A way of life [plot]

And so it was time to begin.

"Ah shit, I left my Katana back in Kirigakure. I'll get it later, I know who would have took it." his temporary thoughts had been took off of him, to worry about the Katana- but it was short lived. "If I can't find it I'll just get another issued. No biggie." Iku posed her question about Fuku's statement- it was fair enough. "Because sometimes, people don't realize the new challenges you're going to face as a Swordsman of the Mist. Congratulations, by the way." Fuku actually quite liked the name Sensei. It was... an unusual yet not unwelcoming name.

Truthfully, Fuku was going to get straight into teaching her how to use the sword- but he didn't have his own Katana and he sure as hell wasn't going to use Samehada. So he opted for something different. "Iku. I'm not going to teach you about swords-work today. I'm going to find your limits and break them." A cruel smile came across Fuku's lips. Fitness training, a beasting- if you would. Now this was something Fuku knew how to teach.

"First thing, do this-" he raised Samehada up to the side, holding it by the hilt- "Right hand." he spoke, you could see the sword was completely straight and in line with Fuku's arm- holding it at a ninety degree angle. "Keep it there for as long as you can."

By all means, the theory was easy- but it had so much more intricate training to it than that. First of all, Iku would have to quickly find her core or force herself off balance with the sheer weight of half of the sword. Secondly, it would strengthen her core muscles having to be in her core, to support her arm. Then it was also the beginning of how to train her finesse on swinging. He would teach her all of this though not immediately. It was now the waiting game, and Fuku's arm was still completely straight and so much hadn't even moved.

If and when it was that she started shaking Fuku would bark- "We're only doing this once. Keep it upright for goodness sake." it was Silence from here on out. Fuku could feel a slight twitch in his arm that made him waver his sword a bit, but then it fully returned to it's former position.

It was now the waiting game, and Fuku would just wait before bringing his sword down- to watch her. He was growing bored of the exercise himself and opted to watch. Slowly and slowly, eventually Iku's hand fell down should she listen to Fuku's instruction.

"Eh.. not bad. Other hand now."

He chuckled. It was a necessary evil- he was genuinely testing her limits. "I can see your cleavage, Iku-chan." Fuku would say, teasing her- still leaning up against Samehada. In reality he wasn't even looking and didn't even notice if she was wearing a top that showed her cleavage or not. Fuku was watching her biceps and triceps- the way they were working. What needed to be worked on.

"Just so you're aware, I don't do boring conventional stuff. We're going to learn how to do things the fun way."

---

- 100% chakra
- 1004 words/5000

This is a life she would have to grow used to.

With her response- Fuku chuckled. She should've known what she was wearing, let alone stopping her exercise but it would be allowed. It was his fault for that. So they finally stopped. Fuku nodded "Okay, that's not bad. It's not good either though. We need to work on how you hold the sword- truth be told it's all in the thumbs. If I were to cut your thumb off, there would be nothing to hold around one side of the hilt and therefore useless." he spoke all of these as he moved over to her, and pulling her fingers into the right position, making sure that the thumb overlapped the hilt and back around to her own hand, to be about a centimeter away from her own middle finger, instead of the casual index.

"The index finger is for minute movements and adjustments you'll make mid swing, like if you need to turn the blade to face a different angle, or help with a twisting motion, that is why you have your finger next to the middle finger. Yes, it's slightly uncomfortable, and yes you'll get over it." Fuku actually gave himself a pat on the back for this. It was unusual to find himself teaching somebody, but the theory side of it was working out wonderfully; although both he hadn't been taught the same and he was far better at the practical side of it.

It brought him back to the time where as a younger version of himself, he would be going to Hinata- and with a Katana she would show him how it worked and then sent him away to do it himself. It was a harsh fix-it-yourself way, but it allowed room for self improvement. "Now, as primitive as it seems, I want you to make an X cut" he made the motion, swinging Samehada diagonally in opposite directions. "The point of the exercise is that I don't want to see you using Fluid motions, making it into a circle- I want you to stop the blade in it's path" he brought it down diagonally, and stopped it abruptly, and then straight up, stopped it abruptly all the way until he had made a full X.

"Do that fifty times. I'll be watching you." Fuku just turned around and quickly made his way over to a tree, ripping down a thin malleable branch, still very much alive.

Coming back over, for every time she would falter, or fail to do it, she would get a lash from the branch across her body- a random place. If she made it fluid and dynamic, she would get a rap around the knuckles which undoubtedly, hurt the worst. "It's amazing how tired your body can become performing these movements" he made a comment. It was true- when he first had to do these himself he was a wreck at doing them. Learning how to use Samehada was harder though.

However many she was at, weather it be ten or ten hundred- Fuku quickly spoke "Okay, run to that tree and back with the sword. It cannot touch the ground."

Fuku's smile kept in place. He would run her into the ground today- This would be one of her hardest lessons, even when she became experienced- it would not be this hard. Why? Because he was testing her will. Not her strength, but her determination- not her speed, but her heart. He would provide words of encouragement later on, and she would be given a break. Not right now, though.

Okay.. let's take a look. AH, hahaha. Fuku's body made the moments of hiding a laugh, whilst she was still making the trip. When she returned, Fuku nonchalantly spoke whilst not even looking at her. "Continue."

So, I can see a bog over there. We'll be going into that later. Pretty princess is going to get a laugh out of this.

She wasn't.

---

- 100% chakra
- 1668 words/5000

She was doing pretty well so far. But he wasn't going to say anything.

This was a test of heart, Fuku reminded to himself. He wanted to see how far he could push her and he would do just that. He could see he was starting to annoy her by the amount she was beginning to swear. Some of her true colors were beginning to show; her attitude. That was something she needed and it was so vital being one of the swordsman of the mists. She needed to become ruthless.

"You'll find, that being one of the swordsman will require to go above and beyond. This organisation is predominantly male run, and I want you to change that." While he was offering no words of encouragement directly, this would serve as kindle to her fire. Fuku began to intensity her fitness, only starting by making her do simple running backwards and forwards, then adding in by touching the floor- or jumping, or going down into a burpee and holding it for a couple of seconds.

The next hour was comprised of doing things with the sword, slamming the flat side of the blade into the tree so she could toughen up her wrists from the shock, Fuku pressing his boot down onto her back as she done pressups, swinging the blade and letting go- to catch in her other hand, stop it abruptly, and then toss it back- she was doing okay. All manners of sword-related exercises. But now? Now she was beat down, probably tired, her arms and muscles killing her- and now they were going to do an exercise that used her entire body at once.

"Okay, now now you're warmed up, let's cool you off a little bit, before we go for round two." He was lying, he had worked her enough now, and he could see it- but he had found the limit and now he was going to see if he could break it. Fuku stripped off his top, and slammed Samehada into the ground. "Okay, let's go for a run." Fuku started off at a jog, jogging towards the bog. "Come on!" he shouted, getting her arse in gear was the main factor. He would make sure to make her keep up by any means necessary. If she slowed down from Fuku's pace, she would get a slap on the back that would grow with intensity. When they finally found themselves at the edge, Fuku stopped. "Jump in." He said, he knew there would probably be some sort of reluctance. If it took too long, Fuku would push the girl in. If she went in without hesitation, Fuku would join her. There would be no running from this.

Come on girl.. don't give up now because you don't want to get a little dirty.

Fuku was in there himself now. While he didn't want to say anything, Fuku was now sick of himself. The bog of mud and water was freezing and he could already feel himself going numb. "Let's go for a swim!" and so now Iku would be following Fuku, and every couple of seconds or so Fuku's head would peer back. He knew this was dangerous territory and he would have to take care of her. If he was this damn cold and going numb, who knew what was happening to the girl who was so much smaller, and had a massively smaller frame than her.

Fuku now stopped, and turned to see if she was there. Hopefully the girl hadn't dissapeared underneath the water by now. If she was okay, Fuku was going to continue. If not? Well, he would find out. Right?

---

- 100% chakra
- 2283 words/5000

Her heart was strong.

If swearing for her was doing the trick that would keep her awake, steady, calm and collected (In a swordsmanship kind of way) occupying Fuku's thoughts. The main priorities were making sure this girl didn't succumb to the cold of the water. Heck as the current moment it seemed more like it would be Iku who had to do the saving. He hated the cold. Unlike most of the swordsman, well, he really meant more-so other Shinobi under the rank of Jonin would probably be getting annoyed with the constant swearing. But in all essences- that was her coping mechanism. Fuku's was somewhat similar, except it was more attacking with a Katana and hoping it would slice somebody. His anger was a little harder to control then most, hence the title 'Civil Barbarian'

Thankfully, the water was getting lower and lower, going down to their waist until they could finally get out. Fuku got out of the water and shook himself off. Jumping around to warm himself up. The water gave a light sheen over him. Fuku held out his hand, for the girl to take. It didn't matter if she did or not, Fuku was completely nonchalant at this point. "We're not going for a round two. I was only trying to make you falter. Come on, let's go wash off." he spoke, and began walking back around to where all of their stuff was. At least it wasn't windy right now. Because that could've been so much worse. For when she would fall, Fuku would get her up and for when she would swear, Fuku would tolerate. For where she would lose faith, Fuku would return it.

A small pang of pride was starting to emanate from him, the sense of being a teacher. Although it was misplaced, he was a fucking Swordsman of the Mist! Nothing gave him pride like running another into the ground, replacing their good intentions with great intentions and turning their ability into cold hard still fury. When they finally got back to their starting position, Fuku met eyes with the girl, and sat down, weather she did or not that was her choice. Fuku grabbed his shirt, and pulled it back over him- very much welcoming the warmth.

"For now, I'm going to tell you- Go home. For tonight, I am taking Kubikiribochou home with me. Now you are a swordsman, anybody is capable of challenging you for that sword- even a random Jounin. You wouldn't stand a chance. Tomorrow night? That will be your own problem. Tomorrow when I give you your sword, if you lose the sword- you lose the right to be my apprentice."

That was an order. Fuku turned, and grabbed Samehada and looked back at her. "I'm staying for a little bit longer. Go home." and so silence ensued. If she decided to watch, that was fine. If not, Fuku would began to crack the bones in his back and body, resounding in a wild cacophony of clicks and pops. He dropped down into a press-up position and silently, yet so so quickly began his press-ups. It hadn't even took two minutes for him to press out a hundred and fifty of them. Then into burpees. These were a lot slower, but still quick- making sure that every time he was standing up completely upright before bending back down and dropping down.

The next fifteen minutes comprised of basic fitness, but it signified a stop when he grabbed the blade next to him. He began something more akin to a sword dance, using Samehada like a whip and a tree as a target- flicking it with his wrists, hand and body, the sword would be elongating and growing, getting smaller, all rebounding off the tree- acting as if it had hit, but since Fuku was pulling the sword at the last minute, it was only taking off the bark of the tree It was a little while longer before Fuku stopped, dripping with sweat. He had worked himself- and now it was beginning to get dark. All the time he had not even noticed anybody there, too busy with his own training. It was truly the work of art; and what made him regarded as one of the Swordsman of the Mist.

Now currently, his thoughts were occupied with how to train Iku tomorrow. Swordwork that she would try. Picking up the two swords, nonchalantly he would begin making his way home- for the training that would ensue tomrorow. It was... going to be a fun couple of days, and this kind of progress would only be made with Fuku.

---

techniques used:

Chigiri-Ryu: Fugiri | Blood Mist Style: Dishonesty
Kirigiri: Atsugiri | Thick Cut
Kirigiri: Hokunami | North Wave
Kirigiri: Nannami | South Wave
Kirigiri: Seinami | West Wave
Kirigiri: Hamakaeru | Sea Shore Return
Kirigiri: Renjin no Yaiba | Rotation Sword Murder
Kirigiri: Gankai no Yaiba | Sword Ground Paddle
Supin'auto | Spin-out

- 49% chakra
- 3060 words/5000
- More than half way through! Woo!

And so he had finished

Long had the sun dissapeared and leaving Fuku stricken with an amber glow and a sheen over his figure- he had worked himself hard. He didn't need to take four hours to run himself ragged, it only required him to work at 110% for as long as he could. Using all possible muscles in his body and strength he possessed. It was... interesting to say the least. Now? He was standing, leaning up against Samehada. "I wonder what I'll do tomorrow..." and so his mind began to delve off. Picking up the rest of Kubikiribochou, and leaving the other half in the dirt where it belonged; Fuku sighed. He liked Akido a little bit.

Too bad. I mean, I could have the sword for myself, but I'm not interested... if anything, I'd probably go for Shibuki, or Kiba. He thought of their two owners and had a shudder. And what a battle that would be. Neither would be so stupid as Akido. Sheathing away everything he owned because it was best that way, he began making his way home. His thoughts took him away from reality as he thought about how he would teach the girl. He felt a pang of pride from the teaching he had done, and especially her heart. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen in such a long time. It was like heart he had, striving to wield the sword.... since that was all he could really do. I'll teach her stances, then grips again if she's forgot, then we'll do a couple of wrist exercises, learn how she can turn the blade mid-swing or flight, then how to actually swing the god-damn thing, as in it's full length it's a terror to behold. She might be small, but she does have the potential to make this blade work for her. I won't personally consider her a swordsman until she makes her first kill... and the blade returns to it's full size.

---

Timeskip

The night became darker, and Fuku quickly collected his Katana from where he had killed Akido, and then went home. The night faded to light, and Fuku was awake again, geting ready for another round of teaching at the girl's expense. He spared no minute and was out the door for six o'clock, where it was only the chilly air keeping him awake. Fuku made his way to their training ground and began walming himself up. He collected some wood and got a fire going, out of the way of their training. In less than half an hour it was a nicely built blazing inferno. I am a big hungry now... could go catch some dinner, Iku won't be here for a while... I think. he went out and got himself a breakfast, returned, cooked it and just sat down engrossing himself of the ehat of the flames. Samehada was beside him, Kubikiribochou was also laid next to Samehada.

If anything... he was going to drift off a little bit.

---

techniques used:
-

- 86% chakra
- 3563 words/5000

It was now time to begin training for real as a swordsman.

It was a while before Iku arrived. Indeed, the man was daydreaming a little bit- but he was still very much aware of his surroundings as Iku went to poke him. That, undeniably he would allow. He couldn't even imagine the disgrace brought upon his death if he was to lose his right as a swordsman by getting his throat slit while he snoozed. And how Kyoko-chan would render him a even dead-er ghost in the afterlife. That was a thought, he would probably shudder at in the future. As he was poked, he was awake from his pseudo snoozing. He gave a small 'Ah.' and stood himself up. "Good morning, Iku." he stretched himself out, content with his dozing. The fire was still burning, but with a sheen of white around it- still an envying warmth that Fuku was clearly welcoming. "Your sword." he passed it over to her. There was no introductions, or warm-ups. "Today, you're going to learn how to swing the thing. Well... swing the thing with grace." Remember, no matter how Fuku was... he was still a swordsman. Still not the brightest of the bunch, but he knew what he was talking about.

Fuku set Samehada aside, who was content for now. Walking away from the fire and away to the now even colder air (as Fuku was clearly adjusted to spoken heat) he unsheathed his Katana. He stood parallel to her, facing her same direction. "You need a strong grip, like you had yesterday. Using this big sword it's all about the arms and legs, you need to make full use of your body or you aren't going to be able to use it effectively. What I want you to do with me is this-" what he did, was step forward from a left handed stance into a right hand stance- using just his right arm to strike. It was more like a diagonal cut.

"That sword whilst it's heavy and sharp, the sheer thickness of the blade makes it hard to just... 'cut' you effectively need to strike and pull it through. It's not like a Katana as it uses the curvature for the cutting power, you're more the brute and literal I will tear you in half." When she began doing that, Fuku would begin correcting her in her stances, speaking about having the feet in the right places in order to counterweight the harsh pound-for-pound steel of the sword. For now it would feel a bit weird, but it would make entire sense after she made her first kill with the sword. To which for now, won't be happening. Well... you never know.

"That's good. Now try it with the opposite hand. Unlike me who usually uses their right hand, you want to be ambidextrous. If I were to face what we call a 'southy' which is someone who uses their left hand, I would be pretty well out of my depth if I didn't know how to deal with them." soon he would begin to teach her about the different types of opponents. It first all began with other swordsman, teaching only the basics about strikes that he herself would play the aggressor, making stereotypical strikes- showing her how usually some swordsman would go for the head. He would tell he about the kinds of blocks she could do, overhead blocks, or if she felt it was to her style and advantage, or just her landscape playing a part in her success, strikes before they could even land a blow. Fuku was going to teach her that as being a girl, people would be - judgemental and assume. For those of those who didn't know about the sword of Kubikiribocho, this would serve a better distraction if she acted like she couldn't wield the sword properly. It was a bit odd for Fuku, showing her how to hold the sword wrong as well- in an obvious way so that the opponent would see that.

For those of those who did know about Kubikiribochou as a sword, they would see a dangerous little girl and that would give her no reason to not get completely sadistic towards them. After the entire lecture about swordsman- where at times Fuku himself was getting told off by Iku for going off-topic. Indeed, if there was one thing that they shared was that Fuku could talk about swordsmanship a lot.

Fuku allowed her to have a little break, to where he would feed Samehada a little more so it would remain docile, so Fuku could teach her a little more. He spoke to the girl about life in general, let her in on the fact that Fuku had a wife- and answered her questions.. because it was weird as a whole, saying that he had a wife as a barbaric swordsman... under the finger of a woman. Tamed, per-say. After the break was finished and Fuku had felt he was ready to teach her more, he taught her more strikes- it was all about being able to efficiently use a mixture of defensive and offensive manoeuvres, or all out in another. Fuku wasn't teaching her in a way that she would stick to it... but more like giving her the freedom to play around with the sword. He wasn't the swordsman of Kubikiribochou, and he never would be. Akido fought different, as did Okuma; they would never be the same.

And Fuku kept that in mind. Speaking to her as she done all of this was a refreshing memory for him, in his own days, while they were performing all of these strikes and makeovers Fuku would speak a little bit about his past, about what he used to do a s a swordsman. How he was taught. Fuku was even relaxed enough to mention Hinata, the former swordsman of Samehada and how she taught Fuku a little bit. He wasn't going to reveal a lot more to her- she was still a student and Fuku didn't know her that well.

"Oh, you little shit."

Fuku noted where half of his Katana laid down in the dirt, and Fuku was sporting half a Katana with a hilt. His face was serious, he sighed and threw the Katana to the side. Grumbling, he stopped and looked over Iku and grinned- before picking up Samehada. and so began the light sparring. Fuku was quite severely hit the sword a couple of times, flinging the sword from Iku's hands- to which Fuku would scold her for not having a strong enough grip. But he was being fair, he was giving her a test of sorts; making quite obvious strikes that she would be able to use the blocks that Fuku was teaching her. Every now and again Iku would make a block that even shook into Fuku's wrist a little bit.

"That's good, keep it up Iku."

That was the truth- the sword at it's full size- Fuku couldn't just directly fight it. The sword was far bigger, heavier and stronger than Samehada. Samehada wouldn't be able to go toe-to-toe to the sword... which was why Fuku would have to strike the swordsman himself and ignore anything that the sword was doing.

"Yamei. ^{[lit. stop]}" he gestured for the girl to sit down. He himself sat down, "You need to slow down a little, you know your way around being a swordsman.. but you're still a novice." and began speaking about her weaknesses. It was her grip in particular that was letting her down. It was the core of any swordsman, what was any good of being a swordsman if you couldn't even hold your sword? With such a large blade it would be entirely vital that the girl could overpower another swordsman using it.

She would be a good swordsman, she didn't have the temperament yet... but that could be remedied. She had the heart, but it wasn't tough enough to shield it for what was to come. Her footwork was good, but not central enough to be balanced, her strikes were above average, but she left herself too much of a gap. All the whille Fuku would show her how to remedy these things.

They began sparring again, until Fuku had become a little careless. Ducking underneath the sword, he felt a little wetness drop from his forehead and down past his eye. A little stream of blood where the sword nicked him. Fuku signalled to stop, and grinned.

"Well done. You can go home now. Same place, same time." Fuku spoke. Fuku wiped away the blood from his forehead and face.

"Oh, and Iku? that will never happen again until the day you decide it's fit to try and take this sword from me."

---

techniques used:
-

- 65% chakra
- 5035 words/5000