Kamisato Ayaka’s challenge

Kamisato family residence,

in a Japanese-style garden.

There were quiet green trees, gentle breezes, singing birds, and fragrant flowers. The gurgling water flowed slowly through a section of bamboo, and the bamboo hit the rocks, making a crisp sound of green bamboo striking stone.

In a small wooden pavilion standing above the pond in the distance, a girl with long cherry-white hair, dressed in white with a katana slung around her waist, stood there quietly with her eyes closed, as if waiting for something.

The breeze gently brushed across the girl's cheek, lifting her long cherry-white hair. Her hand gently pressed on the hilt of the sword at her waist, and her slender jade fingers slowly tightened.

Suddenly, the girl opened her eyes abruptly, and in just a moment, a white light flashed—she swung the sword!

The blade split the air with a cold light and was then quickly retracted. The girl straightened up, the katana in her hand spun into a graceful arc, and she calmly returned it to its sheath.

In front of the girl, a fallen leaf was neatly split in half, then was carried by the breeze into the pond beside the pavilion, floating quietly on the water.

Seeing the cut leaf, the girl in white let out a soft breath of relief.

"Pah, pah, pah—"

Yilan clapped his hands and walked out from behind the green trees, a gentle smile on his face.

"Not bad. Just based on that sword strike, Ayaka, you've already reached the level of Kamisato-ryu's 'Kaiden' sword technique."

"Brother!"

A look of surprise lit up Kamisato Ayaka's face. She rushed into Yilan's arms, sniffing the reassuring scent, then raised her delicate little face. Her icy-blue eyes looked up at Yilan with deep attachment and asked:

"I've been seeing less and less of Brother lately… What have you been busy with?"

"I wouldn't say I'm 'busy' with anything. Just the usual little things,"

Yilan smiled gently, integrating his memories of being "Kamisato Ayato" for the past twenty years as he tried to brush off the topic.

"Come to think of it, Ayaka, you're already sixteen. Are you still going to act spoiled with your brother like when you were little?"

In the past, whenever Ayaka heard Yilan say this, she would immediately wriggle out of his arms, tidy up her slightly improper posture, and try hard to act like an elegant lady to prove she was no longer a child.

But this time, Ayaka's reaction was different.

"Brother, you realize Ayaka has grown up, right? Then, now that Ayaka has grown up, shouldn't I be able to share some of Brother's burdens?"

The sixteen-year-old girl, at the peak of her youthful beauty, wore a cunning smile of success as she looked at her brother who had fallen into her verbal trap.

But in truth, this was just a young girl's little trick. In terms of scheming, Yilan had several hundred years' worth more experience than her.

He put on an exaggeratedly sad expression and sighed helplessly:

"Alas, has this day finally come? I've known it for a long time… After all, I'm only the acting head of the clan. As the eldest daughter, you would have to reclaim your power sooner or later. I just didn't expect it to happen so soon… Fine, my position was yours to begin with, Ayaka. If you want it, you can have it all!"

"Hahaha—!"

Thoma, the housekeeper who had been serving by the side, couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Master, your move of retreating to advance is brilliant!"

"Thank you for the compliment," Yilan smiled.

Ayaka suddenly leapt out of his arms, stomped her foot on the ground, and said,

"Thoma, don't laugh!"

Then she turned her icy-blue eyes back to Yilan:

"And Brother, I don't want to be a caged canary. I want to help you!"

The girl's face was full of determination, but thinking of the dark deeds he was secretly involved in, Yilan shook his head seriously and said:

"Ayaka, you're still young…"

"I'm not a child anymore! Besides, the fate of the Kamisato Clan, the burden of the Yashiro Commission… it should never be carried by Brother alone."

The girl pulled her katana from its sheath, and as if making up her mind, looked straight at Yilan with a firm gaze:

"Brother, I want to challenge you!"

"You just said that my Kamisato-ryu sword technique has reached the level of 'Kaiden', so I'm qualified to challenge you."

"If you lose, then please allow me to share your burdens. I want to stand beside you!"

"But there's no way you can beat me. I was the one who taught you swordsmanship," Yilan shook his head.

"That's not necessarily true! Since you became an adult, you've been busy with family and state affairs and rarely had time to train… but I have never stopped practicing."

"Day after day, like water dripping through stone, I've trained for the day Brother would finally recognize me!"

Kamisato Ayaka gripped the katana with both hands, assuming the starting stance of Kamisato-ryu's sword technique. Her eyes shone with a sharp light like an icy spring.

"So come, Brother! Let's spar!"

"…"

Yilan took a deep breath.

"Thoma, bring two bamboo swords."

The setting sun dyed the quiet courtyard of the Kamisato estate in gold.

Yilan and Kamisato Ayaka, dressed in training clothes and holding bamboo swords, stood facing each other.

Ayaka wore a white training uniform. Her sleeves were rolled up, and her high ponytail swayed lightly in the evening breeze, giving her a heroic look.

Yilan suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu—it resembled the scene depicted in Kamisato Ayaka's second PV, "Snowy Day's Tsubaki Meeting."

He remembered that in that PV, as Kamisato Ayato, he had lost.

A flash of silver entered his vision—it was Ayaka, launching an attack the moment she noticed he was distracted.

It was a two-part slash, swift and sharp, just like the cold light flashing in the young girl's determined eyes.

But this time, he would change the ending.

Yilan raised his bamboo sword.

Clang!

The sound of bamboo swords colliding echoed through the courtyard.

Yilan not only blocked the quick upper double-cut but also managed to unload the force and launch an upward strike in one smooth movement.

Most people, after being countered like this, would lose balance and expose their torso wide open.

However, when Ayaka was struck, she didn't stubbornly try to stabilize her body like most. Instead, she jumped backwards along with the force, widening the distance between them while simultaneously slipping into an quick draw stance.

"Brother!!!"

The girl dashed forward at high speed, shouting to boost her morale.

"Let me see how much you've grown, Ayaka!"

Yilan showed a rare serious expression, and in his eyes, there was no longer any doting toward his little sister.

With a roar, he charged forward to meet her!