The weeks following the bounty hunter fight fell into a rhythm.
Mornings were for training. Tadano pushed himself relentlessly, drilling techniques until his muscles screamed, then drilling more. But now he understood what he was working toward—not just physical improvement, but the breakthrough that would deepen his Cursed Arts.
"You're obsessing," Vivi observed one morning, watching him run through sword forms for the fifth consecutive hour.
"I'm training," Tadano corrected, not pausing.
"You're obsessing. There's a difference."
Maybe she was right. But Tadano couldn't shake the feeling from the bounty hunter fight—that moment of perfect clarity when everything clicked. He wanted more of it. Needed to understand it deeper.
Dan had set up monitoring equipment to track Tadano's progress. Sensors that measured energy fluctuations, cameras that analyzed his movements, devices that detected the subtle signatures of Cursed Arts activation.
"Fascinating," Dan muttered, studying the data one evening. "Your Cursed Arts don't just activate during combat. They're always on, just at a lower level. Like a baseline hum."
"What do you mean?" Tadano asked, joining him at the display.
"Look." Dan pulled up a graph showing energy readings. "When you're just walking around, doing normal activities—minimal signature. But the moment you touch your sword—" the graph spiked, "—the Cursed Arts flare. And when you're actively training—" the spikes grew larger, more frequent, "—they're constantly cycling. Activating, receding, activating again."
"It feels natural," Tadano admitted. "Like the sword is supposed to be in my hand."
"That's the binding Dan mentioned before," Alfred interjected, appearing beside them. "Your Cursed Arts are tied to your weapon. The more you interact with it, the stronger the connection becomes."
Tadano looked at his sword, resting in its sheath nearby. Even from a distance, he could feel it. A subtle awareness, like knowing where his own hand was without looking.
"What if I just... kept it active?" he wondered aloud. "All the time. Would that deepen the connection?"
"Potentially," Dan said. "But it might be exhausting. Cursed Arts draw on your focus, your will. Keeping them constantly engaged could burn you out."
"Only one way to find out."
Tadano picked up his sword and didn't put it down.
For the next week, the blade never left his hand. He ate with it resting across his lap. Slept with it beside him, one hand on the hilt. Trained with it until his grip felt like it was fused to the metal. Meditated with it balanced across his knees, feeling the flow of Cursed Arts like a river running through him.
"This is getting weird," Vivi said on day three, watching him eat breakfast one-handed while his other hand gripped his sword. "You're taking this 'dedication' thing a bit far."
"It's working," Tadano replied. And it was. He could feel the Cursed Arts growing stronger, more responsive. The baseline hum Dan had mentioned was getting louder, more present. The sword felt less like an object he held and more like an extension of his own body.
"Master Tadano is exhibiting obsessive behavior patterns," Alfred observed. "This is concerning."
"Or it's exactly what Cursed Arts require," Dan countered, studying his monitoring equipment with fascination. "Look at these readings. His baseline energy signature has tripled in three days. The binding is deepening exponentially."
By day seven, something changed.
Tadano was meditating—sword across his knees, eyes closed, feeling the flow of Cursed Arts—when he felt it. A shift. Like a lock clicking open inside him. The connection to his sword suddenly expanded, deepened, became something more than it had been.
His eyes snapped open.
The sensation was different now. Stronger. The sword didn't just feel like an extension of his body—it felt like part of his very being. He could sense it even when his eyes were closed, could feel its presence like he felt his own heartbeat.
Something had changed. Evolved.
But Tadano didn't call for Dan. Didn't announce the breakthrough. Something told him this was meant to be discovered naturally, in the moment it was needed. Cursed Arts weren't meant to be analyzed and measured—they were meant to be lived.
So he kept the knowledge to himself, continuing his training, waiting for the right moment to understand what this new connection truly meant.
"You've been quieter than usual," Vivi observed a few days later.
"Just focused," Tadano replied, which wasn't a lie.
"You're always focused. This is different. You're... waiting for something."
She knew him too well. "Maybe I am."
"Care to share?"
"When I figure it out myself."
Vivi studied him for a moment, then shrugged. "Alright, mysterious brother. Keep your secrets. Just don't surprise me with them in the middle of a fight."
Tadano smiled but said nothing. He had a feeling that's exactly when the surprise would come.
As if in answer, Dan burst into the training room, tablet in hand, grinning like he'd won a lottery.
"I found it!" he announced. "Our next mission. And this one is perfect."
They gathered in the operations room as Dan pulled up holographic displays.
"Dark supply transport," he explained, highlighting a route on the map. "Moves through the northern sector every two weeks, carrying equipment, weapons, and supplies for their military bases. Lightly guarded because they rely on secrecy and speed instead of heavy protection."
"How did you find this?" Vivi asked.
"I've had surveillance bots scattered across three territories for weeks. One of them intercepted a transport schedule." Dan zoomed in on a specific road. "They'll pass through this section tomorrow at dawn. Narrow road, forest on both sides, perfect ambush point."
"What's the cargo?" Tadano asked.
"Equipment mostly. Weapons, armor, tech supplies. Not money, unfortunately, but valuable enough to sell or use ourselves. Plus—" Dan's smile turned sharp, "—it sends a message. The Shadow Blade, Inferno Witch, and Tech Phantom strike again. Keeps the Darks nervous."
"Guards?" Alfred asked.
"Two drivers, four soldier escorts. Standard Dark military, not specialists." Dan pulled up tactical analysis. "We hit them fast, disable the transport, take what we can carry, and disappear before reinforcements arrive. In and out in ten minutes."
"Sounds almost too easy," Vivi said suspiciously.
"After the bank heist disaster, I'm embracing 'easy,'" Dan replied. "We need a win. Need supplies. Need to prove we can actually pull off a mission successfully."
Tadano studied the map, mentally running through scenarios. "Ambush positions here and here," he pointed. "Vivi cuts off their escape route with a fire wall. Dan disables the transport with Tech Magic. I handle the guards."
"See? It's a solid plan." Dan closed the displays. "We leave at dawn tomorrow. Get some rest. And try not to obsess over your sword all night, Tadano."
"No promises."
Dawn came cold and gray. They gathered at the facility entrance, checking equipment, running through the plan one final time. Tadano wore his combat gear, sword strapped to his back, feeling the constant hum of Cursed Arts flowing through him.
Vivi stretched, flames sparking and dying between her fingers. "Ready to actually succeed at a mission?"
"We succeeded at the bounty hunter fight," Tadano pointed out.
"That was self-defense. This is our first real offensive operation since the bank." She grinned. "No pressure."
Dan was doing final checks on his equipment—laser sword, tech devices, comm links for all of them. "Alfred, you're monitoring from here?"
"Indeed. I'll maintain surveillance and provide tactical updates via comm." Alfred's optical sensors focused on each of them. "Try not to get killed. I've grown fond of having humans around."
"We'll do our best," Dan promised.
They headed for the exit, passing through the illusion boulder into the pre-dawn forest. The air was crisp, sharp with the promise of approaching winter. Their breath misted in the cold.
"Tadano," Vivi called as they started down the trail. "Where's your sword?"
Tadano paused mid-step. Looked at his empty back where the sheath should be strapped. Looked at his hands, empty of the blade he'd carried constantly for weeks.
Then, without breaking stride, without even a change in expression, he raised his right hand.
There was a flash—like a spark of light in the dawn gloom.
The sword materialized in his grip, complete with sheath, as if it had always been there. He kept walking, settling the weapon at his hip, continuing to talk about the mission approach like summoning weapons from thin air was the most natural thing in the world.
"—so we'll take position thirty minutes before the scheduled transport time, account for their potential early arrival—"
Behind him, Dan and Vivi had stopped walking.
"Did he just—" Vivi started.
"Summon his sword from inside the facility," Dan finished, staring. "From at least a hundred meters away. Through the illusion barrier. Like it was nothing."
"When did he learn to do that?"
"No idea. I have never seen him do it before, let alone like like-"
"Like he's been doing it his whole life," Vivi finished.
Tadano had continued walking, already twenty meters ahead, still talking about tactical positioning and timing. Completely oblivious to—or deliberately ignoring—their shock.
Dan and Vivi looked at each other.
"He's getting scary good with that Cursed Arts thing," Vivi said.
"He's transcending scary and entering terrifying," Dan agreed. "But he's on our side, so..."
"So we should probably catch up before he plans the entire mission without us."
They hurried after Tadano, who was now discussing optimal ambush angles with the kind of casual competence that came from absolute confidence in his abilities.
The sword hung at his hip, gleaming faintly in the growing dawn light.
Ready for blood.
Ready for battle.
Ready for whatever came next.