Chapter III: The Training Begins
She rested for two days, and was told by Leomon not to mention swordplay. By the end of the second day she was fully restored, and mentioned it to Leomon. He just said "Good," and ended the conversation there. The next day he woke her up early. Very early.
"What's the time?" she asked, still sleepy.
"Sunrise," Leomon said.
"Sunrise?"
"Well, technically the sun has been up for a little while, but I wanted to start out softly."
"But I'm still asleep!" she protested.
"The earlier you get up the better," Leomon said. "It keeps the mind clear and the mood on top. Come on now, your training starts today."
After a hasty breakfast she followed Leomon outside the cave, filled with expectation. "Now what? Where are we going?"
"Up there," Leomon said and pointed for the top of the mountain."
"Up there?" she echoed. "Are we going to walk all the way up there?"
"No, I am going to walk all the way up there," Leomon answered. "You are running all the way up there. Come on now, move those legs. We must be up there by lunch."
There was no point in arguing. Her legs were so short that Leomon could easily walk slowly beside her while she jogged. She had always been in good shape, but still she felt as if someone had turned her inside out and back again by the time they reached the top.
"So… are we… going to train… now?" she asked, barely able to talk.
"Hmm?" Leomon asked .He had been standing and looking out across the landscape. "Wasn't this training then? Ah, I love the view from here."
"I mean… training with… swords," she huffed.
"No," he shook his head. "Not yet."
"Then… what are we doing here?" Tantomon asked, regaining some of her breath.
"Well, I was thinking that we grab something to eat," Leomon said, opening the bag he had been carrying. "And then we head back down again."
"What?" Tantomon exploded. "Are you saying that I ran all the way up here for nothing?"
"Don't tell me you're going to start to complain already," Leomon said. "Tomorrow you'll be carrying rocks on your back…"
"What?"
"…and the next day heavier rocks, and the day after that even heavier."
"Excuse me," Tantomon said. "But are you, by any remote chance, trying to kill me?"
Leomon smiled. "Only the parts you don't need."
When they got down again, Leomon taught her how to meditate. Tantomon liked meditation, it was relaxing and after the long walk she needed to relax.
She had no idea how long she had been meditating when Leomon woke her up.
"Come with me," he said.
He took her into the cave. The fires were out now, and as always it looked very different in daylight.
"Have you noticed these markings?" Leomon asked and scrubbed some dust and soot off the wall. Strange hieroglyphics appeared on the rock, almost too faint to see.
"No," Tantomon shook her head, though she couldn't understand how she could have missed them. Now she noticed them everywhere, barely visible under the dust and soot. "What are they?"
"I am not the first Digimon to live in this cave," Leomon said. "These symbols are ancient, and probably with a deep and important meaning. Whoever put them here is long gone, but this is his or hers last legacy to the world. Therefore, I consider them worth preserving." He his finger slide across the symbol he had uncovered. "Alas, time has taken its toll, and the fires I have lit her frankly haven't exactly helped. I plan to restore them, but in order to do that the walls of this place much be cleaned."
"Why do I get a feeling this is were I come in?" Tantomon asked.
"You certainly are a bright one," Leomon said. "Here." He handed her a bucket of water and a large rag. "Better start now if you want it done before dinnertime. But be gentle, we don't want to hurt the markings, are we?"
"Clean the entire cave?" Tantomon gasped. "That is impossible!"
"Everything is impossible until you try."
"How am I supposed to reach the upper parts?" she asked. "I can't reach that far!"
"You will just have to devise some way of doing so," Leomon said. "I am confident that you will be successful. Now start scrubbing."
Once she got the hang of it, cleaning the walls were not half as hard as she had expected. She finished the lower half first. Then she went out to change the water, since the water in the bucket had become almost completely black. She then tried to tackle the problem of cleaning the upper parts that were out of reach. She solved the problem by tying the rag to the tip of her sword and jump as high as she could. It was very tiring, but rewarding. Soon Leomon returned, commented on the fine work and sat down to begin filling in the markings with some kind of finger-paint he had created from certain herbs and minerals.
After what felt like forever Tantomon was finally finished. She was completely exhausted but felt oddly good about herself. When she reported to Leomon he barely looked up from his paintings to cast a quick look around."
"Seems good," he said. "You missed a couple of spots, but I'm not going to get picky. Tell me now, Tantomon, why do you think I had you to clean the entire cave for me?"
"Well," Tantomon. "Because… You needed to have it cleaned in order to restore the markings but didn't want to do the dirty work yourself?"
"Perfect!" Leomon said in a appreciating tone. "Clear sight, logical thinking and a good, solid sense of reason. All important traits for a warrior. You have done well."
"Yeah, sure," Tantomon answered. "Look, could I rest a while now? I'm quite beat."
"By all means," Leomon said. "I have no more tasks for you at the moment. Take your time to rest and recreate."
"Thanks," Tantomon said and slumped over to the bed of straw, immediately falling down on it.
The following time continued in pretty much the same pattern. The days begun with a journey up to the top of the mountain and then down again. Leomon had given her a bag with rocks to carry on her back. They were not very heavy, but enough to make the trip a little bit harder. Leomon also amused himself by adding to the weight every day.
"Is this really necessary?" she asked one day, breathing hard while carrying her bag of rocks up the mountain.
"The more you sweat in training the less you bleed in combat," Leomon responded.
"Oh, that's deep," Tantomon snapped back. "We haven't even had any combat training yet."
"If you can talk we are going to slow," Leomon said. "Faster."
When they got back Leomon would always give her some new little mission, usually involving hard work. If fact, Tantomon soon realised that the work only became harder and harder. Leomon had yet not said a word about swords. She was starting to fear that she would never get him to learn her, when something changed one day.
While taking their usual trip up the mountain Leomon suddenly conjured up a stick out of nowhere and hit her over the head with it when she wasn't looking.
"Aow!" she said and gently rubbed the place where he had hit her. "That hurt" Why'd you do that?"
"I didn't see you doing anything to stop me," Leomon responded with an innocent look. "Be more attentive the next time."
Soon, Tantomon learned to fear the Stick. From that day she could not let her guard down. Leomon only tried to hit her when she wasn't looking or had her mind on other things, but attacked so randomly that she could not work out any kind of pattern. The anger and pain of getting hit by the blasted piece of wood was only quelled by the feeling of triumph called forth by a successful parry or dodge. After a while she could feel the stick coming for her head even before it hit. On one such occasion she had enough and grabbed it right above her head and quickly yanked it out of her master's hand. She then broke it in four very short pieces.
Leomon just stared blankly at her, and she wondered if she had not angered him by her action. But then he started laughing. "You are learning fast, little one," he said. "Sometimes the best way of overcoming an enemy is by disarming him. Now you are ready for some serious practise."
After that, Leomon and Tantomon practised with the sword every day. After their usual trip up the mountain, which Tantomon actually started to enjoy now when she didn't need to carry any rocks on her back, they spent the rest of the morning performing katas on the top.
"Try to see the sword as an extension as your arm," Leomon said as they repeated the movements. "Once you stop seeing your weapon as a tool and begin seeing it as a part of you, using it will become as natural as breathing."
They continued with meditation and more workout. Tantomon discovered that she had started to eat much more then before, but Leomon explained that it was only natural. "Your body is adapting to the hard training, and needs much nourishment. You must learn to always listen to your body and understand what its needs."
After a while they started sparring. Even though Leomon was too big for it to be an actual duel, he used another stick as a sword, though it was small as a dagger for him. Tantomon's sword bashed into it and she did her best to block his attacks. She had good reason to do so, since Leomon did not hesitate to hit her hard. Once she made a unusually clumsy mistake and received a painful bash on the arm, which almost knocked her sword out of her hand. She started to get more aggressive, but Leomon defeated her easily. "Do not attack in anger. You will only lose your focus, and with it the entire battle. You become unbalanced and overextends your thrusts, bringing you completely out of balance."
The lectures continued and Tantomon begun to believe there was no end to it all. Still, she never complained. She had willingly accepted him as her master, yes, even begged him to train her, so she kept quiet and tried her best.
"For every action, there is a reaction," Leomon said during another training round. "If you can learn to determine the reactions of your actions, you will always know exactly what to do."
As usual, she was defeated and begun wondering why she was even trying. "It's no use," she said. "You are too good."
"To overestimate an opponent is just as bad as underestimating him," Leomon said. "Some warriors look fierce, but are mild. Some seem timid, but are vicious. Look beyond appearances and position yourself for the advantage."
"But what if I'm not strong enough to win?" Tantomon asked.
"You simply have to attack the problem from a different angle," Leomon said. "You must learn to turn your weakness into a strength."
"What do you mean?"
"You are neither large or strong. Because of that your enemies will underestimate you and that will give you an important edge. Learn to rely on your speed, not your strength."
She soon understood what he meant. As her reflexes grew faster and her acrobatic skills developed, she realised that she bested her teacher both in speed and mobility. After learning how too use it to her advantage, she found that the sparrings with Leomon became much easier to handle, even though his experience usually allowed him to win in the end. Tantomon grew as a warrior.