The New Winds

Mai went out to the field to meet the Lion sensei.

Having been informed of the special lesson and the dispensation excusing him from his cleaning duties, Saburo was in attendance as well. He caught sight of Mai and bowed. "Warm this morning. A good day's exercises will build a proper sweat to cleanse. Good for the pores." Yeah... uh... right. That was the important thing this morning. Right. Well, he was here at the archery range, so that was something at least.

Mai returned the bow. "Good morning, Asako-san. You're right. Working up a good sweat before breakfast is always a nice thing to do."

“It’s good to see students ready to work early. We’ve been worried all the slouches sleeping in will rub off on everyone before this experiment is over.”

She bowed the Lion. "Morning, Akodo-sensei. I assure you, you won't see the two of us sleeping in. I look forward to training today." Mai had been up for hours by now. Getting attacked by a ghost while you sleep makes you slightly paranoid. She assumed Saburo would have a panic attack if he slept a minute over the appropriate time.

“Good. Now if only the rest of your clan were as dutiful... Though, let it be known that every Mantis Mercenary who has been in the vanguard for a Lion army has never disappointed. You lot are full of courage, I’ll give you that. So, what do you want to go over first?”

Mai wasn't quite sure what he meant by the rest of the Clan being dutiful. They were. He even complimented the mercenaries. Oh well. Lion compliments are weird.

"I was hoping to go more over the bow. My sensei always said I should be ready for anything. And a bow is a handy weapon to know on a ship."

Kenji also wanted to meet the old lion. He saw Mai and Saburo already talking to him, so he kept an acceptable distance until he was called.

Sanzo shows up yawning, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"It's so early, I doubt I'll have to squint to focus on the targets." he says, eyes barely open. Still, the Phoenix manages to get through the proper greetings, bows, and etiquette, though this does nothing to wake him up further.

“Kyujutsu it is then. You all go get the targets and set them up against the north wall”

"Actually, Akodo-sensei, I came with another request, I want to be able to defend myself better in battle, if you can share your attention, I would be grateful," Kenji said.

“Easy enough, I can watch over both the kyujutsu training and your defensive drills. Do you have a sparring partner?”

"Hai, sensei!" Saburo said with ... more than a little more emphasis than strictly necessary as he returned the old gunso's bow. He nodded over to Mai and ran off to go and grab one of the targets and get it set up in position, looking back at the others to verify how many of them were here for kyujutsu training, how many for defensive drills. He looked nothing, if not eager to practice the art of the bow in preparation of tests he was increasingly certain were coming sooner rather than later, and even if they didn't... no Topaz championship was complete without a test of the bow, or so it was said.

"It seems like that I'm alone on this request, i have no sparring Partner" Kenji said. Maybe the old Lion would be his Partner? Kenji wasn't bold enough to ask, but it surley would be interesting.

Mai bowed to the newcomers as they arrived. When Saburo went off for taegets, Mai went to get the bows and arrows. Grabbing enough for four in case anyone else shows up.

Not entirely sure what was going to be the final tally of students, based on the past, Saburo opted to set up a quartet of targets. It might be more than they would need, but he remembered the 'private' lessons of Goroharu, and Setsuna had arrived at the last second. It was best not to assume that nobody else would show up until they had. When he came jogging back, though, he did not look quite as winded as he might have in the past from that level of exertion. Then again, they were all looking more fit, weren't they?

“Hmm. Kata will have to do for now then, Kakita-San.”

Seeing the range assembled he turns to the students there and explains his philosophy on kyujutsu. It is a bit long winded, and when he finishes he demonstrates how to properly string, draw, and fire the bow. Then he asks the students to do the same

Kenji began to go through a few sets of defensive kata. They weren't that impressive but that might be because he was still tired and the blood in his veins had to start flowing properly.

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D6 Tiger Defense/Reflexes Kata Fluff: 5d10o10k3 14

Saburo snapped to attention, taking hold of his bow and carefully stringing it. He was following the exact wording of the Akodo as much as possible. Perhaps the Akodo were not known for their archers in the way of some groups, but their precision was infamous around the empire, and it was the precision of the clan that he was aiming to emulate.

When he had been certain of the field being clear, his first shot was not an incompetent one. It wasn't anything to truly write home about, but he had definitely gotten past the point where his arrows could not find their target anymore.

As the archers were practicing, the old general walks over to Kenji and observes his kata for a bit before shaking his head and saying:

"No, no, no. That won't do. Come, watch me, Kakita-san."

He then begins an intricate kata full of complex movements of his own. He goes slower than normal to ensure it can be observed.