( Training begins no:1 > Haru {AOTE:4} )
Meanwhile, Jinso and Haru were one step ahead. They were both capable of handling their powers quickly. Both Haru and Jinso had reached the initial stage of their first level of mastery.
Nobaya was the one overseeing them, and not anyone else. However, Jinso's wound was quite serious. It wasn't wise to let him train right now, but Jinso felt the exact opposite; he felt he had to start his training no matter what.
"Jinso, this won't work. You must remember if Master Daisho finds out, he will surely do something to you, me, and Nobaya. Understand that what you need right now is rest," Haru said, trying to stop him.
"Haru... Nobaya... I'm fine. Perhaps only my sword can heal this wound," Jinso replied, not ready to listen to anything they said.
"Nobaya, why are you keeping only me aside? Sai is also injured, yet he has started. Then why not me?"
"Jinso, each of you possesses a different skill. Your power is not the same as Sai's. What his powers can achieve might be something your power cannot do for this wound."
"No. I must start too."
"That is not possible, Jinso."
Nobaya insistently made him stay inside the room. However, Haru had permission to go for training.
"Haru, don't worry about Jinso. Believe in yourself and work hard," Nobaya said.
Haru set off alone. Even as he walked away, his heart was heavy with concern for Jinso's condition. Nevertheless, he moved forward, reminding himself that he had a duty to fulfill.
Haru went straight to another side of the forest, where he was completely alone. He didn't have the large bundle of papers; instead, he carried only a few small slips of paper. He placed them on a stone in front of him, along with a small box.
Afterward, he sat a short distance away and closed his eyes for a while.
He gathered every stray thought within him, binding them together like beads on a single string. He was certain that only by eliminating inner fear could one become a true Sepahan. Suddenly, a gentle breeze brushed against him. As it touched him, his body grew slightly cold. Haru snapped his eyes open. Confused by the sudden chill, he looked up at the sky, but there were no rain clouds.
As he sat there wondering what it was, a single petal of a Sakura flower drifted down beside him. Yet, there wasn't a Sakura tree anywhere in sight.
Thinking about this, an old memory resurfaced everything that old man had told him. Back then, he thought the old man was just talking aimlessly, much like the images he had seen in Samara's house. He realized then that everything had been predestined. Lost in these thoughts, he slowly began to transition back into his training.
Despite that, those thoughts kept recurring within him. He was unable to bring his mind to a state of stability. He tried again and again, but he just couldn't do it.
Haru slowly stood up and stood there for a while, gazing at the nature surrounding him. He wanted to awaken his power, but why couldn't he? He raised his head and looked at the sky.
[Whooshhhh!!]
A peculiar cold breeze swept past him. That was when another thought crossed his mind.
It was this:
"If the decisions we make are the right ones, they will be very tough and difficult at first. Something good won't happen that easily. The right path only emerges from something strenuous."
Haru turned back and returned to his seat. For a while, he sat there with his eyes closed, calming his mind. Many things entered his mind again, but this time, Haru tied them all together like beads on a string.
"You can no longer keep me bound," he said to those thoughts within himself. Along with that, he gripped his sword tightly. His sword's inner energy awakened, and its vibrations intensified.
On the paper he had placed there earlier, it was written:
{Stage > 1: SOUL ECHO}