Let You Go

Chapter 10

Kai and I sat together talking and laughing. I had a good time with Kai, I got to know more about him and even got to hear about a district I never knew existed. The thing was, I don't know how old any of the ninjas are.

The night got darker and Cyan, Malin and Yane helped put up the tents, there were only three. "Me, Hiro and Riko will sleep in the same tent. Cyan, Malin and Kai will sleep in one and Nissa can have one to herself. She is the only woman and we should respect that." Yane said and all the men nodded. I looked down, embarrassed to be put on the spot like that.

After an hour, everyone got into their tents and I went quietly to the lake to bathe quickly. I was a little scared, the sound of leaves rustling and the shadows that only deceived me into thinking they were figures. I took deep breaths to calm myself as I stripped myself down until I was bare. I walked into the lake, cautiously and full aware of where I was stepping. Once I was in the water, I began dipping my hand into the water and scooping out handfuls and slathering it on my body.

The water was refreshing, and I felt more relaxed as I tilted my head back and my hair became soaked. I didn't know how to swim and the very tips of my toes barely touched the bottom of the shallow end of the lake.

I heard the sound of a rustle and I turned to see a figure approaching me. I sank in the water, trying to be unseen, but the figure stepped out of the shadow and into the light of the moon and it revealed Kai. I quickly wrapped my arms around myself to cover up. "Ahh!" I yelled and Kai shushed. "S-Sorry! You weren't in your tent and it worried me. I like to patrol and keep watch at night, because that is the time when everyone is most vulnerable." He said as he shield his eyes over with his arm and I nodded.

"C-Can you please leave?" I asked him, flushed and still in a panicking state. "U-Uh, y-yes! Of course!" He said as he turned quickly and walked away. I stepped out in a hurry and threw on my clothes and jogged to the tents. Kai stood there, leaning on a tree. "I'm very sorry..." Kai apologized and I shook my head. "It's okay! I-It's totally fine..." I said and he sighed.

"How about a sword lesson?" He asked and I nodded slowly. He unhooked his scabbard off of his belt and handed it to me. I took it gently and stared at it with great awe. "T-This... This is beautiful..." I said, amazed. Kai smiled as he drew out the sword. I reached out to it, "Be careful, it's a little heavy." He said and I nodded as he passed the sword into my hand. I gripped the handle firmly, but the weight of it slightly lowered my arm.

"The trick to really fighting well, is how you stand and how you hold the sword." He instructed and I nodded. He came closer to me and he touched my right leg. "Place this a little farther out and bend it slightly. Now take this leg," he touched my left leg, sending chills down my spine, "A little out in front of you and bend it slightly as well. This will help keep your balance while fighting.

"This stance is very useful, but to really complete this is how you hold the sword in your hand." He came around to the back of me. I felt my back touch his chest barely and I felt my heart race quicken. His fingers wrapped around my hand that held the sword. "You hold it like this," he said as he positioned it. "You don't want your arm too straight, you don't want it to ahead of you or right next to you, keep it aligned with your elbow."

I nodded and he took his other hand and grabbed my other arm. He put it to the side of me and bent my elbow just a little. "That is how you stand." He said as he stepped back and came around to the side of me. "Now swing." He commanded and I took a deep breath. I swung the sword in the air as if hitting an imaginary opponent. "Good, it needs some work, obviously. Now here's the best part, adding your own style. To really have a lot of damage with your attacks, you can use two hands on the sword to help push the force of the sword onto your opponent.

"If you want to just hurt them and keep them down, you can swing with one hand while using your other hand to help you with other movements. A good technique is to keep with the momentum. As you move around, you swing to the rhythm of your body moving. As you dodge one way, you can swing another way. Think of it as a dance, a painful dance as you kill your rival." I nodded and I swung a couple more times.

My feet slid across the ground naturally as I threw a couple more swings with the sword and Kai began to clap. "You're a natural! I don't want to be fighting you." He said and I laughed. "You really think I'm good? Don't lie to be generous." I said as I looked at him. "I'm not lying! I seriously mean it, you are excellent and you are on the path to improving." He said back and I smiled. "Thank you so much, you also teach well." I told him and he bowed to me.

I placed the sword back in its scabbard and gave it back to Kai. "Goodnight." I said to him and he gave me a gentle hug. "Have a good rest. I'll see you at dawn." I nodded as I got into my tent and zipped it closed. I lied down and pulled a pillow under my head. I sighed out loud and smiled at the thought of Kai teaching me. It was very generous of him and I appreciated that he took the time and taught me something that I never thought I would learn.

I was awoken by the sound of people talking. I got out of my tent and everyone was looking at me. "You're finally awake." Cyan said rudely. "Oh I'm sorry!" I said and Yane shook his head. "It's alright, we didn't want to wake you."

"Oh please don't wait for me, just wake me up, I can handle it!"

"We're just being generous." Yane said.

"Well I'm not. I suggested that we wake her up but you all denied it." Cyan said and I looked at him. "Cyan, there are times where patience comes in place. It doesn't matter what time we leave, we will get to the Sugar Crystal district eventually." Yane said to Cyan and Cyan looked away as he walked over to my tent and began taking it down.

I sighed as I walked over to Malin who was getting onto his horse. "I'm a burden to everyone, aren't I?" I asked him and he shook his head. "You're not. Why would you think that way of yourself? We are only respecting you and pushing aside certain things we do because you're the only woman in this group. We've never traveled nor had a woman with us before." Malin said and I nodded slowly. "Okay... If that's what you guys think then okay." I said.

Cyan got his horse and rode it up right next to me. "Get on." He said and I turned to look at him. "I... I'm already a trouble to you, I shouldn't get on your nerves any longer." I said as I looked down. Cyan got off his horse and stood in front of me. "You'll be an even more big of a trouble if you don't get on this horse. Kai has to lead us in the front, to scout the areas, you won't have him to ride with." Cyan said and I nodded.

Cyan got on first and held out his hand to me. I took it and he pulled me up onto the horse. He slapped the reigns and the horse began to take off. I didn't want to have to hold on to him, I didn't want to annoy him anymore, but there were certain points where I almost fell off the horse. I wrapped my arms tightly around his waist, burying my face into his back.

And for a split second, I swore I heard the sound of his laughter.