Butterfly
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or DOA.
Chapter 3: Training Day
The soothing sound of beach waves sounded throughout the air. A long red-haired girl sat near a coconut tree, staring blankly into the oceanic horizon. She sat in a means, that her legs were stretched and crossed, and her arms were stretched back behind her so all her upper weight was put on her hands. She wore a one-piece swimsuit which was colored in several shades of pink. Her red hair hung loosely down her back and swayed to the direction of the wind; her light skin was illuminated with the brilliant sunrise; and her coffee eyes were narrowed, an expression of fatigue was upon her.
Ayane, who wore a purple two-piece white bikini, approached the girl gradually. Her arms hung limply with her hands clenched into fists at her side. Every step Ayane took, she deeply sighed, as if being very edgy. The malleable sand felt like broken glass to her, every step brought her discomfort. As soon as she came within a pace of the girl, she relaxed her hands and took a deep inhalation while facing the back of the girl.
"Kasumi…?" Ayane said, like a child would call a mother when they were scared.
Kasumi's head turned right, only so the side of her face was discernible; Ayane had attained her attention.
"You know, I've been thinking, and I've lost countless nights of sleep over this thought." Ayane said, pausing for a moment. "Why do we fight, Kasumi? Ever since our childhood, we've been against each other. Ever since you left to get Hayate, I've had this…grudge against you—" Ayane had been interrupted.
Kasumi tapped the ground beside her and turned her face to Ayane smiling. In a high but pleasant voice she said, "Sit".
Ayane blinked with the look of inquiry on her face. She had been surprised Kasumi was being so hospitable. After her thoughts Ayane decided to join Kasumi on the sand. She sat with her legs spread apart, her elbows rested on her knees, and her back arched frontward. As she spoke, she didn't look at Kasumi, but the golden water in front of them.
"You were saying?" Kasumi said, curious at to what Ayane was going to say.
"…Well, I've been thinking about our child-hood. I realized that this hatred spawned from envy. You always were the favorite, and you got what you wanted. As a child, I let immature envy get the best of me. That bitterness built up and it turned me completely against you. And well—" Ayane paused for another moment.
"Go on…" Kasumi said cutting the silence, and somewhat predicting what Ayane would say.
"I looked back at the good side of our childhood. We had fun together, but the love died off. One day I went to school and I saw these sisters who love each other very much. That's when it hit me. I thought, 'I have a sister, despite what's happened, I should love her anyhow right? We should love each other for who we are, not what we've done or what we think'". Ayane completed.
Kasumi looked at Ayane with a warm smile that would placate even the most disheartened person. "You… have truly said what has been in my heart this whole time" Kasumi said nodding.
Ayane only returned a look with another smile. "So does this mean we can go back to being just sisters again?"
"Nothing would please me more, Ayane" Kasumi, said with a joyful look.
Ayane held out an arm to Kasumi and said, "Sister?"
Kasumi nodded and smiled once again, "Sister." As the two, now reunited sisters finished, they gave each other a loving hug.
Ayane closed her eyes with joy, as she felt as if something had been lifted from her. Caught in a moment of bliss, she opened her eyes to find herself awoken from a memorial dream, and back in her room at the Hajinmon castle. She sighed, rolling her eyes, disenchanted from her awakening. Soon after Ayane awoke, there was a knock at the door.
"Mistress Ayane? Breakfast is being served; we would like you to attend. Please be there as soon as possible." A voice said outside the door.
It became soundless again as footsteps faded away from the doorway. Ayane stretched out all her limbs, extending the blanket that was over her. She yawned and rubbed her eyes.
"Ugh, I don't want to get up…" Ayane said in a whining manner. She knew she had to arise but had no incentive to. She could've just stayed in bed all day, but she thought that to be absurd. Finally, Ayane found the energy to stand. Her purple nightgown hung on one shoulder, and drooped down to her knees.
She washed herself, and took a long bath, then dressed in a silk kimono that held the design of a sunrise on the back. She exited her room and made her way into the banquet hall. There sat many of the people of the village, and Ayame sat at the far end.
Ayane joined her mother at the end, and kneeled down by her. Some people had already begun to eat, which told Ayane that she was late. For a moment, Ayane felt a vibe that she was being watched but soon discovered that it was just her mother.
Ayane turned her head and lightly smiled and asked, "Is something wrong, Mom?"
Ayame just smiled at her daughter and responded kindly, "You aren't wearing your hair ribbon."
Ayane ran her fingers gently through her hair, realizing that she had forgotten this special ribbon of hers. "Um…yea." As she said this she looked away at the table.
"You look good Ayane. You seem more relaxed. Why don't you let it grow?"
"Well, I want to stand out. You and Kasumi both have reasonably long hair. I think one of us women should have our hair short. Wouldn't you agree?"
"You have a point. You always did have the most unique hair. It's so pretty. The color is so elegant. As you know, you got it from your father, that's unnatural color."
"You're probably right, but I think… other than the color, the rest is from you. I am your child after all."
"Oh, don't flatter me Ayane, I'm getting too old. I lived your years, now you have a chance to be beautiful"
"Old? Nonsense! You look as young and dynamic as I am!" Ayane exclaimed.
That moment a few servants brought Ayame and Ayane their breakfast. The conversation had began from complements and turned to recent happenings. Though the entire time they spoke with each other, they both enjoyed the time. As hours past, Ayane had kept no track of time and the day seemed to go by in a matter of minutes.
The scattered light of the morning sun shining through the windows had vanished. Breakfast had accidentally moved into the time when lunch would be held. The conversation between Ayane and her mother was still quite lively and interesting, but to Ayane, it was about to end unpredictably.
A group of men approached and interrupted the conversation, "Mistress Ayame, please forgive our discourtesy, but Mistress Ayane must be excused for the day", one of the men said, kneeling throughout the entire announcement.
Ayane looked rather puzzled and responded "Excused? For what reason?"
The man looked at Ayane looking somewhat shocked, "Mistress Ayane, have you forgotten so soon?"
"Hm, I must have, I wouldn't ask a question that I already knew the answer to. Would I?" Ayane said.
"Well, it's time for your training of course. You've been gone to the tournament and vacation for several months. You are out of tune. We can see it just by the way you walk." The man said, answering Ayane's question.
Ayane smiled, "Do my hips really sway that much?" Ayane said, cleverly, though only her mother laughed. "Perhaps you're right though. The vacation was a time for me to relax; now it's time to get into shape again." Ayane arose but to her surprise, so did her mother. Ayane turned her head and questioned, "Where are you going mom?"
"I am going to examine your training. I want to see my daughter in action." Ayame replied.
Ayane walked away, being ushered by the men, and her mother trailed behind her. Ayane disliked the fact that she'd be observed by someone other than her trainers. She grew quite nervous and feared she would repetitively fail her tasks.
It was a long walk to the training ground. Ayane had to change her habiliments; subsequently they would walk outside, past the castle through a tiny forest, and to a piece of land caught between two cliff sides. The land overlooked a small lake and Fugiyama was distantly in the milieu. It was noon; the sun was beating directly over the training grounds. The cool air from the lake and winds from Fugiyama chilled the air to a moderate temperature. Ayane stepped into the training ring, along with 4 other men.
"So when does it begin, I'm ready" Ayane said, in a very anxious attitude.
Ayane did get the answer the answer to her question, in a way that was most distasteful. As she finished her questioned she turned around to look at her trainer, but the last thing she saw was a large fist headed straight toward her face. Ayane was struck in the left cheekbone, and fell to the ground with immense force.
The trainer looked down at Ayane, smirking and cracking his knuckles, "Apparently you are not ready".
"Oh, was that really necessary?" Ayame said from the outer ring.
The trainer looked at Ayame, and shrugged. Not a hint of pity was in his eyes. "It seems that you'll need more training than you thought. Even your mother could've avoided that, effortlessly", the trainer said as a taunt, but to Ayane's surprise, he was serious; and to make it worse the statement was factual.
"Well, that is true…" Ayame confirmed rubbing the back head, wanting to deny the fact by she couldn't.
Ayane on the other hand was in denial. She couldn't believe that her mother, whom was much older and supposedly less fit, was more able to complete the training than she was.
Ayane had been on the ground for a moment or two, mostly lost in thought. Whether she was mortified or still incapable to regain permanence, she decided to stand again. As she stood, she found herself, only a few inches from her trainer. She glared at him, almost with anger in her eyes for the sly punch that he delivered to her earlier. As she felt the pain in her face again, she narrowed her eyes and glared at him.
The trainer, with his arms crossed, scoffed. Nearly concomitantly to the trainers sneer, Ayane felt a great sense of paranoia. She had tried to make out what this sense was and the moment she did she bent forward, ducking her upper body. Once she did this, she saw a fist flying above her. Time seemed to slow down as her eyes were fixed on the fist. She followed the fist, watching it dig into the trainers smirking face. The sounds of shattering teeth were muffled by his closed mouth.
As time, in Ayane's perspective, returned to normal she observed the trainer descend to the floor, cataleptic.
"Uh-oh", the man behind Ayane said, fearing the consequences for punching his own master.
Ayane chuckled and stood over her trainer, look at his distended face, and blank eyes. At this time, Ayane was the one doing the scoffing. "Well, at least I can take a punch. I think it's you, which needs the training." Ayane said to the unconscious man.
Ayane stood upright again, and turned around, only to be face to face with her own mother. "Mom? What are you doing?" Ayane queried stepping back from surprise.
"You really think I'd let a haughty man, like that, train you? If so, you must be joking. That's why; I'm going to train you." Ayame answered.
As Ayame finished, she took off her kimono, exposing herself in a ninja outfit. It was quite old fashioned, compared to Ayane's. No ninja wore that uniform any longer; it must've belonged to Ayame in her ninja days. After folding her kimono, and placing it on the bench outside of the ring, she tied her hair into a pony tail with a black ribbon.
Ayame's black ninja outfit was composed of pants, and a long-sleeved shirt exposing her midriff. Long thin openings ran down the outer side of her pant legs, presumably used for aeration. Her skin had shown absolutely no sign of age, and toned muscles proved her to be athletic. Ayane was astonished at how young and fit her mother looked. If no one knew Ayame was Ayane's mother, they would've surely assumed they were sisters.
As soon as Ayame had fastened black, fingerless gloves, she stood into a stance, one that Ayane couldn't distinguish. Ayane, first vacillating, stood into her Tenshin-Mugen Hajinmon stance. Ayame dashed toward Ayane at an unbelievable speed, and as soon as she came close enough, she leaped into the air unleashing a round house kick toward Ayane. Ayane was too stunned to do anything and the kick struck her in the neck. She staggered to the side, and awoke from her dumbfounded state. She quickly regained her stance and gazed at her mother.
Ayame ran toward Ayane again, throwing a punch toward her stomach, then another kick to sweep her. Ayane parried her mother's punch and jumped over the sweep kick. Ayane, while in the air, spun around and let loose a spin kick toward her mother's face. Ayame merely ducked and grabbed Ayane's leg and threw an uppercut which landed perfectly into Ayane's stomach. Ayane was sent higher into the air with this powerful blow, but soon flipped and regained stability before she hit the ground.
Ayane stood up to see Ayame tossing a bokken to her, while holding one herself. Ayame attacked Ayane with swift strikes of her bokken Ayane seemed to block most of them. Any attack Ayane didn't block, either missed or left vibrant red marks on her body. Later in the fight, Ayane finally found the courage to counter. As Ayame attempted to strike Ayane; Ayane dodged the attack and struck her mother in the wrist which wielded her bokken. Ayame dropped her sword and found herself being swept from her feet and landing on her back. The next thing Ayame saw was her daughter's bokken, pointed at her throat.
"Good job Ayane…You can defeat your mother." Ayame said, looking up at her daughter.
"I'm still in shock that you were capable of doing all of that. It's…incredible." Ayane said, complementing her mother.
"I never fight anymore, but if I have to I will." Ayame said, panting. Ayane helped her mother up, almost dropping her from the oily sweat from each other. Ayame sat down, sweating prolifically. It seemed the slits in her pants served a purpose at the time. "Now, it's time for your final part of your training." Ayame said, tossing Ayane a long bow staff, "Go stand in the middle of the ring".
Ayane did as ordered and waited. Soon, 4 ninjas appeared on all sides of Ayane. They unsheathed bokkens, and then attacked Ayane from all angles. Ayane took her bow staff and defended herself from the unvarying attack that was brought by the ninjas. It was constant attack that Ayane defended herself from for several minutes. Finally she decided to take an opportune moment to counter.
She blocked the attack of one ninja, and kicked him under the chin. He was sent into the air then struck down as Ayane hit him in the stomach. Another ninja decided to attack, but Ayane was quite aware. She dug her bow staff into the ground, brought her body into the air and rapidly kicked the ninja until he fell. Two ninjas remained, and Ayane glared at them. She ran toward them and pole-vaulted into the air. She soared holding onto her bow staff. She landed right between them, facing one ninja. She held the bow staff horizontally, and then turned her body so the staff would strike one ninja in the back of the head, the other in the front. They both fell in different directions but nevertheless, Ayane emerged victorious.
A faint applause sounded in the background, "Fantastic job Ayane. I'm not even sure if we needed to train you after all." Ayame said smiling.
"Are we done?" Ayane said, very tired and hungry. Ayane was sweating greatly, she had already soaked her clothes to the point were it simply stuck to her skin.
"Yes we are, now let's go to that party." Ayame said walking toward Ayane.