Disclaimer: I do not own Taimanin series.
Five Days Break – 09
On a certain night at the gym.
"Put on your gear, Fuuma."
"Eh? Murasaki-sensei, what's this about?"
Kotaro stared wide-eye at Murasaki, who was putting on the boxing gloves.
"Don't worry. I won't break a bone. This is just to demonstrate a close combat technique. Your self-defense needs more work, it's clumsy and full of openings. To make up for that, this is something you should learn."
"But the gym is almost closed." He turned to the clock.
Only ten minutes left before the building officially closed for the day. Plus, he was ready to go home.
"Alright, forty laps with me around town. Early morning."
Hearing that nightmarish exercise, Kotaro shot up from the bench in panic, his bag thrown back into the closet and rushed back to where Murasaki was waiting with a grin.
"I'll do it! Please teach me!"
"Good. That's the spirit I've been expecting. Step on the stage and try to attack me. Put all your weight into it. Don't you dare hold back midway."
"O-Okay."
Inside the ring, Kotaro brought up his arms and took a battle stance.
"Now that's a good posture. Ready when you are." Arms folded, Murasaki nodded. Her body relaxed and showed no sign of tension.
He charged at her, right arm cocked back, elbowed twisted and immediately straightened. Kotaro launched the first hit.
"Too slow!"
Having the superior strength and speed, she easily caught his fist. But Kotaro didn't feel any restraint in his speed. In fact, it became quicker. Murasaki was pulling his arm towards her side as she used his momentum to her own advantage.
"First, distract your opponent! Lure them in by letting yourself wide open!"
Kotaro couldn't stop his body from leaning forward, his posture broke.
"Next, you destroy their balance!"
Murasaki kicked back his leg. It was a simple swipe of her feet, but the minimum force she put into the kick was similar to a solid whack of the ninja bear's paw. Kotaro slipped off the ground, having nothing to hold his balance together. With her other hand firmly placed on his shoulder, Murasaki spun around.
"Ah!" Kotaro weakly uttered in shock when he found himself staring at her upside-down.
"Lastly, make full use of your enemy's momentum, tighten your hold on their body and throw them over the shoulder!"
Kotaro braced himself, his jaw clenched to brace the impact. A crash into the landing mats outside the ring put a sore on Kotaro's back. There was no mercy in Murasaki's demonstration, she bluntly hurled him to the other side of the big room.
"Did that beat the laziness out of you yet?"
It was done on purpose!
"I forgot to tell you, Fuuma. I made a reservation today, just for this lesson. The whole gym is ours until ten."
"WHAT?! B-But what about my curfew!? Tokiko will scold me if I come home late!"
"I've already told her beforehand." Murasaki struck her palm with her fist. "Now get your butt off the floor and don't keep me waiting."
Kotaro reluctantly returned to the ring, arms up and sluggishly readied himself for another throw down. For the next five rounds, he screamed at the top of his lung whenever she tossed him in the air like a volley ball.
Slam!
Until Kotaro slammed down his feet and held his balance in place, unshaken. Murasaki was surprised by the resistance.
"Sensei." Between gasps, he asked. "What will happen if my opponent manages to stop the technique like this?"
Kotaro finally took this seriously.
"Simple." She did another swipe. "You kick off that leg!"
Her feet collided with the back of his leg. Kotaro gritted his teeth in pain, it wasn't easy to endure the kind of strength that stood above the standards of an elite Taimanin.
"W-What if…...ouch….what if that opponent's still standing?"
Murasaki smiled. While holding him in place, she swiftly rolled over and locked Kotaro's head between her leg. Choking, his form hit the floor in a struggle. He couldn't break out, one of his arms had been restraint.
"You make him fall using body grappling techniques. In this position, either the elbow joint, the wrist and the airway is for you to decide whether to break it or make your opponent submit by applying pressure."
"I give! I give!" Kotaro rapidly tapped his hand on the floor.
"I'm not done yet, Fuuma!"
Murasaki released his arm and turned over, her leg, which still holding Kotaro's head in a lock, bent his torso upward and wrestled him down. Sucking the air through his teeth, Kotaro endured the boiling strain on his back. His spine was about to break under the immense strength.
"You have to break through this." Murasaki warned. "Otherwise, sleep on your side for a week with a lower back pain."
"But you said you won't break a bone!?"
Arms and leg became stiff, windpipe locked, blood pressure increased. Kotaro tried his best to suppress the urge to faint. He couldn't afford to loosen any muscle in the body since that would yield the awful result.
"Hurry up! Think of a way to handle this, Fuuma! There won't be any mercy in a real fight, I'll won't go easy on you like the rest!"
No choice, he'll just fake it!
"Don't pretend to faint, I'll know if you do it! Stop making yourself look weak!"
"Ouch! Ouch! Sensei, it's stretching! My shoulder is stretching!"
"Whining won't help, use your effort!"
Any tactic involving his skill won't do any good, his strength will never match her. Murasaki didn't even go all out on him and she was basically a tanker. Quickly! Read the situation. He couldn't change their positions, she would apply another grappling technique on him given the opportunity. What else can he do!? What else!? Wait. There's one thing he can try.
Knees bent and used the floor for support, Kotaro firmly stood, shaky leg gradually became still. Despite her strength, Murasaki was light. He gazed back at the observant look on her face, she had half-expected this. More pressure added to the elbow, Kotaro lost his footing in the growing pain that was about to spread from the arm to his torso and fell on his back, facing the ceiling.
"Standing up won't get you out of my grip!"
He knew that. However, this was where the real deal comes in.
Kotaro kicked his body horizontally in a circular motion. His shoulders and neck went under Murasaki's pair of slender leg as he twisted the limb which she was keeping in an armbar. The quick spin combining with his sweat won't give her a proper grasp to stop the invertion. As his thumb pointed down, Kotaro could finally move his elbow freely. Murasaki let go of his arm and Kotaro took that change to flip over. She put on guard to his advancement, but he was a step ahead. Kotaro managed to rush past her defense and pressed his knee on Murasaki's stomach to hold her down.
Neither of them started their next move.
"Fuuma."
"Y-Yes?"
"Are you doing this properly?" Murasaki eyed him with doubt. "I don't feel any weight on your knee."
"Sensei, isn't it because you have stony abs-"
She snatched his collar and pulled Kotaro's face close to hers.
"Would you kindly repeat that?" Murasaki grinned, something dark was there in her eyes.
Kotaro looked away, profusely sweating. Her arms shot up, wrapped around his head and locked him in a chokehold.
"OWWH! I'm sor…...*gasp*….I'm sorry! I didn't mean to say that!"
"You got guts, you grunt!"
Tap Tap Tap!
"I yield! I yield! Murasaki-sensei, just let me join in the morning exercise. I can't take any more than this!"
Kotaro dropped to the floor, completely spent once she decided to let go.
After a moment of dragging his feet to the bench and lied down to recover, he received a water bottle from the drill instructor.
"You need to train more." A hint of delight in her voice. "Still, good work for today. At least you managed to break out and gained the upper-hand for a short time. That's an improvement."
Pretty sure she anticipated his every moves. Her words didn't sound like a compliment, it was more of a solace to his ears. Even though the lesson was over, his whole arm was still shaking, ached. It made sense he couldn't do a thing against an elite, not to mention Murasaki was among the top five of Gosha's strongest Taimanins.
Jolt!
Kotaro touched the closing right eye.
"Murasaki-sensei, how does one reads ahead of their opponent's movements?"
Murasaki took a sip of her drink and gave some thought.
"Through experience and observation."
"Does it has to be both?"
"Depends. Experience takes the long road. As for the latter, if you have a keen eye, you can detect their next move based on the smallest details of the body and act accordingly. In my case, observation comes from experience. That's usually how we Taimanin grow our abilities."
"Growth, huh."
The manifestation of his growth was not something Kotaro could understand on his own. This was a progress only Murasaki and the others could see and understand.
"What's the matter?" Murasaki asked. "You have that pondering look on your face."
"Nothing. Just wondered how far I've gotten till now."
"Your case is something that will take time." She took a spot next to him and offered a towel. "By the way, I heard you've been training non-stop in the wood recently."
Flinch!
"Hm? What's with that reaction? Did you just flinch?"
"No, I think I'm just tired."
"Well. Diligent, aren't we?" She smiled. "Curfew is just an excuse. You were willing to work on yourself until late at night and skipped a bunch of dinners. Tokiko complaint to me, she's been worried you might overdoing it."
Tokiko did? She'd never said anything though, asides from telling him not to skip dinner.
"I guess she didn't want to interfere with whatever you were doing. It's not like everyday you have the motivation to voluntarily work on yourself. That's just what we need in you."
"So that's why you offered this lesson out of the blue." Kotaro realized. "You knew I was planning to go there."
"Precisely. If you have enough free time on your schedule to do that, then this lesson should be a nice addition to it."
"Thank you, Murasaki-sensei." Kotaro was grateful.
"Now tell me."
"?"
"What exactly were you doing in the wood? What kind of training?"
Gulp!
Murasaki raised an eyebrow.
"Did you just gulp?"
"No, I'm swallowing the water in my throat."
"Is there something you want to tell me, Fuuma?" She frown. "You're not slacking off in some secret hideout, aren't you?"
Kotaro scratched the back of his head.
"I've been working from the bottom up with my swordsmanship, the basics, and shuriken throwing tactics."
"Alone?"
"Yes. It's just me training with some dummies and automatons. Nagi would usually be nearby as part of her duty but I asked her to return home and rest."
"Individual training? I'm sure she would be willing to lend you a hand. It's better to test your limit with a partner."
"We've been doing that everyday in the simulation room, haven't we? She can easily wipe the floor with me, anyone in the Task Force can. If we're going to train together, it'll be best doing it for practical teamwork. My individual training is something I have to do alone to figure things out on my own."
"True. Be careful not to push yourself too hard, Fuuma. Proper rest is required or your progress will be stagnant. You have the motivation to prove yourself, that is good enough."
Kotaro showed a passive smile.
"It's not like I want to achieve something big or to impress anyone. I can only watch and learn from others, Murasaki-sensei. If I stopped now, I would just keep staring at their backs. I need to reaffirm where I'm standing in that gap. So, I'll try to stop goofing around and be better without clinging into a hope that something is there for me to reach."
"Understandable, you have more shoes to fill in as the Captain. Daydreaming of a possible potential will only distract you from important tasks." Murasaki nodded. "But there's more to this, isn't it?"
She stared into his eye. There was a certain idea she wanted to confirm.
"Did Sakuya's awaken lead you to this conclusion? I know that child has been desperate to prove herself just like you do. And in the end, she got what she wanted."
"No." Kotaro firmly spoke. "This has nothing to do with Sakuya."
Igawa Sakuya and Fuuma Kotaro were two different people, their circumstances were not the same. Even without the Ninja Art, Sakuya was already born a genius as a Taimanin. Her struggle was due to the large amount of expectations the clan forced onto that petite shoulder. When she was deemed unqualified to be the next successor, they took everything away. Maybe in a world where Ninja Art didn't exist, Sakuya would have been accepted by the Igawas.
On the other hand, Kotaro was born barely different from a normal human. There were many reasons he was labeled as the Useless One-Eyed Kotaro of the Fuuma clan. Talentless, weak, unable to manipulate Taima particles and unable to awaken a ninja art, he was a cripple based on Gosha standard.
So, being given the chance to work as the Captain of the Taimanin Task Force was a saving grace. As an ordinary person who lives among those with supernatural powers to protect humanity from demons, Kotaro didn't necessarily view himself as pathetic. He was just standing at a different starting line, one that stretched further than everyone else.
In that perspective, he was similar to a certain person.
"It's Momochi Toyo."
"Eh?" Murasaki was surprised.
Kotaro solemnly nodded his head to confirm that she didn't hear wrong.
"I see. His words got to you, knowing he doesn't have a Ninja Art but still gained a form of strength equal to Asagi-sama's. Why though? Why let yourself be influenced by a terrorist?"
"Please don't hold it on me like that! I don't want to follow Toyo's path to gain that kind of strength, Murasaki-sensei." Kotaro waved his hands dismissively. "It's just that…...I hated him for using others to his own goal. But at the same time, I also respected his resolve in a way. At some point in the past, he must have found the meaning of strength while fighting alongside his comrades and became a mentor figure to Asagi-sensei because of it."
Murasaki listened as he explained.
"When we faced him at that warehouse, I realized the resolve was still there, burning for the sake of humanity. He still shares the same ideal with us. It's just the way he did to achieve it was down right immoral."
He took a sip before continued.
"Then, I started wondering. In Toyo's time, there was no Task Force or clans unification. It was just the Taimanins lived up to their cause. Competitive, unforgiving, potential discriminate and no compassion, plain business. Each mission was full of risk without the help of advanced equipment."
And…
"And he was able to pull it off in extreme conditions without the need to awaken his art. If things were different, if Toyo didn't turn into a terrorist, would I have the chance to learn about the kind of resolve that helped him push through all the hardships of that era? I kinda want to know so I can make the best of what happened to me."
Murasaki hummed, mildly impressed at the thought.
"The team has always had my back. While you and the rest put your lives in danger at my commands, I confined myself behind a monitor. I'll figure something out, not just giving orders, not just analyzing info from a monitor. I'll make sure when push come to shove, everyone can make it back safely."
She nodded.
"Striving to be stronger without the need of a ninja art, huh. It's good you gave it so much thought, this is the first time I've seen you this serious outside of missions."
Murasaki left the bench, rolling her shoulders as she stepped back into the ring.
"Alright, enough rest. Let's continue where we left off."
Hm? HM!?
A bewildered Kotaro jumped off the bench, staring wide-eye at Murasaki, who watched him panicked around with a smirk.
"Wait! What do you mean by continue where we left off. I thought you said good work for today!"
"I didn't say lesson's over."
"But I agreed to your morning exercise!"
"Hoh, you're talking back to me? It's you who slipped those words on your own. I've never said I would stop the lesson if you wanted to join in the exercise."
"This is so unreasonable!" Kotaro wanted to breakdown and pulled his hair out. "Fine. Please give me a moment, I need to go get something first."
His voice came out calm and soft, a subtle change that notified Murasaki's intuition. Without waiting for her reply. Kotaro finished his drink in one go, turned and headed straight for the locker.
"Oi, Fuuma. Don't even think of running away."
He took his bag and wiped his face with the towel Murasaki'd provided. After hanging it on the running equipment nearby, he rolled both shoulders and arms, stretched the leg to relax the tension.
"Fuuma, are you listening!?"
The moment he threw the strap over the shoulder, Murasaki had got out the ring and dashed towards his direction.
"I'll stick to your exercise! Please give me a break!"
She won't allow it. And he won't stand idly to let her catch him. Kotaro broke into full speed for the nearest exit, locked the door, conquered sharp corners of the staircase. While his name was constantly called in a booming voice, the metal door was knocked out the way. The big noise accompanied by a crack on the wall froze Kotaro in his track.
Murasaki's crimson eyes revealed in bloodshot. Her whole figure engulfed in waves of Taima particles, shifting a deepened color of her hair.
"Just when I thought you finally step it up with your resolve, you're pulling this. Humans really don't change that easily. You think you can run away from me? Very well, I'll be sure to train you thoroughly like last time."
Kotaro ignored her and continued to run. He made it to the lower floor, the entrance was a short distance ahead. Everything would be decided in the next sprint. Murasaki almost caught up behind, she shot straight at him like an arrow. For someone who used a giant axe in battle, her speed was top notch.
Jolt!
"I got you!"
She was about to tackle him. Her hand reached out, readied to place a vice-grip on his shoulder.
And then…
He slipped. There was a cleaning part of the floor that had not been dried yet. He stepped right into the damped spot.
And then…
He spun around. Murasaki saw that left eye burned with the strongest resolve.
He caught her outstretched arm by the wrist and pulled. In the spur of moment, Murasaki had no way to stop the centrifuge force acting on her body by moving forward. She would slam her feet down to reinstate the balance. But she felt something pushed it back, a short glance gave her the realization. He was locking her leg. His shoe hooked around her ankle. She would fall, Murasaki couldn't avoid the outcome. As his other hand shot up and gripped her tank top, the semi-spin became a full circle.
A clear impact echoed across the empty gym. He hurled the instructor over his shoulder and threw her to the ground. Shock as she was, Murasaki let what happened sink in until Kotaro's face popped into view, grinning.
"Did I do it properly, Murasaki-sensei?"
Ditching her lesson halfway was just an act. He actually carried out each step of the close-combat technique in his own way.
Kotaro had always followed her training through and through, he took her lessons seriously. Suddenly ran off in the middle of things was never a natural action on his part. That caught Murasaki off guard and allowed Kotaro to perform the technique on her. To pull this off against the Immortal Yatsu, surprise had to be the key factor.
"Heh." She chuckled softly. "Fuuma, you little schemer."
Kotaro extended a hand for Murasaki to grab on and helped her get up.
"I know this is uncalled for, but it's the only way I could think of to bypass your defense."
"You're right. I didn't expect you to ever have the gut to do this."
Murasaki was smiling. But Kotaro had a feeling that wasn't her true expression, her eyes didn't match it at all. She reached out, fingers curled into a tight grasp. Kotaro startled and shut his eye as soon as she placed it on top his head.
"That was excellent. You really improved."
She gently rubbed his hair. He sheepishly scratched his cheek at the compliment. Murasaki rarely made such remark about her students.
"I guess you officially took a few steps ahead of your own starting line."
Only a few steps, it was still worth to be called an improvement.
With that said...
"Since I managed to pull this off." Kotaro asked. "Can we call it a day?"
Murasaki smiled in return, he did too.
"No." A straightforward answer. "I have to beat this into your muscle memory. We'll do this until ten."
Kotaro comically dropped his shoulders.
"But…"
"No but. Show me your hardened resolve."
To be frank, his hardened resolve was not one that aligned with her lesson. Once again, Kotaro ran.
She tackled him before he could make it past the entrance.
/