"That kid... Don't tell me he ventured away from the markings, Kouji's gonna get really pissed at me if I don't find him today."

Fyodor stood in front of the last tree that had been marked by Arakan. He sighed and scanned the area by turning his head right and left, looking for possible markings Arakan had made moving forward. None. Frustrated, he leaned against the huge tree and gulped a mouthful of tea Reina had prepared for him when she heard that he was going to look for Arakan. It was clear as day to Fyodor that Arakan had continued trekking into the forest at night and abandoned the markings he had made beforehand.

He slipped his fingers into the small opening of the kimono near his waist and pulled out a crumbled piece of paper. It was about the size of his palm and it's surface was in a shade of dark yellow, proof that it has been ages since it was made. The ink scribbled on it was faint and almost illegible. Fyodor's index finger traced along the surface of the paper and his eyes landed on the part where there were drawings of rocks and a small writing that read 'caves' were inscribed. He knew that if Arakan was still alive, he would be in a sheltered location that was free from the dangers of the forest. Fyodor immediately started moving.

"It'll probably take a while to reach you Aracchi, but I pray you don't encounter you any dangers you can't handle... Be safe."

Meanwhile, Arakan was just moments away from engaging in a duel against the second ranked swordsman in the Eastern Swordfighting Championship. His path of vision travelled straight towards Shougo's brown eyes. At any moment now, the clashing of the swords could happen.

"I, Seiji Arakan challenge you, Shougo Hoseki to a duel."

"I accept."

Without giving Arakan any time to take his stance, Shougo leaped forward, holding his sword tightly with both of his hands on the grip, while he rested the sword in a downwards angle behind his shoulders. The moment Arakan was in his striking range, he rained down the sword, aiming for the top of Arakan's head as his humongous legs anchored himself onto the ground. The momentum he build from that single leap increased the velocity of the sword twofold and his swinging motion further accelerated the speed at which the sword was moving at. Paired with his monstrous grip, the swing was enough to dent an iron shield and if landed on human flesh, paralyse the entire joint.

Arakan had enough time to react to the downward slash and had managed to catch it with his wooden sword. Bap! Upon contact, it chipped a small part of his sword, as Arakan defended against the move by darting backwards and shifting his sword horizontally above his head. However, Shougo was not done. Making use of Arakan's passive position where he was nearly grounded to the earth beneath him to absorb the shock of the smashing attack he had inflicted, he forced the ball of his right foot from his orthodox stance right into Arakan's solar plexus. Rather than a kick, it was fast, menacingly painful jab from his legs.

"Argh! Hurgh! Hurgh!"

The sudden blast towards Arakan's body made him wheeze in pain and the airflow that circulated in his body stopped flowing abruptly. He felt the sharp pain spread towards his pectoral muscles rapidly, and his bones felt like they were shattered as through a hammer was smashed into his ribcage. The pain inevitably caused Arakan to loosen his grip and break out of his defensive positioning. None of the techniques such as the sweeps and throws that could be done from his defensive stance was applicable with the pain he was feeling. His mind had split away from fighting and focused on trying to mend his injury.

"You think you could be Ryugyu like this? Pathetic!"

The sudden shock from the strike made Arakan freeze and an opportunity for Shougo to finish him off was presented in front of him. Nevertheless, he backed away from Arakan and showed mercy to the boy.

"Look, you're still a kid. Whoever allowed you to even dream about winning the championship should be beaten up... You need more training. Forfeit the duel now."

"Forfeit? I've yet to lose this fight. I'm not backing up!"

"Hahahah. You really are mocking your father with this pointless determination. I'll stop playing around now... Maybe then, you will understand the difference in our abilities."

Arakan who has yet to recover from the sharp jab that Shougo delivered side stepped away from his opponent's line of attack. He had bought enough time for the pain to partially go away and settled into his fighting stance. Both his legs were tiptoed as he lowered his center of gravity. He angled his weapon to the right with his elbows slightly tucked out just like Fyodor had taught him. Masking the tremendous pain he was feeling, he grinned at Shougo, who seemed unimpressed by his gesture.

"Really? You're starting to piss me off."

"Good, I intended to do that anyway... I'll defeat you."

"I'm really wondering where your sense of confidence is coming from. Your master? Whoever that fraud is should stop teaching you about swordfighting... Time to shut you up."

Arakan was not confident. He was afraid and in pain. By taunting Shougo, he would be able to have more time to recover from the blow that was still bothering him. Shougo took his battle stance and it was similar to what he did during his first strike, his blade behind his shoulder, leaving his body guardless. Arakan understood that a straight forward attack would never work against the level of opponent he was up against and he needed to feint to land a shot or perform a takedown.

Without wasting anytime, he burst from his position and slipped to Shougo's left. This basically prompted Shougo to swing his blade down and allow him to counter it, since he knew the exact move that will be sued against him. However, the sword did not budge an inch. Instead, Shougo thunderously struck his knee upwards towards Arakan, who was crouching and awaiting to counter a blow from above. Before it landed on his face, Arakan  pulled away rapidly only to be trapped on  the spot by both of Shougo's elbows which he smashed behind Arakan's head instantaneously after Arakan attempted to escape his knee strike.

"See. This is why you should train at a legitimate dojo... Not from some fake master. I'm gonna hunt for some food and maybe train a little. Don't be stealing my water though! See ya."

"My master... He's not a fraud."

"Kid, you're on the floor. Your nose is probably broken, a few of your veins must've burst and you still muster up strength to say such nonsense? Come to the Hosoku dojo in Zaburi. We'll teach you authentic swordsmanship."

"Heh. My master would kick your asses there."

"At this point, I'd love to meet him. Maybe tell him to stop intoxicating children with false dreams and hopes. I'd cut him too for disrespecting the art of the sword."

With that, Shougo had left the cave. Arakan, who was on the floor, his face bloodied and abdomen bruised stayed face-up on the ground. There were too many thoughts in his head. He began questioning himself on his strength. Had he gotten stronger? Or was the 2 years he spent training a waste of time? He thought hard and wondered if he should even participate in the upcoming tournament. Weak. That was the word to describe the feeling that was tightening in his heart. Arakan felt useless.

"Maybe... I'm not made for sword fighting. I could continue working at Kouji's shop and deliver rice. I could spend my time hanging out at Reiko's place. I could-"

Arakan could not finish the sentence. Tears were forming in his eyes and they slowly cascaded down his cheeks. Gradually the tears fell at a faster rate and Arakan felt like there was a steel chain wrapping around his heart.

"I-I'm crying? No... No I can't cry... I'm a warrior..."

Arakan tried to stop the tears but they just kept flowing. Is this what defeat feels like? That was the thought that swam around his head. He stayed lying in his pool of tears. He wanted to disappear into the wind and to be blown far away from the harsh truth of reality. There was no other way around it. Physically and mentally, the boy had been dismantled and destroyed.

"Woah... I never expected a kid like him to move that quickly and his reflexes are absolutely insane. But that style of swordsmanship... I've not seen it before. Sad how he got tricked by some fake master. He would have flourished with the Hosoku style!"

"Hmmm... Any idea where that kid is?"

"Oh, he's in the cave about... Wait! Who are you? And how did you sneak behind me like that!"

"Hehe, that's a secret."

Shogou was shocked. Never in his life as a swordsman was he unable to detect the presence of another person within the radius of his range of attack. Just centimeters behind him, Fyodor was there eavesdropping on his ranting.

"What's your business with the kid? You his teacher or something?"

"That's right! Good guess. I've been looking for him since morning, suspected that he would be at the-"

"You sure are a piece of shit. Tricking a child into believing that you are a knowledgeable swordsmen... He even called you his master! Trash like you should be eliminated."

Before Fyodor could respond, Shogou had already drawn his sword. This was not a practice round like he had with Arakan, this was a real duel where only one man would remain standing after the fight. The blade that Shougo had wrapped his fingers around were made of steel, hammered into perfection and sharpened to kill. If one man were to stay alive, after the battle was over, it was a humiliation that he had to live with as a swordsmen as it meant that his enemy had pitied him and doubted his fearlessness of death. Shogou had already gotten into his stance and was preparing for Fyodor to draw his sword and respond to his invitation to a duel.

"I, Shougo Hoseki of the Hoseki sword school challenge you to a-"

"Yeah, yeah I accept. Let's just finish this quickly... I'm tired from walking."

Fyodor's words pricked Shougo's honour. He felt disrespected and it was quite clear that Fyodor was unbothered about the battle, taking him lightly as an opponent. He wasted no time and covered the distance between him and Fyodor at an incomprehensible speed even among skilled swordsmen. He wasn't going to go easy on Fyodor, the way he did with Arakan. Shougo was out to kill him and every swing was intended was pure bloodlust. He darted straight towards the unarmed Fyodor, who's sword was still in its sheath. The acceleration was so quick that a single blink from his opponent was enough time for Shougo to rip off his insides. His technique was many times faster than what he had displayed to Arakan.

"Too slow. You couldn't even establish your striking range in time... That's one of the basics of swordsmanship."

The diagonal slash across Fyodor's abdomen that Shougo had excecuted completely sliced through air. It did not even touch Fyodor's kimono. Fyodor simply took a step back and slightly leaned backwards simultaneously right before the blade was about to touch him. His hands still remained in the position that they were in, before the bout started and stayed that way, just as the attack Shougo launched had missed its mark. Enraged, Shougo in that single motion of the missed strike translated it into a spinning back kick as his back was already facing Fyodor. This meant that the kick delivered would be even faster than the attack before as it was non telegraphed and Fyodor was definitely within range. In his mind, Shougo knew that no human could dodge that and the possibility of guarding the kick with a sword was zero, since Fyodor's sword was still in its sheath. Not even Ryugyu, the strongest fighter he ever faced would be able to evade the upcoming attack. He propelled his leg straight towards Fyodor's throat, aiming to crush his breathing passage.

"Again... You're far too slow. If you competed in the North or West, you wouldn't even stand a chance against their mediocre swordsmen!"

The attack missed. Fyodor shifted his head ever so slightly to the right and by millimeters, the kick was off its target. Shougo's failed attempt sent shockwaves of fear into his soul. He knew very well that if he failed to retract his leg in time, the man in front of him had the capability to break in into half.

"You must've trained pretty hard to get these huge tree barks... Too bad, your technical ability isn't quite there yet."

Before the thought of pulling his legs back even occurred to Shougo, Fyodor had already gripped his hands on his calves. The next thing he knew was that he was already laid flat on the ground. The sweep that Fyodor countered him with was so smooth that he did not even notice that his right leg which had been firmly drilled to the surface of the ground had been uprooted. At the rate that the fight was going, Shougo had already prepared himself for the final stab to his major organs or parts of his body to end the duel. On the ground and rendered useless of his defensive techniques, Shougo closed his eyes and accepted the outcome. Even if did surpass Ryugyu, he would need another hundred years to stand on equal footing with the the man in front of him.

"I'm not killing you, and it's not because I wish to humiliate you but I don't want to waste your potential. The world is vast. You might think that I'm impossibly strong but I promise you, there are men out there who could end my life as easy as lifting a finger."

"I ask you respect this duel and kill me... There's no point living, knowing that no matter how hard I train, I could never match up to you in my lifetime."

"Match up to me? Surpass me. Explore the world. Maybe then, you could find the puzzle piece to beating me... I'll give you a hint, take a ship and go down south. The  Maray Archipelago has much to offer."

Shougo remained on the ground and reflected on the amount of training he went through over the years, only to be defeated in such a humiliating manner. In the cave, not too far from his location, Arakan too, had a similar line of thinking. The two warriors who lost that day would definitely be destined by the ropes of fate to be pulled and met again in the future. Fyodor, who was fatigued from the journey, was very close to finding the cave Arakan was in.

"Damn Aracchi... You really took a beating from that Shougo guy. What's with those eyebags? You cried didn't you!"

"F-Fyo! No! I just didn't get enough sleep... Wait, what are you doing here?"

"To get you home obviously, you passed the test... You got a shit ton of training to do once you reach home. Can't believe you lost to that guy!"

"How did you know? Did you see the entire fight? I'm sorry I let you d-"

"Don't be ridiculous... The loss should make you wanna train harder. The tournament is in 6 days time, we got no time to waste."

Sniffling, Arakan followed Fyodor's lead and made his way to Chiho city. Although he did not verbalise it, he worried greatly over the tournament. Not even a single strike had land on Shogou, how was he supposed to beat Ryugyu, when Shogou himself failed to do so? At that point of time, Arakan wasn't even sure if he was actually stronger than he had been 2 years ago. After all, his first duel ended up  as a lost. About 3 hours passed before they made it out of the Miwaki Forest, now that Fyodor had a map that lead them out faster. After a little bit of walking, they were reunited with Kouji, who was seated on a bull carriage.

"Arakan! I'm glad you're safe. Your nose... What happened! Fyodor you bastard! What did you do to him?"

"Calm down old man! It wasn't me, he had a practice duel with the Hosoku heir and I wasn't around. I've settled the score though."

Arakan, who had no idea of Fyodor's encounter with Shougo was shocked at his statement.

"Wait... Fyo, you beat him?"

"I mean... obviously. He was too slow for me, I didn't even have to draw out my sword. He's still alive though, but he probably will be leaving Nippon soon, I doubt he'll be participating in the tournament."

Throughout the journey home, Arakan's mind was occupied, imagining how the fight between Fyodor and Shougo had turned out. The two of them were levels above him and that, further made Arakan doubt himself even more. He had to devise a plan to beat Ryugyu. Training alone would not suffice and a specific preparation had to be made to beat a man of his caliber. As if knowing what Arakan was thinking, Fyodor interjected his thoughts.

"You know, you're just 14. Don't overthink, right now, you shouldn't be thinking about your capabilities. Focus on recovering... And if you feel like you have made no progress from your two years of training, we'll eliminate that thought the day after tomorrow."

"Fyo, do you think I'll win the tournament?"

"That all depends on yourself. To be invincible, you need to know deep down there, that you are."

Fyodor pointed tapped his index finger on Arakan's heart as he spoke. Throughout the rest of the journey, Arakan fell asleep. Kouji and Fyodor, however, was wide awake, discussing on the deliveries and packing of rice that had to be done by the next day.