Green - black scythe collided with blue - black long claws. In the fight for advantage, the claws won and pushed scythe away. Taiga jumped to her feet. Her hands swirled her scythe and tiredly sighed.
"What am I doing wrong?" she asked quietly.
"Hold scythe tighter." Kuro told her. "Put all the strength in her."
She listened to him and tightly clutched scythe in her hands. She ran toward him and swung. Kuro again defended with claws. But this time Taiga did not give up. She harder squeezed blade toward him. She also clenched power of her legs in the scythe and pushed it even harder to him.
"Smart..." Kuro murmured, trying to keep her away.
Taiga grinned at his compliment. With her legs she tried to push her scythe further. However, Kuro took advantage of that moment of her carelessness and pushed her away from along with the scythe. She fell back on her back, her scythe slid several meters from her.
"Do not turn your attention away from the opponent." told her lazily Kuro. "Always be focused."
"How can I be focused and think about the next attack?" she asked quietly, rising from the floor.
Kuro thought for a moment. He approached her with her scythe in the hands and give her a hand to help her rise. When she got up, he gave her scythe and set it horizontally.
"When you think about the attack, set it up like this." he said softly. "So if an opponent attacked..." he swung his claws toward her as she raised her scythe and defended herself. "...you will be safe."
"Are you sure this will work?" she raised eyebrows confused.
He lazily nodded and pointed to the handle.
"Your scythe can not be broken, and if you set it like this it will stop every attack. If you set it well, of course."
"What if the opponent is too fast?" she asked, turning scythe in her hands.
"Activate tiger." he said softly. "Tiger's eyes are good with following the movements."
Taiga nodded, then sighed. The scythe out of her hands disappeared in the green flame. She lowered her hair from the high ponytail and took a deep breath to calm herself down. They've been training for two hours now. Her legs were weak and her hands could not do anything else.
She dropped back to the ground below the tree crown and closed her eyes. Kuro sat next to her in his cats shape. He watched her for a while, then jumped into her lap and lied there. He closed his eyes when her long fingers began to go through his fur. Not far from them trained Mahiru and Leah.
Mahiru swung toward her with his spear. She defended herself with the broadsword and pushed him off. She tried to attack him now, but this time he defended himself.
"I think we're just going in the circle..." said Mahiru.
"I agree..." mumbled Leah, wiping sweat from her forehead.
"Enough, we need to save energy for the evening."
Weapons disappeared from their hands. They turned into tattoos that stretched along their arms. Suddenly the rain began to fall. Leah frowned and looked around. Rain? How did it start suddenly? It is not even cloudy.
"Tsubaki..." muttered Mahiru.
"Tsubaki?" she asked quietly, frowning.
"Whenever he comes, it starts to rain."
Indeed, in the distance they could see a man with black hair and sunglasses coming toward them. He wore a white-black kimono on himself, holding his katana in his arms. Beside him walked a young man about old as Leah and Mahir. He had green hair and bloody red eyes. He walked beside Tsubaki with his hands in his pockets.
Mahiru's face lightened up when he saw the young man. It's like he's his old friend. When the young man saw Mahiru, he stopped insecure. But then he smiled broadly. He ran to him and hugged him.
"Mahiru..." the young man mumbled sadly.
"Hey, Sakuya, I'm glad to see you." smiled Mahiru and then pointed to Leah. "This is my friend, Leah Kimura. Leah, this is Sakuya Watanuki, my best friend, actually Tsubaki's Subclass."
"Nice to meet you." smiled Leah shaking hands with him.
"You too." he said, looking at Mahiru. "I'm not here two months, and you already find yourself a girl, huh?"
Mahiru blushed. Sakuya grinned at his reaction and shoved his hands over his and Leah's shoulders.
"I'm the best man at the wedding!" he exclaimed with a smile.
"What are you talking about?!" hissed Mahiru shyly. "No wedding!"
"Oh..." he paused and looked at them. "Do not you date?"
"No..." muttered Mahiru, then looked away. "...yet."
"Yet?!" Sakuya let them go and grinned. "So you will date!"
"Sakuya!" shouted Mahiru and ran at him.
Sakuya began to run while Mahiru chased him around the yard. Leah just smiled, trying to find out what had just happened. She saw the person next to her and turned her head toward the newcomer. Tsubaki stood beside her and watched Sakuya and Mahiru.
"Leah, right?" Tsubaki asked gently.
"Y-Yeah..." she murmured softly and blinked several times.
"Nice name." he smiled with eyes closed.
"Thank you." she said, looking at Sakuya and Mahiru. "Do you need me or?"
"Nothing special, I just wanted to talk to you a bit. I believe my brothers already had a chance, but I did not." he looked at her. "What do you think about the vampire world? Are you sorry for joining it?"
She returned his gaze and tilted her head. He took off his sunglasses so she could see his eyes. He gently smiled as wind blew his black hair.
"Well..." she began softly. "In the beginning I was insecure. Terribly insecure..."
"Why?"
Leah shrugged with a small smile.
"That's me. I'm always insecure at the beginning and shy. When I first became Eve, I was afraid to say it out loud. I was afraid to say, 'I'm Leah Kimura, Eve of Servamp of Vanity'. Why, I do not know... Probably because then I would accept that whole change. I would have accepted that I was no longer a normal high school student."
"Well... When I first saw you, you were very confident in yourself." said Tsubaki putting his katana in his belt. "Even now while you're talking to me, I see you're confident in your decision. What happened?"
She thought for a moment. When did she begin to be so sure of herself? When did she accept that she was Eve, not a normal girl?
"It was that night when we met Licht and Hyde. While I was walking with Mahiru around town, I was thinking about Taiga, about how she once was a human." she said quietly. "That probably made me more confident in myself. I knew she understood me as she once went through such problems."
Tsubaki smiled and nodded.
"But I never regretted that I became Eve." Leah finished. "Maybe I was insecure and scared, but I never regretted my decision."
"I'm glad to hear it. And I'm glad you've got Taiga for your Servamp. I think you already know this, but she is different from the others." he looked toward Taiga in the shade as she patted Kuro in her lap. "She has a human side that ruled her for seventeen years. Even when she became Servamp, it is still ruling, so she will never be able to present the sin called Vanity. Because it is to what she has been taught at home."
Leah nodded. Sometimes she wondered whether Taiga felt left out because of it. All the other Servamps were excellent at showing their titles. She was somehow left out.
"But still you have to be here. When Taiga's sin overtake, you will be the voice of reason that will save her. As you pulled her out of the darkness caused by hers uncertainty of the past." Tsubaki said quietly.
"I did not know you were so wise." Leah smiled.
The vampire returned a gentle smile. He patted her on the shoulder lightly.
"Wisdom is acquired over time. I think I am getting old..." he sighed.
Leah chuckled at his statement.
"Will we join them?" Tsubaki asked, pointing to the others.
"Of course." Leah smiled.
Together with him she went to Mahiru and Sakuya. She should use this time together before the evening. When the dark falls, there will be no time for jokes and smiles. There will be time to fight.