Kyousuke face was nothing but an ice cold glare, directed at the samurai in front of him who wore a similar expression. The sheer force of his willpower could be felt by everyone in the hall, though Takuto appeared to be unimpressed. He stood tall, sword firmly in his hands but not even raised, as if he didn't even consider the other a threat. His entire demeanor provoked Kyousuke but he didn't allow his expression to waiver. He simply raised his sharp blade, and lunged towards his opponent.

While he had his own issues with the despot and his lancer, it wasn't personal this time. He only wanted fulfill Tenma's goal of tearing them down from power, to prevent more needless bloodshed and destruction. And despite how increasingly extreme Takuto's methods were becoming, the golden blonde still refused to use any means of force. But Kyousuke knew there were some situations where words were powerless, and you were left with no choice but to fight for what you believed. And that's exactly what he was going to do.

Even though Kyousuke was coming towards him at an alarming speed, Takuto still hadn't even unsheathed his sword, as if he wasn't planning on fighting at all. Kyousuke didn't question it. Instead he looked to take advantage of the situation and, without hesitation brought his sword down on the other's head.

Suddenly, he heard a sharp clang, and his sword stopped completely. At this point, he was used to it, but it was still a bit jarring. He looked down and was met with green eyes sending him a powerful glare. Just when he was thinking of the aforementioned lancer, Ranmaru had almost instantly parried his sword with his pole of his flag. The symbol of Takuto's empire still fluttered above them both.

Of course, it would never be that easy. Too many times has Kyousuke gone to fight his long time rival, only for Ranmaru to interrupt it before it even began. Only once has Takuto ever ordered him to stand aside so they could truly fight one on one. Other than that, the small blonde was a constant thorn in his side.

Realizing they would not get anywhere with fight, Kyousuke pulled his sword back and Ranmaru also relaxed, but he still looked furious. Both of them knew it wasn't over just yet. Kyousuke wanted to get through him without any trouble, and luckily he brought just the thing he needed to do just that.

"Well that's odd of you, Tsurugi." Ranmaru spoke, his voice calm and elegant. "Out of all the times I have challenged you, you've never even once lowered your sword. Have you finally realized it's useless to go against my lord's wishes, at least as long as I am around?" Takuto was behind him, having not moved an inch since.

"No, I fully intended to do battle with you, Kirino. It seems that defeating you is the only way you'll ever let me challenge my rival."

"Don't flatter yourself." He heard Takuto speak. "You're nothing more than a reoccurring waste of my time."

"However, this time, my weapon is not my sword."

"...huh?" Ranmaru's anger disappeared completely to be replaced with a soft curious expression. That was how Kyousuke was used to seeing the other. He was usually a pretty gentle person.

"I knew you would be an issue, so I brought a weapon specifically designed to target your one weakness..." Kyousuke explained preparing to reveal his plan, noticing how Ranmaru tensed up a little. Neither he nor Takuto knew of any weaknesses he could be referring to, so they were thoroughly confused, not that they let it show.

They simply watched as he reached under his light blue hakama and pulled out nothing but what looked like a small piece of paper, no, a photo?

"What is that?" Ranmaru tilted his head.

"Look closer," the Ronin smirked. "I think it speaks for itself."

Doing as he was told he walked closer to see the photo. It was a sepia toned picture of a very small child, not even two years old yet, wearing a solid color onesie and looking positively naïve. Ranmaru had never seen that kid before but he looked extremely familiar.

"Wait a minute!" his eyes widened. "You're not telling me...is this...!?" The only thing he needed from was a subtle nod of confirmation. Takuto saw Ranmaru's blush spread to his ears in an instant. "It is! Oh, my God, it is! It really is!"

Kyousuke let the other swipe the photo from his hand and watched him stare at it intently, crouched on the ground in front of him, covering his mouth as if that was the only way to stop himself from bursting with joy.

Curious, Takuto walked up behind his companion and looked down over his shoulder, hearing him subtly whisper "ohmygodohmygodohmygod." What he saw of course was...

Me... Takuto sent a sharp glare towards Kyousuke, who was standing tall, proud of his work. "How did even get something like this?" He had no intentions of fighting the other when he first arrived but that clearly changed now.

"How I got it is not important." Kyousuke drew his sword again and pointed it towards him. "It's time you stop hiding behind others and face the consequences of your own actions." His voice was cold and stern.

Finally, for the first time since he arrived, he unsheathed his own sword and raised it as well. "Stay out of this, Ran," he ordered as if the other was even listening.

"You're so tiny...," he murmured under his breath.

"And stop that!"