Disclaimer, I don't own anything in Naruto, except my OCs
AN: As someone has pointed out to me, some of the ages are not correct. On that note, I would like to mention that the canon timeline is thrown out the window. Ages will be changed; some events take place at different times. And on that note, onwards to the story
Chapter 3 – A glimpse of steel
*Six months later*
Six months after having managed to use the Great Fireball jutsu and officially having been declared adults of the Uchiha clan, Tomoe and Sasuke had spent less and less time training together. Before the jutsu test, they spend every moment training, with each other whether it was chakra exercises, taijutsu, or sparring. But having experienced the joy and thrill that came with properly using the Great Fireball jutsu, Tomoe had become a lot more focused on enhancing and improving her chakra control so she would have an easier time learning new jutsus going forwards. Sasuke on the other hand threw himself at the clan's training dummies, more time each day compared to before. It was not an uncommon sight to see Sasuke practicing the clan taijutsu kata or hitting training dummies early in the morning.
After having been severely outmatched by his sister with the Great Fireball jutsu, Sasuke had decided to make sure that at the very least he was better than her at taijutsu and preferably at shurikenjutsu as well. However, Tomoe kept matching him in shurikenjutsu. For every time he beat her in who hit the most targets dead-on, she would just beat him next round. After having realized that they were equal with shurikenjutsu, Sasuke just doubled down on taijutsu. And his training had paid off. Before he would lose one-in-five taijutsu spars with his sister, now he only lost one-in-10, a result he was very pleased with.
It was a cold November morning at the main Uchiha household, and all the members of the family were gathered around the breakfast table for once. With Itachi getting send on more and more missions, Fugaku working early in the morning, and Sasuke dedicating most of his time in the morning to hitting training dummies, it was often just Tomoe and Mikoto who ate breakfast together. The calm didn't last long, however, as one of the younger clansmen came rushing to their house out of breath bearing grim news. "Fugaku-sama, I have bad news about one of our groups," the young man said with a serious look on his face. "What is it Keigo-san?" Fugaku asked his relaxed expression gone in the blink of an eye, now replaced by a much more serious one, "What has happened?"
"One of our forces patrolling the border down south between the land of Fire and the land of Tides have all been exterminated," Keigo said, looking down at the ground.
"The land of Tides? That's just a small country between us and Mist, what could have happened there? Nothing there should pose an issue for any of our clansmen strong enough to be sent to that region in the first place." Fugaku wondered who could possibly have done in a group of Uchiha ninja. "What group was it?" he asked.
"The rapports say it was team Jaguar," the young man answered.
At this Fugaku was surprised, "Jaguar? But that team is led by Jaga, him alone would be enough to take down anything in that region that even resembled a threat. Do we know the cause of death?"
"Rapports say that their bodies were pierced and sewn together," Keigo said grimly.
"Pierced and sewn together?" Fugaku said almost in shock. He paused a bit before he continued, "Keigo, see if you can get multiple teams sent down there, if you can't get at least five, then try to pull our teams back. If this is what I think it is, we have to inform Hokage-sama immediately."
"Yes sir." Keigo said with a salute, before asking, "Forgive me for asking Fugaku-sama, but why are we sending that many troops to such a remote region?"
"Because, if that rapport is true, then one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist is lurking around down in Tides. Each one of them is a formidable foe that is not to be engaged alone, is that clear?" Fugaku said with a stern intimidating look on his face.
"Of course sir, I'll see to it immediately," Keigo said before vanishing.
Fugaku turned to his family and spoke "I apologize for interrupting our breakfast, but I have urgent matters to attend to. I will be back this evening." And with that, Fugaku left for the Hokage tower.
"Oh my, that is unfortunate news, Jaga and his team were so competent. But if their opponent was one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist there is not much they could have done." Mikoto said with a sad voice.
"Mother, who are the Seven Swordsmen of the mist?" Tomoe asked, not knowing what to do in this situation.
"The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist are seven incredibly dangerous individuals and some of the strongest fighters in all of Kiri. Not only is each fighter incredibly talented, but each of them has a special sword, unlike any other sword you will find." Mikoto explained.
After a while Tomoe started talking again "Mother, how many were the swordsmen took down Jaga and his team?" she asked. Jaga had been one of the clansmen who had overseen their training. While he hadn't actively taught them, the twins still sort of knew him and how strong he was.
"Judging from what Keigo said, only one," Mikoto said grimly. "Almost all of the seven swords have a very distinct style and it is very obvious when they have been involved."
"But how could a single opponent beat both Jaga and his team? Weren't they pretty strong and worked well together" Sasuke asked.
"As you saw from how your father reacted, each of the seven swordsmen is a major threat to anyone below jonin even if they have a team, and even then, they are still a fearsome opponent. Especially if one or more of the team members are significantly weaker" Mikoto explained. She then looked at her two youngest children, "If you ever run into one of them, and you are not yet jonin, or if there is more than one of them, you are to run immediately, is that understood?" Mikoto said with a stern look.
The twins were not used to their mother having such a stern expression, so they forgot to answer and just nod. After the troubling revelation of their loss of clansmen, an uncomfortable silence fell over the breakfast table.
"Why is it such a problem if one of your teammates is weaker than the others?" Sasuke asked, breaking the silence.
"Because, if your opponent realises that one of your teammates is significantly weaker than you are, they are likely to go for the weaker teammate. And it is not certain that they can defend themselves. And as you will learn once you go on escort missions, it is much harder to fight a fight where you have to focus on protecting someone else." Mikoto explained. "I'm assuming I don't have to explain why we don't let our teammates die," she said while looking at her children with a very serious expression.
"No mother," Sasuke and Tomoe said at the same time.
"Good. Now finish your breakfast and get on with your training."
"Yes mother," the twins replied as they finished their breakfast and walked out into their clan's training grounds.
After the twins had left Mikoto turned to Itachi, "Itachi, do you perchance have time to watch over them for a bit? Just see if they are ok after hearing the news of Jaga and his team." Mikoto asked her eldest son.
"I have some time before my spar with Shisui, I am able to watch them until then," Itachi replied.
"Thank you."
As Itachi walked into the clan's training ground, he was slightly surprised to see Sasuke meditating and Tomoe hitting the training dummies. Usually, it would be the other way around. However, as Itachi surveyed his siblings he noticed that Tomoe lacked her usual spark and finesse and Sasuke was more fidgety than normal. Not an unusual reaction to learning someone you know was killed. Deciding to try to take his sister's mind off of things first, Itachi walked over to Tomoe and spoke, "If you're going do it badly, you might as well not do it."
Hearing her brother's voice, Tomoe looked up from the training dummies, "Oh, hey Ichi-nii."
"I can guess what is on your mind, do you have any questions about what happened?" Itachi asked.
"Not really a question, just bewilderment," Tomoe said. "It is incredible that a single swordsman could take out an entire squad all on their own."
"In this world Tomoe, there exists all kinds of strong people. We don't have a similar group here in Konoha, but in Kiri, the seven swordsmen are among the strongest shinobi they have. They are all incredibly skilled, but together with their swords, their skill is taken to a whole new level. In fact, it would have been even more of an amazing accomplishment if anyone on team Jaguar had come out of the fight alive." Itachi said grimly.
"So, it is just their swords that makes them extra dangerous?" Tomoe asked.
"No. While their swords are incredible and dangerous, it is primarily their skill with a blade that makes them so dangerous. Even if you replaced their blades with a regular sword or no sword at all, they would most likely be more than a match for most people. As I said, they are Kiri's elite group of shinobi."
When Itachi had stopped talking, Tomoe seemed to think about something for a moment before asking, "Do you know how to use a sword Ichi-nii?
"I have some experience with a tanto, but not much more. In a kenjutsu only fight, I would stand no chance against someone who actively trained in kenjutsu." Itachi answered.
"I see," Tomoe muttered before she put her hand to her chin and started to think about something. After a few moments, Tomoe turned to her brother smiled a small smile, and said "Thank you Ichi-nii."
Seeing his sister seemed to be in a better mood, Itachi turned to walk over to Sasuke and have a talk with him. But as he started walking, he was suddenly hugged from behind, "Thank you for always being so kind Ichi-nii."
Itachi stood still, letting his sister hug him until she let go. When she let go after about a minute, he turned to her and said with a small smile "See you later Tomoe."
As Itachi left, Tomoe couldn't help but feel something was off about her brother's smile. Deciding she must have imagined it; she went back to hitting the training dummies with a new idea forming in her head.
After having talked a bit with Itachi and practiced the taijutsu kata for a few hours, Tomoe got called in for lunch by her mother. Deciding that she would eat her lunch outside as the weather was pleasant, she walked to a bench near the training grounds with a view of the lake. As she sat down on the bench and started to enjoy the view and the weather, she spotted two figures sparring atop the lake. Curious, she walked closer until she could see who the two figures were. When Tomoe got close enough, she saw that the two figures clashing with each other were Itachi and Shisui fighting each other with swords.
Down atop of the lake, Shisui and Itachi clashing and moving faster and more elegantly than Tomoe had ever seen any of them do. While Itachi jumping in the air and hitting multiple kunai targets were an impressive sight, it was nothing compared to how he and Shisui were currently moving. With every vertical slash or stab, came a quick lean or jump to the side dodging the blade. Every horizontal swipe was met with either a jump, a duck, or a backward bend, letting the attack pass by overhead. Tomoe had seen Itachi and Shisui spar before, but it never looked like this. Watching Itachi and Shisui fight with swords atop the lake felt like watching an elegant dance, that in turn made their taijutsu spars look like a drunken brawl in comparison. Their movement was slightly slower compared to when they sparred with taijutsu, but the lowered speed made it possible for Tomoe to really see how they looked as they went after each other. When Itachi and Shisui sparred with only taijutsu, Tomoe could barely follow their actions, but here she could see each movement clear as day, each dodge and attack made clear, left an impression on the young girl. As she continued to watch the two teenagers spar, she completely lost track of time and forgot about her lunch. Before she knew it, she had spent almost 30 minutes watching Itachi and Shisui fight each other, with no clear winner being apparent so far, and the two were currently just standing still and staring at each other after their last clash. After what felt like an eternity for Tomoe, Itachi ran towards Shisui with his blade drawn, seemingly intend on ending the spar. As Itachi reached Shisui, he swung his blade at Shisui's stomach but was met with air, as Shisui used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind him. Before Itachi had a chance to turn around and counter-attack, he was met with a blade to his throat and smiling Shisui "I win." he said.
Itachi sheathed his sword, stood up straight, and replied "So it would seem. Although I recall us agreeing on kenjutsu only."
At this Shisui rubbed the back of his neck and laughed, "Sorry pal, I had to step it up a bit, I have some things to take care of. You're getting better at using a tanto, won't be long now before I have to stop holding back."
At this Itachi chuckled a bit, "You know my talents lie elsewhere." he merely said.
Shisui shook his head in exasperation, "For someone claiming your talents lie elsewhere, you sure are good with a tanto. Is there anything you can't do?"
Itachi thought for a moment before he answered with a small smirk on his face, "I am unable to eat steak."
"I give up. You're way too strong for your good you know," Shisui said shaking his head. "Anyway, I need to leave now, I think we gave your sister enough of a show anyways," Shisui said, looking towards Tomoe who still stood some distance from the lake. Shisui then turned to Itachi once more and said "It was good sparring with you again Itachi, it has been too long since we had fun."
"It has indeed been a while. A shame, as I do enjoy our sparring sessions as much as you seem to do. And thank you for going along with my whim" Itachi replied to Shisui.
"Who would've thought, Itachi actually enjoying something. Will wonders never cease?" Shisui said while throwing his hands into the air. After a moment of chuckling, Shisui turned and walked away while waving to his friend, "It was no problem Itachi, all you gotta do is ask. See ya later, was fun."
Itachi merely shook his head at his friend's antics and turned to walk
After having seen Itachi being beaten by Shisui, Tomoe thought "So there's something that even Ichi-nii doesn't excel at". Having seen her brother who, usually excelled in everything he did, lose a match, an idea that had slowly been forming in her head over the last few days finally came to fruition. With a new goal in mind, Tomoe quickly finished her lunch and went to find her mother.
When Tomoe finally found Mikoto, all she said was "I want to study kenjutsu."
Next morning at the Uchiha main compound, after Sasuke had left for training and Itachi had left for a mission, Fugaku and Mikoto sat on one side of the living room table, with Tomoe sitting nervously on the opposite side,
"Your mother tells me you seek to pursue kenjutsu, is this true?" Fugaku asked his daughter.
"Yes," Tomoe answered.
"May I ask why?" Fugaku asked.
"Well, my interest was piqued a few days ago when Keigo came and informed us of Jaga's demise. I thought anyone strong enough to take him and his team down had to be very strong. So I asked Ichi-nii about the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and their skills, and how good they were, both with and without a legendary sword. But what really made an impression on me was when I saw Ichi-niisan and Shisui–nii spar with their swords out on the lake yesterday. They both looked so agile and elegant, and when Ichi-nii actually lost the spar, I thought that I would like to try that as well." Tomoe explained to her father.
"Hmm," was all Fugaku said before he went silent. After a minute of silence Fugaku started speaking again, "Do you only seek to pursue kenjutsu, simply because someone bested your brother with it?"
"No, not at all," Tomoe quickly replied, looking flustered. After a moment of silence, she began, "Well, I won't say that it isn't part of the reason. Anyone strong enough to beat Ichi-nii at anything is incredible. But it was more how they looked while fighting that made an impression on me."
Fugaku nodded, "I trust you know that if you were to take up this endeavour, it will only add to your current training? I will not permit you to slack in your other training because you decided to pursue a spontaneous interest. Nor are you allowed to give up immediately. If you decide to pursue this path, you are to continue until you have learned the basics and not tarnish the Uchiha clan's name" Fugaku said with a serious look on his face, leaning forward a bit while looking directly at Tomoe.
"I understand father," Tomoe said, slightly nervous from how her father was looking at her.
After what felt like an hour, Fugaku leaned back and spoke "Very well then. Tomorrow your mother will take you to the Uchiha weapon store to pick out a sword you can start training with. But remember, you are not allowed to fall behind on your other training, nor are you allowed to give up until you have reached an adequate level of skill with kenjutsu." Fugaku said firmly.
At this, Tomoe's eyes lit up "Yes, of course, father. I promise I will not fall behind, even with the added kenjutsu training, nor will I make a fool of myself." she said, unable to withhold how excited she was.
"Very well, I have some business to attend to, so I will leave you to your training for the day. I will look for an instructor that can teach you in kenjutsu. You are to wait for an instructor before you begin training, incorrect practice is worse than no practice, after all, understood?" Fugaku said as he stood up from the table and prepared to leave.
"Yes father, I promise I will not let you down," Tomoe said smiling from ear to ear as she went out to start her training for the day.
*Next day at the Uchiha weapon store*
As Tomoe and Mikoto walked into the store, Tomoe was in awe over the massive amount of weaponry the store had. As she and Sasuke had been using training weaponry, they had had no reason to look at weapons.
"Ah, welcome Mikoto-sama, Tomoe-sama," said an elderly lady who stood at the store counter, "What brings you here on this fine day?"
"Hello, Eriko-san. I am here today to help my daughter pick out a sword." Mikoto answered.
"Really?" Eriko said slightly surprised. "Am I to understand the young lady has taken an interest in kenjutsu then?" she asked.
"Yes, she has. Any recommendations?" Mikoto asked.
Eriko brought her hand to her chin and thought for a moment before answering, "Well, there's a lot of different types of swords, so I would recommend taking a look around until you find something that suits you."
"I see. In that case, Tomoe how about we take a look around the shop and see if we find something that suits you?" Mikoto asked Tomoe.
"Yes mother," Tomoe said and started walking excitedly towards the first sword rack.
As Tomoe started looking at the sword rack, she saw a lot of different types of swords, all with different lengths, hilts, and shapes. Almost overwhelmed by the massive number of different swords, Tomoe didn't know where she should start looking. Seeing her apparent distress, Eriko walked up beside her "I can explain a bit about the different types of swords if you want." she said with a small smile.
"Ah yes, that would be greatly appreciated," Tomoe said with a slight bow.
"We carry four different types of blades here, naginata, nagamaki, tanto, and katanas." Eriko said, as she began walking down the wall with the different weapons, stopping at each type of weapon to explain a bit about them, "First up is the naginata. A naginata is more of a polearm than a sword. The blade itself has a single edge, curves, and is typically around 30-60 centimetres, The handle, however, is quite long typically four times longer than the blade itself. Because of the long handle, the naginata works well for fighting opponents at a range. Then there is the nagamaki. A nagamaki is similar to a naginata, with the blade being the same length, but the handle is typically as long as the sword itself. Then we have the tanto. Tanto blades are short, straight swords that are no longer than 30 centimetres, excellent for combat in small areas and piercing. Unlike the other blades we carry, a tanto can have one or two edges, whereas the other blades only have one edge. And last, but not least, we have katanas. Katanas are-"
Eriko stopped in the middle of her explanation when she noticed that Tomoe was no longer paying any attention to what she was saying. As she turned to look at Tomoe, Eriko saw she was just standing there staring at one of the swords on the wall. Eriko turned to see what sword had caught the young girl's eye so much that she stopped listening to her explanation. The sword that had caught Tomoe's eye was a 90-centimetre-long katana with a pitch-black sheath, decorated with gold at the end of the sheath. The golden decoration looked like it was climbing up the sheath, stopping after climbing a third of the way up, and entangled the sheath like golden vines. The sword's guard was a yin and yang symbol, with red having replaced the black yang, matching the clan's symbol. The hilt of the sword was black but bound with a red fabric that created black diamonds down the hilt. The head of the sword was golden with a blue strap attached.
Mikoto also noticed her daughter's gaze and went over to her "Found something you like?" she asked.
All Tomoe did was slowly nod as she pointed at the katana hanging on the wall.
Seeing they had found the type of sword Tomoe wanted to use, Mikoto asked the clerk, "Is there a wooden sword or training sword similar to this sword type available? I'd like her to know how to handle a sword before she gets an actual sword."
"Of course, Mikoto-sama," Eriko said, "we don't have swords on display if we do not have a wooden version on hand. If you'll excuse me, I'll go find the appropriate wooden sword." With that, Eriko walked to the back of the shop to find the wooden sword.
"I don't get that one?" Tomoe said disappointed while pointing at the katana on the wall.
"Not yet," Mikoto said, "before you get a real sword in your hands, you need to learn how to handle a sword in the first place. This means you'll get a practice sword for now, and when you are old or good enough, you'll get an actual sword, ok?"
"Yes mother," Tomoe said with a downtrodden look on her face.
Seeing her daughter's disappointment, Mikoto couldn't help but stroke her daughter's hair as a way of comfort, "Besides, at your current size you'll barely be able to lift it, much less swing it properly, it's almost as long as you are tall". A short while later, Eriko reappeared in the doorway, with a wooden sword, similar in size to the one on the wall that had captured Tomoe's attention.
"There we go, one 90-centimetres wooden katana for the young lady. Anything else?" Eriko said as she laid the wooden katana on the counter.
"I do have one question, is it possible that she can try to hold the sword she was looking at? Sheathed of course," Mikoto asked.
At this, Tomoe perked up. She might not be able to get the sword right now, but she was happy that she might get a chance of at least holding it.
"Of course, give me a moment," Eriko said as she walked over to the katana on the wall and took it down. She then handed it to Tomoe who looked like a kid on Christmas and could barely contain herself as she reached out to grab the sword from Eriko's hands. As she released the sword into Tomoe's hands and Tomoe tried to lift it, she struggled with balancing the sword almost dropped it. Before the sword could hit the ground, however, Eriko caught it and said, "Maybe getting a shorter wooden katana as well would be a good idea. Then you can learn how to use a sword, without the sway at the top. Then when you have a good handle of it, you can switch over to a longer sword."
Mikoto put her hand to her chin and thought for a moment, then she walked over to the counter, picked up the wooden katana, and held it out to Tomoe, "Tomoe, could you try to hold this, so we can see how well you handle it?"
Tomoe reluctantly returned the katana to Eriko and grabbed the wooden katana that her mother held out to her, and held it the same way she did with the other sword. While it weighed a little less, it was still almost as long as she was so she had difficulties balancing it.
Mikoto looked at her daughter trying to balance the wooden sword, then turned to Eriko and said, "I think we'll take a 60-centimetre version instead, then we'll come back when she grows a bit taller."
Hearing she still had to wait to even use a wooden katana similar to the one she wanted only seemed to worsen Tomoe's mood.
"Understood. Then that will be 15,000 Ryo." Eriko said with a business smile on her face.
Mikoto paid Eriko, gave the wooden katana to Tomoe, then knelt before her daughter and looked at her and said, "I promise, you'll get a real sword one day this will make do for now, ok?"
"Yes, mother," a still downtrodden Tomoe replied.
Mikoto gave her daughter a small smile and ruffled her hair, "Why don't you go outside and wait for a bit? I still have some clan business to take care of here."
Tomoe merely nodded and walked outside the shop while holding her new wooden katana in her hands.
*One week later at the Uchiha training grounds*
One week after having gotten her first wooden katana, Fugaku had finally found someone in the Uchiha clan that was both willing to teach his daughter and up to Fugaku's standards. This meant that Tomoe could finally begin her kenjutsu training in honest, something she had been very excited, to begin with. It had taken her a great deal of willpower to not start swinging her wooden katana at every opportunity when she thought no one was looking, in hopes of getting used to the length so that she could begin training with a longer sword and in turn, get one step closer to getting the beautiful sword she saw in the shop. The teacher Fugaku had found was a kind-looking old man named Musashi. Musashi had a long white beard and wore a simple light blue kimono with a dark blue haori with the Uchiha symbol embroidered on the back.
"Tomoe, this will be your kenjutsu instructor, his name is Musashi. Do not let his age fool you, he is quite the capable kenjutsu master," Fugaku said as he introduces Musashi to Tomoe.
"You flatter me Fugaku-sama, I am nowhere near good enough to claim that title. I just know a thing or two about how to use a sword," Musashi mused.
"Be that as it may, he is your instructor and will teach you how to use a sword. Be sure not to disappoint." Fugaku said to Tomoe.
"Yes father, I will do my best," Tomoe replied, nodding.
"Good, then I will leave you two to it," Fugaku said as he turned to leave the training grounds.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Musashi-sensei," Tomoe said, bowing to her new teacher, "I look forward to learning the way of the sword from you."
"Hello Tomoe-chan, nice to meet you too," Musashi said smiling at Tomoe, "No need to be so formal with me. After all, we're going to spend quite a lot of time together, so might as well be comfortable around each other."
"Ok," Tomoe said as she breathed a small sigh of relief. While she knew how to be polite and mind her manners, it was not her forté as she often found it quite stifling, so she preferred talking casually with people.
"Now, first of all, why don't you tell me why you decided to learn kenjutsu?" Musashi asked. "After all, it is something few people in Konoha specialize in."
"It started when I heard how Jaga and his team was killed by a single member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. I thought it was incredible that a single person was able to beat a team that was as strong as team Jaguar. And while thinking about it, I saw Ichi-nii and Shisui-nii spar with their swords atop the lake. They looked so amazing fighting atop the lake, so I thought I wanted to do that too," Tomoe explained.
"I see," Musashi said while stroking his beard. After a moment, he started speaking again, "It is not an unusual reason that spurred you to take up kenjutsu, many start for simple reasons such as your own. However," Musashi said, as he suddenly looked incredibly serious, "that is not enough to truly learn and master kenjutsu. It takes dedication to learn kenjutsu, and a mere aspiration will not be enough, you must truly desire to learn the way of the sword, for your practice to properly bear fruit, is this understood?"
Tomoe was shocked by how fast Musashi switched from his kind and relaxing demeanour to a much more serious and sterner one. "Yes sensei," Tomoe replied after getting over the shock.
"Good. I will say this now, I am can be a tough and difficult taskmaster."
At this Tomoe gulped, worrying that her new training was going to be rougher than she imagined.
"But I am not unjust or unkind. If you have any questions, do not understand what I say, or are uncertain about anything, simply ask me and I shall do my best to help you." Musashi said, as his serious and stern demeanour slowly disappeared from his face. "It would not do if I broke you down before you could truly learn to appreciate the art that is kenjutsu. But that does not mean that the training won't be tough" he finished.
Hearing this, Tomoe was relieved that training with this old man wouldn't be that horrible after all.
"Now, why don't we get you used to holding the sword, and then go through some basic stances and movements?" Musashi asked, his demeanour shifting back to that of the kind old man he initially seemed to be.
"Yes Musashi-sensei," Tomoe said, excited to finally start her kenjutsu training.
"Now, first of all. Are you right or left-handed?" Musashi asked.
"Umm, right-handed?" Tomoe said, slightly confused about the question.
"Very well. In that case, put your right hand near the guard of the blade, with your index finger about two centimetres below the guard, and hold the handle in a firm yet relaxed grip. Your three bottom fingers are the fingers that are primarily holding the handle, and the top two should barely be gripping the handle. Your little finger should be gripping the handle the firmest, with the other fingers getting progressively looser." Musashi explained as he gripped his sword demonstrating the grip.
Tomoe tried to mimic what she was being shown and told, "Like this?" she asked.
Musashi looked at her grip and said, "You're holding your middle finger and ring finger too firm. If your grasp the blade too firmly, you will have less control over the movement of the blade. Your ring finger should be a little looser than your little finger, and your middle finger should be slightly looser than your ring finger."
Tomoe adjusted her grip, "Like this?"
Musashi looked at her grip once more and replied, "A little too loose, remember it is your bottom three fingers that are primarily holding the blade."
"Ok, I think I got it," Tomoe said as she adjusted her grip once more.
"Yes, just like that. Not too loose and not too firm," Musashi said. "Now, your left hand should mimic your right hand, but at the head of the sword. Your little finger should be about two centimetres above the head of the sword, with your fingers similar to your right hand. Like so," he said as he showed Tomoe how to properly grip a katana, "It is very important that your left hand never goes beyond the head of the blade, always keep both hands and all fingers on the hilt of the blade."
Tomoe mimicked Musashi's grip and tried to have her fingers on her left hand as firm and loose as her right hand's.
"Just like that, hold it just like that," Musashi said in the middle of Tomoe's adjusting. "That is the proper way to hold a katana, remember this feeling. It might take some getting used to, but this grip allows you to have complete control over the blade's movement, as well as provides a very secure grip."
Tomoe nodded as she felt how the wooden sword felt in her hands, intent on remembering and learning the grip as fast as possible.
"Now that you have an idea of how the sword should feel in your hands, I will show you the basic stance for you to use when you practice," Musashi said as he got into a stance himself. "For this stance, your left foot should be positioned slightly behind your right foot and with the left heel slightly raised, both feet are parallel pointing forward, the hips are straight forward, shoulders are relaxed, spine is vertical to the floor at all times. The centre of gravity should be between both feet," he explained.
Having spent countless hours practicing and remembering taijutsu stances and kata, Tomoe had an easier time getting into the stance than she thought she would have when she heard Musashi explaining the stance. As she got into her stance, Musashi walked around her looking up and down at her, trying to find flaws in her stance. After a few minor corrections, he stepped back and made a satisfied nod.
"Excellent form. This stance is the most basic, and all other stances and katas are based on this, and most evolves from this stance. This stance has been chosen as the starting stance for kenjutsu, as it balances both offense and defence." Musashi explained.
"I have a question," Tomoe said.
"Ask away."
"What did you mean when you said 'evolves from this stance'?" Tomoe asked.
"Ah, I was hoping you would catch on to that," Musashi said with mirth in his voice, "You see Tomoe-chan, a common misbelief is that you have to follow stances and katas as if all possible stances and katas have already been discovered. That is what I meant when I said 'based on'. By 'evolves' however, I meant that you are able to develop your own style and figure out what suits you the best. I can help you put you on the path of the sword and show you some of the roads you can take, but I can't choose the road for you nor your way of the sword, that is something you have to choose for yourself. Do you understand what I mean?"
"So, basically, you can help me get started and learn the basics, but the rest is something I have to learn on my own?" Tomoe asked slightly confused at this way of teaching.
"Indeed. Of course, should you ever have a question while you're trying to figure something out, I'm always here to help. This concept is true to taijutsu as well, but there I would not be of much help I'm afraid," Musashi said smiling a shut-eye smile at Tomoe.
"Okay," Tomoe said, dragging out the word in confusion. Deciding to worry about what style she would use and all that later, Tomoe shook her, looked at Musashi, and said, "What's next Musashi-sensei."
*Two months later*
Tomoe had taken to her kenjutsu lessons like a duck took to water. While she was still unable to use a 90-centimetre sword properly due to her having trouble with balancing it right, she had gotten a pretty good understanding of the basic stance, katas, and exercises. It might have been because of her taijutsu training, but the different katas came to her much easier than their clan's taijutsu kata. Admittedly, she still struggled with executing some of the taijutsu kata from time to time, but she had yet to really struggle with any of the katas or exercises she had been given so far. Along with her natural affinity for kenjutsu, Tomoe found that she immensely enjoyed kenjutsu so far. While she had been told to do the different exercises for about an hour total, she often ended up doing them for twice as long as she liked the way the wooden katana felt in her hands and how it felt swinging the sword.
As she promised, she had kept up with her other training as well, although she often forewent additional taijutsu training or sparring with Sasuke, in favour of practicing with her wooden katana or practise the Great Fireball Technique. Before she had started on kenjutsu training, she would practice taijutsu more than required, although her focus was on chakra control and usage. But now, Tomoe rarely did more than what was required of her taijutsu, and as soon as she was finished, she went off to practise either kenjutsu or the Great Fireball Technique. Since her first successful attempt at the Great Fireball Technique, Tomoe had been practicing not wasting as much chakra as she did at first. On her first successful attempt at the jutsu, she had stored way more chakra than necessary, so now she was practicing only storing the necessary amount of chakra that was required to make a fireball the same size as the one her father had demonstrated.
Seeing her sister starting to forego their training and sparring together, Sasuke couldn't help feel a bit lonely. He was happy that she had found something that she enjoyed, but now they weren't spending as much time together as they did before. Prior to the start of their training, Sasuke and Tomoe had almost been attached at the hip, if you saw one of them the other was guaranteed to be nearby. Then they started training and slowly stopped spending as much time together. Initially, it was because they were too tired to play after they were done training, but now it seemed Tomoe barely had time to train or spend time with her twin anymore.
Sasuke was also a little sad seeing his sister training with her sword. While he was happy that she had found something she enjoyed, he was also jealous at the same time as he had yet to find something he enjoyed the same way she seemed to enjoy kenjutsu. He liked practicing the Great Fireball Technique like his sister but being outdone repeatedly demotivated him, so they rarely did that together. He knew that she had always been the better of the two when it came to the chakra exercises, but before the difference wasn't as obvious. Even though he rarely lost a spar with her anymore, it didn't seem to annoy his sister the same way it annoyed him when she did the clan jutsu better. She just brushed off the loss, stood up, and kept going. And now, with how quickly she adapted to the basics in kenjutsu even though she had trouble adapting to the basics of taijutsu, Sasuke couldn't help but feel that deep down, his sister never seriously applied herself to taijutsu or their spars. And if she never seriously tried when they sparred, it made much more sense that she could just shake off the loss as if it never happened, because she knew that if she started trying, she would easily win.
AN: Land of Tides is just something I made up. I found a map of the Naruto world and there was a small unnamed piece of land between the land of Fire and the land of Mist.
AN2: 15,000 Ryo might seem like a high number, but from what I could find on the currency in the Naruto universe is based on an old Japanese currency that is worth 10 times less than the current Japanese Yen. So, 15,000 Ryo would equate to 1,500 Yen, which is about 13.5 USD.
AN3: I know next to nothing about swordplay and the like, and all my knowledge comes from articles from the internet plus various things from different manga, which is arguably not a very reliable source. So I am most definitely going to get something wrong about that.
AN4: Took a while to get there, but finally I get to start on the academy's next chapter.
AN5: Changed the sword seller's name to avoid confusion in later chapters