Saikō no Chitsujo

Chapter 20: Homecoming

“Hah!” Wave slid back, gripping his wooden sword tightly then dashing forward, a blur of blue by his left causing him to turn instinctively, a strike to the back of his leg knocking him to his knees. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead, he clenched his knuckles so tightly that they had gone pale and his heavy breathing was interrupted by the occasional grunt. “Not…yet,” he grasped the sand beneath his palms and urged himself to stand, persisting in the internal battle with his aching body. But the more he moved, the more his body resisted; his joints, muscles and even his eyes ached from either being struck or overused. Glancing at the sandbags strapped to his wrists, Wave curled into a ball and made a move to stand, a swift strike from Esdeath’s wooden sword knocking him down.

“B..but general?”

“You’re clearly in no state to continue, Wave,” she switched her sword to her right and crouched beside him, “While I commend your grit, you need to be aware of your physical limits.”

He looked down with a frown, his balled-up fists slowly opening as he replied, “Understood, general.”

“Good. Freshen up, have something to eat and get some rest, that’s an order soldier.”

“Yes ma’am.” Esdeath spared him a final glance before she stood and exited the training arena.

While she had practised and had shown considerable progress in mastering the Arashi sword style, Esdeath had noted the Yeager’s growth as they practised the arts Arata had compiled for each of them, mentally acknowledging and complimenting his efforts, an act she doubted she’d do in person.

Opening the doors to the common room, Esdeath’s gaze met Kurome’s, who froze, her mouth slightly parted with a cookie before it. “Welcome back, General,” she dropped the snack back into the small brown bag before her, rising to greet her superior.

Acknowledging her salute, Esdeath stood behind a chair adjacent to Kurome’s, silently observing her actions.

“Kurome.”

“Yes, General?”

“That is the one Arata gave you, correct?”

Kurome glanced from the bag on her thighs to Esdeath who gestured at them, replying, “Yes, they are.”

“So compared to the empire’s body-enhancing drugs you usually consume, how do these fare?”

Her eyes widened at the statement. Of course, Esdeath was aware of her actions; the general had done a thorough background check on every member of the Yeagers. If she wished to put her trust in anyone, she needed to know about them, even Arata was not exempt from that.
The general curled a brow at the silent Kurome, the black-haired ex-assassin finally speaking up while being hopeful that her reply would suffice.

“Unlike the drugs, these feel more like supplements. While it was difficult at first to discard the enhancers completely and trust in these,” she raised the bag to emphasize, “I eventually realized these were better.”

“Hm?” Esdeath leaned forward with an inquisitive smile, resting her arms on the chair before her, “How exactly?”

“Well…” Kurome paused, mentally piecing and concluding her reply, “I don’t get the bursts of energy the old drugs usually gave me, but these help me better in the long run and the effects are more or less permanent.”

“So it raises your stamina?”

“Yes, general,” she replied with a nod.

“Arata-san never fails to amaze me. At this point, it would seem that he is helping us far more than we’ve helped him.”