Page 129 - NS 2024

history out of sight.” he says in a casual manner.
Mizuki cocks her head in confusion “Unwanted history?” she repeats. The guy nods with a smirk before changing the topic as he snaps his fingers, stopping the forming storm of elements and having it disperse into nothing. Mizuki looks at his power in amazement. He looks over at Mizuki, “You shouldn’t get distracted practicing this type of magic, it can easily get out of control and create dangerous situations.” Mizuki nods in understanding. She senses that whoever this person is, he is strong, and one main thing she has the most trouble resisting is the urge to want to be stronger. Despite any bad feelings she gained from him she asks if he would be okay with teaching her. To which he gives a wide smile and responds
“I would be more than happy to, after all you’re a lot like me.” Mizuki once again looks confused “Like you?” she questions.
“Yes! Following the instinct to gain more power even if others are against it. They try to tie you down and restrain you by societal laws. But if we just follow rules upon rules, well, we’ll never progress or find new levels of strength. In the end it is strength and power that controls which way the tides will turn. Don’t you think so?” He spoke in a more enthusiastic tone. While Mizuki had a sense that the meaning behind his words may come from a darker root she couldn’t disagree with him because deep down she knew she felt the same.
After that day she went down to the room more often and even cleaned it up a bit so it could be a more suitable place to train and study magic. The mysterious male happily taught Mizuki all sorts of new spells and even some physical combat techniques, all while not revealing any information about himself, not even his name. “Why do you restrain yourself?” He suddenly questions during one of their training sessions. Mizuki looks up at him before answering “I’m not restraining myself.”
“You are. You seem hesitant to let out the full extent of your abilities, and I must say it’s starting to
stunt your growth.” He replies back. Mizuki remains silent as she contemplates his words.
He continues “What is making you hold back? Is it fear, worry perhaps?” He questions Mizuki hesitantly opens her mouth to answer “I- I’m not sure. I’ve been told to hold back so I don’t cause trouble. It’s just what I was taught...” Mizuki answers with a solemn tone.
“Well you shouldn’t have to worry about that here. Like I said it is those restraints that hold you back. You want to be stronger, yes?” He pried and Mizuki nodded in response silently.
“Then you have to openly seek that power with whatever it takes, do you understand?” Mizuki nods again a bit more determined and trains with a bit more vigor. As she trains she still can’t completely shake off the feeling of guilt, but at the same time she was having fun and felt more free. It was the first time she let go since she was a small child.
Every year Mizuki’s clan held a dueling tournament.The tournament was a means to recruit new soldiers and test the skills of the villagers. Mizuki had learned a lot over time and wanted to put it to use; the tournament provided a perfect opportunity. She thought to herself that not only she can prove her own strength but also show her father her ability to defend herself from harm. After the war that occurred in her childhood, Mizuki’s mother, the queen, was marked as dead. Mizuki’s father didn’t take it well and soon became very overprotective as well as unbearable.