The Lion And The Kitsune

"Repaired? How?" Kaname asked. Kaede continued to sip her tea and waited for the Wizard Saint's response.

"A blacksmith in Chiba named Ieyasu and his apprentice Hidetori repaired it after I retrieved some blessed metal from a cemetery overrun by zombies raised by the same necromancer who attacked Priestess Sumika's temple in Okyto. It took them a week or so to repair it, but they did it." Leona answered. Kaname could hardly believe what she was hearing.

"This sword... I would like to see it." Kaname requested. Leona obligingly stood up, took Shoki out of its scabbard, and presented it to the white-haired kitsune. Kaname, undoubtedly aware of its purpose, handled it carefully to avoid being cut on the edge of the blue-white blade that could harm the supernatural. Kaede looked at the demon-quelling katana and marveled at it.

"This is Shoki?" Kaname asked Leona as her blue eyes ran down the length of the blade. Leona nodded.

"Impressive. This Ieyasu is an impressive blacksmith." Kaname complimented the man's work. Leona nodded in agreement.

"I like the look of the blade. It's a smooth blade with a sharp edge. No pitting, no cracks. It looks like a holy weapon should." Kaede opined before calmly sipping tea. Leona did not know what Kaede had meant by that, but it was clear that the brunette was impressed with the quality of the repair work and the quality of the blade itself. Leona saw the brunette's red eyes scan up and down the blade just like her sister's had.

"This is very nice work... for a human blacksmith. Our blacksmiths are superior." Kaede asserted before standing up, bringing out her own sword, and placing it on the table for Leona to see. It was Leona's turn to admire a sword.

"That's some very good craftsmanship." Leona said as she admired Kaede's sword. Having come up in an environment where swords were practically a necessity, the blonde was impressed with the weapon's perfection, especially the black blade that gleamed like a mirror in the light. There was no pitting of the blade, no cracks in it, and no signs of aging whatsoever. The weapon had been lovingly maintained by Kaede and it showed.

"A kitsune blacksmith forged this blade over eight hundred years ago, Miss Jarnefeldt. Kitsune blacksmiths have had centuries to perfect their craft, so their craftsmanship is hard to beat." Kaede opined. Kaname laughed a little.

"Of course you'd say that, sister. You're a kitsune, so there's a bit of bias there. I'd say that this Ieyasu comes close to equaling the craftsmanship of our kitsune blacksmiths." Kaname weighed in on Kaede's remarks. The older kitsune laughed.

"That's true, sister. I am a bit biased, especially since this is our mother's sword." Kaname chimed in a second time. Kaede smiled.

"This sword is your mother's?" Leona asked the kitsune sisters. Both of them nodded at once.

"She owned it centuries ago when we were just children. She used it in an era when Midi wasn't nearly as peaceful as it is now. She ascended roughly one hundred years ago, leaving the sword to us." Kaede explained how the sword came into her possession. Leona wondered what it would have been like to live hundreds of years ago during a time of strife. She had a faint idea from reading the books on Ancient Desierto, but reading from a book was no substitute for actually living through events. Leona also recalled Kaede's remark about "history being written by the winners" and understood that what was written in books was not always the true version of events.

"Technically it was left to both of us, but Kaede's always been the better swordswoman, so she's the one who wields it. As you saw earlier, she's quite good with it." Kaname added. Kaede chuckled. Leona vividly recalled the technique where Kaede jumped, then disappeared and dashed in front of the bandits, cutting them multiple times before reappearing behind Leona and sheathing the sword. The bandits fell apart where they stood, a sight that Leona would remember for a long time to come.

"That's true, but please don't make me out to be some sort of prodigy. I've had centuries to practice my swordsmanship on bandits between here and the Imperial City, a benefit our guest doesn't share. She only has a fraction of the lifespan that we have." Kaede replied calmly.

"Don't forget that Mother taught you how to use that sword as well." Kaname gently reminded her sister.

"Of course. She taught me the basics... and a few advanced tricks." Kaede said to Leona. Leona was reminded of her mother's sword "training" and how she always seemed to neglect it for Leona in favor of teaching her older brother everything there was to know. Her mother was "too busy" when Leona asked about training but always seemed to find time for Leonidas. The blonde was not happy about this neglect, but she kept it to herself.

"Just like she did with me and my magic." Kaname chimed in. Kaede smiled.

"Of course, Kaname. You were always better at magic than I was. You had the patience to sit and read those books and scrolls for hours upon hours trying to perfect your magic while I didn't bother practicing my magic after learning the basics. Mother left her library to the right person." Kaede calmly remarked. Kaname smiled.

"That she did." Kaname said with a slight trace of smugness. Leona could not really blame her for being a bit smug. The white-haired kitsune was a Y-rank mage who had a good command of her ice magic and had had centuries to perfect it. In comparison Leona had just now begun to fully understand the intricacies of Wind Strike Magic thanks to a lot of practical experience in fighting bandits and other enemies.

Leona thought about her mother and how Sophia had not really bothered to train her fully in either sword or magic. Sophia had taught Leona a bit more about Wind Strike Magic than she had about proper swordsmanship, but that was not saying a whole lot. That additional training only happened because Leonidas had intervened on Leona's behalf. Had her brother not intervened she would probably still be floundering about with her magic instead of having a decent command of it like she did. In a way Leona envied Kaede and Kaname for having a mother who had instructed them in their respective areas of expertise without holding anything back because of an outmoded belief in gender roles.

Leona could not help but to be angry at her mother for cutting short the former's training; it showed on her face. It felt like her mother had deliberately sabotaged her in order to avoid totally breaking conventional gender roles in a patriarchal country. While the blonde was sure that her mother was fine with those half-measures, Leona herself was not. She felt like a paper tiger who had just scraped by in her numerous battles instead of ruling the battlefield like someone named after the lion should. She had thrived despite her mother's halfhearted approach to the Wizard Saint's training and deliberate sabotage, not because of it.

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"I see that you are upset about something, Miss Jarnefeldt." Kaname calmly observed. Leona had been so deep in thought that she just now realized that her inner anger was no longer hidden. Having been called out by Kaname, Leona just decided to tell the truth instead of trying to lie her way out of the unpleasant situation. Besides, the Wizard Saint was a horrible liar anyway.

"Just like with you and Kaede, my mother taught me what I know. Compared to your mother, my mother didn't teach me very much. She taught me just enough to get by." Leona admitted to the white-haired kitsune.

"Oh?" Kaname asked. Kaede, having learned this information earlier in their journey, did not react except to calmly sip from her tea cup.

"Yeah. My mother doesn't think that women have a place on the battlefield, only in the home. She holds onto that attitude despite living in a country where you can't throw a rock without hitting a bandit and bandits regularly attack isolated desert villages like the one she lives in." Leona elaborated on why she had said what she did. She was aware that she had painted Desierto as a bandit-infested country, but she was only stating a fact that was openly advertised on some travel brochures. It was only truly "safe" in the Tri-Council Cities, which were well-protected in order to keep tourism revenue coming in. Out in the desert the various flavors of raiders and slavers ruled the sandy wastes.

"Why does she think that way?" Kaname asked.

"I don't know, Kaname. I wish I knew. She thinks that me being a Wizard Saint and a Guild Mistress are just phases and that one day I'll return to Desierto to give her grandchildren." Leona replied. She regretted telling her family issues to total strangers, but hiding them was not an option after her face showed what she was really thinking. Kaede set down her tea cup and commented.

"I don't understand that reluctance to train you either, Miss Jarnefeldt. Our mother knew that bandits roam the roads of Midi and that we'd need to be able to defend ourselves, so she didn't hold anything back when she trained us." Kaede remarked.

"Apparently my mother thinks that training my older brother was enough to keep me from having to fight. It's not. It's not nearly enough." Leona let more anger seep into her voice. She needed to calm down before she ended up alienating her hostesses, but the blonde's anger was growing stronger. The more she thought about her mother the angrier she got. Still, Leona made an effort to calm down before things went too far.

"I'm sorry if I sound angry, guys. I just have a rocky relationship with my mother because she clings to outdated gender roles. She's utterly convinced that I'm just a rebellious teenager who's going through a phase and she doesn't care about anything that I've achieved. It doesn't matter what good deeds I do or what titles I earn. All she cares about is me coming home to have children." Leona apologized for nearly losing her temper, toning down her vitriol somewhat. Her anger was starting to flare up again, but she was making an effort to fight it. Out of all the things Leona disliked about her mother, she most intensely disliked her mother's efforts to reduce her to just a housewife after everything she had experienced up to this point.

"Let's focus on your mother's idea of gender roles. Why is she so focused on them?" Kaname asked, politely changing the subject to something less likely to keep Leona's anger going. Leona took a deep breath.

"We live in Desierto, which is a patriarchal country. Men hold most of the power and most of the positions of authority." Leona answered in a calmer tone of voice.

"Do you think that your mother's afraid of what might happen to a woman who threatens the power structure?" Kaname asked.

"Probably, but I don't get why she's so meek after fighting for months to convince the village's chief to open a school for teaching children and adults pen-and-paper literacy." Leona answered, toning down her criticism a lot more and settling for a jab at her mother. Kaname and Kaede took interest in that statement.

"My village is just now embracing pen-and-paper literacy. Ever since its founding its people used to pass everything down through stories and songs. My mother knew that the villagers would have to interact with the outside world and would have to know how to read and write so that they didn't get cheated by the merchants in the Tri-Council Cities." Leona started explaining what she meant by what she had said about her mother fighting so hard to open a school. Her mother had to fight tradition in order to get the school established. She had to fight to win over the villagers and the village chief, both of which were firm opponents of the school because the old ways had worked for them for decades. After many months of struggle and much persuading Sophia finally won and got permission to set up the village school where Leona had gotten her education... such as it was.

Kaede heard that and quickly began to put two and two together. Once she thought she had it figured out she then spoke up.

"So what you're getting at is that you don't understand how your mother could be brave enough to stand up to a village of hundreds of people and fight hard to establish a school yet suddenly act so meekly when it comes to training her own daughter to fight?" Kaede asked Leona.

"Exactly!" Leona responded in the affirmative a little more strongly than she had intended to because Kaede's summary had hit the nail on the head. That statement was the best way to sum up the Wizard Saint's conflict with her mother. How could Sophia be brave enough to stand up to hundreds of people and work so hard for a school yet get cold feet when it came to teaching her daughter how to defend herself?

Kaede smiled.

"Aside from what Kaede said, I also find it hypocritical that my mother has all of these adventures that she won't even tell me about but then she tries to stop me from seeing the world so that I can have adventures of my own. I don't get that." Leona said in a tone that was more frustrated than angry. If Sophia had seen the world before she settled down and had Leonidas and Leona, why was she hiding that fact? What was she ashamed of? Was it the realization that if Sophia told her daughter about her life before settling down and having children that her attitude would be called out for the hypocrisy it was?

Leona would certainly call out her mother on her attitude.

"That's a good reason to be upset." Kaname chimed in.

"If she'd just be honest with me about her behavior instead of dodging the issue maybe I'd understand where she's coming from. Instead she just stonewalls me and hopes that the issue will go away. It's not gonna go away." Leona stated firmly. She was not going to quit asking just because her mother was trying to stonewall her. The Wizard Saint could be every bit as obstinate as her mother.

After getting to the root of her issues with the help of two kitsunes Leona began to calm down enough to let the matter go. She would let it go so that she did not drive away Kaede and Kaname with her issues. She had learned quite a bit from the pair and was glad to have made their acquaintance.

Leona took time to sip from her tea cup, which had barely been touched during the conversation. She found the tea to be a bit strong but otherwise good. She still preferred coffee, though. Kaname took the chance to change the subject from Leona's mother issues to something more agreeable to all three parties.

"I read in Sorcerer's Magazine that you used Wind-based magic, Miss Jarnefeldt." Kaname said to Leona, providing a gift-wrapped segue to a subject that Leona could talk about without getting angry.

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"Yes, my magic's Wind-based. Its name is Wind Strike Magic." Leona replied to Kaname's statement. She did not have anything to hide because it was public knowledge. It had been public knowledge ever since that issue of Sorcerer's Magazine that came out over a year ago. However, just because someone knew the magic's name and the basics of it did not mean they knew everything that it could do. Leona had been learning a lot of new tricks since that interview and not all of them had been employed yet. The only new trick the public had seen to date was her Meteor Jump Kick at the Urban Nights event.

"Interesting. I read that while it doesn't have a specialization, it lets you switch between ranges without much effort." Kaname recited what she had read in that issue of Sorcerer's Magazine. Leona nodded.

"Yes. It makes me a middle-of-the-road mage who doesn't do any one thing well. If you need someone who specializes in one type of offensive magic like crowd control, you'd better find someone else." Leona said to Kaname. Leona herself knew that Wind Strike Magic was not specialized in any one type of offense. While it made her fall far short of what specialists could do, the lack of specialization also worked for her because she could fight either at short range or long range. That flexibility had saved Leona's life many times over her career.

"Be that as it may, there's something to be said for flexibility." Kaname remarked.

"Kaede said the same thing earlier in our trip, but it's still true." Leona agreed with the white-haired kitsune. The flexibility allowed her to give many an overconfident enemy an unpleasant surprise when they saw her sword and thought that she was only a threat up close. She also surprised enemies who saw her cast long-range spells and thought that the key to victory lay in getting in hand-to-hand combat with her. Their confidence lasted about as long as it took the Wizard Saint to throw a Mach Straight into their faces.

"I know firsthand the perils of overspecialization. I've been in quite a few fights with bandits who think that Sakae Shrine's a big piggy bank waiting to be broken into. Had Kaede not been with me to protect me at close range I probably wouldn't be sitting here." Kaname warned Leona of the perils of being too specialized in a particular style of offense. Leona had observed that Kaname's magic was ice-based and long-range, but she did not know what the white-haired kitsune had meant by being "overspecialized." Perhaps she was implying that she was an expert at long-range magic but had difficulty fighting at close range. That was what Leona had gleaned from the kitsune's statement.

"That reminds me, Miss Jarnefeldt. Would you care to discuss that matter I spoke of earlier?" Kaede interjected.

"Uh, sure. What did you have in mind?" Leona asked in return.

"I'd like to ask for your help with something." Kaede stated.

"OK. What is it?" Leona asked.

"I'd like to see your magic firsthand. I'd like to have a friendly duel." Kaede proposed. Leona blinked.

"You would?" Leona asked in surprise. It had been a long time since the Wizard Saint had dueled anyone, especially in a friendly manner. The last time she had dueled anyone was the meeting with Sol Delthousin almost a year ago.

"Yes. I'd like to see what it's like to face a Wizard Saint." Kaede said. Leona turned from her to Kaname.

"My sister's serious, Miss Jarnefeldt. She wants to see what it's like to take on someone as strong as a Wizard Saint." Kaname confirmed. Leona then turned back to Kaede.

"OK. We'd better make sure that we have a safe place to duel in." Leona accepted the request and suggested a safe place for their match. Judging from what she had seen of the brown-haired kitsune during their battle against the bandits, Kaede seemed to be a formidable opponent who could move fast and hit equally hard. Leona could do the same thing... in theory. However, Kaede had had several hundred more years to practice her combat kills than the Wizard Saint had. There could be a lot of property damage if both combatants really go into the action.

"I know just the place." Kaname said with a smile. Leona looked towards the table and saw Kaede pick up her sword. That reminded the blonde... what kind of weapons would they be using?

"What kind of weapons policy do you have? Do we fight with just our bare hands, our weapons, our magic, or all three?" Leona asked Kaede. She was not sure if she should bring Shoki to the duel since it was specifically made to harm the supernatural and kitsunes definitely qualified as supernatural beings.

"All three. I want to see what you can do with nothing held back." Kaede replied. Leona winced a little. That meant that she would be allowed to use Shoki and it would hurt Kaede with every blow the Wizard Saint landed.

"If you say so." Leona replied. If Kaede wanted to fight a Wizard Saint, she would get to fight a Wizard Saint using everything they had. She just hoped that the brown-haired kitsune had some tricks up her sleeve to avoid getting seriously hurt. Leona did not want to hurt Kaede during what was supposed to be a friendly match.

"If you two would follow me, we'll go to a secluded area so that the match can get underway." Kaname said. Leona stood up, put Shoki in its scabbard, collected her footwear, and waited for the kitsunes to do the same. Once Kaname had put her footwear on she took the lead and guided the Wizard Saint and her older sister towards the site where they could duel in privacy. Leona wondered if they would have to take a portal to get there.

-Outside Kaname's house-

After Kaname secured her house, the trio stood outside the house and in the middle of a dirt path. Kaname traced a circle in the air and opened up a portal. Leona looked at the shimmering image and saw the exterior of an old temple that was in dire need of repair. Kaede looked at Leona and spoke.

"This is an old temple in a remote part of Western Midi, where no one has lived for centuries. It should be isolated enough for our duel. What do you think?" Kaede asked Leona.

"If you guys recommend it, I'm game." Leona answered. Kaede smiled.

"Whenever you guys are ready." Kaname said to them.

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-Outside the temple, Western Midi-

After stepping through the portal that Kaname had created, the Wizard Saint had arrived just after Kaede outside the temple grounds that were going to be their dueling arena. Moments later Kaname stepped through the portal and closed it, ensuring that they would be alone. Leona looked at the temple she had seen through the shimmering portal and was instantly reminded of the temples in the "Temple Quarter" of Anra she had seen a couple of days ago.

"This temple is hundreds of years old, Miss Jarnefeldt. It's been deserted ever since Anra assumed prominence as the "Temple City" of Midi." Kaede told Leona. Leona recalled the story that Kaede had told her about Anra and how its numerous monasteries competed amongst themselves for the Emperor's patronage until he ended the matter by choosing Sakae Shrine as the destination of the imperial pilgrimage route. That story prompted Leona to ask a question.

"Kaede, while we were in Anra you said that the Emperor got tired of Anra's monasteries fighting each other for his patronage, so he chose Sakae Shrine as the destination for the annual imperial pilgrimage route, right?" Leona asked the brunette. She nodded.

"If Anra isn't the site of imperial pilgrimage anymore, how come this temple hasn't been fixed up and put back into service?" Leona asked Kaede.

"Monastic politics." Kaname answered on her older sister's behalf. Leona turned to the white-haired kitsune and listened as she spoke.

"Once Sakae Shrine became the site of the imperial pilgrimage, its monks suddenly became big players on the monastic scene. They used their newfound influence to stomp out their competition by playing up their role as the Emperor's shrine. They managed to divert money from other temples to Sakae. This temple was once one of Sakae Shrine's competitors." Kaname answered with authority.

"I didn't know that monks played the political game. I thought that they were just holy men who tended to the faithful and took up donations for their temples." Leona replied in utter naivete. Kaname was polite enough not to laugh in the blonde's face for her naive remark and continued to give the blonde some insight into Midi.

"Oh, they must certainly did, Miss Jarnefeldt. You see, any shrine that the Emperor went to automatically became a site for pilgrims because they believe that the dragon spirit has blessed him. Sakae Shrine profited immensely from the Emperor's choice and continues to do so to this day." Kaname explained how Sakae Shrine had become so influential. Leona recalled her trip to the shrine with Toshiro the Elemental Swordsman and the pilgrims the pair had hitched a ride with and was impressed by the splendor the shrine possessed. It looked pristine and well-maintained... now the Wizard Saint knew why it looked that way.

"I've been to the shrine once before, but I've never been inside of it. They don't allow weapons of any kind on the temple grounds." Leona told Kaname. Kaname smiled.

"Yes. That's been a rule for centuries now and the bandits don't pay any attention to it. They think the no-weapons rule makes the pilgrims easy targets. Unfortunately they fail to account for me." Kaname stated that the rule had been in place for centuries, ostensibly to preserve the peaceful atmosphere of the shrine. However, bandits took advantage of that to try and raid the shrine. Leona had wondered how the shrine remained safe if the monks nor the shrine's patrons could carry weapons on the grounds. Now she knew why.

"You protect Sakae Shrine?" Leona asked Kaname. The white-haired kitsune nodded.

"She does, Miss Jarnefeldt. She's taken on our mother's duty to protect the imperial shrine from people who would try to kill its monks and make off with the treasure gathered within." Kaede supported her sister's answer. Kaname then spoke further on the subject.

"Kitsunes are drawn to places of spiritual power and often serve as protectors of shrines. My mother protected Sakae Shrine until she ascended and became a tenko. Now I protect it in her place." Kaname explained how the duty had fallen to her. Leona wondered why Kaede did not help her younger sister protect the shrine, but Kaede must have anticipated that question because she soon stepped in to provide an answer.

"I live in the Imperial City because I'm more of a city kitsune who's interested in the modern world. My sister's the more traditional kitsune. Besides, Kaname's perfectly suited to be a shrine guardian because she's a lot stronger than me." Kaede said. Kaname crossed her arms and frowned a little, a sight that made Leona take a step back.

"Mother intended for both of us to protect the shrine, Kaede." Kaname said to her sister. Kaede laughed in embarrassment. Leona kept her mouth shut.

"I know, I know. But I'm not a rural kitsune. The modern world's so interesting with its television shows and its iLacs and its cars and planes! Rural Midi's so boring!" Kaede protested, her protest explaining why Kaname was the sole protector of the shrine their mother had charged them both with protecting. Kaname closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Besides, you're the white-haired kitsune. The shrine's monks think you're extra-special 'cause you're a good luck charm or something! That makes you a really good shrine guardian!" Kaede protested further, claiming that her sister was suited to the duty due to the fact that white-haired kitsunes were special because they were considered good luck charms. Kaname was not having it and frowned even deeper, her blue eyes becoming icy daggers. The brunette looked at her sister pleadingly and the younger kitsune closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"That's true, but I do wish that you'd visit me more than once every six months. Mother intended for both of us to watch over the shrine, not just me." Kaname huffed before she quit frowning. Leona could tell that there was some unresolved conflict between the sisters, presumably over how the younger sister got saddled with the responsibility while Kaede ran off to the city to live a carefree modern life. Kaede blushed in embarrassment and relief.

"I'll try and visit you more often, Kaname. I promise." Kaede said. Kaname nodded and turned to Leona.

"I believe that my sister wants to duel you, Miss Jarnefeldt. Don't worry about any injuries that you might inflict on her or that she might inflict on you. I know healing magic and can patch up any wounds you receive." Kaname assured the Wizard Saint. Leona was not sure whether she should be comforted or worried by that statement. Just how seriously did Kaede take duels?

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"My sister is right, Miss Jarnefeldt. Let us begin our duel." Kaede said, no doubt eager to get away from the subject of how she had saddled her younger sister with the duty of protecting Sakae Shrine and its monks. Leona let it pass without comment and the pair walked ten paces away from each other, then turned and faced one another. Kaede bowed at the waist towards the Wizard Saint and Leona returned the gesture. Kaname took a few steps back and faced the pair.

"Remember, don't hold anything back, Miss Jarnefeldt!" Kaede requested of the Wizard Saint. Leona nodded.

"BEGIN!" Kaname called out. Kaede drew her sword and disappeared in a red flash. Leona drew Shoki and immediately tried to determine which angle the brown-haired kitsune would attack from. There was no telling because she was fast on her feet for an H-Rank mage and had a lot of tricks the Wizard Saint had not yet seen. Leona held her sword in a guard position and looked for the kitsune when she noticed a red blur materialize in front of her.

Front!

Leona blocked the horizontal sword swing and hit back with a Wind Blast spell at point-blank range that knocked Kaede off-balance but not off of her feet. Leona followed up with a Wind Bullet spell from her left hand that hit Kaede in the midsection and knocked her back and down. The Wizard Saint paused for a moment to consider how to renew her attack and the kitsune quickly recovered. She had a smile on her face.

"Good, good! Keep it up, Miss Jarnefeldt!" Kaede called out. She then disappeared in a red blur and forced Leona back on the defensive. The Wizard Saint remained calm and watched her surroundings for Kaede's reappearance. She ruled out another frontal attack and started to watch her sides when she felt a strong impact from behind. Kaede had somehow gotten behind her!

Leona staggered forward and Kaede reappeared in front of her with a downward chop. The Wizard Saint held Shoki out and rolled forward onto her left shoulder to avoid the blow, then popped up to her feet and looked for her opponent. Leona was now alerted to the possibility of being attacked from behind and looked for Kaede to attack from behind a second time. While she was looking behind her a red blur appeared in front of her and Kaede attacked with a lunging stab.

Leona sidestepped just in time to avoid getting stabbed in the midsection but not soon enough to avoid the blade piercing the midsection of her outfit and tearing it, exposing the left side of her stomach. The Wizard Saint looked for her opponent again and saw her materialize behind her, but this time Leona was ready and hit with a Spinning Backfist using her left hand. Leona felt her hand connect with Kaede's face and heard a groan before the surprised kitsune staggered backwards.

Not wanting to give her a chance to recover, Leona did a "flash step" and vanished in a Zephyr Charge that hit Kaede in the midsection, propelling the brunette backwards and causing her to nearly drop her sword as she fell onto the grass. Laughter erupted from Kaede.

"Well done, Miss Jarnefeldt! But I'm feeling that you're holding back on me!" Kaede complimented her opponent. It seemed like she was having fun with her duel. Truth be told, so was Leona. It was nice to have a friendly duel with nothing on the line and someone nearby who knew healing magic. However, the blonde still had to be careful because friendly duel or not Shoki was made to harm supernatural beings and Kaede stood to be badly hurt if Leona sliced her too many times with its blade.

"Now let me show you some of my magic!" Kaede called out. She began to glow red and Leona felt the air get a little warmer. Kaede then stuck a hand out and projected a cone of bright orange flame that raced towards the Wizard Saint and made her jump left. Leona was so distracted by the flame that she failed to notice Kaede's disappearance and did not know that she was missing until the brunette reappeared at her left and took a horizontal swing at the blonde. The surprised Leona sidestepped to the right and felt the blade barely miss her left side.

Kaede glowed red again and leaped into the air, then hovered as her nine tails bobbed rhythmically up and down. Moments later she glowed red and a column of red light surrounded her. Leona quickly raised the index and middle fingers of her left hand and put them together for a Silver Tempest. She charged the spell and fired the silver horizontal tornado at Kaede, who vanished in a burst of red light. Leona panicked.

Had she just killed Kaede by mistake?

"I'm in front of you." Kaede said to Leona.

"I'm behind you." Kaede's voice said again.

"I'm beside you." She said a third time.

"In fact, I'm everywhere you look." Kaede said a fourth time. Leona looked all around her and saw not one Kaede, not two Kaedes, but nine of them surrounding her and standing six meters away. The Wizard Saint recalled Kaede coming to the rescue with such a technique during the fight with the bandits earlier today. She also recalled how there were eight clones of Kaede and one real kitsune among them, but how could she find the real Kaede?

Leona immediately began to look for clues that could help her pick out the real Kaede from the clones. She looked for anything like sweating, shadows, lack of shadows, minor imperfections, or other clues, but she was not seeing anything that could help her. All of the clones looked exactly like their creator and all of them cast shadows. Recalling Luna Mira's advice, Leona did not act rashly. Instead she began to think the matter through.

The Wizard Saint began to mentally go over what she knew about the clones.

She knew that while they could hurt someone like the real thing, they vanished after making their attack.

Maybe they only had enough energy put into them to deal or sustain one hit before vanishing.

Leona had a way to hit multiple clones at once, but Kaede had seen her use Storm Impact before and had likely accounted for that countermeasure.

While she recalled what she knew Kaede was not going to give the Wizard Saint all day to figure out a counter for them. All nine Kaedes went on the attack at once, causing Leona to have to think on her feet. The Wizard Saint was now faced with a decision, a decision that had to be made quickly.

How did she counter being attacked by nine people at once?

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Leona tried to think fast, but Kaede's clones did not give her time to. She would just have to fight her way through the clones and hit the real kitsune a few times until the latter was too bruised to continue the fight. This was no longer the time to hold back. If she wanted to see how a Wizard Saint did battle, then she would get exactly what she wanted.

With her course of action decided, Leona waited until all of the clones were close, then knelt and used Storm Impact to generate an expanding dome of wind that staggered the ones in front of her, giving her just enough time to escape encirclement using Zephyr Dash. Once the dash had been completed and she was standing one hundred meters away from the kitsunes she felt a few gashes on her back where the clones had swiped at her with their swords; her outfit was cut but she was not bleeding. Leona took a few seconds to plan the next phase of her attack.

She quickly put her left index and middle fingers together, pointed them at a clone, and fired a Silver Tempest that hit her squarely in the chest, causing her to disappear in a burst of red light. Leona quickly searched for the real Kaede among the clones... she was hoping to see if destroying a clone would cause the real Kaede to react in some way, but Leona did not notice anything different about the clones after one of them had been destroyed. The kitsune had obviously perfected her cloning spell over the centuries expressly to eliminate such a weakness.

Leona watched the others close in and fired a Wind Bullet at one of them, but the intended target dodged it and the spell projectile hit a clone behind her first target, eliminating it. Now the Wizard Saint only had seven kitsunes to deal with. Then she had an idea.

If Kaede used clones, Leona could use summons to even the odds.

She knew exactly who to summon. The Furies. Kaede was going to experience the most powerful summons the Wizard Saint had at her beck and call.

"O THREE SISTERS OF UNRIVALED MIGHT, GRANT ME YOUR POWER IN THIS FIGHT!" Leona summoned the Furies as the kitsunes began to close in on her. The grass blew wildly as a tornado appeared and deposited Megeara, Alecto, and Tisiphone in a triangular formation around Leona. They stood up and took to the air almost immediately.

"What would you ask of us?" Tisiphone asked Leona.

"You see those kitsunes? Help me take them down!" Leona instructed Tisiphone and the other two Furies as she aimed a Wind Blast spell and fired it at the oncoming fox ladies. They all jumped out of the way to avoid it and resumed running forward as soon as their feet hit the ground. Kaede had learned how to avoid Wind Blast and had passed on that information to her clones.

The three Furies began to dive bomb the kitsunes with their talons and fly away just as quickly as they had struck at their targets, allowing Leona a bit of breathing room to try and think of a way to hit multiple clones at once. She had already tried a Wind Blast and failed, so that was not a viable option. She had used Storm Impact with some success, but having used it once, they would be expecting it again. One of the clones rushed towards Leona and swung diagonally at her with her sword.

Leona blocked the diagonal attack with Shoki and stepped back to break the bladelock, then hit back with a Mach Straight to the face that staggered the clone, giving Leona a chance to attack with Shoki. A stab through its midsection caused it to explode in a burst of red light, taking another clone out of the equation. Leona looked for her next target and saw that the clones had quickly adapted to the Wizard Saint's airborne helpers and were grouping up to fend them off.

Leona did not have long to think because a red blur appeared behind her and materialized. It was one of the Kaedes and whether it was the real one or just a clone was a mystery. It did not matter. Leona struck it in the face with a Spinning Back Elbow that caused her to shriek and stagger back two feet. The blonde spun around and stabbed it in the stomach, eliminating another clone in a burst of red light. Just as soon as she had dealt with the clone one of the kitsunes another one appeared in front of her with a smile.

"Now this is a fight, Miss Jarnefeldt! This is exactly what I wanted from you!" The kitsune said before her blade glowed red and suddenly ignited in flame. The Wizard Saint stepped back and watched as Kaede stepped towards her and slashed diagonally downward, leaving a red arc in the air and shooting forth a ball of flame about the size of a basketball. Leona dodged it and watched it sail off into the distance before puffing out of existence, but while she was concerned about collateral damage Kaede took the chance to close with Leona and perform a "flash step" that hit Leona hard and knocked her to the ground by hitting her in the stomach with the pommel of her katana with enough force to bowl the blonde over.

Kaede had known that the flaming blade would distract Leona long enough for the kitsune to make her real attack!

The Wizard Saint hopped to her feet to find Kaede standing in front of her with her katana in its sheath. Her left hand was on the scabbard and her right hand was on the sword's grip. It looked like this was going to be settled by a close-range iajutsu duel, a duel where the kitsune held the advantage thanks to centuries of training in the sword style. Leona stood her ground and the pair looked at one another.

"Here's your first lesson in iajutsu, Miss Jarnefeldt." Kaede said to the blonde, switching from a playful to serious tone of voice. She performed a quick horizontal slash with her sword and Leona performed one with Shoki. Their swords clashed and Leona settled in for a bladelock when Kaede raised her left hand and struck Leona in the left cheek with a sharp blow from the scabbard that caught the blonde off guard.

"The first lesson of iajutsu is that your scabbard's as much of a weapon as your sword." Kaede said to Leona. She broke the bladelock and brought her scabbard back to her side in one fluid motion, then resheathed her sword.

"Now, let's see if you remember that lesson." Kaede said. She darted back into Leona's face and performed a quick draw slash at her throat. Leona raised Shoki and blocked it, watching for the scabbard strike. Leona saw it coming at her left cheek for a second time and blocked it with her left forearm, which was covered by the Argent Glove. Kaede had expected the Wizard Saint to use her own scabbard to block Kaede's scabbard, but the kitsune smiled anyway and stepped back.

"That wasn't exactly the response I was looking for, but you learned to expect my scabbard to be used as a weapon. Next time I won't strike in such an obvious place." Kaede complimented Leona for her quick response time before promising that the next strike would not be so easily blocked. Leona sheathed Shoki and waited for the next attack from the kitsune. She did not have long to wait... Kaede materalized in front of her and slashed horizontally at the blonde's midsection. Leona blocked it, then grabbed Shoki's scabbard and blocked Kaede's scabbard strike that was aimed at the left side of her neck with it. Kaede smiled in response.

"Very good, Miss Jarnefeldt. I was just easing you into the lesson. Now let's see you apply what you've learned!" Kaede complimented her before dashing backwards and reappearing 100 meters away. Leona readied herself for an attack from any direction. The kitsune had promised to take the training wheels off for the upcoming exercise and Leona had every reason to believe that Kaede was going to do her best to make good on her promise.

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Kaede calmly snapped her fingers and the clones disappeared, leaving only the real Kaede standing. Leona saw the Furies momentarily express surprise at their targets disappearing, but they did not waste too much time flying into the air and preparing to dive on Kaede with murderous intent. Leona noticed this and called out to them.

"WAIT! DON'T ATTACK HER!" Leona called out to the Furies. All three stopped what they were doing and landed beside her. Tisiphone began to speak as her sisters sternly watched Kaede.

"Are you saying that you wish to duel this woman by yourself?" The red-haired Fury asked Leona.

"Yes." Leona answered. The Furies studied the Wizard Saint for a moment, then nodded.

"Very well then. We will obey your command. This woman is yours." Tisiphone said before she and her sisters took the air and landed beside Kaname. Leona dispelled them and then faced Kaede, who had already disappeared. Oh no.

Kaede reappeared in front of Leona and used her scabbard to strike Leona in the stomach, causing the shocked Wizard Saint to double over for a moment before Kaede kneed her in the face. Leona staggered back and Kaede let the blonde recover from the surprise attack.

"The second lesson of iajutsu is to never let your guard down!" Kaede sternly admonished Leona. The Wizard Saint did not protest and only faced Kaede for another round. Kaede disappeared again and the blonde looked all around her for the woman. Soon she saw a red blur to her right and calmly turned to face it, blocking the horizontal slash at her throat with Shoki in her right hand and parrying Kaede's scabbard with Shoki's scabbard. Kaede disappeared with a faint, lingering smile of approval and left the Wizard Saint to guess where her next attack would come from.

With her lower lip still numb from receiving the kitsune's knee to her face, Leona did not let down her guard and looked for her adversary to reappear shortly. Kaede soon reappeared behind Leona and performed a lunging stab. Leona spun around the stab and swung the scabbard in her left hand at Kaede's face in one fluid motion. The surprised kitsune caught the blue scabbard squarely in the right cheek and spun back a foot or two, then smiled.

"Well done, Miss Jarnefeldt! Never forget that the scabbard's every bit a weapon as your sword!" Kaede complimented Leona for the unexpected strike. She darted away and reappeared ten meters from the Wizard Saint.

"From now on I want to see you use both sword and magic against me! I won't use my clones and you won't use your summons!" Kaede laid out the terms of their duel from here on out.

"That's fine with me!" Leona answered. Kaede smiled.

"Get ready!" She warned Leona. She then vanished in a red blur and Leona instantly went on the defensive and looked for the kitsune to reappear from any angle. Moments later Kaede reappeared and tried to repeat the trick of ramming her scabbard into Leona's stomach, but the blonde had anticipated that attack and spun aside, going for a scabbard strike to the back of Kaede's head. Kaede darted forward to escape it and then rematerialized 100 meters away.

Her sword caught fire and she swung it diagonally downward, firing a fireball that sailed towards Leona. Recalling what had happened the last time she had been in this situation, Leona ducked under the fireball and paid close attention to where Kaede might reappear. The kitsune reappeared right in front of her and went for a horizontal slash aimed for her head. Leona rolled sideways to the left and barely avoided getting a haircut from the attack, but she had avoided it nonetheless. The Wizard Saint popped up and looked for her opponent again.

Kaede reappeared to Leona's left and swung the flaming sword in a powerful downward chop. Leona circled around it and aimed for the kitsune's midsection with her scabbard but was stopped by Kaede using her own to block it. She went for a stab and Leona deflected it with Shoki, then followed up with a scabbard thrust aimed at the brunette's stomach. That one connected and made the kitsune stagger back.

She quickly reattached her scabbard to her belt and raised her left hand, firing a cone of flame that the blonde rolled to the right to avoid. Leona faced Kaede and quickly sheathed Shoki, then crouched down and leaped forward in a "flash step." A moment later Leona reappeared and unsheathed Shoki for a Blade Rush strike aimed at Kaede's midsection. The surprised kitsune barely had time to step back and block the horizontal swing of Shoki before Leona stood up and quickly brought Shoki's scabbard down towards Kaede's right shoulder.

Kaede barely blocked it in time with her sword and Leona stepped back and quickly sheathed her sword. Once it was sheathed she drew it and took a single step forward, using a Blue Flash technique to cut horizontally. Kaede held her sword downward to block the Blue Flash and parried the blade, stepping forward to punch Leona in the face with her free hand. Leona saw it coming and raised her left forearm to block it.

The punch connected with the Argent Glove and Kaede stepped back, then tried another downward chop. Leona stepped into the attack with Shoki held diagonally and stopped it before it got too far, then drew her left hand back and struck at Kaede's face with a Mach Jab. Kaede moved her head left and avoided the jab, stepping back to put space between them.

The kitsune avoided a Mach Straight from the Wizard Saint with a tilt of her head to the right and Leona drew back her left fist for still another attack. Kaede stepped back and swung horizontally at the blonde's midsection and Leona blocked it with a two-handed grip on Shoki. Kaede stepped back and put away her sword, then smiled.

"Well done, Miss Jarnefeldt. I'm satisfied with what I have seen. You're quite the fighter." Kaede said. Leona kept her weapon up in case it was still another ruse designed to teach her a lesson through an unexpected attack. After thirty seconds had passed Leona still remained watchful for a sneak attack.

"You've got a long ways to go before you fully learn iajutsu, but you've picked up on the basics fairly quickly. Maybe we can help you further develop your skills... if you'd like." Kaede offered the promise of future training in iajutsu. Leona blinked.

Was Kaede serious about the offer?

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Leona was still not sure if the duel was over or not. One moment Kaede was going after her with everything she had and the next she was standing and chatting amicably. The Wizard Saint decided to put Shoki away but still keep a watch on the kitsune. If Kaede went on the offensive as part of teaching the Wizard Saint a lesson about vigilance the blonde would respond with her magic and her fists.

"It's a real offer. No tricks." Kaede assured Leona that the offer of additional training in iajutsu was a real one. Leona still did not relax. This was all too convenient. Leona had barely managed to hold her own against the kitsune on the latter's terms and now the brunette was offering additional training. Some kind of trick had to be going on here.

Or maybe that was just the adrenaline talking.

Leona followed Luna Mira's advice to think before she acted. She took a deep breath. She then recalled Samira Nassar's lesson to think before she spoke. She took another deep breath.

"If you're willing to teach me, then I'm willing to learn." Leona accepted the offer. She was still watching Kaede, though. The lesson to never let down her guard had been taught early and painfully. Kaede smiled.

"I am pleased with the outcome of our duel, Miss Jarnefeldt. While you don't have formal training in a particular style, your instincts are rather good. You also learn quickly. You kept me on my feet near the end, which is something that hasn't happened in decades." Kaede complimented Leona.

"That's true, but instincts can get me only so far. I need formal training." Leona accepted the compliment before arguing that while her instincts were good, instincts could only get her so far. While instinct could and did carry her over untrained opponents, if she went up against someone with formal training like Sol she tended to perform less competently. Kaede smiled.

"Training does help, but the most important thing is to keep a flexible mindset. Even when you've completed training you have to stay flexible or you'll just make yourself easy to predict. Not every fight's a duel like this one." Kaede agreed with the blonde and posed her own counterargument. Training was helpful and it had a place, but it was no substitute for flexibility. Leona knew from personal experience that not every fight was a duel and that one had to think on their feet if they wanted to win. Sometimes that meant switching sword styles mid-fight. Sometimes that meant not using a particular style at all and going for the "street fight" approach of using whatever worked.

Still, having formal training in a sword style was an asset, especially in a region that did not use that sword style such as Desierto.

However, Leona doubted that fancy swordplay would get her very far against the bandits of Desierto, especially after hearing and seeing that they were beginning to arm themselves with bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic carbines. She would have to fight fire with fire and arm herself with a firearm of her own. She was sure that there was a gun shop somewhere in Earthland that sold magically enchanted firearms. When she bought one, she would also need to make sure that its rounds could harm the supernatural or she would be wasting money.

"Now that that's settled, who wants more tea?" Kaname asked. Kaede raised her hand. Leona raised hers as well.

Kaname traced a pale blue circle in the air with her hands and formed a portal that led to her house.

"OK, follow me and I'll brew some more tea for us." Kaname said to them. Her attention then turned to Leona.

"Say, Miss Jarnefeldt, the guild you lead is a scholarly one. Would you like to see my personal library?" Kaname offered.

"Certainly. Kaede told me that you've collected a lot of first editions of some famous works of Midian literature." Leona replied. Kaname smiled.

"My sister's right, Miss Jarnefeldt. I have quite the collection. Some of them aren't even in print anymore, not even in second or third editions." Kaname confirmed what her sister had told the Wizard Saint and bragged a bit about the rarity of her books. Kaede walked towards the portal while Leona fell in behind her and Kaname brought up the rear.

Kaede led the way through the portal. Seconds later Leona went through. Finally Kaname followed her sister and the Wizard Saint through the portal that led to home.

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[Total Word Count: 11,670/11,000]