Chapter 1: A Glimpse of Potential and Training Begins
Disclaimer: I do not own anything except my OCs you see in this fic and most of its plot, the rest belongs to their respective creators and companies.
Bold = Author
Regular = Character
Italic = Thought
Time Skip: 3 years later
3rd Person POV
"Old man Hashiiii! Come on; please train me already! Please?" A small girl whines while gripping a familiar-looking old man's pant leg in the middle of a snow-covered forest clearing with what looks to be a wooden cabin farther back a few miles.
The girl had black spiky hair that went slightly past her shoulders, which hadn't changed at all in the past 3 years, which had surprised Hashimo, with tanned skin and had been donned in a baby blue sleeveless fighting gi, wearing baggy pants along with black shoes that have baby blue laces and stripe down the middle with the soles being white. She was also wearing red wrist guards and a red sash tied around the waist of her gi while barely reaching below Hashimo's kneecaps who was the around the height of the average man.
"No, Rhea, I need to go to work at the Guild, I can't afford to start slacking off." Hashimo says in a tired voice.
She had been at this ever since she had been able to talk and saw him practicing fighting techniques, which so far, was 2 years and counting. "What happened to all of your books anyway, you used to be so engrossed in them." He inquired but already had a feeling he knew.
"I finished those a long time ago!" She says proudly. "I recently started killing time by practicing some fighting exercises I saw in a book and exploring the mountain range these days."
Hashimo is silent for a moment trembling for a minute "WHEN DID YOU GO INTO THE MOUNTAIN RANGE?! I DEMAND AN ANSWER RHEA KIARA!" Hashimo explodes, causing Rhea to jump back a few good feet. Hashimo never uses the last name he gave her unless he was extremely upset.
"I-I I went there when you weren't around. I thought it was okay since you always go there. Sorry." Rhea's voice got quieter with each sentence while facing the ground causing Hashimo to sigh.
"Listen Rhea, I am not trying to be mean to you when I tell you not to do certain things. There are dangerous creatures around there you know. What if you got hurt while exploring the mountains? What if you got lost? Do you know how much that would hurt me? To find out that because of something as silly as being bored made me lose the person that is the closest to me now?" Hashimo knows that this sort of action caused Rhea to feel extremely uncomfortable but he wanted to know how dangerous these sorts of areas were.
"It all turned out okay in the end though didn't it!?" Rhea snaps before cupping her hands on her mouth. She didn't mean to cause the man who raised her so much worry but, like Hashimo, wanted to get him to understand that she wanted to explore the world.
The silence that follows her outburst is felt deafening to both of them until Hashimo decided on a way to settle it once and for all.
"Rhea, you said you had been trying out fighting exercises, right? Then let's try this, if you can make my back hit the ground, then I will train you." Hashimo proposed. "This will show me how strong you are and if you are ready for traveling the world. However, until you can do this, you are not permitted to explore beyond this clearing again. Do you understand?" placing as much authority into his voice, he wanted to find an excuse to start training Rhea anyway, preparing her for the world was the perfect opportunity to help her become stronger, which he thought she had no problem with.
He wasn't wrong if Rhea's excitement was anything to go by. "Are you serious!? Of course I accept!" Rhea exclaims. "Let's get it on already!"
Rhea's POV
I rushed him as fast as I could, hoping to catch him off guard and already beginning to throw a punch when I felt my eyes widen and a sudden pain in my solar plexus, causing spittle to fly out of my mouth. How?! I didn't even see him move at all! Yet, there it was, his fist buried in my gut.
"You are far too eager Rhea. Calm yourself, and try again." I heard him say, before pulling his hand out slowly, to help me regain my bearings.
"Darn, I really can't afford to hold back at all!" I thought as I fell into my fighting stance again.
Before I could finish regaining my balance, Old Man Hashi charged and began throwing several fast punches and kicks at me as I tried to dodge until he landed a hard kick up to my chin which sent me flying back towards the edge of the clearing, where I was able to catch the ground with my feet, piling a little snow around where I stopped.
"I'm not finished yet!" I shouted before I rushed him once more but I knew it wasn't going to go the same way as last time. This time, I was ready for it.
I ducked, intending to go for a low kick when I felt the wind from his fist sailing to intercept me like before. I went for a right sweeping kick to knock him off balance before he jumped over my leg and threw a kick of his own, smacking me in the middle of my face.
I was again thrown back but this time I couldn't feel the pain from it until after a second passes.
I tried to move but my body wouldn't respond at all. I knew the gap of power between me and Old Man Hashi was really big, but I never expected to be taken down it only two hits!
"Darn it!" I whisper under my breath is all I remember before getting extremely angry and blacked out.
3rd Person POV
Rhea lets out an enormous roar before shooting towards Hashimo at twice her original speed, surprising Hashimo, who could only barely dodge her attack before she started unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks at the an alarmingly faster rate where Hashimo was forced to block all of them with difficulty.
"How did she get so much stronger in such a short amount of time? She couldn't even touch me before and now she has me on the defensive!" Hashimo thought as he launched his own set of attacks, trading blows with her until he found a gap in her barrage and used his leg to trip her in the same manner she tried earlier before kicking her in the back.
"She has to tire out at some point." He mumbled at the sight of Rhea getting up before she fell back down, unable to move anymore.
"Such timing… Such Potential" Hashimo sighed as he picked her up bridal style and began walking back to the wooden cabin to help her recover and so he could get some rest. He was getting way too old for this.
Rhea's POV
When I woke up, I found myself with a pounding headache, my entire body sore, covered in bandages, and in my bedroom which was pretty nice if I do say so myself.
My bed was against the door wall and the corner of the room with a bookcase on the opposite corner of the room which took up a quarter of the entire wall. I also have oak desk with a total of 5 drawers, 3 smaller one by my bed, and 1 big one and another small one on the other side. I had it next to my bed with a normal oak chair which I mainly used only for writing. I pretty much just read my books wherever and whenever I felt comfortable unless Old Man Hashi wanted me to do something with them, like learning math! There was also those two windows on the wall opposite to the door the peeked outside revealing a soft layer of snow on the ground with bright red curtains on them.
What happened that caused me to get here? I begin thinking back on how today occurred, until it came back to me. I was sparring with Old Man Hashi, although saying he wiped the floor with me would most likely be more accurate.
I blacked out after two kicks. Two! Not even that weird monster from the mountain range was anywhere close to that strong, and I fought it to a standstill using everything I had until my speed was able to wear it down.
My speed meant absolutely nothing to Old Man Hashi, he didn't even break a sweat countering my attacks! I was honestly disappointed until I started smelling food cooking.
I, with a lot of effort, limped out of my bed and used the wall as a guide in order to leave the room and hobbled over to the right, towards the dining area.
When I arrived, I saw Old Man Hashi already waiting for me, having just finished setting up the table with a fair amount of food for lunch, thankfully, I was starving!
I took a seat and right as I was about to dig in, Old Man Hashi said something that I couldn't quite understand.
"Before you eat, I want you to tell me something. How much do you remember?" He asked. I told him that I blacked out after he kicked me in the face but that answer only made him look confused.
So, with nothing more being said, I dug in, eating to my heart's content. (AN: Which is a crazy amount, I remind you.)
Several minutes later
I wiped my face with a napkin and sighed contently. Food never ceases to satisfy me, despite all the plates piled up upon the table.
"So Rhea, I have been wondering." Old Man Hashi says while I'm drinking a cup of water to make sure all the food I ate went down properly. "Do you still want to train with me?" I immediately spit take.
"Of course I do!" I exclaim "I'm not near your level at all! Training is the best way to get stronger! After all, who knows what kinds of strong people are out there!"
Old Man Hashi seems to laugh at this, much to my discomfort to what he would say next but it actually surprised me. "Well, okay then."
"Wait, but I thought I had to knock you on your back when we were at the clearing." I stated "I wasn't even anywhere close to grazing you!"
"All the more reason you need to train, if you're going to travel around, I know I can't stop you." He seems to say matter-of-factly.
"ALRIGHT! Ah ow ow ow ow ow ow…" I groan as I try to rejoice. Emphasis on 'tried'. I ended up pulling my muscles during our fight.
"Can we start training tomorrow, if that's okay by you?" I ask he responds with a simple "Sure."
I simply go to back to my room and flopping on the bed yelling "Sleeping now! See ya tomorrow!" and fell unconscious.
The Next Day
I woke up pretty early today, probably because I fell asleep in the afternoon. Then I remembered why today was so important, Old Man Hashi finally agreed to train me! After all this time too!
I quickly made my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth, bathe, and change to get ready for the day, filled with determination.
45 minutes later
I walked out of the bathroom feeling fresh, clean, and in a different gi. This one was sleeveless red gi with a white undershirt, white belt and red pants with matching boots and arm bands while leaving my furry tail swaying behind her.
I thought that I should choose a new gi, considering that I was now training under an actual master, not just sloppily replicating stances I see in books.
All my thoughts on training quickly disappeared though, right as the smell of food wafted into my nose.
I sped downstairs following my nose and found Old Man Hashi already eating there, so I quickly rushed to join him.
"Slow down, geez, I knew you would be hyped but…" Old Man Hashi trails off as he watches me eat, my pile of dishes already forming miniature Mountains.
"So when do we start Old Man Hashi?" I asked him after I finished eating. "Right after we finish washing ALL the dishes" He smirked and I groaned after looking at my mountain piles.
5 minutes later, at the Clearing
"So what are you going to teach me today? A brand new technique, how to anticipate attacks, what about a new stance?" I asked excitedly.
Before I can prepare myself, he yells "DODGE" and I get kicked on the side of the head. So we were starting with dodging… "This is going to be a very long day." I thought as I began to get back up.
4 hours later, 3rd Person POV
Rhea is lying on the snow, covered in bruises and panting hard from exhaustion while Hashimo is silently meditating before getting up and walking over to Rhea.
"Your one hour break is finished, get up and we'll work on something else." Hashimo states before Rhea groans and gets up.
"No more dodging please… Anything but that for today…" She says before facing Hashimo whom is standing behind her with his arms folded.
"We are going to be building up that strength and stamina of yours. Now drop and give me a hundred push-ups and sit-ups." He says with a stern look on his face while Rhea gapes at him.
"I never said it would be easy you know, now DO IT!" Hashimo shouts as Rhea begins to count while doing the push-ups first.
"One, two, three…"
30 minutes later
"… Ninety five, ninety six, ninety seven, ninety eight, ninety nine, one hundred!" Rhea exclaims as she finishes the last of her sit-ups before collapsing with a small smile on her face and her eyes closed. Unknown to her, Hashimo was standing by a tree next to the clearing with a small smile on his face.
He had known that Rhea was extremely strong, one could even say a prodigy in fact, but he never, in his wildest dreams, think that she could endure such harsh training at such a young age.
He also knew that Rhea was one of the most determined you would find around, and would do anything in her power, that didn't involve others to get hurt, to accomplish her goals.
With that in mind, he picked her up and began walking home. Then mentally sighing, realizing how much food he would need to prepare for when she would inevitably wake up.
He began planning how much money he would need to make lunch? Nah, the time for that passed a while ago. How about dinner? Rhea would probably already be awake by then, knowing her.
He decided on the name with a nod of his head and planned what he would try to make for linner as Rhea's reward to persevering today's training successfully.
AN: So this is around the length of chapters I am most likely going to make, considering I am not yet used to writing this long, but it does make for good practice for me in the future and it might increase as the chapters continue. That is probably about all I have to say for now.
Please leave a review about your thoughts about the chapter on how I should better my writing. If you have any questions for me, I will most likely answer you through a PM. (Eventually) I hope you enjoyed the chapter! See you all next time!