
(Seiza Sit : A common Japanese sitting posture that look like the person is kneeling.)
"Takina, would you want to go on a trip?"
"Hmm? To where?"
"The capital city, Kyoto. You may even have a chance to perform in front of the Emperor himself for all I know."
"Kenshin-sama, please stop jesting.... There's no way the emperor will be interested in a random westerner like myself."
"Hard to say, the emperor has some amount of.... interest in ladies like you."
"Well I am flattered but like I said, I don't plan on getting married to anyone.... Much less so the emperor, who probably has a harem going on in his castle."
"I see. Anyway, we will be having a negotiation with the Oda Clan next week. It will be held at Kyoto's castle and Genji will be the envoy. I want you to act as his bodyguard, because of your western origin you will serve as a way to show(lie) to them about our connections with the West."
"I don't have any problems taking this mission, but you will have to take care of Sora-sama in my stead should the need arises."
"Leave the boy to me. Perhaps I'll even teach him how to use a sword...."
"Then it is settled, when will we depart?"
"Genji, tell her what she needs to know."
"We will depart for Kyoto next week. Pack up and finishes what you need, for we will be gone for at least a month."
"I see. Is there anything else besides this?"
"...Bring the biggest weapons that you have. While we are there to talk, we'd like to make a big impression as well. Intimidation is a factor in envoy missions as well."
"Maybe it's time for me to get a Nodachi as well.... My sword is getting dull recently."
"There is no way that a little lady your size can swing a Nodachi, little Takina-chan."
(AN : Kenshin used 'chan' on her, which is meant as an insult to call her a little girl because this suffix is normally only used for young girls.)
"Kenshin-sama, I'll have you know that I can lift weights that is twice my own! Never call me little again!"
"Oji-sama, she's rather sensitive about her height...."
"Oh? How did you know?"
Genji looked at me in the eye with a stoic expression, then replied to him.
"Well... Last time we had a few drinks together she got very drunk. Then she started attacking a few old men who insulted her for being small...."
"T-that was just me being drunk! It has nothing to do with this!"
Seriously, I am not sensitive about my height. I swear....
"How interesting...."
"It isn't interesting, alright? Genji-sama, if you have nothing else then please excuse me."
I desperately try to escape the room after it grew a bit awkward...
"As you leave, please tell my sister about the trip."
"I'll drop by there as I leave then. See you, Genji-sama and Kenshin-sama."
And here I am, at the medicine room.
"Enna-chan?" I said as I peek into the room.
"Sorry, but when are we on 'chan' suffix again?" Said the girl who is working at the desk, without even turning towards me.
"Aw that's harsh.... I just wanted to get closer to you."
"We met just months ago.... So what do you need?
"I'm here to tell you that I'll be going on a trip with your brother."
"To Kyoto?"
"Yep."
"I see.... To tell the truth, I wanted to go as well but because Oji-sama is sick, I can't afford to leave him alone for even a week. Lest his health deteriorate even more, we'll be in great trouble."
"That is unfortunate.... But regardless, I'll be taking care of your brother during the trip because I'm his bodyguard. I can have your brother all to myself!"
While Enna usually talks like she's annoyed, she's not. But I know one way I can actually annoy her, by using her brother as a topic. She's a major bro con.
"Takina... You'd better not try anything funny with him."
"Perhaps.... But he's such a handsome man so I'll have some trouble holding back as well...." I replied in sarcasm, waiting for a response from her.
"Listen you little-" she turned towards me with an annoyed face but her frowed eyes soon grew wide in shock. "O....Onii-chan...?"
Onii-chan?!
I slowly turned around and confirmed my horror.
"Well... That was interesting to know."
Replied Genji, who is right behind me. He avoided my gaze and looked to the side with a slightly embarrassed face.
"L-Look, it's just a joke to mess with your sister, I didn't actually mean anything when I said that so please don't misunderstand this alright, it's not like I have a secret crush on yo-"
"Takina, explaining so much right now only make it seem worse!" Said Enna from behind me.
"Ahh god damned it!" I screamed out as I made my escape out of the room.
[Third Person POV]
Genji turned towards his sister in hopes of finding an answer. "So.... Was what she said about me the truth?"
"I don't know and I don't care! You can sleep with as many girls as you'd like to and I wouldn't give a care in the world!"
"Enna.... Are you mad because you are defending Takina-dono?"
"....No."
(I can see right through this girl) is what was on his mind after her reply.
"Anyway, I'll be going to Kyoto-"
(End of POV)
__________________
In the end, I ran away from Genji and bumped into Sora back in my room. He was caught in my unnecessary ramblings afterwards.
"-He didn't get angry at me but he avoided my gaze! It implies that he isn't elude from the fact that I may be interested in him!"
"Takina-san.... You are such an idiot."
"Argh! I could die from embarrassment right now...." I said as I grabbed a hold of my pillow and dug my face into it.
"I'm sure you are over thinking this.... You barged into the room with a flustered look almost as if you were attacked by assassins, but turns out it's just some stupid antics of yours."
"I cannot help it alright?! After all I'm still a teenage girl...." I mumbled to myself.
"Did you said something?"
"....Ahem. My lord, I have important information to discuss with you."
"Woah... Did you just flip on your serious switch in seconds?"
"Next week I will be departing for Kyoto in order to accompany Lord Genji on an envoy mission.... It'll take a month, and you will be accompanied by Lord Kenshin for the entire time that I'm gone."
"A month long? It'll be lonely without you, can't you just not go...?"
"It's a mission assigned to me by my true Lord. A random child like you have no say in this."
"Why are you so mean to your Lord?!... But I don't want you to leave my side, I'll have to go and argue this over with Kenshin-sama! Excuse me then." He said as he left the room.
"Good luck convincing him." I said as I started to pack my things up in preparation for the trip.
As I took out my things from the closet in the wall, I found a metal barrel once again. It's the flamethrower barrel that I've kept on forgetting about.
"Hmm...." This thing might come in handy for the trip, I don't have anything to do today so I might as well bring it to a smithy today.
"I guess I'll go to that tool shop that Enna recommended me to...."
_________________
[Sora's POV]
"Kenshin-sama!" I said as I slid open the door into his room.
"It's just one trouble maker after the other this morning.... What do you need, boy?"
I walked into the room and sat down on the tea table opposite of Kenshin.
"I demand you to have Takina-san stay here and not go on the trip to Kyoto!"
"Your reason being?"
"I don't want to be left alone by her!"
Although Takina-san is annoying sometimes, she feels comfortable to be around.... It sounds childish but I feel like she's my reliable big sister, and I don't like being left out.
"Haha, it seems that you have really taken a liking to your servant huh? Before long, she'll be demanded to follow you back home once you leave...."
"That's an entirely different thing.... Can you have someone else go with Genji-sama instead and make Takina-san stay?"
Kenshin took the tea cup on the table and drank from it. "Sips.... No."
"Why?"
"Because I feel like it.... And your attitude is not one that is asking for a favour."
"Tsk...." Clicking my tongue, I forced myself to speak in a softer voice.
"Can you make Takina-san stay? Pretty please?"
"Haha, so this is what a nice kid would sound like.... Well I never promised that I would accept your beg."
"Why?!"
"I have my reasons.... Besides, if you like her so much then why don't you go with her?"
"Eh? I can?"
"Who's forbidding you from doing so? It's not like your father or servant is here to stop you or anythi- cough cough!"
Suddenly, Kenshin covered his mouth up and coughed out loudly as if he's in pain.
While I do know that this old man is suffering from some sort of disease, to see him coughing so hard with my own eyes is a bit jarring....
"Kenshin-sama?!"
"Cough cough!... Cough!... Gah...."
"Are you fine...?"
"Hah... It's nothing for you to be concerned about, boy...."
When Kenshin puts away his hand, and on his palm are visible splatters of blood coughed out by him.
"That's blood...."
"...."
"I'll bring Enna-dono over!"
(End of POV)
________________
(Niigata City, Market District)
(28 minutes later....)
"I think this is the place...."
I arrived in front of a run down shack in the middle of an empty land which appears to be owned by the landlord of this small shack.
A short wall surrounds the land, and I am now standing at the open gate of the wall looking into the place.
The grass of the yard are all really tall, no one is cutting them at all. Vines can be seen growing into the wall and the shacks.
To my side, a hiss was heard. "Sss...."
"Eep!" It's a 1 meter long snake.
Luckily, this one is a common rat snake, which is not aggressive and non venomous. I know it because I've caught a few of them to eat out in the wild.... They are delicious.
"Hush, slithering prick...." I picked the snake up with my hand and threw it out into the tall grass field. "Now then..."
Besides the shack, I could see a small hut with blacksmithing tools inside. Anvils and hammers hung in the open hut without any locks.
"Does no one steal them...? Whatever."
I walked into the land, following a cobblestone trail that leads to the shack itself.
'Knock knock.'
"Hello?"
....No one answered.
"....I guess I'll go in then." 'Goo....' I opened the sliding door peeked inside.
"Hmm... No one's here...." Should I come back later?
As I decided to leave, my eyes did the opposite and started to scan the shack. The first thing that my eyes sets upon within the workshop itself is a multitude of tools and weapons hanging on the walls of the workshop....
Swords, Hammers, Spears, Sickles. And is that what I think it is? "A musket?!"
(AN : Basically, a gun.)
Amazed by the incredible arsenal hanging off the walls of the dark shack, I walked deeper into it. Looking around, I could see many more niche or cool looking weapons lying around....
This shop is also the one to make all of the alchemy tools that Enna frequently uses. No doubt a well renowned toolmaker because of all these 'trophies' hanging off the wall.
Of course, I can see a work desk on one side of the shack. There are countless tools lying on top, used for making these weapons.
"Hmm?" On the desk, I saw a book. It's title is written in kanji "Log of Shinobi Techniques..."
Shinobi techniques? I wonder what this is?
As I was just about to reach out and grab the book....
"It's rude to go through someone else's things while they are gone you know?" An old man's voice was heard from my back.
"Eek!" I turned around and instantly reached for my sheathed katana.
'Chink!' With a clean strike on my sword, he stops me from drawing the katana and slapped it back into the sheath. With his other hand, he covered my mouth and shoved me backwards, pushing me onto the desk behind. 'Thud!'
"Mmm-?!" I can't escape!
He puts his body right between my legs, preventing me from kicking him away. He leans his face inches away from mine....
"No one will hear a little lady's scream from here.... Give it up."
His eyes glared at me like that of a wolf... It was one of the few times I've genuinely felt terror in my life. This old man is not someone that I should mess with.
"Now, I am not going to hurt you but you shouldn't go around swinging this like it's a toy." He said as he looked at my katana.
"...?"
"My awkward position here doesn't help explain it, but I am not dangerous.... you probably would've killed me now if I didn't put you into a submissive hold. This is self-defense, understand?"
With his hand still covering my mouth, I nodded.
"Good." He finally lets me go.
"Gah... What the hell are you?!"
"I am but an old man working in this shack, but I suppose you already know who I actually am...."
"So you're a shinobi...."
He lighted a magic lamp inside the shack, and now I can finally see him clearly. A ragged old man dressed in a cheap looking kimono.... He seems to be in his 50's, just like Kenshin.
What's strange about the beaten old man is his left arm... He didn't have a left arm, what he had instead is a mechanical arm made out of what appears to be wood.
"We ninjas are highly secretive about our identity, you'd do best not to know too much about an individual next time." The old man said as he puts away the book into a box besides the table.
"Right...."
"So, what do you want?"
"I want to fix this thing, can you take a look at it?"
I took out the metal barrel from the handbag that I put on the desk when I entered.
He took the thing and carefully inspected it. When he poured a small amount of mana into the barrel, a small fire spewed out from the opening.
"Hmm.... From where did you get this?"
"From a bandit's corpse.... at Tengu Village."
"I see.... You've got your hands on something incredible. It's a failed prototype of a gun."
"A gun?"
"Yes. They are a rather new invention, it's a type of long-ranged magic weapon."
"But didn't you have a musket there already?" I said as I pointed to the wall.
"Musket? I don't know what is a musket, but that thing there is a failed gun prototype as well...."
"Does that mean that the Uesugi Clan has no access to guns?"
"Correct. I wanted to try to replicate what the Oda Clan has, but I had no luck doing so."
"I see.... Do you have any idea how these weapons came to be?"
"I heard they bought it out of merchants from the west. You are a westerner, you should know more about these things than this old man."
"I have no information on guns, sadly."
"I see.... This prototype here may have been damaged, but it's really simple to fix it."
"Please do. I want to turn it into a tool that I can use to make fire when I need to."
"I want you to be clear, do you want this weapon to be a 'tool' or a 'weapon'?"
The answer's obvious.... the whole reason I wanted to fix this thing is because it almost killed me.
"....I want a weapon, one that can shoot out flames to burn monsters or people."
"Now you are being honest, I like it. I can easily fix this thing in a while, just wait here."
The old man took hammers and pliers from his toolbox, and then started to work on the barrel.
....How curious, I want to learn more about this man.
"....I haven't heard of your name yet." I said to him.
"I guess so."
"My name's Fujiwara Takina. What's yours?"
"....I am Takashi. Some people call me the Monkey though."
"Monkey?"
"Just an old nickname, it's nothing for you to worry about."
"Oh.... Since I know your secrets and stuff now.... can you tell me more about your ninja work?"
"....No."
"Sensitive about it?"
"I don't like talking about my past, and you pry too much. I'd appreciate it if you don't."
"I just wanted to learn more about you but.... Hmpt!"
Annoyed at him, I spent my time looking around the shack once again. I reached out and took the musket hanging on the wall....
"You said this was a failed gun prototype?"
"Yes."
"Hmm...." I inspected the gun properly....
It's a simple small metal barrel attached to a wooden base that acts as a stock... It doesn't have a trigger, and is partially powered by magic as pouring mana into it generates flames from inside the barrel.
"Hmm.... Why doesn't this work?"
"When used by the Oda Clan's soldiers, it can fire out an invisible projectile made out of some sort of magic.... While I can replicate it's firing mechanism, I can't seem to create the projectile itself."
"I think you may have been misunderstood on how a gun worked."
"Oh?"
"While I don't know much about how the firing mechanism worked, I do know that guns don't fire an invisible projectile made from magic.... It's the opposite, guns fire physical projectiles."
"Physical projectiles...?" The old man put down all of his things and walked up to me.
"Yes. Guns use these fire to act as propellants, which shoots out a physical bullet like an arrow. They don't shoot magic, they shoot bullets."
".....This could work actually. What do you suggest can be used as projectiles then?"
"Muskets use small metal balls to act as bullets. You want the bullet to be just the right size or it wouldn't work."
"I have what you need, demonstrate it to me."
"Okay.... Let's do it outside."
_____________
I showed him how to reload a musket... Although the bullets he gave me didn't fit perfectly, it was good enough for the time being.
After I pushed the bullet into the barrel using a small stick, I found out that operating the musket is actually far more complicated than it seems.
Pouring mana into the gun will "ignite" flames inside, but it wouldn't shoot until the amount of mana poured is past a certain point.
The first time I found this out, I poured a bit too much mana. 'Bang!' "Eek!"
The gun fired suddenly, completely out of my control.... and the gun almost flew out of my hand.
However, the gun fired out the iron ball towards my target : A small tree at Takashi's yard.
"Woah!" (2x)
"It really is how you've described, I never would've thought that the answer to my problem would be a simple physical bullet!"
"Ahaha.... Can I fire this thing more?"
Shooting a gun for the first time is extremely fun. After firing about 10 more shots, I got the hang of handling the gun.
To simplify my findings, I learned that the amount of mana poured into the gun is like the distance of the trigger of a gun being pulled.... There's a set specific amount of mana that need to me poured it before the gun fires out, and if you don't pour enough into it, the fire will just leak out from the opening at the start of the barrel.
However, if enough mana is poured into the barrel then the pressure built up from the fire will suddenly bursts out, thus firing the gun. It's like pulling the trigger.
Consequently, pouring in too much mana will not result in a stronger 'bang'. The excess mana will just be burned after the bullet has fired out, resulting in wasted mana. Not pouring in enough mana will also result in wasted mana, as the fire will leak out from the opening.
The key to using this gun is to learn the amount of mana needed to fire the gun which I call the 'firing point', anticipating when the mana poured in will actually fire out. This is like the 'bite point' of a manual car, only people who know how to drive will understand this comparison.
Unlike an actual gun which has a trigger for you to pull on, it takes more skill to anticipate when the gun will fire out because it's practically guess work. I think it is way harder to use this magic-powered musket than a normal musket.
'Bang!'
Before I know it, I had tore countless holes into Takashi's tree and yard's mud....
"Wahaha, this is so much fun!"
"That's enough playing around, the barrel is already smoking hot from all the firing you did!"
"Ehh... Oh well."
"But still, I learned a lot about guns from you.... With a bit more experimentation, I think I can actually recreate functioning guns similar to the ones that the Oda Clan has right now."
"I don't know a lot about guns either.... I just played around with it and learned through experience. Here." I handed the gun back to him.
"I see. I guess playing around might be a great way to learn huh..."
"Oh, it's getting late already.... It seems that I have to leave now, can I come to retrieve my flame barrel tomorrow when you've completed it?"
"You may. But first, I need your arm's measurements. Follow me, I'll measure it myself."
"Hmm?"
Why would he need my arm's measurements?
(Chapter end)