The Kenjutsu Kid (D-rank mission)

mission details:

“Hello everybody. I am Yamamoto-san. I have been requested to show you some of the primary basics employed in the art of Kendo.” She stood at the front of the dojo, dressed in a keikogi and hakama while looking over the crowd of roughly ten children before her, all of them sitting down on the dojo’s wooden floor. Sadly, not all of them were paying attention and were instead chatting under their breath or looking around with disinterest.

“I am unsure to what extent your education in Kendo and Kenjutsu has been taken but I hope my experience can be of use. Now, the most important thing to consider in Kendo, Kenjutsu and any other form of martial arts is foot work, both that and your opponent’s. You can read your opponent’s moves based upon their footwork but of greater importance, is maintaining your own balance.”

“However, today our focus will be on maintaining our balance. Sato-sensei will be assisting me in today’s demonstration.” Yamamoto had walked past this dojo a few times, rarely anyway, and had a small measure of the place. Given what few lessons she had overheard, and the occasional exchanges between teacher and student, this place seemed to be a rather delightful establishment.

She turned to face the grizzled and bearded man to her right, before bowing respectfully at a fifteen-degree angle, her hands locked at her side. She held the Shinai at her side, the end of the handle at a higher point then the tip of its “blade”, her left thumb resting upon the guard. She took three wide steps towards the master of the dojo, the third and final step putting her right foot forward while the left remained at the back.

She drew the Shinai straight out, holding the blade at just under ninety degrees in an almost reversed L-shape. Then, she bent her knees, lowering her body to the ground and mirroring her opponent. She and her opponent then both rose back to their feet, her left foot rotating slightly to ensure balance. Oddly enough, the dojo master had not rotated his foot, intentionally, and was already seen to be struggling.

The duo slowly stepped around each other, mirroring the other’s steps in a manner that could only really be likened to a dance, one you would have found in the ballrooms of the mighty and influential European monarchs. Suddenly, the attack came. Yamamoto lashed out, a swift and aggressive strike aiming for the wooden weapon her opponent used. As had been agreed upon prior, the dojo master blocked the blade but not without cost.

The sheer forth of the impact caused his entire body to wobble, feet shuffling desperately to maintain balance. This was the opponent Yamamoto took as yet again, she swung with the blade, a brief and short swing that came to an end mere centimetres away from the teacher’s neck. The entire display had been barely a minute long, but it was clear, at least if this had been a real battle of wills, who the victor would have been.

Yamamoto pulled the Shinai back, holding it at her side. She repeated her earlier bow, mirrored by the dojo master, before turning back to the students, now enraptured and paying apt attention. A little bit of action was always good for stirring up the blood of people, especially the young, and getting their focus.

“As you can see, the force of my initial swing was enough to knock Sato-sensei off balance and that created an opening that could have easily resulted in his death. I trust this has been an informative demonstration.” With a third and final bow, the kunoichi stepped to the side allowing the dojo master to take the lead.

He stepped to the spot that had been occupied by Yamamoto, a central position at the front of the crowd of students, before speaking.

“Thank you, Yamamoto-san. For the rest of today’s session, I would like all of you to form pairs and practice your balance in mock duals. Feel free to strike at each other’s blades. Myself and Yamamoto-san will be around to offer advice or assistance as needed.” And so, the rest of the day was a gentle and routine thing. Students practicing, teachers giving out advice, stances being corrected. The time simply flew by and by the end of it, Yamamoto found herself approached by the dojo-master as she was walking towards the exit.

“Thank you, Yamamoto-san. The students were thrilled to have a genuine Shinobi visit. A lot of the time they want to rush to the ‘cool sword fighting and Shinobi stuff’ without learning the basics. I am grateful that you helped impress upon them the value of said basics. Some of my more challenging students seem to have taken the matter to heart at least.” Another respectful bow and the Sensei turned to leave, walking away before stopping and turning back to face the Kunoichi.

“Ah. I will pass along how stellar a job you did to the mission board. Thank you for your time.” And with that, the two of them went their separate ways. Yamamoto to collect her fee and the dojo-master to clean up his establishment.