IMPORTANT ANOUNCEMANT THINGY! SINCE THIS IS A DOUBLE UPDATE, DON'T FORGET TO READ THE PREVIOUS CHAP, kthxbi! :D
A/N: yes, you read that right, i'm double-posting, shock and awe! XD so before reading this one, go read that one :3
what happened? well, i was supposed to update last month-ish, but this was like wrestling a goddamn kraken, it wouldn't sit still and let me write, so i ended up writing two simultaneous chaps, originally meant to be one, but since i got them both to a decent length, and couldn't figure out how to mix them without it meshing weird, said F-CK THAT! i'll just do it as two... so yea, that... here you go :3
the other one covers Kumo, this one covers bat-training! woo~
ENJOY!
The darkness was still… silent and still.
Yorihi breathed in slowly and shallowly, she had to keep complete control of her breathing so as to not make any excess noise or waste any excess energy on the vital motion, already she'd learned the hard way just what being too 'loud' or too 'wasteful' could cost her. Her body was perfectly still, had been for over a week in that solitary position, if it weren't for the fact she didn't feel like she was suffocating anymore the young girl probably wouldn't have even realized she was breathing at all. This was good, if she could trick her own body, surely her opponent wouldn't notice either.
A small, barely registerable high pitched noise came in on her lower left. She had to fight with herself not to tense or flinch, or make any kind of reaction at all, even her chakra she had to push into a flat line under her skin. Mildly her mind drifted to that observation. –Since when is it hard to keep it 'down' instead of 'up' enough to keep me and Bachiko alive?- it was a minor thought, one she'd pay more attention to later, right now even the smallest hint of anything could set off her opponent, so immediately the concern was dissolved into the tranquil nothingness of the black void around her, along with her oddly 'excess' chakra and jittery muscles.
There was a beat of wind coming from her back, small but thanks to her stillness she could sense it easily. It was something Tougemichi had all but beat into her, 'always be ready, from stillness to action, dead to life in less than an instant' hand been one of his 'phrases', there were a lot of them, often involving a funny disapproving tone whenever her told her. It was one of those 'quirks' about the old man she had learned quick enough, he always seemed to disapprove of everything, not matter how good she did there was always something else, she wasn't even sure there was a 'better' he was looking for, Bachiko had simply said the man was crazy, not that she wouldn't debate the point when considering her current task. The old Assassin was harder than her Teacher, that was true, but there was always something she felt when he was giving his disapproving grunts, like he was actually 'impressed' or hadn't expected her progress… just that he wouldn't praise her for it. She learned quickly enough that 'silence' was as close to 'approval' as the old man got…
In less than a second Yorihi's hand shot out, flicking her wrist and loosing the knife, pegging the bat dead center on the wall to her left and slightly behind.
A slow low breath released from her barely parted lips. No matter how many times she managed to do that her body always felt like pins and needles under her skin, the quick change from stillness to action and back was always so jarring. –Perhaps with enough practice I'll have it so it doesn't affect me… at least as much…- a light frown picked at the edge of her lip as she brought her hand back and reset into her meditative stance, sensing out her next target.
The was the impression of a chuckle in the back of her mind.
Dark brows lowered over the bandana that permanently covered her eyes, even if he could see in this blackness she knew the ethereal cat would know just as she knew he was laughing at her, "What?!" she called to her constant companion in her mind, forcing her body to not jump so quickly into agitation even if it was begging to move, she still had the rest of her 'assignment' to preform…
The ghost cat gave that Cheshire grin as his return impression. Without even trying Yorihi could sense him prowling along the wall making for her latest 'kill'… it took all her willpower not to frown more. "Don't you dare!" she could feel her brows twitch, and without her consent a small burst of chakra escaped. There was mental cursing in the young girl as she could feel more of the damnable bats take notice…
… and all her 'partner' was doing was laughing at her as he inched closer to stealing her kill.
Yorihi had to bit her tongue. –Ignore him…- she could feel as he padded closer and closer to his target, flicking his tails about with that stupid grin on his face as he slowed just enough to taunt her. –Ignore him!- it too a surprising amount of effort to stop her brow from twitching, even more to keep her breathing even, and even more to keep her spiking chakra from bursting out probably attacking the ghost-tabby for screwing with her assignment… again!
Bachiko reached a paw out, just inching it towards the dead, skewered bat…
Yorihi's fury and calm reached a pinnacle… and without even thinking or realizing her body moved on its own, her hand flicked out, same as it had with the bat… only this time instead of skewering its target the knife she'd thrown pinned to the wall right at the fork of the bakeneko's tails.
Bachiko was frozen, paw a mere inch from claiming the bat for himself…
"Next time I won't be so nice," she let out a devious smirk that rivaled the ethereal cat's Cheshire grin, "and you'll end up a bobed cat…" He sat down with his ears flat, Yorihi was sure he looked hilarious with his sulking from the impression she was getting, too bad she couldn't see it…
Then he smirked, his impression of 'I win' lingering in the back of her mind.
The small girl had all of a second to contemplate his mean before she felt a whole colony of bats snap in her direction. Her shoulders hunched as she could barely pick up their high-pitched chatter along with the swooshing of the horde of flapping wings zeroing in on her narrow position stuck atop tall stalagmite. Her white eyes narrowed behind her bandana as she just glared forward into the darkness, "Goddamnit!" it was the last thing she yelled before putting her hands together and focusing on suppressing her chakra, motion, and anything else that even slightly registered a living thing before the colony descended upon her.
The bats in these caves were ruthless, and that was putting it 'kindly'. An interesting 'quirk' about the creatures that developed in the darkness of this cave, due to the chakra-sucking of the stone, all the creatures were highly aware of chakra. It was probably a development as a means to 'protect' themselves from the environment, but trying to sense them with chakra alone was next to impossible since the animals were capable of either dampening their chakra or were naturally resistant. Whatever the case, they were hard to tract 'normally', the other downside was that they were EXCEPTIONAL at tracking chakra themselves, and in fact many of them even fed on it. How? Yorihi had no idea, it was just something Tougemichi had told her before sending her off on her first assignment… fetching water. Of course, it wasn't that simple… the water was infested with leeches that not only sucked blood, but chakra… and they jumped; suffice it to say she learned to dodge really quick. The fish were worse.
Once she'd managed to get one hundred buckets, in a row, without a single aquatic creature getting her, he'd sent her on task number two, fetching lichen. Apparently it was this strange not-plant that grew easily on next-to-nothing… normally… the lichen in these caves was also rather chakra-absorbent… EXTREMELY chakra-absorbent. For a non-sentient thing it was not only tough to find, being that she can't see despite her eyes being on for days on end, but it had next to no smell, which she'd learned just as quickly as dodging was a good way to get her way around the place. With no direction, scent, or idea about the stuff she literally had to find it with a mix of 'feeling' it out from the sense of 'dampness' without water and the extra chakra-drain… then there was the deal with 'touching' the stuff, not to mention how slimy and weird it felt but the extra drain was brutal. Again she had to be able to get the stuff and back without having to take a break… a hundred times in a row.
Of course that also accounted for dodging jumping leeches, fish, and whatever else aquatic things as the lichen often formed above water sources… then there were the rather aggressive herbivores that ate the stuff… in fact she had no idea what they were, just that they had various 'defenses' for their primary food source she had to get through to get the stuff so the old man could have his Lichen Tea… she wasn't even convinced the stuff made very good tea, but what Master wants…
Her 'tasks' basically ran this course, working her way up the food-chain through chakra-enhanced and draining 'things' to get something so the old Assassin could have something new to eat. She and Bachiko were utterly convinced the old man was doing it just to torment them and had no idea what he was really doing when it came to 'teaching'…
Of course the second the old Assassin registers any descent, its off to redo all the previous tasks with basic weapon's forms training and knife-fu, as the old Assassin made it very clear, if there was ONE weapon she learned how to use every which way, it was a knife, or really just a small sharpened hunk of metal, even a pointy rock he called a 'knife', so long as it was "small, unassuming, and can cut… it's a knife." Was another of his 'phrases'. While 'crazy', Yorihi had to admit, the likelihood of something falling in that description being within reach was high, especially with how well the old Assassin had been teaching her to conceal and quickly use such things. At the time she'd wondered if her Teacher kept more then just that knife on her back on her, and the small girl had had to grin at the thought that if Kemui-sama had gone through the same training, there was no way she didn't…
So food-quests, knife-wielding lessons, other weapon and tool lessons, along with periods of mental exercises, scenarios and history lessons most of Yorihi's time was spent doing 'something'. She didn't even remember what 'days' were, having long lost the concept of time thanks to complete darkness and with how long Tougemichi kept her doing things, for all she knew what she thought was a 'day' could very well have been a week or just an hour, time was weird. Meditation had become her substitute for sleep unless she passed out from exhaustion, as hard as Tougemichi was with keeping her constantly on the move, the old Assassin never once condemned her for passing out having gone over her limit. Whatever time she lost on restful real sleep was quickly put to use learning something else or on some other training, it was why one of the first things the old man had taught her was meditation. Healing meditation, when done right, could give twice the results of a full night's sleep in half the time, meaning more training… though there were times he insisted on 'real' sleep, particularily after finally completing a 'task', and Yorihi had come to associate 'real sleep' as a reward, even if Tougemichi would just say it was to prepare her for what was next.
When her 'tasks' started to get longer and longer the old Assassin had finally taught her the basics of first aid and how to make the medical salves she would need while fending for herself in the caves. Those lessons had probably been her favorite, she didn't know if she was any good at it, but something about mixing the herbs and making something that would help her survive and heal was oddly enjoyable. When she got back home she knew she'd have to ask her father if there was anyone good with medical things that could teach her more, healing was just as important as knowing how to fight, right? If her Teacher and now Master both thought it was a vital skill to know, it was worth looking into right? Yorihi knew that if no one else in Kumo could teach her, at least her Teacher would know more to teach her when she got back.
Yorihi always thought of her family the more lessons she had with Tougemichi, the more things she learned the more she thought about who would be best to help her improve it when she got back and part of her wondered if the old Assassin knew her thoughts. He taught her just enough to get by, and the rest she seemed to have to learn on her own in the field, and when she beat whatever task was at hand he'd move on to something else. So far she had a list, Knife-wielding and medicine from Kemui-sama, history and hand-to-hand from Nee-chan, swords and word games with Oji-chan, and everything physical and sparing she was sure if anyone could teach her most it'd be her Father, he was the Raikage after all. Tougemichi always gave this scoff whenever she told him her plans to further her training, she was never sure if it was approving or disapproving, it was always hard to tell with the old Assassin.
Tougemichi wasn't bad in Yorihi's opinion, even if Bachiko was sure the old man was senile, she liked him. He wasn't as quiet as her Teacher, and he was by far the harshest person she'd met, but she didn't think he did it to be mean, it was just how he was… harsh. It's what made him as strong as he was, Yorihi never forgot how quickly and easily he'd managed to demolish the side of the mountain to break into this cave, nor how easily he navigated it without the ability to see, it was something to aspire to as far as she was concerned. If she couldn't get to the old man's level by the end of her training… then she'd just have to try harder! It'd become her goal, learning how to do what the old Assassin was capable of, and by proxy what her family was surely capable of… she'd be just as strong, if not stronger than them!
Tougemichi had laughed smugly the first time she broke her hand trying to make a dent in the wall… but he never told her to 'stop', simply stated she was 'doing it wrong' and that if she got better he might tell her how to do it 'right'… unless she figured it out beforehand. Somehow the way he'd said it made her think it was a challenge… one she gladly aspired to, after all her Father could crush boulders with ease! She had a lot to live up to being his daughter!
She'd managed to break her hand again the second she got a break from her tasks… but she'd made a crack and the old man hadn't laugh… as much.
Bachiko had thoroughly laughed his tail off… the moment her hand was wrapped with healing salves she'd chased him until the tabby ran out of energy and was too tired to snicker and had resorted back to sneezing, something he hadn't done in what she assumed was months because of the drag from the stone. That had been the start of their little 'war'. Ever since then, whenever she got a task from the old man, no matter how bizarre and food-oriented, she was determined to get it done as quickly as possible… Bachiko had set about to making her fail as much as possible, forcing her to repeat the tasks multiple more times than she would have. Initially it was small things, distracting her, giving wrong directions, but as time went on the bakeneko seemed to go more and more out of his way to deliberately make it harder and harder for her to finish her task instead of helping her like he had been before…
Like now…
Yorihi held her breath as she focused on her chakra, forming a barrier to keep the bats away but at the same time not having it so full as to have them linger. This task was 'simple' in the same sense the others had been; get one hundred bats for food. The 'quirks' were that these bats were probably the most bloodthirsty things she'd ever come across! They fed on both blood and chakra! And there were THOUSANDS of them! One would think nabbing a measly hundred out of the colony would be 'easy' with how many there were… WRONG! Not only did she have to get one hundred of the things, she had to skewer them perfectly between the wings, something about them tasting better whole or something the old man had said… he'd been very specific, as he'd be 'checking' them. Yorihi wasn't positive the old Assassin actually would, but the threat was enough for her to need to get them right. Skewering them was the idea, and after training to hit cave-rodents she'd thought it'd be easy enough since they were similar, right? NO! The bats weren't just flying, adding a whole other dimension to their movement, they were FAST! She learned soon enough they could turn faster than her knife could hit them, and usually if she didn't get them they'd call the colony! Swarms of tiny, biting, chakra-eating flying things was NOT fun! She had to figure out how to hide to trick the quick little things, she'd done that with the rodents, but with the bats' hyper-sensitive hearing she had to learn how to be even more still, how to react in an instant and go right back to nothing else the horde would be on her.
Not to mention having to be able to do all this at least fifty feet off the ground latched onto a stalagmite as the things never came close to the ground! She was learning to 'walk' on her hands just as well as her feet with all the climbing she had to do in her previous tasks… this time it was sticking and being still while waiting the evil, flying things out.
She'd finally gotten it down to being able to skewer the little buggers… and realized that wasn't the hard part. The hard part was being able to repeat the process a hundred times in a row, quick enough to get the number she needed without the ones she already had spoiling and the horde coming after her, or worse, eating her kills as the creepy little things didn't seem above cannibalism. She'd shuttered at the thought the first time she noticed it… then got promptly swarmed and resisted the urge ever since.
So OF COURSE! When she'd finally started getting 'good' at catching the things in a timely manner, factoring in her own hunger and sustenance, Bachi-chan had to go and start eating her kills like the little glutton he was! And if that wasn't bad enough he'd started pulling little pranks resulting in her either moving too much or making noise that would call the horde! This had to have been the third time! Now she had to hold them off with a bubble of chakra to prevent them from eating her, climb down, find another spot and start poaching the evil, flying things all over aga-
"Wait…" an absent thought passed through her mind. –How is Bachi-chan not getting swarmed?- she reached out towards the cat, he was just sitting on the wall licking his paws nonchalant. The cat paused a moment when he recognized her invading presence and she could feel him smirk as he set his paw down, gloating apparently prioritized over preening.
Yorihi wanted to glare at him. –No, need to stay focused- not only did she have to remain focused to keep the bubble that separated biting teeth and her but also to keep up the delicate balance that was juggling her 'handicaps', making sure Bachiko had enough chakra to sustain himself, controlling the flow that got sucked away by the mountain, and her eyes-
White eyes opened behind the young girl's bandana. If she wasn't using her hands to help focus the chakra in her body she would have hit herself in the forehead. –With my eyes 'on' all the time and seeing nothing I forget they're even there- drawing in on herself, Yorihi focused what attention she could to her eyes. –If I can keep them focused on Bachi-chan, and separate him from the chakra of the mountain I can probably see how he's keeping the bats back- taking a short breath in, she switched her eyes into their chakra-sensing mode, keeping all her focus on the ethereal cat. Tougemichi had warned her not to use this sight inside the cave, as it would probably overload this chakra-sensitive sight since the mountain was full of the chakra it absorbed, which for all he knew was the reason she couldn't see through it. But she had to try, even if she was mad at the cat for interfering she was getting the impression he was holding the answer to her predicament, if only she could 'see' it. –I can't use my 'normal' sight… and he's not telling me… so this is my only option…-
She pursed her lips and kept her focus on the Bakeneko's odd-colored chakra, compared to the nearly blinding blue-white of the living chakra swarming around, Bachiko's blue-black watery chakra was easy to find. –If I keep focus on him, block out the rest…- slowly as her eyes zeroed in on the off-color the rest seemed to fade, just a little, and it was enough to stop her eyes from hurting. –I'll have to test this out more… if I can focus on a single chakra signature, that'd make tracking Tougemichi easy!- without realizing it Yorihi was attempting to 'improve' her eyes in a way few had ever thought.
Her head shook, the 'dimming' on the bats and the mountain slightly fading as her focus was slipping. –First things first…- she focused on the blue-black watery chakra of the bakeneko… then noticed there were bats around him, they were just being rather… slow? A brow rose over her bandana. –What in the-?- she focused on one of the sluggish bats… it had blue-black watery chakra inside its blue-white flaming coils… it was feeding on Bachiko's chakra!
"Are you poisoning them?!" was her immediate jump to conclusions.
Yorihi got the impression the cat was just flatly glaring at her, as if she'd just missed the point… he seemed to 'sigh' before nudging her to pay close attention to the ones closest to her.
There was an immediate frown that passed the girl's lips, mostly because she couldn't specifically focus on a single bat without the help of his off-colored chakra, that would hurt too much at the moment. Luckily she didn't need her eyes to focus on the evil little things closest to her. Quickly shutting off the chakra-view of her eyes, the young girl focused her senses on the bats closest to her, the ones actively feeding on her small sphere of chakra.
They were getting sluggish.
Bachiko smirked to himself the moment he felt his master start pumping more of her chakra into the area around her. Even if the mountain sucked away a quarter of her little outburst, it should be enough to daze a good number of the flying-rats, and if she could get them before they metabolized the chakra or she passed out, it should help in her overall endeavor, if not get her at least a hundred in one burst. The cat couldn't help grinning to himself, glad his little game was helping his master… after all, she couldn't have produced this much chakra if she just breezed through her previous tasks like she'd wanted, his little 'hiccups' had forced her to get stronger to overcome them, making her more and more prepared for each new task the old one came up with. Bachiko often wondered what the old one thought, he got the impression the Assassin knew what he was doing and since he never interfered, surely that meant the old one approved, right?
Yorihi had managed to get about twenty of the bats to fall from overeating before she started to drop. Bachiko immediately stood, ready to catch his master in an instant, she did good considering… there was no shame in not getting the full amount the first time…
As she started to fall from her perch he moved, leaping to her stalagmite and chasing her down…
He should have known better than to worry, as the girl reached out and caught herself on one of the small hand holds. They both knew she wouldn't hold on long so quickly the girl moved to the next, and next and next until she'd managed to not only stabilize her fall but shimmy her way down to the cave floor. She was panting, bent over, holding her knees, and her hands hurt, but she was on stable ground and alive…
Bachiko hopped down next to the girl, nuzzling up on her leg, making sure she was okay…
After taking two or three more deep breathes Yorihi stood up, taking one large one to finally stabilize her breathing before flexing her hands, "no time to rest," she went about crawling around, sniffing out the bats that'd dropped, a few had broken their necks with the fall and were already dead, the rest either on their way or just unconscious. She frowned, "What do you think are the chances he'd over look death-by-concussion as opposed to skewering?" her voice deadpanned as she sat on the ground bundling up the ones she'd managed to get into a pile, if nothing else it was food for her and her feline friend.
Bachiko sat and stared flatly, his tail waving listlessly and she didn't need their bond to know his negative answer.
"Food for us," the girl let out a light sigh, trying to think of not only the best way to 'eat' them, but also how to use what she'd learned to eventually completing this task. The bats were attracted to anything that moved, which was why she'd been learning to keep absolutely still, but if they came in force to her chakra she could catch more of them at once. Althought to reach the specifics of her master's request, it'd be 'easier' to go at them individually as it ensures the better kill… but… "If they gorge they get slow, if I could feed them just enough to slow them down in a larger group, I could get a lot quicker…" the girl rubbed her chin as she mused over her options, "Though that'd require being able to get them with the knife while keeping control of my chakra enough to slow them down without having them drop…"
Lightning seemed to strike the two as their minds followed the logical path and possible answer… then openly groaned.
Yorihi's hand met face as Bachiko just slumped, "This is getting really ridiculous," there was an absent nod from the bakeneko in agreement. A deep, long sigh let loose from Yorihi's mouth as she dropped her hand and fell back to lay on the ground, "what are the chances he'll want me to be able to get one hundred in one run?"
Even if she couldn't see them, she could feel those vibrant blue eyes just flatly staring at her…
"Thought so…" there was a mild groan as the girl just let her head drop, the cat giving a sympathetic grin, even if he was looking up at the colony of bats still flying above them in chaos.
His tails flicked from one side to the next; at least it was never boring…
A strike of the hammer, sparks flying, the heat in the in-closed space and the heaviness of the thin air.
Tougemichi breathed out smoke from his pipe, raising a hand with its palm out to feel out the temperature of the slab of metal he had between the tongs in his other hand. –Hmm, still too many impurities…- this blade was being particularly difficult to forge. A small smirk tugged at the edge of his old lips, the stubborn thing reminding him of his other student. –heh… that whelp…- he tossed the hot blade into the trough full of water. He held the tongs tight as the thing hissed and sizzled, steam rising and making the dry air slightly less arid. The old Assassin was trying to gauge what exactly this blade was trying to be, it was stubborn, having too many impurities making it brittle, meaning it would need longer to be folded and beat out… but what was it doing? And why did it remind him of that stubborn whelp? His free hand rose to his chin, rubbing the scruffy old beard remembering his time trying to train that growling little thing. –It took a long time, lots of polish, lots of beating the 'impurities' out- a dark chuckle escaped him as he lowered his free hand, feeling the temperature out of the blade from the tongs, removing it from the water and running his hand over it again. –Forged from something so rough… she certainly became quite the sharp blade…-
A bolt of lightning seemed to strike the old man as he lowered the blade and his hands. –Sharp…- the smirk finally took over as he chuckled again, tossing the hunk of metal into the fire. –That'll work…-
The old man sat reminiscing about the past and what his current student had told him about her life in the village of clouds so far, under that feisty cat, the blunt bull, his sharp student and her lighting quick father. If the first two swords he had forged followed her Sister and Uncle, then perhaps it was about time he got to that whelp in one of them. –Brat's stories are getting to me…- despite the sordid tone in his mind the old Assassin actually enjoyed the little girl's take on the world, it was so… refreshing. Her innocence, her trust in those around her, even if he could see right through their ploys; and he was blind. He knew what they wanted, what everyone in this world wanted, a better tool, something strong to work for them. His clan had never shied away from this fact, in fact they used it to their advantage, becoming the greatest killers to serve those they deemed worthy, then followed the strongest. It was their nature, it was who they were, tools to serve, tools to kill.
-But this girl…- he may not have 'seen' whatever exchanged between his student and hers, but he knew the woman's aura, her heart. When she left him –what was it, 18 years now?- what she had been was exactly what she was meant to be, even if the clan disagreed, he had forged for them the perfect blade and from what she told him they had thrown it away. –Too bad, they were idiots anyway…- He had been the best Assassin to ever come from that clan, he knew his weapons, he knew his tools, he had forged that girl into a perfect weapon, and they had been too blind to accept it.
He let go of the tongs, letting the blade heat up on its own, as he sat back and gave a deep sigh, "And now that blade has lost its luster, broken and chipped from overuse," he crossed his arms, scratching his beard in thought, "But perhaps she can be reforged…" people, like metal, wore down, but also under pressure and new 'heat' could be sharpened and changed into knew, more appropriate tools. –Perhaps that is what that girl is doing?- he thought to his talks with the child, how she looked up to his old student in a way he never believed the woman capable of acting. Perhaps it wasn't the best 'blade' the woman needed to be now, she was worn from fighting so long and overuse in such familiar territory, "Perhaps she just needs to endure," he nodded his head, placing his hands flat on his knees, keeping an ear out for the cracks in the fire, "A knife is a hidden-blade after all, meant to parry and defend, or slice quick and silent…"
"Did you say something?" a soft voice called out not far behind the old man.
Against his wishes a smirk picked at the edge of his lips –She's getting better- the old man gripped his knee, turning an ear her way with a mild growl in his voice, "Turn your eyes 'off' girl, no need for you to blind yourself…"
The dark brows over Yorihi's bandana tilted down in annoyance as the pout spread on her growing face, "I found you by following the scent of the forge," her arms moved as if she wanted to make some gesture, a habit she'd gotten to doing with Bachiko, even if neither of them normally saw it, but this time prevented by what she was carrying, "but I thought I'd leave them on, since I need to keep it up anyway…"
"Heh," the old man grunted, turning back to his task, "Turn 'em off, all you'll see is the chakra stuck in this place or the light of the forge, probably go blind way…" he felt the girl growl herself, though much smaller than a certain other student he remembered, though he was suspecting she had picked it up from too much time around him. –She takes in what she finds useful from those around her… heh, a useful talent- he smirked, even if she couldn't see it, "What're you hauling girl?"
With her eyes 'off' Yorihi was stuck using her other senses to orient herself, when she first got here that had been difficult, stuck feeling around and using her nose to find the old man or anything else, she'd been lucky the forge hadn't been lit the first time she 'found' the thing. Heat and smoke told her the old man and the forge were to her left, so that meant a few feet in front of her was… "Ah!" she bumped the table, grinning as she 'caught' the edge this time before running into to it, setting down her 'haul' before finding a seat and setting to her current 'task'. At the old man's question she 'glanced' up, only catching the small light under her bandana as she felt around for a knife, "Bats… as usual…"
"Got used to their flavor huh?" the old man had a wicked grin as he could sense the girl giving him a disgusted look. When first coming to the cave he had informed her there was plenty to eat, if you could catch it, initially he did the catching as she was still too young and uncoordinated to walk from one end of the room to the other without tripping. Over two years later and he never had to leave the place unless to show her to her new 'task' or find her if she'd been 'lost' too long. He could easily smell the blood and hear the stretching of skin as she prepared the things, very little meat on individual ones, but get a whole bunch and they were good for stew. His ears perked at the sounds she was making, "You're holding the blade too tight, let it glide and just use the wrist…"
Yorihi blinked behind her bandana, feeling around so as not to cut herself, it happened A LOT, and she figured one of these days she would get it down to where she could skin a whole colony of the little evil things before nicking herself. –How the… hell? Does he do that?- profanity had been something she had been learning from the old assassin, along with everything else, specifically the 'proper' way of holding a knife, throwing it, skewering bats with one, and generally how to get the sharp end to cause 'blood' and 'pain' in other things… not that she particularly enjoyed this, but it was overall useful to know… especially on bats. And it seemed to be an automatic response the old man did, he wasn't really 'teaching' her how to do it, just that it came out when he noticed, like now, she often wondered why as well as 'how'? 'Hearing' that she was using the blade wrong or 'feeling' it seemed a bit farfetched to her, but the longer she was with the old Assassin the more 'plausible' that thought became… after all, she was skinning bats with a knife blindfolded and at this point considered it 'normal'.
-What would Otou-sama think?- She blinked, adjusting her grip on the knife and getting to work 'cleaning' another of the little… bastards? –That sounds right…- a grin spread on her mouth, just imagining how her family would react to her coming back from the darkness of the mountains using words like 'bastard' and 'hell' and… well there were A LOT and the only time she'd really heard them was when no one thought she was around… the little girl giggled to herself, imagining her Sister and Uncle staring or laughing, her Father scowling like he had at her 'Grandmother' for that gesture the black haired woman had made… her thought process paused as she snickered at the crass older woman. –Baba would probably be 'proud', hehe…- and finally her Teacher. –Kemui-sama would probably give that sigh like she does when Oji-chan raps…- the grin on her face, thinking about her family, completely blew up whatever angst she'd felt at the old man for his 'training' and prepping 'bats' for stew and jerky.
"Hrm," the scrapping of metal on stone caught her attention, "What are you laughing at girl?"
"Hm?" Yorihi raised her head towards the heat, sensing the old Assassin, something about her previous thoughts keeping the grin on her face not that anyone could see it, "Just… heh, just thinking of everyone… back home," her head lowered, feeling slightly embarrassed at the admission for some reason.
"Come here child," the old man waved his hand towards him, an odd gesture since both were blind at the moment, yet somehow Yorihi registered it. She shook her head at the oddity –I'm imagining things…- she set the knife down, ignoring the evil bats for the moment as she walked her way over towards the heat that signified the old man. The closer she got the hotter and drier the air felt, even just across the room. –How does Tougemichi deal with it all day?- since they'd come to the old man's home he would wander to the forge when she wasn't around, making something, and no matter how often she tried to peek in those early days he'd have her go off and do something ridiculous, typically involving chakra use and her ending up completely lost, but once she stopped 'trying' to spy on him and just generally ignored it, the old man stopped 'hiding' it. –Or that was the entire point…- she shrugged as she sat down, this was the first she'd ever come this close while he was actually working.
Both were silent for a moment as the old man took the tongs in hand and flipped the piece of metal in the furnace.
"Tell me, what do you think I'm doing?" came the old Assassin's voice, calm, steady and gravelly as ever.
Yorihi blinked behind her bandana, turning her ear more towards him and ignoring the urge to 'look' his way as it wouldn't help her. Absently her foot kicked out and hit the bottom of the forge barely a foot from where she sat, "making something?"
"And how do you know that?" he shifted the metal, gauging the heat in the slab from the tongs in his hand.
Yorihi shrugged, even if the gesture was useless, "ovens are used to make food, and this is a lot bigger and you spend a lot of time around it," at first she pointed at the thing, then remembering such a thing was useless, for both of them, so she held her hand out palm facing the flames, taking in the heat and trying to gauge it like the old Assassin seemed able to, "… also the sound of metal hitting metal travels far in these caves."
"Hmp," she wondered if the old Assassin was smirking, "that is something to remember…" he tugged on the tongs and brought the superheated metal near him, causing Yorihi to reflexively lean away afraid it'd get too close, she was only vaguely registering this was probably really dangerous as both of them couldn't 'see'. Tougemichi moved the pipe in his mouth, still unsatisfied with the heat in the blade before turning it over and setting it back into the forge. –Still not enough…- he could sense the small girl next to him fidget, wanting to say something, "Speak girl."
Dark brows lowered over the bandana as a small pout formed on her lips, "What are you making?"
A smirk wanted to tug at the old man's lips but he forced the urge down, letting go of the tongs and generally sitting back, one hand grabbing his pipe, "a sword," he bit out around the wooden thing, breathing out a puff of smoke from his nose, she was still fidgeting, "Something else?" He could feel the girl's mouth open then rapidly close as she seemed to consider her words very carefully. He really did smirk at that, if just a little.
Yorihi seemed to finally decide on her words as the young girl crossed her arms and seemed to try sitting straighter, giving the impression of being bigger and taller, "Why did you call me over Tougemichi?"
-Heh, direct already?- the light smirk gave way to a dry chuckle, "Smart enough to ask directly, hmp," he threw a leg over his other, leaning in just chewing on his pipe, "Suppose I was curious," his shoulder flicked back slightly in a gesture to the table with the bats, confident she'd sense it even if she wasn't fully aware, "What was your answer?"
"Answer?" he could sense the girl cock her head to the side at the question.
There was another bark of a laugh, "Heh," he blew out smoke from his nose, listening to the crackle of the forge as it slowly simmered, "The bats, the trial… I know you're not 'finish'," another jerk back to the small batch of bats, but he could tell, even from this distance, most weren't killed by a knife wound and that had him curious, "and I know you'll be back at it after a break to recoup," it was an assumption, but the way he could feel her bristling told him he was absolutely right, "So while you're here, tell me girl, what is your answer for getting the little bastards?"
Yorihi couldn't force the pout off her lips as she leaned on her arms, "Catching them one-on-one takes too long, having to be perfectly still so they'll come by, then quick and precise to catch them, then right back to stillness," her body gave an involuntary shake, not from any kind of disgust, but just thinking about the tension of stillness to quick motion and back made her body shake with anticipation, she'd been using that tactic longer then she'd realized. She ran a hand along her shoulder trying to rub the shake out, "then with Bachiko taking the ones I get, just means longer so they'll just spoil… so," the girl paused, both hands on her shoulders rubbing out the excess energy as she thought about the chakra trick. Did it count as cheating that she'd used her eyes like that? It was a thought, which she quickly wiped away with a shake of her head, "since they feed on chakra, I… well…"
"Lost your temper?" there was a mocking chuckle in the old man's voice, she just knew it as she could hear him pick up the metal from the forge again.
The pout grew, "they… gorged on the excess chakra… causing them to fall out of the sky," she gestured to the table like the old man had, realizing that'd he just know, same as she did, "so I just have to figure out how to keep them fed just enough to slow them down and strike," a deep groaning sigh escaped the small girl's throat as she continued her thought, "while also keeping that barrier up so they don't get me, not to mention everything else I have to do! Ugh!" in an instant her hands were up in the air, frustration obvious.
The old Assassin gave the throaty chuckle as he had moved away, a second later and the first pounding of the hammer came down.
The pout turned to a frown as she 'looked' in the direction she heard the hammer, "I'll get it," she growled, bringing her hands down and forming small fists around chest level as she swore she heard a more disbelieving chuckle along with the hammering. Her jaw clinched, "I will! I'll get all one hundred in one move…" her head shifted, glaring where she felt her fists as her brows furrowed low and spoke lower to herself, "And if I don't I'll just keep trying until I do…"
There was a sizzle not far away as the old Assassin dropped down ungracefully next to her, "I don't doubt that girl," there was a grunt as he removed his pipe, tapping it to remove the burned herbs and a quick moment to replace them before holding it over the forge just enough to light and quickly replaced it, "If there is one thing I've learned, it's to not doubt you will do what you set your mind to…"
Yorihi was still as she released her hands and jaw and stared, to the best of her ability, at the old man, honestly surprised to hear words that almost sounded like praise.
The old man took a long drag on his pipe before releasing a long sigh, "You want to hear a truth?" he could feel the barely perceptible nod the girl absently gave, "You've already passed the training the whelp intended for you," he could feel the surprise in the young girl and a small grin picked at the edge of his lips, "There is no Shinobi I've ever met that would be able to exert the kind of control you've told me about, pure chakra is a force of nature, and you just told me you've managed to make a barrier of it to fend back those bats, make a pulse to stun and over-fill them, and I'm sure there are many other things you've managed to 'figure out' in your tasks…" there was a small grunt of a chuckle, "You've developed an impressive level of control over the large reserves you've nurtured, tell me girl, after your 'pulse' did you pass out?"
Yorihi blinked, "No," she was surprised, she hadn't really thought about it. She could feel the chakra in her fingertips and flexed her hand, remembering how it felt like she'd needed to repress her chakra more then hold it up, "While hunting them before… I felt like I needed to repress my chakra… and even afterwards I still felt like I had plenty left…"
"See," the old man nodded towards her hand, seemingly knowing what she was feeling, "When you first got here, you were tripping over your own feet, exhausted constantly, barely able to keep that cat and yourself alive, let alone your eyes on," he grabbed his pipe and thought about the contrast and her growth, "I wouldn't say your control is 'perfect', but I will say for the amount of chakra you have its almost unheard of, especially someone your age." There wasn't a single 'child' Shinobi he'd met with the amount she'd grown, hell, even adult Shinobi, maybe their elites… and this was just considering what he felt now, when the girl left these caves, devoid of the mountain's hunger and having to maintain the cat's life, it would double at least… and she'd have to relearn her control for such high amounts, but with the control she grasped in these caves he doubted it'd be more than a minor setback.
"What about to you?" there was a frown on her face and he could tell the small girl was serious, "How do I compare to you and Kemui-sama?"
He frowned, removing his pipe as his grey brows lowered over his shades; where had that come from? "You aren't one of us girl, you shouldn't think to compare-"
"Tell me!" she wasn't particularly 'loud' as there was a force in her voice, she was serious. She wanted to know how she measured against them.
His frown increased, "You aren't one of us," he said a bit sterner, hoping she would understand. He could feel her chakra building under her skin, the twist in her brows, how much she wanted to change that because she didn't understand. He sighed, "That whelp never wanted you to follow our path…"
"I'll make my own path," he could hear her small fists grip on her knees, "You're strong Tougemichi, and I know Kemui-sama is too, and I also know you both have a different kind of strength then my Father and the other Ninja… but…" for a moment she bit her lip, not sure if she should continue or not, before shaking her head and charging on ahead, turning to the old man, "You've both trained me, so there's no reason I shouldn't consider you both as much a part of me as the rest of my family!" he knew, from the intensity of her emotions she was looking straight at him, fists, body, eyes all still and direct on him, hoping he'd understand, "So tell me, how do I compare to you."
Tougemichi was half-way 'looking' at her, shades half-aligned with her bandana, and he knew if he could see he'd probably find this whole situation hilarious. The edge of his lips raised and he loosed a dry chuckle, "Heh, guess there's no point denying that," he ran his free hand over his balding hair, "Girl, for a Shinobi you have excellent chakra-control… for us, its decent, but our training focuses on different things…"
"Like what?" the girl immediately asked, knowing it was rare to get a straight answer from the old Assassin.
There was almost the urge to pout at the girl's jumping question, almost, "We focus on minimal reserves, but a chakra control you cannot obtain," he lifted a hand feeling her protest coming before it even began, "There's a reason girl," his voice was low and harsh, conveying the certainty of this, "You can train all you want, as long as you want, but you will never gain the kind of control we can, simple because you already have such large reserves, and I can tell you, they will only grow with you."
The pout was obvious on her face as Yorihi lowered her shoulders in a mild acceptance, for now, "I don't understand, why would having large reserves stop me from having the kind of control you have?"
"Heh," there was that dismissive grunt she'd grown so used to, "Simple, the more dormant chakra, the harder to control overall," he could feel her confusion at his words and a bit of a cruel smirk picked at his lips, "You can't unmake the chakra you've already formed in your reserves…"
"Unmake?" a dark brow went down in confusion, "Why would someone want to…" her head tilted.
There was a dark chuckle from the old man, "What's chakra made from?"
Her brows furrowed more, still confused, "physical energy and spiritual energy… but those aren't controllable directly…"
"Aren't they?" at her continued confusion a grinned evilly, "That's what's wrong with Shinobi, always thinking one way, hmp," there was a snort as he felt the girl's chakra bristle, "Physical training controls the growth and availability of physical energy, meditation and spiritual training help control the growth and availability of spiritual energy, but all Shinobi focus on is chakra once its formed and how to store it, dormant chakra," the old man took a long drag on his pipe, "By relying on this they can't control the rate their chakra is mixed and formed, and typically forcing it only damages the body," there may have been a bit of a smug smirk on the old Assassin's face, "We have such refined control as to barely need any chakra, period, but we can also control the growth of both energies and regulate the formation of chakra," there was a throaty chuckle, "In fact I can even take in the energy from the mountain around us if I wanted, reversing its natural absorption and channeling its energy to feed my own if I wanted…"
The little girl's mouth dropped. Her master was capable of taking the energy around him? "H-how…?"
"Control," was the old man's quick answer as he replaced his pipe, "refined past the point of perfection, I've yet to meet a Shinobi capable of such a feat… though I get the feeling they'd somehow screw it up, hmp," he snorted a puff of smoke, "but as for you, focus on the control you have, make it so no matter how much chakra you have, you use the bare minimum for what you need and make it give you the maximum output, that's the kind of perfection you should aim for…"
Yorihi nodded firmly to herself, that was definitely a goal worth achieving… first perfecting her control on her 'large' reserves, then trying to figure out how to adapt her Teacher and Master's control, if she could figure out how it worked…
"Heh, don't even think about it," the old man threw over his shoulder as he grabbed the blade from earlier with the tongs and put it back in the fire, "Though, I will admit, you have surprised me with how you've managed to find answers to training designed for our own technique…" he could feel her facing him again, obviously curious, "The tasks were originally designed to test the limits of our control and mastery of our technique… I thought having to face such things would still be a learning experience for you, I see I was right."
Yorihi frowned, for all his blustering about not teaching her like her Teacher… "How would it normally work?" When he continued to focus on the forge and the heating of the sword she continued, "How did Kemui-sama beat the bats if she couldn't use as much chakra as me?"
The old man was quite a moment, remembering how the training was intended to go, "Stealth and speed," he answered, grabbing the tongs and checking the blade, "That whelp took far longer than you to get it, but I don't think that was solely her fault, the situations are different, your tools different…" there it was, a large cold spot of impurities that had been bugging him the whole time. He got up, taking the white hot blade to the anvil and began hammering that piece out.
Yorihi set her head in her hands and supported them on her knees as she thought about what he said, absently listening to each hammer strike. Their tools were different –He tells me every chance he gets we aren't the same…- and the more she learned the more she realized her skill set was on the opposite side of the spectrum from her Teacher and the old man. She could barely sense him most of the time, his chakra kept so low, while her was in such abundance now it was 'strange' to remember how exhausted she used to feel all the time, did her reserves really grow that fast? –Apparently…- So she literally had too much chakra to control at the level they could, but already she could do so much with it, was it really impossible to achieve that level with what she had? Maybe not now, but in the future…
"You look like you're thinking of something," the old man quipped over the hammer.
It took Yorihi a moment to pick out the irony of the statement. She glared at him behind her bandana but ignored it, "Is it really impossible to have the kind of control you have with my reserves?"
The old man gave a halfhearted shrug, bringing the hammer down again, "I don't know," another hammer strike, "To be honest, you are the first Shinobi I've ever met remotely interested in how we do things," he set the hammer down, running his now free hand over the hammered blade, a bit more, "Not to mention one that actually sees us…"
Dark brows lowered over her bandana, "What do you mean?"
Without realizing it Tougemichi sighed, "My first master was a man in a distant country who sought strength to defend his family," he laid the in-progress blade down, "The man who killed him wanted power to rule the country, the man after him sought gold, his wife killed him out of jealousy, the woman after her revenge… and she killed herself." He picked up the hammer and went to work on the blade again.
"Tougemichi?" the girl's voice was soft with the barest tremble in it, wondering why he told her that.
The hammer came down strong and he held it, "We only have one choice in our lives, the first person we serve, after that we serve whoever killed them," he half turned towards her, "Tell me child, who does a weapon serve if there is no one left to hold it?" he could feel the turmoil as she tried to find an 'answer', she was young, he didn't expect her to have one, "The reason I tell you this is so you understand when I tell you not one of those people saw me as more than their weapon…" he turned back to the blade, picking up the hammer and returning to his work, "… that is all we are."
"B-but…" Yorihi bit her lip again, "didn't you have family to return to? The same one as Kemui-sama, right?"
"Hmp," there was a dry chuckle, "The clan, when I returned I was unwelcomed, so I killed my father and assumed control as the leader, thirty years later my son took my position, but instead of killing me he 'named' me… I was too good to continue being an Assassin, so they stripped that from me, in hopes I would teach others…" he set the hammer down, turning around with the unfinished sword in hand, "If you are known by any other name then 'Assassin' then you are no longer one," he placed the blade back in the fire but stayed standing, "I told you before, 'Tougemichi' isn't my true name…"
Yorihi frowned, looking down, "So Kemui-sama…"
"That's the name they gave her when they threw her away," there was a growl in his voice as he reached behind his shoulder to rub the soreness out, "I wouldn't be surprised if she wiped them out herself, heh," he cracked his neck, a bit of a sadistic grin catching at the edge of his lips, "Always had a bit of a temper, probably why she still acts like one," then he laughed.
Yorihi didn't know what to think. Strangely, she didn't find it as strange as she thought she should, the idea that her Teacher could have taken out the rest of her clan. Not once during her whole time in Kumo had she met anyone like her Teacher, in fact she'd never even thought of a 'family' beyond the one she had for those she knew. Did Yugito have a family? Did her Father and Bee have any other siblings? How come she'd never met their parents, her grandparents? There had been Reki, but the woman didn't seem actually related to her Teacher, and she proudly wore a Kumo hitae-ate around her neck whereas Kemui-sama didn't…
It was Tougemichi's laugh that drew her out of her thoughts, "Tougemichi?"
"Heh," he was grinning and ending his chuckle, "Nothing just… that whelp and I are the only ones left, yet neither of us are really Assassins anymore because we're both named… it's just… stupid," he shook his head absently.
Yorihi pouted, "I say you are," she felt the old man face her, probably curious, "You're not Ninja, and the others are gone… so no one can say you're not anymore, right?"
Against his will, the old man smiled, "Suppose that's one way to look at it…" he was really starting to like this kid. –Damn whelp, what'd you get me into…- he ran a hand over his balding head, then nodded firmly to himself as he walked around the forge, bent down to grab something and made his way back to the girl, "Take that bandana off, your eyes should have been able to adjust enough for at least this…" he could feel the girl's confusion, but quick enough heard the fabric move.
This was the first time Yorihi had taken the bandana off the entire time she had been in these caves, the first time she'd seen the world directly with her eyes in a long, long time. It was actually… disorienting, at first, seeing light at the bottom of her bandana was one thing, actually taking the thing off not only made her feel naked and wrong, but she had to adjust to the full vision and light. Without even realizing it her eyes activated as a response to the 'odd' sensation, she actually felt more comfortable feeling the chakra flow freely to them, allowing her eyes to not simply focus on the light in front of her but travel to all the room around her, the dark, the light and the shadows. She didn't even feel the veins anymore and before she even checked the old man in front of held something out to her.
"I had planned to give these to you when I completed the set, but I feel since you've improved beyond my expectations, its time you started training with at least these," in his hand were two sheathed katana, one just a bit shorter than the other but not enough to make it a short-sword.
At first she just stared, Tougemichi had introduced her to a number of weapons, giving her a basic training in anything she could pick up, and if not he had her train until she could pick it up and try again. He had said he didn't expect her to fully master or be any good with any of them, just to introduce her to the things so when the time came she would have some idea what to do with them. These were two katana, one full-length and the other just a bit shorter, but she could tell they were designed for an adult, not a child like her, so why would he think… her white eyes traveled to the old man's shades, knowing he couldn't see her eyes, but also knowing he would understand, "Why are you giving me these?"
"Because soon I won't have much left to teach you and the sooner you learn how to use them the better," she finally reached out just enough to ghost over the sheathed blades. Instantly the old man opened his hand to drop them, she did not disappoint him by instantly catching them, "These are the fruits of your first two years paid, when I finish the other two, your training with me will be over," he turned back to the forge, to the third blade being difficult.
Yorihi barely registered her Master move away, she was still getting used to the weight of the two real swords in her hands. They felt… strange, she wasn't sure if she wasn't just overwhelmed by the sudden responsibility or if there was more to these blades then what Tougemichi had said. –And what did he mean by 'paid'?- her white eyes drew away from the blades, turning towards the old man and trying to avoid the stark brightness of the forge, "What do you mean 'paid'?"
The old man smirked as he shuffled the blade in the fire around, "All of my students pay something when they come to me," he flipped the blade, "That whelp paid me with her eye, so I forged for her a single knife, you," he nudged her way, "gave up four years you would have spent with your family, those four closest to you that you spoke so fondly of," he pulled the blade out, the first time Yorihi could actually see what he was doing, holding his hand palm towards the blade close enough she was surprised it didn't burn, "So for each year you've spent here that you could have been learning from them, I shall forge you a sword."
Dark brows lowered, "But Tougemichi," her voice was soft as she looked down, gripping the swords in her lap, "That seems unfair… Kemui-sama…" she didn't know what he meant by 'paid with her eye' as the woman had both but it didn't seem the same as her apparent payment. She was here to train, but she knew it was also to keep her safe, both her Father and Teacher had told her at least that much.
"Fair?" he scoffed, replacing the blade in the fire, "What you paid is important to you, I'm blind and I can tell how much those close to you mean to you, and how this time apart from them means to you," he waved his free hand, "Don't dwell on what that whelp paid, it was important to her, and her knife is the appropriate exchange, same as those swords," his hand pointed directly at the ones in her lap even if he didn't face her, "are part of the exchange for your payment," he crossed his arms, facing the flames, "Trust me, someday, you will understand."
White eyes watched the old man closely, taking in everything he said and gauging it. She knew he wasn't lying to her, the old Assassin never seemed to lie directly to her, no point considering where they were he'd always said. That meant he was sincere, her eyes traveled back to the blades gripped tightly in her hands. The sheathes were smooth, the hilts gaurdless, if it weren't for the bend of the lacquered wood and the weight she'd almost think they were just smooth sticks, but she knew what they were the moment he showed them to her, how? Even she couldn't be sure. For a second, as her hand ghosted over the handle of the full-length one, she was tempted to draw it right then and there… but that wouldn't be right.
In an instant the girl stood, pulling her bandana back down but keeping her eyes active she held one sword in each hand, and bowed, "Thank you, Tougemichi," as she stood straight, she placed both within the sash around her waist, "As soon as I'm finished, I'll get to work immediately practicing," she turned back towards the table, her 'work' unfinished, "Have to finish my task first though…"
The old man smirked as he heard the girl go back to what she'd been doing before their conversation. –She'll do it right- he nodded to himself, hearing her grip on the knife was correct and her motions smooth. The smirk grew on his lips, knowing the girl would find her way with those blades, same as she had with every other task he'd given her. –Who knows… she might just master them before she leaves…- a chuckle released from the old man's chest.
And he knew she was smiling, agreeing with him weather she knew it or not.
Koumori – Bat/s
A/N: i know Koumori typically means just 'bat' as in singular, but due to the weirdness that is multiple languages and plural tenses, it CAN be used to mean multiple bats, like most Japanese words that only list a 'singular' can be used for a 'plural'... yay language and my continued fuckery of it... :D
i've also come to the conclusion Yorihi doesn't like bats... this was originally a 'joke' i made long ago... but it kinda developed into its own thing... and well, honestly, by 'training montage' standards, i don't think this is the weirdest thing i've seen XD
i like when things write themselves... or just kinda do their own thing... even though i wanted 'all' the training to be in one chap so i could be done and over with it, adding the next bit just seemed like a waste and all sorts of screwy-ness... so i'll leave that alone... you all waited long enough :3
again, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU~! to my Reviewers, you guys are awesome and encouraging :3 especially my converting of OC-haters, MUHAHHAHAHAHAHA! -cough- nice to know i make interesting characters, i'm 'trying' to step away from them... but they should be complete in their establishment, and this village of people, so it should be nothing but growth from here :3
the experiment shall continue! MUHAHAHAHA!
Till next -salute-waves- Sayounara, Mina!
-Ikasury