Kaela Micro-series: The Art of of Invisibility – Part 2
Jess stood in the middle of the dojo with a blindfold over her eyes. Brightly colored ribbons were wrapped around her waist. Her movements were shaky, as if she was disoriented. Her weapons rested on the wall away on the other side of the dojo, along with my ribbon dart and Ethan's naginata. Ethan and I surrounded Jess on either side of her with plenty of room between us. Master Hamato sat and observed from a distance.
This was our stealth training exercise: to try and get as close to Jess as possible without having her detect us. If Ethan or I could sneak up on her and take one of the ribbons via stealth, then we succeeded in the exercise. Jess was supposed to try to use her other senses other than sight to figure out where Ethan and I were and try to knock us away before we could take a ribbon. Master Hamato mentioned that in order to see without seeing, she needed to use a sense beyond earthly senses. I thought it had something to do with the seventh sense, but I wasn't sure. Master Hamato wasn't exactly specific with training exercises sometimes.
"Hajime!" Master Hamato yelled sharply. Jess immediately widened her stance, and stiffened. I could almost see her focus, but I'm pretty sure she was mainly using her hearing, because anytime there was a small noise, Jess would twitch in that general direction.
I began to lightly walk towards Jess, trying not to make any noise whatsoever. I regulated my breath so I breathed as slowly as possible. The closer I got to Jess, the more likely Jess could hear me. I rose to my feet, my heels lifted in the air with the front of my foot and my toes touching the ground. I figured if I had less contact with the ground, that would be less opportunity for noise to be emitted, or at least that was my theory. I creeped around Jess so her back was towards me, trying to feel light as air. I saw Ethan on the other side of Jess, also walking lightly, but both of his feet fully in contact with the ground. He was already closer to Jess than I was, but he had the disadvantage of getting completely punched in the face in if Jess heard him.
Ethan placed his foot in front of him, but as he stepped downward a squeak resounded in the dojo. Ethan happened to step on that unstable spot that made the floorboard squeak. Jess immediately lunged forward towards the noise and blindly tried to punch whoever was in front of her. I took this moment of distraction and moved even closer to Jess, but still kept quiet.
Ethan expertly moved to the side and ducked, narrowly missing Jess' punch. When Jess realized she missed her target, she punched again in a random direction, seeing if maybe she could hit her target unexpectedly. When she hit nothing but air, she shifted her focus from her body to her outside environment. Ethan held his position, trying not to move.
I stepped forward a couple more times, moving my feet slowly so I could detect any tiny noises and silence them before they become noticeable. The closer I got to her, the lower I dropped my upper body. Jess blindly moved her head, as if somehow she could hear better if she angled it differently. Her body was tense, ready to attack if she got any clues as to where Ethan or I were. I kept my eye on Ethan and his movements just in case he made another noise again.
Jess swung around and blindly punched the air again, just to see if she would get someone again, her fist was aiming right for my chest. I didn't even think, but my body dropped to the ground to avoid her punch, rolling my legs and arms to soften the landing. I'm not sure how, but hardly any noise was emitted when I dropped to the ground. Jess must have not noticed my movement while she was attacking, because she stood still with her arm stretched out, trying to sense any other movement.
Jess was right above me, the ribbons just out of reach. I transferred my weight slowly to my left arm so I had an arm free to reach. I should be able to stretch far enough to grab one of those stupid ribbons now. I debated if I should snatch one quickly or go slow. I decided to proceed slowly, but I mentally prepared myself if I needed to move quickly. Ethan began to move also, realizing that when I grabbed a ribbon, Jess would blindly attack again. The ribbons were half a foot away, and Jess turned her head. I saw Jess tense her body. Crap, she is going to attack again!
I quickly reached and wrapped my fingers over a bright green ribbon and pulled back as quickly as I could. Jess reacted just as quickly and tried to kick where I was. I was faster. I rolled backwards from the force of pulling the ribbon and managed to get out of her range of attack. Barely. I had felt the rush of the air near me from her kick. When I finished my roll and was back on my feet, I looked at my hand and smiled. The green ribbon was still there.
"I swear, if it was Kaela that got me again. . ." Jess trailed off as she snatched the blindfold off.
I smiled sheepishly when her eyes landed on me, the green ribbon still in my hand.
"Sorry Jess." I mumbled with a shrug, still smiling. It felt good that there was one exercise that I could beat Jess at consistently. It was a rare treat for me.
"I wouldn't be surprised if you turned into a cat or something. How are you so quiet?"
"Kaela is very aware of her surroundings," Master Hamato interrupted. "She takes into consideration her own movement, others movement, and the conditions of the environment simultaneously."
Master Hamato stood up and walked towards us, arms folded behind his back. He looked straight at me, his old eyes still burning with intensity of a warrior and a master.
"My daughter, there is no need to apologize for a success."
I sunk to the ground slightly. Even though I love and respect Master Hamato, I was always easily intimidated by him.
"Sorry," I slipped, before I realized that I apologized for apologizing. "I mean, of course Master Hamato."
"That will be all for our stealth training for today. Please return your ribbons to me." Ethan, Jess and I filed in a line to return our brightly colored ribbons.
"Master Hamato, is it alright if we do a round of all-for-one?" Jess asked as she placed her ribbons in Master Hamato's palm. My stomach dropped, and I felt a little blood drain from my face. Oh please no, anything but all-for-one.
"I would like to do a round too, sensei," Ethan added, already walking towards his naginata.
Master Hamato didn't respond at first, thinking as I placed my ribbons on his palm. I was tempted to mention that I didn't want to do a round, but I couldn't think of a good excuse. All I could do is hope that Master Hamato had something else in mind for the rest of training.
"I do believe I could observe a quick round of all-for-one," He finally said slowly. "Please retrieve your weapons."
I tried to keep up my confidence and I grabbed my little ribbon dart, but it was like water between my fingers. Of all the things I had the most difficulty doing, it was a three-way fight between Ethan and Jess. I followed Ethan and Jess to the center of the dojo, smiles playing on their lips.
"Remember, only disarm and defend." Master Hamato said, glancing over at Jess. "Hajime!"
I wasn't even ready as I was expecting Master Hamato to do a little more explaining. I tried to wrap my ribbon around my arms so I could throw it when I needed to. Ethan started to attack me, the staff of his naginata pointed to me. Luckily, Jess lunged towards Ethan, giving me time to get my grounding and some distance. Okay Kaela, you can do this.
I tried to gather momentum to throw my dart towards Jess, but it took too long, Jess was watching me as she and Ethan dueled. She crossed her kamas to block Ethan's attack and push him back. She lunged towards me right before I could let my dart fly. It completely missed her, my ribbon ripping through the air away from me. It probably would have hit Ethan if Jess wouldn't have pushed him back so far. I somehow managed to dodge Jess, pulling my ribbon in. I knew there was no chance I could hit her with the dart unless I manage to gather momentum and get some space between Jess and me. Needless to say, trying to use a long range weapon in a close range fight was a little difficult.
Jess used the back of the blades of her kama to push me back, I felt the hard flat edges press against my stomach, forcing me backward. I reacted by using my ribbon to wrap it around the back of Jess' neck. If I was going to go down, Jess is coming with me. Her aggressive force caused her to fall forward, but she stepped forward with one leg, gaining balance and looked down. My ribbon slipped off her neck and I felt myself fall. I was defeated.
Next thing I knew, I was sitting next to Master Hamato watching Ethan and Jess duel. Frustration vibrated through my entire body. I couldn't even last 30 seconds in a duel, which was incredibly embarrassing as an aspiring kunoichi. I grudgingly watched how Ethan and Jess were able to use their weapons to attack, counter-attack, and defend all within arm's reach. I glanced back at my little silk ribbon and my small dart at the end. I love my weapon, but I couldn't help but think of how inadequate it was in close combat. I'm sorry, but a ribbon wasn't going to help much when a sword or anything sharp was going to cut through it. Even if I could at least defend myself with my weapon in close range fighting, it would help. I was already feeling a lack of confidence before we started, now I wanted to crawl away and give up for the rest of the day.
Finally, after a good 5 minutes, Ethan managed to catch Jess in an unstable position as she tried to use her full force to knock him down. Ethan crouched down and used his staff to knock Jess off her feet. It was amusing to see Jess' expression change slowly from complete confidence to the panic of falling. With a dull thud, Jess was on her hands and knees with a kama in each hand. Ethan pointed his naginata at Jess' face, officially declaring victory.
"Man, I am way off my A-game today," Jess muttered, as she pounded her kama to the ground.
"Maybe next time Jess," Ethan said with a smile, still composed.
And this is why Ethan is leader, I thought to myself. And why I am not. My negative thought process resounded. I looked down at my lap, that thud of frustration and disappointment still pounded at my chest.
"Well done my son," Master Hamato said, his voice resounding powerfully. "You saw an opportunity to strike at a weak moment and you took it. My daughter," he said looking at Jess. "You are very strong and powerful, but do not allow your technique to be compromised in order for a more powerful attack. Well-trained ninja and kunoichi will look for these moments and use it against you."
"Hai sensei," Jess said, looking intently to the side, her mouth in a hard line.
"That completes our training for today. Please finish your studies tonight, and try not to stay up too late." Master Hamato gave a small smile, he probably knew we tended to stay up later than we probably should.
"Dismissed," he finalized. I stood up and bowed with Jess and Ethan before turning around to put our weapons away. I slowly wrapped my ribbon as I walked behind Jess and Ethan, still trying to swallow my frustration and overall negative mood.
We placed our weapons carefully in their designated spots and walked towards the living room, grabbing our backpacks that we left near the door. I never thought I would be grateful for homework. Being able to completely focus on something other than myself would help my attitude.
Jess groaned. "I really don't want to do homework."
"I don't think any of us wants to do homework," Ethan responded.
"You have to do homework whether you want to or not because you'll get in trouble if you don't. I'm getting a little tired of waiting by the detention room for you," Jess teased as she lightly jabbed Ethan in the arm.
"If it wasn't so mundane, I'd probably want to work on my writing." Ethan opened the door and threw his backpack on the couch. Jess jumped over the couch and crashed onto it. I walked over to the old bean bag that was next to the couch and gently sat on it with my backpack on my lap. As Ethan and Jess talked about school and detention, I curled forward and leaned on my backpack, listening to them. I suddenly felt a sharp pain near my diaphragm.
"Ow," I muttered in pain and jerked backwards away from my backpack.
"What's up Kaela?" Jess asked. Ethan turned around so he could face me.
"I'm not sure." I lifted my shirt enough so I could see if there was any visible damage where the pain was. Sure enough, right around my diaphragm were some large bruises. I groaned. This was mostly likely from Jess' last attack before I fell.
"Great." I muttered, bringing my shirt back down. Dance was going to be terrible tomorrow, we were still working on break dancing and that spot usually experienced a lot of pressure.
"Sorry about that Kaela, maybe I shouldn't have been so harsh in all-for-one." Jess said, but I knew she was just trying to be nice. Jess was competitive and usually didn't go easy in training.
"No, it's okay. I'll live," I responded lightly. I didn't even look at Jess while I unzipped my backpack.
"You alright Kaela?" Ethan asked, concern trickled on his face.
"I'm fine." I said, looking at Ethan and forcing a smile, trying to act as natural as possible.
"No you're not," he said slowly. Ethan was always naturally observant, but once he became leader, I'd noticed he was more observant specifically with Jess and I. It also could be that I was an easy person to read.
"I just don't really care for all-for-one," I replied.
"How can you not like all-for-one? It's the best exercise for combat training!" Jess declared.
Yeah, easy for you to say Jess. You have sharp edges on your weapon.
"It's just a little difficult to do close range combat with a long range weapon," I said softly. "It makes me a little less than formidable when fighting enemies."
Jess and Ethan looked at each other, and then Ethan continued. "But, your weapon is great for stealth attacks and. . . and . . ." He trailed off.
"See my point?" I said. Whatever confidence I managed to gain began to drain away again.
"It's good Kaela, you can be the stealthy one and Ethan and I can smash in the heads. Teamwork right there."
I knew Jess was trying to cheer me up, but to me, she only verified that all I was good for was stealth, which was just half of a kunoichi's training. Basically, if stealth wasn't an option then I'd be useless.
I wanted to leave the room, but I didn't want Ethan and Jess to follow me. I wanted to be left alone. I looked at Jess and mustered up my most natural happy face. I sure hope those couple of classes in acting are helping me right now.
"Thanks Jess. Maybe I should do more basic training exercises and see if I can figure out close range combat techniques with my weapon." I stood up.
"Where are you going?" Ethan asked.
"I'm going to see if I can do anything for these bruises and then maybe work on some forms. I could probably use the practice. Don't slack off on homework, okay?" I gave one more smile before I walked towards the door.
"Okay," Ethan said slowly. "Maybe I can come with? We can train together."
"Nah, you have to get your writing done. We can't have you get suspended from spending too much time in detention, huh?" I really hoped Ethan would take that excuse.
"I guess your right. We'll be here if you need any help," Ethan said as I walked out the door.
The moment I left the room, I let my demeanor fall. All of my frustration, disappointment, and lack of confidence finally swirled into tears and my vision blurred. I immediately swallowed my emotions. If there was one thing I hated more than feeling useless, it was crying. It showed weakness, and the last thing I wanted was to have someone see me at a weak point.
I walked to the bathroom and locked the door. I really wanted to listen to some music, but my phone and headphones were in my backpack. Music usually helped me feel better whenever I wasn't my usual happy self. I lifted up my shirt again to get a better view of the bruise Jess generously gave me. I don't bruise easily, but the major points of impact were already showing spots of purple. I touched the purple sections of the bruise. It didn't hurt, but if I pressed something against the ribs then I was sure it would hurt. I tried to remember if Master Hamato said there was a way to heal bruises faster. I thought he said that crushed parsley could help, but I would have to wrap it on the bruise and I didn't want to try to do that. It was probably more work than it is was worth.
I sighed and looked at myself in the mirror. I forgot that my yellow bandanna was still wrapped around my head from practice. I cringed a little bit, remembering what Master Hamato said. Yellow is the color of courage and energy. You step up to challenges and give the needed momentum to encourage those around you. This will be a skill that will save this team more than once.
I grunted a single laugh. I couldn't help but think that Master Hamato was basically saying that I was the team's cheerleader. The one that encourages but can't fend for herself. The one who is useless in battle and can only sneak around and leave without being detected. I had asked Master Hamato in the past if I could train with a different weapon so I could understand close range combat better. All he said was the ribbon dart was a unique weapon because even though it is usually used for long distance, it could be used in close combat too. However, he still hadn't shown me how. He said I need to master the basics before he could teach me more. I could understand that, but if I could get hurt or had to make others try to protect me because I couldn't help myself, then what was the point? Especially now since he was letting us go out and patrol. I guess I still hadn't even mastered the basics yet. Pathetic.
I sighed to myself. Now I was just ranting. I knew Master Hamato only wanted the best for me. I knew I wasn't completely useless to the team, but I wanted to be more well-rounded like Ethan and Jess. How nice would it be to know that I could attack with my weapon in hand and feel like I knew what I was doing and not just hope for the best? That all I would need to do is lunge forward and know I would hit my mark instead of trying to get enough momentum with my arms and hope I could shoot my dart in time.
I still felt pretty useless, even with my attempt of positive thinking. I wanted to do something helpful right now. Not a charity act, but something that only I could do that would help the team. The memory of infiltrating the warehouse with all the animals flooded into my head. I imagined myself sneaking in and quietly releasing the animals without being detected. Man, how cool would that be if I did that all by myself? I wanted to go, right now. If all I was good for was being stealthy, why not go right now to the warehouse and try to free some of the animals. I could do it by myself, so all I would have to worry about was myself. I got excited at this spontaneous idea; I always loved doing something fun last minute. I would have to try and get into my room and grab my black clothing and sneak out of the dojo with my weapon before anyone noticed. I was nervous that Master Hamato would find me and stop me. I was already grounded. He would probably make my punishment longer if I left home. Right now, I didn't care. I felt that I didn't do something now, those animals might get killed and I'd just be at home moping. I made up my mind, I was going to try and save some animals from the creepy Kraang.