The Infinite Phase Jin’i (IV)

From Noa’s split-second calculations concerning the movements of her opponent, this unknown assailant had leaped straight up from the ground floor to the tenth floor of the building where Kyouko’s apartment was located. She then proceeded to accurately pinpoint which room the occupants were currently in and entered through the windows. Clicking her tongue, she yelled, “Oy, Suzuran, get Suijijngiri Kanesada!” It seemed that Suzuran had also realized her fatal error in not keeping her weapon on her at all times. With what seemed like curses flying out from under her breath, she grabbed Kyouko’s arm and dragged her out of the room while Noa channeled Hachimanriki into her counterstroke to knock the assailant out of the shattered window she had torn open. Noa immediately followed the assailant outside, leaping out from the window herself before using jin’i to accelerate into the assailant, locking swords with her and blasting both her and Noa herself down into the asphalt below which cracked radially under the stress of such a high-speed impact. Noa quickly stepped out of the crater she had just formed and regained a proper stance as her opponent did the same. Shockingly, Noa discovered that her opponent had received practically no damage despite slamming into the asphalt first. She also finally noticed the school uniform she was wearing. “You’re… from Renpu…!”

The girl neither confirmed nor denied this accusation as she charged at Noa, who barely dodged the girl’s thrust by a fraction of a centimeter. How is she so fast...!? she cursed to herself. After a short exchange of six passes, Noa finally began to understand what the girl was doing. I see… So that’s what she’s doing…! Instead of using it for instant acceleration, this girl is keeping jin’i up at all times! To my knowledge, such a thing should be impossible—the body can only handle so much acceleration…!

To reiterate, jin’i is an offensive Toji technique where one channels their energy into one instant of acceleration by traversing momentarily through the layers of the Netherworld. What Sayuki Asahina was doing instead is ‘slipping’ into the Netherworld and staying there all the while despite having her physical body still present in the real world. This is one of several unique forms of jin’i, given the name of Infinite Phase Jin’i, which as Noa had thought earlier, is a technique that should be impossible to perform due to the immense strain placed on the physical body for slipping into the Netherworld for extended periods of time.

Her mind racing, Noa knew she was now outmatched—no matter how fast she could use jin’i, she will always be a step behind as she is not perpetually in a state of acceleration as her opponent was. Nevertheless, she kept up an exchange for as long as she could until she slipped up at the sixty-seventh pass and was bisected from the left shoulder down, dismantling her utsushi. From above, her friend’s distant worried cry (“Noa-san!”) entered her ears but she was unable to properly register it. “Not yet...!” Noa gritted her teeth as she squeezed her brain for more mental strength, activating utsushi again.

“If she’s faster than me, then it’s simple—I must be faster…!” Noa accelerated again but was simply dodged. This did not discourage her as she wheeled around and charged a second time, forcing herself to dive deeper into the Netherworld. While she didn’t quite advance past the Third Layer Jin’i, she was able to momentarily tear a hole into the Fourth Layer—that burst of speed allowed her to finally cut her opponent’s utsushi. The girl leaped back but could not maintain her balance and so, sank down to one knee clearly much more exhausted than Noa (although her utterly expressionless visage made this difficult to pick out).

… Is this an aftereffect of using that jin’i form? It seems she is unable to generate utsushi anymore. However, contrary to her expectations, the girl stood back up and retook her stance. “No way, does she plan to…!?” The girl charged back at her and Noa swiftly evaded her before exclaiming, “You plan to fight without your utsushi…!? Do you not care for your own life!?” Do I have no choice but to cut her down…!?

“Don’t!” Her shout cut through the duel as she finally arrived at the scene Suzuran. Although it had only been two minutes since the beginning of her duel with the girl, Noa truly felt it had been forever. A shocked expression crossed her face when Suzuran declared, “Please step aside, Noa-san, I’ll fight her.”

“… You do know that you’ll need to kill her, right!?”

“I won’t kill her!”

“You’re being naïve!” Noa exclaimed before the girl charged at the utsushi-clad Suzuran.

Contrary to her idealist musings, Suzuran perfectly struck at the girl’s sword and swept it aside before striking her side with the spine of her blade. This girl... Just what is going on? Her sword wasn’t like this when we sparred in the tournament...! It’s like her sword is completely empty. Suzuran continued to sweep aside the girl’s high-speed thrusts and slashes, repeatedly striking at her with the spine, but the girl refused to fall despite having received so many blunt blows. Internally apologizing, she took advantage of a mistake the girl made as the pain from so many blows was messing with her motor capabilities and struck her hands, eliciting a quiet yelp and a clatter as she dropped the blade. At that, Suzuran hissed, “You won’t be able to cut anything with a soulless blade!”

Of course, as it was only through the okatana that she could channel jin’i, the crimson color that stained the girl’s normally violet irises faded away, a sign that she was shifting within the confines of the Infinite Phase Jin’i. She first looked at her numbed hands before peering dumbly into Suzuran’s face before the latter said softly, “Do you remember me now, Sayuki-chan? I’m Suzuran Arisugawa. I was your opponent in the third match of the Swordsmanship Tournament and I truly enjoyed our duel! Your fantastic technique kept me on the edge the entire fight!” She then reached out for her hand and helped her to her feet before asking, “Would you care to have another spar with me sometime soon?”

The girl never blinked as she attempted to process those words—she was someone raised as nothing more than a puppet to be abused by the Renpu principal. This girl had never once sought out personal enjoyment; as a result, she was unable to really parse what Suzuran had said. However, Suzuran did not care for this, grabbing the girl’s hand again and pulling her into a hug. “It’s a promise, okay?” For Suzuran, this was the only way she could think of comforting the girl, even if it was rather forceful on her part.

Noa, on the other hand, looked on in utter disbelief and resigned amazement at her companion’s display of camaraderie. I must say… I thought that my only choice was to kill her but she… She managed to find a way where no blood is shed… She really is something. Noa internally sighed as she sheathed her okatana now that the danger had passed. “Okay, reality check, Suzuran. What should we do with her?”

“I have an idea,” Kyouko declared, having also come down from the apartment. “You two plan to go to Kanazawa, right?”

“Yes, that’s the plan. I want to take the Hokuriku Shinkansen straight there although I will make a stop in Karuizawa; there’s something I want to do in Komoro,” Noa replied.

“In that case, I’ll drive you straight to Ohmiya Station,” Kyouko announced. “You can still make in time for the final train tonight and we can drop off this girl at one of the previous stations before it.”

“Sounds like a plan…” Noa nodded. “We’d first have to restrain her though…”

“I’ll take charge of her okatana,” Suzuran volunteered. “I’ll watch over her so prepare our stuff, please, Noa-san.”

“If you say so.”