Loki's Renard

Arc 1 Chapter 4 - Losing and Loneliness

Hey guys. Inspiration hit me like a truck today, so I was able to smash out this chapter for Loki's Renard. Be sure to vote and comment and all the good stuff, I hope you enjoy, but for now, onto the story!

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Akihide shouted as he drew his blades from their sheaths at the at the bottom of his back and just above his ass. He then held them up in the position Finn taught him, no longer crossed in front of his face, now held just in front of it, not imparing his vision but allowing him to quickly block any strikes that would come his way, weather they be to the face or to another exposed part of his body. He went through his mental checklist quickly. His knees were bent for him to move at the drop of a hat, his arms tucked into his sides to allow to change his handling position from offensive to defensive just as quick, and his eyes were forward, watching his teacher carefully.

"That'll be enough drawing." said Kaguya, allowing Akihide to sheath his weapons for what felt like the thousandth time. In reality, he had drawn it close to 100 times to ensure that he had the correct position memorised and ingraned into his muscle memory, allowing it to become second nature to him. "You have a good understanding of the basics of preparing for combat. What you lack is combat experience." said the teacher, before she reached for her weapons. "Come at me. I want to see what you're made of."

Now, a normal person would rightfully assume that there was no way that a teacher would try to spar with their student on the first day of training. It went against all forms of common sense. However, to a young, impressionable boy that had no one to teach him this form of common sense, and was too young to grasp the concept on his own, simply nodded and got into position, remembering the rule about not questioning the methods of his mentor, assuming this was a test of his capabilities in combat, like what Finn had him do before leaving on his expedition.

Kaguya wasn't so kind. This was no simple test, just her planning on beating Akihide into the ground to quell any overconfidence he had. 'If the Okami had one flaw that prevented them from becoming a Noble Clan in the Far East, it was their hubris.' she recollected, as she grabbed the handles of her Kodachi Futaba. 'They believed themselves better than even the gods, so they were sent away in disgrace, and never became anything more than a clan of warriors and supporters. If that same mindset is installed in Akihide, it will lead to his downfall. I need to beat it out of him.'

And so, the two faced off against each other. Akihide lowered himself lower to the ground, preparing to launch a quick attack at the girl. Unfortunately, no matter how skilled, a new level 1 who only had his Falna for a week was no match for a level 2 who had been in the Dungeon for well over 2 years at this point. So, when she launched her attack at the young boy, there was no way that he would be able to defend himself.

He slammed into the ground, completely winded before he even realised what happened. He lost the air in his lungs and began coughing as his senses came back to him. There, staring down at him, Kaguya looked down at him in dissapoiontment. "That's all you have? Pathetic." she said to the downed boy, walking around him. "You need to be faster and stronger than that before you enter the Dungeon. You need the ability to wield your weapon properly. Luckily, that's what I'm here for. We'll begin with body conditioning, and then move on to learning not only how to wield those tantō of yours, but what it means to wield them."

Akihide looked down, giving no indication that he heard her. His eyes were wide and he spat some dirt out of his mouth. "Again..." he muttered.

"What was that?" asked Kaguya, her authoritive voice becoming deeper, as if promising retribution if he dared to question her methods.

"I want to be stronger... so please let me try again." groaned the boy, standing up.

"You can't hope to block my first striker, let alone stand a sliver of a chance against me, so we'll build up your stats first, and then you can try again in a week. If you manage to impress me enough, I will begin training you in how to use your weapons." said Kaguya, daring him to challenge her. "I might even be kind enough to let you spar with the shitty elf instead of me. it would be much easier to win, even if she's been in the Dungeon before."