Black Blood: Awakening

Chapter Three: Spilled Secrets

--

Once everything was set in place, all of her training sessions were to take place in his rather spacious backyard for the time being. The first two weeks of Emi's training only consisted of learning a proper fighting stance, followed by learning basic punches and kicks.

And that was only the easy part. Now, she had to learn how to apply her flames to her punches, and so far... it wasn't going too smoothly.

"You're messing up! Do it again!" Kyo called out to her, "It's going to be real difficult for you to learn those Ara Gami strings if you can't even get the first punch down!"

"But--"

"You said that you wanted to get that fire of yours under control, right?"

"Yes, I do..." she said as she dug the tip of one of her shoes into the dirt a little, "It's just a bit frustrating, that's all."

"Hey, that's what training's for. Might as well suck it up... or you're going to owe me two meals a day from here on out. Should I get you a cookbook for your next birthday?"

After that, the purple-haired trainee sighed in response, "Okay, fine, I'll keep going."

"Hey, you're lucky that I'm only going soft on you for a little bit. If I gave you the training that my old man gave me, you wouldn't be able to walk for a month."

"That harsh?"

"That harsh. Now quit your whining and try again."

"Alright..." she said before she attempted the punch again, "Like this?"

"Almost. Do it again."

----

"So, let me get this straight. You managed to find a person who was willing to train my sister?" is what a young girl with shoulder length dark green hair asked.

"Uh-huh."

"And how did you convince this person?"

"I, uh..." Miyuki nervously said as she scratched her head, "I bribed this person with your sister's cooking."

With that, the green-haired girl known as Keiko Tsukino only sighed, "You've always had an odd track record of getting results, Miyuki. By the way, where are we going?"

"Nowhere special. I just want to spy on one of Emi's training sessions."

"Then what was the point of bringing me along? I just got over a head cold, you know."

"For insurance if I get caught... but come on! Aren't you even the least bit curious about who's training her?"

"No."

"Kei, you really need to get out more."

"No, I really don't. I'm fine. And I don't even know why I bothered to let you rope me into this crazy spying scheme of yours."

"Well, you had the chance to back out, and you didn't."

"I could be training right now."

"Liar. If you were going to sharpen those sword skills of yours, you would be doing them right now," the tall redhead said as she waved a finger in front of her friend's face, "By the way, it looks like we're almost there. I wonder how we're supposed to find a good spot without being noticed..."

"Yeah, it's called 'being discreet', and you're not very good at it, considering that you're usually loud," Keiko casually mused, "Not to mention the fact that you're about six feet tall... which is pretty unusual for a Japanese girl. It makes me look incredibly tiny when I'm compared to you."

Miyuki only shrugged at those words, "Hey, it was a pretty hard growth spurt."

"Same with that large chest of yours," the green-haired girl muttered, causing her friend to lightly smack her on the back of her head.

"Oh, shut up, Kei," Miyuki said as she looked at the piece of paper that she hastily scribbled the address on, "I think this is it... it is sort of a big house, huh?"

"If that's the case, imagine the backyard. They're probably training there, since the weather isn't too cold yet."

"You have a point. Question is, how the heck are we going to find a spot without being caught?"

"It's real easy. You just have to keep your distance at first, then find anything that you could hide behind, like a bush..." Keiko said before she trailed off, "...then again... you're not too good at hiding, either."

Miyuki could only make a face at those comments in response, "Thanks, Kei. Real encouraging. Look for a hiding spot with me."

----

"Now you're getting it! Again!"

After that, Emi's cries only intensified as she continued to throw the same punch over and over...

"Again!"

And after another punch, she simply sighed a bit and shook her hand a little, "Agh. I'm so sorry for stopping like that, Master Kyo..."

"You know, you really have a bad habit of overthinking. Just let everything go, will you?"

"Um... it's a bit impossible to do that sometimes. I mean..."

"More excuses, Emi?"

Upon hearing those words, she could only look up and notice an incredibly unamused look on his face, "Oh, dear. I'm so sorry..."

"Know what you can do for an apology? I think that fifty sit-ups will do," the Kusanagi heir said as he pointed at the ground, "Start doing 'em. Oh, and if you slow down or stop, I'm adding ten more."

She could only stare at him for a slight moment before she shrugged and began her forced task, "But what does this have to do with anything?"

"Oh. So you're complaining. Fine, ten more for you."

"Darn it..." she muttered to herself as she continued.

"I don't know why you worry and complain so much. I mean, that noisy friend of yours made a fool out of herself in public just so she could get me to train you. I'm sure that you don't want to disappoint her, right?"

After a short moment of silence, Emi finally spoke up, "No, I don't."

"Then keep going!"

----

'So she thinks that I'm not sneaky, huh?' Miyuki thought to herself as she began to inch her way towards the backyard, 'Whatever. I just have to see that training session, though.'

Ever since Emi told her that she was being "worked like a racehorse" for the past two weeks, the redhead's curiosity seemed to grow a bit.

Unfortunately, "a bit" was quite an understatement, considering that she was still attempting to find a good spot to hide in.

As she turned around, she noticed Keiko who was still standing on the base of the small hill, wordlessly pointing to a corner that was basically covered by a somewhat large hedge. In response, Miyuki gave a thumbs up and attempted to make herself comfortable in her temporary spot by lying on her side.

'Hey, not bad. A bit uncomfortable, but I'm finally fitting into something for once. Now let's see if I can get a good view of this,' she thought as she peeked through the leaves... and there they were.

Her best friend was still in the middle of her punishment, and all she could hear seemed to sound like another interrogation. Questions like "Why are you worrying so much?" and "Didn't you want to control those flames of yours?" were being repeated over and over.

'Jeez, Emi wasn't lying when she said that he kept running her into the ground, huh?' she thought... but then everything halted for her once she felt something crawling on her leg...

----

"Okay. Sixty. Finally..." Emi said and calmly laid down on the ground, closing her eyes and catching her breath... only for her to be 'rewarded' with a splash of water to her face, "Ack! What the?!"

As soon as she sat up, she noticed a rather unamused Kyo who was holding a water bottle, "Hey, who said that you could rest? You still owe me a proper punch, you know."

Before she could say anything, she simply decided to suck it up and stand up. After all, she really didn't want to do another set of sit-ups.

"Fine," she only mumbled in response as she squeezed some water out of her shirt and hair, "I'm ready."

"Good. Foot forward, and--"

"Squirrel!"

Upon hearing that, the two could only look at each other in confusion...

"Um... Master Kyo... what was that?" the purple-haired girl asked.

"Ignore it. Probably someone just walking by and freaking out because a squirrel jumped on top of them or something."

"Well, if you say so," Emi responded and attempted another punch, "Is that good?"

"Much better. Doesn't really hurt when you don't think about it too much, huh?"

"Yeah. I guess I was still worried about my flames hurting me."

"Hey, that's why you're here... sort of. So, what follow up punch do you want to practice next?"

After mulling it over for a few moments, she was ready to reply, but was interrupted by some loud rustling, "Huh. I think that it's that odd squirrel again."

As soon as she said that, a familiar person squealed as she scurried through the hedge and landed in the corner of the backyard, clearly leaving them in utter disbelief.

"Well, Emi..." Kyo started before chuckling a bit, "I didn't know that the human bullhorn had squirrel relatives."

"Oh, no. It's Miyuki," she whispered before hiding her face behind one of her hands, "What is she doing here?"

"That's what I'd like to know, too. Hope you don't mind," he said as he walked to the redhead who was covered in leaves, squirming on the ground, and cursing at the squirrel that just scurried off, "Hey, you!"

Once she heard that, Miyuki simply stopped and looked up... and she knew that she was done for. She could only laugh nervously as she stood up and faced him, ignoring the leaves that were embedded in her hair and her school uniform.

"Okay, before you roast me, it's not what you think," she hastily said before spitting a leaf out, "Sorry. Leaf."

"Uh-huh. And what were you doing over there?"

"I was... visiting...?"

"I'm pretty sure that people who visit me stop at the front door first."

"Uh, I was... going to give Emi her homework... and--"

"What are you talking about, Miyuki? We're not in the same class at school!" Emi responded, causing her friend to smack her hand against her head.

"Darn it, would you work with me for once, Emi?!"

"Well, it's the truth..." the purple-haired girl said as she shrugged.

"You know what, never mind. Okay, so here's the thing," the redhead started, "You see..."

"Oh, I can't wait to hear this next excuse of yours," the Kusanagi heir sarcastically said before he turned his attention to another girl who was arriving, "Hm? And who's that girl?"

"Her? She's my friend from another school."

Of course Miyuki wasn't lying about that. The somewhat annoyed green-haired girl who was clad in a sky blue school uniform could only sigh as she looked at her tall friend, "You got yourself into another mess, didn't you, Miyuki?"

"Wait, what?! You told me to hide there!"

"Thank you for dragging me into your house of lies," Keiko calmly said, ignoring the redhead's annoyed pout that signaled that she was being sold out, "Now, if you'll excuse us..."

Before she could continue, she glanced at the person who was standing in front of Miyuki... and he seemed to look a bit familiar to her.

That brown hair, those brown eyes, that cocky demeanor... there was no mistaking it.

"Wait. Kyo... Kusanagi...?" the younger girl said as she pointed at him, "This is the person who is training my sister?!"

Almost instantly, the young heir turned around and noticed that Emi simply nodded in silence, signifying that they were indeed sisters.

"Emi... you never told me that you had a sister..."

"You never asked, Master Kyo. Besides, I never expected her to actually come here."

"I see," he said as he faced the now fuming green-haired girl, "And what's with you all of a sudden? What'd I do to get you all hot and bothered, huh?"

"You know, you'd probably remember me if I had a certain item of mine."

"Huh? I've dealt with people who fought with a lot of crap in their hands. You're gonna have to be a little more specific there."

"Does a katana ring a bell in that head of yours?"

"Barely. And besides, if you're her sister, you might as well spill the beans. What's the family name? Not that I really care or anything."

"It's Tsukino," Keiko curtly said.

"Oh? I think that name sounds a little familiar. You're the brat girl who's next in line for your family's sword arts, huh?"

Before Keiko could say anything else, Miyuki simply yanked her aside, "Uh, heh. Well, at least you had a nice reunion, eh?"

"No," the two of them said at the same time, surprising the redhead.

"Oh... okay... I guess we'll be leaving, then. Call me when you get home, Emi!"

And with that, she promptly ran out of the backyard and headed home with her friend in tow, leaving him in utter confusion.

"Um, Master Kyo..." Emi nervously said as she walked towards him.

"Before you say anything else, I want you to know that you have some very weird friends."

"I'm so sorry. I really didn't expect either of them to come here," she said as he shook his head.

"Forget it. I guess that means that you have a lot to explain about that family line of yours, Emi Tsukino."

With that, she straightened up and simply made eye contact with him, "It's an odd story. And it's kind of why I have these flames of mine."

"I see. Well, you might as well tell me while we're having dinner. It is getting a bit late, right?"

"Well, um..." she said as she tapped her cheeks in a vain attempt to hide another blush, "Oh, yes, sure. It's almost six, isn't it?"

"Yep. And you're blushing again," he said as he held her chin a bit, "Am I still that attractive to you?"

"Oh, stop it. It's just a little chilly, that's all," she replied and pushed his hand away.

"Alright, if you allegedly say so. Now go dry your hair and change your clothes."

As she nodded and headed inside, he could only think to himself as he followed her...

'What the heck have I gotten myself into?'

--

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