"Release!"
Shizu let out a sigh of relief and lowered the blade. She couldn't say how long she had held the position. Her arms no longer ached when she lowered them. She didn't even need to sit anymore to focus on holding the blade in her hands. Months of training put her body under enough strain that she knew how to focus on her performance. The darkness became a friend to her. Without the light, the kitsune were merely voices of the crowds. She could traverse the halls when she wasn't training, and understand their way of life and enjoy meals without staring up at a fox.
She listened for the kitsune's soft footsteps and moved her head in time with his location. "Master Kitsune." She waited for him to grunt in response. "You said I was close to completing my training. I've mastered holding a blade like you said and memorized the promises by moving all of the stones." Shizu held her wrist. "I would like to go forward with the next phase!" She puffed her chest in pride at her decision to stand tall.
The kitsune stepped in front of Shizu and let out a low growl. "Are you sure you're ready, child?" His tails brushed against her arms.
Shizu nodded.
A sharp sting hit her shoulder. Shizu let out a hiss of pain, but it wasn't enough for her to react anymore. Another strike on the back of her leg and she fell to one knee. He struck her lower back and she bent backward, reaching for the pain. He hit again, this one aimed at her hands until she recoiled.
Each strike was only seconds apart from the other. None worse or easier than the last. The thin slices burned like a fire erupting from deep within her own body.
"Enough!" he yelled.
The barrage of attacks ceased. Shizu still lay on the ground, now shaking from the pain. Her breath came in fast and shallow gasps. All she could focus on was not going unconscious. Focus on her goal. Don't let the kitsune win. She removed any thought beyond surviving.
"Do not assume you know what's best for your training." He took a step away from her. "Stand, Shizu."
Shizu grunted and put pressure back on her knees. There were scrapes covering her legs. Dirt and pebbles lodged themselves into her skin. She took a deep breath and hobbled up, barely maintaining her balance as she moved her weight into her heels. Small flickers of flames danced around the edges of the room, casting shadows against the walls. She covered her face to block out some of the light. Small white dots coated the back of her eyelids. When her eyes finally adjusted to the light, she peered through her fingers. None of the other kitsune were lining the walls as before.
Opposite her stood a tall man wearing red hakama pants that flowed like flames licking at his legs and a haori shirt that covered his upper torso. He narrowed his gaze, but Shizu could feel the anger in them piercing her. The shadow behind him was that of a kitsune. The shadow's multiple tails swished from side to side like a cat watching its prey before the strike.
He charged at Shizu. His clothing flapping in the air behind him. He pulled out a blade that was around two forearms in length. Far too short to be a true sword, but long enough to not be a dagger. He sliced the air in front of her.
"What are you doing?" he cried out.
Shizu stumbled over her feet to get away from the onslaught of attacks. He swiped again in a horizontal slash. The change in her center of gravity sent her falling onto her butt. The kitsune halted his attack. His face contorted into a snarl as he glared at her.
Shizu didn't know how to answer. He was trying to hit her and all she could do was dodge. She had no opening to attack him. He glanced at the ground. Shizu followed his gaze. The weak candlelight flickered on a dagger. Different than the ones before. The others possessed a straight hilt with leather wrappings. This one was flattened and dull with a large ring on the pommel. It wouldn't do enough to hurt him, but it was better than nothing.
"The blade is an extension of your arm. Both a weapon and protection. Pick it up!" he barked.
She scrambled to pick it up. Her fingers were loose but steadfast. The point aimed at the ceiling and a little forward. All as he had instructed her to do when holding it for so many hours. He smacked it out of her hand.
"Pick it up."
She picked the dagger and once more he smacked it out of her hands with ease. They continued multiple times until his swipe didn't work. Her grip tightened just as his hand hit her own. She moved her pinky into the small circle at the end of the handle so the blade spun then returned to her grip.
The kitsune smiled and nodded in approval. He put the short sword back inside his clothes. "As I said. It is an extension of your own arm. You lose your blade, you lose your life. Learn to maintain the grip and learn to keep your life."
"Promise number two," Shizu responded.
He held a dagger in the air. His left foot pushed back a bit to balance his body and held the dagger in the air to mirror her own stance. "This position is meant to let you feel the weight of the blade and become used to it." He twirled the blade in his hands. "However, don't expect to do anything beyond stabbing with this." He flicked his wrist, sending the dagger through the air to his left. Before the blade reached the wall and flames, smoke engulfed it and transformed into a tall figure made of straw. "Practice stabbing. Then, we will continue."
Shizu opened her mouth in surprise. She knew the kitsune could transform themselves, but seeing him change a blade into this was something she had never imagined. "Master, you said I shouldn't assume when I'm ready—"
"I did. Don't assume when you're not ready either. Only I decide when you take a new path."
Shizu bowed and walked to the straw figure. She just needed to stab the straw. Looking at the straw man made her nervous. In the light of the fires, the face contorted into that of a man's that screamed for help. For a moment, it looked to have blinked down at her. She yelped and jumped back. Her shadow passed over the straw man and once more it turned lifeless. She reached for the body. The cloth was scratchy from the straw poking out of it. Nothing of a human corpse inside at all. Just a very real straw man.
She shook her head, dispersing the thought, and thrust the dagger into the center of the straw body. The puncture felt far more solid than she had imagined, and she drew the blade out. Dark liquid coated her blade and she dropped it in surprise. Her hands shook as the realization of what she did flood over her.
Shizu looked back up at the straw man who was replaced by a corpse hanging limp on the wooden post. Straw spilled out of the man's clothes, removing the illusion.
Shizu turned to run from the dead man and bumped into the kitsune. He sneered down at her. "What are you doing?"
"The...The straw man! He's—"
"Dead? Why wouldn't he be? I said practice your thrusts and stabs. A simple clump of straw would only make you used to stabbing straw. Stabbing a body, even one that has grown cold from death's grasp will be a far better of an experience. You need to be numb, or at least take pleasure, in the act itself." He strode around Shizu and lifted the dead man's chin. "Do you know him?" He raised a brow as if waiting for her to answer with the full truth that she didn't have. "He was a fisherman once based on what the others told me." He lifted the corpse's chin. "Nothing important to us, but what of you?"
Shizu shook her head. "No, master. He is no one to me."
"Then he shall remain no one to you. Continue your training."
She looked back at the man hanging in front of her. His eyes were still open and his face contorted in perpetual fear. She closed her eyes, trying to reimagine the man once again as the straw figure. After a few deep breaths, Shizu opened her eyes again and focused on the straw-filled shirt.
"Just straw. It is no one," she chanted and picked the dagger back up.
She returned to the stabbing. With each new thrust, the fear and disgust of the dagger being shoved into a dead corpse lessened until all of the straw was gone and she was simply left with the mutilated corpse. Blood and flesh coated her forearms and face. The smell of the rotten corpse oozed through her nose. Death and decay. Promise number two: death was inevitable and another gift of life they controlled at their whim.
"That's enough for today," the kitsune barked.
Shizu faced him. "Master?"
"Go wash up. Tomorrow we will begin anew."
#
The training room was just as brightly lit as it had been when she left. Where the destroyed corpse had been was now a fresh one. It didn't have any straw or clothing to cover him. He was at least twice Shizu's age and whatever genitals he may have had were already removed. Even the hair on his body was cut away to provide a clean body for her to stab. Next to him was a table with a mass of objects on top.
Shizu walked over to the table. A multitude of weapons awaited her. The dagger sat in the middle. Around it was a few other weapons ranging from knives or long swords that were bigger than she was. She reached for the dagger to continue the stabbing practice but stopped when the kitsune in his human form stepped out of the shadows.
"Not today. You understand and grasp the concept of stabbing an enemy. An easy maneuver, but useless for most missions when facing against someone actively attacking you with a sword." He picked up one of the shorter swords and handed it to Shizu. The metal blade had been replaced by a piece of solid wood. "From today on, you will train with this."
Shizu dragged her finger across the wooden blade. "What is it?"
"A bokken. Until you are bigger, you will train with this every day. Practicing every strike on the man, and then when you're ready, against me."
Shizu held the sword out in front of her. The end was far heavier than she had expected. The sword tilted forward despite how much she tried to hold it upward. Once she was confident in holding it, she stood in front of the corpse. The man's eyes and mouth were sewn shut. She took a deep breath and swung the sword down on the corpse's shoulder. It barely made a sound from the impact and left no markings behind.
The kitsune growled in frustration. "Your strikes are weak. Look," he said and stood behind Shizu.
He wrapped his hands around hers, guiding Shizu's hands to the proper area where to hold them. He relaxed her grip and indicated for her to do the same. His demeanor was far different than yesterday. Something caring and trusting in his movements as if acknowledging her as someone worthy of his attention rather than complete ridicule. He lifted their arms above Shizu's head and slammed the sword down on the corpse. It made a soft thud, louder than her own strike but still resulted in the kitsune grumbling under his breath again.
"Keep practicing. You will eat dinner when you have killed your enemy."
"But he is already dead!" She pointed up at the man's face.
He narrowed his gaze. "Do you wish him to be alive?"
He swiped his hand through the air and the room was filled with agonizing screams. Shizu looked behind her. The threads keeping his mouth and eyes closed were gone. He let out another blood-curdling scream. His gaze darted back and forth before landing on Shizu.
"You! Demon! Murderer! I'll fucking kill y—"
Before he could finish his threat, his body went limp and the strings reappeared. "Always the noisy ones." He sighed and brushed a hand against the corpse.
Shizu took a step forward and gulped. She poked the corpse with the bokken. When he didn't respond, she sighed in relief.
"So, you prefer him dead, I see."
Shizu nodded.
"Good. Now strike him. I will tell you when I believe your strike would kill him." He leaned against the far wall and nodded at Shizu. "Begin."
Shizu took a deep breath and held the sword in front of her as the kitsune had instructed. She closed her eyes, focusing her attention on the sword. Once again imagining it as an extension of her arm like the dagger had been.
"Die!" Shizu yelled and swung the bokken down on the corpse. A true blade would have cut through the body without struggle, but the wooden sword was blunt. Not built for cutting someone open. The thwack sent a surge of renewed energy through her body, but the reverberation of wood on flesh made it hard to hold onto the sword. She dropped it and held her forearms. Both ached from just the single strike.
"Again!"
Shizu didn't look back at the kitsune but picked up her bokken and tried to swing again. The second swing was far weaker than the first. She tried a third time. With each swing, it landed softer than the one before it. Her arms ached and she dropped the bokken to the ground.
The kitsune tapped his fingers against the stone wall in impatience. "Get up. You haven't killed him yet. He's still standing."
Shizu grunted and picked up the bokken. Her strikes held no power against the corpse. "If you gave me an actual sword, I could kill him!" Shizu screamed through the pain. Tears rolled down her face. She wanted to give up. Wanted to go back to her own bed and sleep. She didn't care if it meant no food.
He walked up next to Shizu and snatched the bokken out of her hands. He tapped her arms with the wood. She tried to step away from him, but he glared down at her, keeping her immobilized.
"You don't need a blade to kill a man. Any warrior worth anything could kill a man with a simple branch of a tree."
He stood in front of the corpse and held the bokken in front of him. His left leg was in front while his back leg maintained his balance. The bokken lay in his hands horizontal to the ground. The kitsune let out a battle cry of rage, lifting the sword into the air and slamming it into the corpse. The flesh split open where the bokken made impact.
Shizu looked between the blade and the corpse. Every one of her strikes didn't leave a single mark, and yet if she hadn't seen him perform the attack she would have believed it from a real sword and not a practice blade.
He handed the bokken back to Shizu. "Kill him."
Shizu bowed and turned back to the corpse. The damage was erased from the body, brought back to a pristine condition, or at least pristine in the sense of how she encountered it when she first walked into the room. Shizu held her body in the same stance as the kitsune had. Her muscles screamed to move and return to a more natural position, but she fought through it all. Her sword swung through the air and crashed on the corpse. Her arms hurt far less, and the thud of impact echoed louder than before. She continued to hit the corpse, pushing through every last bit of pain while the kitsune hovered over her shoulder.
Her arms screamed for release. There was only one swing left in her body before she would collapse from exhaustion. Even the whips wouldn't bring her back. She let out one final scream of frustration, letting the last bit of her energy out, and slammed the bokken into the man's face. A soft crack of the skull made her halt her next attack. She lowered the sword, huffing and laughing in delight. Even the kitsune silently applauded her success. It didn't split open his flesh like before, but a fractured skull meant one thing: death. She had killed the corpse.