"... It's my turn... It's finally my turn..."
Follow the main character, Tsubaki Sato, as she takes on a brand new journey as the newest Saniwa. In this journey, she must learn to accept all of the hardships and challenges along the way as she fight...
"You're right, Konnosuke... let me show you the power of a saniwa!!" Tsubaki said feeling riled up by his words.
Within moments, the room had fallen silent and only the crackling of the flames could be heard from the furnace. Slowly and gracefully, the arms of the saniwa were lifted into the air just above the flames of the furance as her voice carried around the room,
"May your strength harness a body, May blood run through the core of your steel. May the sorrows you carry be your weapon, For I grant you another reason to fight!"
"Rise! For you are a touken danshi!!"
With each chant she made, a mystical light blue aura began to surround her body. It danced and waved around in the air mocking the embers that flew from the sparks in the fire. The sound of a hammer hitting an anvil could be heard but could not be visually seen as the fire intensified with each phrase she spoke. As the final words of her chant came closer to its end, the light blue aura slammed against the furnace, turning the red flames blue before a bright light engulfed the entirety of the room.
As the light began to fade, the two could see the faint silhouette of a human figure in front of them as its voice rung out,
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"My name is Horikawa Kunihiro. Together with Izuminokami Kanesada, I served Toushizou Hijikata as a wakizashi. It's nice to meet you, Aruji-san" The newest touken danshi said as he appeared before them out of thin air.
"A..Aruji-sama?! You did it!! You really summoned a touken danshi!!" Konnosuke cheered.
"A..Ah? W..Well, of course I did, I am the saniwa after all!" Tsubaki said with a smile despite feeling terribly exhausted.
It had taken a lot of her strength to summon the sword and not only did she overdo it, but she was completely unaware of what sword she'd be summoning. During the ritual, she tried her best to concentrate her efforts into summoning an uchigatana or a tachi but she just couldn't feel their energies strong enough and simply reached for the energy that was closest to not overexert herself. As a result, she manifested the soul of Horikawa Kunihiro, a wakizashi, which was a sword smaller than an uchigatana but larger than a tantou and mainly had a supportive role in battles. Like the touken danshi said, he is one of the swords owned by Toushizou Hijikata, who was the vice general of the Shinsengumi.
"Aruji-san, thank you for giving me another opportunity to fight... by any chance, is Kane-san... I mean Izuminokami Kanesada here?" Horikawa asked looking around rather frantically.
"Unfortunately, no, you are the first touken danshi to be summoned at this citadel. Come now... we have much to discuss," Tsubaki said towards the touken danshi as the three of them returned back to the citadel's viewing room.
The area was spacious and it was sectioned off into two areas: one with tables and one without. The three of them would sit down in the section with the tables, resting well upon the floor cushions as they discussed what it meant to be a touken danshi. After all that work and show she had put on, Tsubaki could finally take a small breather but not before Horikawa could catch on to it,
"Aruji-san, are you tired? You seem awfully exhausted..." he asked, worried about her.
"Yes, just a little. After all, it takes a lot of energy to summon a touken danshi like yourself. Giving a sword a human body is no easy task, now is it?" She said towards Horikawa in a way to tease him, "Thank you for worrying about me though but it is my duty as the saniwa to manifest swords into humans! That's why I am sitting down with you right now having this discussion." She said with a weary smile.
"What do you have to discuss with me about, Aruji-san?" Horikawa asked politely.
"Horikawa Kunihiro, you are a touken danshi and I am your master. Your job is to protect the flow of history from the History Retrograde Army, whose objective is to alter all courses of history in any way they can." Tsubaki explained.
"You don't mean!" Horikawa exclaimed.
"Yes, it is possible that you may encounter your former master and they will try to do anything to harm your former master's legacy as well. That's why we have to protect history from these beings, you wouldn't want to see your former master's glory getting erased from history, would you?" Tsubaki explained as an upset expression grew on Horikawa's face.
"No! I don't want Hijikata-san's history to be messed with but..." he said with a pause, "Aruji-san... How should I react when I meet my former master...?" he said as a grim expression grew on his face.
"It will be painful to face... but you must remember your mission. If anything, it may become an experience to help you overcome whatever sorrows you have hidden within you, Horikawa," Tsubaki said as she gave the sword a pat on his head, "Izuminokami Kanesada was your partner, right? Let's show him a cool version of yourself when he comes."
The words that she had said hit Horikawa, releasing him from the uneasiness and sorrow that had clouded his mind. The warmth of her hand on his head soothed him and reminded him that he was no longer an object but a human with a heart and mind of his own.
"You're right, Aruji-san! I'm going to do my best so that Kane-san can see a cooler side of me!" Horikawa said with a bright smile.
"Good, I like that answer, Horikawa!" Tsubaki replies.
