Katana

"Woah!! Big brother is that a katana—

" Shh! Raiha! Don't say that out loud! " Fuutarou shushed Raiha by putting a finger on her lips. He rushed Raiha back to the residence and shut the door tightly.

"Yes, Raiha. It's a katana and I would prefer that no one saw it just yet. " Fuutarou sighed as he walked towards his bedroom with the katana in the plastic bag.

"Can I swing it?"

"And destroy the house? I think not, Raiha." Fuutarou answered her seriously. Raiha, although saddened that her wish cannot be fulfilled, slowly realized that her brother's words were right. Sharp objects, especially katanas aren't meant to be played with.

Fuutarou was left to his own devices while Raiha prepared lunch in the kitchen. He looked at the blade in his hands and whistled.

It is a moderately curved katana, a golden trefoil-shaped tsuba. It has a white color scheme matching its "Heaven" motif.

Its kashira and kojiri are both gold with its sheathe being lacquered solid white a lot like its tsuka with three cords, both the saya and tsuka have simple light five-petaled flower motifs on both sides.

Its tsuba is the shape of a trefoil, with each lobe thickly ridged (as is a central hole in each).

The tsuka appears lacquered, being solid white (instead of wrapped in tsuka-ito), and is ridged by a pair of bands directly above the fuchi, as well as one higher up alongside two yet higher, far-apart lines of studs, all parallel.

The kashira(singularly studded) is large, based in shape on a cloud motif. The saya (colored the same as the tsuka) has a cord with two hanging, tufted ends(seemingly the sageo) a short bit below the tsuba, and is otherwise embellished by a triple set of flower motifs on each side(the pair near the cord six-petaled, the two below seven-petaled).

The kojiri is large with trefoil cutouts on each side matching the tsuba, and is accented by a wide, knobbed ring above.

"This is definitely treasure. I wonder if Master Gyatsu can teach how to wield the katana."

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A few hours later.....

" Where did you get that, Fuutarou? " Gyatsu asked curiously while rubbing his beard. Fuutarou had brought the katana he found to Gyatsu's dojo.

"The junkyard." Fuutarou answered truthfully, making Gyatsu blink at his answer.

"The junkyard eh?" Gyatsu chuckled and shook his head.

"This katana isn't just any simple katana. It's a katana with a name. Its name is Ame no Habakiri, meaning Snake-Slayer or Feathery Cutter of Heaven. I like the latter nickname better, because its color scheme matches its motif very well." Gyatsu explained.

" What's so special about a name?" Fuutarou wondered with a confused expression on him.

"Ah, you are simply judging a book by its cover. This blade is one of the 21 Great Grade Blades. The group of blades are among the highest-quality blades in the world, second only to the twelve Supreme Grade swords. These blades are well known for their incredible power and outstanding balance in strength, sharpness, and durability. In the hands of capable swordsmen, they can even stand up to the Supreme Grade Swords in combat. "

" So it's really strong then. Why aren't these blades in a museum or something? " Fuutarou asked him. Gyatsu laughed loudly.

"These blades are owned by the most powerful people in the world. You would be stupid to give it up."

" So the rich own these blades, I guess I'm pretty lucky to hold this." Fuutarou whispered.

" Powerful doesn't always mean wealthy. The wealthy will never ever own these blades. Fate will not allow them to. Only the strong wield them." Gyatsu replied seriously.

" Am I really that strong though? " Fuutarou asked with uncertainty in his voice.

" Not right now you're not. But the path to strength is simply really. Your work matters, your consistency matters. Everyday that you show up, even when it's hard and you don't feel like it. You are improving, you are making a difference. " Gyatsu encouraged him seriously. Fuutarou nodded and grinned.

"Then what the hell are we still standing here for? Let's train already!"

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[Iaido: Lvl 3

A Japanese martial art that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword and responding to sudden attacks.

Katana drawing speed increased by 15%

Katana attacking speed and power increased by 6%]

[Taekwondo Lvl 6

Current Belt: White. Increased attack speed by 5%]

[Punch: Lvl 7

Reduce stamina to throw a punch by 14% and increase punching speed and power by 14%]

[Kick: Lvl 7

Reduce stamina to throw a kick by 14% and increase kicking speed and power by 14%]

"My part time job in S.S MOTOR starts on Wednesday which is tomorrow. It's gonna be right after my training with Master Gyatsu, so that means I gotta run there. Eh, more leveling up for me. " Fuutarou shrugged and arrived back at his home. He let Ame no Habakiri to be in Gyatsu's care in order to not get in trouble with the law for carrying a katana in public.

Today, katanas are considered illegal in Japan unless they are certified as 'important cultural properties' or 'art objects.'

These swords are allowed to be owned and displayed, but they cannot be carried in public or used as weapons.

"If the samurai during the Edo period were allowed to carry weapons in broad daylight, then we can too. " Fuutarou grumbled.

He sighed and quickly ran back home, he had to prepare dinner now. His life was jam-packed with a lot of activities now.

The Fuutarou four days ago would whine and complain about having to do so many things in just one day.

But after receiving the System, his whole life changed. Seeing the levels go up and his educational skills improving made him even more active and more inclined to actually try to improve.

He just needed one more push in his life to get him to be as smart as OG Fuutarou who got 100 in all 5 subjects, which was English, Math, Social Studies, Science and Japanese.

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It was Wednesday afternoon. After Fuutarou was done training with Gyatsu, he quickly sprinted towards S.S MOTOR at maximum speed.

He arrived just in time but he was breathing heavily while leaning against the entrance with his shoulder.

After his breathing calmed down, he composed himself and entered the motorbike store.

He didn't know what kind of clothes he should wear so he just opted to keep wearing the one he wore to train with Gyatsu.

"Shinichiro-san! I am here!" Fuutarou declared. Shinichiro breathed out smoke from his cigarette and looked at Fuutarou.

"Ah, Fuutarou. You're right on time. I was just about to fire you ya know." Shinichiro joked but Fuutarou did not take it as such.

"Wh-what—

" I'm kidding kid. I would never do that. Come here, I'm gonna show you how to fix the motorbike's handlebar. "

And so Fuutarou's first day working at Shinichiro's bike shop started. Fuutarou did not get straight to fixing the bikes and he expected that.

Instead, Fuutarou was on cleaning duty and helping handing Shinichiro the equipment necessary to fix parts of the bikes.

Apparently, Shinichiro's bike shop is pretty popular as there were lots of customers coming in and out of the shop even though it was already 6 p.m. in the evening.

"Wrench."

"Here you go."

"The bigger one."

"Ah sorry! Here!"

"Thanks, kid."

Even though it may seem boring, Fuutarou did not even think of it like that. His spirit was indomitable and he will grit through it until the debt is fully paid.

' Dad told me that doing the hard work feels better than avoiding the hard work. Somehow it's true, I feel like I'm doing something to change me and my family's situation.' Fuutarou thought as he furiously mopped the floor with Shinichiro watching in amusement.

'I've never met a kid this determined to mop the floor. If only Manjiro can be this enthusiastic when it's his turn to do the chores at home.' Shinichiro mused as Fuutarou finished mopping the floor.

"I'm done, Shinichiro-san!" Fuutarou reported. Shinichiro nodded and gently patted Fuutarou's head.

"Good job, kid. Now help me close the shop and I'll treat you to some ramen."

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" This is amazing! " Fuutarou shouted while slurping down the ramen with Shinichiro doing the same. They were currently in a ramen shop called Ichiraku Ramen.

" I know right?! This ramen shop is the most famous one in town. Back then, this place would also be me and the rest of the First Generation Black Dragon's go to hangout spot." Shinichiro explained as he quickly gulped down the heavenly miso soup with Fuutarou doing the same.

"Uncle Teuchi, one more bowl of the usual please!" Shinichiro demanded. Fuutarou held up his empty bowl which was once full of ramen and miso soup.

"The same for me please!"

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*VROOM!! VROOM!!!*

"This is so cool." Fuutarou whispered as he was riding on Shinichiro's motorbike. Shinichiro was the driver while Fuutarou was sitting behind him hugging his waist.

"I need to have a motorbike when I get older." Fuutarou whispered.

"Then you need to get a motorbike license first. But you have to be at least 16 years old to be able to get a license. It isn't easy, obviously. But hard work always pays off, not instantly but eventually. " Shinichiro replied to him while they turned a corner.

" Is this the place? " Shinichiro asked Fuutarou who nodded.

" Yeah, this is my home. Are you sure you want to meet dad?" Fuutarou asked him as they both got off the motorbike. Shinichiro patted his back.

" I haven't seen him in years, kid. A reunion would be nice." Shinichiro replied with a smile on his face as they arrived at the front door of the Uesugi Residence.

*Knock Knock Knock!*

"Who the fuck uh...." Isanari was the one who opened the door. He looked at Shinichiro with a stunned expression. Shinichiro grinned at Isanari.

" Hey, Isanari. Long time no see."

To be continued...