The New Winds

Yotsuo had requested the aid of the Hida sensei in hopes that the capable sumo could teach some unarmed techniques. He sat and waited quietly for the man's arrival, trying to focus his mind. Though he was going over the unarmed kata in his mind too much and couldn't quite quiet it.

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D2 Serpent, Void Recovery, Meditation / Void, TN 20: 4d10o10k2 18

"I heard you wanted to get more insight to tomorrows training, Kuni-san"

A large boar of a man says, his voice rumbling.

"Don't think this is just because you are a Crab, and you best beat out all the others if I'm gonna teach you today"

"I'll certainly be trying my best to do so. It's one of the skills my master hasn't gone over with me in depth yet. I'll probably never be quite as capable as yourself, but I do hope to be good enough to destroy my enemies in the future sensei," he replies, rising from seiza and bowing to the big Crab.

He returns the bow.

"Good attitude. Let's wait a bit before we begin to see if any of the others show today. Quite a few caught my eye during the introduction yesterday after all."

By some miracle, one of the ones who had caught the eye of that mountain of a man was a frail, sickly looking lad that the Kuni had met the other day. Harsh yellow eyes stared at the two of them, catching sight of the sensei and swiftly turning down, Saburo bowing low to teacher and then appropriately to fellow student. In his own mind, he was admittedly a little... surprised to have caught the big man's eye, but his strikes yesterday had been the most impressive part of his kata.

"Hida-Sensei, Kuni-kohai. It is good to see the two of you. You performed well this morning, Kuni-san." He spoke in calm tones, though the rumble in his voice was as present as always, sounding like one who was growling just a little. Seemed like his normal tone of voice.

"You did as well Asako-san. It's certainly not the standard form of training for my family, but it was enlightening," he replies with a nod.

Another Asako shows up, though this one looks quite healthy and decently fit.

"Greetings, mina-san." He says with a polite bow towards the other students. "Hida-sensei." He bows even more politely.

"This one is Asako Sanzo. It is a pleasure to be in the company of such noteworthy individuals." The Phoenix wears a friendly smile, and has a somewhat jovial air about his speech.

Sanzo was genuinely curious to learn a bit more about jiujitsu. His own training emphasized kenjutsu and the spear, which were great for wounding an enemy, but the holds and pins of jiutisu could also be useful in a number of circumstances.

Kenji joined the group. "Greetings, Hida-Sensei, Kohai-Sans, I am Kakita Kenji, it's an honor to meet you all" He bowed briefly.

Yesterday, he and Wyn had a short sparring match under his supervision. Hida-sensei seemed more serious than yesterday, maybe because there were more students now?

He returned the bow of the other two who came along. "Cousin. It is good to see you well," he said to the Asako. Gods only knew if they were even distantly related. Probably not. They looked and behaved nothing alike, but an Asako was an Asako. Kakita-Kohai. You are looking well this morning. I trust combat training faired well for you?" This... may have been roughly as social as the young man had been yet.

He still looked just about as pale and drawn as ever, but what else was new?

The Kuni bowed to the new arrivals. "A pleasure. I am glad to be working with you today."

"It was a good training, I concentrated on defense, something I unfortunately missed in the opening kata, to my modesty I can state that I was not even hit. How was your training? It must not be easy to explore the mysteries of the kami," Kenji replied.

Kenji welcomed the Kuni with a light bow

"I focused first on my deficiencies in Air. It is my expectation to study the intricacies of Water's ebb and flow next. Before focusing on where I consider myself to be more proficient, I must address the limitations and holes in my abilities. An Isawa must be all things," he grunted out, nodding. "My understanding is that I performed... adequately."

"I expected no less from one of the top students, Asako-san. The expectations are quite high, although I can imagine that someone who is able to talk to the fabric of the world has to carry a heavier sack. I, for my part, plan to further eliminate my defensive shortcomings and improve my sword skills,... and here and now, of course, my fist handling," Kenji said, it was a slight undertone of envy to hear, but who wouldn't like to be considered a top student.

"Ngh. I was not aware that my name was considered that prominent among our fellows. There are certainly fine candidates among the clans to take top honors. I only wish to keep pace with them and honor my sensei's faith in me. But we are both here in the hope of that. We are fortunate Hida-sensei is taking the additional time for us." He... honestly looked very much unaware of his current standings with the others. There was a remote possibility he hadn't looked at the board this morning, and that he probably wouldn't look at them again tomorrow.

"Certainly, the students here are all exemplary and wanting to honor their own sensei. I suppose a competitive nature is to be expected from us, what with our age and coming from different clans. I just hope that we don't lose sight of why we're all here: to prepare for the true competition that awaits us."

Seeing the rest of the students gather, the Hida gives the student a warm smile and motions for them all to gather around.

"Come! Let us begin. Everyone pair off."

Right. Pair off. Of course. He nodded to the sensei and looked at the Kuni with a brief moment of deer caught in the face of a brilliant light. Crab meant break you. Nope. Nooooope. He positioned himself opposite the Asako, provided he did not complain and said a silent prayer for the Crane's afterlife before awaiting instruction from the mass of muscle.

Yotsuo moves to the Crane, since the two of them likely have the most experience with combat training. Not that the Kuni has much, but he at least knows how to swing a sword. Won't matter much here, but he's taken knocks from his sensei and kind of knows what to expect from a Crab teaching you how to fight.

Once the four are paired, the Hida draws a small ring around each pair with a bit of chalk.

"Using only your hands, remove your opponent from the ring without exiting it yourself!"

((Contested juijutsu/strength rolls, if the winner beats the other by more than 4, they are able to push or throw them out of the circle))

Kenji bowed to the Kuni and got ready, as it looked like neither of them could throw the other out of the ring yet.

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D2 Serpent unskilled Jiu/Str against Kuni: 1d10k1 2