The Art Of Sword

Sunz put the rest of the food on the table, sit in his sit and ask “So how is my choice of food.”

Yama: Yeah, it's good. Sorry for eating your food.

Sunz: Don’t worry! Did you stay up last night and forget to eat, if so stay here and let me go get you some more.

Yama shakes both of his hands to tell me that I don’t need to do it. I accept his refusal and both of us finish the rest of the food I bring in. (Well more like Yama finish most of it, halfway through I was so full that he finish the rest.)

Sunz: So are you able to teach me today?

Yama: Yeah, we will train today. That's why I was so dead this morning, I was thinking of how to train you.

Sunz: That is very thoughtful of you.

Yama: I’m not that thoughtful. It just part of my training to become a “Sensei” of the clan.

Sunz is a bit curious about the “Sensei” stuff: Sensei as in training a new generation for the clan.

Yama: That is half of the “Sensei” responsibility. The other half is deciding whether the students should continue this lifestyle or return to the simple lifestyle of an ordinary person.

Sunz: Isn’t that like saying you have no talent so you don’t belong here? And isn’t the more students the clan has the bigger it grows?

Yama: One of my clan philosophies is “The clan can die not the innocents” so we don’t want quantity but quality. But there is always exception, if the person has no other place to go then we can’t make you leave the clan. Which is why it always sad to see your peer leave and it is even worst for the “Sensei” that has to make their students give up their dream of being a swordsman.

Sunz: So are you part of the nowhere to go or the talented one?

Yama is hesitant about answering my questions. “If you don’t want to answer then don’t force yourself.”

Yama: No no! It’s cool, just part of socializing. So I was abandoned when I was an infant and a member of the clan took me in. They raise me and train me as a member of the clan till this day.

Sunz: Why were you so hesitant about telling me this?

Yama: It’s embarrassing to just talk to people like you, who have parents, and tell you that I was abandoned when I was an infant.

Sunz: I would say, you should consider yourself lucky to have a second family.

Yama: I guess you’re right…

Sunz let that conversation end before starting another.

Sunz: Ok then. What training do you have planned for me?

Yama: Have you ever done yoga before?

Sunz is a bit confused: What does that have to do with training?

Yama: You said that you didn’t have as much training as everyone here, but your sword skill is better than the average. So do you think that you’re a prodigy?

Sunz: I don’t think of myself like that, it's more like I have the right people train me at the right time.

Yama: My other reason for suggesting yoga, is your ability to adapt to the situation. Like in our last match, you said that you have a plan to fight against me right?

Sunz: Yeah, even though there were some unexpected elements the plan was carried out perfectly. Until…

“Until I revealed my second form!” Yama finishes Sunz’s sentence.

Sunz: Combine with your new speed. At that moment, I feel like I was fighting against a new opponent, so I have to think of a new plan with only the resources present at that moment.

Yama: That is one of the main points about you, you are intelligent enough to think of a whole new plan.

Sunz: I wouldn’t say that I’m intelligent but more like I can use chaos to my advantage.

Yama: You know what, that does make more sense. Our brain does work faster under stress.

Sunz: But I still don’t understand! Why is yoga my training priority?

Yama: Let’s just go down to the training facility then we can decide whether you should do yoga or not.

Sunz: Yeah! That’s probably better than sitting around and doing nothing. Let’s go!

Sunz and Yama make their way down to the facility without encounter any trouble. When the door opens they see that there are more people down there to train than normal.

Sunz whispers to Yama (Did we come in at the busiest time of the day or what is going on here.) Yama whispers back (How should I know I was sleeping through the rest of the tournament and I was on the loser bus. So I’m as clueless as you are.)

Sunz: I guess we can ask the person in charge of this place at the moment for a private room.

Sunz and Yama walk up to the front desk to ask for a private room.

The person who is working at the front desk at the moment is a woman with long blue hair and for some reason, she looks familiar to Sunz, but he doesn’t remember where he met her.

Sunz asks the blue hair woman “Does this place have private training rooms.” She said “Yes, we do. What kind of training room do you need?”

Sunz looks at Yama “What room do we need?” Yama “A spacious room with no weight training equipment except a treadmill.”

Woman: We do have a room like that, here is your key, and good luck training.

Sunz takes the key from the woman, but before leaving he asks her a question “Had we met before because you look familiar to me?”

The woman is surprised that Sunz doesn’t remember her: Wait you don’t really remember who I am! I’m Han Jun, Jihu's older cousin!

Sunz: Oh yeah! You beat the shit out of me on our first encounter.

Jun sigh “Haizz at least you remember who I am now.”

“But why do you have to also come train at this time too,” she said as her voice volume dropped.

Sunz: Yeah! That is also one of my questions. Why are there so many people training today, and you too? Why does one of the best of the clan working down here?

Jun: Wow! You remember my rank but not who I am. That hurt my feeling! To answer your first question, it is the morning so the training facility will be busier because most of the clan members don’t train at night. They like to drink instead, but who can blame them, after working all day even I want a break.

Sunz: And the second question?

Jun: It is to babysit the winner of the first round.

Sunz: But why? We are just here to train.

Jun: And I’m here to intervene any scuffle that could happen because we have most of the winners down here. An ordinary member of the clan isn’t strong enough to intervene.

Sunz and Yama mind (So that’s the reason.)

Jun: I would not have to be here if Sogae isn’t busy with other clan’s stuff. And that old guy, he put so much fear into other contestants now they are constantly training for hours just to beat him. My free time is ruined!

Sunz: Old guy? Are you talking about Grimm? If it was him I thought he look pretty young.

Jun: Yeah him. He may look like that but he is the oldest one in this tournament and the youngest is that kid “ONE”. And how could the other not scare of him! He has skin of steal and knocks his opponent out with one hit with his barehand.

Sunz: I guess when you make it sound like that it is scary. Well, we gotta go train now. I hope you don’t die of boredom.

Jun: Yeah thanks! I don’t know how Sogae does all of this. She such a monster!

As Sunz and Yama going to their private room. Jun gives Sunz an advice “Everyone in the next round will be harder to knock out so try to inflict real wound this time around.”