Victory & Wealth

(Sorry for the delay, Stephers. <3 Writer's block sucks. :/)

A slice rang through the air in the Azai compound’s training room.  It was a large room with plenty of floor space, and was glamorous despite its purpose, as would only be befitting of the former royal family.  The walls were lined with everything from exercise equipment to weight machines, training dummies and stockpiles of various weaponry.  The inventory included basic ninja tools as well as exquisitely forged katana, sheathed in their beautifully designed scabbards that rested upon dust-free displays.  But that was not all.  Never ones to shy away from spending the mighty Ryo, the Azai bore an impressive collection of exotic arms from foreign and ancient civilizations both.  It was one of these self-same exotic armaments that threatened to cut through the air this very moment.

It hadn’t been very long since that fateful New Year’s night.  The weight of the events that had unfolded would not be quickly forgotten.  With enemies now baring their fangs, Flora had decided to relinquish the throne, re-evaluating her own purpose and the path that she wished to follow.  But for Aria, her purpose remained unchanged.  Her path was that which it had always been.  She was going to protect her family.

It was this purpose that fueled her as the rapier in her left hand flew elegantly through the air, parrying and riposting against an invisible opponent.  Ever so graceful, the young woman would block an unseen sword, then spin away on the tips of her toes, a dancer in the wind.  Then, with equal measures poise and intensity, she would dash forward with several lightning-quick thrusts before nimbly twirling around to her right, where she would jump up and over, her lithe body rotating in a beautiful twisting flip through the air.  At the apex of her acrobatic maneuver, she would swing the thin metal of her blade with utmost precision, slashing at the throat of another unseen opponent that would be directly beneath her.  Landing just on the other side of the imaginary victim, Aria would pivot once more on her right foot, turning to face what would have been two freshly defeated foes.

It was at this moment that the training room doors would open, though Aria did not avert her gaze.  The servant’s voice called out to her.  “Pardon me, milady.  Mistress Flora had requested your presence at the pool.”  Wordlessly, Aria spun the Fleur d’Aurore within her hand before returning it to its sheath on the right side of her hip.  She walked over to the servant, who had the forethought to bring a clean towel neatly folded over his arm.  He handed it over to the former princess.  Though it was customary for such obedient retainers to serve their masters by wiping off any accumulated sweat themselves, it was well known amongst the house servants that Aria made exception to such conventions, preferring to do things herself rather than be touched unnecessarily.  And so the servant merely gave a half bow in respect as the young Azai delicately padded her neck with the fine cloth.  Once satisfactorily clean, she handed the towel back to the servant before leaving toward her room.


“You summoned me, sister?”  Flora was relaxing on a lounge chair as her little sister made her presence known.  The fair-skinned beauty wore a bejeweled white bikini not unlike Flora’s own.  The Azai sisters were renowned throughout Kitai for their unparalleled looks, and it wasn’t at all hard to see why.  While Aria’s petite frame lacked the curves of her sister’s more sensual form, her figure was nonetheless just as flawless.  Many had considered it quite the shame that the former princess always dressed far more conservatively than their former Queen.  But now that they were within the confines of their own home, such inhibitions held no reign over the girl.

The younger Azai laid down on her stomach across a flattened lounge chair next to her sister, resting her cheek against her forearms.  While much of her soft skin was exposed to the sun’s rays, she didn’t bother trying to kid herself.  Whether it was the Yuki blood in her veins or by some other unknown means, Aria had always had the lightest skin within the family, and no amount of sun ever seemed to change that.  Still, while she had always preferred the cold, the warmth of sunlight had an admittedly relaxing essence to it.  So when asked to spend time relaxing poolside with her older sibling, what reason had she to refuse?  Aria closed her eyes as she awaited whatever it was that her beloved sister had to say.