First Day of Training: Shinpachi Nagakura
Scenario: It's your first day of training, and the one who found you is the one responsible for your instruction. What will it be like to train with himas your mentor?
I watch as Shinpachi cracks his knuckles in preparation for the day. At the popping sound, I cringe. He flexes his biceps a few times, then loosens the joints in his neck and upper shoulders.
"Are you done yet?" I ask dryly as he continues his "warm up."
"H**l yeah!" He says, grabbing his sword. "Let's do this!"
We stand in front of each other; both of us are poised and ready to spring into action at any moment. With a nod from Shinpachi, we lunge at each other and our blades make a clanging noise as they make contact.
"Work on being aware of details" he instructs as we fight. I swing my sword towards his leg, and he blocks it seconds before it slices through the skin.
"I'll do my best" I say, smiling as I duck to avoid his blow.
"You're pretty strong, so that's good."
"Is that a compliment?" Our swords once again block each other, with the two of us coming face to face. He nods.
"You better believe it. It's not worth my time to duel against someone who's weak."
I smirk at his arrogant comment. "Same goes for you!"
Around ten minutes later, Shinpachi calls a truce and the two of us sit down on the grass underneath a tree.
"So, I noticed that you hold your breath when you're fighting" he comments as he leans his back against the tree trunk. I look at him, confused.
"I do?"
"Yeah."
"I wasn't aware of that…"
"It's probably because you get so into your fighting that you don't notice it."
"Really?"
He nods gravely. "Yeah. Don't let the fight take up all of your attention. If you become too focused on one opponent, you'll fail to see the others coming at'cha."
My eyes light up in understanding. "Ooohhh! Gotcha."
"See? In no time, you'll be out on patrol with the rest of us!"
"Get outta here." I shove into his shoulder playfully.
"It's the truth!" He looks at me in earnest, and I'm a bit startled at how sincere he is.
"Oookay then... " I look away, smiling sheepishly. "That's really nice of you to say."
"Well," he looks at me. "Wanna go at it again?"