"Ais."
"Brother!"
"Listen to me!"
"Shirou-nii!"
"It's not what you think!"
"Onii-chan!"
"Alright, I'll teach you!"
Helpless, Shirou finally agreed to Ais's request. He simply couldn't refuse those repeated calls of "Onii-chan," even though he himself didn't know the technique.
"Meet me in the courtyard tomorrow morning. Just wait for me there."
"Mm!"
Seeing Shirou agree, Ais quickly nodded and stood up from the bed. She had noticed Shirou's exhaustion, so she had no intention of disturbing his rest further and lightly walked out the door. However, just as she was about to leave Shirou's room, she suddenly turned around and said,
"Please take care of yourself, Brother!"
With that, she vanished from Shirou's sight.
"Phew, she finally left. What a clingy little imp."
Comfortably lying on his soft, large bed, Shirou couldn't help but raise his arm to cover his eyes. Although exhausted, he couldn't fall asleep. Thoughts about Ais kept swirling in his mind. Especially those calls of "Onii-chan"; they had completely melted Shirou's heart. Thinking of this, Shirou's lips couldn't help but curl into a slight smile, a particularly smug one.
---
In the early morning, as the sky was just beginning to lighten, Shirou was already up and ready.
"Knowing Ais's personality, she's probably already waiting for me there."
Quickly descending the stairs to the courtyard, just as Shirou expected, Ais's figure was already there.
"You're certainly eager."
"Mm, I am very eager, Brother."
Ah, this won't do. Seeing Ais call him "Brother" with such a poker face made him feel like he was bullying her. No, he seemed to be bullying her already. After all, although he hadn't made her call him "Brother," it was somewhat a form of coercion. But he couldn't refuse.
Shirou, whose mind was in a whirl, quickly reached out and patted his cheek to clear his head.
"Ais, before I teach you swordsmanship, there are a few things I need to tell you first."
Ais, who was tilting her head, wondering why Shirou was hitting himself, immediately became serious upon hearing his words. She was very much looking forward to that powerful martial art.
"When I said yesterday that I didn't know it, I wasn't refusing you. It's because I truly haven't mastered that martial art."
Seeing Ais's increasingly puzzled expression, Shirou paused and continued,
"You might not know this, but when my Projection magic projects weapons, it can project not only the weapon itself but also the accumulated experience it carries. There are also some special abilities."
"Regarding that martial art, I have already studied it, but I haven't reached the level of a single strike yielding nine slashes. The reason I was able to use that technique was entirely due to that weapon."
"So I wasn't deceiving you; I haven't truly learned this martial art yet either."
Upon hearing Shirou's explanation, Ais's expression visibly fell.
"I'm sorry, I was too selfish."
Looking at that usually calm face filled with apology and disappointment, Shirou couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart. Just as he had an enemy like Julian, Ais also had an enemy she must defeat: the One-Eyed Black Dragon. Both of them were pursuing power to defeat their enemies.
Looking at Ais, Shirou could always see a reflection of himself in her.
"Don't apologize yet; I haven't finished speaking!"
Calling Ais out of her apologetic state, Shirou continued,
"Didn't I say? Although I haven't learned this martial art yet, I already know how to train it."
"After all, the original owner's experience has been read by me. So, would you like to study this martial art with me?"
"Study together?"
"That's right, study together!"
This was the solution Shirou came up with: studying together. Nine Lives Blade Works was, after all, a fighting style. Even if neither of them had a master, they could train themselves. With Heracles's experience, Shirou believed he wouldn't go astray.
"So, what do you say? Are you willing?"
Looking at Shirou's outstretched hand, Ais took it without hesitation.
"I am willing, Brother!"
Ais would refuse no power that she could obtain; she was full of eagerness for everything. She had to defeat the Black Dragon.
"Since we've reached a consensus, let's start training. After all, I still have to go to the forge to craft equipment this morning!"
After walking with Ais to a nearby chair and sitting down, Shirou began explaining Nine Lives Blade Works. He taught Ais the basic knowledge through verbal explanations and gestures. Just like that, one speaking and one listening, time quickly slipped away.
---
From that day on, Shirou's life became packed once again.
Every morning, he would wake up and study Nine Lives Blade Works with Ais. In the mornings, he would let her practice on her own while he went to the forge to craft his equipment. In the evenings, they would delve into it together again.
Although Shirou wasn't as diligent as Ais in studying Nine Lives Blade Works, Ais's progress in martial arts wasn't as fast as Shirou's. After all, Shirou had read Heracles's experience. With the boost from this experience, Shirou's progress was incredibly fast.
Moreover, during this study process, Shirou discovered another cheat-like auxiliary training ability: Mind's Eye (True).
Mind's Eye (True):
Greatly enhances insight.
Predicts opponent's actions based on acquired information.
Any possibility of reversal can be seized and executed as a tactic.
With greatly enhanced insight, Shirou learned any technique many times faster than before, feeling somewhat like the Sharingan in the Naruto world. However, he couldn't learn Nine Lives Blade Works in one glance like the Sharingan. But this wasn't because the Mind's Eye's insight was inferior to the Sharingan's; it was because the martial arts levels in different worlds were different.
The taijutsu in the Naruto world was essentially about physical training, with the exception of the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist. Even the strongest Eight Gates Formation, wasn't it about enhancing all attributes and chakra? But this martial art from the Nasuverse clearly had a different developmental direction from the taijutsu in the Naruto world; this martial art placed more emphasis on skill!
Simultaneously striking nine attacks.
The complete Heracles's Nine Lives, Blade Works even fired nine beams of light.
Techniques like Sasaki Kojirou's Tsubame Gaeshi even involved parallel dimension interference.
How could such martial arts be learned in one glance with mere insight?
Although the Mind's Eye's insight couldn't make Shirou learn Nine Lives Blade Works in one glance, it still made Shirou's progress far exceed Ais's. This often led Ais to visit Shirou's forge to ask for his guidance. Because of this, Loki, who had been without Ais's company during this time, felt particularly resentful.
"Hehe, Ais-tan was abducted."
Hearing Loki repeatedly utter this phrase, Shirou couldn't help but feel a chill.
To counter this, Shirou even specially enlisted external help.
"Shirou and Ais are both working hard to improve themselves. Don't interfere with them here."
Looking at Riveria dragging Loki away, Shirou deeply sighed, "Peace."
--------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter