First item on the menu?
A Mulan spin-off where the protagonist goes through a bunch of training for no apparent reason.
Recommended Song: The one in Mulan where the dude is making men.
Unforeseen: What Lies Behind the Eons = Chapter 26 – Make a Swordman of You
Don't start. Yes, I read the title. Yes, I know what's about to happen. . . . And yes, the author really went to this extent to do this.
. . .
I groaned in pain, lumping back to my rear and laying across the ground, as I hit the ground pretty hard.
How the hell would anyone be able to climb a fucking fifty-foot pole to the top and get a stupid sword without climbing equipment!?
N is fucking crazy, for all I know.
Herolled his eyes, walking behind me with a disappointed look on his face. "We've got a long way to go . . ." he would mutter.
This guy had stopped in place and handled two objects, before tossing one over to me. I caught it in a fumble, before looking at him with a frown. They were swords—sharp and all—not bokkens like I would expect.
"Let's get down to business."
Oh, God, no.
N twisted his sword over to bring his fingertips up to the edge of the blade, holding it eye-level.
"To make you . . . stronger."
I bet the author is already regretting this.
"Is this what was promised?"
Singing and all, he stepped up close to me with a glare.
"Or should we wait . . . longer?"
Oh, what the hell.
. . .
Now, we were sparring. Aside from the seven or so bruises I had, I'm pretty sure I was fine.
Yet, N added another with a blow to the arm. I stumbled back whilst gripping that wooden pole—bokken, I wonder how much I'll need to explain stuff—tighter.
"You're the saddest man I ever trained."
I know I'm out of shape, but . . . c'mon.
"But you can bet—before we're through."
He took my in-hand bokken and snatched it, before dropping it to my side.
"Mister I'll . . ."
N lifted me up by the collar, as much as to have my jacket dangle off the ground.
"Make a swords- . . . man of you. . . ."
He'd then let go and let me fall to the floor.
. . .
Things were just getting ridiculous, now.
N was kicking up small fruits from some board, before pinning them to a tree in front of us with his conduit powers. I didn't even know mist could hold something in such a way that it would stick to objects.
Green-hair over here would then turn towards me.
"No more room for error."
I looked back over, before doing the same thing and kicking up the small fruit-like thing into the air. What would follow would be an in-hand icicle, one which I would throw towards the thing.
"For the time . . . has come."
Not only would I miss the fruit, but the icicle would impact the tree and break on contact.
N leaned in close to me, a halved set of eyes pressed down onto me . . . in disappointment.
. . .
I held a small rock in hand, ready to throw at the anticipating N that stood in front of me. He was holding a bokken—but along with that, there was a bucket of water on his head.
And he wanted me to throw as many as I could, as fast as possible?
"Once you find your swordsman."
At that, I threw a good four or five of these things within a single second.
Yet, they were all deflected in what seemed to be a single movement . . . with the one side of that bokken. That bucket didn't spill one drop of water, either.
. . . And here I stood, now in N's previous spot. He stood in a quiet and judgmental fashion, a small grin on his mouth.
Oh, yeah, and don't forget the bucket.
"We will rid . . . those scum!"
In a mere second, he threw ten or more of these fucking rocks!
Not expecting the number of projectiles, I flinched as multiple flew right by me. The bucket atop me flipped over and drowned out my clothing with water, before covering my head.
"You're spineless, pale, pathetic one."
What did you want me to do!? I just swung blindly, and I think I hit one rock back.
"And you haven't got a clue . . ."
When I lifted this bucket off my head, all I saw was N in front of me with a disappointed look on his face.
"Somehow I'll . . ."
The glare was at it again, staring me down in all of its disappointment.
"Make a swords- . . . man of you!"
. . .
"He's never gonna' get past that."
Apparently, N was quite the collector of fast-firing, arrow-kinds of things. And they were on fire.
He also decided to invite a decent portion of people to watch me do this.
"Is he the legend to-be?"
I'd love to elaborate how spectacular it looked, but I was running through this shit.
"Boy, I wouldn't like to be anywhere near him. . . ."
I was just getting through this, having these things cut by me time and time over. If I were to try and tell you how they were just cutting me and not actually hitting me, I'd fail.
"This guy's got him scared to death!"
Of course, I left my jacket behind. I'm not going to get that ruined!
"I hope he doesn't screw me. . . ."
Out of all things for me to do, I tripped.
"Now I'm going to lose all of my limbs!"
. . .
"The swords-man."
Here we were, sparring again. Barry, Ghetsis, Benjamin, and other people had decided to stick around and watch me train.
"You must learn and fight for honor."
Which really didn't help—at all.
"The swords-man."
N took a strike at me, which I blocked off whilst stumbling about.
"Bring down your enemies; pull them a-strewn."
Spinning over, he swung at my leg, which caused me to lose footing and crash into the ground.
"The swords-man."
That fucking hurt.
"With all the power of a le-gend-ary."
N was disappointed, as it had been for the past few months. His glare showed it, too.
"As we ride beneath the light of the moon!"
The crowd of people only stared—no laughing sounded over.
. . .
"They are coming for us!"
Being as out-of-shape as I was—still—I was struggling to lug these two pots attached to a stick on my shoulder. N and I were climbing this mountain, both carrying these heavy-ass objects.
"And we must . . . survive!"
Yet, I lost the strength to move, and fell down to the ground. The pole and pots kept intact, but I was on the ground in a panting, unfit mess.
"For we're on the border!"
N came back around and picked up that heavy object, staring at me with that very glare.
"So we must stop . . . their lives!"
He'd then run off some ways ahead of me.
. . .
Night time was above, stars dazzling the clear sky . . . while I was stumbling back to our training spot. After the fiasco with those darn weighted poles . . . I was just about out of energy.
"There's no way you'll get past this."
N's voice cracked over the silence, catching my attention.
"So pack up, go home; you're through."
He roughly shoved that sword into me. It didn't make sense . . . but maybe this sword wasn't even Korinotsu. Maybe everything was just a big coincidence.
"How could I . . ."
That wasn't what he believed. It was that he couldn't train me. . . .
"Make a swords- . . . man of you . . . ?"
All of this work . . . and for nothing? This is what I amounted to? Four months, and yet, I'm still far from progress. . . .
I looked over to the bright, dazzling moon. It was huge, but what stood in front of it was what got my attention.
That fifty-foot pole was there, that sword still atop of it. . . .
. . .
I attempted to climb the coarse wood, but only made a few feet before slipping off and falling down to the ground yet again.
How was I supposed to do this?
Before long, though, my frown turned into a higher expression . . . as I stared down to my hands.
"The swords-man."
I dug my hand hard into the pole, before I used my ice-powers and froze the spot. I kept one hand free, but held the one there for climbing.
"You must learn and fight for honor."
Progress was being made! With the same idea, I froze my hand into the side again, breaking the priorly frozen one and refreezing it.
"The swords-man."
I was getting higher and higher!
"Bring down your enemies; pull them a-strewn."
I must've not noticed, but I was forming quite the crowd about. Dawn was peeking out, just as I was near the top. I slipped a bit, but I regained balance . . . as I wasn't losing this.
"The swords-man."
I struggled to lift myself, using both my arms to lift my tired and battered body.
"With all the power of a le-gend-ary."
N began to walk out, probably wondering what all the noise was. In front of him landed a sword—the one from the top of this pole.
"As we ride beneath the light of the moon!"
Atop the pole, I sat with a tiny smirk.
. . .
Three consecutive fruits hit the tree and were pinned down by three icicles.
"You must learn and fight for honor!"
. . .
"The swords-man!"
I was now ahead of N, running with the pots hanging down from this pole. He was certainly some-ways behind.
"Bring down your enemies; pull them a-strewn."
He snickered, the sound of his breath turning somewhat apparent. I didn't sweat a drop, though.
. . .
"The swords-man!"
Sparring yet again, N tried to pull a swing at me. I blocked it, before twisting over and hitting him in the side.
"With all the power of a le-gend-ary!"
I actually hit him so hard that he fell off to his side. Shuffling over, I found for him to be all right . . . and not just that, but holding a grin.
. . .
There I stood, in front of an entire crowd. I think every single member of Blades was here.
Being vertical in comparison to the group, N and me were in front of each other.
He took a knee, before handing me over Korinotsu—like he had two months ago. But he wasn't telling me to go home—not this time.
I looked to the mass of people, all of them watching intently and quietly.
My body moved over to face towards them all, before I took my hand up—the sword held before every single Blade present.
"As we ride beneath the light of the moon!"