Thank you all for those amazing reviews!!!! I can't believe there's
actually people out there who's enjoying this fic...it makes me want to cry
*sobs* Many thanks! Especially to whoever reviewed with the email as
oriol077@hotmail.com! Thank you very much for your support! Anyways without
further ado, I present to you Katana Behind the Bleak Chapter 7!
Katana Behind the Bleak
Chapter 7: Training
The song of bird chirping sounded loudly around the dormitories of the Himarayou Dojo, waking the tenants from their deep sleep. Motoko laid tiredly on her back; she had slept well but her muscles still ached with fatigue. With strain, she forced her eyes open and stared into the ceiling, lying on her back in her futon. She stared at the empty ceiling and thought about the events, trying to convince herself that what had happened was reality and not a dream. Heaving a sigh, she got dressed in her kendo uniform and set out to rejoin the others, only finding two of the woman soldiers greeting her by the doorway.
"We hope you had slept well Aoyama-san," they intoned together.
"Uh, yes I did thank you," Motoko replied a little awkwardly. She was not used to people greeting her in the morning in such a formal way.
"Your friends have already been awaken by Lan," one of the two girls said.
"They are now waiting for you at the dining hall. Please join them," the other added.
"Hai," Motoko answered, bowing her to show her respect and gratitude for the hospitality.
Motoko walked down the hall, finally reaching the entrance to the grand dining hall. She stood, gaping at the sight, by the doorway when the two girls opened the door for her. The sight was a bit surprising since Motoko was expecting a little room where she would have a "peaceful" breakfast with her friends, but what spoke before her was a LARGE dining hall with all the soldiers situated in their destined seats, holding a sword, by their side. Motoko entered and found herself to be the last one to enter the room, seeing that there was only one empty spot in the many uniform rows of hungry soldiers. Motoko quickly took her seat beside Keitaro and Shinobu and sat respectfully on her knees like all others in the hall.
"Aoyama-san, where is your sword?" the elder, who was sitting in the front of the room, questioned. All the soldiers stared in her direction.
Motoko blushed a little due to all the given attention, "Gomen, I am sure to bring it next time."
"Fine, but you must always remember that a true soldier will never go anywhere without his or her sword!" the elder stated, then announcing breakfast.
All the people in the dining hall waited patiently for the dishes to be delivered and when alas, the maids had brought in the meals, everyone began eating the scrumptious breakfast.
"This is so strange!" Su cried aloud, with food in her mouth, "I've never ate breakfast like this back in my country!"
"Yeah, it is kind of strange," Keitaro admitted, looking around his environment of armored soldiers; he felt as if he was in a training camping.
"This isn't too bad, considering we're not paying for the food," Motoko reasoned, "And besides, a true warrior must need to know how to endure under the harshest conditions and live under the very minimums."
The three friends stared at Motoko, making her blush a little, then continued on eating their breakfast. Very soon, a bell rang, dismissing everyone from the dining hall.
"But I'm still not full yet!" Su, who was always hungry, protested.
"Don't be like that Kaolla," Shinobu consoled Su, "I'll make you something good to eat later."
"Yay!" Su cheered.
At that moment, Lan joined the group of four.
"Ohayou!" Lan greeted.
"Ohayou!" the others greeted back.
"It's your first class today Motoko-chan," Lan said, keeping his eyes on the not-yet-fully awake beauty, who's standing tiredly beside him.
"Yes," Motoko said, calling for all her strength so that she would be ready for whatever practice and training she had to take up.
Lan smiled and suddenly, Naru popped her head into the group as well.
"Hey!" Naru said happily, curling her arms around Lan, who's trying to get Naru off him. "What are you guys doing today?" she asked.
"We're going to train," Lan told Naru in a serious tone of voice.
"Oh that's awesome, I'll come too!" Naru told the others, inviting herself into other people's business.
Afterwards, Van led his five friends to Motoko's special training ground where Lan's going to teach Motoko himself. As they walked to Motoko's training ground, they saw on their way there, many soldiers training together, wielding their swords in all sorts of fashion, kii's flying about everywhere. Motoko stared at them with jealousy, marveling over their skills and strength. She'd wish that she could be as good as they were. Sadly enough, there weren't much kendo skills flowing through her blood right now.
"Here we are!" Lan announced as they reached the little training ground beside the dojo. The area was rather stranded from the main training grounds where other soldiers would train for their skills. The place was however, peacefully quiet, and just perfect for the training of the mind.
"Now the rest of you would have to remain quiet once the training begins," Lan said, directing his instructions at the rest of the gang. The five quickly moved back, and sat on the steps of the dojo, waiting for what Lan had further to say.
"Motoko-chan!" Lan called out.
"Hai," Motoko answered confidently, head held high as she spoke this.
"Pick up your shisui," Lan instructed, and Motoko did as she was told.
"Do you see that little bag over there?" Lan asked, pointing to a little, brown, woolen bag, that was filled with uncooked rice and tied to a tall pole in front of them. "I want you to stand here on this white mark," Lan said again, indicating where the mark was with his own katana. "Stand here and swing your sword forward, so that you would get a blast of kii to hit that bag."
Motoko stood at the mark and looked ahead of her at the little bag. There was around fifteen or so feet in front of her, and with the length of her shisui, it seemed almost impossible to make that bag, which was dangling down peacefully, move.
"But that bag is so far away from here!" Motoko tried to protest.
"It is not when you're a true kendo warrior," Lan said, turning serious. He stood at a spot further back behind from where Motoko stood and raised his katana. He closed his eyes and shifted it a little farther behind from him. When time ripened, he opened his eyes, and let out a loud kiyai (battle cry), sending a blast of kii so strong that one of the larger stones that stood farther behind the pole, split into two pieces. Keitaro, Su, Shinobu and Motoko gaped at the sight, their jaws dropping. Naru, on the other hand, squealed with delight and ran over to hug Lan. "Wow that was great!" she congratulated.
Lan smiled back, landing a stare on Motoko, who was already moving in to the mark already, preparing to send HER own blast of kii to the other side.
Motoko stood, swinging her sword behind her, exactly the way Lan had done before, with the sword held with both hands, slightly behind the head. Motoko waited for every particle of energy to be gathered from her soul before she strike. She called upon all the energy she had in her body, and cleared her mind of everything. She counted quietly to herself "1-2- 3....STRIKE!" Motoko slammed the sword down, cutting the air as she did so, but however, no kiis came out, and the bag remained unharmed. The evening passed by boringly like this, with Motoko achieving nothing in her kiis, and the others bored of watching Motoko cutting the air, again and again and again. Night soon dropped in, and Lan called it a day, scurrying the gang back to their dormitories. Motoko, too, was tired from practicing her kiis. Her arms ached with having to have swung the shisui a million times.
"I'm tired," Motoko said as she headed to the girl's washroom to get her towels for taking a bath before she went to sleep.
"I saw this really cool spring by the banana trees!" Su said, "Why don't we go take a bath there!"
"Wow! Really?" Shinobu's eyes glittered with anxiousness. She too had wanted to take a dip in the warm springs to release her tension. She had been really tensed throughout the day too. Motoko was never happier and agreed to Su's suggestions immediately. She had never been so tired, not even on her runs at PE during school. Her entire body ached, each muscle in her body screaming for relaxation. The three girls walked over to the springs and dipped themselves into the warm water. As they entered the water, the feeling of warmth rushed from the heels to the heads of their body, warm sensation running through their veins. The steam in the air also made it soothing to rest one's tension. The three girls happily washed themselves in the springs and after a long while, they decided that it was time for them to get out. They quickly got dressed into their pajamas and headed out. On their way out of the springs, they saw Keitaro and Lan right before them.
Motoko raged with anger, the heat she had just gained from the springs boiling within her, "Were you two here the entire time?" Motoko asked menacingly.
The two young men, who had just came by, realized what the three girls were implying quickly shook their heads fiercely to plead for innocence.
"We just came her!" Keitaro said truthfully, arms waving around.
"It's true!" Lan added.
However, Motoko gave them no chance to reply, and after taking advice of the elder, she had her sword with her this time. She grabbed her shisui and directed her powers at the two guys, whom she thought were perverted, despite any excuses. She was not up for excuses. She stared straight ahead and swung her sword so hard that this time, a fierce blast of kii sent the duo straight into the sky, maybe orbiting around orbit.
"Wow Motoko!" Shinobu exclaimed, her hands held together, "That was amazing!"
"Yea Motoko! You've finally mastered your kii!" Su said.
Realizing what she had just done, Motoko smiled, rubbing the back of her head in slight embarrassment. She felt happy she had finally learned how to master the kii. Keitaro and Lan on the other hand, were not happy for their injuries.....
So that was chapter 7! Please continue supporting this fic and leave a kind review behind! Any comments welcome! Anyways I got to go now, it's getting late! Please keep a look out for Katana Behind the Bleak k? Bye bye!
Katana Behind the Bleak
Chapter 7: Training
The song of bird chirping sounded loudly around the dormitories of the Himarayou Dojo, waking the tenants from their deep sleep. Motoko laid tiredly on her back; she had slept well but her muscles still ached with fatigue. With strain, she forced her eyes open and stared into the ceiling, lying on her back in her futon. She stared at the empty ceiling and thought about the events, trying to convince herself that what had happened was reality and not a dream. Heaving a sigh, she got dressed in her kendo uniform and set out to rejoin the others, only finding two of the woman soldiers greeting her by the doorway.
"We hope you had slept well Aoyama-san," they intoned together.
"Uh, yes I did thank you," Motoko replied a little awkwardly. She was not used to people greeting her in the morning in such a formal way.
"Your friends have already been awaken by Lan," one of the two girls said.
"They are now waiting for you at the dining hall. Please join them," the other added.
"Hai," Motoko answered, bowing her to show her respect and gratitude for the hospitality.
Motoko walked down the hall, finally reaching the entrance to the grand dining hall. She stood, gaping at the sight, by the doorway when the two girls opened the door for her. The sight was a bit surprising since Motoko was expecting a little room where she would have a "peaceful" breakfast with her friends, but what spoke before her was a LARGE dining hall with all the soldiers situated in their destined seats, holding a sword, by their side. Motoko entered and found herself to be the last one to enter the room, seeing that there was only one empty spot in the many uniform rows of hungry soldiers. Motoko quickly took her seat beside Keitaro and Shinobu and sat respectfully on her knees like all others in the hall.
"Aoyama-san, where is your sword?" the elder, who was sitting in the front of the room, questioned. All the soldiers stared in her direction.
Motoko blushed a little due to all the given attention, "Gomen, I am sure to bring it next time."
"Fine, but you must always remember that a true soldier will never go anywhere without his or her sword!" the elder stated, then announcing breakfast.
All the people in the dining hall waited patiently for the dishes to be delivered and when alas, the maids had brought in the meals, everyone began eating the scrumptious breakfast.
"This is so strange!" Su cried aloud, with food in her mouth, "I've never ate breakfast like this back in my country!"
"Yeah, it is kind of strange," Keitaro admitted, looking around his environment of armored soldiers; he felt as if he was in a training camping.
"This isn't too bad, considering we're not paying for the food," Motoko reasoned, "And besides, a true warrior must need to know how to endure under the harshest conditions and live under the very minimums."
The three friends stared at Motoko, making her blush a little, then continued on eating their breakfast. Very soon, a bell rang, dismissing everyone from the dining hall.
"But I'm still not full yet!" Su, who was always hungry, protested.
"Don't be like that Kaolla," Shinobu consoled Su, "I'll make you something good to eat later."
"Yay!" Su cheered.
At that moment, Lan joined the group of four.
"Ohayou!" Lan greeted.
"Ohayou!" the others greeted back.
"It's your first class today Motoko-chan," Lan said, keeping his eyes on the not-yet-fully awake beauty, who's standing tiredly beside him.
"Yes," Motoko said, calling for all her strength so that she would be ready for whatever practice and training she had to take up.
Lan smiled and suddenly, Naru popped her head into the group as well.
"Hey!" Naru said happily, curling her arms around Lan, who's trying to get Naru off him. "What are you guys doing today?" she asked.
"We're going to train," Lan told Naru in a serious tone of voice.
"Oh that's awesome, I'll come too!" Naru told the others, inviting herself into other people's business.
Afterwards, Van led his five friends to Motoko's special training ground where Lan's going to teach Motoko himself. As they walked to Motoko's training ground, they saw on their way there, many soldiers training together, wielding their swords in all sorts of fashion, kii's flying about everywhere. Motoko stared at them with jealousy, marveling over their skills and strength. She'd wish that she could be as good as they were. Sadly enough, there weren't much kendo skills flowing through her blood right now.
"Here we are!" Lan announced as they reached the little training ground beside the dojo. The area was rather stranded from the main training grounds where other soldiers would train for their skills. The place was however, peacefully quiet, and just perfect for the training of the mind.
"Now the rest of you would have to remain quiet once the training begins," Lan said, directing his instructions at the rest of the gang. The five quickly moved back, and sat on the steps of the dojo, waiting for what Lan had further to say.
"Motoko-chan!" Lan called out.
"Hai," Motoko answered confidently, head held high as she spoke this.
"Pick up your shisui," Lan instructed, and Motoko did as she was told.
"Do you see that little bag over there?" Lan asked, pointing to a little, brown, woolen bag, that was filled with uncooked rice and tied to a tall pole in front of them. "I want you to stand here on this white mark," Lan said again, indicating where the mark was with his own katana. "Stand here and swing your sword forward, so that you would get a blast of kii to hit that bag."
Motoko stood at the mark and looked ahead of her at the little bag. There was around fifteen or so feet in front of her, and with the length of her shisui, it seemed almost impossible to make that bag, which was dangling down peacefully, move.
"But that bag is so far away from here!" Motoko tried to protest.
"It is not when you're a true kendo warrior," Lan said, turning serious. He stood at a spot further back behind from where Motoko stood and raised his katana. He closed his eyes and shifted it a little farther behind from him. When time ripened, he opened his eyes, and let out a loud kiyai (battle cry), sending a blast of kii so strong that one of the larger stones that stood farther behind the pole, split into two pieces. Keitaro, Su, Shinobu and Motoko gaped at the sight, their jaws dropping. Naru, on the other hand, squealed with delight and ran over to hug Lan. "Wow that was great!" she congratulated.
Lan smiled back, landing a stare on Motoko, who was already moving in to the mark already, preparing to send HER own blast of kii to the other side.
Motoko stood, swinging her sword behind her, exactly the way Lan had done before, with the sword held with both hands, slightly behind the head. Motoko waited for every particle of energy to be gathered from her soul before she strike. She called upon all the energy she had in her body, and cleared her mind of everything. She counted quietly to herself "1-2- 3....STRIKE!" Motoko slammed the sword down, cutting the air as she did so, but however, no kiis came out, and the bag remained unharmed. The evening passed by boringly like this, with Motoko achieving nothing in her kiis, and the others bored of watching Motoko cutting the air, again and again and again. Night soon dropped in, and Lan called it a day, scurrying the gang back to their dormitories. Motoko, too, was tired from practicing her kiis. Her arms ached with having to have swung the shisui a million times.
"I'm tired," Motoko said as she headed to the girl's washroom to get her towels for taking a bath before she went to sleep.
"I saw this really cool spring by the banana trees!" Su said, "Why don't we go take a bath there!"
"Wow! Really?" Shinobu's eyes glittered with anxiousness. She too had wanted to take a dip in the warm springs to release her tension. She had been really tensed throughout the day too. Motoko was never happier and agreed to Su's suggestions immediately. She had never been so tired, not even on her runs at PE during school. Her entire body ached, each muscle in her body screaming for relaxation. The three girls walked over to the springs and dipped themselves into the warm water. As they entered the water, the feeling of warmth rushed from the heels to the heads of their body, warm sensation running through their veins. The steam in the air also made it soothing to rest one's tension. The three girls happily washed themselves in the springs and after a long while, they decided that it was time for them to get out. They quickly got dressed into their pajamas and headed out. On their way out of the springs, they saw Keitaro and Lan right before them.
Motoko raged with anger, the heat she had just gained from the springs boiling within her, "Were you two here the entire time?" Motoko asked menacingly.
The two young men, who had just came by, realized what the three girls were implying quickly shook their heads fiercely to plead for innocence.
"We just came her!" Keitaro said truthfully, arms waving around.
"It's true!" Lan added.
However, Motoko gave them no chance to reply, and after taking advice of the elder, she had her sword with her this time. She grabbed her shisui and directed her powers at the two guys, whom she thought were perverted, despite any excuses. She was not up for excuses. She stared straight ahead and swung her sword so hard that this time, a fierce blast of kii sent the duo straight into the sky, maybe orbiting around orbit.
"Wow Motoko!" Shinobu exclaimed, her hands held together, "That was amazing!"
"Yea Motoko! You've finally mastered your kii!" Su said.
Realizing what she had just done, Motoko smiled, rubbing the back of her head in slight embarrassment. She felt happy she had finally learned how to master the kii. Keitaro and Lan on the other hand, were not happy for their injuries.....
So that was chapter 7! Please continue supporting this fic and leave a kind review behind! Any comments welcome! Anyways I got to go now, it's getting late! Please keep a look out for Katana Behind the Bleak k? Bye bye!