The Village Disciples

Back in Furusato Village, Gimu and Shototsu were seen kneeling in front of Regashi's throne. "So, the mission was a failure?" Regashi calmly asked,

"Y-yes, King." Shototsu nervously answered,

Silence filled the room, Shototsu was internally panicking as Gimu on the other hand was trying his best to maintain a stoic appearance. The failure of their mission would most likely not be overlooked so simply.

"Do you guys know what this means?" Regashi questioned, still using a calm stone.

Both of Gimu's and Shototsu's eyes widened, fear and stress started plaguing them both. Unsure of how to react, they stayed quiet-- resulting in Regashi snapping his fingers. Fire then lit up the throne hall, swirling in a circular motion continuously. Once the fire died down, Imawashiki was standing stoically still-- making the duo's fear rise even more.

Imawashiki then walked to the two kneeling warriors, then stopping right in beside them. Imawashiki then raised his hands towards the two as fire started to consume his hands. Bracing for an attack, the duo's eyes were glued shut, until.

"Drink up, you deserve it!" The duo heard Regashi speak up, confused as to what he meant-- they opened their eyes, only to be presented with-

Bottles of Awamori alcohol.

"What? Did you think I'd discipline you two? I sent you on a mission that nearly killed you both. If it had been an easier mission, then some punishment would've been dished out-- but I was aware of how strong this guy was. Imawashiki made sure to update me on this man regularly, so I was not a stranger to his abilities." Informed Regashi, lifting the fear from Gimu and Shototsu's shoulders,

"Wait- so you were aware that he could've killed us?" Gimu hesitantly asked, making Regashi look at him and nod,

"Yes, but before you get the wrong idea- I sent you as partners for a reason. Gimu, you are an excellent swordsman, faster than the eye can see-- but a temper that could beat a volcano. I sent you with Shoto in hopes of him calming you down, as well as wanting to know what he was capable of." Regashi explained, making Gimu a little frustrated-

"My King, I appreciate the thought-- but I'm fairly sure that I can handle my temper," Gimu stated, making Regashi chuckle.

"Gimu, you have the second-highest kill count among us, the main reason being that you keep killing hostages. We keep having poor Shiki clean up the dungeons due to you slaughtering everyone." Regashi retorted, making Gimu grumble and Shototsu turn pale.

"Now, get yourself a bottle. We got them fresh out of a village we recently raided."

XXX

BURAUN VILLAGE

*RING*

Tanjo can be seen sitting at his desk, waiting for his teacher- Mr. Oshieru, to begin their first lesson back from a school break. As Tanjo was sitting quietly at his desk, Akogare gleefully walked over to his desk. "Hey, Tanjo!"

Tanjo looked to his right and spotted Akogare smiling down on him, returning the gesture-- Tanjo responded, "G'morning Akogare, where's Naderamu?"

Akogare adorned a thinking face, then slamming his fist into his palm, "She's speaking with the principal! She told me to tell you that, but I almost forgot I guess." 

Tanjo felt the urge to facepalm. Before Tanjo could retort anything-- Mr. Oshieru spoke up, "Welcome back to school everyone, everyone besides Naderamu seems to be present, but Naderamu will be back shortly-- she just had to do something first."

"Today will be a normal inside learning day, being a warrior isn't all about brawn-- but about mentality as well. I'm sure that none of you know the difference between auras, someone's aura could potentially explain how an enemy fights almost immediately-- depending on the warrior's class at least." Mr. Oshieru explained, he then coughed and continued, "does anyone know the difference between a red aura'd warrior and a blue aura'd warrior?"

No one in the class raised their hand. Sukudo, Meisei, and Utsukushi all had confused and blank looks on their faces, signifying their confusion. With the room being quiet, Oshieru went on.

"Blue aura's allow a person to exert the strongest magic, being able to deal more damage, but unfortunately making us like glass canons due to us not being any more durable and resistant to our drawbacks," Oshieru informed,

"Red aura's exert fewer amounts of magic, giving red aura warrior's an advantage when it comes to masking their magic sense. Also allowing them to spread out their magic evenly throughout their body-- spreading your magic sense throughout the body practically strengthens every limb it reaches. A strength enhancer if you will." Mr. Oshieru further explained, watching as some of the students were jotting down this information in their school-supplied notebooks.

"The two other aura's. Yellow and purple aren't so much in the strength aspect but work other functions of the body-- Yellow aura's allow its users to move at quicker paces, while purple allows the users to be more flexible and versatile to any fighting technique involving hand-to-hand or sword-to-sword combat. In short form-- yellow aura'd users are fast and purple users are flexible, understand?" Mr. Oshieru informed, then checked to see if the students understood. 

Akogare then raised his hand, having Mr. Oshieru call on him-- he asked, "So what type of warriors are stronger?"

Mr. Oshieru only chuckled and stated, "The person's aura doesn't define how good they are at fighting, just what they can be capable of. A blue aura'd warrior could be better at hand-to-hand combat than a purple aura'd warrior if they trained hard enough." 

Akogare only smiled at the answer, "Ah! So that means that I can still aim for the top!?" 

Mr. Oshieru only smiled at his antics and responded, "Yes, you all can still aim for the top."

XXX

THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE

The recently replaced door to the principal's office slowly opened, then a head peaked in afterward. The principal-- who was sitting in her chair, spotted the newcomer and spoke.

"Hey, Naderamu! Why don't you come in and take a seat?" Ms. Manabu politely offered.

Naderamu then fully opened the door and walked into the office, proceeding to shut the door behind her. After walking in, she took one of the two seats placed in front of Manabu's desk. Once she sat down, Manabu smiled and began. 

"You won't be in here for long and no-- you aren't in trouble. I just have a few things to ask you," Manabu explained, still maintaining a smile on her face.

Naderamu only nodded, allowing Ms. Manabu to continue speaking, "Out in the Kodaina forest, you were partnered with Tanjo Nozomu, yes?" Manabu then asked, getting another nod from Naderamu in return.

"During the class training, did you perhaps notice anything strange about Tanjo within that period?" Manabu asked, making Naderamu think for a few moments-- then speak up.

"I noticed something about Tanjo's magic, it glowed more than just blue."

XXX

Hey! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I felt like the whole aura ordeal needed a bit of explaining. Even with this, there is more to uncover. I don't want this whole story to be based on magic when it comes to fighting, but when it is. knowing how the magic works is always a good thing to know when reading this! Stay tuned to find out more!

Have a good day!

Peace - Cr1ticalz_