Blackbeard; The Legend

Night Training

Akahana looked around the area, scanning for guards. The bronze tōrō lanterns illuminated the stone pathways that surrounded the castle, casting their glow in the dark. Seeing no guards walking down the cobble footways, she quickly ran down the path, ducking behind a tōrō  when two buffalo guards came from the side. Sliding around the large bronze lantern, she awaited for the two men to continue onward, before rushing towards the track that lead towards the garden.

The gentle bubbling of water immediately put the rest of Akahana's worry at ease. The garden's peaceful tranquility calmed her mind, as she walked across the oak bridge that connected the main entrance to the islet that was located in the lake. Brushing past the cherry blossoms and ferns, her alertness soon came back. In the middle of the islet, surrounded by bamboo trees, sat her brother Twig, meditating in the sand. His ears pricked up and he opened his eyes, and smiled.

"Always right on time." He stood up and dusted the sand off his mawashi, his sumo loincloth. "Ready?" He moved into a fighting pose, beckoning Akahana to fight. She smiled, and drew out her bokken, a wooden sword that was roughly the same size as any normal katana, fashioned by Akahana herself.

She pointed towards her brother, and in the blink of an eye, she dashed forward, her wooden sword arcing down in a slash. Twig dodged the attack, and charged towards her, arms out to wrap around her. Akahana leaped upwards, and landed a few feet away from him.

Twig wasted no time, and he charged once more. Akahana feinted to the left, and swung the bokken to the right. Twig blocked it with his arm, and in one swift motion, he grabbed her arm and tossed her. She flew through the air, but she quickly adjusted, touching down and skidding across the sand. She wiped the sweat from her brow, and she took the initiative to attack first this time.

She slashed at Twig, who kept dodging her attacks, and suddenly he rammed into her and grabbed her torso with both his hands. Akahana felt her feet get lifted off the ground, as Twig prepared to slam her down. She closed her eyes and awaited the pain, but nothing came. She hesitantly opened her eyes, and saw Twig smiling at her, and he let her go.

"You did better," Twig commended as Akahana made sure she wasn't bruised anywhere. "But father says that whenever your enemy has you in inescapable position, you must do anything to break free."

"Then how do you prevent that?" Akahana asked, wiping sand from her kimono.

"Easy. In your case, when I was about to slam you down, you were just gonna accept it. You could've struck at my face. Or you could've wrenched yourself free from my grasp." He explained.

"But you're much heavier." She argued. "No offence."

"None taken." Twig replied, and after a moment of silence, the siblings burst into laughter. "No, but seriously. Even if they are bigger, you have an advantage, and you can surprise them. Why else do you think people have managed to survive against monsters for centuries?" He readied himself. "Now, again."

Taking a breath, Akahana readied herself, and she rushed towards him, but instead of a direct attack, she feinted right and struck left, which hit Twig. She wasn't quite using too much force, as the sword bounced harmlessly off of his chubby stomach, yet Twig let out a hiss of pain. He tried to grab her, which Akahana dodged and she continued to rapidly slash at her brother. This lead to Twig to topple over and flop onto the sand, Akahana triumphantly standing over him, bokken pointed to his face.

"Looks like I win." Akahana smirked. Twig chuckled and sat up, applauding her.

"Now, again." Twig instructed, and the two trained through the night. The siblings had started this nightly routine after Akahana had the scolding with her father. She had sat there, sobbing in despair as her father stormed off. She heard footsteps behind her and she turned to the person there, which was her brother.