“Dammit…” Zac cursed as his fist turned into an open-palm strike. The blow knocked Kenji through the air. As Kenji was launched, Ume used him as a footstool to jettison herself into the air. With two arrows trained on Zac. However, before she could release those arrows, water splashed into her eyes from the open mug in Zac’s hand, 

“Bastard!” Ume cried out as she fell, as Kenji rushed to ensure she was alright.

“Shame; if he punched that shield, his fist would have bled. I’m sure that was the best-case scenario Kenji was hoping for when he chose a shield.” Watabe thought to himself as he looked at Ume, wiping the water from her face. 

After Zac slung the water into Ume’s face, Akiko came from behind with a stabbing motion. Zac turned and met the blade’s point by turning the opened end of the coffee tin. The blade sunk into the mug and stopped as it hit bottom.

“What the hell is that thing made of?” Akiko shouted in shock. 

Before she could recover, Zac slid towards her, grabbing the handle of her blade. She was kicked onto the ground. When she looked up, she saw Zac now had the Katana in his hands. 

“I’m paranoid, so just about everything I own is designed to be a weapon. But nothing beats the real thing.” Zac chuckled as he swung the Katana around deftly and got into a stance. Akiko groaned as he unsheathed her tanto and Wakizashi blades and charged forward. 

“Stop worrying about me and focus, Kenji. Don’t miss a moment of what comes next.” Ume shouted as she wiped the water from her eyes. Kenji turned to see Akiko unleashing a torrent of slashes. Zac could display his skills in earnest now that he held a proper weapon. His blade moved like water as he parried each slash with a tranquil smile. 

“Your form isn’t bad, but you’re too aggressive. Leaves you with too many openings.” Zac taught Akiko as he counterattacked with three swift strikes. They were shallow cuts on her arms and legs. She grunted in pain as she was kicked away by Zac. Kenji felt the wind blow past his head, and Ume shot another arrow. Zac casually slapped the arrow away with the side of the Katana. 

“Then comes the big guy. Your attacks are too unfocused; you lack sharpness.” Zac said to Genkei as he ducked out of the way of Genkei trying to punch him in the back of the head. He had a sense of their patterns now, and while the constant switching slowed him down a tad, it didn’t matter in the long run. 

“It’s over, Ume, it was a good shot, but we’ll need to regroup and try something else,” Watabe said from the sidelines.

“Losers should just stay quiet! We’re not done yet!” Ume shouted as she glared over at Watabe. 

She had never felt such humiliation before. That usual calm demeanor of hers crumbled for an instant before she calmed down and asked Kenji, 

“Are you ready?” Ume asked Kenji, giving him a knowing stare. 

“Since when did you notice?” Kenji asked. 

“When I saw you mimicking our running styles back at the track.” Ume smiled at Kenji. 

“So you knew before I did? That’s some crazy observational skills there.” Kenji sighed as he stood up. 

Kenji would involuntarily mimic physical actions he thought superior. Not only that, but he would instantly think of ways to improve upon them. He didn't know how or why it was happening. However, the more he experienced it, the more intoxicating it became. He wanted to explore exactly what he could do, even though it was against his better judgment. 

“I’ve never failed at anything I’ve set my mind to. Do not make this the first.” Ume commanded, and Kenji nodded. 

“Go! Phase 3!” Kenji went into a full sprint bringing his shield along with him. He looked ahead and saw that Akiko and Genkei had stopped staggering their attacks and began to attack together. Kenji wasn’t the only one she wanted watching; she wanted Akiko and Genkei watching each other as they attacked. She wanted them to get used to each other's style of fighting. 

Kenji closed the gap and threw his shield at Zac, who kicked it away, sending it tumbling into the charging Genkei. After Genkei caught the shield, Zac kicked it, knocking Genkei off his feet. Zac used his Katana to deflect the attacks from Akiko before sweeping her off her feet. Her swords fell to the ground. Zac smirked and stabbed the Katana into the floor as he watched Kenji rush towards him bare-handed. 

“Show me what you got, Isuel!” Zac laughed.

“It’s Kenji, you dick!!” Kenji shouted.

Kenji sent a flurry of punches and kicks, and the smile on Zac’s face slowly started to fade. He could easily parry and block these blows, but that wasn’t the issue. 

“This is Genkei’s attack pattern, but it’s sharper and more focused.” Zac sent a backhand at Kenji’s face, but it was parried as Kenji grabbed Zac’s wrist and attempted to throw him. 

“What?!” Zac quickly broke Kenji’s grip on his wrist and kicked him away. 

Zac was shocked because that was the same motion he used to put Watabe into an armbar. If Zac was even a second later, he might have been at Kenji’s mercy. While Zac was still in thought, Kenji raced past Zac and picked up the Tanto and Wakizashi blades that Akiko had dropped. He raced towards Zac, who ran towards the Katana he had stabbed into the ground, and that smile on his face returned. 

“This might be fun!” Zac shouted as the two of them began to clash blades. Sparks flew as the blades seemed to clash in an endless flurry. 

“Akiko’s fighting style. But it's more calculative, and most openings have been closed. I see. That’s your gift.” Zac chuckled as he thought to himself. Zac parried his strikes and then swept his feet from under him. Kenji was flipped onto his back, and Zac pointed his blade at his throat. 

“Do you yield?” He asked. 

“Never!!” It was not Kenji who shouted, but Genkei as he bashed into Zac with the shield knocking him off Kenji. Zac rolled on the ground and popped back onto his feet. He then dusted himself off. His clothes were wrinkled, but there was no blood. Kenji was helped up by Genkei, who tossed the shield to the ground. Kenji handed Akiko her Tanto and Wakizashi blades. At the same time, he picked up the Katana that Zac dropped in the previous shuffle. Ume nocked an arrow and said, 

“You are weaponless. Do you yield?” Ume asked. 

Moments ago, everyone would have thought that she was crazy for asking such a question. But after watching everything that just happened, it didn’t seem too crazy. Zac appeared to have his hands full enough that he had to abandon that scary tin mug and pick up an actual weapon. Now that he didn’t have one, and Kenji wasn’t just playing defense, the recruits thought that seeing Zac bleed was just a matter of time. Ume stared at Zac nervously. 

Zac had far exceeded her expectations. She couldn’t imagine how scary he would be if he wanted to kill them. Luckily, Kenji had also exceeded her expectations. She was uncertain about the level at which he could copy the fighting styles of Genkei and Akiko. She certainly didn’t expect him to be able to improve upon them to the extent he did. 

That bit of information was only some good news. It also meant that she couldn’t correctly predict the outcome. It was a very uncomfortable feeling for her. She told Watabe that he needed to trust people more. In reality, she was much the same. It wasn’t that she trusted Kenji and the others; she trusted herself to use them for all their worth. 

“Yielding? Weaponless, huh?  You naughty children think too highly of yourselves. You need a good spanking.” Zac chuckled as he undid his belt and whipped it out to the side of him.

“Come!” He commanded. 

Ume closed her eyes and took a deep breath; this was the worst-case scenario. She would have to truly trust others for the first time. She opened her eyes to see Kenji getting into a fight stance with the Katana in hand. That fighting stance was identical to the stance Zac had moments before. He was far outstripping what she thought him capable of. Ume began to giggle. 

“Screw it.” She thought to herself.  

“Phase 4…” 

“What’s Phase 4?” Genkei asked. 

He was confident that Ume had never mentioned Phase 4 before. Ume looked over at Genkei and said with a smile, 

“Support Kenji. Go!” 

“Now we’re talking!” Zac mused as Kenji, and the others began their charge.