My Home is your Home *

A yawn comes from my mouth as I exit the room that I had used to sleep in. I was able to rest after coming back from that journey from the ruins where I met Yuki, and now that we had made it to his village, he had done well on his end of the bargain. With that said, I figured it was probably time to get him a sword and start training him on how to use it. Still, it seemed like he was the type to wake up early, so there was a chance he already had a sword. I would be walking out from the room and towards him dressed only in my underwear. My right pinky finger would be in my nose while my left hand would be down in my pants, scratching my junk. On arrival in this manner, I greet, “morning” in a sleepy manner before coming to stand beside him with no shame of my attire; after all, we were both males here. Waking up, my hands are freed from their duties as I stretch, arching my back and balling my hand into fists that lift into the air in a Y. After a loud fart, I murmur, “excuse me” before saying, “you about ready to head out and get your sword?”

Persona: Jyn'Rai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 214 / 214

By the time he had reached the part about the village, my pants were already partially down and a golden stream of morning elixir was streaming from the porch to the front yard via a mid size semi erect length as I exhale a sigh of relief with the release of the pressure. Looking to him after the caution about the village, I compose blinking twice and looking to him in a confused manner, “oh? They’re strict about that kind of thing… sorry.” With that, I finish up giving it two shakes before stuffing it back in and assuring, “I’ll only take a second to get some clothes on.” By this time I had made it into the room in which I had come as I call back, “hey, mind getting some of that meat ready for the walk to the market, it smells delicious.” From there, I would proceed in getting dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a form fitting tee shirt that was clean enough. I put on my shoes, stuff my sheathed blade behind my back and secure it in place, and then proceed out to where Yuki was, if he were still there, to inform, “okay, I’m ready to go. Feel free to lead the way.”

Persona: Jyn'Rai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 218 / 432

My gaze shifts to him as I tell him that I’m ready to go. Seeing the food that he wrapped up in the linen, I walk towards him to accept it, if it were handed off asking, “is that the meat you prepared for me? Thanks!” If I were able to obtain the breakfast that had previously been offered to me, I would begin to munch on it immediately while Yuki stood upon the porch and nodded before we moved out. Following to his side I would walk out of the porch area and move with him through the village that I hadn’t been in for too long. While walking around this area, and hopefully munching, I would take in the scene, seeing what the village had to offer, it’s overall size and structure. I liked to keep a good mental image of the surroundings that I were in and previously in the last night I had already added the place to my map collection, making it onto the parchment for this area. My exploring seemed to be going well in this region of the world. While walking, I would look over to Yuki and explain, “there are two main types of swords that I’ve noticed. Curved and straight. I mostly use curve just because that’s the only type I’ve ever had. I suppose straight blades would be better for universal thrusting. Depending on your style, it’ll help you choose a sword style…” I also add, “it also depends on what the merchants have in stock as well.”

Persona: Jyn'Rai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 274 / 706

I continue to munch on the breakfast vittles as we make our way through the village and he seems to agree with me. It was pretty good, but then again, I was pretty hungry based on the fact that I had just woken. Normally when I am just waking up I have to do two things and thankfully I was able to do both in a relatively show amount of time. When he makes his observation, I give a nod of my head and agree, “yeah, I hope the merchants have something worth buying. It would suck if no one had a sword….” I think for a moment, “or it would be even worse if only one person had a sword and then tried to rip us off for one.” I munch a little bit more on the food, almost finishing it off as speak with my mouth partially full, “you shouldn’t spend more than 5 very common items on a sword… after all swords are pretty common themselves.” Still, I figured he had bartered before in his life, so getting a good deal would be a basic of life and something probably not needed in my lessons. Now in the merchant district, I would finish off my meal and look for any signs of us getting close to the merchant of choice; I would let him choose who we approached first, but if I saw anything interesting, I would redirect us there.

Persona: Jyn'Rai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 246 / 952

I answer him with only a nod since nothing more was really needed. Moving through the area, I begin to look around for a merchant with promise. In my experience, it was better to find two merchants who were near one another selling almost the same things who didn’t seem comfortable with one another. That made it so that they had to compete for your business and often times that resulted in a good deal. Marketplace competition was always a good thing, at least for me the buyer. Since it was taking Yuki a while to locate someone who seemed to have good wares, I motion toward a merchant who had a cart turned with its broad side facing the street with a wooden box set in front of it that he used as a table. There were several nails pinned into the side of his cart with various weapons and armors hanging from them. On the table he had things ranging from music CD’s that were probably used as mirrors to socks and underwear. I begin to make my way towards the merchant who had long shaggy blonde hair with a matching mustache and beard that hid his mouth in a fuzzy manner. His skin was tanned with the sun’s presence and crow’s feet rested in the corner of his eyes. His gaze shifts to me as he sees my approach. With a nod, he would greet me or us on arrival. I would give a nod as well before hearing him ask, “How can I help you?” Turning to Yuki, I would let him do the talking about browsing of the merchant’s stock.

Persona: Jyn'Rai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 289 / 1241
Ooc: You can make up what he has to choose form.

The merchant seems hopeful when Yuki mentions the fact that he needed a weapon. As it was apparent, he had many to choose from. A smile forms in the mustache and beard hidden crevices of his lips when Yuki states that he would take one, but before the merchant could confirm the sale, I speak up stating, “well, let’s have a better look at it.” Reaching out for the blade, I would offer to take it out of Yuki’s hands before looking over it and asking, “merchant, was this weapon forged by a blacksmith you know, or is this a relic sword?” The merchant shifts a bit uncomfortably as he comments, “well, it was bartered to me, but I believe that it comes from a very reputable blacksmith.” Looking over the sword’s blade I speak, “I don’t think so. Judging by the tint of the blade, this weapon must have been created by the ancient race. It needs polishing and as a merchant I figure you don’t know the proper way to care for a weapon.” I side the blade back into the sheath and look up to him, “I’ll have to do some maintenance on it.” Looking to Yuki, I would hand the weapon back to him and nod towards the merchant, “go ahead and show him (roll) what you have to barter with. Let’s see what type of deal we get.” The merchant would look slightly off guard, but would look to Yuki to see what he had.

Persona: Jyn'Rai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 263 / 1504

The merchant looks over the wares that were available for trade from Yuki. Even though it may have seemed like we had him on the ropes, the merchant was very skilled in his trade and new that he could probably get an extra item or two out of this. Aside from that, he realized that Yuki seemed to particularly what this sword, so for that he forms his mouth to speak, “hmmm… those are very common items you have there. I could probably pick those up myself somewhere just lying around…” The merchant rubs the fuzzy blonde beard at his chin before he comments, “I suppose they have some value to them, however.” He leans forwards to inspect them further before coming to the conclusion, “if you will give me these six items here, I believe we can have a deal. A sword will be much more useful to you than these things…” The merchant reaches his hand out to separate the six very common items that he wanted before looking up to Yuki. In my mind, I knew that 5 was a good price, but then again 6 was the same that I paid for my second sword. I would give a nod saying, “that’s not a bad price, but how about 5?”

Persona: Jyn'Rai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 224 / 1728

Though I tried my hand at bartering with the merchant, he would look to me and then think over the price and the 6 items. It would seem that he really wanted all six items because he slowly shakes his head and makes the comment, “no, I will only settle for 6. If perhaps you had more rare items, I would give it to you for less, but with what you’re offering I will not go any lower.” From this, I could see that there was no changing his mind, so I look to Yuki and comment, “well, the price isn’t that bad. It’s up to you.”

Persona: Jyn'Rai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 106 / 1834

A smile is hidden under the merchant’s facial hair as he nods and accepts the transaction, pulling the 6 very common items of choice to him while allowing Yuki to make off with the sword. The merchant comments, “it was a pleasure doing business with you…” His voice trails, but he continues, “let me know if you need anything else. Would you perhaps like some armor to go with that sword? For 6 more items like this, I am willing to allow you to choose from a few common pieces of armor?” I wouldn’t really say anything at this point as it was up to Yuki if he wanted to buy armor or not. It wasn’t needed for the training, but it may help him out in his job or something like that. Still the offer had me think whether I wanted to get some leather paddings. I decided against it for now though figuring that I could hold off until I found someone with a better price. With that, my attention would be to Yuki to see if we would be staying here or walking away to begin our training. I was glad that we were able to accomplish our first objective so quickly, though the type of sword he got seemed odd to me. To each his own.

Persona: Jyn'Rai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 227 / 2061

With Yuki’s decision, I would follow along not requiring anything from this merchant. I had already mentally decided that I would look for better deals on armors whenever they would be needed in my travels. I hadn’t needed any armor in a while; the leather paddings that I used to use when I worked with Little Hunter had long since worn out and had been bartered. But, after Yuki tells the merchant farewell, I give a short chopping wave and also add, “see you” to which the merchant looks to us both and nods accordingly bidding us adieu. Looking to Yuki as the question is asked, I would return the answer, “yes, now we can get right into things.” I would continue turning away from the merchant and walking off, “it would be best to train in a fairly open area, though the area behind your house should be sufficient to start off with, unless there’s somewhere that you normally train like when you’re practicing with your chains. If you want we can head there now, I have everything I need on me to start you out with the basics.” With that, the ball would once again be in his court to lead the way wherever.

Persona: Jyn'Rai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 224 / 2285

When he speaks, a smile spreads across my lips. Just fighting each other? That was amusing; as if I would pit him against me with sword. No no, there was an entire foundation that needed to be laid before any of that silliness was to occur. With a nod, I would semi agree, “something like that.” With that, our current destination was set as I would assume we would be heading back toward his house now. I would continue to walk with him, retracing our steps in heading back to the house which he had previously come. During this time, I would see how much of the village I had already committed to memory and continue to be watchful of the village and its setup in order for me to be able to walk around it on my own and know exactly where to come back to in order to reach Yuki’s home. I walk with my arms folded and my gaze forth, but in looking to him I would see him look down at his weapon seemingly happy with it. With a nod towards it, I would inquire, “so what will you name it? A swordsman should have a name for his sword.”

Persona: Jyn'Rai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 209 / 2494

“Well,” I begin, “it could be a spoken rule and you would never know. Since you’re not in the sword class, I wouldn’t really expect you to know a lot of sword rules. Still, among swordsmen I’ve met in the past, it’s been something that’s been done. The hope is to continue to get closer to your weapon until it becomes more than a part of you but a companion as well. If you don’t have a name for it, then it simply means that you’re not even on a first name basis with your weapon. How can you ask your weapon to give you all of its strength if you barely know it?” Much of my own philosophy was mixed in there with things I had experience in talking to people in these ten or so years that I had been pretty much a wandering samurai. I oblige, “but it might take some time for you to come up with a name for it. Don’t just come up with the first thing you can think of, but instead try to figure out its true name. It’s then that its power will fully be manifested to you. Besides being tools to hack and slash with, some weapons have their own souls just like we do.”

Persona: Jyn'Rai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 216 / 2710

The back of my right hand lifts up to my head to brush softly, wiping a bit of perspiration from my brow; we were in the desert around the middle of the day after all. I preferred the moderate temperatures of the northern areas when compared to the desert, though it had its own charm about it. Around the time I finish speaking, I notice that we had come into the residential area of his village. I knew that soon we would be upon his house. From that point on, since nothing was asked, I wouldn’t continue rambling on; I couldn’t fully tell if he were interested or no. After thinking on it, I realized that I didn’t know the name of my secondary sword. Either way, that wasn’t for me to do, that was Battousai’s job on the account that I didn’t use swords. During my interaction with him, I had led Yuki along the assumption that I would be the one teaching him swordsmanship. It was technically correct to think that, so I wouldn’t go through the headache of trying to explain the idiosyncrasies of my various personas, I’d let Yuki come to his own conclusions as he met them, though I only anticipated on him meeting Battousai and myself.

Persona: Jyn'Rai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 231 / 2941

‘Aw crap!’ my mind thinks at the moment he vocalizes his question. It was as if he read my mind just now. I questioned the fates as to why would he ask me the name of my sword? Was he challenging me? Did he want to fight? Or was he simply curious? I figured it would be the latter of all of those since Yuki seemed like a pretty trust worthy guy. With a shrug, I keep my gaze ahead as I answer him; after all, he only asked for the name of one of my swords. I speak, “Claw Blade. It’s a name that my father had given it before I took over use of the sword. He learned how to use it watching animals in the wilderness and he referred to it as his claws. It helped him bridge the gap in strength and capability between human and beast so that he could provide and protect my family… up until the day he died. The day he died, he didn’t have it in his hand… I did… I wasn’t able to get it to him in time…” My voice drifts off with the sentence as I get a bit stoic with the final words, but at least the question had been answered.

Persona: Jyn'Rai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 208 / 3149

With a nod, I would agree with Yuki and that was about all that needed to be said on that issue. With my gaze shifted up, I would see that we were there. With a nod, I would confirm, “good, now to the back yard.” I would walk around to the rear of Yuki’s structure getting a feel for the amount of space we would have in the back here. I thought that the front would be a bit awkward with people passing by and hoped that the back would offer at least a little bit of seclusion. Judging by the current temperature and status of the outside, I felt I had pretty good conditions for his training. While walking around in a semi circle with my armed folded at my chest I mention, “I get a little bit different when I’m teaching swordsmanship…” I murmur lightly under my breath that I forgot to discuss this training with Battousai.

After thinking that, I hoped that my inner persona would not reject the idea because I didn’t think I had it in me in order to train Yuki on my own. Luckily as I am thinking this, Battousai puts my fears to rest as he comments, ‘if he wishes to learn, I will teach him… he is honorable to his word.’ This referenced Yuki’s willingness to feeding and housing us for the lessons. Battousai adds, giving me a little bit of grief, ‘you owe me, not him.’ These cryptic words would cause me to sign internally as I had thought it was too good to be true for him to actually take on a disciple. I had been writing checks that I couldn’t cash up to this point, but thankfully I was saved at by the grace of Battousai.

With that little mental battle out of the way, I would resume paying attention to outside stuff and reach into my pocket pulling out a bundle of black leather. It was a facial mask that Battousai used to hide his face. While unfolding it in my hands, I inquire, “so are you ready to get started?”

Persona: Jyn'Rai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 371 / 3520

“Good,” I make my final comment for the moment as Jyn’Rai. As I say this, the leather mask is unfolded and lifted up to my face. It covers the bottom portion of my face up to about the bridge of my nose. The top portion pulls over my head and rests as a horned head band on my upper forehead. My arms lower to my side as I perform a persona change utilizing my ability to Phase Shift. My eyes close as the other me is awoken. Now as the persona of Battousai, a bright flash of red energy occurs and skims the surface of my body. This bursts into the surrounding area creating a red aura of killing intent that permeates the atmosphere with the same properties of a low level bind. My ivory hair lengthens, falling in a looser manner over the edges of the mask, and my eyes reopen, now displaying a deepened crimson coloring. An intense gaze glares at Yuki from my distance, but I did not attack him.

As the aura fades my gaze cuts to his sword-hand in a swift glance; beneath the mask covering the bottom of my face, I give a hidden frown. Though the frown is hidden, my displeasure could be seen in my eyes as I remark in a lower voice, “wrong…” My right hand reaches behind me and comes to grip my sword; with the touch, my ki is channeled into it, causing my clothing to flap slightly. I tug it at the hilt so that an inch of the silver polished blade is pulled out before pulling it fully from its sheath and lifting it up and into the air. Light reflects from the blade showcasing the care taken in its up keeping, and with a dismissing slash it becomes a blur moving from up to diagonally down to my side. With the non offensive slash, the ki energy channeled into the blade pushes out in all directions for about 5 feet around me with an average amount of force (Essence of Ken). With my sword to my side, I order, “Look at my hand and do yours the same.”

I would lift my hand to show my grip on the blade. The sword was grasped right beneath the guard with about a half inch of room. The little, ring and middle finger are wrapped around the handle with the thumb wrapped around lying on top of the middle finger; the index finger extends slightly forwards. I advise, “don’t try to go into battle from a draw yet. Hold your sword like this and hold it tight enough so that I cannot knock it out of your grip.”

Persona: Jyn'Rai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 469 / 3989

After he was able to change the way he held his weapon, I would look over what he’s done and inspect it. I judge it to be good enough for mimicking a one handed grip of my own, after all it was simply ‘monkey see, monkey do’. I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t see any particular strength in holding it as I had asked him to hold it in a manner where I could not knock it free. As it currently looked, I felt I would have no difficulty in disarming him. I supposed that I would have to take things slowly with a novice after all. “You hold a sword with one hand differently than two,” I would say in a short tone of voice during this brief inspection before looking up at him and acknowledging, “short blades are better one-handed. You should duel wield slender to short blades…” but I would decree, “just use one for now.” The blade in my right hand rotates so that it’s held in a back handed manner and I slide it diagonally downwards back into its sheath on my back. Almost as if perturbed, I order, “hold it… hold it stronger. Your sword should be like your arm…”

Persona: Jyn'Rai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 216 / 4205

I watched him grip the sword in a stronger manner; that was more like it. My hands reach out and I use two hands to cover the hand that’s on the sword. I squeeze it to emphasize to keep the strength in his hold. I instruct, “do not loosen your grip…” My hands release his as I walk to his side. For his sword to become like a part of his arm, he needed to be able to hold it like this for an extended period of time to build up the muscle memory in his hand. Due to my lack of communication skills, I would not say this out loud, but cryptically keep the reasons why I’m doing things to myself. I speak, “two basics: swipe and impale. Many techniques come from these.” I would make an inward motion with my arm and explain, “the cat swipes from out to in.” The motion swings out, “the bird defends pushing its wing out.” My hands cross at my chest and I continue, “your instincts are trained into your sword, body and your union.” I motion for him to do something and order, “swipe… like the cat, around and in.” I would wait for him to begin this gesture and after once, my motions would coax for him to keep swiping since I didn’t advise how many to do.

Persona: Battousai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 234 / 4439

I watch him do the first couple swipes and with a nod, I confirm, “stronger, more fluid…” Since he was swinging a bladed weapon, I would move around to his rear casually with my arms folded and watching his movements. Seeing something that needed correcting my hands unfold and the side of my fist bumps the side of his waist softly as I state, “your bodies strength comes from your core. Train this before anything else… it’s important.” I would continue walking around him taking a few steps back and away as to not hinder the path of his blade; I would want him to keep going. With a nod, I tell him, “keep going. Do not loosen your grip. Don’t stop.” With that, I walk towards the house to leave him there.

I would walk towards the house, taking my time with my steps. It was a pretty hot day outside. I pause and look up for a moment before realizing that constant movement would be harsh on the body. In order for me to train him, I needed to keep him hydrated, thus I go into the house and get the water bucket. From there I leave the house and walk out into the back yard to make sure he was still doing his swings. If he said anything, I would just motion and coax to keep going. From there I would proceed to the village well to fetch some water without saying a word about my departure.

Persona: Battousai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 263 / 4702

Using the first surveys of the village that I had taken on my arrival and the trip to and from the merchant today, I am able to find my way to the well within the village. From there, I use the bucket gained from Yuki’s house to lower into the well via a strong woven rope. I pull the bucket, now filled with water, back up and hold it by its handle before looking around the village and surveying the atmosphere. I take in mind the elevation of houses, what the structures are made of, and how the people act among other things. As Battosai, my mind was almost always on battle scenarios. I pause from doing this to begin walking back in Yuki’s direction. I had left him to continue swiping and he would probably do so until his arm fell off; that was my goal anyways. I leisurely make my way back to the house that Yuki was allowing me to stay at. Due to the fact that I had taken my time, the round trip of getting the water would be around thirty or so minutes, just a drop in the bucket that would be his training. If all went well, his right arm wouldn’t be much use the next day, but that was fine because then we could start on his left. I didn’t know how much time I would spend here, but I would probably end up being just over a week. On approaching him, I would stand and see how he was doing. If he looked bad, I would probably decide to offer him water, if not, I would go another route; it all depended on his current condition.

Persona: Battousai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 291 / 4993

Upon inspection of Yuki, it seemed like he was doing fine. As someone who lived in the desert, I could attribute this to the fact that his body had become acclimated to the heat in comparison to those not from around this region. Since he was only sweating a little and didn’t seem to be panting or dehydrated, I would wait on offering him water and simply walk the bucket to the porch of the house. After sitting the bucket down, I would sit and rest quietly on the board and sit with my legs folded, watching him go through the procedure. I was glad and a bit impressed at the way he kept going through the motions without question or stopping. I previously assumed that he would get tired around the forty five minute mark, but it looked like he would surprise me. Either way, this repetition would continue until either he couldn’t move his arm anymore, he stopped to ask me how long he had to do it, or until the evening came. The amount of time that would pass before one of these actions would occur would be up to him. It could be hours or minutes, but regardless, as a very patient person, I would remain in a sitting position on the porch waiting to see what his limit was (ooc: you control how long you do this; let me know in hours.)

Persona: Battousai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 251 / 5244

There is a shift in the light energy around me. My eyes open from my meditation when I feel his rhythm suddenly stop. His breathing and swings had been making a light sound in the air, now that there were no more sounds, it would prompt me that he had finally finished. My gaze lifts and I look to the male who was slumped over after practically working his arm off. With that, I stand up and pick up the water that rested to my side. With it, I walk towards him, as it was finally time for him to take a break. After making it to him, I set down the water and advise, “drink.” Of course, I assumed he would have to do this with his left hand as lifting the bucket of water with his right might be a bit difficult for him to do in his current condition. While he is drinking, I would be busying myself in pulling out something from the folds of clothing on me. Finding a long tape like bandage, I pull it out and unroll it holding it ominously as I wait for him to either drink or do something else.

Persona: Battousai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 202 / 5446

Hunched over, bracing myself with my still good hand I continue take in breaths of air as I try and regain my composer. " Come on, this isn't nothing. " I murmur softly to myself between breaths of air, " W- " I begin to murmur again though the bucket being set next to me pulls my attention to it before I glance up to Jyn as he says to drink. Nodding my head faintly I turn my attention back to the bucket of water and begin to reach out with my right arm. As I lift my right arm to reach out for the bucket a jolt of pain surges through my arm and I quickly let it go limp as I inhale sharply at the pain. Well, that arm isn't going to be of any use for the time being. Letting out a light sigh I shift and reach out with my left hand and scoop up some of the water in my hand and bring it up, sipping the water from my cupped hand. Finishing off the bit of water I had gotten from the bucket I reach down and scoop up some more and quickly gulp it down. Reaching into the bucket I scoop up some of the water and splash it on my face before getting another gulp of water from the bucket. Gripping the bucket with my left hand I bring it up and tip it up, poring some of the water out over my head. After poring some of the water onto my head I let out a sight of relief and set the bucket down before turning my attention to Jyn, " Thanks for the drink. " I comment before glancing to the bandage he holds.

EXP: 294 | 5862
Persona: Yuki
Timeline: Flashback (20 AD??)
Item: Kukri (Sickle class, common)

For the moment, I would watch him drink the water and step back to give him room when he poured some of it over his head. Overall I would approve of him and not be too upset that Jyn’Rai had offered my teaching services to him; I liked him. With a nod, I would accept his thanks for the drink and when he was done, I would walk up to where his blade was dropped on the ground and pick it up. As I do so, I would tell him, “hold up your right arm.” I knew it would be a hard task for him given his state, but I simply needed him to do the best he could. After picking up his blade, I would walk over to him holding the blade by its dull side and offer the hilt to his right hand ordering, “hold your sword. You’re never supposed to let go.” After he held his sword the best he could, I would then use the bandage to wrap around his hand so that I would be tying his hand to his sword. I would make sure the grip was properly reinforced and that he wouldn’t be able to easily let go of his sword with the bandage like that, and when that was completed, I would be satisfied and step back then nod. I tell him, “your arm will rest for now. Now your waist…” I would motion for him to do as I did, placing my feet shoulder width apart and stating, “do not move your feet” and from there I would squat and lift up explaining, “claws strengthen the cat’s pounce. The strength of the bounce comes from your foundation.” Motioning to him, I would order, “go…” and just like with the sword, he would be doing this until he couldn’t do it anymore.

Persona: Battousai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 310 / 5756

Looking at the bandage, my first thought is that he is going to use it to tie around my hand and bandage it up, though I'm not sure if that is what I need at the moment, it really isn't injured in such a manner that requires a bandage, perhaps some rest and relaxation, yeah that sounds great right about now. As he begins to move I watch him with my gaze and shift it to my kukri as he lifts it from the sand. When he tells me to hold up my right arm a frown takes form on my face as I glance down at my right arm for a moment, is he trying to torture me? Growling softly at the order I begin to lift my right arm, again as I do so pain starts to shoot through my arm causing me to growl more at it though I continue to slowly lift my arm through the pain, pain is something I have grown accustom too in my time and deep down grown to like the feeling. With my right arm up now I keep my gaze fixed on Jyn as he comes back over to me. When he offers the hilt of the kukri and tells me to hold it, I slip my right hand around it though my grip on the weapon isn't as nearly as tight or strong as it had been before. I find out what the bandages is for as he begins to wrap it around my hand in a manner in which I cannot let go of my kukri and drop it again. When he finishes and tells me I can rest my arm I am a bit relieved, though it seemed I would be training another part of my body now, my waist? I wonder on what he means by this as I watch him begin to show me what I need to do. As I watch him I begin to shift, moving my feet out so they are shoulder width apart like Jyns. With my gaze fixed on him I listen to his instruction and watch him as he preforms a squat and lifts back up. When he finishes with instructing me to go I give a faint nod and begin to descend as he had done, preforming a sqaut before I start to raise back up.

EXP: 398 | 6260
Persona: Yuki
Timeline: Flashback (20 AD??)
Item: Kukri (Sickle class, common)

I watch the first squat, which was performed more or less fine. With a nod, I would show my approval and coax on with motions for him to do it again. “Keep going…” I would instruct while walking back over to the porch. Unlike with his arm, this actually would affect most of his lower body including his calves, thighs, and abs. Thus since this was working more of him, I inspected him not to last the full 2 hours that he did with the swiping exercise. My goal for him with this was balance and lower half strength; overall I was attempting to break down his body to build it back up in a manner that would favor what I felt was needed to effectively use a sword. With his sword in his hand, he would have to be mindful of it with his current up and down movements; it would be too awkward for it to touch tip to the ground with each squat, but incase he didn’t’ get it, I would instruct, “never let your sword touch the ground.” Turning around when I reach the porch, I step onto it and cross my legs in sitting back down while facing him. “Swiftly up, slowly down,” I would instruct as the correct way of doing the squat and if he were to adjust the way he did it, I would say “good.” If he messed up, I would repeat the instructions. I would see if he could go a full thirty minutes without stopping before saying anything. If he spoke within this time frame or stopped, then I would respond to him.

Persona: Battousai | Timeline: Flashback (20 AD) | EXP: 283 / 6039

I knew that one wasn't going to be enough, if it is anything like the swipes he had me do before then I will be doing this until I can no longer stand. That thought was rather reassuring and as he tells me to keep going I give a faint nod and begin to descend once again moving down into a squat before I raise back up. After the second I begin to go back down and again and start to repeat the pattern of going down into a squat before coming back up. As I descend the kukri begins to touch the ground and force my arm to move, in turn sending a surge of pain up my arm and through my body. It is only after this that I hear the comment from Jyn about never letting my sword touch the ground. An easy task as keeping my kukri from touching the ground is turned into a more painful task when it is not so easy to move my arm, though as I begin to descend once again I also adjust my right arm and lift the kurki up, moving it up towards my chest as I descend into a squat. Though it pained me to do so I keep my right arm resting against my chest to keep the kukri from touching the ground. Watching Jyn as he sits back down I thought about doing so, but in doing so I would forgo training at the moment and possibly all together. As he makes the comment I give a nod, " Alright. " I say as I start to move down slowly, moving into a squat before pushing back up swiftly as he had instructed.

Up and down I continue to move, going down slowly into a squat before pushing up at a more accelerated pace as he had instructed. Though I didn't know how long I was to keep this up I knew that I would end up stopping at some point, either with Jyn telling me to or when I run out of stamina and succumbing to the pain. As I continue on I could feel the burn in my calf muscles as I work the muscles with the repeated action, as well as the muscles in my thighs and abs, this was probably going take me out of the game tomorrow. The pain in my arm began to turn into a dull pain as my mind became use to the feeling of pain with each squat I took though the fatigue placed upon my leg and stomach muscles began to take its tole as time passed. Unlike when I was swiping through the air with my arm which only worked my arm the action of squatting took more then just one set of muscles to do, this drew upon my legs and lower body and at about forty five minutes I find my body unable to continue on with the squats and I come to realize this as I try to push up from a squat but end up falling onto my back and let out a " Ugh. " as I lay in the sand.

EXP: 531 | 6791
Persona: Yuki
Timeline: Flashback (20 AD??)
Item: Kukri (Sickle class, common)