"You are fortunate to have only lost 2 fingers. Try losing the left side of your body." Aunt Daitan said.
"But I lived." I remarked.
"You did."
Aunt Daitan walked back and forth in the Dojo, swinging around the bamboo sword in her hand. One thing immediately stood out to me. Her wrist had immense flexibility.
"I don't think you can fight, let alone train in that state, so we'll wait until you fully recover. And when you do recover, await hellish training that will make you wish you'd died under the rubble."
She smirked sadistically. I smiled as well. A bit of crazy is what I found interesting. People like that were hard to predict and influence, which usually lead to situations where I had to bear whatever with was going on.
"For now, I'll show you what you should look like while fighting."
After saying that, Aunt Daitan swung her sword. Her swings always started with a twist of her wrist, shoulder, elbow, or even her whole body. She utilized her whole body to create a mechanism that allowed her to be unreadable. Her body became akin to a set of gearwheels.
"It looks like you're waving a flag." I pointed out.
"Do you know why that is?"
"Because you need constant momentum to protect your vitals."
"I am fully handicapped when it comes to swordsmanship. You, on the other hand, are not. You aren't missing an eye or an arm. Your task is to think about what your technique should look like while still carrying the aspects of the Space Entity style. This is a rare occurrence that allows your fighting style to vary from the normal one. You can go and do what you want now, I have to train."
With that, her tolerance for me had seemingly been exceeded. I needed to get to know her better before I could make accurate judgements.
I left the Dojo. And on my way out, a cousin that was present at the training grounds the day before, walked to the Dojo. Instead of a greeting, I was shoved to the side by him.
„Do you think you're special?" He said.
His intentions were unknown to me. Maybe he just liked to mess with people. 'What does he want?' I wondered.
„What's your name?" I asked, ignoring his words.
„I guess you don't know yet. A renegade's son, a half-blood even. You are lucky to have survived. Your journey means shit around here." He provoked again.
„Unless you kill someone in the Clan, you won't be seen as a traitor or even a renegade. Family's rules, you should know that."
I thought that a provocative claim like that would make him mad enough to lose his cool, but instead of the predicted reaction, he smiled just like Aunt Daitan. ‚He is her son, isn't he?'
Before he could speak again, an aura enveloped us. A vibration that shook our innards followed.
„Osamu, don't mess with the new kid. You will have the opportunity to fight him later." Aunt Daitan yelled out from the Dojo's entry.
It was her Salan ability that shook us. Something that could create vibrations in the air.
„Yes… Mother." Osamu answered.
He didn't walk to the Dojo without bumping into my shoulder first. I looked back at Aunt Daitan. I saw her roll her only eye. When she turned away, I went on my way.
I decided to explore Henka estate. It was the place I was going to live at after all. Shortly after leaving the Dojo, I saw Kagami talking with my cousins that were present at the training grounds the day before and a few from breakfast. The timing was perfect. It was time to use Niam Henka's social skills that were honed through experience.
Just as I hoped, Kagami directed the group's attention to me, saying that I was walking over to them. Except the ones that were at the training grounds the day before, everyone looked curious. I was one of them, but never had met them.
"I believe we didn't get the chance to formerly meet yet." One of the girls said, taking a step closer to me. "I'm Shun, your uncle Saburo's daughter."
"I'm Niam Henka, your aunt Hangaku's son."
We both bowed as we introduced ourselves. Shun didn't seem so bad. At least she didn't throw annoyed looks at me like some did.
"This is my twin sister Hoshi. She is a bit shy around 'strangers', so I will introduce you to her." Shun introduced.
The twin sisters had long, dark-brown hair, and dark brown eyes. They wore the same blue and pink kimono and carried a Katana on their right side.
"Come on. Introduce yourselves too. Just because you have a crush on Ts-" Shun was cut off.
"Shut up! I don't like her like that!" One of the guys from the day before said.
His pale skin had turned red, clearly embarrassed by Shun's revelation, which gave me an insight into his character.
I looked at him expectantly. Perhaps I should've said something first, because the longer I looked at his face, the more his face changed from embarrassment to anger and envy. I saw it clearly. He was attracted to Tsuki for some reason.
"Listen here, half-blooded burden! I am Kurona, son of Chikako, your aunt." He introduced himself.
His attitude reminded me a lot of the Fire-Bearers from the Piranha School. 'Maybe he is a Fire-Bearer too...'
Kurona's hair color was the same as mine. His eyes were dark blue, but looked as if they were brown. His Kimono was blue, and his Katana was on his right side as well.
"I share your thoughts, Kurona. I regret not having died. Because of me, Tsuki had to face several hardships. I have no honour." I lied.
My words came as a surprise. Kurona and the other girl's eyes widened as they heard me. I managed to convey my importance of honour to them.
"Perhaps... we should've waited until you woke up, and judged you based on your view. We made a mistake. We're sorry." The girl apologized and bowed, forcing Kurona to do the same.
"No. It's okay, really. I apologize for the things I said too. I was mad at myself yesterday. I couldn't act rationally after hearing what had happened from Kagami's mother." I bowed as well.
"I'm Ichika, Kurona's older sister. Nice to finally have you with us."
Ichika's hair was as long as mine and as dark as the rest's. Her Kimono was red and had a black-dotted pattern.
After everyone in the group had introduced themselves, Kagami offered me to watch them train. Their training was independent. Normally, training was supervised by someone's parent. But that tradition didn't apply to Mana.
"I will come and watch later if that's okay. I have to speak with the master first. There are a few things I need to ask him. And only him."
"Do what you need to get used to living here. The faster, the better." Shun said.
I walked to Master Henka's room. On the way, one of my uncles walked in my direction. When he noticed me, he nodded his head in respect.
"Excuse me. May I ask for your name? I'm still trying to match the names to their faces." I asked discreetly.
"Of course, young man. I'm Saburo, father of Shun and Hoshi." He introduced.
"I met your daughters just now. They are going to train with the others. I think it's Mana training. And also, do you know if the master is available?"
"That so? Hm... Yes. The master is available."
"Thank you." I bowed.
As I was about to announce myself, Master Henka spoke to me from inside the room.
"I was wondering what was taking you so long." He said.
"May I enter?"
"Yes."
"I met Kagami and a few others on my way back. I still need to get to know everyone. It would bring me great shame if I didn't."
"So, son of Hangaku. What would you like to ask me?" Master Henka got straight to the point.