Chapter 6
When Niko Sensei had been gone for three weeks, most of the rumors had died down. None of the students seemed to know where he had gone, and the stigma shed from Rei like an old skin. The only ones who seemed to care about what had happened were the other sensei. The men still avoided her bed at night, and Hina Sensei still kept her distance. Rei had to struggle to care. She was enduring. She would graduate from the Academy at the end of summer, and then she could start her real journey to becoming a Shinobi. None of this would matter, then.
But if she intended to graduate, she had to step up her game.
The graduation exam was no longer a fight-to-the-death match. A boy had slaughtered an entire graduating class when Rei had been very young, effectively putting an end to that tradition. But that didn't mean that ideas and ideologies had changed. The Blood Mist Village was still very much alive.
She threw herself into her training. The next time she battled Sayoko, her reservations would be gone.
The sparring arena was pristine; no blood had been spilled on it yet today. Rei and Sayoko's match was first.
"Come on down, girls," Hina Sensei called from her place on the floor, and Zane Sensei watched from the door. Rei's numbness over Risa's death had faded as her skills improved. She had to suppress a visible snarl when Zane Sensei ran a hand back through his hair, obviously feeling attractive today.
Sayoko stood from her seat in the bleachers and sprinted down to the floor. A few of her friends cheered for her, making it glaringly obvious that no one was speaking out for Rei. The lack of electric lights in the arena was a hindrance today, with heavy cloudcover blocking most of the sun. Only a pale stream of white light lit the floor.
"Rei, you lost the last match. You get to pick first." Hina Sensei hadn't warmed to Rei at all. She'd never been what Rei would have classified as kind, but she had taken a huge step back in the last weeks. Rei knew she shouldn't have been surprised. The Mist was famous for beating emotion out of its Shinobi. Mental distance was key.
Turning to the wall behind her, Rei took the few steps to the rack that hung next to a huge Mist banner. The weapons were gorgeous, every one of them. They were used for training, but part of their daily chores involved maintaining the Academy's equipment. Rei didn't hesitate for even a second. She fit her fingers around the familiar grip of a light katana, hefting its weight easily and admiring the glint of light that raced down the blade. She fit the sheath on her back, buckling the strap under her arm.
She had spent the last few weeks training in sword art with a small class taught by Zane Sensei, and she'd made a promise to herself that she'd destroy him one day. A small part of her knew that feelings like that were normal for girls in her position. She also knew that the reality was painful: most girls never got that chance. Female Shinobi were few and far between in the Mist, usually because of what went on at the Academy. The odds were stacked against them from the beginning.
"Sayoko, make your choice." Hina Sensei crossed her arms and took a moderator's stance in the center of the arena, preparing to begin the session.
As Sayoko pondered her choices for a long moment, the doors swung open, admitting a gust of mild but heavy summer air that brushed Rei's hair off her shoulders. She was loathe to look away from her opponent, but the immediate chatter from the bleachers signaled to her that she wasn't going to be fighting for a few more moments, at least.
"Don't mind us." Headmaster Iwa was a militaristic Shinobi through-and-through. Even now, when he should be making retirement plans, he was dressed in his best uniform and stood next to Zane Sensei with his hands on his hips. "I would just like to see for myself what this year's graduating class has to offer us."
A moment later, Niko Sensei came in and stood at the headmaster's side. The quiet chatter increased in volume, forcing Hina Sensei to clap her hands loudly. "That's enough! We have a class spar to conduct, if you all would so kindly remember."
You came back. Rei didn't know that her hand was shaking until she returned to the center of the arena and noticed the tip of her katana bouncing rapidly in place. She steadied it consciously, forcing her lungs to expand and contract. Breathe in, breathe out. Again and again. She wouldn't look at him.
Sayoko approached, a pouch of throwing daggers fastened around her trim waist. "Ready, Sensei."
Another man came in, taking a casual stance next to Niko Sensei, and Rei refused to evaluate him the way she had been taught. It would be distracting right now.
Hina Sensei certainly appeared to be distracted. She was no longer looking at her students, and her eyes kept flicking between Headmaster Iwa, Niko Sensei, and the third man. It was only when the headmaster cleared his throat that she swallowed and raised her hand, fingers stiff. "Ready?"
The girls nodded silently, and the bleachers fell into an easy rhythm of quiet speculation. Rei consciously set her feet apart, falling into a low stance with the katana at the ready. Sayoko prepared, pulling two daggers from the pouch and fitting them expertly in her fingers.
"Begin." Hina Sensei's hand swept down in a starting motion and she jumped back out of the way.
Sayoko hurled one of the daggers, and it passed within a finger's breadth of Rei's left ear as she ducked. It was to Sayoko's advantage to keep at a distance, and it was Rei's responsibility to move it into close quarters so she could strike.
Rei darted forward, her eyes on Sayoko's other hand, ready for the second dagger, and tightened her grip on the sword. Naturally, Sayoko leapt back, and when she drew her dominant hand back, a surprising jolt of electricity struck Rei's arm. She hesitated, but only for a second. It was immediately obvious what had happened.
A thin retractable wire connected the thrown dagger to Sayoko's finger, and after the blade missed its target, she had drawn it back to her hand, striking Rei's arm from behind. That wouldn't work again.
Rei's steps stuttered for less than a second before she was running again, dodging two more free-flying daggers. A girl shrieked in the bleachers, and Hina Sensei shouted, "You know to keep your eyes open for projectiles in the arena!"
Sayoko was still retreating, but she paused for just a second to weave an amazingly fast series of hand signs. Rei missed the first two, so she didn't bother trying to decipher the rest. Rather, she ducked her body a little closer to the ground and veered slightly to the right, preparing to meet Sayoko's right side. She was just lifting the katana to strike when a sharp blast of heated air struck her body and lifted her straight off of her feet, throwing her halfway across the arena.
Her reflexes weren't as sharp as they should be, but she still managed to catch herself on her feet. The impact jarred her bones, and her new arm wound sang with pain. Her own Ninjutsu skills were rudimentary. She knew the hand signs and how to shape the chakra, but it never quite seemed to execute the way that she planned.
Rei had known that Sayoko was good offensively, and it appeared that she was solid defensively, too. If she could be thrown off her rhythm, made less confident, then the odds would shift.
The Ninjutsu type that Rei sucked least at was Lightning, but she couldn't maintain electrical bursts for very long. It took three valuable seconds to slide her katana back into its sheath on her back, but Sayoko didn't seize that opportunity. Rei fit her hands into the proper signs, preparing for failure, and pressed the fingers of her right hand to the floor. The floor was made of concrete, which did not conduct electricity, but the blood trail that Rei had left in her wake would.
A tiny spark leapt from Rei's fingers to the first smear of blood, then visibly bounced the next one, and then the next one. Sayoko had actually stopped her own hand signs to watch the little ball of light jump across the floor. It didn't move nearly as quickly as electricity usually did, which nearly made Rei roll her eyes, because of course it didn't. She'd made it, hadn't she?
After a very long two seconds, the little spark landed on Sayoko's bare leg, disappearing into her skin, and making her jump like she'd been zapped. Which, in effect, she had. She yelped loudly, and a small chorus of giggles came from the bleachers.
Sayoko made to weave another couple of hand signs, but Rei pushed her fingers down once more, and another spark appeared, this time moving more quickly. Sayoko tried to jump back a step, but it latched onto her and disappeared into her leg again in exactly the same spot. A little red burn was materializing on her skin. She made a noise that could definitely be categorized as a scream this time, and Rei grinned. She'd been right.
Sayoko was so used to winning her matches that she didn't have any pain tolerance built up. She probably hadn't been through many pain training sessions, either. Another bolt of lightning raced towards her, and this time, she made to run the opposite direction. Her senses were scrambled. She wasn't making Shinobi-like decisions anymore; she was just trying to get away from what was causing her pain.
Rei pulsed out a new bolt every second and a half, enjoying the show. It was pleasing to see one of the more privileged girls knocked down a peg or two. The bolts were strengthening with each burst of chakra that Rei directed to leave her hand, and after ten or so, Sayoko's calf had taken on a deep red, almost brown color, and she stumbled to her knees.
Rei stood then. Her hands were trembling by her sides and the blood leaking from her wound dripped off of her fingertips. She felt every iota of agony in her arm, but she ignored it. Unlike her opponent, she'd lost many times before.
Sayoko stood again, favoring her leg, but harboring a new resolve in her eyes. It was wild, angry. "It's just like a whore to play dirty," she muttered. Her voice was low, but still loud enough for her voice to carry around the entire arena.
Rei blinked. She knew what Sayoko wanted. She expected her to fly into a rage, to attack blindly, to drop her defenses. Pressing her lips together, Rei had to suppress a chuckle. "I'm not playing."
Sayoko grabbed for another dagger, but before she could get her fingers around the handle, Rei was upon her, slamming her fist into the girl's face. Sayoko's head was flung to the side, a spray of blood peppering the floor, and Rei reached out for the girl's perfect black ponytail. With a vicious jerk, she kneed Sayoko in the jaw, splitting her lower lip like an overripe tomato.
With that, she dropped Sayoko's ponytail and let the girl collapse to the floor limply.
Well, if I wasn't before, I'm part of Blood Mist Village now.