" Rinalee, remember you must flow all your qi and fight!" shouted her father. Rinalee, age six, was sweating and trying to concentrate. In her right hand, she held a wooden staff which was wrapped with many bandages.
"Father, this is too hard!" whined Rinalee throwing the staff to the ground. "I can't even follow my mother's footstep!"
Rinalee started crying, but her father easily calmed her down. "One day, Rinalee Li, you will be like your mother and you can go to Shibusen," her father said patting her head.
"Shibu…sen?" asked Rinalee rubbing her eyes. "What is that?"
"That's where your mother and I went to train," replied her father giving her a smile. "One day, we can go to Shibusen together, Rinalee!"
"Alright father! I'll keep on training to go to the best weapon and meister school of all!" shouted Rinalee getting up, with more energy than ever. "Just wait father! I'll even surpass mother!"
Few weeks later, Rinalee was at it again training with her wooden staff while her parents were away working. Rinalee never went to school in China because she believed that being with nature was enough. Her parents usually push her to at least go to school once in awhile, but instead, she later was home-schooled by her father. In the quiet forests of China, Rinalee was again training. She took slow and unheard steps before the staff slammed onto the ground and the leaves in front of the staff flew into the air. Rinalee counted all the leaves before they fell and gave a sigh. "I've been getting better that this," said Rinalee to herself. She wiped the sweat off her head and was about to go back to training, but she saw a young boy up in the tree. "Huh? Have you been watching me?"
"You're really good!" the boy said with a smile. "Instead of training, shouldn't you be at school?"
"Don't say that like you're my mother or father," said Rinalee glaring at the boy. "Why are you here?"
"Let's train!" shouted the boy. He jumped out of the tree and landed like a cat. "Why not be fight each other?"
"I don't want to fight with you," said Rinalee. "It's also rude to just barge into my training."
"We can both train! If you defeat me, won't your father be happy?" he asked with another cheerful smile. "My name is Zugai Mamoru. What's yours?"
"Rinalee Li. Don't expect me to go easy on you just because you don't have a weapon!" said Rinalee getting in her starting position.
"Well, don't think I'll just let my guard down because you're a girl," said Zugai giving a smile again.
Rinalee suddenly attacked from below, swinging her staff and hitting Zugai on the legs. Zugai fell to the floor and Rinalee smacked him right on the head. Hitting the forest floor, Rinalee stomped on Zugai's back and smacked his head with her staff again. "That was too easy, you didn't even fight back," said Rinalee. "Don't pick a fight you know you can't win."
Zugai gave a smirk before pushing off Rinalee's leg off his back. His arm became a wooden staff with a sharpened steel head. He easily flung his arm and gave a small cut on Rinalee right cheek, even if she dodged the attack. "Don't think you just won, Rinalee," said Zugai swinging his wooden arm in a circular motion.
"Wait…you're a weapon?" asked Rinalee surprised.
"Can you guess what type of weapon I am?" asked Zugai with a rather insane smile. "It's not a spear, but I think it's rather famous in the lands of China."
"Nun-chucks?" asked Rinalee. Before she should guess again, Zugai slammed the wooden staff section on her left shoulder; he instantly made Rinalee drop her weapon.
"Bzzt! Though nun-chucks are rather famous here!" said Zugai. Zugai was about to stab the sharp metal on Rinalee's left arm, but with her right arm, she blocked the attack and kicked Zugai in the chest right below the ribs.
Getting up, and patting off the dead leaves from her black shorts, Rinalee rubbed the bruise on her shoulder and gave a sigh. "I quit," she whined, falling back down on the dead leaves.
Zugai started laughing and his arm went back to normal. He reached his hand out to help Rinalee up. "You're real funny, Rin," said Zugai, trying to stop laughing.
"Don't just give me a nickname when we just met!" said Rinaleec crossing her arms together.
Zugai grabbed her arm and pulled her up. "Don't act like you're the center of the world," said Zugai. He felt a small static shock from Rinalee's arm and he gave a small smile. "Why not we team up?"
"We just met though," said Rinalee, "and all I can use is a staff. You haven't even told me what type of weapon you are."
"I'm a sansetsukon, or well in China, it's a three-section staff," answered Zugai. "So I'm kind of like a staff, but maybe just harder to use."
"Then I have to start all over again!" shouted Rinalee angrily. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a crow cawing. Looking pass the trees, she saw the red sky from the sunset. "Oh no! I have to get home!"
She snatched her arm out of Zugai's clutch, grabbed her staff, and started running. "Z-Zugai! I'll meet you here tomorrow!" shouted Rinalee, waving her hand good-bye.
Zugai gave a smile and left right after her.
