Fingers, flexing and extending.
Knees, lightly tapping.
Inhale, exhale.
Feeling the movement of every inch of muscle and sinew in his body, the long-absent feeling of powerful limbs made Lin feel a little unfamiliar, but he quickly dismissed that unfamiliarity and focused on recalling how to use his body.
According to Mobius, the body parts she manufactured had little difference from his original ones and could be used normally after the adaptation period.
However, the sheer number of parts transplanted this time, including internal organs which are vital for internal circulation, meant there was a high possibility of an overly strong rejection reaction. The specific situation required continued observation.
Lin stood motionless in the gym, his eyes closed, sensing the uncoordinated parts inside his body. He fully immersed himself in perceiving and adjusting his body. After five deep breaths, he opened his eyes. His deep black pupils quietly reflected the figure of the person in front of him.
He picked up the wooden sword at his feet, and the opponent also raised the wooden sword in her hand.
They didn't bother with sparring etiquette or protective gear; this was merely a straightforward practice session.
Sakura launched the first attack. She started in the Hiranome (level eye) stance, stepping forward into a thrust. The wooden sword traced a straight gray line. The speed was moderate, but the technique of the thrust was seasoned and mature. Lin, who had not studied swordsmanship, could only rely on his dynamic reaction speed to dodge.
He tilted his head to evade, and with a single-handed wooden sword, he attempted an upward strike from the lower right. Lin wanted to swing the sword based purely on instinct, but after thrusting, Sakura fluidly used her other hand to press down on Lin sword-holding hand, stopping his blade. This smooth, empty-handed blade-stopping technique must be a move from her swordsmanship school.
"Bang!"
Lin swung his free hand in a punch, forcing Sakura to retreat. Both backed away simultaneously, and the wooden swords, which had been cutting the air sharply, collided with a dull, heavy thud.
In the subsequent exchange, Lin was constantly in a state of barely-there defense. Sakura maximized her speed advantage, easily deflecting Lin wooden sword, which was held in the wrong stance. Lin could only rely on his combat experience to dodge, taking several hits on his body. The sound of flesh meeting the wooden sword was unsettling.
Soon, Lin, who was at a disadvantage in the fight, even had his weapon taken away. Unarmed, he was completely helpless against Sakura, who wielded dual blades.
But Sakura showed no mercy. She did not look down on him due to his amateur stance and technique-less moves, treating this unfair duel with seriousness.
"Ding-a-ling—"
The twenty-minute timer rang. Both stopped simultaneously. Sakura stepped back, lowered the swords with both hands, and bowed to Lin, while Lin, bruised and battered, merely nodded.
Lin first day of rehabilitation outside the hospital room was over. He collapsed backward onto the floor, exhausted. The strength that had returned to him was spent again, and he felt that he was tiring out much faster than before.
White socks stopped in front of him. Sakura half-knelt and helped him up, guiding him to a nearby chair to rest.
"How was it?" Lin leaned against the wall, allowing all the tension to drain from his body. He asked Sakura, who was wiping the wooden swords, in a faint voice.
Sakura recalled the one-sided fight while answering truthfully: "You fight entirely by instinct. The direction of your force is correct, but many times, you don't effectively utilize the weapon's characteristics to reduce the burden of exertion. Simply put, you don't know the basic techniques of swordsmanship. If it were just a one-on-one frontal combat, you wouldn't have any advantage."
"..."
What an honest evaluation.
Lin was actually most adept at gaining advantages through tricks in combat, using various terrains, tools, and information disparity to achieve his goal. What the weapon was didn't really matter. Whether a knife that could effectively harm a Honkai Beast was used to stab or slash, and how much force to apply, didn't require too much consideration.
But after careful thought, Lin still decided to ask Sakura to teach him her swordsmanship to strengthen his frontal combat capability.
"My swordsmanship was taught to me by my father. The school is... never mind. If ranked by Far Eastern swordsmanship standards, I have reached the Menkyo Kaiden level of the hereditary school, and I don't plan to take on disciples to pass on the style, so the name isn't important. If you want to learn, I can teach you."
Sakura demeanor when discussing swordsmanship was different from her usual self, with a mix of reminiscence and disappointment in her eyes, but Lin could see her passion for the art of the sword.
After Lin nodded, Sakura continued: "My school is actually a dual-wielding style, but dual blades are inconvenient for assassination, so I only ever used a single sword. Over time, I grew accustomed to having only one blade."
No wonder she carried two swords—one long, one short—on a daily basis. Lin had heard of this Nitoryu technique, but he never expected Sakura, who used a single sword with divine mastery, to be a dual-wielder.
"If you truly want to learn, we should start with the fundamental structure... once your body is better."
After packing their gear, Sakura and Lin left the gym. They exchanged no words of farewell, simply heading in their respective directions.
Walking down the hallway, Sakura sighed involuntarily, recalling Lin gloomy expression during their sparring session.
Teammate... she had never experienced being on a team with someone before.
And Lin must harbor a considerable degree of dislike deep down for her. He himself said he only handed her over for human judgment, so his acceptance of this outcome was solely due to his trust in humanity, not because he believed she was qualified to return to the outside world.
Should she call it a headache? Or maybe frustration?
The female assassin, whose face never changed, felt a little downcast.
She thought she should send a message to Rin today to let her know she was safe, so she took out her communicator. But when attempting to verify her fingerprint, the screen displayed an error.
"Hmm?"
After three consecutive failed attempts, Sakura froze.
Broken?
She didn't know much about electronic devices. Aside from a strange obsession with headphones, she only knew how to use other electronic products, not how to fix them.
But the Fire Moth's equipment shouldn't break so easily, should it?
Sakura flipped the communicator over in confusion, spotting the code on the back.
MSA-079.
"..."
Damn it, wrong one!
Sakura immediately realized that she and Lin had accidentally swapped communicators before leaving. Thinking that Rin might be trying to contact her right now, and that Lin didn't know she was still keeping her joining the Fire Moth a secret from Rin, she frantically dashed in the direction Lin had left.
She rounded the corner and saw Lin back!
"Lin..."
"Big Brother Lin?"
Sakura shouted name caught in her throat.
Because Lin was holding the communicator, calmly staring at the bewildered Rin on the screen.