Training Day [Ishi]

I sat legs folded and eyes closed in meditation in one of the halls of Densetsu Temple, a few older monks walked around the room doing various things such as sweeping or correcting the angle of a scroll on the wall. The thin mat under me provided nearly no comfort as it was clearly heavily used over the years to basically being a sheet of paper. Even so I had accepted it to use for the day so it was something I had to live with. My reason for coming today was simple, someone who had decent knowledge in kenjutsu was offering a free basic level class today only. But despite me being here on time the instructor was late and so here I sat waiting for who knows how long.

It was my day off from working in the ruins. A day I had been waiting for months. I had posted on the village board a free course in basic level kenjutsu, something I was quite skilled at myself despite being only a genin. My day was going all as I had planned the night before. I woke up at 8:30 on the dot, made some rice and eggs for breakfast, then got ready and walked out the door at by 9:30. The class was scheduled to start at 10, giving me plenty of time to walk to Densetsu Temple where I was holding said course. My day was off to a great start.

While walking along the narrow side streets, a route I took often to avoid the annoying street vendors who were always trying to scam the innocents with the fake artifacts of their get-rich quick schemes, I noticed my boot had come untied. I stopped, tied it and continued, only to find the route I usually took had been blocked off for construction, forcing me to divert. I grew anxious. My morning plan had come undone ever so slightly, something that could upset my perfectly planned schedule, making me late. I walked for blocks until getting back on course, and by now, I was only going to be a few minutes late, something I could make up by walking faster.

My brisk walking quickly turned to jogging as the time for class to start crept forward, while the instructor would not even be there yet. I could see the temple, but it seemed like it was still a ways away. Soon enough, I was running through the gates, scrambling down the halls, and fumbling my way to the class room. I finally reached it, winded, but relieved, I opened the door and walked in, and to my gaze, the class was almost empty. Was it because of my tardiness? I was unsure, but I set my teaching materials down and said, "Sorry I'm late, there was a major detour in my commute."

I heard someone come in and set something down before the instructor announced himself. I opened my eyes to see that some of the people who had been waiting had left but a handful of us remained long enough for this to be worth it. I got up to my feet and saw the instructor was about what I had figured him for in my head. A bit rough around the edges and a few years older than myself.

My arms were raised above my head as I stretch my back and popped my joints to wake up my body again. "No problem, so what all are we learning today? Your flyer mentioned a lesson but what it was remains a mystery." I started pacing around a little, looking over at some of the others starting to grab some bokken from a rack on the wall.

I stood in front of the class and looked over the several students remaining, most of them standing and stretching out to prepare for the lesson. There was an odd number of them. I heard one young boy ask what my intended lesson plan was. I turned my attention to him, a smaller individual, young than me by a few years. I smiled and said, "Today's lesson is going to cover some basic offensive strikes and some basic defensive maneuvers. Alright everyone, partner up."

I grabbed some chalk and and began writing a few bullet points on the board, then faced the class and grabbed a bokken I brought with me. "Alright, so the first thing we're going to practice is a draw strike." I gave a quick demonstration, holding the bokken at my side, drawing and slashing in a single strike, then placing it back at my side. "Go ahead and practice with your partners."

I started looking for a partner when the teacher said to, finding a kid about my age but maybe a year older who offered me a wooden sword of my own before we turned to watch the demonstration. Everyone would give a nod of understanding and then turn to face their partners. The kid I was with managed to get a fairly well done strike out on his first go, a little wobbly but fairly good for the first attempt. It was then my turn, I had almost no experience with a sword which is why I came to the free lesson, but I couldn't have predicted what was to come next.

I let out a shallow breath with the weapon held at my side, keeping a firm grip on the hilt. Then with a swiftness I hadn't anticipated since the sword was much lighter than I seemed to think it was, I swung and my grip loosened until the sword flew out of my hand and crashed into the far wall just narrowly avoiding another student. The only victim of this royal fuck up was a wall scroll that was shaken by the impact and turned lopsided, which of course a monk rushed over to fix.

I cringed and, with my hand holding the back of my neck started walking over to retrieve the sword for the next try.

I observed the class practicing as they sectioned themselves off. From what I saw, most looked as if they'd never touched a sword in their life, fumbling to draw and slash in a clean motion like I had. One poor bastard even sent his bokken flying across the room, shaking a scroll lose on the wall. I found it comical how swift those monks were to fix the lopsided scrolls. I smirked and walked over, picking up the bokken, then returning it to the boy I questioned him, "What's your name, kid?". I held out the end of the bokken for him to grab. A quick glance around the room let me know that all the others were still practicing their strikes.

The instructor managed to get my sword before I could and held it out to me, asking my name. I'd grab onto the end and speak, "Name is Gil, not used to this sort of thing I guess." Letting out a quick chuckle I'd awkwardly place the 'blade' of the sword over my shoulder and follow his glance around the room to see the others starting to get it down.

I gave a small smile and said, "Well, Gil, in case you missed it, I'm Ishi. Here, let me show you an easy trick to get it down. Remember, it isn't about being the fastest, its just basic self defense." I stood next to him and grabbed the "hilt" of my bokken, then showed him in a slow motion how to draw. The technique looked like a fluid motion. It was slow, but fluid. I broke it down for him a few more times, hoping he'd get the idea of it. "How about you try again?"

I stood and watched Ishi show me the move slowly, at the same time my partner made his way over so he could watch as well. The motion was fluid and simple which I hadn't considered since my experience with swords seemed to always be two people swinging at full force. I nodded when he finished and turned to my partner to try again. This time my strike was still not quite as smooth or slow as it needed to be but I didn't damage the walls so it was a step in the right direction.

I watched Gil swing a few time, it was better. It wasnt as smooth as he could make it, but it was an improvement. I was kinda proud. I wasn't new to the feeling of teaching, but teaching swords was a little different. That was a new one. I felt like I was making a difference, which is what I've always dreamed of doing. He seems to have potential, but I'd like to know his skills more. He may be a useful ally. I glanced down at my watch and sighed, where had the time gone. I wasted more of the class than I wanted while being late. "Sorry you didnt learn much today, guys, but I'm gonna have to call class here. We've run out of time." I walked over to the chalk board and began to pack my teaching supplies into my day pack as I watched students begin to file out of the room.

Class hadn't lasted as long as I'd have liked it to but even so I felt a lot more confident with a sword than I had when I did when I woke up this morning so it had been worth it to come here. Like the rest I walked over and put my practice weapon back on the rack but rather than walking to the door I made my way over to Ishi and stopped over to his side while he was still packing up. "You know I think I recognize you from somewhere, but I just can't place it in my head."

I had just finished putting my teaching gear in my bag when I heard Gil speak. I didn't realize he was still in the room, but his statement had me wondering now too. I didn't do much aside from my research. I spent a decent amount of time at the dig site, library, and a small coffee shop down the block from the library. I stood and turned to face him, and as I thought about it, he was looking pretty familiar himself. I didn't graduate the academy with me, I would have remembered that. "Now that you mention it, you look pretty familiar yourself. I don't know from where. I don't spend much time outside of my research of the Endless Tower." I reached for my bag, only to knock my research notebook out. I sighed and stared at it for a moment. Did I really just do that?

When he mentioned the tower it all clicked together, I would flip my pack around and retrieve a newspaper from about a week ago with Ishi and his Father standing in front of the giant structure in the center of the village. "That was it, I remember you from the article. Never really said what you guys found though just that it was the start of something."

I leaned over to grab my notebook as Gil had mentioned a news article done on my father and I in last weeks paper. I'd been so caught up in my work since then that I forgot to buy a copy and read it for myself. As for the discovery, it wasn't anything ground breaking for the village, but for me it was most certainly the start of something for me. "Ah, I remember now. It was this." I reached in my bag and pulled out the scroll that I had unearthed, the one that contained my clan emblem. "It's a scroll bearing the emblem of my clan. I have no idea what's on the inside though. The damn thing is sealed with a fuuinjutsu I've never seen before. Here, try to open it." I extended the scroll toward him, curious to see if he had anything that could help open it.

He extended a scroll towards me, issuing a casual challenge to see if I could open it. I took it and tried a normal opening at first but got total resistance as though it were a solid object rather than a rolled up scroll. Confused I put more and more of my strength into it until I was trying so hard it slipped out of my hands and smacked against the edge of the desk. I cringed and I reached out quickly and caught it before it hit the ground and held it back out to Ishi. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to...whats that?" The smack on the desk had slightly moved the emblem to reveal what looked to be words in a language I didn't recognize.

I watched as Gil struggled with opening the scroll. He fought so hard that it seemed to just pop out of his hand. I watched as it smacked the desk and hit the floor. I wasn't to worried about it's integrity since the damn thing wouldn't open, the inside sure wasn't going to take any damage. Gil apologized, but then seemed puzzled about something. I looked down at the scroll on the floor and noticed that the emblem had moved. I picked it up and looked at it. What was this language? I'd seen something like it before, but writing of the old world were few and far between. "I don't know what it says, but it's some sort of old world writing. I don't even know if it could be translated. Most people who know old world texts are either nomadic monks, or senile old men. My bet would be on the nomad, but that's the other issue, where and how do we find someone without a home?" I felt put on the spot, these were things I should've been prepared for, but until now, I'd never needed anything translated in this language. I know a few translators for other dialects, but not this one. What to do?

The language of the old world, something I had been interested in for years but I hadn't managed to find many good books on it. And those weren't much help with translating at all. Still this had caught my interest more than anything had in quite some time so I proposed an idea. "I'm not sure, but two heads are better than one right? Why don't we try and track someone down together?"

I smirked as I heard Gil inquire about tracking down someone. "That sounds good to me Gil, I'd like the company, working alone can be pretty boring. You have any ideas where to start? I'd say the library, but in my years in the field, I know that place doesn't have anything we need." I paused for a moment, thinking to myself. What work contacts could I use? I was sure there was someone through work I could use, but at the same time, who has a lead on a nomad. It could take months or years without a good lead, unless he just happened to be wandering into town, but I've read most of them try to avoid civilization. It's too chaotic for them, hard for them to focus on work in the city environment.

Nomads, nomads...now where to find one of those wandering folk? Thoughts started racing through my head but I couldn't claim to honestly know anyone who didn't live in the village itself. Then something random popped in my head, something I had read in a book several months ago. "Well, if we can't think of anyone else there is always the man of the mountain?" I had mentioned an old fairy tale from when the village when still new. It told of an old man who had been here when the shinobi's ancestors first landed, a man who kept to the mountain range on the western part of the island. It was a long shot and would probably get a chuckle but its all Gil could manage.

I was deep in thought of my own when Gil mentioned the man on the mountain. I smiled at the thought of possibly proving a folk tale true. I was familiar with the story, and truthfully, most tales of old are based on truths. "I'm up to it, Gil. Right now that's the best lead we have. Do have a copy of the book somewhere? It might give us a few clues to narrow the search instead of just roaming the mountains blindly." I tried my hardest to think back and remember the folk tale, but I couldn't get the picture. It had been years since I'd read that book, plus outside of my research, I didn't do much casual reading of stories. I glanced down at the scroll in my hand, lightly running my hand over the emblem and the strange words. I had quite the mystery on my hands.

Unfortunately I didn't have a copy of the book on hand, but if we could get to the library I knew exactly where to look. "Afraid not, I know the library has a few copies though if you want to go check it out." I wasn't sure how busy Ishi was right now, if need be I could run by and get the book myself and meet up later.

I thought something like this may happen, but it wasn't a big deal. I had the rest of the day off and now that I had a break through with my case, I was gonna have to take a few personal days. My father would understand. "I don't really have anything for the rest of the day. I'm gonna have to leave some notes for my crew before we set off for the mountains, but that's nothing major. Do you have anything you need to get done?" I tucked the scroll in my back and closed it. I was pretty excited to get on the road. It was the biggest break through in my research thus far.

I took a moment to calculate everything in my head, I would need to head home and make some arrangements to get mom a temporary care taker as well as grab some supplies. When Ishi mentioned needing to talk to his crew that was enough of a window to get it all done. "Okay, I'll head home and grab some things then get the book. You go talk to your guys and get whatever you need to meet me at the west gate in two hours. Sound good?"

I nodded to Gil. I didn't have a lot of time, but it was enough. I had to grab a few things from home, but lucky for me, I already had a plan for something like this planned. I even had a back for a situation like this prepacked. "That sounds good to me, Gil. I'll see you in a bit. Hope you're ready for this." I smiled and grabbed my scroll, tucking it safely into the bag. I then walked out the door of the classroom and headed to home. I was one step closer to uncovering the contents of this scroll.

[Exit]

I ran over my list of tasks once more after Ishi left, this would be my first time going this far from the village if you didn't count reading books so the realization of how big the world is would hit me hard. I needed to hurry though, getting the book wouldn't be hard but finding someone willing to take care of mom...for a price we could afford...that would take some doing. With a nod to myself I walked out the door and got to work.

[exit /end topic]