Sisters in Arms:

Restless, that would have been the best way to describe how Elise felt currently. Laying on her back within the comfort of the bed that she was allowed to borrow during her stay at the Ryuujin no Budo dojo, the young woman tried to recall the recent events that had transpired. It had only been a few days since the conclusion of the tournament and the approach of the elderly master: the mysterious 'Dragon King'.

The fact the man had offered her a place among her students seemed to had been a rare opportunity, for the fellow martial arts students of the island that were present at that time shown clear signs of bewilderment. Why was Elise, who despite her dedication to the martial arts was still a novice at best, had been chosen by one of the famous masters of the island? Not only that, but she was an outsider on top of that also.

The sound of an alarm clock's ringing drawn her attention back to reality, and after silencing the device with a tap of her hand the young woman changed into her dogi, the garb that all followers of the dojo worn. It didn't take long for her to reach the gathering hall, the spacious room having been only a corridor away from where she was staying. However, more curious was the fact that several individuals had gathered.

First and foremost was the elderly man, his body leaning on a small cane and while one might had thought he was just an old guy, there was a certain fire in his eyes and he seemed to carry a certain mysterious aura of wisdom and power with him. Standing next to him was a tall man, several years older than herself and judging from the hardened look in his eyes also much more experienced than her. She remembered having spoken to him before, the 'first brother' as one might had called him in the martial arts world, or the one who stood on top of the seniority among the students.

Standing before him were four more individuals, who were unfamiliar to her. Two teenagers, perhaps barely approaching the age of adulthood, and if their nearly identical appearance aside from one having red eyes and the other green were a clue then they might had been brothers. There was also a rather pretty looking lass next to them, roughly around her own age albeit the remaining student made her a bit curious. A man with long raven hair was standing furthest away from them, arms crossed beneath his chest and a confident expression on his face. He somehow had this rather peculiar 'feeling' to him.

"Ah Cricket, you have arrived."

Elise's expression turned into one of confusion, tilting her head to the side as the master addressed her, and with a light raise of her hand she pointed toward her face.

"You mean me?"

One of the two teenagers seemed amused by her confusion, declaring in a cheerful tone.

"Yes, cause compared to us an outsider like you is a mere insect!"

The other boy snickered in mischief, albeit they were both swiftly silenced by the tall man beside their master, who glared in their direction before turning toward Elise with a sympathetic smile.

"Do not take it personally, it's a endearing nickname. It's meant to represent your inexperience and your potential to grow. Every new student has carried the name before you till they passed their initiating trials. Now let us introduce ourselves properly shall we?"

A short pause followed when the man gestured with a hand toward himself, soon continuing the conversation.

"My name is Gregory, albeit within the dojo I'm known as the First Brother. Consider me your 'big brother' on terms of martial arts. The term is given to the most experienced student of master Ryuujin."

As Gregory started the introductions Master Ryuujin's gaze remained focused on her for some reason, and while she discarded the feeling of being watched there was this nagging feeling that the man was reading every detail of her reactions.

"As you likely noticed the Ryuujin no Budo is like a family in hierarchy. From the oldest to the youngest we have myself: The first brother. Then we have Tsurugi."

The raven-haired man who was the furthest away from the group nodded his head calmly in return, replying in a rather curt tone.

"The name is Tsurugi. I'll look forward to see you prove your worth Cricket."

There was a certain distant tone in his voice, and yet she had little time to focus on him because the first brother quickly resumed the introductions.

"After the Second Brother Tsurugi we have Third Sister Akari."

The girl turned toward her, albeit after only a brief curt nod with her head she turned away again, paying her no more attention.

"And those little demons here are Fourth brother Tom, and firth brother Tim."

The two of them made a loud 'huff' noise of disapproval and turned their back at her. the conceit and disdain in their response clearly noticeable.

"That's that for introductions. For today we'll be first eating breakfast and will then starting warming up for the training sessions."

With those words spoken the group had started to dissolve, the two brothers rushing toward the door that led toward the dining room, while Tsurugi sighed loudly and pursued them, at a more respectable pace. It seemed Akari had the same thought in mind, following after them while Elise remained to ponder for a bit. Was it just her, or were those students showing some 'not so subtle' dislike toward her?

With those thoughts in mind Elise accompanied them into the dining hall and prepared for breakfast, considering herself blessed that it was not the mischievous brothers Tom and Tim, but the first brother Gregory who was making breakfast. She wouldn't want to find an actual cricket in her soup...

The hours that passed after breakfast were fortunately rather uneventful. After the meal they were told to change into their dogi and proceed into the courtyard, and Elise learned about the unusual sparring partners she would have for her training. No fellow students had been chosen to fight her and judging from their glances at her it was clear they weren't going to offer any help either. No, instead it were some wooden dolls that were seemingly build in such a way that they were capable of a certain degree of activity. Whether magical or technological was something she wasn't certain of, but she did listen attentively to the First Brother's explanation.

Those wooden dolls were made in such a way that they would help Elise learn the motions of the Ryuujin's techniques through trial and error, and they were more than durable enough to deal with her attacks. The first exercises alone already proven to be difficult, for she was instructed to break the doll's defenses and force it onto the ground. Using sheer strength proved to be futile, not to mention hurt her hands a lot, and a reckless approach just led her to being thrown onto her back, and the sound of snickering coming from the two mischievous brothers.

Still, after several hours of failed attempts she started to at least become capable of picking the right times to strike, and when to defend, and she found herself locked in a back and forth battle between herself and the target dummy.

"Why do you hesitate Cricket?"

The gentle voice of her master came from beside her, and to her surprise she found the elderly man having chosen to observe her battle instead of the more interesting spars the other students were having. Was she... hesitating? The elderly man smiled briefly as he noticed her hand, that had been nearly able to grab the dummy's arm into a lock, but then suddenly she had moved her arm back to deflect a punch that was send her way.

"See? You pulled back when you could easily have disabled your enemy. I doubt it's fear. Your aura eludes confidence, so that would be unlikely."

The same pattern repeated itself, the moment the dummy tried to kick her she had been able to grab his leg, but instead of continuing a throw she pushed it merely backwards, leading to a forceful stagger.

"It's concern isn't it? You're worried about the consequences of your attack, and that is why you hold back."

Elise had gone silent, and with a wave of his hand the master caused the dummy to freeze in place, allowing him to continue his explanation in a calm and wise tone.

"Kindness on a battlefield is both a virtue and a weakness Cricket. Being merciful to your opponents is all good and well, but if you restrain your true strength you do a dishonor to your opponents, and become a liability to yourself and your allies."

The young woman's gaze softened a little, seemingly thinking about the words the man had spoken, yet it was what he had said afterwards that lingered in her mind like an echo.

"You can't save everyone Cricket. If you want to protect the things dear to you, you'll need to set your priorities and learn to sacrifice."

With those words the master gave her a smile before he continued toward the other students, seemingly instructing them on their progress. It was just like this, that the rest of the morning continued, and when it became early in the afternoon and the signal for a break came that Elise decided to linger on the courtyard, the thoughts of her teacher's words still lingering on her mind.

Was that the way it truly was? No matter how powerful one might become, they still were incapable of protecting everything? The idea of sacrificing others didn't sit right with her...

"Cricket, I see that you're training diligently?"

The young woman had just finished another sparring match against one of the dummies when the first brother approached, and making a polite nod with her head she noticed there was a certain look in his eyes, perhaps concern?

"You seem restless, is something the matter?"

Elise hesitated for a moment, seemingly uncertain whether it would be the right time to reveal her thoughts, but in the end she finally spoke in a soft voice.

"It's... I'm not certain First Brother Gregory, but it feels like I'm not welcome here..."

The man frowned for a moment, before suddenly raising a hand, gently petting her head while replying in a gentle tone.

"The responses from your fellow brothers and sister? It's understandable Cricket. They are both confused and jealous. Most have lived on this island their entire life, and they fought and bled to get the master to notice them. Then suddenly Master Ryuujin shows an intense amount of interest in a outsider, to the point that he accepts her as a student without the countless trials the others had to undergo."

Was that the reason behind their dislike of her? But then...

"What could I possibly do?"

The man grinned sheepishly as he replied in a confident tone.

"That's easy to figure out Cricket. Rather than worrying about 'why do they disapprove of me' you should start to think about 'How do I make them approve of me?'"

To make the others accept her as one of them...

"If you'll excuse me, I got to head to the nearby village to find Akari. She was meant to pick up the ingredients for today's dinner, and she is running late."

Seemingly preparing to leave, the man was suddenly stopped when Elise exclaimed:

"Wait First Brother, let me go and find her!"

It was rather curious that the village Akari was supposed to visit wasn't all that far from the dojo, a casual walk had gotten her to the settlement, and yet on the road there had been no sign of the martial artist. Did she get lost? Or perhaps she was merely still doing her chores. The village she had arrived at was modest in size, and yet Elise knew that it would do her no good to blindly search all over the place. Certainly she had the right amount of information to focus her search at certain places, right? Akari was given a specific task...

"If she want to get ingredients for a meal, then she likely would have visited the market."

As a result Elise soon found herself wandering amidst the various stands, vendors trying to peddle their goods to customers and some even tried to convince her to buy some things. Of course the girl had little use for fancy accessories or pleasant perfumes, in the end she was here for training and not to enjoy life as a tourist. Not to mention, she was here for a mission! To track down the missing Akari took priority over those pleasantries, so when she spotted several vendors peddling things from bread to fruit and even meat, the attempt to question them about her whereabouts proved to be successful.

"Looking for your fellow martial arts friend? I think she said something about heading to the nearby harbor to buy some fresh fish. Still I'd be careful about going there! It has been a bit rowdy lately."

Thanking the man for the information Elise hurried toward the direction of the harbor, hoping to catch up with the girl. However, little did she expect that a simple chore to fetch an absent student would soon turn into a little adventure of its own. She had barely arrived at the harbor when she spotted a small crowd of men making their way toward a alleyway. Anyone with enough awareness of danger would likely have known that following them meant bad business, but when a fisherman approached her with a worried look she knew something was off about that gathering.

"A Ryuujin student? What a fortuitous timing!"

Seemingly identified by the dogi she was wearing, for it did contain the emblem of the Ryuujin no Budo the fisherman gestured toward the alleyway.

"It's Akari! The brave girl slapped one of those good-for-nothing thugs when they refused to pay me for one of the fish they took. However those guys swarmed her and dragged her toward the nearby storage house."

Elise's expression turned into one of a frown, pondering whether she would actually need to lend a hand. She was a fellow student of the Ryuujin no Budo, so surely she could take care of herself!

"Don't worry, she can likely handle such opponents."

Still the fisherman continued to panic, about to say something when suddenly a young man approached her. He looked quite ordinary to her, roughly kept brown hair, black leather jacket and a pair of matching pants and gloves that covered his hands.

"Heh, I think you're overestimating your friend. She came along pretty meekly when our chief told her that I'd get to punch a new hole into that fisherman's face."

So that was it... Akari had sacrificed her own safety in order to protect that man? A curious, albeit noble thing to do and something she didn't expect. That was actually rather selfless, and it made Elise determined to take action.

"I see... So all I got to do is deal with you?"

The girl sighed loudly, her gaze briefly turning toward the fisherman who she addressed rather curtly.

"Go alert the guards."

The fisherman nodded his head swiftly in response, rushing away from the small pier they were at. The thug seemed quite displeased when she allowed his hostage to flee, for he glared at her and said in a rather haughty tone.

"Stupid move girl, guess I'll have to make you take that guy's place."

However, to his surprise Elise replied to his taunt with one of her own, her body dropping into a combative stance after making a mocking gesture with her hand, lightly hopping on her feet while remaining on the same spot while recalling her recent encounter with Santiago. He had some pretty neat moves, and she wondered what type of skills this man had to display. Would he prove to be the same type of challenge?

Without any warning the man lashed forwards, a straightforward punch being made by the man that she nimbly dodged by turning her body sideways. However, the man seemed to consider the miss of his attack a reason the more to continue, for he pulled his arm backwards and tried to sweep with his leg at her.

Of course Elise had been able to predict the attack, strengthening the muscles in her flank, and when his leg hit her she barely felt any recoil.

"Those target dummies hit harder..."

Of course the man got pretty upset by the comment, pulling his leg backward and resuming his attack with a volley of punches. Nevertheless, it appeared Elise wasn't going to give him the chance to attack anymore, for the moment his first punch hit her shoulder, a confident smirk appearing on the man's lips, she used his overconfidence by grappling the second arm that went her way, a sideways spin of her body being accompanied by the hooking of his arm over her shoulder, and with a violent toss she thrown the man straight into the water next to the pier!

About to turn toward the direction of the alleyway the thugs had disappeared at Elise ignored the slight sting in her shoulder, when a sudden cry came from behind her.

"Help I can't swim!"

The violent splashing and flailing she heard, and saw when she turned back to look at the panicking thug caused Elise to groan loudly, tugging one of the lifebuoys from the pear and tossed it down.

"Gods I don't have time for this..."

And with those words she rushed toward the alleyway, hoping to find Akari before something happened.

Rushing down the alleyway it was rather easy to track down the trail to the missing student. Nor only did the alleyway lead to a small opening, but there was literally only a single large storage house visible, pretty much occupying the entire wall opposite of the alleyway. One of the thugs was still fidgeting with the lock of the door when she stepped into the clearing, and it appeared her arrival did not go unnoticed.

"You... What are you doing here?!"

Despite Akari's surprised tone she seemed unharmed, aside from some ropes having restrained her quite harshly. The two remaining thugs that had been standing at either side of her seemed rather surprised, turning to face Elise and judging from the dangerous glint in their eyes they were up to no good.

"Where the heck did that Axel go? He was supposed to be guarding the alleyway and making sure that fisherman didn't start babbling."

One... Two... It seemed only three thugs had been around, but she wasn't certain yet about their strength. If they were the same type of small fry as that guy earlier then it wouldn't be any problem, but she doubted it would be that easy.

"That guy? He's taking a dip in the harbor... Still, how long are you going to sit there Akari? I thought my senpai wouldn't have any problem dealing with those ropes."

Realizing that Elise had ensured the safety of the fisherman the girl grinned briefly, her hands grasping a hold of the bottom of the ropes and after two light tugs the third tug that followed tore the ropes like butter!

"So Elise, care to show me whether you can handle something a bit more difficult than those dummies from this morning?"

A brief smile emerged on Elise's lips as she raised her fists into the air, adopting a combative stance. She would be more than eager to deal with those rude thugs who preyed on innocent people!

"It would be my pleasure."

The leader of the trio seemed rather annoyed by the playful banter between the two girls, gesturing at one of his companions who nodded his head curtly at her.

"Get them!"

The guy was rather quick to approach her, sprinting in a beeline toward her, but to Elise's surprise the man revealed a knife from within his sleeve, and while the initial sweep missed she did realize it would be dangerous if she was stabbed by it! Still, she couldn't just recklessly attempt to attack him either, especially if she didn't want to get some extra holes in her body...

The man grinned at her hesitation, and while he lunged forwards, her body moved forwards, an attempt to grab his arm being an error in judgement! The man suddenly had tossed the dagger into his other hand, skillfully catching it and stabbed it forwards, the mid-air switch catching her by surprise and while she pulled her head backwards the metal edge of the blade sliced lightly against her cheek.

Akari seemed to had been doing better, she was seemingly more aggressive and had literally grabbed a man by his throat and slammed him into the wall of the storage-house, causing him to stop moving and the other opponent found his pincer attack intercepted when she released her grip on the man and with a solid knee-strike prevented the kick from the man to land against her!

"For a martial artist you're pretty weak! your hands are shaking!"

The knife-wielding man laughed in amusement at Elise, and to Elise's surprise she did find herself growing a bit nervous at the sight of the knife. This man wasn't just unarmed like her... And to make matters worse before she could think of a proper way to retaliate the man charged forwards, slamming his elbow into her stomach, causing a gasp of pain to escape the distressed Elise's mouth, and yet before she could properly recover the man tackled her onto her back, without any warning trying to straddle her as his knife lifted upwards, ready to finish the man's job.

"Why do you hesitate Cricket?"

She could hear the voice of the elderly man resound in her mind, that seemingly innocent question making it feel like time slowed down a little. Akari had noticed her plight, and attempted to reach her, but her own opponent was forcing himself between them, and the knife was still preparing to lower itself toward her...

Why did she hesitate? For the first time ever it might indeed had been fear. The fear of dying, the idea that she would die without being able to see the world government pay for their crimes... The thought alone terrified her to such a point a scream escaped from her lips. The man seemed startled when her hand grasped for his wrist, and while the tip of the knife dug into her shoulder it happened.

"Elise--- Don't!"

To Elise it was merely a survival instinct, a instinct that stirred something within her. The man on top of her his face twisted into one of pain as her hand wrapped tightly around his hand and then it happened.

Snap

A sickening snapping sound followed as the young woman's grip literally twisted the man's hand out of shape, yet at the same time a rather painful sting ran through her hand. Seemingly ignoring the knife that had dug itself lightly into her shoulder Elise pulled her other hand backwards and made a violent push with the palm of her free hand, one that seemingly had enough force to send the man flying into the nearby wall.

"Elise?"

Akari's concerned voice seemed to barely reach her, while behind Akari the thug that had been dealt with earlier seemingly had recovered enough, and was about to ambush her, seemingly ready to take the opportunity to take her down.

----
Elise learned to master the power of the Dragon King's grip in her moment of despair!

While Elise climbed back onto her feet, the knife dropping on the ground with a loud 'cling' sound the sight of the nearby thug attempting to ambush Akari caused Elise to think back about something. Those men were evil and vile individuals, just like the world government that she despised so much. In return her ally Akari had been selfless enough to go along with those thugs, even letting them capture her for the sake of that innocent bystander. Her concern for the survival of those men was endangering Akari's life!

"You can't save everyone Cricket. If you want to protect the things dear to you, you'll need to set your priorities and learn to sacrifice."

What was more important to her? The survival of those thugs, or the safety of Akari? Her eyes narrowing in a glare Elise dashed forwards, seemingly intending to intercept the attack of the second thug who hesitated momentarily at the almost feral roar of the girl.

It was only for a moment, but still enough for Elise to move in between Akari's back and the raised fist of the man, intercepting it with her hand, yet the strain from her earlier attack caused her to grunt lightly under the pain. Still, whatever frenzy had taken a hold of her, it seemingly allowed her to continue onward, moving sideways and behind the man's back, while her remaining arm started to wrap around his throat, seemingly pulling him into a backwards choke pull. The man visibly was panicking, flailing his remaining arm and sweeping his fist at her several times but even those painful blows remained ignored, all the way until the man's body started to spasm and he collapsed forwards, seemingly left unconscious from the loss of air.

In the meanwhile Akari had finished subduing the remaining thug, and with all three of them out of commission the hostility Elise sensed in the air faded away, and with her the unnatural frenzy she felt earlier, but also the adrenaline rush she had experienced.

With a soft thud Elise collapsed onto her knees, the pain from her sprained hand and the bleeding injury on her shoulder starting to settle in. The sound of footsteps approached, but for Elise they came too late for she lost consciousness only a few moments later.

In the meanwhile...

At the courtyard of the dojo the elderly master was gazing at the sky above, resting the palm of his hands on the wooden cane, and next to him stood the first brother Gregory.

"Did you sense it Gregory?"

The tall man nodded his head firmly in response, his eyes shifting from the sky toward his master.

"There was a incredibly intense release of energy within the village."

The Ryuujin master smiled briefly, humming in a pleased tone.

"To think I'd hear the roar of a wyvern. That was unmistakable the cry of a 'Child of the Dragon'."

Gregory's eyes widened in disbelief, turning toward the man he considered his master and asked in a worried tone.

"I know the rumors master. The tales that our style originates from the teachings of those beings. But surely you can't suggest that Cricket--"

The Ryuujin lowered his gaze down toward the gate of the dojo where a group of villagers were seen carrying the injured Elise, clearly being supported under one arm by Akari. The sight caused him to smile briefly.

"No, she is not a dragon... At least not yet."

And with those mysterious words as his statement the master disappeared into the dojo. After shooting the master a final glance Gregory turned toward the approaching villagers, seemingly instructing them to take Elise to her room.

Several hours later...

A sharp pain stung in Elise's hand, a pain strong enough to wake her from her slumber, and yet a rather unexpected sight awaited her. Seated beside her bed was Akari, a worried gaze being given her way.

"Did you---"

the girl shook her head gently, explaining with a smile.

"First Brother Gregory tended to your wounds. I merely helped carry you here."

Elise's gaze shifted around the room, seemingly a bit surprised at the fact she was back at the dojo.

"You helped me?"

Akari pouted at the question, seemingly mildly annoyed by it.

"Of course I did! Is it that strange for me to help a comrade? Consider it a thank you for saving my rear back then."

Whispering a word of gratitude for Akari's help Elise looked down at her left hand, noticing the bandages wrapped around it.

"Master Ryuujin told us you're not allowed to train for the rest of the week. Seems your hand got sprained quite badly, a bit more and it might had been fractured. Luckily your treatment will heal it within only a few days!"

The girl nodded her head lightly while she watched Akari rise off the side of the bed, making her way toward the doorway, but not before turning back to face her, saying with an sheepish grin on her lips.

"Welcome to the Ryuujin no Budo Elise, glad that I'm no longer the only girl here."

And with those words the girl left the room, leaving Elise to bask in a certain pleasant warmth. Her cheeks had flushed up lightly at the feeling of gratitude, perhaps also because it was rather pleasant for her to feel acknowledged by someone.

Still, not everything was sunshine and rainbows, for somewhere on the island a cloaked figure moved, a crow resting on the glove that had been raised in the air.

"We finally found you... 'Child of the Dragon Mountain'..."

With a sweep of his hand the crow started to fly away, cawing loudly in return while the cloaked figure disappeared back inland...

With the first chapter reaching its conclusion, what is this mysterious 'Dragon' that the Ryuujin mentioned, and what does Elise have to do with it? Read it in the next chapter of the Legend of the Ryuujin!