Death and Taxes (Mura, Medeia)

Her intrusion grabbed the attention of everyone outside. Disrespectfully making her way towards the gate when one of the seniors had already warned her, then outright assaulting them with what appeared to be magical means was more than grounds for initiating their self-defense codes. The authorities would understand, too, once they’d apprehended her… if they ever got the chance.

Surrounding her at first with many meters of distance, she would see that all of them carried bamboo swords – rather unfit for confronting someone who sent a larger male crashing into a wall with what looked like a mere poke, but the strength in numbers could at least slow her down. They wouldn’t know that – they were vigilant enough to attempt to stop her…

One charged her way with a swing, followed by two others, then three. They had airtight formations, but… their destructive power was so minimal, so discardable in contrast to hers. Whatever she did, Medeia would have no problem swiping them off their feet…

Meanwhile…

“Huuuuuuuuuuh? That pressure…” the old Head Master commented, breaking his focus and looking up at the taller swordsman he was meditating alongside with, “It’s like when you came back to Japan, but… I can see it. It’s bright, shivering, but… most of all, demanding. I smell violent lilac in the air, today – do you intend to deal with it, Mura?”

“Continue your meditation down here, Sensei. I’ll be right back…” Mura promised before rising back up on his feet, still clad in his white haori and black hakama. He was merely practicing kata, and had ended the day with meditation. Kyūken let him be for a change, since he was doing what Kyūken would’ve been doing at this time – meditate, quiet, all by himself and then challenge someone at night. The Breath of Day and Night would keep him awake in the long night as the reckless swordsman sought further strength… but life had changed.

Mura was on his way out – with every step he took towards the front door, his Spiritual Pressure grew. Whatever scene he’d walk into… wouldn’t be a pleasant one. But he’d arrive, and Medeia would have to deal with him to fulfil her job.

The men were easily defeated by her. Shame was brought to their dojo and their self-esteem, but Medeia didn’t seem to care one bit about their school’s legacy or its tenets… and let’s not even mention the collateral damage on the wall. She was here to get something from them, and she wouldn’t take no for an answer, huh?

Mura didn’t see her abilities, but he felt it. Destructive powers danced by her hand, and he couldn’t take it easy anymore – this wasn’t just a challenger the likes of Meninas… this was an enemy. And their school existed to defeat enemies. He zoned in, something he hadn’t done ever since he returned to Japan. It didn’t feel like a duel anymore… this was a life-or-death situation.

… His seniors were on the ground outside. The moment Medeia walked into the dojo’s blessed hall, she’d see him – in the midst of the hall, on the mat floor, clad in the school’s uniform and with a rusty tsurugi drawn from its sheath. Quickly, one certain trait could be spotted on him – he was one-armed.

What was her purpose? Was she some sort of terrorist? Did she have beef with their dojo? Or did she just want to fight and didn’t care about the consequences? He did… want to know just what on earth drove her to do what she just did, but at the same time… he was understandably furious. “Whatever reason brought you here-”

“JUST! KILL! HER!”

“Damn it, FINE!!!” Mura’s voice burst out, visibly incoherent to his previous words – as if he was interrupted by an entity that was hovering next to him. An entity that many in the dojo had come to know as the founder himself… and he was impatient. An opponent was making an attempt at their dojo’s integrity, harming their men and disrupting their harmony. She reeked of ill intent, and words wouldn’t get him anywhere.

Mura initiated, damn the consequences – he’d show her that he was a cut above the rest of the members here, an attempt to close the distance with a sudden burst of agility via Fa Jin. A moment ago, he stood still with a straight back, and the next moment, he turned into a human bullet aiming to spook her and raise her guard.

Only when she was in a defensive position could he push her out of the dojo’s inner sanctum. But he knew nothing… no knowledge of the power she commanded. He went in blind, forced by the founder’s impatient and reckless nature.

Haha.

Hahaha. Who would’ve thought? This intruder waltzing in all confident in herself, intent to take something that clearly had nothing to do with anyone here – whether her arrival was under the order of recovering a debt or a vendetta, she carried herself so elegantly while leaving his brethren in disarray. And upon initiating combat, expecting to catch her off guard, she literally… released forks of lightning.

Lightning… I don’t think you caught that- lightning. From his perspective, it was a blitz followed by lines of sharp, contoured and bright violet rays making sharp turns here and there before reaching him, which he responded to with likely his only defense-focused technique. With each swing from Harukami, a sort of net of cutting air manifested itself in front of him, somehow redirecting the lightning bolts… perhaps because the lightning was energy exciting particles in a certain trajectory, but Mura didn’t excel in chemistry…

Sorry, physics.

Either way, it meant that he couldn’t choke out the lightning – it still wreaked havoc on the inner walls of the dojo and just cost their administration hundreds of thousands of yen. “Got some sort of vendetta against- LET ME TALK, KYŪKEN – against the Head Master? Either way, out of fucking line.”

… Shit, he could still see her electric aura surround his wind shield. In the end, he couldn’t block all of it – he had to be careful not to make direct contact with the bolts.

” I will cross whatever line is necessary in order to complete my objective.”

… Psychopath, check. Would the governor and the authorities understand if Mura found a way to kill her here? Could he, even? She seemed like the type of person who’d booby trap an entire building before knocking on the back door, just an emblem of danger in every aspect of her angered being. And she responded by levitating, similar to how Meninas soared above the dojo’s center during their spar… but this freak’s performance looked much more refined and effortless.

Mura mentally prepared to face another fork of lightning, but she surprised him with the manifestation of light shuriken, all crackling in the same characteristic, destructive energy that surged as purple Reishi all around her… the walls! Was she trying to tear down the entire place?! Mura knew how dangerous it was to be buried under rubble, for a similar event had prevented him from destroying that scorpion-shaped demon back in China!

He couldn’t allow that! Performing an entire 360-degree horizontal swing, Mura’s rusty blade released a sharp wave of Reishi that pushed the wind apart, creating wind scythes that honed in on certain spots on which the witch’s shurikens were about to collide. However, he ended up leaving thinner cuts from his attack on the walls regardless, even if the dense wind scythes clashed with her lightning molds.

“What are you doing?! Forget the dojo, she’s right there!”

“Over my dead body!”

Of course, Kyūken was more than ready to prioritize destroying the enemy over protecting the dojo, but this wasn’t just a meeting place. It meant more to these students than the ghost or the intruding mercenary thought, and Mura refused to let her tear it down… even if the Head Master owed her anything. But he had to shrink his attacks, or otherwise he’d end up the culprit when the foundation would crumble and tear down the ceiling.

He still had that habit that Akira talked about, too fast a process from channeling his Reishi to releasing it in a burst from his blade. If he could be a bit more patient, then…

Wait… those lightning shuriken gave him an idea. But he needed an opening to escape her view.

Her venomous words summoned an angered vein on his forehead, but he had no time to talk back! He had to apply the new technique he was trying to master back at Akira’s mansion, for it easily dealt with multi-directing attacks like those random bolts erupting from the intruder’s form. Problem was…

He’d only tried that under low pressure! He had trouble focusing right now – his mind was stressing out bearing witness to the damage that his precious dojo was taking, and-

“WHAT ARE YOU JUST STANDING THERE FOR?!”

-And Kyūken was just standing there, bickering as always!

But as if a sign from the heavens, this sorceress had turned her back on him, entirely focusing on the destruction she was causing. He had only moments to strike, so he did what he was already so strongly accustomed to – with a swift swing of his rusty tsurugi, air was pushed back, and his Reishi entered the air to create Kamaitachi… but his Reishi clung to Harukami, still.

Just like back then… don’t move the sword, move the air! Just the air, only the air!

Pulling Harukami back, Mura’s Reishi emitted small gushes and took hold of the air around, while Mura’s eyes were closed to ignore the damage that his dojo was taking. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to focus hard enough for this new technique to work.

…

The inner walls had suffered many burn wounds, but the old place still stood tall. It had only been a few seconds, but all of a sudden, Medeia’s lightning bolts wouldn’t meet stone and tape – they would meet a flying air disc as large as a person! The air disc drove around the walls and the room, swiftly cutting off the threads of destruction cast by the foe, and it was revealed that Mura had unarmed himself. Inside of the large air disc was Harukami itself, spinning fast enough to turn into a blur veiled by raging winds.

The air disc was still connected to Mura via a thread of Reishi. This was what Akira tried to teach him – he had plenty of Reiryoku, but his lack of visualization and focus prevented him from making full use of it. Up until now, he’d limited himself to martial arts, simply infusing his body with Reishi to increase its strength. However, Reishi was far more versatile than that, and Mura was finally taking his first new steps into its vast potential.

And with a flick of his hand moving downwards, the ascending air disc did a dive, aiming straight for the flying witch. Split her in two!