ship captain weren’t speaking, but clearly they had a history. The captain mentioned a brother who died recently. His crew found the body nearby. How nearby, Kaito did not want to know. Fear of the man he killed over the fire plagued his thoughts once more. It was like the Enlightened One was telling his subconscious something. Could he have killed the man's brother? Another thing that's my fault, he thought. Father's death, the ship captain's brother? And now Mayumi was barely speaking to anyone.
He looked over at her. She said not to disturb her as she was doing something important. He wasn't sure how "important" the task was. The fact her eyes remained closed for a good while made him suspicious.
“Kaito,” she said.
He turned his head and faced her, raising an eyebrow.
“Today we begin your training.”
“You mean with tsuki no ha-ken?” he asked, walking toward her.
The water’s movements against the boat made him stumble a bit as he got up and moved around.
She shook her head. “If you’re going to survive, you need to be unseen, invisible. The best way to do that is by training to become a ninjobi.”
“A ninjobi? You mean like you?”
“Yes, and that man over there was my master.” She pointed to the ship captain.
Kaito looked at him. His stare lingered on the captain for too long as the man turned his head. Kaito immediately glanced the other way, embarrassed. For what reason, he did not know. The ship captain seemed like a nice enough fellow, but Mayumi’s lack of empathy for him made Kaito intrigued. Add in the new knowledge of him being Mayumi's teacher and he became much more interesting to him.
“Did he wield tsuki no ha-ken before you?”
She nodded. “His methods are a bit too … orthodox for my taste. I doubt he’s changed his ways. He’s stubborn that way. We will be doing things differently than I was taught, but the end result should be the same. By my calculations, we have a month before we reach Yoshino. In that time, you will need to know this stuff like the back of your hand.”
She took out a large tome with the word “Koga” on the top page. He’d never seen so many papers bound together in such a way. It looked Western in nature, but the word was definitely Jakain. How many other things has Jakai outsourced, he wondered.
“You will memorize every word and apply it to your life on this boat.”
Kaito nodded and got to work. He opened the bounded scrolls, tracing his finger along the paper and soaking in as much as he could before he realized how abstract the writer's of this text were. How could he apply something like: "Fidelity means having only truth but nothing false or wrong in the mind" to a more practical level. He didn't even know what fidelity was.
He skimmed the pages before, but found nothing helpful. Fidelity was apparently the dedication a ninjobi had for their lord. They must be unwavering and committed to the point of inhuman ability. Again, nothing super helpful, simply more abstract concepts.
The task before him seemed insurmountable now. He looked over at the ship captain, wondering if his way was easier. It couldn't be harder. He was certain of that already.
Once Mayumi was out of earshot, he walked over to the captain. Kaito tugged on the man's clothing. The ship captain ignored him, despite looking directly at him. What was he doing?
The man blinked, his face showing signs of frustration. "What is it, boy?"
Kaito's mouth hung open, but no words came out. His eyes widened in terror. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.
"You want to know if my methods will be any easier than Mayumi's, right?"
It took him a few moments to snap out of his frightened state, but eventually he nodded.
"The school she learned from is fundamentally different from mine. In order to succeed as a ninjobi, one must be ruthless. It's kill or be killed. The way Mayumi will be teaching you, you'll be dead the moment you set foot in Yoshino."
"What are you doing?"
He looked over at her. She said not to disturb her as she was doing something important. He wasn't sure how "important" the task was. The fact her eyes remained closed for a good while made him suspicious.
“Kaito,” she said.
He turned his head and faced her, raising an eyebrow.
“Today we begin your training.”
“You mean with tsuki no ha-ken?” he asked, walking toward her.
The water’s movements against the boat made him stumble a bit as he got up and moved around.
She shook her head. “If you’re going to survive, you need to be unseen, invisible. The best way to do that is by training to become a ninjobi.”
“A ninjobi? You mean like you?”
“Yes, and that man over there was my master.” She pointed to the ship captain.
Kaito looked at him. His stare lingered on the captain for too long as the man turned his head. Kaito immediately glanced the other way, embarrassed. For what reason, he did not know. The ship captain seemed like a nice enough fellow, but Mayumi’s lack of empathy for him made Kaito intrigued. Add in the new knowledge of him being Mayumi's teacher and he became much more interesting to him.
“Did he wield tsuki no ha-ken before you?”
She nodded. “His methods are a bit too … orthodox for my taste. I doubt he’s changed his ways. He’s stubborn that way. We will be doing things differently than I was taught, but the end result should be the same. By my calculations, we have a month before we reach Yoshino. In that time, you will need to know this stuff like the back of your hand.”
She took out a large tome with the word “Koga” on the top page. He’d never seen so many papers bound together in such a way. It looked Western in nature, but the word was definitely Jakain. How many other things has Jakai outsourced, he wondered.
“You will memorize every word and apply it to your life on this boat.”
Kaito nodded and got to work. He opened the bounded scrolls, tracing his finger along the paper and soaking in as much as he could before he realized how abstract the writer's of this text were. How could he apply something like: "Fidelity means having only truth but nothing false or wrong in the mind" to a more practical level. He didn't even know what fidelity was.
He skimmed the pages before, but found nothing helpful. Fidelity was apparently the dedication a ninjobi had for their lord. They must be unwavering and committed to the point of inhuman ability. Again, nothing super helpful, simply more abstract concepts.
The task before him seemed insurmountable now. He looked over at the ship captain, wondering if his way was easier. It couldn't be harder. He was certain of that already.
Once Mayumi was out of earshot, he walked over to the captain. Kaito tugged on the man's clothing. The ship captain ignored him, despite looking directly at him. What was he doing?
The man blinked, his face showing signs of frustration. "What is it, boy?"
Kaito's mouth hung open, but no words came out. His eyes widened in terror. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.
"You want to know if my methods will be any easier than Mayumi's, right?"
It took him a few moments to snap out of his frightened state, but eventually he nodded.
"The school she learned from is fundamentally different from mine. In order to succeed as a ninjobi, one must be ruthless. It's kill or be killed. The way Mayumi will be teaching you, you'll be dead the moment you set foot in Yoshino."
"What are you doing?"
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