Fan Fiction ❯ Bushido ❯ The Training ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 5: Training

Koichi stretched as the early morning sun rose in the horizon, still a deep blood red. The grass was soaked in dew, and the last chilled winds from the night made the young man shiver, as he was only dressed in his fundoshi. The ronin was sure he had never been awake at this hour before at any point in his life.

"You were serious when you said we'd wake up at the crack of dawn, I'm assuming," he told Sojobo as he suppressed another yawn.

<I have been training my pupils in the same ways for over 400 years--I'm not about to go and change them.> the tengu replied.

"Well, I can adjust, I'm sure," Koichi told him. Sojobo chuckled.

<Well, I hope so, for your sake, boy. There'll be no 'days off' here. You'll be training from sun-up to sundown, no breaks in between. Now, to start off your first day of training...> The humanlike tengu stopped at the bank of a slow-flowing river. <See the two pails over there, Koichi?> Koichi looked over to where his new master pointed. A long pole connected two wooden buckets, obviously made for carrying water.

"Hai. Do you wish for me to retrieve water?" he asked.

<Almost.> Sojobo said. He walked over to a cluster of rocks and rolled a few over. <Since this is your first day, we'll start off slow. Five pounds per limb should be enough.>

"You wish to weigh me down with weights?" Koichi asked.

<Hai. The five pounds per limb will make twenty pounds, plus the two gallons of water when the pails are filled. Sit down.> Koichi obeyed as the tengu tied the rocks to his wrists and ankles before handing him the connected water buckets. <Now, fill the buckets to the brim, then run down the flow of the river until you see me. I will be sitting upon some boulders by the water some three miles from here. I'll expect to see you in no later than an hour." He disappeared, leaving Koichi to gather in what he said.

"Nani? I have to run three miles with over thirty pounds weighing me down in less than an hour?" The teenager sighed. "Well, I can't let my master down." He then knelt down by the water, filled them to the top, then slung them over his shoulders, trying not to spill too much.

Well, here goes. And so he sprinted off, following the southern flow of the river, pacing himself as best he could. He was sure he could normally do five miles in about an hour, but he did have the rocks slowing him down. After a while he felt as if his lungs were going to burst, but still he pressed on.

A great deal of time later, Koichi saw the vague outline of the master tengu up ahead. He found what last bit of energy he had in him, and made a sprint towards his sensei.

"I'm ....*pant*....here, *pant*...Sen...sei..." the ronin gasped as he stopped in front of the tengu.

<Fifty minutes,> Sojobo said, <Not bad time-wise, however...> He looked at the half-empty water buckets and frowned, <You have spilled far too much water. On your way back, I hope you can manage to keep them at least three-quarters full.>

"....Way...back?" Koichi panted.

<Hai,> Sojobo replied, <Every morning, we will go to this river. You will run three miles going with the current, then you will run three miles back going against the current. Each day we will add a little more to your rock weights, as I deem suitable. Now,> He filled the buckets again with a snap of his fingers, <Get into the water.>

"But, sensei..."

<You want to be stronger, don't you?> Sojobo asked.

"Hai, Sensei..."

<Then you will do this exercise properly!> the old tengu retorted. <Now, do as this old fool says and get into the water. No more than ankle deep, mind you. Good, good. I'll give you one and a half hour this time. Pace your self, Koichi!> And with that, he was gone again. Koichi sighed and began his longer trip back upstream.

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Koichi never felt so tired in all his life, and he had been through a fair amount. He felt as if he would fall apart the second he dropped the water pails at his teacher's feet.

<Excellent. You managed to keep them three quarters full. Now, let us begin the real training.>

"Real....training...?" Koichi asked, not believing his ears.

<Of course! You didn't think this was it, did you? This is only your morning drill! We still have plenty of exercises to do! Come now! No, don't take the weights off yet, you'll need them for the next part.>

Koichi merely groaned in reply.

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"Another water exercise? Koichi asked as they appeared at another point of the river.

<Well, the water mostly softens the impact, should you fall...well, softens it a little...anyway!> He pointed towards a line of large poles erected in the middle of the river, about four feet or so above the water. <I want you to jump from pole to pole until you reach the end, then turn around, and do the same on the way back. You will do this one hundred times, each trip from one side to the other and back counting as one.>

"And you want me to do this with the twenty pounds of rocks on me?"

<Hai. Also, keep in mind that should you fall off, you will have to start over again.>

Koichi sighed inwardly and swam through the neck-deep water until he reached the poles. After a few minutes of slipping and sliding down the wood, he managed to get enough grip and climb to the top, where he took another moment to steady himself.

"Sensei, what is the exercise for, anyway?" Koichi shouted over to the tengu.

<This practice shall help improve your sense of balance.> Sojobo replied. <Now, get started! We still have far to go!>

The ronin nodded at looked at the next pole. From the looks of it, it was about three feet away. He could make that jump. Koichi bent down, swung his arms as best he could, then made his leap--and promptly missed his target and fell into the water with a loud, "PLOP!"

<Too bad, deshi,> Sojobo's voice rang as the man surfaced the water, sputtering. <Looks like you'll have to start all over again.> Koichi sighed and paddled over for another try.

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<...98....go od, good, Koichi, only two more trips to go and we can continue on! ...99...>

SPLASH!

<Ooh. Such a pity. Guess you'll have to start over.>

Why me? Koichi thought as he struggled to climb up yet again.

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<...One more pole, deshi...100! Good! Now, get down and come back here, we still have plenty to do!>

"How many more tasks am I supposed to do?!" Koichi asked as he came up to the shore and wrung the water out of his black hair.

<Plenty, plenty! It's only 10:30, Koichi! We still have a whole day ahead of us!>

"Wonderful..." the man didn't make any other objections, however, and teacher and student disappeared to another location.

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Koichi swam, upstream, twenty laps, with only one break allowed. He climbed half a mile up the mountainside. Then he practiced agility by dodging various fruits Sojobo threw at him. He jumped over makeshift hurdles with five pound weights tied to his ankles. And this was only the morning and early afternoon.

After 2 o'clock, the elder tengu had the human sword practicing with balancing on small, grounded wood poles. They stood no higher than five inches off the ground, yet it proved to be a difficult task when Koichi was told to hit the dangling block over and over while moving on the mini-poles...barefooted.

Then there was sparring with the tengu students. They practiced karate and various jujitsu. Although Koichi won a fair amount of matches, the sparring left his already tired muscles very sore.

At the very end of the day, Sojobo had Koichi meditate under a waterfall until it was time to eat and go to bed. This was the largest and strongest waterfall the ronin had meditated under thus far, and he found it very irritating that the gallons of gushing water would stab at his body like a thousand knives while he tried to concentrate.

After dinner, Koichi was escorted to his sleeping accommodations while Sojobo reminded him, <Be ready for tomorrow. Same exercises, only I'm going to make the five pounds seven and I expect you to be done faster.>

Koichi's lip twitched at the thought of the next day.

This training's either going to make me stronger, or kill me, he thought.

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The autumn gave way to winter, but still the ronin's training commenced. Seven pounds gradually went up until they reached fifteen, at which Sojobo explained that they must be consistent with the amount of weights now; lengthening the amount of work and decreasing the amount of time instead were more effective now.

By late November, Koichi could run three miles carrying around seventy pounds of water and rocks within thirty minutes. He noticed that when the weights were gone, he was able to move around easier and won more sparring matches that way. When he gave it a bit of thought, it didn't surprise him too much. Of course he would feel lighter and be more agile without the weights, it was only logical. The harsh training was proving to be rewarding after all.

Yuuchou sparred with the human from time to time, and he seemed to have wizened from their first match. No matter how hard he tried, Koichi couldn't defeat his fellow pupil. There were close calls, but the tengu always won in the end.

It was mid-December by the time Koichi was able to defeat the tengu once again. In the battle the human turned Yuuchou's punch against him and managed to flip him over. This was not the first time he had attempted this, but it was the first time he had the actual strength do it.

<Excellent, both of you!" Sojobo chirped as he walked over to his two deshi. Koichi helped his tengu opponent back up and they bowed to each other before turning back to their master.

<Both of you,> their sensei said, <get cleaned up and meet me in my conference room.> His students bowed obediently and walked back towards the castle.

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<I am very impressed at your progress, Nakano Koichi,> Yuuchou commented as the two walked down the hallways of the castle, <This time you won when neither of us were holding back.>

"Who says I wasn't holding back?" Koichi joked as the two grinned at each other. His old Nakano silk attire long since trashed, he now wore the lighter blue kimono and dark gray hakama the tengu gave him, bearing a single talon as its crest.

<All right, all right, let's not get cocky.> Yuuchou said. <After all, you just got lucky.>

"First you compliment me on my skills, then you say it was luck?" Koichi asked. "I'll never understand tengu." The two let out a few more chuckles before becoming silent as they reached Sojobo's doors. The shoji slide open and the two pupils bowed before their sensei, who bowed back.

<I called you here to talk about your training,> Sojobo said. Koichi and Yuuchou glanced at each other.

"Did we do something wrong, Sensei?" Koichi asked.

<Not at all,> was the reply. <I wanted to notify you that you both have completed your training.> Both students looked surprised.

<Well, I can understand why I'm done, I've been here for years, but...>

"...I've only been here four months!" Koichi finished.

<I understand that. But Yuuchou, you have staid longer than most because you're also learning about our priesthood, and that takes a long time. Koichi isn't.> Sojobo explained.

<Yes, but...he's right. Only four months?>

<Four months of tengu training is equivalent to ten years of human training.> the elder tengu replied. <Yuuchou, you still have a few years left of studying our priesthood, but your physical training is done. Koichi, as I have said, your training is done too. You're now free to continue on your way.> Koichi and Yuuchou bowed and thanked him.

"Sensei, one question before I leave..." Koichi began.

<Hai?>

"What province am I in?"

<Ise.> Sojobo answered.

"Arigatou, Sensei." Koichi bowed again.

<Douitashimashite. Koichi, the tengu here will always welcome you back, so don't hesitate to visit.>

"I'll keep that in mind. Sayonara." Koichi bowed once more before leaving with Yuuchou.

<Is there any place in particular you're planning to head to? I can teloport you there if you wish.> Yuuchou offered.

"Thanks, but I prefer walking." Koichi said, "I'd like to see more of this country in this lifetime." Yuuchou nodded.

<I understand, but at least allow me to bring you to the path outside of this forest. It'll take you to Mino.>

"Very well." Koichi gave in as they disappeared.

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<Jus t head down the route that way.> Yuuchou pointed northeast.

"Hai. Arigatou, Yuuchou."

<One last thing...> Yuuchou reached into his open vest.

"Hmm?"

<Take this.> Inside his clawed hand rested a small, silver statue shaped like a bird. Koichi took the figure and examined it.

"What's this for?" he asked.

<If you're ever in trouble and need my help, take that idol in your hand and tell it you wish to see Yuuchou. I'll be able to hear it and locate you.> the tengu explained. The ronin smiled.

"Doomo arigatou, Yuuchou. I'll remember that." He placed the figure inside his gi and turned around, waving. "Sayonara." Yuuchou nodded.

<Until we meet again, Nakano Koichi.>

The crow goblin stood on the path moments after his human friend disappeared down the road before disappearing himself.

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Talk about intense training, ne?

deshi - "student/apprentice"

Douitashimashite - "you're welcome"

For anyone who's interested, I have a site for this that not only includes the story, but my artwork on it, character profiles, "behind the story" about the making of the characters, multimedia, and more! The link's www.bushido.hcmrworld.com