Chapitre 567: Flying Heaven's Sword-Style

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

December 24, x787.

"Ugh… What happened?" Guy asked as he finally got himself back together.

"It looks like Alfonzo and Saeko are going to spar." Kakashi said, interrupting Laki's numerous attempts to get him to remove his mask.

"Oh!" Guy exclaimed loudly as his head snapped toward the center of the circle of onlookers. "Their youth will shine brightly in this moment."

"But why are they fighting now?" Neji asked in a curious tone.

"And why did Alfonzo say that this would be good for me." Tenten asked in confusion.

"I can answer those questions." Miyuki said calmly as she bowed her head politely.

Immediately, Guy, Kakashi, Neji, and Tenten turned their heads in the maid's direction. Meanwhile, Lee, the only other person who was not present when all this started, was too busy engaging Wendy, who was smiling happily and blushing lightly, in conversation to focus on the conversation everyone else was having.

"The reason for this sparring match is so that Miss Saeko can show Young Master Uchiha the value of swordsmanship." Miyuki continued. "As for why you were invited here, Miss Tenten, it was to give you a new perspective on weapon combat. At least, that is how Master Alfonzo put it before he left to get you."

"Hmph!" Sasuke snorted at Miyuki's explanation.

"A new perspective?" Tenten muttered as her attention shifted back to the two fighters.

"Then, do you know why I was dragged here?" Kakashi asked while reading his little orange book with one of his hands in his pocket.

"To show me your face." Laki replied.

"I seriously doubt that." Kakashi said lackadaisically.

"I only grabbed you because you were there when I caught up to Guy, who had run off before I could tell him where to go." Alfonzo said, answering Kakashi's question.

In response, Kakashi looked up from his book and silently glanced at Alfonzo. Then, he glanced at Guy, who, at least, had the decency to wear a bashful expression after Alfonzo pointed out his blunder. After that, he shook his head and returned to reading his book.

"Anyway, now that everyone is watching, you wanna get started, Saeko?" Alfonzo asked, his expression turning solemn as he did so.

"Yes." Saeko replied concisely.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Saeko gripped the hilt of the katana hanging on her waist. Then, she dropped into an iaido stance, signaling she was ready to begin. At the same time, Alfonzo created a pair of double-edged, curved short swords in his hands. Then, he too lowered himself into a fighting stance.

At the same time Alfonzo took his stance, he tapped the heel of his left foot on the ground. An instant later, several small metal devices appeared from the ground in front of the spectators, creating a barrier that prevented stray attacks from injuring anyone. Also, the barrier would kept the magic power fluctuations contained, preventing them from affecting the rest of the village.

"Then, let's go." Alfonzo said.

In the next instant, without the use of his [Electromagnetism Magic] to augment his speed, Alfonzo vanished from where he stood in a burst of speed. An instant later, he reappeared in front of Saeko while slashing diagonally upwards with his right blade from Saeko's right hip to her left shoulder.

Seeing the speed at which Alfonzo was moving, Sasuke quickly activated his Sharingan, which had two tomoe spinning around his pupils. At the same time, Kakashi's book disappeared from his hand as he pulled his headband, which was covering his left eye, to reveal that he, too, had a Sharingan. With the two exposing their Sharingan, they would have a comparatively easier time keeping track of the spar than everyone present, other than Neji and Hinata, who both activated their Byakugan to follow the spar, as well.

*Shing!*

In response to Alfonzo's slash, Saeko quickly unsheathed her katana, using it to deflect Alfonzo's attack.

*Clang!*

The sound of the colliding blades echoed around the area. However, Saeko followed up her defense well before the echoes faded.

"[Flying Heaven's Sword-Style: Sōryūsen]." Saeko said, naming her technique as she, with the sheath held in her left hand, swung it at Alfonzo's torso.

In response, Alfonzo quickly stepped back while lowering the blade in his right hand to meet the incoming sheath. Then, he swung the blade in his left hand upwards to meet the return slash from Saeko's sword.

*Ting!*

Using the blade in his right hand, Alfonzo pushed Saeko's sheath away from his body. Then, he thrust the same blade forward, aiming for the left side of Saeko's chest. In response, Saeko took half a step back before parrying the thrust to her left while simultaneously replacing the sheath on her hip.

In the next instant, Saeko held her katana's hilt with both hands. Then, she once again stepped forward, slashing at Alfonzo from his left shoulder to his right hip.

Reacting quickly, Alfonzo turned his body to avoid the slash. However, as he was about to return a slash of his own, Saeko shifted the grip on her katana's hilt before raising in a slash, that if Alfonzo did not defend, would remove his right arm.

In response, Alfonzo shifted the blade in his right hand into a reverse grip while simultaneously thrusting the blade in his left hand across his body, creating a cross between his blades, which he used to catch Saeko's upward slash.

*Clang!*

"Seriously, Saeko." Alfonzo said with a grin while the two stared each other in the eyes. "I'm really not trying to lose an arm for a second time."

"I had faith you would be able to defend." Saeko, with a sadistic grin on her face, replied. "Besides, seeing that instant of panic in your eyes was rather cute."

As Saeko said, Alfonzo actually panicked for an instant. Despite the fact that it happened almost seven years ago, losing an arm was a traumatic experience for Alfonzo. So, even though it no longer affected his fighting prowess, he still finds himself uneasy at the thought of losing an arm again.

Though, the painful experience of reattaching it with the Techno Organic Metal may have something to do with it, as well.

With that short conversation ending, Alfonzo and Saeko pushed away from each other. Then, Saeko sheathed her sword with such speed that a sonic boom was produced, making the less experienced among the onlookers cover their ears.

"[Flying Heaven's Sword-Style: Ryūmeisen]." Saeko said, naming her technique as the handguard met the mouth of the sheath.

While most of the younger onlookers could not help but cover their ears, Alfonzo, Guy, and Kakashi only frowned in slight discomfort. Wendy, on the other hand, felt as if she would vomit from the sensory overload. Naturally, this caused Lee, who was halfway paying attention to Wendy, despite the fact that he was excited about the spar, to hold her and pat her back soothingly.

Knowing that her last technique would bother Wendy the most, Saeko apologized in her heart. However, she perfected this technique because of people like the Dragon Slayers, whose senses were far above a normal wizard's. So, seeing Wendy's reaction, her goal had been achieved.

At the same time, with her sword sheathed, Saeko took a step forward, flickering in front of Alfonzo before drawing her sword once again, slashing across Alfonzo's torso.

*Clang!*

Raising the short swords in his hands, Alfonzo managed to catch Saeko's slash. Then, he quickly forced Saeko's blade up over her head before bringing both blades down in an X-shape at Saeko's chest.

However, before Alfonzo could connect his attack, Saeko flooded her legs with magic power. Then, using the momentum of Alfonzo's redirection of her attack, she leapt into the air, avoiding his counterattack. Finally, with her hilt held firmly in both hands, she brought down an overhead slash.

"[Flying Heaven's Sword-Style: Ryūtsuisen]." Saeko cried as gravity added to the power of her slash.

This forced Alfonzo to take a step backwards. Even though he was capable of blocking the attack with his swords, the additional force behind Saeko's attack would more than likely cause him to stiffen momentarily. So, in this case, avoiding was better than blocking.

Unfortunately, before Alfonzo could counter attack, Saeko stepped in to deliver a rising slash aimed at Alfonzo's chin while pressing the back of the blade up with her left hand to add additional force to the slash.

"[Flying Heaven's Sword-Style: Ryūshosen]." Saeko named her technique just as Alfonzo tilted his head back to avoid having his jaw penetrated.

Usually Saeko's technique, [Ryūshosen] would involve her jumping into the attack, to add even more force. However, to take advantage of Alfonzo's instability after he quickly tilted his head back, she forwent the leap. Instead, she began repeatedly slashing her sword at high speed.

"[Flying Heaven's Sword-style: Ryūsōsen]." Saeko said while her flurry of sword strikes continued.

*Ting!* *Ting!* *Ting!* *Ting!* *Ting!* *Ting!* *Ting!*

With the sheer speed of Saeko's attacks, Alfonzo could not find the opportunity to counter. Instead, he could only defend with the swords in his hands while slowly being pushed back.

Meanwhile, the onlookers, mostly the academy kids, were amazed by the show of skill. And Sasuke, who could follow most of the fight with his Sharingan active, found himself frustrated when Saeko's more advanced techniques were too fast for his Sharingan to copy. In fact, the whole reason he wanted to see Saeko fight Alfonzo was in the hopes of learning the techniques she refused to teach him until he got the basics of swordsmanship down to the point they became second nature.

Tenten, on the other hand, was amazed even more than the others. She had basic proficiency in most weapons. However, she was nowhere near the heights either Alfonzo or Saeko had reached with any of them. And that was why she settled on using all of them as projectile weapons. However, after seeing the display Alfonzo and Saeko put on, she was beginning to reconsider that strategy.

"This is what he wanted you to see, Tenten." Guy said, breaking Tenten out of her thoughts. "AS they say, it is better to be a master of one thing rather than a jack of all trades."

Even though Guy had told her this before, she never took him seriously. Besides the obvious reason of Guy being hard to take seriously on a regular basis, Tenten had never seen a high-level example of those words before.

Meanwhile, the spar continued with the two exchanging blows and techniques, with Alfonzo even using some of Aoshi Shinomori's double kodachi techniques for added flare. However, some of the more… emotionally sensitive people among the onlookers saw more than just a spar between swordsmen.

"Is it just me? Or does it look like their… flirting rather than just fighting?" Ino asked in a somewhat unsure tone.

"Yeah, it's not just you." Sakura replied with a nod.

"And it looks like Saeko is the aggressor." Carla added.

In fact, the three girls were right. Saeko, who was not very good at expressing her feelings in words, was using this opportunity to convey her feelings through her sword. And considering the fact that Alfonzo had been practicing Eskrima for almost twenty-five years, if you combine his two lives, he was skilled enough to feel his opponents emotions through their weapons.

Still, the spar could not go on forever. So, without deciding a victor, Alfonzo and Saeko ended their spar while smiling at each other. Meanwhile, the onlookers were just as amazed as they had been for the duration of the spar without a clear victor.

"So, Sasuke, do you still think learning the sword is useless when compared to [Ninjutsu]?" Alfonzo asked with a grin.

Sasuke, being called out in front of everyone, could only look away in response. However, he did not continue with his previous line of thinking.

"And if you think that was impressive, just imagine combining [Ninjutsu] with what you'll learned from her." Alfonzo continued. "The point I'm making is, if you have the capacity to learn more than one thing to a high-level, then why should you limit yourself to only one?"

Seeing Sasuke's eyes light up, Alfonzo smiled. Then, he turned his attention to Tenten.

"I get it." Tenten said with her hands raised in defeat before Alfonzo could say anything. "I know I've bitten off more than I can chew. I really should take the time to figure out which weapon I have the best affinity with. Then, I should stick to it."

"Well, I'm glad you catch on fast." Alfonzo said with a smile. "And depending on which weapon you want to learn, I should be able to get you started on most of them. But I'm best at using two short swords."

"thank you, I'll keep that in mind." Tenten replied in a grateful tone.

"Well then, the shows over." Alfonzo said as he dispelled the temporary magic items sustaining the barrier. "Those who are supposed to be training, get back to it. And those who weren't here before this all started, you can leave or stay, I really don't care. Just don't get in the way of everyone's training."

"What a drag..." Shikamaru said in a lethargic tone as he, Choji, Kiba, Ino, Hinata, and Shino approached Laki to continue their training.

With that, Alfonzo took Naruto, who was asking him to teach him how to use twin swords, back inside to continue the lesson about [Seals]. Wendy took Carla and Sakura back inside to continue her [Medical Ninjutsu] lesson. Saeko took Sasuke away to continue his swordsmanship training. And Laki went back to training the other academy kids while dragging Kakashi along to help her, despite his protests.

Meanwhile, Guy dragged the rest of his team to start training, as well, as he was pumped up from seeing such a "youthful" battle. Naturally, the only one who was as enthusiastic as Guy was Lee. However, Neji and Tenten followed their teacher without complaints.

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Chapitre 568: Saeko's Confession

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

December 24, x787.

After sending off the guests, Alfonzo was in his makeshift workshop working on a new magic item. He had always wanted to create radio stations and music players for the magic vehicles, to make long trips a little less monotonous. And ever since he created a recording studio in his mansion, that desire became even stronger.

However, in the past, other things always came up that needed his attention. But now, Alfonzo finally had the time to work on that project. So, he intended to have, at least a prototype finished by the weekend. That way, he would be able to work on the real thing with Ai when he came back to see Amar'e and his ladies.

"*Sigh* Ai is still gonna be upset that I worked on this without her." Alfonzo muttered to himself while making the parts for the magic playing magic item. "Still, she's really got a talent for this kinda thing. Maybe I should fire her as a maid and hire her for Sixth Sense Holdings' R&D department."

*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!*

"Well, it looks like she's here." Alfonzo whispered to himself with a smile. Then he put down what he was working on and turned to the door of the workshop and continued at a normal volume. "Come in."

A moment later, the door to the workshop opened. Though it, Saeko entered. Through, unlike her usual confident demeanor, she was slightly blushing while not making eye contact with Alfonzo.

Seeing Saeko's unusually shy expression, Alfonzo could not help widening his smile. However, he did not speak, waiting for Saeko to tell him why she was here.

Saeko, on the other hand, after closing the door to the workshop, slowly closed the distance between herself and Alfonzo . Then, when she was at a comfortable speaking distance, although she did not speak, she stole a glance at him. And when she saw the smile on his face, she felt even more shy.

'He knows why I'm here.' Saeko thought to herself with butterflies in her stomach. 'What am I thinking, of course he knows why I'm here. I know he's skilled enough to have sensed my emotions while we were sparring earlier. This is so embarrassing.'

Like that, with Alfonzo seated in front of his workbench and Saeko standing not far away with her head lowered and the blush on her cheeks intensifying, the room fell into silence. However, Alfonzo did not leave it like that for too long.

"So, do you need anything, Saeko?" Alfonzo asked, a teasing smile playing on his lips.

Hearing Alfonzo's question, Saeko flinched. Though, it was so minute that if Alfonzo had not been paying attention to her, he would have missed it.

"I… Um… wanted to talk to you about… something." Saeko stammered out.

"Okay, I'm all ears." Alfonzo said, his teasing smile not leaving his lips.

Once again, Saeko stole a glance at Alfonzo. And when she once again saw that smile, her shyness increased. Despite that, she took a deep breath to say what she wanted to say.

"During our spar this evening, I could… feel… your fondness for me, you know." Saeko said quietly.

"Yeah, I could feel yours, too." Alfonzo said with a nod. "But if you needed the spar to tell that I like you, then you really haven't been paying attention."

"*Sigh* I always had an idea about that." Saeko admitted. "but I was too scared to confirm it. I'm sure you've been able to notice that I have a little problem, right?"

"You're talking about the way you enjoy inflicting violence on others, right?" Alfonzo asked, his smile fading as he did so.

"Yes." Saeko replied pensively. "Because of that, I was afraid of how you'd react."

"Well, you shouldn't have been." Alfonzo replied, his expression morphing into a wry smile. "I've only seen you act that way with your enemies, so far. Besides, I get along just fine with Irene. And she's a pretty high-level sadist. Laki's a sadist, too, and I---"

"And she's the only one of the girls who have known you since childhood that you rejected." Saeko said, interrupting Alfonzo's reply. "And after hearing that, I didn't think you would accept me either. Because although she's a sadist, Laki doesn't genuinely enjoy hurting people. Something I do enjoy, which makes me way worse."

With that, the room fell silent and Saeko once again lowered her head.

*Sigh* I think you're under a misconception, Saeko." Alfonzo said softly. "The reason I didn't accept Laki has nothing to do with her sadism."

Hearing that, Saeko once again raised her head.

"I don't know who told you about me rejecting Laki's confession." Alfonzo continued. "It was done publicly, so it's not a secret. But whoever did, clearly didn't tell you the whole story."

"It was Juvia… She somehow noticed that I liked you right after I joined the guild." Saeko murmured.

"Well, that makes sense." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "Back then, she kinda hated me… a lot. You know, since I had stolen away one of her 'soul mates'."

As he spoke the words, "soul mates," Alfonzo raised his hands to make air quotes.

"But there is more to that story, you know?" Alfonzo continued, despite the look of realization that flashed across Saeko's face. "Besides, she wasn't even around to see the real reason why I rejected Laki."

"Then, why did you reject her?" Saeko asked curiously. "From what I can tell, the two of you get along pretty well. Plus, she's quite pretty."

"I can't deny either of those points." Alfonzo said with a shrug. "But those had nothing to do with it, either. The real reason I rejected her was because she wanted me to break up with Lici, Cana, Erza, and Sun.. Those four were my only girlfriends back then, by the way… to be with her alone."

That caused Saeko to open her eyes wide in surprise. Then, her expression turned into a frown.

'If I had only asked someone about it, I would have been able to find out about that much earlier.' Saeko thought to herself. 'But I had no idea how to bring up something like that to anyone. Besides, until I really felt how fond of me he was during our spar, I did not have the courage to tell him how I felt before this. *Sigh* If only I had thought things through, we could have had this conversation over a year ago.'

"Yes, now that I think about it, Juvia was probably not the best source of information when it came to you." Saeko said in a frustrated tone. "Though, she has gotten better since then. I knew how much she… didn't like you back then. Yet, I still took her words at face value."

In response, Alfonzo only shrugged his shoulders.

"*Sigh* Now I feel kinda dumb for waiting this long." Saeko muttered. Then, with a resolute expression on her face, she continued while looking Alfonzo in the eyes. "If you don't mind, I'd like to tell you about what lead me to enjoying the violence I inflict on others."

Alfonzo simply nodded in response while gesturing to a second chair.

Sitting in the offered seat, Saeko told Alfonzo about how she had been returning from a competition with another swordsmanship dojo back when she was living in Takanosu. On her way home that evening, a man approached her while she was cutting between two buildings to save time. And how the man had every intension of violating her. Luckily, she had her practice sword on her, as she was returning from a competition, so she was able to defend herself.

However, while fighting off her attacker, she heard one of the man's bones break after one of her strikes. An anguished scream tore from his throat after that. And when she heard those two sounds in succession, she explained that something about her changed, and that she wanted to hear more.

So, she continued to hit him, despite the fact that he was no longer able to defend himself. In the end, she ended up beating him to death. Luckily, the knights in the town concluded that it was a case of self-defense. And the fact that the man who attacked her was suspected of several sexual crimes in the past, helped her case quite a bit, as well.

"Ever since that day, I've been afraid of myself." Saeko continued after her story ended. "I was afraid that dark part of me would take over and I would hurt someone I care about in the same way. That fear even kept me from confessing to the boy I liked back at the academy. Because of it, I had convinced myself that I was undeserving of anyone's affection."

Then, Saeko once again lowered her head while clenching her fists and gritting her teeth in frustration. A moment later, however, she smiled as she made eye contact with Alfonzo again.

"That was until you saved me and the others from that horde of zombies." Saeko said. "Your strength, your swordsman ship, I was drawn to them…"

Reaching that point, Saeko's smile turned into an embarrassed one.

"… tasting your cooking added to that feeling, as well." Saeko said in a mosquito-like whisper.

At that moment, Alfonzo had to use all his willpower to not laugh aloud. His friends had been telling him that he was using his cooking to conquer the hearts of maidens for a long time. So, hearing Saeko's embarrassed whispers, he could not help but think back to those conversations.

A moment later, seemingly having not noticed Alfonzo's struggle, the resolute expression returned to Saeko's face as she continued.

"Alfonzo, I like you." Saeko said in no uncertain terms. "In fact, it would not be an over exaggeration to say that I've fallen in love with you."

In the next instant, Saeko slid off her chair, dropping to one knee in front of Alfonzo. At the same time, she [Requipped] her katana into her hand. Then, she unsheathed it and presented it to Alfonzo respectfully with both hands raised above her bowed head.

"Therefore, from this day forward, I vow to give my body, heart, and soul to you and only you for the rest of my life." Saeko continued, the determination in her tone unwavering. "And should you require it, I shall become the sword that slays your enemies or the companion to keep you company during the lonely nights."

Seeing Saeko's actions and hearing her declaration, Alfonzo could not help but freeze up in dumbfounded amazement.

'I know that samurai and bushido exist in this world.' Alfonzo thought to himself while staring blankly at Saeko. 'Hell, the samurai from Naruto live in Iceberg. But I didn't think their doctrines existed in Fiore. Man, this is really awkward…" {A/N: From what I saw recently on the FT Wiki, Isvan was changed to Iceberg at some point. Not sure when, though.}

Shaking his head, Alfonzo accepted Saeko's sword. Though, he did not know what to do after that. So, Using his [Metal Magic], he drew the sheath to him. Then, he sheathed the sword and handed it back to Saeko. Meanwhile, Saeko looked up at Alfonzo with apprehension. And when he sheathed her sword, that apprehension turned into disappointment, thinking that he had rejected her confession.

"Saeko, I don't need a vow like that." Alfonzo said in a gentle tone. "I don't require your fealty."

Saeko's expression dropped after hearing that. Now, she was sure that her confession had been rejected. As a result, she felt tears pooling in her eyes.

"I'm no noble, Saeko." Alfonzo continued, completely aware of the misunderstanding Saeko was having. "I'm just a commoner. A very strong and very rich one, yes, but I'm still a commoner, nonetheless. So, the only thing I need from you is your affection. That's more than enough for me, okay? And if you can give me that, then, I'd be happy to have you as a girlfriend."

Hearing that, Saeko raised her head in confusion. With that, the tears that had gathered in her eyes slid down her face. A moment later, after registering what Alfonzo said, even more tears fell from her eyes. However, these tears were decidedly happier in nature.

Seeing the tears falling from Saeko's eyes, Alfonzo smiled gently as he reached out and wiped away her tears. This action snapped Saeko back to her senses. Then, she nodded her head while smiling beautifully.

"I understand." Saeko said happily. "Thank you… Thank you for accepting me."

With that, Saeko [Requipped] her katana back into her storage space. Then, she slowly reached forward, eventually wrapping her arms around Alfonzo, who pulled her up into his lap and initiated their first kiss. Then, after breaking the kiss, they spent the next while embracing tenderly as they talked about various topics.

In the end, Saeko fell asleep on Alfonzo's lap. So, he carried her to her bedroom and tucked her into bed before going back to his own bedroom and going to sleep himself.