Phantasy Star Portable – Kotone
Chapter 5
Hyuga toweled off his hair, tossing the small white fabric over his shoulder as he exited the shower. Glancing at the clock, he smiled. Six-thirty. He had thirty minutes to get to the training room. Dressing, he grabbed his lunch. Mm. Sushi . . .
Kotone swung the blade carefully, practicing her forms. She had come in half an hour early to get some practice in. She was so going to die during the training session today. Saturday. She shuddered. Doomed. The door hissed open, and she automatically turned to face him.
"Morning Mr. Hyuga." She answered modestly. Hyuga smiled at her warmly.
"Morning Miss Kotone." He waved her over. "This is your TECHNIC mark wavier. Sign here." She obeyed, quickly signing. "Do well, and we'll go to Neudaiz next month to go see him." She nodded, brightening. "Maybe we'll stop by the market as well." Kotone lit up even more. "Help me lay these out. We'll be covering how to fall and block hits." After the mats were laid down, he settled her in front of him, pulling her delicately against his body. "Relax. I know it's difficult, but relax. Tense muscles will get you hurt."
An hour later found Kotone nursing light bruises. Who knew that falling was so difficult? Mr. Hyuga had been endlessly patient, repeatedly showing her the forms, and even cheerfully participating. Her thoughts were distracted when a lacquered box came into view. Yay! Sushi!
"You should eat," He informed her gently. Kotone nodded, munching aimlessly on a piece of cold-baked fish.
"Thanks," She murmured. Her mind was spinning, when he pulled a rack of weapons out from the basic training room next door. Oh Holy Light please let this not be a new 'training'.
"I need to establish how good you are with other weapons," He informed his stiff student, laughingly reading her panic through her clenched fists and wide eyes. Another subject to teach on Mondays, Hyuga decided. "Let's start with the heavier weapons first. You can save showing off for last." Kotone nodded, sighing softly in relief before taking up an axe. She tested its weight, trying to recall the axe-wielders she'd seen guarding the ruins of the Divine City. Pulling her feet together, she copied the stance as best as she could from the fuzzy memories of childhood.
Hyuga observed the off-balance stance and nodded to himself. It was a good attempt at the position, and for that he was a bit grateful. The Divine City guards were better than her clumsy form, but when it came to it, he was sure that she could at least block. He watched her shakily set a block, clearly unused to the movements and weight. She frowned slightly at herself, clearly guessing the next move. Poor dear.
Not a good option. Too heavy.
Her next attempt, the Fists, went more smoothly. She simply adjusted to the fighting style all Newmans were taught for self-defense without weapons. He checked it off on his list.
Basic defense, check. Don't ask Nav for help. Ever.
Spears were another easy one. She used it well, but not exceptionally so, or even as well as she had taken to swords.
Basics only. Talk to Leo.
Daggers were a bit tricky, but she worked fine with only one.
Self-defense, not good with offense. Tonnio?
Claws . . . She just looked at them a bit blankly, but strapped them on. She was easily nervous, but practiced a bit with them, enough for Hyuga to see a latent future with them.
Talk to Tonnio about supplementary fighting with Claws.
Slicers were used professionally, and Hyuga could see a basic whip style with them.
Have Kotone practice with them. Potential is there.
She had no skill with Rifles, Laser Cannons, Grenades, or Shotguns.
Virtually useless. Emergency only. Though her having one might be an emergency in and of itself.
She refused to even touch the Machine Guns, and stared at the Crossbow cross-eyed.
Not happening.
She was rather good with the Dual and One-handed Handguns.
Possible future with them. See Maya.
She was decent with Cards, and better with Longbows.
Drag June over once a month for assistance.
She made a slight face at the R-MAGs and he shook his head.
She doesn't need them really.
She had plenty of TECHNICS, and as such, overloaded the Rods and Wands. Her TECH-MAGs were quite skilled, but she was better with simply casting TECHNICS.
TECH-MAGs only. Remind her to keep up a false front and carry a TECH-MAG at all times for her safety.
Kotone took out her whip, leaving the weapons where they were, and began to show him a beautiful display of skill and defensive maneuvers. Attack was aggressive, but fluid. Hyuga couldn't place the style, but then, most Whip specialists often had to make their own style, as there hadn't been much in the way of teaching anyone. You either got it, or you didn't. Double Sabers were something he was skilled at, but by no means a master. However, Hyuga could confidently say that Kotone was the closest thing to a master he'd ever met. He simply nodded.
Don't let her lose her edge.
"Very good." Her display with the Saber hinted towards the Communion-taught style, something that he could work with.
Get a Communion member to oversee her skill. "Even better. You learn with your brother?" Kotone shook her head.
"Observation. When I was young enough to qualify for nursery, I was always more interested in watching the Weapons Mistresses. One of them caught me watching, and she taught me all of my moves with the Double Saber. The whip I developed on my own." Hyuga nodded, listening intently. "She wasn't as kind as you." Kotone added shyly. Hyuga blushed, thrilled at the compliment.
"You flatter me Miss Kotone," He teased, hiding how much that simple statement pleased him. They cleaned up, and Hyuga placed a Spear, Twin and Solo Claws, a pair of Solo Daggers, Slicer, Dual and Solo Handguns, a Longbow, and a TECH-MAG on the shelf. "We'll work on some basic skill for those." He told her softly, and she nodded. "Sit down." Kotone fetched her notebook, and he concealed a smile. "Next week, I'm going to bring a few companions of mine over. Tonnio Rhima is 26 years old, despite his looks, and a Claws/Dagger specialist. He'll teach you once a month along with sword training. Keep your mouth shut even if he insults you. He'll do that a lot, and he does mean well. He'll come by Tuesday."
"June Dia Oerba is a Card and Longbow specialist. I'm better with Rifles, sadly, so she'll teach you Wednesday." She duly recorded his words. "Leo will come by on Thursday. He's out on a mission right now, so your Spear training will be suspended. Don't doubt this, you've got good Spear work, and he knows some decent sword work I haven't wheedled out of him yet." Kotone smiled shyly and her pen paused. "Maya's the best with Handguns, and Rods, but I'll make something up for the Rods. There's no need to spread you can cast without a channel. She'll come by Friday. Ethan and Laia will come by to help whenever they can spare. This will only happen once a month. Slicers, Whips, and Double Sabers will be done on Saturday. You have enough skill that practice is more than enough. If you have any trouble, I'm sure that you can ask them. I'll observe, and probably learn with you. I know the basics for just about everything, and I'll lend a hand when necessary. Any questions?" Kotone shook her head.
"No. Thank you for helping me," She murmured quietly.
"You're my student. It's my responsibility – and in this case, my pleasure – to help you." Hyuga offered her his hand, which she took gratefully. "Stretch and then I'll see how good your endurance is."
Little Note on her skill with various weapons:
They're all ones that I like and use regularly.