After my training with Daki, it's already time to eat lunch. "Great training sesh, Namo-Kun! You must be hungry, yeah? Daki said while patting my back.
Just hearing anything about food made my stomach rumble. We make our way to the dining hall of the dojo, a place packed with other people.
Daki searches around the area for Ms. Asami and Shiro, and she manages to spot them sitting not too far from us. "There's the chief and Shiro! You go sit down, I'll go get us some food."
I nod and walk over to the two of them, the pair giving me a look that I can't quite make out. "Wow, looks like someone's in a better mood. Did Daki go easy on you? I bet she did…" Shiro said while slurping his udon.
I sit down across from them and sigh, "Yeah… I'm sorry for trying to attack you earlier. I was just very upset because of the whole higher-ups thing." I say while placing my chin on my palm.
Shiro and Ms. Asami looked at each other with mixed emotions, then back at me, and Shiro let out a small chuckle. "Don't worry about it, man! I'm not mad or anything because I genuinely wanted to fight with you." He declared while smirking at me.
For the third time… I really wanted to smack the goof off his face.
After a few moments, Daki arrives with our food, and she sets it down on the table. "Here ya go Namo-Kun. I got you some takoya-" Without letting her finish, I instantly got to work on the food.
The three of them look at me like I'm some human vacuum. Ms. Asami sighed, placing down her tea and picking up a piece of folded paper.
"Okay, Namo, after lunch, your next training for the day will be combat training… However, judging from your recent test, I'm sure this training will be the worst one for you." Ms. Asami said coldly while slowly gazing at me.
I stopped eating my takoyaki mid-chew, and I looked at her with an annoyed expression before swallowing all of my food. "I promised to prove my worth, and that's what I'll do. I will try to make you proud, Ms. Asami." I mutter while taking a sip of water.
Ms. Asami hums, picking up her cup and going back to drinking her tea.
After eating lunch, Daki and Shiro start encouraging me so that my training with Ms. Asami doesn't end in disaster. "Keep your head up, don't give her an attitude, and also make us proud!" Shiro says while repeatedly patting my back.
Daki buds in soon after, "Yeah, and most importantly, make sure to shower her with tons of compliments! It might make her flustered enough to forget beating the crap out of you~."
Hearing her words send a slight shiver down my spine, and before I could thank them, Ms. Asami walked into the room. "It's time, Namo. Come with me." Ms. Asami says softly.
She motions for me to walk with her, and I look back at Daki and Shiro, both of them both giving me thumbs up.
I gulp as I slowly walk behind Ms. Asami. "You're not gonna beat me again… are you…?" I mutter with hesitation.
Ms. Asami doesn't say anything; she just looks back at me and continues walking. Just by that expression, I can already tell what's going to go down…
We eventually made it to the combat training facility, and the area was relatively quiet, and there weren't a lot of people training here.
"Okay, we finally made it. Grab a wooden katana and let's begin." Ms. Asami said while grabbing a wooden katana herself.
We both get in our spots, and to be honest, I couldn't help but feel a little nervous because our relationship together isn't the strongest. "I'm going to show you how to properly wield a sword," She twirls her wooden katana in her hand before holding it firmly again.
"The way you hold your katana is simple. Use both hands for the handle, with your right hand near the tsuba (the guard), and your left at the base of the tsuka (the handle)." I do exactly as she says, and I can see the slightest look of satisfaction on her face.
"Next, you will have your sword at an exact 45-degree angle for proper alignment; don't point it straight up." She demonstrates the alignment, and I followed right after.
Ms. Asami and I spent around ten minutes working on properly holding a katana, and the rights and wrongs. "I must admit, I'm quite impressed by your quick learning. Now that you have the proper wielding of the katana, show me a simple overhead strike," Ms. Asami says while crossing her arms and moving out of the way to give me space to strike.
I nod, and I get into position, taking a deep breath and swinging the blade downwards from high above my head.
"Hmm, not bad. However…"
Ms. Asami walks up to me and analyzes my stance. Suddenly, she walked behind me and began adjusting my posture. Her touch was surprisingly gentle and soft, and I couldn't help but feel a little flustered.
"Make sure you have a good grip on the handle; the blade will fly out of your hand and hit someone." Ms. Asami said softly.
I nod, and I fix my grip. "Ms. Asami… Can I ask?" She suddenly cuts me off, "Please, call me Chief Asami. Hearing you say Ms. Asami makes me feel old, and I don't want to feel old."
The way she looks at me is making my face hot, and I can feel her grip on my arm firming slightly. "Y-Yes ma'am… Chief Asami."
She clears her throat, and she takes a few steps back. "Keep working on your form, and you will get better in no time."Chief Asami muttered.
For some reason, I hear a bit of a mood change. As I was about to ask her what was wrong, she jumped back to talking again, "Sorry… your training might have to be postponed until tomorrow." She stammers a bit too quickly, and she quickly leaves the combat facility.
I was completely confused as to why she just left so suddenly… maybe she's just tired…? No, that can't be right. After a few minutes of putting everything away, I walked back to the rooms.
I walked into my room, and I made myself comfortable. "Maybe… Maybe Chief Asami just needs to relieve herself…? I guess I'll ask her tomorrow. Right now… I need to get…. to....." I ended up falling fast asleep as soon as I hit my bed.
Sniffle… Sniffle…
Asami is outside the inner dojo, leaning over the railing and watching the stars light up the night sky. She's currently… crying?
"I can't blame him… It's not his fault that she…" She cuts herself off as she shakes her head and wipes her eyes.
"I'm sorry, mother… and Rumi… I don't know how to keep these memories behind..." Asami softly says with a shudder.