Chapter 16: Nichirin
I took a slow breath in as I focused all my attention inwards. Blood pumped through my veins, my muscles tensed and relaxed, my heart beat at a steady pace, my lungs slowly expanded. Everything functioned without me having to pay any attention.
However, now that I was paying attention, I could influence how my body worked. I could make my heart beat faster, move individual muscles and maybe even…
"Um… what are you doing?" Pyrrha asked slowly.
Feeling my attention slip and my balance falter, I gently brought my feet down to the ground and stood up.
"I was… learning how my body works," I replied honestly. There were probably better ways to describe what I had been doing than that, but it was what I had been doing. "You ready for another spar?"
We didn't exactly have much time before we had to leave. Sanctum Academy would eventually have to lock up for the night. I wasn't on the student roster anymore, technically speaking, I wasn't even supposed to be here, but Jasmine made an exception.
"I don't think I'm quite recovered from our previous spar," Pyrrha hummed. "You said you were learning how your body works. What exactly does that mean?"
"It's a bit difficult to explain," I began. "It's like… I was observing how my body works. How my blood flows and how my organs were functioning and seeing how I could influence them."
"That sounds interesting, but it also sounds a little dangerous," Pyrrha noted worriedly.
"It shouldn't be so long as I don't screw around with things," I replied. "Besides, the payoff of mastering your own body is definitely worth it."
I wasn't exactly sure where the limit was when it came to controlling your own body, but I did know that with practice and sufficient self mastery I would be able to stop bleeding wounds without the need for Aura and while I didn't really need that as my Aura took a little under five minutes to fully regenerate, it was still a useful skill to have.
"Well… as long as you're being careful," Pyrrha hummed. "What made you want to start... mastering yourself?"
"There is an old expression that I only recently remembered," I began. "Know thyself, know thy enemy. One thousand battles, one thousand victories."
"I don't think I've heard that one before."
I would be surprised if she had. That came from the Art of War, a book that didn't exist here.
"It's not very well known," I replied. "The point is, if you know what you're capable of and what your opponent is capable of and act accordingly, you'll never be in a bad position."
Pyrrha's eyes lit up in understanding. "If you know what you're capable of and what your opponent is capable of, you'll know how best to beat them and if you should retreat instead."
"That's pretty much it," I nodded. "The full quote goes on to explain how if you lack one, then you'll be met with a loss from every battle and if you lack both you'll never win, so it's best to not be lacking."
"I see," Pyrrha hummed in thought. "Although I'm not exactly sure how your exploration of how your body works fits in with all of this."
"You would be surprised at what the body can do with needing Aura or a Semblance," I smiled knowingly. "Master your body and you will be able to stop bleeding wounds without any issues."
"I'm not sure if that's a thing a person could actually do," Pyrrha replied.
"But it might be," I hummed. I didn't need to convince Pyrrha that it was possible, but I did want her to consider it. "There's another expression that I want you to consider. A sound so…"
"Coal Calavera," Jasmine's voice sounded over the intercom. "If you could please come to my office, there's someone here to see you."
I twitched at the sudden interruption. Being called over an intercom and told to head to the principal's office made me feel like I was in some form of trouble, even though I wasn't a student at Sanctum anymore.
"I guess I'll just head there then," I sighed. "I'll be back as soon as possible, Pyrrha."
"Before you go… do you think you could tell me the expression? I quite liked the other one."
Well, I didn't see the harm in that. "A sound soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body."
…Breathe…
"Ah, Coal. Good to see you," Jasmine hummed as I entered her office. "Look who's here to see you."
"Hey kid," Ignis greeted, appearing tired with dark rings under his eyes. "Finished your weapon." He held up a case. "Jasmine wouldn't stop hounding me until I brought it over."
"That does sound like her," I hummed.
Placing the case on Jasmine's desk, he snapped the latches on it up and lifted the lid, revealing a black sheathed Katana with a silver guard that had little skulls etched into it. No doubt Maria's influence.
"It's been a while since I've handled forging a weapon myself. I went all out with this one," Ignis announced proudly. "Well don't just stand there. Come see your new weapon."
He didn't need to tell me twice. Stepping forward, I lifted the blade out of its foam container. It was heavier than I was expecting, but not uncomfortably so.
"If you look to the side of the sheath, there's a compartment for fire dust that will heat your blade as requested," Ignis explained.
Grabbing the hilt, I gripped it firmly and pulled the blade free from its scabbard, revealing the gleaming steel beneath.
"The blade was made with the ore that you specified," Ignis continued. "It was difficult to work with, I had to use a mixture of old forging techniques along with some of the newer machi… what the hell?!"
I felt my pulse quicken in excitement as the metal slowly began to turn black while leaving behind a few silver flames on the sides. "It's perfect," I murmured, tilting the blade to the side so I could see the patterns that formed.
"That sword… wasn't supposed to do that," Ignis said.
"It's my Semblance," I replied, not really paying attention to what was going on around me. I really wanted to test my new blade out. Holding it felt… right.
"Your Semblance," Jasmine pressed.
"Yep," I nodded. I did learn Sun Breathing through the use of my Semblance, so it wasn't exactly a lie.
"Moving on then," Ignis said slowly. "Why don't you take a look at your sheath?"
I wanted to spend a few more moments with my new Nichirin blade, but it was starting to get late, so I decided to comply with Ignis suggestion. Picking the sheath up, I turned to Ignis. "Alright… now what?"
"Grab the top and give it a clockwise twist," Ignis replied. "Also, hold it away from us."
Raising a brow, I followed Ignis instructions and pointed the sheath away from him and turned it. A loud click sounded through the room and a scythe blade snapped out of the bottom of the sheath.
When Maria said that she had a few suggestions for a backup weapon, I was expecting something a bit less extreme than this. Twisting the top of the sheath anticlockwise, the blade snapped back into its hidden form.
"I had to use a different type of metal to form the scythe's blade as I needed one that was more malleable to work with," Ignis explained. "This next part might be a little complicated to explain, so you may need to let me show you instead,"
I hesitated for a moment before handing him the mechashift scythe.
"That's what I like to see," Ignis chuckled. "You haven't even had your weapon for five minutes and you're already attached to it."
"It's a really nice weapon," I replied before tapping my old sword. "And my old one… well, it was useful."
"That it was… now watch this." Shifting the sheath back into its scythe form, Ignis twisted it a second time and the end popped off. Pulling it back, several thin steel cables were revealed connecting the two pieces. "Now this is the second form of your weapon, a Kusarigama. The cable can extend a lot further than this and the end of the sheath acts as the weight that can also be attached to your Katana."
That was actually pretty cool, but at the same time, it was going to take a while for me to fully master using a Kusarigama, let alone shifting my sheath into one mid battle.
Dropping the weighted portion, the cables retracted, putting the sheath back together again. "Since you were worried that your weapon would end up breaking down or locking up, I decided to keep the mechashift aspect of it as simple and sturdy as possible," Ignis explained, shifting the scythe back to its sheath form. "Well, what do you think?"
"I think…" I began slowly. "That I'm going to need a lot of practice with it. Thank you… for making it."
"You're welcome, kid," Ignis smiled.
"You know," Jasmine began. "There's still a little time before the Academy is locked up. You could try out your new weapon tonight... get a feel for it before going on that little excursion tomorrow."
If I had to guess, my blade randomly changing colour had interested her and she wanted to see how I would fight with a proper weapon. With the trip coming up tomorrow, this would be her last chance to see what was capable of with my new weapon until we return.
"I suppose I could give it a try," I replied, trying not to sound too eager. Jasmine wasn't the only one that wanted to see what I could do. I now had a Nichirin blade and I really wanted to see how that would affect my Sun Breathing Techniques.
…Breathe…
Arriving back in the training room, I found Pyrrha practicing her various strikes with her swords, only at a much slower pace than usual. Catching sight of me, she stopped her practice and lowered her weapon.
"You're back," Pyrrha hummed before catching sight of my new sword. "And you've got your new weapon."
"That I do," I smiled. "It's got a few new features for me to try out too. Tell me, Pyrrha, are you up for one last spar before the Academy locks up?"
"I am," Pyrrha nodded, before glancing at her Scroll. "But I don't think I'll be able to use my semblance this time. My Aura is only a little over half way recovered."
That was a problem. When I used Sun Breathing techniques against Pyrrha previously, it had been with my old sword. My new sword would likely yield much better results with Sun Breathing. I needed to test it out against Grimm and inanimate objects before I used it in a spar or I would risk seriously hurting her.
"Then we'll spar with technique alone. No enhancing ourselves," I replied.
"That should be fine," Pyrrha said. Raising her shield, she readied her sword for the short spar. "I'm ready whenever you are."
I was tempted to mess with her and take my time, but decided against it. Clipping my old sword off my belt, I gripped the hilt of my new one. "Then let's begin."
Watching as Pyrrha raced towards me at high speed. I kept one hand on my sheath and drew my blade, deflecting her sudden jab.
Jumping back to avoid being bashed by her shield, I shifted my sheath into its scythe form. Sweeping it under Pyrrha, I managed to catch her by surprise and hooked her ankle.
Tugging my scythe back, Pyrrha's eyes widened as her leg was pulled out from under her and she fell, landing flat on her back.
I winced at the loud thump that sounded through the room. "Maybe it would be better if we stop now. We can always spar on another day when your Aura's full," I suggested.
"I can still continue," Pyrrha said, pushing herself back onto her feet.
"If you're sure," I replied slowly.
Pyrrha raced forward and I moved to meet her. We collided in a flurry of strikes. Neither one of us landed a hit, but to my surprise, I found myself being pushed back.
Each one of my strikes was expertly evaded or blocked. It didn't take me long to realize that it was my inexperience with wielding a scythe that was the problem. Pyrrha and I were pretty even in strength and skill, but now I had a new weapon that I wasn't comfortable with using yet.
Stepping into my swing, Pyrrha blocked my sword with her shield. She brought her sword up in rapid succession, but instead of going for a blow on my unprotected chest, she instead struck down on my hand, wedging her sword into my grip, before turning it, forcefully loosening my grip.
Grabbing onto the blade with her gloved hand, she jumped back, giving a heavy tug, finally succeeding in separating me from my sword.
It was funny in an ironic way. I'd done the exact same thing to her during the regional tournament. She had grown not only in skill, but mentally as well.
Holding the blade in her hand, it slowly levitated up, before floating to the end of the arena behind her, gently being placed on the ground. The rules we agreed on was no enhancing ourselves, so she wasn't technically breaking any rules by using her Semblance.
"Separating me from the weapon I work best with and leaving me with one that I'm only starting to figure out," I chuckled. "Not bad."
"Do you maybe want to call it a day?" Pyrrha asked, smiling. "We could always have another spar where you have your sword."
An excited grin came to my face as I felt my blood race through my veins. I'd forgotten how it felt back when Maria first started training me. Instead of giving me a weapon, she gave me a wooden sword and came at me with her scythe and in doing so, she forced me to adapt until I was skilled enough to fight Grimm.
It was in those moments when your back was to the wall and you were confronted by a superior enemy that you had the most opportunity to grow. I'd forgotten that feeling, but Pyrrha had just inadvertently reminded me.
"I would like to continue, if you're still up to it," I replied. At Pyrrha's nod, I continued. "I hope you won't mind if I decided to let loose a little."
"If that's what you wish."
"It is," I said.
Shifting my scythe into its Kusarigama form, the weighted end fell, stopping just short of the floor as I grabbed onto the steel cable.
Spinning the weighted end, Pyrrha cautiously watched on, waiting for me to make my move. Not to leave her waiting, I threw the weighted end at her and rushed forward.
Bringing her shield up, Pyrrha easily blocked the first attack, and lashed out at me with her sword in an attempt to keep me at a distance.
Turning my body to the side, Pyrrha's sword briefly grazed against my chest as I slashed downward with my scythe, landing a hit on her shoulder.
-70AP
With wide eyes, Pyrrha jumped backward before I could get in a second hit. "What?! You could have avoided that."
"I could have," I agreed. "But then I wouldn't have been able to land a blow on you. You see, I'm still learning how to use this weapon, so being struck is acceptable to me right now."
I wasn't going to learn how to use this weapon properly without being able to land a hit properly after all. I could focus on learning how to block with it in the future.
Pyrrha watched me more cautiously now as I swung the weighted end of my Kusarigama once more. It took me just over two seconds to recover the Aura I lost from a glancing blow, but for her it would take quite a bit longer.
Rushing forward, I began my attack anew, lashing out with strikes that Pyrrha struggled to avoid and blows with the weighted end that she blocked with her shield. In turn, I took a few more hits, but never any in the same location.
Ducking under one of Pyrrha's swipes, I brought my scythe up and landed a direct blow against her ribcage.
I was quickly beginning to get the hang of my new weapon. While the blade of my Kusarigama was large, the weapon itself was still meant for up close and personal. I'd initially misjudged it and tried wielding it in a similar fashion to how I used my sword.
Ducking under Pyrrha's swipe, I threw the weighted end up and quickly darted to the side, tangling our weapons together. Pulling on the cord tightly, she stumbled to the side and I rushed forward, landing a blow on her as I passed by.
Pyrrha attempted to quickly disentangle herself, but I was already on the move. Giving the cord more slack, I suddenly whipped it, causing it to get tangled with her shield.
Sprinting around her to further tangle the cord, I managed to loop it around her legs and pulled once more, causing Pyrrha to lose her balance.
Letting go of the cord, I darted towards her, catching her mid fall with one arm while bringing my blade up for another strike, stopping just before I landed the blow.
-50AP
Feeling something poking me in my stomach, I looked down to find that in her last moments, Pyrrha had angled her hand up just enough to land one final, her fingers poised to pull the lever that would shift her sword into its spear form.
Even when defeat seemed inevitable, she was still looking for a way to win… or at the very least land one last blow against her enemy. I was impressed and at the same time a little worried. It was a good that she was always looking for a way to win a fight, but that kind of attitude might lead her to a doomed fight with her death being the outcome.
"I think that's enough for now," I said. Drawing my scythe back, I lifted Pyrrha back onto her feet.
"I lost again," Pyrrha sighed. "I thought that maybe I would be the winner this time, but it seems that I was wrong. I suppose this is what it felt like when others had to fight me."
"Losing is a… relative term," I replied. Pyrrha seemed to be taking her loss personally this time and I didn't want to demotivate her. "It's like… uh…"
"You don't have to sugarcoat it, Coal. I'm just not as skilled as you."
"Pyrrha… this fight would have gone in an entirely different direction if you weren't as tired and could use your semblance," I said. "You could have taken control of the metal cord of my weapon and stop me entirely."
Pyrrha remained silent for a moment, before nodding. "I could have."
"This spar was never about winning or losing," I added. "It was about training. So long as both of us were able to walk away a little better than we were before it, it counts as a total success."
Pyrrha took a slow breath and smiled. "I suppose that's one way of looking at it."
"The way I see it, when you fail, you learn something new that you didn't know," I continued. "That's why…"
"Coal," Pyrrha interrupted me. "I hate to interrupt, but could you maybe help untangle me before you continue with what you were going to say."
"Right… Sorry."
…Breathe…
I took a deep breath in and smelt pine needles. In the place of cars driving down the street, there was instead the sound of birds chirping. A warm breeze blew through the forest and the trees rustled together.
"Yeah, I missed this too," Maria commented by my side. "Although there are a lot of comfort…"
A loud metallic clunk sounded through the forest.
"Watch how you're handling that equipment, Mr. Bright," Professor Greene yelled. "Any damage and I'll have you explain to General Ironwood how you handled the equipment that he has graciously lent the Academy."
I let out a pained sigh.
"Oh relax, it's just for the weekend," Maria chuckled. "Then we'll be free to move on and do our own thing."
"Tell me again why you agreed to this," I said.
"Free bullhead travel when we need it, support and supplies all for a single weekend spent near her students," Maria listed off before shrugging. "It's not a bad deal."
It wasn't a bad deal. It was a great deal that honestly seemed a bit too good to be true, until I really thought about it.
Jasmine had a lot to gain from this as well. A lot of the students at Sanctum Academy weren't taking things as seriously as they should. They were too lax and took things too easily. Assuming this weekend was a success, Jasmine would be able to gain support in having another little excursion like this. Exposing her students to Grimm in a safe environment and pushing them to be better.
"Mr. Bright," Professor Greene yelled as another piece of equipment clunked to the ground.
"I think I'm going to go take a quick walk," I said quickly, slinging my bag over my shoulder. "You know, get a lay of the land."
"Yeah, yeah," Maria waved me off. "Go and have some fun. Just make sure there's still a few Grimm left or this is weekend is going to be worse than it already is."
"Will do," I replied, heading off into the woods.
"And where do you think you're going, Mr. Calavera?"
"Just for a short walk," I called out, not slowing my stride. I wasn't a student at Sanctum anymore, so Professor Greene didn't have any authority to stop me. "Maybe get a little scouting done while I'm at it."
Ignoring his calls for me to stay at the camp, I offered a simple wave before disappearing into the forest. Once out of earshot, I quickened my pace until I was running at a comfortable pace. I'd spotted a few cliffs when we were in the Bullhead earlier. There had to be at least one that could offer a good vantage point for scouting
…Breathe…
"Uhuh," I hummed as I stared through my binoculars. "Trees… just as I expected."
The forest was too dense for me to get a good look at what Grimm, if any lived within it. Sighing, I placed my binoculars back in my backpack. There was a silver lining to this… I didn't have to listen to Greene yell at his students. I couldn't exactly think of another right now.
It really was a pity though. I'd been excited to see how effective my Nichirin blade was against Grimm. There wasn't really anything left for me to do but head back now. "May as well take the sce…"
A black flicker at the corner of my vision caught my attention. Turning towards it, I found… nothing. Frowning, I headed towards the end of the cliff where I had seen it. There was nothing there. Seeing another black flash come from below me, I looked downward and found a small pack of regular Beowolves.
Something was going on here. This wasn't luck, it was direct intervention to lead me towards a Grimm. The last time something like this had happened was when Maria and I had… been looking for the lake.
Looking around, I spotted it standing by the tree line right in front of the Beowolves. The Shadow… It had been quite a while since I'd last encountered it.
Jumping down, I slashed at the nearest Beowolf.
"Sun Breathing: Clear Blue Sky"
-300AP
I felt no resistance as my blade cut the Beowolf in half. Its wound sizzled as it rapidly broke down into black smoke.
I cut through the next one without using a Sun Breathing Technique, feeling a slight amount of resistance. The wound didn't sizzle this time as the Beowolf's body began to evaporate at a slower pace.
Turning toward the final Grimm, I took a deep breath and trust my blade forward.
"Sun Breathing: Sunflower Thrust"
-50AP
Much like last time, I felt no resistance as my blade pierced through the Grimm. The Beowolf gave a howl before slumping on my blade. The flesh around my blade began to ash, before I ripped the blade out.
It seemed that using my Sun Breathing Techniques with a Nichirin blade did actually have an effect on Grimm beyond making my swings more powerful. Normally, I would be more interested in the results, but the return of the shadow had me on edge.
Looking towards the tree line, I found that the Shadow had disappeared once more. One day, I was going to find out what it was and what it wanted, but sadly, today wouldn't be that day.
And so the Sanctum excursion begins
Anyways, I'm up to chapter 21 on the P word website.
P
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I go by the name of ThatKircguy. Just copy the name and paste it in the Patty Rio On search bar. It'd help me out immensely, but don't worry if that's not your style. I will be uploading weekly, so it's not going to be stuck there permanently.
Also, I post my original stuff there as well. It's nothing much, just two short stories for now, but I'll post more as I write them.
Next chapter will be posted on the 19th of August.
See you all then.