No one's POV

Currently, Sora, Julis, Ayase, Ikki and Stella are making their way to the Ayatsuji dojo.

Stella: A third-year at Donrou Academy, Kuraudo Kurashiki.

Julis: He storms into other schools unofficially and destroys martial arts schools around town...

Ikki: But, he was one of the top 8 contestant at last year's Seven Star Festival.

Sora: And his overwhelming swordplay earned him the nickname "Sword Eater".

Julis: Sword Eater... Swordsman Killer.

Ayase: He's definitely strong. Two years ago, when he came to challenge my father's school, he didn't use his Device.

Stella: So, you're saying he fought without his ability, using only his swordsmanship?

Ayase: Yeah. Yet, against him, my father couldn't...

Ikki: That's unbelievable. Kaito was called the Last Samurai for a reason.

Ayase: I know. I couldn't believe it, either...it was like having a bad dream...If only I had stopped him...If only I took my father's place and stood in front of the man...His sword has neither pride nor nobility. It's merely barbaric violence. A man like that took my father...and Ayatsuji's swordplay was trampled!

Julis: Ayase...

Sora(mind): Kaito...

The 5 of them then continued to make their way to the dojo and when they made it to the exit, they saw it was full of garbage and graffiti.

Ayase: This is what used to be my fathers house.

The 5 of them made their way up and they saw the same group of students from before.

Stella: They're horrible.

Sora then walked up the the 5 students.

Sora: You guys... Take me to Kuraudo!

Boy: Who the hell are you?!

(Timeskip)

Currently, Kuraudo is laying on a couch inside the dojo and he heard the door open and saw Sora walking in along with Julis, Ikki, Ayase and Stella.

Kuraudo: You're the coward from the other day.

Sora: Kuraudo. I'm challenging you to a duel.

Kuraudo: Huh?

Sora: I'm here as a substitute. On behalf of Ayatsuji , I'm here to get this school back.

Kuraudo: Ha! You're challenging this school? That's very high spirited of you. Unlike the last time I saw you.

Sora: It wasn't the proper situation then.

Kuraudo then looked over at Ayase and then back to Sora.

Kuraudo: How did she convince you? I would have thought I would be the other boy rather than you?

Kuraudo was referring to Ikki, since he was the one that fought Ayase, but Sora spoke up.

Sora: You will find out once you crossed sword with me. And It's prohibited for a knight student to use their Devices outside the school without permission. Except at an accredited martial art dojos and when the head of the dojo gives permission. You're not going to turn me down, do you?

Kuraudo: Ha! Interesting! But before we get into it, I need to see if you're even qualified to fight with me.

Sora then pulled out the five student handbooks of the five students he had defeated outside and dropped them on the ground.

Sora: Are these satisfactory?

Kuraudo then looked down at the handbooks.

Kuraudo: Ohhh?

Kuraudo then stood up and smirked at Sora.

Kuraudo: Orochimaru.

Kuraudo then summoned his device which was a sword made from bones.

Sora: Come to me, Ser-Veresta.

Sora then summoned his blue energy blade Device.

Kuraudo: I see. It's a first class.

Sora: No. This is just my Device regular form. Not it's real form.

Kuraudo: Not it's real form? Well, it doesn't matter! You'll fall the same way!

Kuraudo then rushed at Sora and they both locked blade with each other.

Kuraudo: Let's go. This deadly battle begins now!

Sora and Kuraudo broke the lock and both started trading blows with each other and Kuraudo smirked and unleashed a barrage of slashes keeping Sora on the defense.

Kuraudo: Heh! What a good response!

Sora then went to thrust at Kuraudo, but with inhuman levels of speed, blocked his hit, surprising Sora along with everyone else.

Kuraudo: Ah, that's too bad!

Sora(mind): My timing was perfect. Did he realized my intention? No..

Sora then jumped back and looked at Kuraudo and he smirked.

Kuraudo: Follow and kill him, Jakotsujin!

Kuraudo's sword then turned into a whip and started to try and hit Sora, and he blocked the hits.

Kuraudo: Orochimaru can transform into anything! It can erode the engagement distance of any swordsman!

Ikki: This is where he gets the nickname, Sword Eater.

Julis: Yeah, when out of range, Sora doesn't have a means to control the engagement distance of the enemy.

Stella: But something of that level isn't good enough, for Sora.

Sora then blocked one of the hits of the whip and rushed Kuraudo and the whip then went to hit Sora from behind,but Sora dodged it.

Sora(mind): I thought that'd be your next move.

Ayase: What kind of move is that? It is just like Ikki's...

Ikki: Perfect Vision... Am I right?

Ayase: But how?

Ikki: This is his own version of my Perfect Vision. It's called the...

Sora: Amagiri Shinmei Style Hidden Technique: Banish Evil Spirits...

When Kuraudo heard Sora said the Amagiri Shinmei Style, his eyes widened and Sora went for an overhead slash, but Kuraudo managed to blocked it.

Sora(mind): This guy... as I thought!

Sora then went to slash him again, but Kuraudo turned his whip back into a sword and pushed Sora back and he quickly vanished from Sora's sight.

Sora(mind): Damn it!

Kuraudo then slashes Sora in the chest, shocking everyone.

Stella: W-What was that?!

Kuraudo then started to laugh.

Kuraudo: You can dodge that ? That's pretty good. Now I finally remember. Why your fighting style feel so similar. You are just like that girl who beat me 10 years ago at the Amagiri dojo. What's her name? Oh yeah, Haruka Amagiri.

Everyone other than Sora looked completely shocked and Sora just smirked at him.

Sora: I see. So you finally remember. I still remember the day when you challenged our dojo. Of course you've failed due to your lost against my sister. And I've also figure out your ability. The ability that beat the Last Samurai.

Kuraudo: Hmm?

Sora: The power that has become the foundation of strength is... your reaction time.

Julis: Reaction time?

Ikki: To" Perceive", "understand"and "respond": The speed of processing this series of actions is called Reaction time. For most people, it's 0.3 seconds. And for me, Sora, Julis, and Stella, about 0.1 seconds, no matter how much we train.

Sora: When I calculated the exchange of our attacks, your reaction time was less then 0.05 seconds. Before I can make one move, you can make two or three. With that speed, you can dodge the attacks that are impossible to avoid normally, or correct the course of your blade before it hit mine, which will enable you to strike from a completely different angle.

Stella: This is why his sword looked like it disappeared in the middle.

Kuraudo just started laughing.

Kuraudo: Just like your sister, you were the second one to discover my Marginal Counter in the first battle. But you know, so what? There's nothing you can do about it. Marginal Counter isn't a technique. It's a characteristic I was born with. No matter how much you train your body, home your techniques, and learn to use tactics...

Sora: It's meaningless if all of that gets overwhelmed by your natural reaction time.

Kuraudo: I took my time to verify your answer, so you better not drop dead right away! Hebigami!

Kuraudo then launched a barrage of thrusts at Sora and he started to dodge them and block them.

Stella: A quick simultaneous attack from two points?!

Kuraudo: Unlike your sister, you're an amateur! You think you can do the same trick twice?!

Sora then reversed gripped his sword and blocked and stopped his attack.

Kuraudo: Irregular guarding?

Sora: It just means that you're not the only one who has control of distance.

Sora then started trading blows with Kuraudo and he started smiling.

Kuraudo: It's not over! My fastest speed is no match for this!

Kuraudo then increased his speed pushing Sora even more.

Julis: Now 4 simultaneous attacks?

Kuraudo then managed to slash Sora on the chest in cross slit pattern.

Kuraudo: Hmph! You lost your balance and avoided that fatal attack. Lucky bastard.

Sora(mind): So this is the person that even gave Big Sis trouble! And the skill of the national level!

Sora then smirk at Kuraudo and he too also smirked at Sora as he started attacking again.

Kuraudo: But this is the end of your useless defense. I'll slice you into pieces!

Sora and Kuraudo then started trading blows with one another and the two of them started to smile at one another

and others saw this and Ikki just smiled as well and as they clashed, Ayase saw the pictured of her father and  as Ayase and went to step in, but Ikki stopped her.

Ikki: You won't get your school back if you stop him now.

Ayase: But!

Ikki: You couldn't stop him, even if you do go. If I was in his position, I'd be the same way.

Stella: Plus, it looks like he's having fun.

Ayase then looked and saw Sora smiling.

Ayase: He's smiling...?

Julis: He is such a fool. He always want to fight a strong opponent. He simply wants to beat this strong guy that's in front of him. That's all he's thinking about.

Sora then locked blade with Kuraudo and the two of them continue to smile and Ayase looked completely shocked.

Ikki: Ayase, was the Last Samurai really consumed with regret?

Ayase: What are you saying?! Of course he was! If... If that bastard never came here, we could've stayed happy! happy! My father must've been mortified!

Stella: But Ayase, isn't that just your perspective? For a man who used to have all the fame in the world of swordplay, and even have the tittle of the Last Samurai, was be really happy as a swordsman...living everyday just rusting away?

Ayase seemed to realized something when he saw Sora smiling when he was fighting a losing battle. But Sora continue to smile at his opponent, giving everything he got into winning and the image of her father started to appeared in her mind.

Julis: You're right. What that guy has done is aggressive and barbaric. But when he had no choice but to rust away to death, finding there's someone who would challenge him head on, maybe was a very good thing for him as a swordsman.

Ayase's eyes widened completely shocked as tears started streaming down her face as she continued to watch Sora and Kuraudo clash.

Ayase: Then what my father said then...

Ayase then fell to knees.

Ayase: I wasn't a swordsman at all... I couldn't see the mind and soul of the man who fights...Father...!

Suddenly, they heard a large crash in the ground and the saw that two of them had directed each other's swords into the ground and both were panting.

Ikki: I see. So that's the weakness of the Sword Eater. He has to take more actions for Marginal Counter, so his stamina runs out very quickly.

Kuraudo: Oi. How stubborn are you?

Sora: Unfortunately, I hate to lose. Why do you think I'm not using my Device real form? It's been so long since I was overwhelmed in a fight, I was having so much fun, so I didn't want it to end yet.

Kuraudo: Fun, huh? You're a psycho too.

Sora: Can I ask you one last thing?

Kuraudo: Huh?

Sora: That the great swordsman we both admired... Was he able to smile like we are now?

Kuraudo: Huh. What a dumb question. A weakling who cannot enjoy such a heated, deadly battle will never be called the Last Samurai.

Sora then jumped back and looked at Kuraudo and then looked at Ayase.

Sora: Ayase...

Sora's Devices started to glow and it changed to his Orga Lux and pointed at Kuraudo.

Sora: Now, with my 'weakest', I'll reclaim you and your father's two years.

Sora then got into a stance with his Orga Lux and Kuraudo smirked at Sora, but then remembered the stance Sora was in and smirked even more.

Kuraudo: Come! Yanata-no-orochi!

Kuraudo then held his sword behind his back and multiple snake like whips came out from behind him and all charged at Sora and

Sora rushed Kuraudo with his Orga Lux pointed towards him and as the snakes went to hit Sora, he charged straight at them and then raised his sword up and Kuraudo looked shocked.

Kuraudo(mind): This is what the old man tried to show me at the end!

Sora then points the sword in front of him as he charged through all the snake whips and Kuraudo smiled at him.

Kuraudo: It was worth waiting for two years!

Kuraudo then rushed Sora and the two of them slashed each other and then stood off on opposite directions from each other and blood started to drip and Sora had slashed Kuraudo in the side and Ayase looked completely and utterly shocked.

Ayase: That technique just now... The last ultimate technique... Ten'i Muhou!

Sora then stood up and swiped the blood of his Orga Lux.

Sora: This is the essence of Ayatsuji Itt-ryu!

Ayase: How does he know that?

Sora: Amagiri Shinmei Style Hidden Secret Technique: Blade Tracing! It's the same as Ikki's Blade Steal. But the difference is this ability allows me to gained the experience and skills along with it and fully utilize them.

Julis: I'm not surprised if he's done it to me as well.

Stella: Yeah, me too.

Kuraudo weakly stood up and panted and his sword disappeared and he looked back at Sora.

Kuraudo: You, Haruka's little brother! What's your name?

Sora: Sora Yata- No... Sora Amagiri.

Kuraudo: Sora...

Kuraudo then started to walk past Sora and towards the exit.

Kuraudo: We'll pick up the rest at the Seven Star Battle Festival.

Sora: What about the dojo?

Kuraudo: Do whatever you want. There's no point in waiting anymore.

Kuraudo then left the dojo and Sora's Orga Lux disappeared and Sora started panting.

Julis: Sora! Are you alright?!

Sora: Yeah... using the Secret Hidden Technique was beyond my capability. But I managed to do it.

Ayase: Sora. I'm really sorry. It's my fault that you had to go through this. I didn't know anything...About my father, and what it means to live as a swordsman. I'm not good enough to carry on Ayatsuji Itto-ryu.

Sora: That's not true.

Ayase: Huh?

Sora: The reason I could win today was because you had memorized Kaito's sword flawlessly. That's why I could that technique, use Ten'i Muhou. No one understands Kaito more than you. You're the true successor of the Last Samurai.

Ayase: Sora...Thank you. But if that's the case...Then I need to get much stronger. So I can say with confidence that I'm the successor.

Sora: Yeah...

(Timeskip)

After helping Ayase regain her dojo from Kuraudo, Sora and Julis were currently sitting next to each other on a bench.

Julis: Did you hear about Ayase? Apparently she admitted to the Selection Match Committee that she cheated in the match against Ikki.

Sora: Yeah. I heard she was removed from the selection matches, and suspended for 10 days.

Julis: She said she'd take responsibility for her actions.

Sora then got a message from Ayase that her father managed to regain his consciousness and the two of them started smiling happily.

Sora: I guess we can call it case closed.

Julis: Yeah. Good work, Sora.

???: My, my. Did we interrupt something?

Sora and Julis then panicked when they saw Nagi and Shizuku standing behind them.

Sora: Alice! Shizuku!

Shizuku: STAAAAAARE....

Julis: Why do you look so annoyed..?

Shizuku: I believe I have the legitimate right!you completely cut me out of the loop and ignored me during the whole school challenge duel. How could you leave me out like this...?

Sora: Oh... Well... Sorry...

Ikki and Stella then come over as well and Shizuku looked at Ikki and Stella annoyed as well and both Stella and Shizuku started fighting as usual and Sora just looked at his hand, that was rugged and beaten up from his fight and he just smile.