Kaito nervously looked inside the training hall full of kids nearly years his senior. He was unsure about this. He could see his father correcting a young girls stance, and then his uncle teaching a child how to hold a shinai. Kaito was the youngest so far, two years younger than the child Osamu was helping. With a whimper, Kaito turned back to his mother.
"M-Mama I'm scared!"
"Nothing to be scared of, your father won't let a thing happen to you."
Aoi could see the doubt in Kaito's eyes. He didn't know how to do anything like this. This was man's play for god's sake! He turned back, just in time for his father to appear.
"Hey, you coming in?"
"N-no!"
"He's scared."
"Of what?" Shinpachi knelt down.
Kaito shied away from the door and moved to peek out from behind his mother's kimono. Shinpachi sweat dropped then followed him around.
"Kaito, come on."
"B-but what if I get hurt!?"
"You won't get hurt."
"B-but..."
"No buts. Come on." Shinpachi bent and picked up his boy, then carried him into the dojo.
He set him down in his own little area, and handed him a child sized bamboo sword and placed him in front of a dummy. Kaito simply hit it once, then looked up at his father, who got down and explained things to him.
"I can't do this..."
"Why not?"
"I can never be as good as you guys...I'm too young!"
Aoi was picking up the trays while Shinpachi sat with Osamu, drinking Sake and trying to think of a reason to give to Kaito.
"He thinks he's too young, and weak. I don't know what to tell him!"
"Why not use Kia-san as an example?"
"Kia-san?"
"She trained at father's dojo when she was five. She got stronger each year and remember how she was one of the best? Despite being a woman."
"Yeah?"
Osamu made a gesture that told Shinpachi the answer.
Shinpachi peered into the room that his son used for practice now, seeing him just sitting there.
"Hey bud." He went in, "What's up?"
"I suck..."
"You don't."
"I'm too young...I'll never get the hang of this."
Shinpachi sat down in front of his boy, and smiled.
"Hey, I know a great swords woman who started at age 5."
Kaito looked up at him.
"You do?"
"Yeah."
"Who?"
"You know Kia-san, don't you?"
"Yeah."
"She started at your age."
"She did?"
"Yeah. Now come on. Let's get into practicing, hmmm?"
"Yeah!"
Shinpachi spent the rest of the summer with his son, training him and playing. Each week that went by showed more results from the students of the dojo, but none other than the dojos owners sons. Kaito constantly trained, used to it by now and allowing encouraging words from Shinpachi to help him along. Barely anything could bring the child down now. Kaito eagerly awaited to train each day all day.
Shinpachi was proud of all the students, including Kaito, and some days, he would have to laugh when Kaito would knock himself over, swinging the shinai just hard enough. After they would get something to eat and probably go for a walk.
He was able to watch him get better as time wore on, though no matter how hard Kaito trained, even in his teen years, he couldn't beat his father. He didn't understand why.
"I don't understand...I train and train...have since I was 5! Why can't I beat my dad..."
A teenaged boy named Akio sat by him on the wall, looking out at the water where he lived.
"Well, probably because your father was in the Shinsengumi so he knew how to use the sword before you were even thought of. Dad's the same way. I can beat him with a sword, but not a spear."
Kaito looked at him, then over his shoulder at his family and friends. His friend had a point. His father would know better, and after all, he had so many years on him for swords. He would just have to train harder.
Sweat poured off his face but Kaito wasn't going to stop. He needed to train, needed to beat his father. He had to, to prove his worth!
"Whatcha doing bud?"
Kaito threw the wooden practice sword into the air and jumped. Whipping around he saw his father, smirking.
"THE HELL DAD."
"Sorry bud, I was just checking on ya."
"DAMMIT DAD!"
"Why are you training so hard for anyways?"
"...No reason."
"Kaito, it's obvious that there is a reason."
"...No reason dad...it's fine."
"Kaito..."
Kaito looked around, not once at his father. How was he to tell him?
"I...I want to be able to beat you...during practice."
"You..." Shinpachi started to laugh, "Kaito all you have to do is just practice. You're only sixteen. I didn't complete my training until I was nineteen."
"...Really? But I thought you knew someone who was young that finished theirs..."
"That would be Souji. Not even Kia-san finished her training until she was nearly twenty."
"Really?"
"Yeah, so don't worry about it. Wanna practice?"
"Yeah yeah just go easy on me this time!"
"AW!"
"AW MY ASS DAD!"