Plus Ultra!

[Ashken]

Aito||

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{Codename Shindou} Currently filling in for remedial and special training at the Academy. Her harsh exterior belies her intentions. Scarred and harden by her experiences as a Shinsengumi she does everything in her power to ensure that the next generation is better prepared than she was and if they are not ready then ensure that they know their limitations, in her mind dead heros are just corpses.

---

After a long day of school and learning many students had left the academy, after all it was the beginning of the weekend and with that came a small reprieve from the books, the uniforms, the rules, sure a few stuck around for clubs and other activities. Aito was one sticking around. He had remedial classes, although he was ahead of the curve in a number of the more academic pursuits, he was sorely behind physical activities, and mastery of his powers.

He found himself in one of the training facilities. The inside had been set as an obstacle course. Though currently he stood over a cushioned area designed for sparring, his joggers where drenched in sweat, with every dash he could feel his socks squish on his shoes, his upper body was mostly exposed, a black harness had been fashioned to wrench his wings against his back.

Cough, Cough He looked up sweat running down his brow, his hair sticking against his skin, "I can..." he breathed hard, his body begging for air, "I can't..." Cough, Cough

"That's a lie" she said calmly from her highchair, observing the gym lazily with her good eye, her black haori draping over her body her hair pulled back in a messy pony tail, " You clearly have time to complain" he leaned forward "And breath to waste"

The younger boy tried to muster the strength to complain, but his body just begged him to stop, his feet felt like they both heavy and made of gelatin, "I.." he forced words together only to be met by a glare.

"Drop," she said firmly, "Pushups now" Aito didn't argue as he slowly lowered himself to the floor, his feet and knees thanking him, "If you feet need a rest then work your arms, and core, now push" She knew she was pushing the boy hard, she knew his medical background, the fact that unlike her the scars on his body are from the many surgeries to keep him alive, but that was not an excuse anymore, and if he was ever called to serve he would need to be more resilient, he did not have to be the strongest, but he needed to his strengths his limitations and how far he would go. "Tell the beast as he rips you arm off, that your tired, that you been fighting to long, that you just need a brake, tell them, that I can go on, please, when you team is begging you to save them, tell them you needed a brake" she raised her left arm up into the sky allowing the sleave to drop. She looked at her watch, "I thought I had other students today? "

[Ashken]

The boys' arms shook as he attempted to do pushups, the instructor repeating the same number if his form was not correct, in his mind he should have been closer to ten by now, but she was still in the single digits, he wanted to complain, but his lungs burn his arms shook, his whole body seem to be getting heavier by the second, "You know" she said softly "I've read your record kid," she leaned forward on her high chair, "Let me guess they told you that your bones are hollow like a bird, and that you needed to be careful not to brake them" 

The boy stopped, looking up from his pushups, sweat running down his brow, no one had told him that, if anything his family had kept most of his medical records secret, in their mind, if he didn't know better than he would be happier as he would not know what he didn't have or what he lost and for the most part they had succeeded. "Oh, they didn't" she read the confusion in his face, a smirk dancing on her lips "Kid, if your train yourself up, you be amazing" she shrugged, "Not now though, I could shatter you like porcelain."

She jumped off the highchair landing before her student in a crouching position, her face close to his. "Fun fact, the average human skeleton is about twenty pounds of their overall weight. Even with your wings yours is much lighter" she stood her full height pressing her feet against his back, "This is what it would feel if you were just as heavy as the rest of us."

Twenty pounds didn't sound like a lot to his mind, but the moment her foot pushed down. It took everything in his body not to collapse, he could feel the bones in his wings bend, his whole body was screaming, and yet deep down he knew she was not trying to hurt him, "It hurts..." he managed to spew out. 

"Really kid, I didn't even try," she was joking she put some weight, but she was not going to try to push that hard on this kid, she was strict not inhumane, "Catch your breath" she instructed him as she stepped away, "I was asked to push you to your limit," she soften somewhat as she went to a cooler next to her high chair and grabbed the kid a water bottle, "Normally I train people who are in the front lines, there risking their lives," she let out a sigh as she handed him the water bottle, "Your just a kid with a second lease in life, you're not even interested in fighting are you?"

Aito took the water bottle, he was confused, the change of tone felt drastic, "I don't know" he said softly as he drank some water. "Honestly never thought I would make it this far" his legs felt like they would melt under his weight, so he sat on the floor, "I'm just here because I got told too."

[Ashken]

"Because you where told to?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow in curiosity, the boy shrunken by her feet looked tiny in her eyes, shrunken in his exhaustion.  His expression a mixture of emotions, his lips barely parted as he spoke again, in his labored voice. 


"Yes..." 

She meet his gaze, his blue eyes where bloodshot as she could see tears starting to form on his eyes, she needed to understand him in order to figure out the best way to motivate him, her usual tactics would work, but dragging him to the finish line would not lead to him to wish to take the next step, it would just lead to a world in where she succeeded to force the horse to the water once,  she wanted him to take his lessons to heart and grow. "Honestly kid what's your story?" she asked no number of documents and medical records would give her a more honest answer than what she could extract from his records, plus some details where still a little fuzzy. 


"What do you mean?" he asked, just a few minutes ago she said she had read his record, in theory she knew more about him than was he knew himself. He had questions she probably was better suited to answer than he was.


"Your medical record is bigger than your personal record." She learned about so many medical terms she had not heard about in her life, nor she cared about learning about, yet the boy sitting before her other than very underweight and having to work on building his musculature after a lifetime of atrophy, looked relatively normal, if it was not for his wings, properly fitting clothes would have him passing as a normal kid.   


"I was sick." was his simple and straight forward answer, there was not a lot of time to do things in his life when he spent more times withing the walls of medical facilities than he did outside of them, the sound of medical equipment is more likely to put him to sleep than unnerve him, the smell of a clean hospital room gave him comfort, if there was one thing he did not miss it was the food, he did not miss the somewhat bland diet they had him, and that was when they deem he was healthy enough to have a solid diet, for a while there if his food was liquid it was not for him to have. 


"I get that part," she looked intensely into his eyes, trying to find any betrayal of his emotions, but it seems his simple answer was all it was in his mind, all he knew, which confirmed his confusion when she brough up his record earlier, somehow this kid was left in the shadow of his own life, how many times did he step on the threshold and somehow his family had kept it a secret. "What makes you tick" she moved the conversation, it was not her place to tell the kid all his secrets, if his family had kept him in the dark, then it was not for her to share, "If you had to explain to anyone why you get out of bed every day, what is your answer?" 


Aito looked down, braking eye contact, he tried to calm his breath, he laced his fingers together rested his hands against his chest, his heard beat loudly, that was a relatively new feeling, at times he could scare his doctors by focusing so hard he would slow his already weak heart into a slow cadence that would cause the machines to make ruckus, now that he had a better idea of what 'normal' looks like, he felt terrible for terrifying his doctors and nurses "I'm scared" he admitted. 

"About?" the teacher retorted. 


That one word was terribly difficult to confront. Fear was in a way a new feeling for him, he had seen it, but he never truly understood it, his doctors, his nurses, his family, so many had shown fear before him, yet although he understood the concept it was not till recently that he could truly say he understood fear. "Losing it all..." it was the closes thing to an answer he could provide, and even that felt lacking, it was strange how a powerful force could just paralyze him yet he could not name the culprit. 

"We are all scared of that..." she said with a sigh, there was no judgement in her voice unlike her harsher tone earlier, "But we can't leave in fear" she could see that the boy was working hard to keep his tears at bay, his whole body seem to be involved in the simple act of keeping it together, she sat down Infront of him carefully placing a hand on his, "Why are you scared of that?" just because she believed everyone went through the experience of fearing to lose everything, she did not know how that looked in his eyes. 


"I feel bad" he said softly, "I never had anything to lose before." it was not that had nothing to lose, more accurately, he had taken what little he had for granted, and now the frail nature of life truly unfolded before him, all those memories, those quiet long gazes his family exchanged, it was like replaying his life but now instead watching in mute, all of the sudden that one thing, was there, always, waiting for him to see it, "It's a weird feeling." he looked up seeing that she had sat before him, "I don't know what I hate more... The fact that I just want to hide, or the fact I didn't know for this long"


She was getting a better idea of where the kid was in his journey, she was never a subtle teacher, so she took her hand back and pulled her uniform off her shoulder, exposing her scared body and missing limb, "Look" she said firmly, her sport bra kept her modesty, but the young boys eyes would never even realize it was there and he focused on the scars, the injuries and most importantly the lack... the lack of arm. He didn't realize it, the way she moved the things he had seen her do, he just though she was just left dominant, it never even crossed his mind that beneath the long sleeves was nothing. "I could live in fear or pave my own path." she looked at him firmly, "Not saying its easy, and I can't force you, but don't let fear, become regret." 

[mermalaide]

"You should also pace yourself. Or you will keel over." That voice. It was cool, soft and the type of masculine that could only be described as polished. He stood a little in the light which obscured him a little but he was raven-haired and winged. His skin was pale and he looked prettier than most people, in an almost supernatural way. He stood there slim and willowy. He wore white hakuma pants, and a navy blue kimono type top. His top had accommodation for big black feathery wings and he stared with a cool intensity.

"You know Yi Kohinata, if you push him too hard, he will expire, the point is to build gradual strength."

He raised an eyebrow. The bokken at his side, that was clearly for kendo instruction was there as well. He looked like he had just come from a lesson, and had decided to take tea in the courtyard. Chikage Yamabuki. He was an instructor for Kendo and taught history at Osamu Tezuka Academy. He had quite the reputation too, among teachers and staff alike.

A tengu.

Not an old one per se, but one that had been a kendo protégé, from a clan that occupied Mount Kurama, a mountain that is north of Kyoto, and a notable Tengu stronghold. It had been rumored that those tengu were the ones that lived there were descended from and under the rule of Sōjōbō. Sōjōbō the tengu that supposedly taught Minamoto Yoshihitsune. He was not nearly as old as say Sōjōbō, hell, he looked like he was twenty, but he was really something like sixty or seventy years old. 

He did not kneel down, but, he did incline his head. 

"She is right somewhat though. Fear becomes regret."

He thought of human life and how finite it was for them, for his students and humans in general. This kid looked like he had been sick for a long time. Chikage took a little brown packet out of his kimono coat. It was loose tea that helped a person's constitution. He held out the packet to Aito. "Once in the morning, get up and meditate, breathe deep and drink while it's hot."
He looked so uncaring, yet the way he acted was interesting. "Keep exercising though, but take breaks." 

"Don't even think about giving up either."

[Ashken]

"You should also pace yourself. Or you will keel over."

She looked up at the voice, a small part of herself was annoyed that someone else was butting into her teaching, plus she had already slowed down the tempo for the kid, she was trying to dig into what made him tick before trying to do anything else that might require him to put any strain in his system. 


"You know Yi Kohinata, if you push him too hard, he will expire, the point is to build gradual strength."



When her name was spoken she grunted, finally realizing who was approaching them, she stood up to her full height and fixed her uniform, so that her injuries were not exposed. "I thought I had the gym for myself" she half asked as took a passing glance on the kid, "Plus I haven't killed him," she upped the sarcasm, "I got a spot by a hill picked out for him, nice view." Never had she lost one of her mentees in training and the only time he had lost anyone as a field commander and it almost took her life. 

She met him with similar respect, "It's been a while", she side glanced at Aito who was slowly standing up, his feet still feeling like gelatin, he bowed respectfully to his teacher, "Good Evening Sensei!" he tried his best to be respectful, and vocalized as loudly as his tired lungs would allow. 


"She is right somewhat though. Fear becomes regret. Once in the morning, get up and meditate, breathe deep and drink while it's hot."

Carefully he took the tea packet, he had tried other teas and similar health drinks through the years to help his immune system and help him fight sicknesses. "Thank you sir", he looked at Yi as if quietly asking permission to put the tea packet away somewhere other than his sweaty pants. She gave him a nod and he moved towards the bleachers where his jacket had been left out. 

"Keep exercising though, but take breaks. Don't even think about giving up either."

"Yes Sir!" he responded as he slowly walked back to the mat, his steps where off balanced and he was moving slowly and felt like he was moving even slower, "Miss can I take the harness off now?" he asked, getting a nod from the Shinsengumi. He unclipped the harness allowing it to fall, he took a deep breath, allowing his chest to expand and stretching, his crimson wings although still folded neatly against his back shook and found better purchase now that they were not being kept pressed against his skin.  "I'm not giving up sir, not yet..." he could not promise he would not find himself giving up, but he was going to fight as much as he could for now. 

Finally reaching the water bottle he nursed it for a bit before asking, "What's next?" he was still tired, but wanted a moment to catch his breath, but knew that now with two teachers he could not be slacking.

She looked at the Young Tengu, "Will you be staying with us for a bit? or are you just passing by?" she asked, she didn't need the extra help, but appreciated the company and maybe the more gentle approach of the other teacher to supplement her more natural tendencies to go more aggressive. 

[mermalaide]

He raised an eyebrow at Yi's comments. His chilly demeanor made him outwardly have an almost doll like face. How many times had opponents commented on this, underestimating him only to be dispatched brutally with the lovely flick of a wrist. "I would be less concerned at the sentimentality of the dead, and more on the very relevant needs of your student here." His smile was slight as he noiselessly went to stand a little out of the way. When greeted, he gave a slight, courteous nod. "It has been a while I suppose. But then we both get a bit preoccupied these days. We both have our ways of terrorizing students, I suppose."

Chikage had a reputation among students, and depending on how you looked at it, you were either blessed or cursed to get him for history or swordsmanship. "I like to come here a bit early, before Kendo. Decompression before and classes is something very necessary in this task." He spoke a bit like an old man. He watched the interaction between Yi and her student with a critical eye, trying to see if say there was something he could pick up to suggest. When asked if he was staying, "I suppose I will for a moment. As I was saying, this is a bit before Kendo."

He did not mind sharing a space if they didn't. He also thought that calisthenics in general was pretty helpful. "I do not mind, if you do not."

His large black wings were folded gracefully inward, as to not take up so much room. They were wings as glossy and as black as his hair. While his face seemed serene, he had a mischievous bird-like look in his eye. One could mistake that for being unfriendly, though it was not. It was the kind of look that was constantly turning something over in it's grasp. "So, what comes next?"

[Ashken]

"I would be less concerned at the sentimentality of the dead, and more on the very relevant needs of your student here."

He might have not intended to prickle her feathers, but Chikage succeeded, his chilly demeanor made it hard for her to read him, and harder to know if he truly though her sarcasm was serious. She rolled her eyes, "I am concerned for his needs" he said firmly, "I'm just more used to less fragile toys" it had been a while since they both shared a roof and it seem to her that she would fall into the trap of verbally sparring with the Tengu. 

"It has been a while I suppose. But then we both get a bit preoccupied these days. We both have our ways of terrorizing students, I suppose."

She shrugged her one arm against her waist, "You call it terrorizing, I call it thinning the heard" she looked at Aito "Lucky for him, he's nowhere near close to being a field asset." and to her knowledge he had not demonstrated any interest in being a Shinsengumi, she was just filling in for his normal teacher. 

"I like to come here a bit early, before Kendo. Decompression before and classes is something very necessary in this task."

"Okay" she nodded, she understood the need to decompress, or she would blow up on her students like a rocket at every opportunity, "Talking about Kendo," she said with a fair bit of excitement in her voice, "Maybe once I'm off my medical leave, I can get that spar you owe me" she knew that with her new injuries she had to work hard to be anywhere near her old physical prowess, but if anyone would actually treat her with respect and not pity she tough it would be the Old Bird here. "It's your turf, I'm just filling in for another teacher" she looked at the kid who had removed his harness, "He has special needs you might be better suited to assist with."  

"So, what comes next?"

"Well, had him warm up, do a few cardio exercises and though terribly he just did some upper body work." she informed him. "Thinking of having him work on his balance, the kid walks like a new born deer" she gestured to Aito, "Show him your wings"

For Aito it was bad enough that his upper body was exposed to the world, a lifetime of medical interventions painted through his skin, but now his teacher was just asking him to show off his wings... it was not that he disliked them, but it was just weird feeling and this coming from someone who was already felt like he had little privacy or body autonomy till recently. He mumbled something under his breath as he tried to focus on the still foreign limbs, slowly and gingerly they expanded to their full wingspan. All of the sudden he was hyperaware of every feather and every move of his body.

"His other teacher things he might be able to achieve flight," she looked at the kid, "Respectfully, I think he needs to feel comfortable on his own skin," his records stated he seem to be struggling with his changes, and in her own way she felt for him, so Chikage being here might be a blessing for the kid.  

[mermalaide]

The comment about thinning the herd annoyed Chikage. Granted the two of them were oil and water. It was not animosity, but the two might have a tendency to get into little explosions that led to combat. "Iif you continue to thin, you will turn around with no one behind you." His eyes were half closed when he said that. "Besides, it's a mark against us as teachers." He was a little bit prissy. But that was natural for him.

When she got excited about Kendo, he smiled. He loved it too, the poetry of combat as he thought of it. "Well if your student wishes to rest and absorb tea, I could think of no finer lesson." He seemed happy to show that off if possible. He had thought of doing Katas anyways, but had stopped due to the lesson. His cool demeanor hid his passion perfectly, though, he had plenty of time to stamp down the exuberant behaviors of youth.

Chikage listened to her speak about Aito's situation. His arms crossed and the face he made was very discerning. He looked at Aito intently, his eyes bore right into him. The tengu inclined his head. "What was that?" He looked at the muscles of the wings and deemed them a bit under developed. Not damaged per se, but they looked like they had at one point atrophied.

"It's possible. They are weak, but it is possible." He mused for a moment, wanting naturally to pace, and settling on the controlled movement of circling Aito in observation. "Stretch out your wings as far as comfortable." This boy needed to build strength through resistance and needed to build stamina, or the boot camp treatment was going to kill him. He was worried because, as was the case with most winged things, the weaker the wings got, the weaker the morale often got. The boy had stretched his wings far out, spreading them. "No," Chikage looked annoyed. "Show me what is comfortable, not the farthest. I want to gage your actual, comfortable level of strength."

[Ashken]

"If you continue to thin, you will turn around with no one behind you."

"At least I won't have to inform their parents of their misfortune." it was not a lack of care in the end they were both trying to achieve similar results, Chikage did it by honing his students to an edge, she rather thin out those who are not willing to struggle to be better, it reminded her of an old cook she once met. Who stated anyone can be a chef, but even he knew that not everyone should be a chef. She shrugged at his comment about being a mark against them as teachers, "I'm Shinsengumi, my men are soldiers I can't coddle them, if they can't hack it, I won't sent them to their graves" she tried to cool herself off, and as much as she would love to pick up a Shinai and meet the old bird in the ring, she needed to focus on the kid.  

"Maybe later, might be educational for the kid, but you said you got a class soon, so I rather use your time more efficiently on him first," 


"What was that?"

Aito blushed as he tried to use his arms to give himself some semblance of privacy, "Uhm?" there was a look of pained confusion on his eyes, "I... I... did what y'all asked" a part of him was used to being scrutinized by doctors, poked, prodded and put in uncomfortable situations, but this was not the privacy of a hospital room nor the two before him doctors.   


"It's possible. They are weak, but it is possible."

Yi nodded, so the other teacher was not completely crazy, though she still wondered if the kid had what it took to build himself up to achieve some of these lofty things everyone else though he would do.  

"Stretch out your wings as far as comfortable."

He nodded quietly, usually he was asked to open his full wings span which was starting to get quite large or to tuck them away as tightly as he could to keep them out of the way, comfortable was not something that had come up often outside few mentions in relation to his clothing.  

He closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself and focus, he still had his arms crossed against his chest in a vain attempt to cover himself with his tig like limbs, clenching his fist tightly he tried to find what felt comfortable, without entirely throwing off his balance or feeling like they were going to rip his back muscles, by the time he found his sweet spot, he had contracted his wings to where maybe one third of his full wingspan was presented and even that still seem somewhat awkward for the boy as he shifted his feet ever so slightly to try to find the right balance.  

"Is this better?" he asked not fully understanding what the teacher was looking for, "Can I ask a stupid question" he said softly, "What you mean with comfortable?" he unclenched one of his hands and nervously bit his nail, "I'm kind of new to not being in pain all the time... It actually kind of feels weird, like ants."

[mermalaide]

"At least I won't have to inform their parents of their misfortune."  He raised an eyebrow, not turning to look at Yi when she said that. Part of his opinion was that she was not wrong, but this was the difference between a teacher like himself, and Shinsengumi's ROTC. It was a fundamental school of thought. "Fair enough." Though, he did have somewhat of an arrogance as a tengu, his thought was that, we do not mend by grinding down, we mend by repairing the damage first.

He watched with interest as the wing span was unfurled to a third. Part of him wanted to scoff, but he held that pride inward, and when Yi protested, he held up a singular hand as if to stay her quiet. "I think I have a solution to this. It is a very antiquated one, but I think that this will help repair, so that he can begin to train in your way a bit more normally." His voice was so calm and measured. He refused to raise a voice. If people did not hear, it was their problem. "I have an hour before my next class, that should be more than adequate."

"Aito was it?"

He was sharp and birdlike in his gaze. "I will be instructing you on something called Tai Chi Chaun. It is an old art from the East." He felt Yi's gaze on his back and continued without pause. "The point of this martial art is balance, strength, and precision by directing the flow of Chi." His arms rested at his sides. "Every breath and movement is deliberate, and at times, the slowness will make you think this is an art for the elderly. While, elders do use this art, because of it's benefits, it is often credited with strength and longevity."

A bit of breeze ruffled his hair and the upper part of the linen he wore. "Before you can participate in basic calisthenics and healthy competition, you must actually have strength. But, because of your clear history of poor health, you will start at a negative, unlike your peers. Do you comprehend my words thus far?" He waited for a response, before he continued with what he was going with. He took something out of the satchel he had with him, it was a pen and writing pad. He wrote in beautiful, deliberate script.

Mr.Yamabuki 
5:00am Kendo room 
Required books from the library-

• Tai Chi Chuan Martial Applications: Advanced Yang Style Tai Chi Chaun
  
  by Yang Jwing-Ming and Jwing-Ming Yang
• Simplified Tai Chi Chuan: 24 Postures with Applications & Standard 48 Postures
  
  by Shou-Yu Liang and Wu Wen-Ching

He handed this to Aito. "Take this, we can start tomorrow." He looked at the boy, clearly in need of a rest. "I teach Kendo as well as history at this academy. You may have a seat, and if you have water you may have that." He turned to face Yi. "As for you. We can do a demonstration if you like." He set down his satchel near the star, still holding his hand on his kendo sword."

[Ashken]

"Fair enough."

Yi stopped herself from scoffing as the Tengu agreed with her, and that bugged her, but she put on her perfectly trained military face, and stood quietly in attention as she watched the master asses the boy, she trained soldiers, but she knew that he could better assess the boy, as she herself though good at her job, could not really speak about what they kid needed to work with his wings.  

"I think I have a solution to this. It is a very antiquated one, but I think that this will help repair, so that he can begin to train in your way a bit more normally."

The boy tilted his head, he had gotten some physical therapy, but for the most part a fair few had just insisted on him working-out and build muscle, some doctors had flown the idea of putting the kid on some steroids, but concerns about his heart and other previous health issues lead them to opt against it for the time being.

"Aito was it?"

"Yes, Sir. My name is Aito." he responded quickly. 

"I will be instructing you on something called Tai Chi Chaun. It is an old art from the East. The point of this martial art is balance, strength, and precision by directing the flow of Chi. Every breath and movement is deliberate, and at times, the slowness will make you think this is an art for the elderly. While, elders do use this art, because of it's benefits, it is often credited with strength and longevity."

Yi did stare at the Tengu with intensity, raising an eyebrow as Chikage spoke of Tai Chi for the boy, she understood that there where many benefits, but personally she though it would just be to slow, she wanted to see measured progress on his muscle mass and strength, and though it would be nice if the kid had a better mind body connection... She cursed under her breath as she found herself agreeing with the old bird, if the boy build up his mind body and gained better balance, while still building some functional strength he would be better prepared for her more intensive work. 

"Before you can participate in basic calisthenics and healthy competition, you must actually have strength. But, because of your clear history of poor health, you will start at a negative, unlike your peers. Do you comprehend my words thus far?"

"I understand", that was part of the reason he was here, he did receive some physical therapy, but his sessions where so far apart that the school wished to supplement them the other teacher had kept things a lot more generic, though Yi took a more intensive, approach, out of the teachers Chikage seem in his mind the only one to actually take his conditioning in mind. 


Mr.Yamabuki 
5:00am Kendo room 
Required books from the library-

• Tai Chi Chuan Martial Applications: Advanced Yang Style Tai Chi Chaun
  
  by Yang Jwing-Ming and Jwing-Ming Yang
• Simplified Tai Chi Chuan: 24 Postures with Applications & Standard 48 Postures
  
  by Shou-Yu Liang and Wu Wen-Ching

Aito took the note, looking at what was written, the books would be easy, being here at five already felt like torture, he tried his best to hide his emotions, though his eyes did a bad job at masking his concern.

"Take this, we can start tomorrow."

"Thank you" he said softly, before giving the teacher a proper bow and taking a seat by the bleachers, and grabbing another water bottle, which he quietly nursed as he tried to think how his mother would react to him having to be back tomorrow so early in the morning. Maybe he could just tell his father and skip his mother's fury. 

"As for you. We can do a demonstration if you like."

"Sure" she broke her silence as she went to borrow one of the practice swords, she cleared out the area before them. Kendo sword in hand she gave the teacher a respectful bow. "Thank you for your time" she said with outmost respect, she took a deep breath calming herself and preparing herself, "If I remember correctly, you won last time let see how this goes" she smiled he words calm, yet anyone could feel the intensity of her focus. 

[mermalaide]

He gave a nod of politeness to Aito. He did not mind sharing his mornings. There were ways to gather strength both internally and externally. Chikage Yamabuki felt that stillness within himself. That reserve. He put his things down, except for the kendo sword on his hip. No, his hand was always resting on that. It was something that many swordsman seemed to do out of habit. Maybe reassurance, but this was more out of the extension of the body, no more distinguishable than wingspan or toes.

"Thank you for your time."

He bowed back. "And you as well. I thought I would write out here, but perhaps something more dynamic is in order."  The wind picked up a little in response. Looking at him, he looked like something out of a samurai movie. The light breeze ruffled his hair and pant legs, betraying the stillness of his doll-like face. 

"If I remember correctly, you won last time let see how this goes."

Her stare had the intensity of a thousand suns. He felt it on his face, and it had been said that warriors, true warriors could communicate well without uttering a single word. He's read and written poetry of the very content. He sized her up calmly, ice to fire really. And it was humorous that two schools of thought would clash in this way. A physical confrontation of ideals. 

Chikage's sandaled feet glided over the pavement almost soundlessly as he moved. If it had been indoors, it would have been soundless, as tabi socks slid over polished floor. But often combat is inelegant. True combat seemed more intuitive and brutal, less elegant. "I was also in my element." There was a slight smile to the words. Not mocking, but knowing. It had been a fair fight last time, as would this one, but he still thought the wind blew favoring him.

Chikage drew his Kendo sword from it's scabbard. It was polished, lacquered wood, quite hard. It shone a little in the sun dappled courtyard. Somewhere not far off, the sound of a flag pole's rings hit the pole. He gave a slight smile and nod of acknowledgement. The breeze tugging a little at the hakuma pants and kimono shirt he wore. He rose his sword  the 
Chūdan stance, which was a mid level.

"Begin!"

[Ashken]

"And you as well. I thought I would write out here, but perhaps something more dynamic is in order."  

She smiled softly, knowing that underneath their calm there was controlled storm, this man had not just taught some of the greatest swordsmen she had the pleasure of working with, he was still an amazingly practiced man who's long lifespan as a Yokai had afforded him many advantages. 
 
"I was also in my element."

She nodded softly, "True", her body was tense, her muscles ready to react to anything, though she was certain the master would make the field his, turning around any weakness she demonstrated and turning it into his strengths and she was painfully aware of her many weakness, including the ones that had currently placed her into her current positions.   

She was not surprised that the master took a practiced and true stance

"Begin!"

Mirroring the master's stance she slowly approached, as much as this was a spar, it was a demonstration to the kid, a way to see things, and in a way visualize what his hard work would hopefully take him to. Being that she did not have to worry about damaging the edge of a blade she targeted his sword, she knew making contact against Chikage would be night impossible without an explosion of power and she wanted the student to learn something not just blink and miss the spar. 

[mermalaide]

Where she was tense, he kept his movements fluid. They would be a clash of wills. He push of strength was the only real way to get to him. Chikage kept his wings at his sides for now and moved to parry with his sword with the raise and flick of his wrist. The move was a simple rebuff in response to the strength push. The kendo sword could be formidable, even against a steel weapon, though, generally one was at a disadvantage. Though, in Chikage's case, the nerf was still not that much of a nerf.

"My turn."

After his parry, he turned with his sword, pushing it off and choosing to do something akin to 1,000 strikes or cuts. It was a jab move that was repetitive and sped up. It almost looked like a solid column of wood was coming at her, however it was just one sword moving very quickly, to force an opponent back and gain footing. It could be taken one of two ways: a person would have to try to defend and move backward, or they would have to lean into the attack.

It was a move that he had taught to a dozen students but only three students had actually picked up on the correct way to counter that, and one of them was Saito Shibara. He did so by finding his opening. The other, one of last year's graduates, Momiji Fujiwara, had gone in a counter intuitive move. This opponent was more seasoned, but he wondered how she would respond.

His eyes were like a raptor's analyzing every movement.