Honestly~.....the videos make them look complicated but I personally think they're pretty simple!

I fluidly positioned myself in the middle of the dojo and stretched out my muscles. Going over the fighting moves in my head, I took a deep breath and started training.

I think it's like this…... left-handed parry….right counter with a step and round kick?

Ah, there we go, I think I'm getting the hang of it.

Alright! I'll repeat this move a few more times and then start trying out the next one, should be easy enough.

_____________________

I swiftly jabbed out my fist at an imaginary opponent while turning my momentum into a fierce left hook. Not hesitating, I slid forward and gave a low kick which propelled me forward and gave me enough speed to perform a splendid roll to the side to dodge any attacks. With a few more quick combinations and kicks, I successfully cornered my 'opponent' after just a few minutes.

Unfortunately.....I'm still not fast enough, Tyrant could have killed me already if this was in the game…..

How should I improve my speed...running? Maybe I can ask Akane for some tips, the school track team does have lots of ways to become faster.

Lost in my own thoughts, I didn't notice the couple standing in the doorway watching me with agape mouths.

"...No way…..Sis…..how much have you improved this past week?" My little brother pondered while staring at me in amazement.

"Toku, this is your sister!? She's amazing!!! My new idol! Take me as your disciple!" The girl standing next to him exclaimed, excitedly tugging on his sleeve.

c.r.a.p. I must have lost track of time!

"O-oh Toku, I didn't notice you there….."

Standing next to my brother, there was a girl who was half a head shorter than him and had long silky black hair. Her eyes were identical to Toku's and she radiated a very calm and cheerful aura.

Hm......? She seems more normal than I expected.

"You're Yuri, right? Can I call you that? Did you teach yourself all those cool moves?! Can you teach me as well?!" She excited asked while running up towards me.

Yikes, I'm still in my work-out clothes and covered in sweat…...ah, but at least she looks like she doesn't mind.

"Y-yeah, you can just call me Yuri. And Toku taught me most of the martial arts….."

Glancing over to my brother for agreement, he slowly shook his head in exasperation.

"Sis...I didn't teach you any of those moves, where did you learn them from?"

Huh? Well, that's odd.

"Just the old tapes I found in the storage room…..I only managed to practice them for a few hours so the moves aren't perfected yet."

".....You mean the grandmaster arts? I've been trying to make sense of their techniques for days!"

....Oh. My bad.

".....pure genius…..possible...?"

Uh, Toku, your girlfriend isn't normal after all. She's muttering a lot of weird things under her breath…..

As if reading my mind, Toku turned towards me and nonchalantly shrugged.

"Don't mind her, she does that a lot. Pika's crazy smart and whenever she mutters like that means she's trying to figure something out. Isn't she interesting?"

".....Oh, no wonder she caught your attention." I responded with a dry grin. "Why can't our family just get someone normal for once…."

"I'm pretty sure normal people wouldn't fit in our family really well. We don't have any here after all."

"I'm normal though?"

"....."

I wonder why Toku got quiet all of a sudden.

"Right, nevermind that. Who were you pretending to fight by the way?"

How should I respond to this without attracting suspicion….

"A weaker version of Tyrant, I had a chance to see him fight once and he's really fast."

"Oh, I saw him too, I bet he could beat me in less than twenty moves."

Nice. He bought it!

"I bet you could beat him though, Sis! You've got a lot stronger this past week."

...I lost to him in three moves...but I'm not going to mention that.

I have some pride left, gotta keep my dignity in front of my little sibling!

Suddenly, Pika came out of her mindless muttering and bombarded me with an avalanche of questions.

"Yuri, what's your Sapphire username? Are you on the leaderboards? I bet you are, you're so amazing after all! Most likely in the top five at least…...maybe Lynx? Or maybe Tomoe...no that won't make sense…...definitely Lynx then. Judging on your solo fighting style and the way your arm muscles are built, you know how to use a bow and dual wield daggers! You're really cool!"

COUGH. TOKU YOUR GIRLFRIEND IS SCARIER THAN YOU. WE REALLY NEED SOMEONE NORMAL FOR ONCE.

I gotta find a way out of this somehow…..think...come on…..

"Sorry to disappoint you, uh, Piksan. I do play a lot of Sapphire, but I'm not into leveling at all. My username is actually Yuka in the game, just an average n.o.body."

"Just Pika is fine! Toku, is what she says true?" She asked while quizzically turning her head towards Toku for confirmation.

"Yup. I've even friended her in-game and messaged her, what she says is true. I don't really understand it myself but…...maybe she just doesn't care much about her level."

It's true that I don't care about my level at all, but I'm still on the leaderboards…...I wonder why this happens to me? Is it because of the impenetrable protagonist armor? It is, isn't it?

"Oh, that's too bad then. We can friend each other though, my username is Pika in the game as well! Anyways, it's nice to meet you, Yuri! My full name is Katayo Pikachi, please take care of me!"

Pikachu female version!?!?

I gotta dig deeper into this.

"It's nice to meet you. Are you by chance a lightning mage in Sapphire?"

"Yeah, bingo! How'd you guess?" She cheered while giving me an enthusiastic thumbs up.

"Uh, I was just lucky."

…...P-pikachu…..that's just so cute.

I need to try and get some yellow clothes for her in the game somehow, I wonder if NPCs can make them. I should ask Abest next time I log in.

"Well then, Sis, Pika and I will go greet father and big bro. I think they got back just now, feel free to continue training, we won't disturb you any longer. Pika will be staying for dinner so we can all go out and eat today."

Toku…...I wish you'll get married and that I'll get Pika as a little sister. Although I might be getting ahead of myself, I can still hope. She's just so cute.

"Alright then, I'll see you both later. I'll wrap up my training and maybe jump into Sapphire, notify me when we're gonna head out okay?"

With a cool nod of his head, Toku herded Pika out of the dojo and started walking back towards the house while jokingly bickering with her.

Hm…...well that didn't go as I expected, but I guess this is fine as well. They're a good couple.

But honestly…..Pika described Lynx as some type overpowered mysterious a.s.sa.s.sin or something like a hitman. Is it really how other players see me as?

I guess I am getting a bit carried away in the game though.

I swear if this keeps on going, soon I'm going to start wearing an eye-patch over my left eye while yelling about sealing my left arm.

Or even worse, I'll go down the ninja route and start throwing knives at people while dressed in full black and disappearing with silent footsteps into the forest.

…

Wait a second, I'm already doing that.

…

Time to do a quick check on my mental state and sanity levels.