HP: Spirit Talker

After the conversation, Junko walked around thoughtfully for a few days, then after making a decision, she approached me. Junko listened to my words, but also decided not to leave me without consequences. Under the plausible explanation of "wards and servants need to demonstrate the power of the Elder Blood..." the woman decided to show what a martial artist is capable of, to motivate by example to more productive training, which now literally everyone will have to go through.

No, everything started relatively normal and quite spectacular for our audience, but then, as far as I understood, it was the turn of the personal "revenge" — Junko decided to publicly roll such an important me into the dust, to feed her ego, or something in this family.

How could she know that all this time I did not lose much time in terms of personal development: even though I had a lot of worries, the obligatory hour and a half a day for training I allocated in the obligatory order. So when I arrived at the dojo not with tsurugi or katana, but with guan-dao, Junko did not expect much, judging by the look on her face, and our sparring started a little... sluggishly, with more emphasis on technique. I didn't even understand why, so I maintained the current level, and from the outside our actions looked more like a staged fight: my mother would attack, delivering beautiful and complex blows, and I would block/reflect/dodge them as if I knew them in advance.

Junko kept up the pace for a while, but when she realized she couldn't do any better, she decided to raise the bar, and I kept up, but as she got more serious, it became clear that her plan wasn't so easy to realize. Step by step, blow by blow, I felt more and more confident — I was able to... No, not to predict the purpose of my mother's blows, because not only the speed increased, but also the tricks, but to react in time to protect myself... well, or to think so, because real combat experience is better than just training.

Already during our "sparring" I saw my mistakes, noticed what could be corrected or improved in the studied movements. But correcting my movements on the fly is not the best solution, and already ten minutes after the conditional second stage I was limping on my left leg, two ribs had cracks (if not fractures — I never checked, deciding to use seals), and my fingers were a bit numb from several unsuccessful blocks. I couldn't call this result disgusting, because despite these injuries Junko never got me with her blade.

On the other hand, kicking and pushing with elemental "kernels" is also unpleasant and painful. I didn't notice when the sparring turned into a full-blown fight, but at some point I had to do "steps" more often and raise my shields against magical attacks. When the katana split the skin on the left side of my chest, along with my training windbreaker, I responded with "Ice Blizzard," though this technique would be better called "Ice Drill," since it creates several concentric rings of ice chips that swirl around at breakneck speed.

Thanks to the spirits, Junko reacted in time and stepped back, but the blow didn't go without consequences — the ice tore her hakama (a wide button-down shirt and wide pants) on the left side and scratched her skin. We watched each other for a few seconds, I don't know what was going on in my mom's head, but I was absorbed in the fight, I had no thoughts, and as soon as she slightly changed the position of the toe of her left foot, I went on the attack.

I came out of another "Flickering Step" with a spinning kick, delivering an oblique belt slash across her torso. Junko arched backward, stood on her hands, and kicked the Guan Dao shaft upward with her feet, then threw the blade in a stabbing lunge toward me, doing a stunning somersault. It turned out that her katana had an interesting function: the hilt had a small "pocket" in which rested a thin but very strong chain that, when activated, threw a loop over the owner's arm so that the blade could be easily and quickly returned. With animal instinct alone, I managed to dodge and then cut the chain.

Or rather, I thought at the time that I had broken the chain, but no way! The next moment, the blade was in the woman's hands, and I had to quickly dodge a classic diagonal blow from above, and then another "step" from a cleverly twisted gust of wind with fiery sparks. The longer the duel went on, the more we got carried away. I don't even remember exactly where we were fighting, the only thing I'm sure of is that we left the house and the construction site — the rocky shore somehow hints at it. A succession of magical flashes and clanking weapons, blood splattering and pain on the edge of consciousness. Reason was pushed to the back of my mind, instinct took over.

I didn't really regain consciousness, but rather began to float out of an indistinct gray haze, and even then out of the unpleasant, burning cold on my skin, and when my head cleared a little, I realized that the situation was much worse than a simple loss of consciousness from the beating. It turned out that I was lying on scraps of clothing in some sort of grotto, and my side was occasionally splashed with small jets of icy seawater.

My body ached and ached, my head ached like a drunken binge, but worst of all, I wasn't alone; my opponent from the recent sparring match was on top of me. Bruised and bruised, with her hair partially cut off on the left side, the woman lay on top of me, naked, blowing her hot breath against my neck. I prayed to all the spirits and even considered praying to the gods if only it wasn't what it seemed, but that was the problem: below my waist my body ached with fatigue, and the pulling emptiness was a clear indication of the futility of praying.

I couldn't hold back a disappointed groan, even though it was soft, but it was enough to wake Junko. I admit I was scared — I did not know how she would react to what had happened, but I did not remember myself, I acted on instinct, and so I do not know how much I am to blame for what happened. But when my mother opened her eyes, she smiled and playfully bit my neck....

The next time I came to, I was at home, washed and in bed. Alone. Junko went to France — for the last time to help the group Yusheng, after which she promised to return and fully begin his new duties — this was conveyed to me by Momo when I crawled out to eat a snack. I didn't do much for the next twenty-four hours, more resting, watching other people's work, and healing before the last test of the tournament, but today, standing among the champions, I didn't feel my best, and not only in terms of physical condition, there was confusion, confusion — yet I never once had a hint of what had happened in my mind, even though I know all sorts of stories from the past and various rituals for the safe realization of... things.

I'm afraid to meet Junko now, I don't know how to face her. What happened has turned everything upside down, confused my thoughts, and my feelings are such a mess that I do not want to deal with them, although I know that it is better not to touch things until I get my head in order. Not at all. I'm glad that I can relax a little on the test, forget about myself, and then maybe my subconscious will come up with something or make a decision? I really hope so.