Suzume Hino's Story

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The high-pitched whistle of wood through air was followed by a sharp crack as the implement in question landed a resounding hit over the young man’s collarbone, exploiting the obvious hole in his guard and sending him staggering backwards. The assailant remained temporarily frozen in the seconds afterwards, allowing his trainee to get an idea of exactly how and why the hit had occurred. Akihiko and Aonani were, as was generally their practice, out training first thing in the morning, the lord’s gold-embroidered scarlet gi the only indication of his rank or identity. He wore the same plain black hakama as any soldier did to train, and at the moment, his proper sword was elsewhere, meaning he carried only a bokken.

“Again.”

Nani held a bokken in his hands at the ready, his body slick with sweat. He had been training for some time with Akihiko and he was nearly positive he hadn't done anything to his teacher other than give him a bunch of chances to hit him, no bruises or landing any real hits. He was practically panting after his latest loss in their most recent match. "What is it I'm doing that allows you so many openings, my lord?" Nani asks, wanting to know what he was doing wrong. He hated when he couldn't figure out his own mistakes, he had waited three rounds before he had asked his teacher, trying to figure it out on his own.

Akihiko stepped back, allowing his student some room to adjust and find his feet again. It went without saying that such an opportunity would not be afforded in a real fight, but this was only a sparring match, and an instructive one at that. What worked for learning purposes was often different than what worked in real-world application. As long as Nani appreciated the difference, Akihiko was doing his job. Lowering his blade to hang with deceptive nonchalance near his side, he tilted his head to the side, narrowing his eyes slightly, an expression more indicative of scrutiny than straightforward displeasure.

“You are telegraphing.” The words were short, terse, but not angry. Akihiko spoke with an economy of words; generally speaking, where fewer would do, he did not use more. Of course, there were a number of reasons Nani could not hit him, some of them having to do with experience and natural capacity. But for these sessions, the Lord of the East checked his speed and strength, so that what stood between them was a matter of skill alone. Nani was quite talented, but he was also, at this point, quite predictable. His eyes and the orientation of his body always gave away where he was going to strike. He took too long to decide, sometimes, and those seconds allowed his opponent to predict with uncanny accuracy what he was going to attempt next. “Calculate less. Trust your instincts.” Akihiko had shaped them himself, after all.

Nani didn't hate practicing using swords, it was just definitely not his favorite. Nani nodded his understanding to Akihiko. He knew he had always had that issue. He thought about it for a moment, considering his previous movements and catching actions that would have given his movements away to any swordsman who had any good experience. Nani nodded once again, trying to find a way to think instead of how he was. He noticed he was thinking his actions through like he might when hunting. He couldn't do that when his opponent had a higher process of thinking than an animal.

Nani considered his other hobbies, finding his best choice to be thinking as if he was painting and the bokken was his brush. He hardly thought when he painted, just doing what he saw. Nani nodded one last time, then readied himself again. Breathing deeply, he watched Akihiko carefully, then moved. He didn't think as he went, only reacting when he needed to. Nani did not think about his actions, but reacted when he saw the need to, like he did when he saw paint starting to drip. He felt the difference rather than saw it as he didn't bother trying plan out what he would do. He was being far more spontaneous.

Listless lavender eyes roamed the empty halls. She was never one for late nights, but Suzume could not fall asleep last night. She was working on a new haori top, carefully threading the needle through the threads before she had realized the time. It was a gift, and a special one at that. The material she was using was silk, and she had ran out of it before she could finish the haori. She needed more, and the lack of sleep was impairing her judgement at the moment. She paused, only seconds of saving herself from running into one of the many people employed by her adoptive father. She spun around on her heel, bracing herself against the wall, and blinked in a rapid succession.

"I'm sorry," she stated, bowing in a polite manner. She should try and get a decent amount of sleep tonight. That, or she could end up running into something a little more dangerous than another human. She stifled a yawn, and continued roaming through the halls. Aonani was around here somewhere, and she needed him. The village below wasn't too far from the home, but Suzume knew that she couldn't exactly go by herself. She wasn't strong like a yokai, and she wasn't ignorant to the dangers of the world outside. Going by herself would be quick, easy, and she wouldn't have to bring Aonani out of his training session with Akihiko, if he was training. A small smile crept along her lips. Why wouldn't he be? He's always training with Akihiko.

With that in mind, she made her way down to their usual training area, the smile growing brighter with each step she took. Once she reached the training area, she paused, and leaned against one of the pillars. She watched on with light awe filling her eyes, watching as Aonani and Akihiko practiced. She, however, was not expecting to meet Aonani's gaze, and winced.

Nani had not let a clear thought form in his head other than to continue moving, to be fluid. That is, until he caught sight of a certain girl's black hair. He couldn't help but switch his focus and knew almost immediately it was a huge mistake when training with Akihiko.

That single moment was more than enough. Akihiko stepped in, swinging his own practice bokken in a punishing arc for the back of Aonani’s knees, collapsing him and sending him into the dirt. Any harder, and he’d have broken the bone—an injury which would have been healed in minutes, due to the fact that the boy was a kitsune. Nevertheless, he didn’t see the point. The humiliation would be sufficient lesson. “Mind your foe, not your audience.”

Nani groaned slightly as he rolled onto his back to look up at Akihiko. "So sorry, Akihiko-sama, it won't happen again," Nani manages through his rapid breathing. He was in shape, sure, but anyone would be out of breath and sweating after working with Akihiko. He could feel his face reddening from the embarrassment. He knew Aki was only using it to teach him, and felt no hard feelings, though he did wish it wasn't quite so painful. He knew it could have been worse however and was thankful for that.

“See that it does not.[/b]” Akihiko narrowed his eyes for a moment, but in the end he reached down and, with no discernible effort at all, picked the lad up by the back of his collar and set him down on his feet. It was more or less the brusque lord’s equivalent of a hand up. “We’re done for the day. Attend to your charge.” He nodded in Suzume’s direction, indicating that Aonani should take up his duties as her bodyguard for the morning. He himself had plenty else to take care of, after all.

"Don't mind, Otou-san. He's proud of you," Suzume stated after waving towards Akihiko. Once he was gone, she turned her attention back to Aonani and grinned. "I need to go into the village today. I need more silk fabric and a few more other materials. Will you go with me?" she felt the need to ask, though she knew what the answer would be.

Nani bowed slightly to Akihiko as he always did at the end of their lessons. "Thank you Akihiko-sama," Nani stated before grabbing his boken and turning to smile at Suzu. Nani didn't really have to think about his answer. "Of course Suzume. If you wouldn't mind me changing out of training clothes before we go, I can be ready within minutes," Nani states as he walks towards her, steadying his racing heart in an attempt to have his bruises go away. He was nearly positive Suzume hated seeing what the training did to both him and Akihiko, when he got the rare hit in on rare occasions, or his birthday.

Nani rushed to his rooms which were very close to the training area considering he worked as a bodyguard of sorts. He nearly threw his bokken across the room as he dressed in a more suitable dress, green as he loved the color, to be walking around the market area. He grabbed his knives, tucking them out of sight along with a few of his illusion papers. It was a rare occasion he needed to use them, but it was always handy to have. He also made sure he had his wallet. He had been looking for an opportunity to buy more paper and the silk stand was one or two down from a paper vendor, perhaps he could grab some parchment for some work he had wanted to do.

Upon emerging from his rooms, Nani went to Suzume. "I will gladly follow you wherever you might want to go," Nani states, gesturing for Suzume to lead the way though he takes a place beside her as a friend. "Silk fabric and other materials? What are you working on Suzu?" Nani asks curiously as he walks.