An Assassin's Respite

Kagura and Kazuna's Training

The day after class 1-A's day out, Kazuna meets Kagura at the school training grounds. Even though it wasn't a school day, students were granted special access to the training grounds in the days before the Coalition Festival. They finish changing into their training clothes and meet in the center of the training field.

"Ok, first, can you show me your sword. I want to get a better look at it." Kazuna starts.

"Mhm." Kagura replies with a nod as she hands him her sword. 

Kazuna inspects every inch of the scabbard before unsheathing the sword and closely inspecting the blade. He reheated the sword before handing it back to Kagura.

"It's a fine sword, and since I was able to properly inspect it I have a better idea of how I should instruct you." Kazuna states.

"Really?" Kagura asks in surprise.

Kazuna nods his head in response. "The blade is long enough for you to be able to keep your distance but short enough that you can comfortably fight a closer battle as well. It's also a strong blade, so it'll be good against defending and breaking through attacks." Kazuna adds.

"I can't believe you got all of that just from looking at my sword for a few seconds! That's amazing!" She says bewildered.

"It's nothing really." Kazuna says a bit flustered. "In any case, let's get started." Kazuna says.

"Mhm." Kagura says with a nod of her head. The two stand a few feet from one another.

"For now we'll just have a simple sparring match so I can get a feel for where you are right now." Kazuna says.

"Okay." Kagura replies as she draws her sword. Kazuna draws his sword as well and the two of them get into their stances.

"Come at me with everything you've got." He says.

"Ok." She replies as she slowly shuffles towards Kazuna.

"Good, you're approaching me cautiously. That's what you should be doing when going against someone you haven't fought before. It allows you to feel me out and search for any openings." He notes.

"He says that, but I can't find any openings. His feet are perfectly spread out and he holds his sword in a way that allows him to easily defend and attack. Should I just charge in? Or should I continue looking for an opening?" She thinks to herself.

Kazuna watches her for a few more seconds before he starts to speak.

"First lesson: If you can't find an opening, create one. Circling your opponent for forever won't do anything but waste time." Kazuna says.

"I guess I don't really have a choice." She says to herself as she charges Kazuna.

She goes for a diagonal s***h that Kazuna easily sidesteps. She follows up with a side s***h that gets blocked. She pushes against Kazuna's defense in an attempt to breakthrough.

 "You're continuously attacking, trying to keep me on the defensive and using slow strong attacks to wear me down while also saving your own strength. Not bad." Kazuna says before he pushes her back. "Although those slow attacks provide ample time for me to counter." 

Kagura regains her footing and goes at him once more. She switches up tactics from slow, strong attacks to quicker, lighter slashes. Kazuna blocks and dodges all of her attacks. 

"You're not afraid to scrap a strategy in favor of a different one if your first plan doesn't work. Mhm, I think I've got a good understanding of your offensive capabilities." Kazuna says as he jumps back. "Now let's see what your defense is like." He says as he switches from offense to defense.

 He blitzes Kagura, assaulting her with a flurry of blows that completely overwhelmed her. She couldn't understand how his attacks could be so fast yet still be so strong. The impact of his attacks was making her arms go numb. The fluidity of his swings was mesmerizing. There were no wasted movements and every move had a purpose.

"You have good reaction times and have a solid defense and you don't just use your arms for defense, but you also walk backward in sync with the blows so the rest of your body can help." Kazuna notes. He stops his assault allowing Kagura to relax.

"I've got a good grasp of your abilities now. You're a textbook swordsman. You stick to the book and use your good reactions, strength, and speed to give you an edge. However, you lack creativity making your attacks very easy to read. Although we're in a swordfight, using your legs or your freehand to attack are valid strategies. You also seem hesitant to try unorthodox moves such as switching from your dominant hand to your offhand or going slack on attacks to throw an opponent off and using that chance to attack." He notes.

"I don't really know how to feel about that criticism." Kagura whines. 

"Then let me explain further. You're definitely a very good swordsman. However, when you face someone of comparable skill to yourself, the victor is decided by the one that is able to get the upper hand if not by powers then with creativity. Since you lack creativity, most of the time you will lose against those that are equally or more skilled than yourself." He elaborates.

Kagura looks down at her feet with a defeated look on her face. 

"Don't worry, I'm not saying that there isn't anything that I can do to help you. It's actually harder to teach someone good swordsmanship compared to telling them to be more creative." Kazuna says in an attempt to cheer up Kagura.

"So I just have to be more creative? How do I do that exactly?" She asks still a bit unsure of herself.

"It's simple really. You just have to rely on your instincts a bit more and try to look for the best move and not just the safest move." Kazuna states. 

"Rely on my instincts and look for the best move? Isn't that what I'm doing already?" She asks.

Kazuna grabs a pencil and a piece of paper from his bag and starts to write something down. He finishes writing and puts the piece of paper into his pocket. "Alright, I'm going to give you a scenario and I want you to respond to each action. Got it?" He says. Kagura nods in response.

"Alright then, let's say I come at you with a thrust. What would you do?" He asks.

"I would try and dodge it." She answers.

"And if you can't do that?" He asks.

"Then I would divert it?" She answers.

"And what would you do after that?" He asks.

"I would try and push him back." She says.

"Then?" He asks once again.

 "I would try and read my opponent to see if I should stay on the defensive or if I should attack." She answers.

Kazuna grumbles and pulls the piece of paper from earlier out of his pocket and shows it to Kagura. Written on it was the scenario that Kazuna had just given her including the answers she gave him.

"How did you know what I would say?" She asks astonished.

"It was easy. I knew you would go for the safest course of action. It's safest to dodge so I knew that that would be your first answer but, if you couldn't dodge you would divert it since it's difficult to block a thrust. Then you would try and scout out your opponent's next move since that was the safest move. However, that doesn't make it the best move. The time you give them so that you can analyze them allows them to recover and go on the offensive. But, if you went on the offensive then they wouldn't have time to gather themselves. Or if you blocked the thrust and countered, you could catch your opponent off guard This is the type of thinking that you'll need if you want to become an even better swordsman." Kazuna explains.

Kagura looks at Kazuna in bewilderment. " I can't believe you broke me down so quickly and precisely and even showed me my strengths and weaknesses." She says.

"Well, I have been training with swords for over twelve years." He replies.

"Eh... No wonder you know so much about swordsmanship." She says.

Kazuna clears his throat. "In any case. Today as well as tomorrow you're going to try and change your way of thinking from sticking to the book in favor of a more unpredictable approach." Kazuna states.

 "How do I do that?" She asks.

"Honestly it's going to be tough. You're going to be trying to change your way of thinking in essence. The best way to do that is to stop thinking so much and just act. Occasionally analyzing your opponent is one thing, but you can't spend the entire fight doing it. Think you can do it?" Kazuna says.

"I'll try my best. So what kind of training are we going to be doing anyway?" Kagura asks.

"Nothing that special. I'm just going to come at you and not give you a second to think. That way all you can rely on is instinct. Hopefully, by forcing you to rely on instinct when it comes to you being on the defensive, you can translate it to your offense." Kazuna states.

"Hopefully?" Kagura asks a bit discouraged. 

"Unfortunately, there isn't much I can do about how you think. That is up to you. All I can do is lead you in the right direction." Kazuna says.

"Well, I guess you have a point. I guess I'll just have to try even harder." Kagura says with a determined look.

"Good. That's the spirit you're going to need for this training." Kazuna says.

The two get into their stances and prepare to spare once again. 

"Are you ready?" Kazuna asks.

"Yes." Kagura replies.

Once he hears this Kazuna instantly comes at her. He does exactly what he said he was going to do. His attacks were relentless and unstopping. Kagura really didn't have a single second to think about what her next move was going to be.

Can he really defend against this? How does he attack so quickly but so precisely? How long did it take for him to get this strong? Can I really meet the expectations he's set for me? These were the thoughts that were swirling through her head, making it impossible for her to concentrate on the fight. Kazuna attacks from above with an attack so strong that she gets knocked off her feet.

"It seems I've found the real problem here." Kazuna says as he helps Kagura up.

"What do you mean?" She asks.

"The problem isn't that you lack creativity but, instead you just simply think too much. Through that whole attack, you were out of it. I don't know what you were thinking about but it wasn't the fight. It seems you overthink about what to do next so that you can keep your mind on the fight and keep out any outside interference." Kazuna notes.

"And how do I fix that?" She asks. She was starting to get the feeling that she wasn't going to be able to get anywhere. Kazuna sheaths his sword and urges her to sit on the floor in front of him.

"We're going to meditate. Meditation allows one to clear their mind of any outside interference. If you can learn to clear your mind during a fight, then your swordplay will improve astronomically." Kazuna states.

"Really?" She asks.

"Mhm. I'm completely sure. Everything we've done up until now has basically confirmed it." Kazuna replies.

"Ok. I'll trust you on this." Kagura states.

Kazuna nods his head. "Now, close your eyes and take a deep breath in and then out. Clear your mind of all thoughts and distractions. Feel everything around you. The air, the ground, the sun, everything. Then start to even out your breathing. Make every inhale and exhale equal." Kazuna instructs.

The two of them sit there meditating for an hour before they're interrupted by Kagura's growling stomach. Kagura's face goes red in embarrassment.

"It seems a lunch break is in order." Kazuna notes.

"I'm sorry." Kagura whispers in embarrassment.

"Don't be. You can't properly train on an empty stomach." Kazuna states in a reassuring tone.

"Mhm." Kagura squeaks, still embarrassed. The two eat their lunch and enjoy their break from training. They finish their lunch and Kazuna stands up and stretches.

"Alright, that'll be all for today." He says.

"Really? We're not going to continue?" Kagura asks.

"I was planning on just meditating for the rest of the time we have here but it would be better if we went home and you meditated at your house. That way you can get better at blocking out distractions such as tv or your parents." Kazuna says.

"If you say so." Kagura says a bit upset. 

"Don't worry. Tomorrow we'll continue your sword training and see if the meditation is working." Kazuna says. 

"Okay." Kagura says a little more upbeat. 

They get their things and leave the training grounds, ending their training session for the day. With only one more day of training available for them before the Coalition Festival, Kagura wants to make the most of it. She'll meditate until she can completely clear her mind and fight on instinct. With newfound determination, Kagura can't wait for the next day to continue her training.