Demon Hunters, Reincarnated

[Kazu Chidori]

Omiyomi, Industrial District, Planet New Tokyo, House Kusari, 836 A.S

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Nagatsune Horui Factory - Owari Securities

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The Owari family was the steady blade that balanced the soul of the Kazu family, whether anyone in the family was wise enough to believe it or not. The Kazus themselves were born lords over the others, and were blessed by the gods with the wisdom and grace to lead. Aspects of the other families shown in them, as leaders were meant to lead from the front. Gentle Father Hoang was a man after the Igarashis' hearts, good nature and fierce loyalty until the end, never smiling on his face, but always in his heart. Strict Mother Kumano was a matriarch showing the pride of the shrines, and the enlightenment of the Katsuherabo family. Having not only a matriarch, but also one as strong, unflinching, and merciless as any patriarch was a proof that mankind acted on the world in the service of the will of the gods, and by no other will can they prosper.

Noble Sister Tsuruno and her rise through Kishiro's ranks offered a bold and fierce competition of mutual respect with the likewise shrewd and financially inclined Ogasawaras. Who, then, for the Owaris, but Noble Sister Chidori, Warrior of a Thousand Fronts, The Blooming Blade, the Akatsuki Daitenshi?

These were the thoughts that crossed Owari Kiyotoki's mind as he awoke from sedation. He had never bested Kazu Chidori in swordplay. No matter what he tried, that poleblade was always faster than him. A new strike was always just out of sight. And it seemed like it was merely a dance, to her. A bedazzling, lighthearted dance. One that he was bad at. However, he counted these countless defeats, humiliations with audiences in the thousands, as blessings. They drove him to the peak of his craft. He still doubted he could match that blooming blade, but in the realm of swordplay he was near the apex, and when the three century seal on the finest of Owari armaments was lifted, he was naturally first in line to receive them.

The Thunder-God's Steel, a metallurgy recipe combining Chromium, Iron, and Niobium, was common in the Kazu family and it's branches. Nearly every ceremonial tool and weapon was made from this steel, which had the unique property of absorbing and releasing energy. It had allowed the Owari family to continue using traditional swords in the face of laser, tachyon, and plasma weaponry, containing the energy and releasing it upon contact with another surface as bright red electrical arcs. But the Ichimonji blade and scabbard duo had been sealed with the Seal of Swords, a scabbard with a trigger to fire a burst of plasma, propelling the blade into a powerful opening strike and pre-charging it for an energy release. Today he would be granted his very own Ichimonji.

Next to it, the Tekagi-shuko, a glove featuring claws of the same steel, designed at first to protect the hand of the user of an Ichimonji, but over time it had evolved into a weapon itself. With fingers sharpened to such sharpness and hardness that they could puncture a regular steel, and further bio-analogous mechanisms to strengthen the hand, it was itself an armored gauntlet and a blade at the same time, featuring the same energy redirection as their swords.

But, the true weapon of the Owari family that was sealed away that day was the Byakuro no Hitomi, the White Wolf's Eyes. Augments who's creation methods have been secrets passed through a select few in the Owari family, which require the greatest sacrifice and the greatest conviction. Only the most disciplined Owari soldiers and most purified Katsuherabo monks can withstand the implanting of the Eyes without going mad from power. And when Kiyotoki opened his eyes, he understood why.

Energy coursed through his face. He could see everything, but not how he had seen before. He could see the tiny scratches on the glass of his medical pod, but he could also see the tiny ridges inside that glass. He could see the tiny shifts in light caused by the moisture in his breath in front of his face. He could see the minute bending of light in the air as it was compressed ever so slightly by the movement of the approaching doctor. He was omniscient, and as he arrived, he saw muscles around her lips and her upper eyebrows tense. Concern, before she had even made the face. The light bent near her mouth as she inhaled to speak, but he already knew what she was going to say.

"I'm doing great."
"How ar-..."

Kiyotoki could not be bothered with the awkwardness of the silence. Twenty others had undergone this process. Twenty others could see absolutely everything. Perfect vision... no, vision beyond perfection. An intimate understanding of reality itself, forbidden to any human but they. This was the power of legends, now his to hold. He had to spar. He needed to spar, to confirm his own strength.

"How are the others?" She moved to respond, but he could see what she was going to say. "Not awake yet. Let me out, I need to train."

"Don't argue", he added as she started to protest. "I'm doing just fine, I simply must test this tool."

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In a hall of mirrors, he stood with his sword drawn, awaiting a tachyon blast. From every angle, his new electric-blue eyes gazed back at him, demanding nothing less than perfection. And that is all he delivered. Before the training dummy fired, the air along the path of the attack became charged, the faintest possible light shining from it. His sword was already in position, the hum of it collecting energy like music to his ears. The next shot was the same, again and again. As the attacks bounced across the mirrors, he remembered how hard this challenge once used to seem. Now, it was flawlessly easy, and when his blade connected with the dummy, the bright red electricity burst the farthest he had ever seen it.

He had seen the shift in the air as he trained. It was certainly someone walking, but it wasn't as much as someone walking should make. So, the moment the door began to open, he flung a knife at the approaching individual. Owari Kenta, his cousin, caught the knife with extreme precision, and tilted his head to reveal identical blue eyes. They didn't speak to each other, the twitches in their facial muscles were enough to communicate.
Some welcome.
You caught it, did you not?

Kiyotoki sheathed his sword, and turned to follow Kenta. The head of the family had demanded an audience with the first generation of Onigoro-tai since the Seal of Swords. With them, Owari would undo three centuries of dishonor. With them, every enemy of Kazu would fall.

They would learn that Owari meant "end". Their end.

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