The first thing he remembered when he first came to life was light.

A very bright light in his eyes. The last thing he remembered was fire all around him and now he was in a room surrounded by light.

He looked around and found a young woman with fuzzy black hair and short statue sitting next to him, with a fox sitting in her shoulder and a smile in her face.

'You're Yagen Toshirou, right?' The woman said. 'I'm your new master· you can call me Umi. I'm glad that you will give me your strength.' And as she finished she stretched her hand in his direction.

She is talking to me? He thought. She knows I'm a sword, a lifeless object, right?

Then he looked below him. He then realized that he was in a human body.

He tried to open him mouth and take a step towards the woman, but all he managed to do was make an incoherent sound and fall flat on his face.

The woman chuckled. 'Walking and talking are a bit weird to get used to, aren't they?'

Then the small fox came towards him with a white yukata in its mouth.

'Wear this for the time being.' The woman said. 'Once you get used to your body I'll have you chose your attire of preference.'

The first days as a human in this new place were hazy. The days rolled by, as he tried to stand on his feet and get used to his voice. Two other swords with the looks of a human child and with whom Yagen felt a connection with, as if they were his family, came often to see him and help him adapt. They had introduced themselves as Akita and Gokotai.

Once he managed to walk, he couldn't stay put.

He ran around the vast garden, climbed trees, rolled in the dirt.

All those years, he had missed the felling of the wind against him and the landscape quickly changing around him. And now, with a human body, this sensation was even better. Unlike other tantous, he was a sword used in battle· He logged for the felling of adrenaline.

'I finally found you.' He heard a voice behind him say, once he had slowed down a bit.

He looked behind a saw a sword with the looks of a young adult· with long black hair and striking red eyes.

'Our master is looking for you.' He said. 'She couldn't find you in your room and got worried.'

As he finished he stared at him from head to toe with a weird look on his face· as if he was disgusted by his dirty appearance.

'Judging from your appearance, it looks like you were having fun.' The other sword stated. 'Don't worry; we were all like that once we learned to walk· running around the citadel and making a mess. She won't be mad at you. Now, follow me.'

Yagen did as he told.

Once he and the other sword, whose name was Kashuu as he found out later, arrived at his room the young woman who was his new master led him inside to give him a bath.

'It's nice to see you've adapted, Yagen.' She cheerfully said as she was pouring water on him. 'I might send you in the frontlines soon. You were used in the battlefield after all, didn't you?'

And she did what she said.

After a few days, she assigned him in the first unit for a sortie.

Ever since that, he gave his best performance in every battle he was in· fearless and bloodthirsty. He would launch himself to every enemy, no matter how big or small and come out victorious. He did his best to protect everyone important to him· His brothers, his old and new friends, and most of all, his new master.

This led him into wanting to become more helpful and efficient in and out of the battlefield. So, he started reading.

He read everything he could get his hands on· from medical books, to historical documents, to world geography. He even asked his master to teach him first aid, so that he could help the injured during battle.

The recovery room and the library had become his home, since when not out in battle, he would spend his time in there experimenting in new medicine and researching.

'You overwork yourself.' His master had told him once. 'You need to rest more.'

'I could say the same for you, General.' He replied. 'I heard you went to sleep late the past few days.'

'Yeah, because I was planning strategies for future missions.'

'Then I'm just as busy as you. I'm researching for a medicine that will aid the recovery of burns. It might be useful in battle and I'm not willing to rest until I get results.'

His master looked at him with fondness.

'Unwilling to back down, curious and fearless in combat· I can really see why you were the favorite blade of the Demon King.' She said and patted his head with a smile in her face.

Sometimes, their mission to annihilate the malicious and rebellious spirits known as the History Retrograde Army would quiet down. During that time, they would spend their days relaxing, taking care of the citadel or practicing their swordsmanship.

Their master enjoyed spending these days underneath the cherry blossom tree, having tea with the swords while she asked them about their problems.

'I want to ask you something.' She said to him one time they shared tea together. 'Did you enjoy being human?'

Yagen stutter for a moment. Yes, he loved being in this body, being able to feel and experience, to express his thoughts, to learn all those new things he only had gotten a glimpse of in his original form. But he didn't know how express those feelings in words.

'I'm not asking this to you as a verdict.' His master added. 'I just want to know your thoughts about it.'

He smiled at her.

'Of course I enjoy it, General.' He happily replied. 'To be able to experience all those things, to travel to all these places, meet all these people. It was hard and confusing at the start, but I got used to it quickly. And serving you, General, really made it worth.'

She stared at him for a moment and then smiled, while whipping some cherry blossom petals from his head. He looked back at her and took a sip from his tea while averting his eyes and looking at the citadel before him. His younger brothers and other tantous were playing around happily with the supervision of his older brother Ichigo. This scene brought a smile in his face· it made him want to preserve this happiness. The happiness of his brothers and his master.

Yes, being there, right now was really worth it.