The War of The Hikayami

Chapter 2 - Training

Noire and I decided to get some sleep before we set out. The next day, Noire woke me up around 4 am. It wasn't even light outside yet. I looked up at him and asked "Why are we getting up so early?"

"Because if Kenkishi know that we're looking for The Hikayami, they'll come after us. I'm already worried that one person will spot us. But it's best if we minimise the chances of them spotting us by leaving now. We should head north towards a forest. I'm pretty sure the best way to the Hikayami is that way." Noire responded.

"Alright. Guess we better set off now." I grabbed my sword and placed it behind my back. I looked at Noire. He was already equipped with his bow. He didn't have any arrows which I found strange so I asked him.

"Don't need any." He said. "My bow forms them when I aim at something. Here. Watch." He pointed his bow at my wall and aimed at it. An arrow formed and he shot the arrow at my wall.

"Woah... where'd you get that bow from?" I asked

"It was my first ever bow. I was given it 300 years ago." Noire answered

"3-300 years ago?! H-How old are you?!" I wondered.

"Over 400. I got this bow for my 121st birthday." He responded, "Anyway, we need to leave. They'll spot us if we leave any later." We both walked out of the flat and I locked the door. We began to walk northwards towards the forest. It'd probably make a good hiding spot too. Part of the way through our travels, just before we got out of town, Noire stopped walking but I just carried on. It felt good to be alone for a bit. Being away from people was one of the best things ever. To me anyway.

So... I'm going to search for The Hikayami... I never thought I'd be searching for a blade that some people don't even believe exist. I feel good about myself. I wanna experience this world and this may be a good way to do it.

Eventually, Noire caught up with me. He was running. He grabbed my wrist and forced me to run aswell. "We have to get away quickly! The Princess is after us!"

"Princess Kaho?! She's the strongest warrior in the army, isn't she?!" I asked.

"Yes! Having her against us is a terrible thing on its own. But having her hunt for us is even worse! We've gotta get into the forest as quickly as possible!" He stated.

I nodded and kept running. I didn't look back or even stop to take a breath. I knew that Kaho was strong and I wasn't gonna witness her strength again. My feet felt like they were going to give in any second. Same with my legs. But they didn't. My legs almost felt like they had minds of their own. I looked over at Noire and he was the same as me. Sprinting as fast as he could. We ran into the forest and we didn't even look where we were going. We just ran.

Eventually we stopped. We sat down by a tree and we kept breathing heavily. Once we'd caught our breath, we looked around. We couldn't see anyone or here anything.

"Did we lose her?" I asked.

"I think and hope so." Answered Noire. He looked at the ground and then at me. "Hey Sakuto. Pass me your sword." He said.

"Umm okay?" I passed him the sword.

"If we're gonna go and look for The Hikayami, you're going to need some basic sword skills. You can't just go into battle without any skills."

"But using a sword is easy! You just swing it around and hope for the best, right?" I asked.

"You have much to learn, child." He retorted.

"Hey! I'm 20! I'm not a child anymore!" I shouted.

"Whatever you say. Anyway. Whenever fighting with a sword. Attack the person, not the weapon. Got it?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good. Now remember to always keep an eye on the person your fighting. Got it?"

"Yes sir!"

"And finally, make sure that you're opponent doesn't sneak attack you. Always be on your guard. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir!"

"Do you have to say yes sir all the time?" Noire asked

"Yes sir!"

"If you hadn't figured it out, that meant shut up!" There was now nothing but silence. After a moment. Noire spoke again. "Now this sword isn't like other swords. It was made for striking people from the back. You'll hurt your opponent a lot more if you attack from the back. A slash or a stab is fine. Let me show you the best way to perform a slash and a stab!"

Noire stood up. Holding the sword with both of his hands. He faced the tree in front of him. He didn't take his eyes off of it. I watched him. His feet jumped off of the ground and he lifted the sword in the air. He slashed down and left a long cut in the tree. "And that was a slash. Now I think you're at least smart enough to know how to do a stab." He said.

He handed me the sword. "Try it yourself." He said. I took the sword and tried to do what he did. I felt like I did it right but Noire complained about it and forced me to do it until I got it perfect.

"While you're practicing that, I might as well tell you a story from my past. This story is the story of how I became a cat. You see, 100 years ago, there was a small war on an island far away from here. It was a war between 6 people. I was one of them. Before I tell you the rest, did I ever tell you about the 7 elemental weapons?"

"No." I answered. "What are they?"

"They are the 7 most powerful weapons in existence. They are:
The Fire Knives
The Water Pistols
The Earth Shield
The Wind Scythes
The Electric Staff
My weapon, The Ice Bow
And The Light Blade or The Hikayami.
All of the weapons except the Hikayami were being used in that fight. The war lasted a very long time to say that there were only 6 fighters. Eventually, the wielder of The Fire Knives won. They turned the rest of us into cats so we couldn't use our weapons. Then all of the weapons, even the fire knives, were sealed away."

"Wow... I never knew you were a fighter in a war." I responded as I slashed the tree.

"Yeah. Also that slash was perfect. Now, time for me to teach you another technique." He took the sword from me and stood a good distance away from the tree. He watched the tree intensely before he finally made a move. He dashed towards the tree and slashed it upwards. When he had the sword about halfway up, he jumped while still slashing the tree with the sword. "Now you try."

I took the sword and copies everything Noire did. I stood a good distance away from the tree. I watched the tree intensely before I finally made a move. I dashed towards the tree and slashed it upwards. When I had the sword about halfway up, I jumped while still slashing the tree. I then did a backflip and landed on both of my feet perfectly.

"Backflip was unnecessary but otherwise it was perfect!" Said Noire. I smiled and put the sword away.

"Well we've finished you're training for today. We'll pick up where we left off another day. Just remember everything I taught you, okay?"

"Yes sir!" I responded.

End of Chapter 2