"One, two, three, go!"
"Pfft..."
"Squeak... squeak... squeak..."
"Alright, again."
"One, two, three, go!"
"Pfft..."
"Squeak... squeak... squeak..."
"Alright, again."
"One, two, three, go!"
"Pfft..."
"Squeak... squeak... squeak..."
"Alright, again."
After countless repetitions... Rin slapped her forehead, feeling a sense of despair rising within her regarding Aoko. This naughty child's Mana control level was truly despair-inducing. Rin felt that her own technique in a certain area had been thoroughly honed by this naughty child, yet Aoko still hadn't learned it.
Is it that difficult?
Rin pondered, while casually shaping a ball of shimmering Mana in her palm.
Is it true that if God opens one window for you, he'll definitely brick up another door? Indeed, talking about Mana manipulation with Aoko was me being too naive. It really can't be forced.
"Aoko, let's switch subjects. I don't think my fighting style suits you. Mana Burst isn't just for close combat, Aoko, Aoko... uh."
Rin intended to guide Aoko along her original future path. Aozaki Aoko in the future could be said to be a "fighting-style" Magus who releases magic power from her elbows and establishes magic formulas with her fists. To those who were her enemies, those hands must have felt like "rocket thrusters."
In other words, she was the type to launch a magic bullet with every punch and a magic cannon with every elbow strike. That's why she was called a "human rocket launcher." Rin's style was called a "humanoid Phantasmal Species"! To put it bluntly, she was a "fierce beast."
And when Rin looked up, intending to stop Aoko from continuing to waste time and magic power, Rin's gaze met Aoko's face, which had appeared beside her at some point. At this moment, Aoko was uncharacteristically serious and solemn. Before Rin could react, she actively cupped Rin's small face and "bit" onto her lips!
"Squeak... squeak... squeak..." After a very skilled magic replenishment, Aoko elegantly turned and walked back to the open space, settling into a horse stance to continue practicing magic power control.
Given that directly practicing Mana Burst was too advanced for Aoko, Rin was now teaching Aoko how to release magic power outside her body without it dissipating, concentrating to control the magic power to condense in her hand without it being converted back into a large source of vitality.
Watching Aoko suddenly work so hard with such fighting spirit, Rin couldn't bring herself to voice the words of dissuasion on her tongue. She sighed and walked behind Aoko, placing her hand on the back of her head, then moving it down inch by inch, gently pushing along the joints of her spine. With each inch of movement along the spinal joints, Aozaki Aoko felt her body, as if her spine, straighten little by little.
At the same time, the movement of the spine also drove the movement of all the bones and the contraction and expansion of the muscles throughout her body. Aozaki Aoko felt her whole body heat up and sweat slightly. Suddenly, Rin slapped her on her butt, or more precisely, her tailbone. Aozaki Aoko, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, shivered, and all her hair stood on end. In the scorching midday sun, she even got goosebumps.
"I just stimulated your tailbone, making your head, body, and tail a single unit. This stance is called the Three-Body Stance. An animal's tail maintains balance and controls its body. For fierce animals, when their tail stands up, all their fur bristles. A human's tail has degenerated, so our agility is not as good as an animal's."
"I am teaching you the characteristics of the Three-Body Stance, so you can cultivate a martial arts foundation. When standing in the Three-Body Stance, when your center of gravity falls to the tailbone, you should be like a cat whose tail has been suddenly stepped on, with all its fur bristling. Only then will it be effective each time. Without this effect, even if you stand for a hundred years, it will all be in vain."
"Since you are determined to take this path, then train with all your might. For close-quarters combat, you must master a body technique of martial arts. Once your foundation is solid, I will teach you combat techniques."
Rin understood that she had, unknowingly, reignited Aoko's resolve, the resolve to defeat Touko! Today, if she didn't teach her, Aoko wouldn't let Rin go.
"Aoko, in your heart, what kind of person is Touko?" Rin suddenly asked Aoko.
"Well, before I was sixteen, she was my idiotic Older Sister. After that incident at sixteen, I no longer knew what role she played. The only thing I knew was that she was a traitor to the family, and my inevitable enemy," Aoko replied seriously while diligently controlling her magic power.
"Is that so, I see..."
Rin sighed silently in her heart. Rin was asking Aoko, but in reality, she was looking through Aoko to see Sakura, who faced a similar plight.
Was Sakura also diligently training her magic under her father's guidance every day, just so that one day she could deliver punishment to her, the traitor? If someone were to ask Sakura: "In your heart, what kind of person is your Older Sister Tohsaka Rin?"
"From our first meeting until I was four years old, she was always my good Older Sister, but ever since the day she suddenly left home, I only knew that Older Sister was a traitor to the family, an enemy I must defeat."
It was like a sharp knife piercing her heart, the blade repeatedly twisting, a bloody wound, unspeakable heartache... Sakura! Would you answer like that? I cannot prove that my purpose is to save you, because the answer is only in my heart. I cannot explain the truth, because it simply hasn't happened. This truth I can tell everyone, but I cannot prove any of it to you.
Looking at Aoko, who was putting all her effort into training herself, Rin seemed to see Sakura enduring pain and training her magic in the Tohsaka Family's magic workshop. Just like Touko, Rin was probably hated and resented by the person she had devoted herself to, because they had betrayed, betrayed the image of themselves in their hearts.
After resolving everything related to Mahoutsukai no Yoru, it would be time to prepare for the Fourth Holy Grail War. My bargaining chips are still not enough; I must quickly increase the number of trump cards I have.
Before the war begins, I should go to my old home in Zenjou to see my mother and Sakura...
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