A change in priorities [Private]

[Maikeru]

Maikeru sat alone in the large arena, holding his newly forged Katana in his lap. He unconsciously fiddled with the string that he had wrapped around the hilt, his eyes closed as he breathed in and out in quiet meditation. He had a lot of changes to his mentality of late. His view on family, and on those who you were to really care for, had been changed completely. He once believed in the might of the Uchiha clan, that they were the pinnacle of shinobi. Recently though, his beliefs had been rocked. Between decisions of his family, and of the Hokage himself, and of talks he had with the so called 'academy student crew', he really didn't know what to belief.

He knew one thing though, he had to change. He had put so much time, so much effort into mastering his Uchiha bloodline and.. it left a bitter taste in his mouth. Which was the reason for sitting in this arena. He wanted to leave that path, to forge a new one of his own hand, he didn't want to rely on his bloodline anymore. For that though, he needed some help from two of his closest friends. The Nanjirou were master swordsmen, and he needed the help of this clan if he wanted to expand his knowledge. He had asked Danny and Reicheru to join him here today, to walk him through the basics of kinjutsu.

So.. he waited, his thoughts racing, the meditating hardly helping to calm them..

 

[Santaru Kaede]

Daenerisu skips into the arena and skids to a stop as she sees Maikeru sitting on the floor meditating. A smile spreads on her face as a devious idea crosses her mind. She decides to try and sneak up on Maikeru and try to scare him, but she was going to have to be extra careful as she was pretty sure that Maikeru had grown in his shinobi skills lately. She begins tiptoeing up behind Maikeru, at first slowly, but picked up her pace as she began getting a bit too excited. Drawing within a few feet of Maikeru, disaster struck her as she tripped over her own feet and lands on the ground sliding up to Maikeru. She looks up at her friend.

“Uhhhh… boo…”

She pulls herself up into a cross-legged position and dusts herself off. She doesn't wait too long to try and interrupt Maikeru's meditation with conversation.

“Hey Mai-chan! What'd you want with me?”

Unlike Maikeru, Daenerisu does not seem to be planning on meditating as she is practically bouncing as she sits and tapping her fingers on her knees. She notices Maikeru’s new katana and looks excitedly at it.

“Is that new? Are you wanting to pick up kenjutsu? Where'd you get it? Glad you're finally coming around!”

The bouncing seems to intensify and Daenerisu pulls the sword and the sheath off her back and places it across her lap.

“Let me guess, you want some help practicing, don't you? Well, let's get started unless we are waiting on someone else.”

 

[Saitou Rei]

Sweat collecting on a young student's brow as she lumbered into Kitsune Park with a large bag on her back beneath the hot afternoon sun. Reicheru silently wished for a breeze to blow through, to no avail. Her eyes shifted up to Hokage Rock; hopefully the sun would start moving in its direction while she trained with her friends, granting them some shade and respite from the heat. What a day to begin focusing on taijutsu.

As she neared Maikeru and Dani, she smiled and gave a little wave before hauling the bag from her shoulder and dumping it on the ground. A few tightly rolled tatami mats and a handful of bokken peeked out of the top; on her waist hung two standard katanas - one hers and the other her cousin's that they had used to train with before they had paired with their ancestral swords. "Hey, guys! Sorry to keep you waiting, I wanted to make sure I brought everything I thought we might need," she said with a broad smile as she wiped perspiration from her face with her forearm. Bending down, she picked up one of the wooden practice swords and made a few slashes at the air with it. "I'm diggin' the new katana, Maikeru! Nice coloring, where'd you get it? Still, I figured that for at least the first little bit we could use these. Don't say anything about them being baby swords either, I used these puppies for years. You can handle it for a few hours," she said with a sly grin before flipping the sword on it's end, catching it by the 'blade' to extend the hilt to Maikeru. When he took it she would grab another for Daenerisu. "Besides, improper blade handling can jack your sword up faster than you can say 'Konohagakure', we don't want that for big red now do we?"

Setting up the tatami targets, Reicheru hummed with excitement. Her whole life she'd wanted to be an academy teacher, so in a small way today she got to have a taste of what that was like. Of course, she had to remember that Maikeru was older than her and that Daenerisu was a fellow Nanjirou who would already know most if not everything she had to say, and had just as much to teach their friend as she did. This was an honor, a privilege - she had to make sure she didn't blow it by forcing her agenda for the day on everyone. "So my thought was we could start with form, then talk blocking, and then move into basic strikes, and see what time is left. What do you guys think?"

 

[Maikeru]

Maikeru opened his eyes to the sound of a crashing behind him, as he turned his head, he saw his small white haired friend laying on her stomach, carrying her trademark goofy grin. He gave her a small, please smile as she talked to him. She was always seemed to be pleased, and it was contagious. He stood from his kneeling position, his red sheath resting firmly on his hilt, jostling a bit with every movement the boy made.

"Oh, this? I m-" He began to say, before being cutting off by the second friend.

Reicheru showed up slightly after Danni, carrying.. an impressive sized pack in all honesty. Seriously, that girl had to have abs of steel or something. As she unpacked, and talked, asking a lot of the same things as the other Nanjirou, which was convenient if nothing else. He drew his blade, showing off the red tint to the blade as the mid day sun shone off of it. He flipped the blade in his hand, handing it to either of the two to inspect.

"I made it myself, I call it the Blood Moon Blade, it's my masterpiece." As he said that, he shone with pride. "As for the training plan, I am okay with anything. You guys are the sword masters after all, so, I am at your mercy with the method we use. So, what shall we start with, senseis?"

 

[Santaru Kaede]

Daenerisu smiles and waves back at Rei as she hops up from the extremely long meditation session she had with Maikeru waiting. She may have even made it a full minute of meditation, if you considered her sitting there bouncing and asking Maikeru questions as meditation.

“Hi Rei! Didn't know you were coming! It's good to see you again!”

Danii brushes herself off and hurries to help Rei set down her equipment. She takes the wooden sword and listens as Rei explained the basis of their training today. Good thing she had came. Danii’s training plan was to simply hit Maikeru with the broadside of her sword until he either learned to parry, dodge, or hit back. This sounded a lot more efficient and practical, but also more boring. Her excitement picks back up as Maikeru hands her his sword. She carefully takes it and looks it over.

“Nice katana. I can't believe you made it yourself! How did you manage to get the red like that?”

She passes the sword off to either Maikeru or Rei and accepts the wooden training sword. She gives it a practice swing to see how well it is weighted compared to her normal sword.

“I'll let you lead this one, Rei. It sounds like you have a plan already and I'm pretty sure you would be a better teacher than I could be. I'll follow along and watch to give some pointers when I see them.”

 

[Saitou Rei]

"Blood Moon Blade, eh? Edgy, I like it. I see you weren't joking when you said you were picking up blacksmithing, though I will say it caught me off guard that you're wanting to change your fighting style so drastically after you wrecked me in our spar," Reicheru commented as she turned from setting up the last tatami mat, "but I understand not wanting to be a one-trick pony, so I'm glad you felt Danii and I could help."

"The basic concept behind most kenjustu is the principal of one strike, one kill. No wasted movement. This principal was the guiding force behind the development of iaijutsu, a style that centers on a combative quick-draw technique so that even the time spent drawing your weapon isn't wasted. The Nanjirou are famous for having cultivated that technique to it's pinnacle, so that's the context I can teach you from." As she spoke, Reicheru stored her bokken in the sash around her waist. In a blink she was in a fighting guard, legs apart with her left foot facing forward and right foot slightly back and turned out, wooden weapon already drawn and pointed at Maikeru. Without his doujutsu the action would have appeared to have happened almost instantaneously, and even with his eye of insight the movement would have been surprisingly swift (though of course still clearly perceived and anticipated by those tricky pinwheels; seriously, the more she thought about it the more she realized that her first real fight was her worst possible match-up).

Pulling herself up straight, feet together, the Nanjirou returned her bokken to its place on her hip. "We'll go over four basic techniques that require similar form; defending against attackers from the front, left, right, and rear. The 'front' form will be the base, and there will be slight modifications to footing and the like as we move into the others. The quick-draw is done by pulling the blade up and diagonally as you draw it, not straight out in front of you. This allows the opportunity to draw the surface of the blade across the target. As your hand reaches the same height as your shoulder, you should rotate your elbow back in toward your body, bringing the blade up, and reach with your opposite hand to hold the bottom of the hilt with your palm up. This now gives you extra leverage to pull up on the hilt as you bring your strike back down, diagonally across the target again, right to left. A big mistake people make is to treat this downward strike like swinging a baseball bat. When you do that, your right shoulder stays in. Here, you want to push that shoulder out and bring your elbows in…." as she talked, she would demonstrate, moving first from the frontal form, then left, then right, and finally rear, allowing Maikeru an opportunity between each one to mimic the form, adjusting his shoulders or footing as necessary. As she went, she tried to clearly describe not only what she was doing but why. She'd had too many teachers do without instructing; just because you knew your content did not mean you could communicate it, and Reicheru certainly communicated a lot. "…and finally, chiburi one last time. Alright, let's try all of them together."

After the three of them completed a few more cycles of these forms, she stowed her bokken and stretched. "Typically, you'd go on repeating those forms until it was beaten into your muscle-memory, but I imagine your sharingan will let you cheat in that way a bit, so we can move on to…" She paused, wondering if her plan wasn't as fluid as she wanted. She could tell Danii wanted a bit more action, so she made a small alteration. "…let's actually do a combination of what I said earlier: blocking and striking. Partner drills." She gave a coy smile to Maikeru before turning to Daenerisu. "Danii, how about you take the offensive. Start with the frontal form, and try to strike Maikeru with the bokken. Maikeru, before I say how you traditionally should defend, I first want to see what feels most natural to you on how to avoid the attack so I know what we're working with. Sound fair?" Assuming they agreed, she'd give a nod to Danii to let her to go ahead when she was ready.

[OOC: In the bit talking about her droning on teaching the forms, I figured rather than talking in circles about 'diagonal downward slashes' a thousand times, I'd let this iaijutsu demonstration video do the talking. The video description clearly describes each technique, so that's what Rei is describing in that section.]

 

[Maikeru]

Reicheru really had thought this through, even down to the fact that his Sharingan would aid in the process. She wasn't wrong on that accord, either. He had spent many hours watching jonin's spar with their blades, picking up the finer points of exactly what she was explaining to them. Still, shoring up his fundamentals couldn't hurt, it would be the training that he built off or relied on when his back was against a corner. So, he followed her and Danni's motions. After all, they were the experts here.

"I think.. I'm getting it," He said, watching the two of them move with his activated Sharingan. "This third tomoe is really helping record your movements, no wonder people fear the Uchiha so much.."

As he sheathed his sword for the final time, and Reicheru suggested that they do partnered training, Maikeru held up two hands defensively. He gave a small smile and a laugh, looking between Reicheru and Danni.

"R-really? I know I'm not as experienced as her, but I still have like two feet and one hundred pounds on Danni here. Do you really think that's such a good idea? I don't doubt her swordsmenship, I just.. don't want to hurt her."

He wasn't lying in that regard. He knew Danni was talented, probably more so than him. But, even with her talent, he was stronger and faster than the young girl. Even with his basic understanding he should have the upper hand in that regard alone. Still, he swallowed at the spit in his throat, and took up a defensive stance, sharingan spinning wildly as he stared at Danni. Reicheru did know best, even if he doubted her methods a bit.

"Alright then. Come at me Danni, and don't hold back. I'll know.."

 

[Santaru Kaede]

Danii unclasps the strap holding her sword on her back and sets it aside carefully. She gives the wooden stick a few practice swings trying to get a feel for the weight of it. She nods approvingly and holds it in her off hand down be her side. She watched as Rei demonstrated the draw and slash. She thought Rei was fast, but she could probably beat her on the draw. The slash itself would be another story. The girl's form definitely appeared to be better than her own. Danii followed along with Rei’s instruction and slowed her pace down to keep in rhythm with the cycles Rei established for Maikeru. Knowing the necessity of this practice, but growing exceedingly bored, Danii tries to resist letting out a yawn or letting her gaze wonder elsewhere. So she focuses on watching Maikeru, to make sure he is practicing proper form. She seems to perk up a bit at the mention of a more hands on drill.

“Partner drills sound fun! And don't worry, I would never hold back!”

She takes a low stance holding the sword to her side.

“Ready?”

The moment he confirms it, she “draws” the wooden sword and swipes it up at Maikeru. After rotating her elbow back in, she immediately brings it back down in another swipe at Maikeru. She finishes by “sheathing" the sword in her left hand at her side as is popular in the Nanjirou fighting style.

“This finish might not be best for your fighting style. Unless you are quick on the draw, it might be better to leave your sword out and take a defensive, ready stance after you attack.”

She adds her own little bit of advice and looks to Rei for confirmation. Teaching and communicating lessons really weren't her cup of tea.

 

[Saitou Rei]

"I'm sure she'll be fine, don't worry," Reicheru addressed Maikeru's concern with an amused grin. Most people thought taijutsu, and kenjutsu by association, were all about physique and brute strength. While that might be true for things like unarmed combat which Kenshin displayed beautifully, kenjutsu was an entirely different beast. You could just hack your opponent to death, but if that's the only trick you have up your sleeve then you'd be in trouble when you meet someone stronger than you.

The young teacher watched as Daenerisu made her move; very fast, but would it be fast enough to slip past the Sharingan? Reicheru narrowed her eyes as she thought about how the thing her bloodline was best known for could be so easily countered by the abilities of another clan. But again, that's why you don't put all of your eggs in one basket. "Danii is right, you'll have to see what works best for you. One of the benefits of kenjutsu is how versatile it is. Facing a larger, stronger opponent does not always put you at a disadvantage. In fact, for many it becomes an advantage. You could just beat down your opponent, but at that rate you may as well pick up a club or a mace. If you're quicker, more agile, you can hit them where it matters and deal fatal damage before they even realize it. The key is how you block - or rather, how you evade. People think swordsmanship is supposed to be flashy, blade-on-blade exchanges. Really, you'll find yourself in a much better position if instead of parrying you can learn to duck and side-step well, immediately moving you from a defensive to an offensive position. Your abilities should make you a terrifying opponent in that regard, Mr. Uchiha."

Without warning, Reicheru flicked her arm with her own bokken aimed at Maikeru's chest to see what his gut instinct would be. "Of course, if you do have to parry, be sure to use the mune; with a real blade the edges would bite into each other and lock together, damaging your sword and placing you in a tricky situation if you're not ready for it."

 

[Maikeru]

Well, it appeared that Danni had taken his "don't hold back" line to heart. As she came towards the Uchiha, the tomoe in his eyes spun wildly, a faint 'after-image' of the girl appearing, predicting her next move. The Sharingan really was an amazing too for a shinobi, and one that Maikeru was eternally grateful for. It was because of his Sharingan that he had begun adapting his own sword style, one that utilized the expertise lent by these eyes.

As the first strike came up, directed at his chin, Maikeru leaned back, moving his right foot behind him for support, the wood of the practice sword creating air pressure against the bottom of his chin. Okay, she was fast, he would have to change up a bit. As the blade came back down again, he pivoted on his foot. His hips rotated, his non sword hand coming down to allow him to standing roll out of the way of the blow. As he recovered, he brought both hands near the side of his head, gripping both around the hilt, blade pointing at Danni in a defensive stance.

"The Nanjirou style is interesting, but I think I'm starting to learn it.." He said, his eyes studying his two friends. "This suggestion is going to hurt me, a lot, but, both of you come at me at once."

It was a bold statement, and one he knew would result in many welts, but, it was the best way for him to learn after all. The Uchiha weren't like other people, their style of learning was more "Learn by experiencing" rather than "learn by doing."

"If I can watch both of you fight with my Sharingan, my muscle memory will rewrite itself to allow me to learn. So, come at me Reicheru and Danni, let's see how many times you can hit me. If you make it to ten, I'll buy dinner!"

 

[Santaru Kaede]

As they finish the brief spar, Danii steps back and passes the practice sword back to Rei. She gives Maikeru a bow and picks up her stuff.

"I can't today. I'm supposed to be meeting my grandfather for dinner. I'll take a raincheck though. Us girls can kick your butt next time."

She slings the sheathed longsword over her shoulder and runs off with it clumsily bouncing on her back. She pauses briefly to wave good bye to her two friends.

"See you later! Don't go easy on him Rei!"

[Topic Left]