Awakening to the bright sunlight streaming inside my room, I was filled with irritation as it seemed to enter through my eyelids. Determined to make myself a tasty egg for breakfast before preparing myself for the Academy. Once I finished eating my scrumptious egg, I dressed in black clothing, took hold of my bag, and headed on my way toward the Academy. Today in class we devoted the whole day to learning fundamental topics, since tomorrow would be entirely dedicated to sparring practice. As soon as the Academy day was over, I rushed to the closest training ground near the Academy. When I arrived, I spotted that Yukito and Keiko were already engaged in a sparring competition.
"<(Lightning blade 3rd form, Precise Strike)>" shouted Keiko as a trail of blue lightning illuminated the area, temporarily blinding Yukito. She lunged at him with her katana pointing straight towards him. But before it could make contact, he yelled "<(Water blade 4nd form, flowing falls)>", jumping into the air and spinning around while leaning to the side to block her arm with his hilt instead of slicing it with his now blue blade. She fell to the floor with his sword pointed towards her.
"The game is finished," Yukito said, sounding exhausted. "But I've still got more victories than you," Keiko piped up. It was an unwise move at least in my opinion as Yukito could use Keikos words to predict her next move and therefore eliminate any element of surprise that Keiko originally had however, I doubted that with their friendship they knew each others move functions.
I let out a clear, resounding "Hey!" to catch Yukito's attention. He responded quickly, "Hello! Would you like to spare with me now? It will just be a test of your capabilities." "Yeah sure thing" I replied back. They handed over a katana for me to use in the practice. I took a deep breath and made my way over to the center of the training field.
Keiko announced the start of the match with "Three, two, one!" I lunged forward and brought my sword up in an overhead slash.
Yukito then roared "<(Water blade 1st form, Rising Tides)>" and slashed his sword in a horizontal arc before thrusting it downwards "<(Sword Dance 1st Form, Crescent Dash)>". In the blink of an eye, I had moved past him with my weapon leveled at his lower abdomen.
He was astonished. "Not bad," he murmured. "But can you handle this! <(Water blade 4th form, Furious Falls!)>". In an instant, he began a majestic twirl in the air with his sword, its fluidity akin to that of a river. Then, his weapon swiftly shot downwards like a raging waterfall to cause a searing pain in my arm. He had created a large gash from my shoulder to my hand and I let out an agonized groan as I felt the hot sensation circulating through my limb.
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Yukito apologized, looking embarrassed. "I didn't think someone not born into a clan could be so strong," he said. "It's okay, the fight was helpful in its own way and it wasn't such a deep cut," I replied as Keiko tied up my arm with gauze. "Thanks for dressing it," I said to her, and she simply murmured back in response.
Yukito then suggested I come back tomorrow for a longer sparring session, "as another experience gainer." I agreed, and shouted that I'd be at the training ground after the Academy, then started walking home.
The sparring session had not been my finest performance, as I was unaccustomed to one-on-one combat. The cut I gave him wasn't deep enough. As I wandered off to the talisman store, I mulled over ways to improve my ability in one on one combat and sharpness of my strikes.
The store owner asked me, "What do you need, young man?" I replied, "I'd like some gravity talismans, please." He understood my intent. "Ahh, so you want to train harder, huh? I have the perfect thing for you. Just $350 and you can have a full body weight talisman that distributes the weight evenly over your body up to an extra 20 pounds!" I thanked him but told him I'd need to come back when I had the money. He smiled and said cheerily, "I'll see you later then!" as I left.
Ugh, what a drag. I would need to either rely on the meager $100 per month stipend from the Chief council of my village and either had to die of starvation or find some sort of side job. On my way back to the apartment, I brainstormed for a job that was easy to learn, profitable, and would give me an income.
I had nearly reached home when I had an idea: I could pay the local blacksmith to train me, and then I could try asking him if I could help him with his metalworking. If so he'd probably make me start off with small projects like kunais, shurikens, and senbons, then perhaps he'd let me progress to making short swords like tantos, wakizashis, and Daisho.
Making it to my residence, I cooked and then devoured the ribs that I had made. With dinner finished, I returned to another training ground with Yukito's lackluster katana in tow. First, I practiced my first form a few times before beginning work on the second form.Realizing that having only one form might not be the wisest choice when other kids had many forms designed by their clans, I knew I needed a second one. Having multiple forms at my disposal in addition to ordinary slashes and jabs would be advantageous.
After trying out several different katana movements, I finally settled on <(Sword Dance 2nd Form, Counter Crescent)>. It was a move where I'd block the enemy's attack using the handle guard and then lean away from the enemy's blade before quickly thrusting my blade into their body, killing them with my weapon
I had done some exercises with a tree and its protruding branch but was aware that it wouldn't be enough. I would need to do more practice using this form with Yukito and potentially Keiko the following day at the training grounds after the Academy. So, I continued my regular training schedule for another hour before heading back home.
I then arrived at my apartment and prepared a nourishing dinner of eggs with a side of newly bought fresh greens. When I was finished, I made my way to the bedroom, where I snuggled up under the covers. As I lay there, my breathing began to steady and slow down.