"Teach me," the word just slipped out of Kanon's mouth.
The middle-aged man, understanding what the kid meant to say, sighed.
"So, you can speak, after all." The middle-aged man sighed in relief and scratched his head, giving him a troubled look.
"Kid, I understand you want to learn, but it doesn't work like that. Bring your parents, and then we can talk." Beryl was gently persuaded.
"But I don't have parents; they recently died in a plane accident," I say in a flat voice.
Beryl sighed, hearing that. [Way to go, me; I walked straight into a landmine.]
Seeing the kid become expressionless, Beryl had an idea to cheer this kid up: "Say, kid, want to try swinging a blade?" He smiled.
The old man then invited me in and guided me to a large dojo hall.
"Give me a second," the old man said, leaving me there for a second, and took out two short wooden swords from the shelf.
"Hold this," the old man said, handing me a short sword according to my size.
The old man then took a sword stance. "Come on, kid, you want to learn swordsmanship, don't you? Let me see if you have the talent for it."
I stared at the wooden sword in my hand and back at the old man. I observe his stance, trying to mimic the old man. I couldn't quite explain it, but something inside me urged me to adjust my footing slightly, raise the sword a bit higher, and straighten my back.
{You have acquired the skill: Mimic.}
{Mimic:
A skill that allows the user to copy people's physical movements.}
"..."
Beryl watched the young teen as he held a sword for the first time. Whenever a new student joins his dojo, he conducts this observation to gauge their natural reaction. So far, he has seen a range of responses from kids: excitement, fear, boredom, and even disappointment. Beryl pays close attention to each reaction, using these observations to determine the best approach for teaching his new students.
And this time as well, Beryl observes the kid staring at the sword. The kid looks at the sword with determination. [That's good. The kid seems motivated.] Then the kid adopts a stance similar to his own, which Beryl notices. The stance is not perfect… Then suddenly, the kid adjusts his stance, making it perfect.
Beryl's brow rose a bit in slight surprise.
[Interesting.]
"Well, kid, come at me."
Kanon, taking a deep breath, dashed and swung the wooden sword, which, as he expected, was easily blocked.
Thud!
A dull sound of wooden swords clashing reverberated.
Even though he is being guided by his 'True Martial Art Skill,' The old man was still able to block his attack with ease.
Kanon lunged again, sweat tracing paths down his forehead. His wooden blade cut through the air in wide arcs—swing, thrust, low feint into a spinning slash. Each move was met with an effortless deflection, the old man barely shifting his weight, his grip steady as stone.
Kanon's arms ached, as his stamina was going down, but he didn't pause. He couldn't. He wasn't trying to win. He was watching.
Every clash was a lesson. The old man didn't react—he anticipated. Before Kanon even moved, the response was already in motion. Subtle steps. Bare rotations of the wrist. That's where the power lay.
Kanon changed tempo—two quick strikes, a pause, then a rising jab. Still parried. Still controlled. But… there, a flicker. The old man's pinky tightened on the hilt. Was that… tension?
"You're not just swinging blindly anymore," the old man said, voice calm, eyes sharp. "What are you thinking, kid?"
Kanon breathed out through gritted teeth, his stamina running out. "That I'm not fast enough. Not strong enough. But maybe—maybe I can understand you. Maybe I can reenact those moves. One stroke at a time."
The master offered the ghost of a smile. "Then you're already doing better than most."
"I'm going to hit you this time." Despite his extreme fatigue, Kanon gazed at Beryl with a defiant expression. 'I am not going to give up yet,' Beryl was told by those resolute green eyes of his.
"I see you're still not giving up." Beryl smiles at the child's perseverance.
"All right, if you manage to block this attack, I will take you as a student." Beryl dashed at a reasonable speed, slow enough that the kid could react, and went for a frontal attack, a swing from above.
Kanon took a firm stance and attempted to deflect the attack with his sword as he saw the old man moving and the attack coming from above. However, Beryl had already figured out Kanon's strategy. The moment his sword struck the kid, he adjusted his grip, causing him to fail.
But just then…
{You have acquired the skill: Weakness Detection.}
{Weakness Detection:
A skill that allows its user to detect opponents' weaknesses.}
Kanon's new skill activated, showing him a weakness: aim for the hands.
He then shifted his weight onto one leg. Kanon gripped his wooden sword and aimed for the old man's hand, sliding the blade past the hilt before finally striking.
Almost exhausted, he landed a hit; it was a gentle tap rather than a blow. For him, though, that was sufficient.
"I got you," Kanon, finally able to strike once, collapsed.
"Hah… hah… hah…" Now completely exhausted, Kanon lay sprawled on the ground.
Beryl, slightly taken aback by the child's final move, studied the young boy lying on the ground with a calculating gaze. He had encountered many gifted children before; his own two daughters were considered geniuses, one in a century. But this kid...
"Hey, kid, are you alright? Now that I think about it, I didn't even ask your name," Beryl said.
"Kanon...hah, Kanon Grandsley," the kid replied.
"Kanon, My name is BeryI Gardenant. Kid, I have a proposal for you."
…
..
.
An hour later…
"Won't you accept my offer?" Beryl asked, standing at the entrance of the dojo.
Kanon stared at the old man. "I don't know." He looked down, not sure what to do.
"It's fine." Beryl patted his head. "Even if you don't want to, that's fine. No matter what you decide, you want to train in swordsmanship, right?"
Kanon nods.
"Then, after you make up your mind, come back. Whatever you may have decided, I will still teach you. I have given my word, after all." Beryl patted the kid.
"I will come back," said Kanon determinedly.
"Then I will be waiting."
With that, Kanon left.
Beryl, seeing the kid go, suddenly spoke, "So what do you think about the kid, Father?"
An old man with long white hair and a beard, dressed in a dark grey kimono, stood beside him, exuding a dignified presence. This man was Moldea Gardenant, the master of the dojo. "He's a rough diamond, I must say. But with the right polish, he will shine like no other."
==IMG==
"What do you think, son? You just tested him," the old man asked Beryl.
"A monster."
Moldea started to chuckle, hearing that.
"Kakaka…"
"In just one spar, the Kid began to mimic my moves. The last attack he attempted to parry was executed using my own technique, which he had just seen once. Even geniuses can't do what he did. What more can I say?" Beryl shook his head.
"Anyway, what do you think about my decision?" Beryl looked at his father.
"About taking him in? I don't mind; the kid has spunk and talent, and what he said about his parent... It will be good for the kid as well. Then again, it will be the kids' decision to make."
…
While walking, for a second, Kanon was confused: "Why was I here again?" Kanon scratches his head in thought.
"..."
Then suddenly he remembered.
"Shit! Mikan is going to kill me." Kanon was panicking now.
"Brother Kanon," a hand grabbed his shoulder from behind. A cold voice sent chills down his spine.
His head turned, creaking like an old wooden door, and there he saw Mikan staring him down.
"I am fucked."
The next thing he knew, he was dragged to Uncle Saibai's studio.
"Brother Kanon, where have you gone? Do you know how worried I was, seeing you were suddenly gone?" Mikan started to scold me as soon as we reached the studio.
I tried to explain to her, but she didn't listen and kept scolding me, while Uncle Saiba watched in amusement from the side.
[Damn it, help me.] I signalled with my eyes.
The response I got was, [You are on your own, kid.]
"Are you even listening?" Mikan's gaze sharpened.
"Yes, ma'am!"
...
Next day…
Kanon was once again invited to the Yuki household for breakfast. It had become a new norm for him. Honestly, he felt that this place was more like a home to him than his own house, which remained empty.
"Thank you for the food." I finished eating and helped Aunt Ringo wash the dishes. I couldn't just freeload and take advantage of their kindness.
Now that he thought about it, he was 13 and had to go to school. What would he do about that? In the midst of these thoughts, a familiar voice called out to him.
"Kanon?"
I looked at Aunty with questioning eyes.
"I have some important things to discuss with you," he noticed her serious tone. He agreed.
We then changed rooms as both Uncle Saibai and Aunt Ringo sat in a seiza position.
"Kanon, we have something important to say to you," Ringo said nervously.
Saibai, sitting beside her, nods.
I looked around and didn't find Mikan. "Where is Mikan?"
"She is fine." Saibai looked back at the sliding door with the corner of his eye.
"Well, this talk is not about her anyway." Saibai's goofy-looking face turned serious.
"Kanon, I wanted to ask you," Ringo spoke, her voice full of nervousness.
"Do you want to?" Ringo looked at Saibai for a moment. "Join our family?"
…
Chapter end
.
.
==Insert IMG of something==
.
.
******************************************************************************************
Author note:
...
(If you like my story, give me power stones. If you don't have power stones, then please comment and rate my fanfiction. It will motivate me plenty to write more. Thank you.)
Join My Patreon. Currently, there are 5 advanced chapters present, and soon more chapters will be uploaded.
link: [email protected]/RoneMix71
Change "@" to "a."