Chapter 7: Test and Roots
He sat on the ground next to Shingen holding a scroll opening in his hands. "The person with their hand on their hilt." He glanced away from the scroll. "Left handed. He holds the blade with his right hand as a decoy, and attacks with his right."
"Good. What about the person they were talking to?"
"They used throwing objects, hidden in their long hair, and clothing."
"Who would win between the two of them?" He looked at the scroll in thought. "The one who use his left hand to fight."
"Why is that?" He smiled. "He enforces the idea he uses his right hand so when his stance is different, it'll cause trouble for the person who's used to fighting against right handed swordsmen." He looked up and saw Shingen nodding. "Good. I see you've been practicing a lot during this time. I also guess your tracking has improved as well?"
He nodded. "Good. Than, I'm going to test you. I want you to find Sojobo, and tail him where he goes, and at dusk, I want you to report to me where he went, and what he did." He stood up bowing at Shingen, "consider this mission complete."
"Masanari, the proud, and stubborn. Forget about being loyal. Go." He turned and looked at the crowds in front of him. "This isn't going to be hard, since I've been using this skill for years. Tailing isn't going to be a problem at all." He started to walk in a direction away from the crowds in thought. "Where would Sojobo, be at this time?" He looked up at the sun's position. "It's noon, so the bell will start ringing soon." He turned and walked towards the eating hall. "Knowing him, he'll turn up here, at the sound of the first bell ring."
"Masanari. Long time no see. I haven't seen you in the eating hall for a long time. Has red let you come back to us has he?" He bowed and nodded at Sojobo. "Yes. He's allowing me to walk around people again."
"So you've passed the initial stages of his training. That's good to hear." He smiled at Sojobo, as he looked to leave the hall. "Aren't you staying to eat with us?"
"No. I've already eaten, I don't like to be interrupted when I eat, so I come early. They understand that here so I can eat in peace. I'll go first, so you can enjoy your meal." He bowed again at Sojobo, watching his back as he left the eating hall. "That was a good guess. Now lets see what this eight year old body can do when tailing."
He turned and followed Sojobo, through the buildings and pavilions on Kurama at a distance, keeping an eye on all things around him. "The shrine? What's here for him?" He frowned and slowed down his pace. "There's only one entrance and exit in the shrine. I should just sit out here with my scroll out, while waiting for him." He knelt on the ground and produced his scroll that he unrolled and looked at it, as he looked around him, focusing on the shrine gate.
He looked up at the sun and wiped his brow. "He's been in the shrine for a long time. If he went to pray, than he should have already finished. What could he be doing?" He stood up, rolling the scroll up, putting it back in his robes and walked through the gates of the shrine. He glanced around as he went to drink the water from the shrine. "I don't see him anywhere. Did I lose my concentration?" He turned putting the incense sticks into the offering, bowing and praying.
'Yah'
He turned slowly, as he heard the sound of a strike. "That sounded like him. I better go and see what he's doing. Maybe this is why Shingen asked me to follow him." He stepped away from the incense offering and walked away from the statues staring at him. He turned a corner, standing in the shadow of the wall. He watched as he saw Sojobo, dancing with his blade in front of a statue. He stared at the movements in surprise. "Its as if he's fighting invisible enemies. How he moves, I can see his opponent's attack. This must be how he practices his form." He stood in silence watching the movements, burning them into his memory. "I can use these forms when I spar and fight. I must also start practicing that way too. Its like an early form to kata in Karate." He smiled as he looked at Sojobo, using it in his sword work practice.
He turned, leaving Sojobo in the shrine, walking towards the location he had left Shingen earlier in the day. He saw him kneeling in meditation under a sakura tree. He knelt in silence, and closed his eyes, focusing on his breaths. "I can practice like this as well." He smiled as he created images of himself, facing off countless opponents, watching how he used the strikes he saw from Sojobo, into his own style of fighting. He frowned as he saw the image of himself fall. "I can't do that. What if I did a slash, instead of a stab at that point?" He replayed the event in his mind again, smiling as the image of himself became victorious.
"You're early. What do you have to report?" He opened his eyes, bowing at Shingen. "I followed him into the shrine, where I saw him practice his sword work against invisible opponents, in front of the statues."
"What else did he do?" He shook his head. "That's what he's been doing all afternoon. He was still in there when I left."
"I see. Did he see you or sense you, when he was in there?" He shook his head. "I think not. He was so busy working on his form, that he didn't take note of anything around him. I saw he was clearly one with his sword, and his Bushido was flowing out of him."
"What did you sense in his Bushido?" He scratched his wrist, and tightened the bandage around it. "It was a strange feeling of peace and resolution. Even though I felt his blade was sharp, all I could feel off him was peace."
"That sounds like him. He's the one who keeps the peace here on Kurama. It seems you also had a chance to learn something from observing him when he had gained enlightenment. You've passed your test for my time of training you. Tomorrow another will come and teach you. Make sure you continue all your training in every skill that you're given." He bowed at Shingen, watching him close his eyes, and return back to his meditation. He closed his eyes, and continued to practice his technique against imaginary warriors. He didn't open his eyes until he felt a cold draft blow through him.
He looked around, and saw he was alone in the dark. He sighed and got up. "It seems I was also too focused on my own training, and I missed out on the evening meal. That's fine. I gained a lot from it. I should return to my place of rest, for the next monk to find me." He stretched his legs, and walked back towards his small room. "Its been a while since I've lived in here. It will be different." He slid the door open and walked inside the small room, closing the door, and lighting the small lantern in the room. "Home sweet home." He removed his wooden blade, and placed it near him, and instantly fell asleep on the futon waiting for him.
"Masanari. Wake up. We have to travel." He instantly opened his eyes, and stared at a blue masked monk staring at him. He could feel the nose of the mask touch his face. He sat up quickly bowing at the masked monk. "I'm ready to learn from you."
"Than lets go. If you want to be a legend, you need to have the perfect set of feet to be able to survive and attack, just as the other two have taught you." He nodded, and stood up tying his wooden sword around his belt, and followed the masked monk out of the small room, and once again into the forest. He watched the back of the masked monk in silence. "You shouldn't be watching my back Masanari. You need to be watching my feet with the skills red taught you." He nodded, switching his gaze to the masked monk's feet. "See... A foot can point in the direction of where they're going to be going next." He nodded. "That makes sense. You can't mislead someone if you're watching where their feet go. We're here. From tomorrow you're going to be running to this location from the moment the sun starts to break the dawn. I'll punish you if you take too long to reach this location. Understand?"
He nodded. "I understand. What will you be teaching me?"
"Here, you'll learn how to balance yourself, while walking running, and jumping. Balance, in attack and defense is important, especially when people will try to throw you off balance. The moment you lose your balance in a fight you're dead."
He looked at the roots sticking out of the ground. "Do I have to walk on those roots? That doesn't look too difficult?" He stepped on one of the roots and walked along it. "Correct. You'll be walking on all these roots, eventually running, jumping and fighting on them. But for now, you'll be holding these buckets with different weights of stones in them."
He looked at the wooden buckets, nodding. He picked them up and stood on a root. "Arms outstretched. Not at your sides." He rose his arms, instantly starting to wobble on the roots. "Get your balance. Focus on how your feet are touching the root. If the shape of the root changes, so does you foot. This is what we call Ashisabaki, once your Ashisabaki is perfect, than you'll be able to enter a fight without worrying if you'll be unbalanced and fall to the ground."
He fell to the ground with the wooden buckets at his side, looking up to the blue masked tengu. "I would've kept my balance if my legs were not kicked out from under me."
"Would've, could've should've. Doesn't matter in the field of battle. If I was your enemy, you'd be dead already, with my sword through your chest. Get up and start again. We have much to cover with Ashisabaki." He nodded, stood up. patting his clothes free of dirt and picked up the buckets with rocks in them. He looked at the root of the tree and stood on it.
"Don't spread out too wide. If you do that you might be stable, but when you move around or try to jump an attack you'll be too slow." He felt the masked monk's kick again, and fell to the ground. "See what I mean?" He sat up, kneeling at the blue masked tengu monk. "How should I stand on the roots?"
"Good question. Watch my feet." He stared at the monk's feet as they stood on the roots. "See how they grip the root, yet if you try and kick them, they'll move in the breeze. Try. Kick my legs out from beneath me." He stood up and kicked at the monks leg, watching as it followed his kick. "When you kick all the weight is on my other foot. When you don't the weight is shared. You need to practice to keep your balance, as well as shifting your weight easily. When you can do that, than you can do some very fun and interesting things such as this." He watched as the masked monk took a step, and seemed to slide across the root to the far side. "How did you do that?"
"Its called Suriashi. Once you can control your balance, than I'll show you how to do that." He smiled and stood on the root again, holding the buckets of stones outstretched. "I just sit here, watching you as you walk backwards and forwards on these roots, until you can control you balance. Than we'll work on shifting your weight."
He smiled at the masked monk as he walked across the root slowly. "I'm a fast learner. I'll show you my ability to move."
"They all say that Masanari. Every person from the Hattori family still moves sloppy sometimes. Hopefully, you'll not be like them, and become better." He nodded. "I will. Just you watch and see."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
mjayauthor
mjayauthor Hi all. This blue masked monk has a very interesting particular skill to teach Masanari. The ability to shift body weight for a samurai is very important, as it is the base of where the strength of their sttack comes from.
I hope you're enjoing your time in Kurama. It is a beautiful peaceful place, and you don't hear of the troubles that are happening in the lands below them.
Would you like to learn how to improve your balance and footwork using roots to practice on while holding uneven loads? Let me know in the comments. Below. Enjoy
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