Chapter Ten

I stood at the edge of the training field, looking around. It was night time. Most of the resistance were asleep, except for those on patrol. Other than them, I knew that there were a few Ningenbanare in the buildings who were alert for any trace of enemy ki.

I breathed in the cold air. It had been several months since we first got here. When I started training, at the end of the day, I was so completely exhausted that I sometimes didn’t bother going back to the tent I shared with Koike to sleep. Though, when I woke up, there was always a blanket covering me. Anyway, after awhile the training didn’t exhaust me as much. It was still tiring, but my body’s ability to recover had improved, and I caught my breath faster. Downside, my insomnia was back. Which is why I was here, doing some late night training.

I closed my eyes, then started doing the katas that Fujiwara-sensei had taught me. I hadn’t practiced them at all since I got here. Frankly, I was feeling a bit guilty. I was halfway through the last kata he had taught me when my instincts kicked in, and I ducked. A dark blur whipped through the air my head had been.

“Good. You’re learning to pay attention to your instincts.”

I sighed. “Shigehito. What the hell is it with you and fighting in the dark?”

“You think you’ll only ever have to fight in the day? Eventually, you’re going to have a fight in a situation where you can’t see.”

I shrugged. I couldn’t argue with that logic.

“Anyway, you shouldn’t be out here. Get some rest while you still can. You have training tomorrow.”

“I can’t sleep.”

“Hmph. Then get yourself some ale from the mess tent and drink yourself to sleep.”

I was about to reply when the frantic ringing of a bell cut through the night air. It took me a moment to figure out what it was.

Alarm bell.

Shigehito cursed. “The Mugoi have found us! Damnit. You’re not ready yet!”

He pushed me in the direction of my tent. “Pack your things! The others will try to hold them off!”

A scream rose from the village entrance, then was cut off. Shigehito pushed me again, then ran in the direction of the scream. I wanted to go after him, but I turned away and ran back to my tent. Koike was just coming out, nunchaku in his hand. From the tent beside us, Emi, armed with her staff, and Asuka climbed out.

“Ryou! What’s going on?”

“Mugoi” I replied tersely. “Shigehito told us to pack our things.”

“We’re leaving?”

“No, you’re not.”

We froze, then turned in the direction of the voice. Five men stood there, smirks on their faces. “And don’t even think about running. We’re all Ningenbanare here.

Damn! Five of them. This isn’t good.

“Who says we’ll be running?”

I glanced to the side. Suki was there, her katana gleaming in the light from the lanterns that had recently been lit. Another two men stepped out from the shadows. One was wielding a broadsword, and another had twin short swords in his hands.

The lead Ningenbanare laughed. “Seven humans against five Ningenbanare? I feel sorry for you.”

The Ningenbanare started to spread out. Automatically, we formed a defensive circle around Asuka, the only person in the group without combat training. I didn’t have time to ask how the Suki and the strangers knew about Asuka’s lack of training. I started to gather my rage.

The leader spoke. “Hmm? You’re all protecting one human? Does that mean she can’t fight on her own?”

I used the Ningenbanare’s mocking tone to fuel my anger. “That’s none of your business”

This isn’t good. Koike’s style requires room to move around, or at least no allies to worry about hitting.

I sighed.

I’m probably going to regret this.

“Koike, stick with me! The rest of you, don’t break formation, and protect Asuka!”

Without waiting for a reply, I ran off to the side, Koike following me. Two Ningenbanare followed us. I’d been hoping for only one, but I’d expected this. One of them stopped right in front of me. I jumped to the side, landed on some barrels, and jumped again, vaulting over the Ningenbanare. He tried to catch me, but I managed to twist my feet out of the way at the last moment. I landed in a roll, and kept running. I’d lost sight of Koike by now.

Good luck, buddy.

I’d reached the training field by now. I skidded to a stop, and faced the Ningenbanare that followed me. He grinned. “Tired of running?”

I didn’t answer. I stood in a loose ready stance. Because Ningenbanare were much faster and stronger than I was, I had to be able to move at an instant’s notice, and a tense stance didn’t let me do that. At least it was brighter now. Lanterns had been lit, and I could see everything more or less clearly.

Let’s see just how much stronger I’ve gotten.

Chapter Nine

Shigehito cracked his knuckles.

“Now, you need to start controlling your anger. Anger is fine, it bolsters your strength, and makes pain easier to deal with. That’s why a berserker usually has high destructive potential, and is hard to take down without killing. But it also clouds your judgment, and that can be lethal in battle. That’s why berserkers usually have a short lifespan on the battlefield. What I want you to achieve, is to let your anger run wild in your body, while maintaining a calm mind.”

I thought about it awhile. “So, basically, you want me to balance anger and calmness?”

“Yes. Sort of like Heart of Fire, Mind of Ice.”

I grinned. “It’s got a nice ring to it.”

I closed my eyes, and focused.

Okay. Now, first thing should be to rouse my anger.

I concentrated. And concentrated. And concentrated.

Eventually, I sighed, and looked up at Shigehito.

“A little help?”

He sighed. “I thought that might happen. You’ve probably been suppressing your anger for a long time, so now it’s hard for you to bring it up. Maybe this’ll help” He smacked my head before I could reply.

“OW!”

I grabbed onto the spark of irritation I felt when Shigehito hit me. I fed it, and let it grow, until it raged in my mind. I compartmentalized it, pushing it into a corner. Shigehito moved again. Without thinking, my hand flipped up, and blocked. I blinked, surprise temporarily dulling my anger. It had been the first time I blocked one of Shigehito’s hits. He smirked.

“I forgot to mention. Anger is a primal emotion, so when you’re using it, you are more in touch with your instincts. That speeds up your reflexes.”

I nodded. I let the anger burn hotter.

“Let’s go.”

At lunch time, we took a break. By now, a lot of the headquarters personnel had arrived, and were watching us train. Apparently, since the headquarters had only just been set up, a lot of them had nothing to do. I sat down, only noticing the fatigue in my limbs when I sat. I sighed. I was too tired too move. Shigehito stood over me, barely even breathing hard.

Man, that incredible strength, speed and stamina almost makes being only part human worth it.

“Get some rest, eat lunch, maybe take a nap. We’ll train when it’s a bit cooler.”

I shaded my eyes against the sun, which was beating down mercilessly. It was hot, but not as hot as some

afternoons back in town. Still, it was hot enough to make dragging myself into the shade worth it. I grunted and pulled myself to a sitting position. I looked around for Shigehito. He was gone.

So much for asking for some help

I searched for the nearest big piece of shade. The nearest one was under a tree, about 50 meters away. I groaned, then collapsed.

So faaaaar…..

“Ryou!”

I groaned. I’d just gotten comfortable. I rolled over, and looked in the direction of the voice.

“Suki? Hi! When did you get here?”

She ran up to me, and smiled. “I got here this morning. I’d have come looking for you earlier, but I had to report

in. You okay? You look wiped.”

I grunted. “I AM wiped. Hey, gimme a hand, will ya? I want to get outta this sun.”

She laughed. “Wow. You really are wiped. Unless this is just an excuse to touch me?” She glared at me. I

gulped.

“What?! No! Nuh-uh! No way!”

“So you don’t find me attractive?”

“Huh? No! I mean, yes! I mean, uh, you’re attractive! Really attractive!”

“So you ARE trying to touch me.”

I was about to reply, then I saw her trying to hide a smile. I glared at her.

“Having fun, are we?”

She giggled.

“Are you gonna help me, or just stand there and make a fool out of me while I dehydrate under the sun?”

She stood there awhile, smiling, then sighed and grabbed my arm. After some effort, we finally made it into the

shade. I collapsed gratefully onto the grass. Then, my stomach growled. She froze for a moment, then giggled.

“Wait here. I’ll go get us some lunch.” She ran off before I could say anything. I must’ve dozed off, because the next thing I knew, she was shaking me gently.

“Food’s here.” It wasn’t anything fancy. Just bread, cheese, and roasted meat. But at the moment, it was like a gourmet meal to me. I was famished. Apparently, fighting a Ningenbanare for half a day can really work up an appetite. When I was done, Suki tossed me a small flask. I raised an eyebrow at her.

“I have my own water canteen, you know.”

“That’s not water. I bumped into Miharu on the way over here, and she asked me to pass this to you. I think its something to help with your sore muscles.”

I took a sip, and blanched. It tasted seriously bitter.

At least its small.

I screwed up my face, and finished the whole thing in one go. I sighed, and laid back. Maybe it was the medicine, or maybe it was the food, but I felt better now.

Suki smiled, she was still eating.

‘Wow, you eat fast.”

I grunted.

“So, what kind of torture is old Shigehito putting you through now?”

I shrugged. “He’s teaching me to harness my anger. Of course, he has to teach me to get angry first.”

She blinked. “Are you really THAT hard to annoy?”

I scowled at her. “That’s not what I mean. There’s a difference between annoyance and anger. When I was growing up, I learned to suppress my anger. By now, it’s become instinctive.”

“So, he’s turning you into a berserker?”

I laughed. “Not really. If I had to put it into words, I’d say he’s teaching me to become a calm berserker.”

She looked confused. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

I smiled. “It’s a very hard concept to grasp. It’s even harder to do. I keep letting my anger control me, instead of the other way around.”

Just then, Shigehito walked up.

“Okay, let’s get back to work. You still need a lot of training.”

I groaned, then stood up.

“Well, I guess I’ll see ya later.”

She stood up as well. “Okay. I have to take care of something anyway. Have fun.”

I glared at her as she walked off. Shigehito chuckled.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

I scowled at him, then started to feed my anger. It was becoming easier now. Briefly, I wondered whether that

was a good thing.

It’ll help me stay alive. That counts as a good thing in my book.

I shrugged mentally, then got on with the training.

Chapter Eight

I woke up to a strange feeling of weightlessness. I opened my eyes, and saw the ground rushing up to me.

What the?!

I rolled, got my feet under me, and looked around. I was in the field again.

“Hmph. Your reflexes need a bit more work.”

I looked in the direction of the voice. Even though he was only standing a few meters away, I could only make out a dark shape. I could recognize the voice though. It was the same one that had been yelling at me yesterday.

“Shigehito?”

“And you sleep like a log. That won’t do. What if you’re attacked in your sleep?”

“Dude, seriously. It’s not even dawn yet.” I winced as my body reminded me of the punishment it had been given yesterday.

“Exactly”

Huh?

The shape blurred forward, and I got hit in the chest. I jumped backwards to absorb the hit. “Tch!” I opened my eyes as wide as I could, to let my retinas absorb maximum light. Even so, I barely saw the kick flying towards my head. I ducked, then jabbed forward. I didn’t use full power. Instead, I concentrated on striking out and pulling back as fast as I could, so each punch became like a flick. He blocked and deflected all of them, but since I didn’t use full power, I wasn’t thrown off balance. Shigehito took a step back, and twisted. Sensing what was coming, I jumped and twisted, my body parallel to the ground. I actually felt his kick brush past my face. Landing from my jump, I shoulder charged Shigehito. He jumped and somersaulted over me, grabbing my shoulders as he went. When he landed, he threw me away. I bounced and skidded, rolling the whole time to minimize the force. When I finally stopped, I was about 20 meters away from him. I sweatdropped.

You gotta be kidding.

I stood up, and called over to Shigehito. “Y’know, this really isn’t fair. You’re so much stronger and faster than me that it’s ridiculous.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, does the wittle whiner want me to slow down?”

I froze. Shigehito had disappeared, and now his voice was coming from a point right beside my ear. I spun, right arm raised in an elbow strike, but he blocked the elbow and hit me in the ribs, sending me flying. I rolled to my feet, clutching my side.

“Wake up, boy! Life’s never fair, even more so when in a war. You think you’re only gonna be fighting humans? You may only be a human now, but you are one of the Four. The ones who have been prophesized to defeat the three Mugoi. At this moment, you are only human, but you are expected to be able to fight a Tenma, or a Ningenbanare, and win. I am trying to train you to that level! Or are you going to give up?”

I grunted, and pushed myself to my feet. I glared at Shigehito. I could feel the old fury stir. I’d spent a large part of my life trying to suppress that part of me. Even so, right now, anger was only an asset. I whispered. “I won’t give up.”

“I can’t hear you!” shouted Shigehito. I felt the anger envelop me, lending strength to my body. I roared, and charged.

“I WON’T GIVE UP!!!”

An hour later, I collapsed onto the ground, panting. Shigehito squatted down beside me. I twisted, and tried to punch his face. He grabbed my wrist, and grinned. “I’ll give you this. You have got to be the most stubborn person I know. Take a break, get some breakfast. I’ll start teaching you how to fight later.”

With that, he leaped away. Lying there, staring up at the clouds, I grinned.