I awake, somehow sleeping in my bed. My alarm clock reading 8 PM.

Struggling to understand how I got home I get out of bed totally refreshed, and decide to practice movements I've seen from my head, to help my muscles grow correctly and try to commit proper sword moves to my muscle memory to counter-act me losing my mind from bloodthirst and flailing like an idiot in front of actually strong and intelligent species not frightened by my insanity.

Going through the motions for several hours my arms, begin to tire and I realize I have no idea how to move properly in a fight, I usually just throw caution to the wind and let my swordplay move my feet during fighting. Eventually doing such stupid things will get me killed.

Taking a break I decide to look up local MMA gyms and Kendo dojo's near me.

I get some food while checking the internet on my phone. I find 3 MMA gyms within 10 miles, and 1 Kendo dojo 17 miles away.

'A bit far for an everyday thing, then again my stamina is insane right now. If I put some work into it, and run hard I can probably run something like a 4 minute mile.' I think while scratching my head, looking at the hours. 'None listed.'

I decide to go there now, hoping for a sign on the door, tomorrow being saturday my schedule can be ruined a little.

-----

After a hard run I arrive in an hour and 15 minutes, making okay time, insane time by regular standards.

The dojo with actual lights on in front me, the sign saying, "Sword Training".

I think, 'Hah, literally in my case, hmm?' Chuckling to myself as I push in the door, the time on the wall saying 1:49 AM.

A middle aged asian man, about 5'6 walks into the room, yawning, with a semi-surprised, semi-lazy look on his face.

He comes in front of me looking up to me, from his lack of height. He grabs my hand without speaking and looks down at it, noticing the calluses he smiles widely, losing his lazy look and sternly says in a deep asian accent, "Kendo?" He asks, a hopeful look in his eyes.

I return with a simple, "Yes," understanding his apparent lack of english fluency.

He smiles even wider, and has me sit. A young girl walking in, around 13 years old, with a pixie cut and a cute round face, says, "What the hell are you doing here at 2 AM, freak?"

I reply back, gently, my eyes turning slightly red, my vision starting to cloud, "I'm usually quite busy, but I wanted to learn from someone who knows the sword well. I'm self taught." My breathing getting heavier, as my fist starts to clench, my hand starting to burn.

The man in front of me grabs my wrist hard and forces me to look him in the eyes, his head shaking, implying not to overreact to a child.

My senses coming to me I say, "Sorry." and bow my head to him.

He nods and hits my shoulder lightly. His face more stern, he beckons his daughter over, as she comes out of her stupor from seeing my eyes and demeanor from before.

He starts to speak with her in what I would assume was Korean, as I had heard much of Japanese from my watching of anime and Japanese drama's.

She nods, answers in korean and turns towards me, "My father wants to know why someone of your extensive mastery over the sword is doing in a Kendo Dojo?" She looks unimpressed by me as she's saying this, seemingly not believing her father's words that I'm strong.

I smile and say, "I know the sword, but I have no Idea how to move."

She looks shocked and reports this to her father, he nods happily and stands up, goes to get a beautiful geom that's hanging on the wall and says something to his daughter, she turns to me and says, "My dad says to take out your sword." She looks confused and asks back, it looks like he tells her to turn around, assuming I should summon my sword, I do.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

The suprise I expect on his face isn't there, instead he looks enthused, like he found a great toy to play with. He tells something to his daughter, she turns around and sees my partner and looks shocked, saying, "Where the fuck did that c--" a smack comes in to the back of her head as her father apologizes with his eyes and reiterates what he said before. His body starting to exude unseen pressure on me, his face becoming more stern as he lowers into a overhand stance.

"A-are you ready?" I nod and reply, "Yes, can you tell your father to stop me if I lose control?" With another shocked look she talks with her father again and he looks up at me with a question mark.

"Tell him when I fight I don't stop until what or who I've attacked dies." I smile lightly and gently tell that to the girl who after my sentence looks like I just kicked her dog, she hides behind her father and repeats what I said to her in Korean.

He looks like a lightning bolt just hit his head and comes out of his stance, tells the girl to turn around, puts the sword back on the wall and walks straight to me and knocks the sword away, as it hits the ground it turns into shadow and slowly disappears.

He looks straight into my eyes and says, "You, no control, no sword, you control, you sword, I teach, Yes?" He sternly looks deeper into my eyes as if trying to tell if what I'm about to say is a lie, or the truth. I simply nod.

He shakes his head, "No!" He shouts, "You say! You promise! No teach if no promise!"

I look at him calmly, understanding that while bloodthirst is fine, having control is what a sword most needs. The previous sword lost control and I think that's why the sword took him over. I need control, badly. After pondering for awhile longer, I nod again and say, "I promise, I will not use the sword until you say it's okay."

His stern face turning gentle and says, "Good, you learn Munhwaŏ. When learn, we talk." He turns to his daughter with a smile and says something in Korean.

She turns to me with a reluctant face, "My father wants me to teach you Korean, so I have to, but no funny stuff freak. Oh, and he also says to follow him for a bit." She walks with him to the back room and I follow, he looks to me and points in front of him as he sits on the floor indian style.

I sit in front of him and he looks to me and he says, "No eyes, no speak, no think. Sit and med--, med--, kkoehada. Now."

I close my eyes as I assume that means meditate, and try to stop thinking, or hearing. My mind wandering to many topic, but the one that comes up mostly is the one that's always in the back of my mind.

A voice that's different from mine, different from the demon's but similar to both continuously says, 'must...kill...must...see...blood...' The longer I sit the worse it gets. 'Must Kill....Need Blood....'

'Need food... Hungry... Blood.... Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood!!!!'

*crack*

I wake up from the meditation with a sword to my throat, my arms coiled around a hand with claws in them and hair from the forearm up.

Looking up I see the Korean man looking down at me calmly, fangs coming from his upper and lower lips, his hair longer than it once was, tuffs of fur where his clean shaven face once was, his eyes larger and bright yellow, his pupils turning into long slits. "Calm." His voice deeper than before, almost gutteral, like a beast's, but beautiful at the same time. I look around and nod to him and say, "I have control," as I see a mess everywhere, my sword in my hand slowly disappearing as I will it away, sword slashes in the walls, and claw marks from his feet in the mats on the ground.

His fur receding into him taking on his old look he says something calmly to his daughter, who looks terrified of me. Then looks back to me, letting go of my throat so I can breathe smiling as he says while pointing to me, "Strong, very."

I smile bitterly, "Sorry about that," Just now realizing neither of us knows eachothers name, I say, "I am Gladio, it's latin for sword. May I know your name?"

He smiles and says, "Han, Han Kim." He points to his daughter and says, "Saehee."

He turns to his daughter and speaks a few sentences, then stands and walks away. She looks at me, still a little fear in her eyes, and says, "My father says you'll be staying here now." I nod and look at my phone, it says 7:36 AM which means that meditation lasted awhile. I call my mom and tell some lies about staying at a friend's house, other than pleasant surprise as I had never done that, it was fine.

Han Kim walks back into the room, and says while pointing to himself, "Sunsaegnim." He then leads me off to the side of the back room through the locker room and showers to what looks like a old fashioned Korean courtyard and shoves me into one of the rooms.

He walks in after me and takes a futon down from the closet along with a few changes of clothes and drops them into my hands and shoves me into a small room off to the side and says, "You, here. No me, no kkoehada, okay?"

I smile and nod a few times to show I understand him, and he starts to leave the room. When he gets to the door, he turns and says, "Train-hunlyeon, 8-yeodeolb, okay?" I answer back with a terribly pronounced, "Yes, sunsaegnim."

He leaves as the back of my mind that was empty after my meditation gets filled with more thoughts of bloodshed and murder. 'It will not work.... You will never have control.... You will always lose yourself to blood....'

-----