by C. J. Anaya
“Pretend to be married? To a child? That’s absurd!”
I tried not to feel offended by his immediate rejection of the idea.
“It’s the only way to successfully pull this off without anyone questioning the legitimacy of our story. The men respect you. If she is posing as your wife they will leave her alone.”
Musubi shook his head. I could sense his anxiety on my behalf. “No, Akane. I will not allow this tiny female to endanger herself any further than she already has.”
“I’m also a tiny female, and it isn’t your call, Musubi. As far as danger goes, nothing will happen to her provided you train her as well as you trained me.” She pulled out her sword and swung it expertly to the left, right and down. “It is, after all, what we agreed to.”
He gave her a withering look and then landed that look on me. I was grateful for my wrap, considering it was cold enough outside without his glare frosting me completely.
I straightened my spine in an effort to look a little taller. He must have noticed because his amused look made me feel fairly ridiculous.
“She may be small, but I assure you this young lady is quite capable,” Kenji offered on my behalf.
I gave him a grateful smile.
“Fine,” Musubi said. “But for the record, I think this is a terrible idea, and I doubt very highly that this frail little child will be capable of anything like lifting a sword, let alone wielding one.”
“Duly noted,” Akane said dryly. “You have exactly five hours before we must return to camp. Use your time wisely, my friend.” She stood up and started to leave.
“Just where do you think you’re going?” Musubi asked.
“Kenji and I have some educational matters to discuss. We’ll only be a few damaged structures away from you, so if you need us simply shout.”
I watched as Kenji and Akane strolled side by side around a curve and out of sight.
I turned back to Musubi and cleared my throat. “I understand that you think I won’t be able to manage, sir—”
“Musubi.”
“Yes, well, I can assure you that despite my appearance I am strong, and I am a good student, but most importantly I can help your wounded men.”
Musubi rubbed a hand over his beautiful blue eyes and nodded.
“I believe you can help our men, but forgive me if I doubt your physical capabilities. Akane is a small woman, but she has fire. I can tell by the way you stand that you are used to being ordered around. You’re submissive and meek. You’ll never last on a battle field.”
I saw red and knew my anger was about to boil over, but this time I didn’t try to repress it. I didn’t try to squelch it. I simply let the hot anger flow. Squaring my shoulders, I marched right up to my pompous teacher and pointed a finger at his chest.
“I swear, if I have one more man in my life telling me what I can and cannot do, I will steal Kenji’s indestructible cane and beat you with it.”
The slow grin that spread across Musubi’s face might have delighted me if I hadn’t been so angry with him.
“Young lady, I believe I’m willing to work with that.”
* * *
“Before you learn to handle a weapon you must learn how to stand,” Musubi said.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“I know how to stand. I’m standing right now.”
“I’m not referring to your ability to remain motionless, although you do paint a rather pretty picture in that stunning outfit you’re wearing.”
I felt my face grow warm and looked at my green kimono, smoothing it out self-consciously. I hadn’t even thought about changing into something more suitable, and the high quality of the fabric didn’t help my anonymity. I heard Musubi chuckle as if he enjoyed getting me flustered.
“There are eight quadrants that can be used for fighting and you must learn how to stand within these eight quadrants before you can learn anything else.”
I nodded, but still felt confused.
Using the pointed end of his sword, Musubi drew two straight lines in the dark earth; one intersecting the other in the middle. He pointed at the place where the two lines met.
“You will stand here and face the line that points to the north.”
I did as I was told.
“These lines are like a compass, pointing north, south, east and west. These are your first four quadrants. Your compass is also made up of sub quadrants.”
He drew lines in the middle of each regular quadrant and walked back to face me.
“These are called octants, northwest, northeast, southwest and southeast. If you can consider the space you fight in to be broken up into eight different quadrants you will be able to practice all of your footwork in eight different directions. It is not enough to be able to fight to your north or your south. Nor is it enough to fight on your east side or your west.” He paused and pointed to the compass line in between north and west. “Your enemy will not accommodate you by attacking you where you are at your strongest. He will come at you from whatever angle he finds you are weakest. You must, therefore, learn how to stand and how to advance in any quadrant.”
I drank in the information he imparted like I was a thirsty child in need of refreshment. I could learn this. I wanted so badly to protect myself.
“Stand with your right foot forward and your left foot back, but your feet need to be pointed a little to your left.”
I moved into the position he instructed. He surveyed my stance and nodded.
“Now step forward with your right foot and follow it with your left so you are essentially standing in the same position you were before, you merely advanced forward. This is your north quadrant.”
I followed his instructions and looked up. “This is very simple.”
Musubi smiled like he was waiting to trap an ignorant animal.
“This has put you in a position where you can pivot and use a strong-side turn.”
“A strong-side turn? What does that mean?”
“You pivot and swing your sword to the side that will require the least amount of energy. If your right foot is forward, then you will pivot to your left. Pivoting right with your right foot forward is considered a back-turn or a weak-side turn. You must build strength to lift your sword in that direction, so for now we will have you practice without a sword, pivoting to your strong-side. I want you to use your hands defensively as you would to block an attack. Hold your right arm in front with palm flat, and keep your left arm closer to your chest. As you change directions your arms will change position with you.”
I used my arms to balance and pivoted back to my left. I was now facing south.
“Good. Now step forward with your leading foot, which is now your left, and pivot to your strong-side, to your right. This is called Zango.”
I pivoted left and faced north again.
“This encompasses two directions of movement that you can use when fighting. North and south is one and two. Using your right foot, step to quadrant three which is east, and pivot to your left to quadrant four which is west. Always pivot to your strong-side.”
I moved to the right and pivoted to my left, then stepped forward on my left and pivoted to my right, making sure I went from east to west and back again.
“I want you to do this with all four quadrants. Pivot north, then south and then east and west as you did before with no hesitation.” Once he was satisfied that I had the right footwork, he continued, “Northeast to quadrant five, then southwest to quadrant six. Then finish up with northwest to seven and southeast to quadrant eight.”
It wasn’t that difficult, and I easily slid my feet where they needed to be.
“Now, I want you to start from the beginning and do Hachi Kata, all eight quadrants, one thousand times.”
I dropped my hands and stared at him.
“One thousand times? How will I ever keep track of how many times I’ve managed a full circle? What if I lose my balance?”
Musubi gave me a wicked grin and chuckled softly.
“If you lose your balance, then you start over. If you lose count, then you start over.”
I gave him my best sour face and started at quadrant one. The movement of Hachi Kata was actually quite soothing. I wasn’t moving very fast—my clothing failed to help me on that count—but I was moving correctly. I found my mind clearing and my ki tuning into my body in a way it never had before. I felt peaceful…and happy. I truly felt happy.
Ouch!
I looked down and saw that I’d managed to stub my toe on a root upturned by my footwork.
“Start over,” Musubi said with a pleased smile on his face.
I sighed and began the process all over again, while the handsome warrior sat upon the earth and leaned back against the bark of a tree. Well, he certainly looked comfortable. Removing that satisfied smirk from his face would have been an enjoyable diversion, but I knew he must be testing me. I couldn’t fail no matter how many times I had to pivot and step, pivot and step.
I struggled to stay focused, sensing his beautiful eyes watching my every move. I lost count four times and stumbled twice as much. Every time I made a mistake he would happily call out, “Start over.” I must have completed a full circle more than the required one thousand times, but Musubi was relentless, and I refused to give up until I had managed to complete the circle one thousand times with no mistakes.
“I did it,” I managed to spit out. I folded my arms across my chest and dared him to tell me I hadn’t.
He just sat there with a wicked gleam in his eye. “Now do it backward.”
“What?”
“There will be moments when your attackers will come from behind, and you will have to defend yourself without hesitation. Instead of stepping forward you step back and pivot. Do that with all eight quadrants. You’ll complete the circle one thousand times.”
I couldn’t believe that this was the way he had trained Akane. I felt like he was trying to prove a point or discourage me from continuing on with this crazy plan of mine. He had no idea how determined and motivated I was to leave my former life behind me. I began the circle again, but moved slower going backward than I did going forward. I gritted my teeth and continued on. Fortunately, I only lost count once and only lost my balance twice.
My arms were tired and sore, but I wasn’t about to give up. Finally, I reached my goal, and gave Musubi a challenging look.
His smile only became more pronounced.
“Now combine the two, moving forward and backward, then forward and backward again. One thousand times.”
Furious, I resisted the urge to burn him with a scalding remark and bit my tongue, doing what he asked instead. It was much harder than I thought it would be, and I wanted to rip my kimono off, throw it on the ground and scream in frustration. Surely five hours had already passed. I felt like I had been doing this for an eternity.
I pushed the hair out of my face and shoved back the sleeves on my kimono. Formal princess wear was a ridiculous encumbrance. If I had been given any idea the kind of physical exertion I would be facing tonight, I might have dressed in some of Saigo’s clothing.
“I had hoped you might finish your first training session before next week. Can’t you move any faster?”
“I am having trouble with the movements because my clothing is hindering my footwork.”
Musubi stood up from his comfortable place by the tree, gave me an innocent smile and approached me.
“Allow me to fix that for you.”
Without giving me a moment’s notice or even asking my permission, he quickly ripped my kimono open and unwrapped it from my person, throwing it to the earth. It wasn’t tied with all of the extra accoutrements most formal kimonos had, so the removal of my clothing took less than a few moments. I stood, for all the world to see, in my underclothing! Not that they were terribly revealing. The black, cotton leggings covered me all the way to my ankles, and the top covered me all the way to my wrists, but the material was quite form fitting. There was nowhere for me to hide.
I was so shocked by his brazen behavior that I simply stood there staring down at my silk green kimono in a heap on the grass.
“I rather like you like this.” I looked up to see him eyeing me from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. “Yes, I do believe your underclothing suits you.”
“You are the most despicable…the most…I can’t believe you just ripped my dress off!”
“As your teacher, I am here to help you in any way that I can, and if your clothes are bothering you, it is my duty to strip them from your person.”
I snorted at this.
He raised his hand to his forehead in mock despair. “I’ll admit it is a heavy burden to bear, but for you I bear it willingly, and as your husband it would seem I’m the only man alive allowed to do this anyway.”
I spluttered something unintelligible. I honestly couldn’t form one word, let alone a complete sentence.
“Now that your movements will no longer be so limited, I want you to take it to a higher level and move a bit faster, like this.”
Musubi pushed me away from the center of my compass, placing me at the end of the line pointing north. He then moved back to the center. Advancing quickly, he stepped and pivoted, completing a full circle and ending right in front of me with his face mere inches from mine. I didn’t dare move an inch and felt myself breathing heavily.
“Eventually your movements will become just as fast. Your attackers will not come at you one by one. They will come two at a time, three at a time, in any direction they choose.”
He placed his hands on my waist and pulled me forward.
“Your body must do these movements so often that they become instinctive. You will not have to think,” he guided my waist backward, “you will not have to analyze,” he pivoted my body around, “you will simply know.” He pulled me with my back against his chest, his hands still at my waist.
I had never felt so exposed. The heat from our bodies mingled, and I could have sworn he breathed in the scent of my hair before continuing.
“I want you to add something different to the exercise.”
His breath on the back of my neck was making it hard to focus. He slid his hands up the sides of my body and my arms, raising them above my head, then he fisted my two hands together.
“You will do sword movements in order to prevent injury to your body. Raise your imaginary sword above your head with your arms bowed ever so slightly and then swing your arms forward and down to slice at your opponents and block their attacks.” He stayed tight to my body and pulled my fists forward and down, then brought my arms up again. Placing his hands on my waist he turned me to face him and my arms shakily dropped to my sides. After one intense moment of staring at one another, I rested my hands on his, hoping to remove them from my waist, but I found that I had only enough strength to apply a small amount of pressure. He responded by holding me tighter.
“You will do this movement with the sword every time you step forward, and then you will pivot.”
I nodded automatically. His voice and manner of teaching were hypnotizing my senses and keeping my body on high alert.
“You will complete the circle with the sword movements added…one thousand times.”
I nodded again. I would have agreed to anything just to get a little breathing room, a little space between us before the rapid knocking of my heart against my chest gave my emotions away. I wasn’t the only one affected, it would seem. Musubi’s emotions battled against one another. His anger was a constant, his fear for my well-being was beginning to take precedence, and protectiveness and possessiveness warred with one another for supremacy.
He didn’t like what he was feeling, but he didn’t let go. He just stood there, considering me. I not only felt his emotions, but saw them playing across his face. I felt my body absorbing them—anger, hatred, pain, confusion, anxiety, fear…and hope. Then his face abruptly changed and the door to his emotions slammed shut.
I had to bli
nk my eyes once or twice to clear my own head. When I looked upon Musubi again, he wore another playful grin on his face, and pulled me even closer.
“I do so like you in these undergarments.”
That was enough to snap me out of whatever spell his teaching methods had woven over me. I shoved him away, and he let out a huge laugh. I grumbled and stepped back into the circle, but my chest was still beating hard and my breathing was labored.
He had been right, though I was loath to admit it. I was much faster on my feet without the weight of my kimono, and although it took a while to coordinate the sword movements with my footwork and complete the circle at the same time, my speed gradually began to increase, and I accomplished the task he had set forth.
I looked at him as I finished and thought I saw a small amount of respect light his eyes.
“Now what?” I asked.
“To be perfectly honest with you, I thought you would’ve fallen down on the ground and quit by now. I didn’t think your body would handle all the exertion.”
He said it as a compliment, but I could tell he was troubled. I knew my body healed quickly, and I wondered if a normal individual would have been in worse shape. It was just one more thing that might reveal who I was, but it couldn’t be helped. I had already accomplished everything he’d asked without even considering the wisdom of doing so. Maybe I should have acted weak and frail, but the thought of Musubi getting the best of me made my teeth grind together.
“I never quit,” I responded.
“No, it looks as if you don’t.” He gave me an appreciative nod.
It was at that moment that Akane and Kenji came to retrieve us. Apparently, our torturously long training session had come to an end. I should have felt exhausted after the physical exertion and bombardment of emotions I had experienced, but I felt exhilarated. I felt as if I could continue training all night long.
“How did your first meeting go? I’m assuming you were able to learn at least one technique?” She quirked an eyebrow at me, but her question was more for Musubi’s benefit.
“She is a quick student. I believe we will get on well together,” Musubi said.
