Vincy was taking a break from practice while drinking from his water bottle, which he had placed in Taro's backpack. Behind him, someone was sneaking up without making any sound. Suddenly, that person jumped toward Vincy and aimed their weapon at him.
Taro arrived just in time, blocking the strike with his sword and protecting Vincy from being stabbed. He pushed the attacker away with his blade, creating distance between himself and the mysterious attacker.
That attacker turned out to be a girl. She had pink ponytail hair, a Japanese outfit decorated with cherry blossom flower patterns, and a kitsune mask that hid her identity. In her hands, she held a pink-colored katana that looked like it was made from sakura leaves.
The girl tried again and again to kill Vincy. She kept dashing forward and striking many times, but her attacks were useless against Taro's defensive technique, as he blocked all of them. After many failed attempts, she stood still, catching her breath from all the fast movement.
Meanwhile, Taro helped Vincy get up, helping him stand on his own. Both of them got ready to strike together if needed. Suddenly, the girl began to speak in Japanese. Taro and Vincy looked at each other with confused expressions. They didn't understand what she was saying. She repeated it again, this time in English:
"I said... what are you doing? Stop getting in my way! I must kill that devil!"
Taro was shocked by what he had just heard... how the girl had called Vincy, his own friend, a devil… not even human. Vincy quickly jumped into the conversation:
"What are you talking about?! I'm not a devil!"
"Don't lie!" She shouted. "I'll make you pay for everything you and your kindred have done!"
"I don't understand anything…" Vincy replied, "but you tried to kill me when I wasn't even fighting. That's cowardly!"
"I'll do whatever it takes to fulfill my objective," she said, "and my mission is killing you!"
Vincy grew angry. His hands began to burn with fire. At that moment, the girl raised her hand toward him and summoned a magical circle.
That circle was shaped exactly like a cherry blossom flower. She suddenly shouted {Sakura Rope}.
A magical pink rope came out of the circle, wrapping around Vincy's body. It bound him completely, leaving him unable to move as he fell to the ground.
The girl then pointed her katana at Taro and said:
"I didn't want to fight you, but you've left me no choice. I must get past you to kill him, so prepare yourself."
The reason she didn't want to harm Taro was because she believed he was a human, not a devil. During that moment, Taro stared at the ground in silence, still processing what he had just heard. Vincy saw how his friend was frozen, lost in thought.
"Yo, ol' pal," Vincy said, "don't waste your time on this and let me be. Just forgive me… for not telling you anything."
After a few seconds, Taro slowly stepped forward, standing in front of Vincy with his sword ready. He gave Vincy his back, silently choosing to protect him.
It doesn't matter,Taro thought. Devil or human, he's still my best friend. I'll find a way to bring back his humanity. And until that time comes, no matter what, I won't let anyone hurt him!
At the same time, Taro made sure not to hurt the girl. Until he figured out a way to solve all of this, he would only defend and dodge. He also started to wonder: who was this girl? And how did she know about Vincy's secret?
Suddenly, the girl used her skill {Flash Step}, a movement technique that allowed her to teleport to a specific nearby spot. She was targeting his back, however, he could notice her, all thanks to his sensing.
He shoved her back again, forcing her to regain distance. She landed firmly, then vanished and reappeared again. Over and over, she kept using {Flash Step}, coming at him from different directions. Yet none of her attacks could land. Taro blocked every strike, his feet sliding across the grass, holding his ground.
Suddenly, she used her {Sakura Rope} again with her hand. Taro dodged all her incoming ropes. Then after many fails, she aimed with both hands at him, casting a larger magical circle that summoned a bigger and tighter rope. Taro admitted he wouldn't be able to dodge it.
However, his body, eyes, and the sword he held started glowing in blue. He swung his sword at sonic speed, tearing that magical rope into pieces.
The girl was surprised, yet confused about how Taro could do all of this with just an iron sword and no magic? Vincy was encouraging Taro at that moment, making fun of the girl. She used her rope again, binding his mouth to shut him up.
Taro started getting exhausted, due to his training without taking a break. The girl said at that moment:
"I'm impressed how you dodged everything! This time, dodging won't help you anymore!"
After saying that, she pulled another katana from the first one, that katana could multiply, becoming two swords. Vincy was shocked, and confused why Taro didn't try attacking once. On the other hand, Taro was getting uncomfortable, realizing how powerful this girl truly was.
Once again, she used {Flash Step} after glowing. Taro started glowing again as well, increasing his swiftness and defense. She began slashing from many directions: left side, right side, in front of him, and even behind him. After blocking many times, his glowing started fading in and out, until it vanished completely.
For some reason, she stopped slashing for a few seconds. Taro couldn't detect her, because he was too tired, and his senses got weaker. Suddenly, she appeared in front of him with an unexpected move. She slashed with both of her katanas at Taro's outer skin, around the stomach area. It wasn't very deep, yet painful.
Taro remembered the moment Vincy got stabbed by the dark creature. Regretting everything, Taro started blaming himself, wishing he was the one who got stabbed that time.
The duel wasn't over yet, after landing that slash, she kicked him on that same area. Taro felt pain all over again. Suddenly, his heart started beating fast, his stomach began bleeding, and he couldn't stand on his own anymore. He dropped his sword to the ground, covering his wound with both hands, and crouched down.
The ability {Sharp Cut} the girl used was the reason, it caused bleeding and fast heartbeat. She left him behind, going toward where Vincy was bound.
Vincy was shocked, seeing Taro like that. Before she could kill him, she cut the rope that was binding Vincy's mouth.
"Any last words?" She asked, pointing her blade at him.
"Hmph. I don't care!" Vincy responded with a confident face. "Just don't lay a finger on him!"
"Heh, how beautiful," she mocked, "a devil worries about others? Don't worry, I'll heal him... but first, I have to get rid of something nasty."
Vincy closed his eyes, not caring about what came next. It wasn't his first time to experience the moment before death after all.
At the perfect moment, Taro blocked her slash before it could cut off Vincy's head. He pushed her to the ground with his sword, causing her mask to fall off. Then he sent away her katanas with his sword, leaving her defenseless. He pointed his sword at her... until he recognized her face.
June 21, 2007 – Thursday. (Flashback)
The mysterious Japanese girl in the mask was a student from Taro's school. Her name was YukikoHiroshi. Taro met her that day after finishing his exams. At that moment, Taro was in a hurry, running down the hallway to get home before his mother traveled.
Suddenly, he crashed into Yukiko while she was holding her books, and they both fell to the ground. Taro apologized right away and began picking up her books quickly.
"Are you from A-class?" Yukiko asked suddenly.
"Right. How did you know?" Taro asked back.
"I saw you enter A-class before," Yukiko responded. "Don't apologize again, please. I'm YukikoHiroshi from C-class."
Yukiko smiled as she spoke, bowing while introducing herself.
"I'm TaroAbodo, nice to meet you!" Taro replied, also bowing.
Yukiko had never had friends before. This was the first time someone spoke to her kindly. She was often harassed by other girls, while boys ignored her for being foreign.
Back to the present day, Taro helped her stand up, offering his arm while looking away. Yukiko was confused, why didn't he finish her? Taro bowed at her with a smile, just like the first time. Yukiko recognized him immediately, yet was still confused, since Taro no longer looked like the boy from back then. Moments later, he went to help Vincy, cutting the ropes that were binding him.
After a few seconds, the cut's effect came back, causing Taro even more pain than before. That's because the boosting magic Enzo had cast on him vanished away. Vincy ran to Taro, shouting his name and checking on him. Yukiko was shaken after hearing his name. She had almost killed her classmate without knowing. Suddenly, the air became warm... Vincy's madness was the reason.
Vincy lost control and aimed a huge {Blazing Strike} at Yukiko, blaming her for what she had done.
"You…!" Vincy growled. "It was your fault! Now suffer!"
He collapsed right after casting those powerful flames, falling face-first to the ground. Yukiko could have dodged the flames… but she didn't. She blamed herself, regretting going this far.
Taro stood in front of her, still bleeding, and stopped the flames with his blade. He successfully blocked them, but the sword broke.
Sorry for breaking your sword, Father,Taro thought.
Everything turned black to Taro.
Then… he collapsed to the ground!