Chapter 2
My Father and I trained until the shadows all became one as the sun crept away. We had just come out of our latest scrimmage of katana versus sai when I heard him yell, "Finished!"
I sigh greatly and come out of my shadow hide out. I had found that there was a place under a green dragon bush in front of the house that was perfect to use as a base to catch my breath after each spar. We bow to each other and walk towards our mats. As we were walking down to the cherry trees, I thought I caught movement in the corner of my eye. I stopped to look in the general direction. It was from…the road? 'No', I tell myself, 'no one comes on this road this late.' My house is at least 2 miles up from the town, so it is rare to see anyone but a stray merchant that decided to come over the mountain instead of through the valley.
Father follows my gaze, but does not stop. I quickly brushed away my suspicion. We knell on the mats and mediate for a while until Father begins our review. I begin to sway on the mat because of my exhaustion. I try to steady my breathing like Father taught me on our first day. But the sweat continues to pour like a fountain.
As I finally get my breathing slower, Father begins. "You have done well today, Kameko," in a calm tone, "but did you notice how more difficult the tiger claw is?"
"Yes, Father," I reply slowly, "I saw how the sais seemed to have grabbed the katanas." I sigh, "So how do I manage to get them undone when I cannot make out the information I need in the shadows? I know how to find the end of the sai in light, but you were in the shadows almost all the time." I frequently go on question strikes, this time Father quickly holds up his hand for silence.
"I will work with you on that alone tomorrow then," Father shows a smile, knowing that I could go on forever in questions.
I sigh deeply as we stand. We bow to each other one more time, and I see a slight smile on his face as we walk towards the house. My house. 'What will I do when I am left alone with my husband? Will the matchmaker even find the right man for me?' My heart leaps as I imagine the Matchmaker putting me with Chi. Chi is a tall, muscular boy with an even tan all over his body. He has dazzling liquid brown eyes hidden behind locks of chocolate brown hair. I hold back a sigh. We were childhood sweethearts before my family moved us away from the village a year ago. There was one question that I always thought up, 'Does he still think of me as much as I think of him? Would he want to live in this house? Surely I could not tell him of my training. Could I?' As we walked into the door, all sorts of questions were popping in my mind; some of my training, but most of were about my future.