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Lily and Shiu traveled two days back to Kamakura City.1
Once they were in the city, Lily brought Shiu to a tailor to have a few ninja attires made for her before returning to the dojo.
“Lady Kagami.” The entrance was still guarded by the same male and female attendants. They received Lily with even more respectful attitudes this time. After all, Lily was now ranked third in the dojo; a truly powerful figure. In Kamakura City, she was starting to be the topic of conversation between many samurai. Even among the upper echelon of the Genji clan, Lily had a very respectable reputation.
Lily still gave them both a friendly nod before entering the simple but deep courtyard.
She saw Senior Kondo walking up to her as soon as she entered.
From the looks of it, his injuries had healed a lot and he no longer needed the crutches.
“Senior Kondo,” Lily went up to him and bowed.
Since he previously lost to Tokugawa, Kondo remained fifth in the dojo ranking while Tokugawa ranked higher than him. As a result of his injuries, no one challenged him at this time due to the righteousness of a samurai.
“Lady Kagami.” Kondo looked both happy and dejected at the sight of Lily.
“Senior Kondo, you look so much better now. Have your injuries healed?”
“I’m fine. Maybe Lady Kagami should be more worried about Lady Shimizu.”
“Eh? What’s wrong with Sister Shimizu?”
Kondo had a worried expression on his face. After all, they’d been living in the same dojo for many years. “Three days ago, she lost to Uesugi Rei in the contest that everyone in the Land of East had their eyes on
”
Kondo told Lily every detail of the battle that ensued between Shimizu and Uesugi Rei a few days ago. He was watching the battle from the second floor of a teahouse nearby on that day, so naturally, he got a clear view of it.
“What
?” Lily looked concerned too after listening to Kondo. Sister Shimizu had always been sickly and down. How would someone who cared so much about reputation cope with suffering such an utter defeat in public?
On the contrary, it would’ve been better if Sister Uesugi was the one who lost. At most she would just smile and say “I’m ashamed of myself” and there wouldn’t be so much to worry about her.
“I understand. Thank you for informing me, Senior Kondo. I will go see Sister Shimizu now.”
“Oh right, thank you for the medicine that you’ve brought for me, Miss Shiu.”
“You’re welcome. I am only carrying out an order. If you like it, I can bring you more next time.”2
“Ahem, I
 I hope there won’t be a next time hehehe.” Kondo smiled at Shiu with sweat beading his forehead. “Well then Lady Kagami, I still have some errands so I’ll excuse myself first.”
“Alright.” Lily gave her senior a slight bow, then turned around and hurried to Shimizu’s room.
However, when she reached Shimizu’s place, she was told that Shimizu had gone to her private dojo.
“Seems like Lady Shimizu isn’t as depressed as Kondo had mentioned?” Shiu asked.
Lily shook her head instead. “I’ll go have a look. Shiu, take the luggage back and go spend some time with Nanako.”
“With her? Umm
 alright.” Shiu then left while sulking.3
Lily hurried toward an old and slightly deserted dojo surrounded by a bamboo forest in the deeper part of the courtyard.
She walked through the bamboo forest and went up to the old, dilapidated dojo. She peered into the dojo through a rather weather-worn paper window screen.
Shimizu was wearing her usual white and blue dojo uniform. She stood in the center of the dojo with a sword in her hands. A ray of light came through from the damaged roof, causing golden specks of flying dust particles to be visible, and shone on Shimizu’s delicate back.
“As long as I can master the seventh, no, the eighth, the ninth stage of the mysterious sword technique, I can definitely defeat that woman and regain my pride! But why!? Why am I not making any progress?! I’m even starting to lose my stability in the sixth stage
! Cough, cough, cough!”
“Sister Shimizu
”
Shimizu turned around and saw Lily’s silhouette in the bright sunlight at the door.
“Lily
 Lil’ Lily
 Is that you? Is that really you
?”4
“Sister Shimizu!” Lily worriedly rushed over to Shimizu. Before she could even bend down, Shimizu had latched onto her thigh and nuzzled her face against Lily’s stomach.
She appeared to be sniffing the scent on Lily’s body to her heart’s content.
The unique, healthy and feminine scent on Lily greatly soothed her.
“You’re finally back
 Do you know how lonely I’ve been over the past few days
?”
“Sister Shimizu — ” Lily knelt down and Shimizu pressed her lovely face against Lily’s chest.
Despite being the older sister, Shimizu spoke in a rather coquettish tone. “So soft
 It feels so good to lean against you, Lil’ Lily
”5
“Sister Shimizu, losing a contest isn’t a big deal. Please don’t take it to the heart.”
“Do not mention that again!” Shimizu’s voice suddenly turned very fierce. “That woman deliberately concealed her strength and schemed against me to embarrass me! She had embarrassed me in front of the world! She’s so mean
 Sobs
 Lily, that woman bullied me
!”
“Sister Shimizu, Sister Uesugi isn’t that kind of person. That was only an ordinary contest. Don’t let it bother you. Sister Shimizu is still a very impressive female samurai! You’re so much more powerful than Lily.”
“Hehe, Lil’ Lily is so good at comforting others. Of course I am better than you. Otherwise, how can I be your elder sister? But that woman defeated me. Will you dislike me from now on and choose to side with her?”
“Sister Shimizu, who do you think Lily is? We will forever be training sisters and we will never abandon each other. Have you forgotten about that?”
“How could I forget
 But I am afraid that I might stop practicing sword. Lately, the more I practice, the worse my physical condition gets. I haven’t made the slightest progress. Lil’ Lily
 maybe I have no talent.”
“How can you think that way, Sister Shimizu? If the top female samurai of the East labels herself as untalented, then thousands of samurai in training would be ashamed of themselves. Please don’t let your defeat get to you. Even if you defeat Sister Uesugi, there is still Ashikaga Makoto and the legendary Fujiwara Ayaka. There is always a long road ahead of the strong. No one can possibly reach the top in just a short amount of time. Slightly falling behind for now doesn’t necessarily reflect your future achievements, does it?”
“I truly hope it is as you said. But
 it doesn’t matter anymore. I don’t feel like practicing sword now. Leaning against your chest makes me feel so much better than I did a few days ago. I don’t have any friends. Everyone is laughing at me behind my back. You are all I have
”
“Sister Shimizu
” Lily was quite moved. Regardless of their feelings, Shimizu’s trust and reliance toward her were sincere.
Lily caressed Shimizu’s shoulder.
“I don’t care about anything as long as I can be in your arms like this every day
” Shimizu lifted her head up and rested her chin on Lily’s breasts6. Her gentle but sorrowful eyes blinked, and her pink lips parted slightly. “Kiss me. Can you give me a kiss?”
“Eh?” Lily instantly blushed and turned her head to the side. “Sister Shimizu
 W-We agreed that we are nothing more than training sisters
”
“Hmph. Have you never kissed anyone?”
“Eh?” Lily was taken aback. Regardless of the truth, any girl would deny when asked this question. “No.”
Shimizu looked more at ease. “Never mind then. As long as Lil’ Lily stays with me forever, we can take things slow. I’m not like that woman who looks sexually deprived all day long.”
“

”
“But why do you refuse to go further with me, Lil’ Lily? You look sexually deprived too.”
“Eh? I-I’m not!” Lily denied with a flushed face.
Shimizu’s complexion and mood greatly improved after Lily came back. Even so, she still refused to go out and meet people. She either stayed at home quietly or spent her time at the old dojo. Lily stayed by her side out of concern.
Shimizu rarely practiced sword after that. Watching Lily improve every day made her feel happy yet a little sad at the same time.
A few days later, a sixth ranked disciple challenged Lily. Needless to say, they suffered a total defeat. Since then, no one dared to challenge Lily again for the time being.
“Sister Shimizu
 Lily is rather concerned by the fact that you only drink tea all day long but not practicing sword.” Lily was dripping with sweat in her pink yukata while holding a wooden sword. She had just finished practicing while Shimizu had spent the entire day staring at her obsessively and preparing tea or snacks for her.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ve hit a wall lately, so it’s better that I take a break from training.”
“That’s true
”
Shimizu was dressed in a white kimono that gradually turned light purple toward the bottom. Her short swinging sleeves were decorated with lilac flowers. In this era, a smooth gradient was achieved by painting the layers by hand. Since it was an extremely tedious work, the elegant-looking kimono came at an expensive price.
Shimizu who never cared much about clothes had started dressing herself up in the past few days.
She even applied blush on her face. Shimizu had a very pale complexion that lacked rosy colors. She thought that Lily would much prefer healthy-looking girls.
“Lil’ Lily
 Aren’t you going to do something about my laziness?”
“Eh?” Lily’s chest heaved as she panted. She looked down at Shimizu who was sitting on the floor. Her appearance was a little different from the usual.
“Aren’t you going to punish me? I might work harder after Lil’ Lily punished me.”
“Huh?” Why would a proud woman like Shimizu say such things to Lily? Lily couldn’t help but worry. Could the blow from Shimizu’s defeat be so great that she had given up on herself?
Shimizu played with her own hair. “Do you remember the day when I tied you up at the camp that day and disciplined you? I still feel guilty about the incident and sorry toward you. If Lil’ Lily takes revenge on me, perhaps I would feel better.”
“Eh? Please don’t say that, Sister Shimizu. Lily don’t blame you as Lily was at fault that day
”
Shimizu’s gaze softened as she visibly relaxed. She was half-lying on the old floor while basking in the sunlight that came inside. Her fair beautiful leg was exposed from under the kimono skirt. Shimizu’s lower body wasn’t particularly slim, but she was very well-proportioned. Her thigh was perfectly shaped, but her exposed lower leg was so slim it could completely fit in Lily’s grip.
Shimizu’s gaze wavered at Lily, inadvertently exposing her desires to be disciplined.
Her pink lips parted slightly. “Although I am a powerful female samurai, I’m still a woman at the end of the day
 There are times that I need to be kept in check and disciplined so that I can pull myself together, you know?”
Lily would be lying if she said that she didn’t have the urge to do something to Shimizu at this moment. However, she knew that she should be encouraging Shimizu to pull herself together at a time like this instead of making another mistake and cause her to fall deeper into the abyss of self-abandonment.
She kneeled down, gently pulled Shimizu’s skirt to cover up her snowy white thighs7. “Sister Shimizu, have you forgotten about your destiny? Have you forgotten that you are the one chosen by the ancient mirror? There will come a time when you will have to fight those terrifying demons and villains that bring harm to the mirror girls at the frontlines. Lily swore that she would fight alongside you. I wish that Sister Shimizu will grow even stronger and become a female samurai that is revered by all.”
“Is that so? Do you really wish for that?”
“Yes!” Lily opened the front of her robes wider and nodded.
“Thank you, Lil’ Lily. Perhaps I’ve been too depressed lately. You are right. I’m still shackled by my inescapable fate. If I stop here, I’ll only get swallowed up by my dark fate! I’ll work hard, as long as Lil’ Lily stays by my side
”8
Shimizu hugged Lily. The two girls shared a long embrace under the warm sunlight in the dim dojo, as they encouraged each other.
Under the dazzling sunlight, a tall figure came from outside the dojo and accidentally walked in on the scene. Her delicate body jolted and her face flushed. However, she had a look of both relief and melancholy on her face.
Uesugi Rei turned around and leaned against a wooden pillar of the dojo that was overgrown with weeds at the bottom. Her chest heaved in excitement and she was smiling in resignation. However, her smile was laced with a tinge of bitterness that she wasn’t even aware of herself. She turned around and left quietly without interrupting Shimizu’s beautiful dream.9