Unarmed Training

[Asako Saburo]

He was panting a little when Kaiu spoke up after the second match. Several matches at this point had been conducted, and it was obvious by now that his stamina had been taxed and tested and he was going to want a breather. He bowed to the Crab and rose slowly. "You put in a good effort today. Give it a little more practice, and you will be my better. I am well aware I cannot rely on my current lessons for long." He turned to regard the new arrival, catching only barely the last stages of their conversation and glancing back at the Kaiu. "I do not think that one is Crane..."

It was pretty obvious from the look on his face that he wasn't sure what Setsuna was, however.

-snip-

Bowing to the Kitsune he grunted out. "Good morning, Kohai. Good you could make Hida-sensei's lesson. I am Asako Saburo and this Kaiu Aiichiro." It almost seemed that physical exertion helped loosen the boy's tone a little. He certainly looked in slightly better spirits after several matches.

[Moto Ichiro]

"I saw a bariqu," he said the word perfectly this time, "warrior once, when I was younger. In my village visitors are extremely rare, but he was a sight that I could not forget. Clad in purple furs with a pointy hat, and he was as wide as some of our trees. He went hunting for a boar that was causing havoc in the fields, destroying crops, and brought it down with only his bare hands before carrying it back. He even demonstrated how he did it, picking up some of the girls and holding them over his head while they laughed. Moto Arsran." Though with the way he said that given name, it was clear he meant 'Arslan.' "Before my journey here, I could literally count on my hands the number of outsiders I have seen, but they were all very memorable." God he talked too much. "Sorry, I have never been thrown like that before. When the blood pumps through my veins so fiercely, I talk more than I should."[/size][/list]

"A common problem." He replied stretching a little there was a long pause and he maybe was about to ask a question when the Asako came up Ichiro shrugged and leaned against a wall. His stomach hurt quite a bit, he'd need to see the healer about it he figured.

[Kaiu Aiichiro]

He, too, approached the others and nodded his head a little, crossing his arms. He noticed, though, how the Unicorn stopped on the middle of his stretching. "Did you get hurt? I know where the barrack of Asako-sensei is."

[Moto Ichiro]

"I'll be fine." was his terse reply

[Kitsune Setsuna]

• 
  His face was still flushed red from the thrill of the clash, but at least his breathing had slowed to normal and he didn't feel like spouting anymore. He nodded to Ichiro, grateful for the tips. "I will try to control that in the future." In the future they would likely come in handy, and then turned to look at the two new boys, a Phoenix and a Crab.
  
  "Kitsune Setsuna of the Fox clan; a shugenja but otherwise nothing special." He would bow nice and low, long hair spilling past his ears. "Pleased to have met you, Asako-sama and Kaiu-sama." The boy's gaze would flicker from one, to the other. "It seems you two have been sparring for a long time now. Who was the victor of your bouts?" Unfortunately, he could not stop himself from looking at Saburo's jaundiced yellow eyes, though he tried to look away at random things in the room instead. What a fascinating wall screen that was over there!

[Asako Saburo]

He was used to people staring at the eyes. That, he could handle. As long as they weren't asking stupid questions publicly, he didn't mind a few stares. He nodded when the Kitsune introduced himself, rising from his own bow before shrugging. "I don't consider sparring matches to have a victor exactly. If done right, we both win, we both grow. that's the purpose." He had been the one who had pushed the other out both times, but he didn't consider his meager training enough reason to lord it over the others. "Good matches, good practice. I feel my blood pumping again. That always improves my day."