"...Hmmmmmmmn~.....Mmmmn?.....Hyeep...mnyaaaaah~" As light crept through her window, signaling the dawn of a new day, Eirine's eyes gently opened. She sat up, stretched, & yawned, readying herself for the day ahead. After rubbing her face for about a minute until sleep completely left her body, she slipped out of bed & began to change into her usual daily training attire.
...Unngh...Did they seriously get bigger again? As she tried to put on her uniform, she found it somewhat difficult trying to get it closed in the front, primarily around her chest area. Of course, given how utterly gigantic her bust was, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that she'd have a hard time fitting into any sort of clothing, but she managed to make it work. Plus, her uniform fit just fine yesterday, meaning either she'd gone up yet another cup size or something else was wrong. She very quickly realized that it was the latter of those two & that she was just being an idiot & stepping on the hem the whole time. Rapidly fixing her uniform (& chiding herself a bit for her goof in the process), she headed on out to the dining room to get some much-needed breakfast...while adjusting her gi a few times along the way. Everything was on properly now, yet even so, it still felt just a tiny bit more snug than yesterday...
“…Hyuuuuup…Ahhhh~ Mornin’, Gramps” she said with a yawn towards the old man sitting in the couch chair in the living room. He wasn’t actually her grandpa but rather her uncle, but given his age, Eirine preferred to call him Gramps. His only response was a wave of his free hand, his eyes never even leaving the book he was currently absorbed in. This was fairly standard morning behavior for him, so she went on her way & cooked herself up some toast. After munching it all down, she got up from the table & headed out to the yard to train, grabbing her trusty blade, Shinkunochi, along the way.
“HRAAAAH!! HYAAH!! HRAAGH!!” Eirine spent most of her days out training her combat skills, & today was no exception. Swing after swing, she sliced through the air, her motions swift yet graceful, utilizing her special technique of making her swipes follow her body’s natural motions rather than vice versa. While she still considered herself a bit of an amateur, especially when compared to the likes of grand adventurers such as her parents, she certainly felt that she’d improved considerably over the years she’d spent honing her swordsmanship. She still felt that she had plenty of room to grow (skill-wise, not…anything-else-wise) in order to live up to their legacy, though, hence why she spent so much time training.
“…Huff…Huff…Huff……….Huh?” After about an hour, she decided to take a break. During this time, however, she noticed something odd – a series of steadily-growing black dots on the horizon.
“…What the?” Only when they were directly upon her was she able to discern what they were – black, amorphous blobs with a singular yellow eye & bat wings. She’d never heard nor read of these creatures before, yet here they were, descending upon their little shack out in the fields outside of town. Eirine quickly picked her sword back up & assumed her combat stance just as the beasts let out a loud, shrill shriek & swooped down to attack with their suddenly-spiky heads. Utilizing her speed to its fullest, she managed to deflect blow after blow, cutting through a few of them in the process & causing them to dissipate. However, this burst of energy didn’t last long, particularly due to already having expended most of her energy. She grew careless & left herself open to an attack from behind. Fortunately, she still managed to repel it, but in the process, she ended up losing both her grip on her blade & her balance. Crashing to the ground with her sword soaring through the sky, she had no choice but to scramble away & try to think of an exit strategy in the few seconds before the swarm pierced her body.
“…HRRRRRAAAAAGH!!!!!”
“…Huh?!” Suddenly, a roaring shout echoed throughout the area, followed by a blinding flash & piercing slash. Once Eirine’s eyes readjusted themselves, she saw Gramps, standing there with Shinkunochi in hand after having just culled at least a dozen of the herd in one fell swing. The hoard quickly scattered in a way that seemed to suggest a sense of not quite knowing what to do about this new, clearly incredibly strong visitor.
“…..Get. Off. My. PROPERTY!!!” His voice boomed as he turned to face the swarm, his face full of immense fury. However, in contrast, the blade in his hand hung limply by his side, barely staying in his grip. Unfortunately, Eirine had also noticed the scars on his sword arm flaring up after his big strike, meaning that in spite of his current appearance, he was probably in immense pain & didn’t have it in him for another blow.
“Gramps! No! Wait!” She quickly picked herself up off the ground & ran over to him, cutting in between him & the still-scrambling swarm. This close, she could clearly see how heavy he was breathing & every single bead of sweat adorning his brow. “..…Allow me.” She reached her hand out towards him.
“……….Hmph.” Without saying another word, he closed his non-patched eye & held out the sword…somewhat awkwardly given his injury. She accepted it, smiling gently for a brief moment before taking a deep breath & turning to face her opponents.
“Now then…Allow me to show you what I’m truly capable of.” With that, she began to execute her signature move. Utilizing the rather large weight of her upper body, she spun around in place, steadily accelerating with each passing second. Aided by the small bit of magic she knew how to summon forth, a strong vortex of wind was created, with her as its epicenter.
“RAGING…STOOOOORM!!!!!” She simultaneously angled herself towards the horde & kicked herself off the ground, the force of her twister sending her flying through the air. The intense winds pulled each of the monsters in towards her while her rapidly-spinning blade sliced them all in twain. Within mere seconds, she landed gracefully back on her feet, every last one of them evaporating behind her.
“…..Hmph. You’ve really come a long way.” A few moments later, Gramps walked on over & gave her a pat on the shoulder, causing her to smile confidently.
“…..but I need this back now.” Without warning, he reached over & wrested Shinkunochi out of her hand & walked back towards the house.
“…..Wait, what? Hey! Wait!” Suddenly confused, she ran & called out after him. “What are you doing?!”
“I’m leaving. Take care of the place while I’m gone.”
“But where are you going?!”
“That’s none of your concern.”
“Oh, I think it is! Those things attacked me, after all, & it sounds to me like you know what the heck they were!” A grueling silence followed as the two of them made their way back inside. However, before Gramps could enter, Eirine blocked his way.
“…..Move.”
“No. Not before you tell me what the heck’s going on.”
Silence.
“…..Look, if you’re going somewhere dangerous, how do you expect to do anything with that arm of yours?”
“That doesn’t matter anymore.”
“Yes it does! You can barely even fight properly anymore! Get into any sort of serious battle, & you’ll die! & I…just…I…” Suddenly, her eyes burst into tears as she fell forward, her chest meeting his own.
“…..Haven’t I already lost enough family?” He held his somewhat aggravated for a few moments, but eventually, it shifted into one of sorrow.
“…..Sigh…Guess this’ll have to happen after all…”
“…..Huh?”
“Fine. You can go in my place then.”
“…..Wait what? Really?”
“Yes, really. Now here. Take this & get out of my way already.” With that, he shoved Shinkunochi back into Eirine’s grasp, shoved her aside, & finally stepped back into his house. She simply stood there, still trying to fully process the situation as tears now symbolizing joy streamed down her face.
“…..Wait, hold on! Where am I even going? What am I even doing?”
“Eh. I’ll tell you in the morning.” Gramps replied as he made his way towards his own room.
“…A-Alright then…..Oh, & Gramps?” He stopped at the door to his room & turned his head.
“…..Thanks.”
“……….Hmph.” He gave a slight not before entering his room & bolting the door shut behind him.
…Same ol’ grump as ever, I see Eirine thought to herself as she smiled & stepped back outside just as the sun reached its zenith. She glanced down at the sword she held in her hands & gripped it tightly.
I don’t care what it takes or who I have to go up against. Whatever’s going on, I’ll be sure to put a stop to it…& mom? Wherever you are, I hope you’re watching. I wanna show you just how strong I’ve become! With these prayers in her heart, she looked onwards towards the boundless horizon, ready to face whatever challenges & adventures may come her way.