Acer Palmatum: Alternate Route

Chapter 1: Backfire

Kazuha's plan was simple: Exhaust the cursed blade until it reveals its old, broken form and release Amenoma Yuuya from its control.

Only, it did not work as planned.

Even when it was obvious that it had been damaged by years of improper maintenance in its gruelling journey from Sneznaya to Inazuma, the blade persisted in its twisted goal of facing the Raiden Shogun to prove that the blade smithing art of Isshin was still worthy. In Kazuha's hand, it sliced through ronin and kairagi ruthlessly, despite the former noting on how difficult it became to wield it the longer the fight went on. It seemed that it could break at any moment, yet the blade was still as sturdy as jade. All of the fighting was beginning to take a toll on the wandering samurai. It was when the last ronin was defeated that Kazuha fell to his knees, panting from exhaustion.

"Kazuha! Are you alright?!" Paimon asked in distraught.

"This blade...is more stubborn then I expected," he muttered. "He's clearly on the verge of destruction, yet...after all of that fighting, he endured. If I go any further, the blade...will rob me of all my energy."

"So what, you're just going to let him win!?" Lumine yelled.

"Yeah! If you stop now, he'll cause more harm!" Paimon added.

"No," Kazuha shook his head. "This...was part of the deal. If the blade is able to prove its endurance, I must allow him to discard Amenoma Yuuya and possess me, so that he could face...the Raiden Shogun."

The two travellers looked at the Anemo user as if he had went insane. Kazuha was not the type to give up this easily, right?

"No, you can't do this!" Paimon insisted.

"Please...don't worry about me. Remember...what I said before? As long you two are around, I'm sure...things will eventually go the right way." It was clear in the way he spoke that the blade had exhausted him. "Just because I'm letting him take over me...it doesn't mean I've given up."

The travellers looked at him with hesitation on his words, but in the end, there was no stopping him.

"I trust your words." Lumine said.

At this, Kazuha gave a faint smile before his eyes turned to the blade in his hand. "Alright, you've won. Do...as you wish."

Nothing seemed to happen at first. That was until Amenoma Yuuya's body suddenly collapsed to the ground with a big 'thud'. Kazuha began to groan in pain as he gripped the cursed blade's hilt tightly, with the blade glowing brightly with an ominous aura. Lumine couldn't tell if this was a normal reaction to being possessed or that Kazuha was actually trying to fight off the sword's control. Either way, things weren't looking so good. After a few seconds, all seemed calm. The wandering samurai slowly stood up and opened his eyes.

Instead of the normal red, they were purple. The prized Isshin blade was now in control.

"Hmph, I must say, I respect you for staying true to the deal, Kaedehara Kazuha," the blade said through Kazuha's body, his voice gruff and full of malice. "Worry not, for you will be the last puppet I'll ever use once I triumph over the Raiden Shogun!"

"Hey! Intruders!" a voice shouted behind them. The three (four if you count the blade as separate) turned to see a group of bandits led by a kairagi. "You think you can just snoop around our hideout all you wa-" the kairagi didn't have time take action, for his throat was immediately sliced. The leader collapsed to the ground lifeless, to the shock of his henchmen and the travellers. It all happened so fast that it felt like time was stopped for a second.

As the kairagi laid dead in a pool of his own blood, his henchmen watched as 'Kazuha' slowly walked towards them, with the blade in his hand covered in blood. The white haired man emitted an aura so intimidating that the bandits did not have the courage to draw their blades out. They instead ran towards the exit.

The traveller and her companion could not believe what they saw. Kazuha actually killed someone. Someone who was vulnerable, who didn't even have time to pull out their weapon. However, they quickly reminded themselves that this was not the real Kazuha, but instead the malicious blade in his hand.

"Nuisances. Nothing but obstacles in my pursuit," the sword said. One could tell from the tone of his voice that he had zero regard for the life he had taken. He then turned to Lumine and Paimon. "As for you two, I will let you live. You're lucky that you didn't block the exit." The possessed man proceeded to walk out of the hideout. One could only assume that he was sprinting towards the Raiden Shogun's abode.

"Ugh, that stupid sword!" Paimon said in anger. "He's gonna get Kazuha in trouble! We need to go after him!" However, realisation struck the pixie. "But, what about Amenoma Yuuya? Is he still alive?"

The blonde girl went to the unconscious samurai to check on him. She placed her hand on his neck to detect a pulse. To her relief, it was still beating.

"He's still breathing," Lumine said. "But he's knocked out cold. Seems like the sword drained him of almost all his energy." She stood up and turned to her companion. "The Kamisato Estate is nearby. We'll bring him there first before we go after the blade. As for the kairagi, there's not much we can do about him anymore. We have no choice but to leave him here."

"Sounds like a plan to Paimon. Let's hurry!"