Live! Breathe! Fight! Die!

[Odachi]

Closed for...well...someone not you.

Kazejin sat prone in the center of an arena, surrounded by bloodied walls and spikes stained by remains of warriors. Above them, stands for the cruel and sadistic to watch, though no eyes rested there yet. Before him, a gate cast in iron promising a death. Behind, his entrance, a mundane steel door that slowly faded into nothing. The Citadel held many creative and imaginative battlefields, this was not among them.

With the Immortal across his lap, and his legs crossed in a meditative position, the elderly Ookami-jin waited. Not long had he been sitting here, corralled into this place by the monks once again, as was done every morning and every evening regularly. The fights seemed to just mesh into each other now, however hard he might try to stay focused. Constantly the man had to remind himself that it was an opportunity to train, to battle the finest of Althanas and sharpen his skills. So far only the most meager and disgusting had come his way, falling quickly or attempting to cheat. Scoundrels, deviants, and rogues had come to fight him, hoping for the gold reward that warranted a victory. Rarely had he even bothered to draw his blade, disgusted by their entire lack of honor or nobility in the art of combat. Cursing silently to himself, and breaking his concentration due to his frustration, the warrior stood. Holding the long Immortal in one hand and letting it drag on the ground making a scraping noise, he began to pace. Mumbling insignificant nothings to himself, Kazejin rubbed the rim of his wide brimmed sakkat and impatiently awaited the new opponent.

"Probably just a ruffian, coming in here to make a quick gold piece... Won't even give up a real fight... Run when he sees steel... Try to stab me from behind like a damn traitor... Godless child... Fool... Why aren't you here yet, do you not believe in arriving at a battle on time!"

Cursing he kicked a old forgotten bone across the arena to watch it explode into dust against the grate. Although the warrior had only arrived minutes before, his day had been long and filled with many fights already and this would be the last. To get it begun and quickly over with would be a grace, yet that could not happen if his opponent never arrived. Growling barely audibly, he stared at the entrance, finally taking up a stance. With one hand below and one hand above the nearly invisible line where sheath and hilt met, he slid his feet far apart and hunched low. Ready, with determination and anger in his eyes, Kazejin let a wide grin spread across his face as a steel door finally materialized and opened, his competitor arriving.

[Yamihara]

Gasp... Gasp...

The sound of heavy panting echoed lightly in the woods off the side of a path. Morning birds called to each other above the noise below, calm and unaware.

"Tokita... Are we... done yet...?"

A tired, female voice called to her partner from the dense undergrowth, accompanied by the rustling of leaves. Shortly after, a young man's voice returned her question.

"Just a little more, Asuka. Almost there."

The shaking leaves intensified, driving the sparrows from their perch. The agitated birds flitted through the dense green canopy, vocally complaining to the humans below. Sounds of labored breathing and pounding against the soft, grassy ground continued, mingled with the shaking of the undergrowth.

"I... gasp... I can't... go on... And I... I feel... Sticky... "

The girl's voice became faint, barely audible between each labored breath.

"C'mon, just a little more. This was your idea in the first place, wasn' it?"

The man spoke up once more, accompanied by the sound of parting leaves. After a few short breaths, the girl finally mustered enough strength to utter out a few words.

"Ah... There..."

Two figures suddenly appeared from the dense thicket by the side of the well-tread path, one covered in dirt and leaves while the other casually strode out and stretched in the morning sun.

"F- Finally! That was torture, Tokita!"

Asuka fell to her knees, her light blue gi covered with a layer of brown dirt with broken twigs poking out from the attire at odd angles. The maiden took in deep breaths of the moist air, dribbling huge drops of sweat onto the surface of her steel-plated gauntlets.

"Torture? You sure had been taking it easy, Asuka." Her training partner frowned as he looked around the area, no signs of fatigue showing on his face. "It's only a five-kilometer trek through the woods and you're on your knees already? You're really outa shape."

"Yeah, well, you're not the one wearing these heavy gauntlets!" The maiden protested, holding up the punching gauntlets she had purchased not long ago. They were just slabs on steel riveted to a long glove, but it weighed a good deal nonetheless.

"Hey, you wanted me to help train you back in shape, didn't you?" The Akashiman man crossed his arms and looked at a large building in the distance.

Asuka heaved a sigh and sat down on the side of the road, thinking back to the incident a few weeks ago. Before then, she had been traveling about without a care for the world, having been thrown out of her home for defying her father's words. Then, it was Tokita who brought her the news of her father's death. Afterwards, a battle broke out at her home, where she was a hair's breath away from death.

Now, after reclaiming her rightful title of the Duchess of West Akashima (or Duke, as she prefers to be called) the Akashiman now had to take care of her nation's people as well as keep the law and order. She realized that her level of strength was going to get her nowhere... And that was why she asked her friend to help with her training.

Yeah, but I didn't know it was going to be this hard... Asuka moaned and fell on her back, taking in the warm morning sunlight there on the ground.

"Yare yare deza... C'mon, Asuka. We're not done with today's training yet. Besides, we're already running late as it is. Your enemy's probably angry at you for being late right about now." Tokita wiped a small bead of sweat from his forehead and glanced at the structure on the horizon.

"Whaaaaa~ You mean we're not done yet?" She protested, wearily pulling herself upright. Her eyes followed the man's gaze to the imposing fortress not faraway, and as her mind slowly became cleared of fatigue the familiar outlines became even more pronounced.

"...Wait... a... minute. Isn't that..."

"Yeah, that's where we're headed next. Alright, lazy-ass, let's go."

***

"A-What?! A Citadel fight?! Serious?!"

Asuka's voice rang through the stark stone interior of the famous Citadel, a shrine dedicated to blood and fury of battle. The two Akashimans walked a little ways behind the hooded monk, with the maiden frantically trying to convince her training instructor the folly of his decision.

"Don't worry, Asuka. I've been checking with the monks here for a few days now and they say this one's not going to be too much for you. Besides, if you get sliced in half, they're really good at healing people say they can even return the dead to their bodies."

The three of them proceeded down the deserted hall before stopping at a large wooden door. Its threshold was written in strange glowing glyphs in a language Asuka could not read. However, the memories of the last time she was here was still fresh in her mind. Not all the details, though, but one thing she remembered for sure was the fact she was nearly impaled by a crossbow bolt. That was a memory she was not about to repeat.

"Wait- You don't expect me..." She gulped, visibly nervous about her possible soon-to-occur encounter with death. "You don't expect me to actually kill anyone, do you?"

"Well, you have a point..." The man muttered thoughtfully as he put his hands on her shoulder, just about the same time as the monk slowly opened the heavy door. "But, hey. If you don't, he will."

With that, he gave the maiden a hearty shove through the doorway.

As the girl's surprised shriek quietly faded into the darkness, Tokita turned to the robed elder and gave him an embarrassed smile.

"Hey, sir. You don't mind if I go in to look after her, do you?"

***

Asuka had never liked the transition. One minute, her mind told her she was right-side up and the next she realized she was upside-down. And as darkness receeded from her vision, the thought of face plant popped into her head.

"-Ack!"

The girl landed ungracefully on her chest and for a moment the arena stood still. In a daze, she peered around the blood-stained grounds to reorient herself with the world. Everything seemed to be in some shade of gore, a color that didn't seem very friendly nor welcoming. But she knew that any place in the Citadel, regardless of how they looked, was not a place to be resting. Well, unless you're dead, that is.

A sudden realization swept into her mind. She was in the Citadel and her opponent was already waiting for her late arrival. Her lying there on the floor, unprotected and unaware. Rolling hard onto her side, she bounced onto her feet a few meters from where she was and frantically swept the arena with her eyes with her fists up in a slack boxing guard. Catching sight of the familiar jingasa, she immediately recognized the identity of her opponent.

An Akashiman? Well, that does make sense... But- Huh? A cane? No...

The stance was a familiar one, but not something she saw often on the streets. She immediately recognized it as a sword style, but the straight staff in his hand threw her off. What was he trying to do?

If it was a sword, there was a good chance she would be cut in half before she could even get a word out. That was something she did not want to think about at all.

"Ah- Matte-!" She blurted out, holding her hands out to try and stop the warrior. "Wait- Wait! Should we, sorta, introduce ourselves first?!"

[Odachi]

The crude steel threshold was thrust open and a woman fell through it. Gracelessly her face smashed into the dust and grit of the arena floor, and Kazejin actually started feeling embarrassed. His muscles began to ease as he let go of his left hand on the sword's hilt, holding it as if it was a staff, and watched the woman. She collected herself, frantically and scared, asking him to wait before he killed her. Dully, the old man simply stared at the girl for a moment. She seemed familiar, somehow. Almost never forgetting a face, Kazejin knew that he had seen this woman before, but had never met her. It was a strange thing, almost like deja-vu, and he couldn't quite place his finger on it. With a rather loud and rough chuckle, he returned the Immortal to the two ribbons on his back and let its familiar weight rest there. Rubbing his hands together gently, he sat back down in a cross-legged position before the woman, letting his sakkat hide his eyes. With a voice roughened by a long day of battling, he answered her question.

"You may call me Ookami-sama. You are most definitely not the deviant I was expected to come through that door. In truth, I never expected a young girl to tumble haphazadly into this place. What are you doing here, and what wish do you have to fight someone such as myself? You could not possibly win in a fair fight, with no offense intended, you are not a warrior."

Smiling sweetly, Kazejin raised his head to look her in the eyes. She was an akashiman, he could tell by her face and clothing. The gauntlets she wore depicted a very brutal and frontal fighting style, using probably mostly her fists and feet. It was also a fighting style he often respected, because it required no weapon other than the strength of one's own muscles and their force of will. However, using fists would greatly hinder her ability to reach him, due to the massive ammount of range he gathered from using an Odachi. If he had drawn the Immortal, he could have cut her down and ended it immediately. It was possible she wouldn't have even had the agility to block his first and final draw. She had not taken anything of a battle stance yet, but just by looking at her body he could tell she was not a trained fighter. Her muscles lacked the strength and forging of an athlete. Kazejin stared into her eyes, seeing the battle and loss that lay there.

"What, may I ask, are you training so hard to accomplish? Do you wish revenge for what you lost? Or is it something else...?"

Again the old man smiled, and waved a hand for her to sit. She had yet to introduce herself as well, and he expected the fight would come shortly after. It would not be the simple clash of blades he had experienced all day, instead it would fall along the lines of an old Master and a new Student.

[Yamihara]

The Akashiman maiden let out a surprised eh? when the man proclaiming to be an "Ookami" introduced himself and sat down on the arena floor. An icy chill flashed down her back in horrified hesitation while her mind attempted to scrutinize whether the invitation to discourse was a facade to break her guard. But the warrior nonetheless saw through to her intentions. Seeing that there was not a lot of options left, the maiden slowly lowered her fists but kept her distance. If there was a lesson she had learned within these merciless walls, it was that no one could be trusted.

...Well, perhaps not everyone.

"E- Excuse me, Ookami-sama..." Asuka stammered before making a hasty bow. Reluctantly, she finally took a seat cross-legged facing the seasoned fighter. Her insecurities remained in her eyes as the maiden probed the old man for any hint of hostility as well as trying to keep her mind from settling on the disturbing scenery around her.

"My name is Yamihara Asuka of West Akashima. You are correct - I am not a warrior, not by trade, at the least. Though the reason behind my training should not be of your concern." Having said those words, the lass immediately caught herself and literally jumped in her seat. "Ah- Gomen*! I- I wasn't trying to be rude. I mean, you shouldn't worry why I have to be training. It's just a personal... Goal that I have set for myself."

She didn't want a stranger like him worry himself to pieces for a random opponent like her. Though it was not for revenge, the circumstances surrounding her father's mysterious death was nonetheless unnerving. However, it was not her primary purpose for her training. It was, in fact, the need for her to be stronger to support her rightful authority in maintaining order of West Akashima. Also, she must be stronger... Strong enough to protect her sister against whatever dangers that caused her father's death. If this warrior, one she had not met before, could provide her with the training she required, then she must take hold and learn as much as possible.

"I guess... If you would be kind enough, could you..." She began, but paused in mid-speech.

No, I can't ask of him a favor like this! There's no way I could repay him afterwards! She frowned at the realization. Once anyone has exited the Citadel, more often than not they would not meet each other for a second time. I shouldn't act so childish like this. I just can't ask him to help me train for no reason...

"No, that's not it." Asuka strenghtened her resolve and got to her knees. The crimson stain of the arena floor smeared itself across her hakama, but the maiden ignored it. She could not let mere discomforts impede her from one who would prepare her to face her personal challenges ahead. I have to do this right. I must do this the right way!

Leaning forward, she placed her palms in front of her and bowed her head.

"Please accept me as your student, Ookami-sama!" The maiden spoke in a loud, clear voice.

---
((*Gomen - Derived from gomennasai, meaning "please pardon me" in Akashiman/Japanese))