Blades Part- 2

Shigure seemingly just noticed what she just did as the others just stared at the down form of Ohma who just got maimed silently. Until all of them reacted after a few seconds, their reactions varied.

"APAP!"

"OHMA!"

"OH! MY! GOOOOOSH!"

Apachai shouted, Miu screamed in horror, and Kenichi was having a full-on panic attack as they all rushed to him while Akisame, Kensei, and Hayato merely stayed seated and composed.

"That could have gone better," Kensei commented.

"It was a smart move on his part. Using the tatami mat was unorthodox which is what made it so effective and carrying a second blade is usually a given in weapons fights." Akisame evaluated. "All in all, I say he did pretty well."

"The outcome is key though," Hayato said, looking at it another way.

"Would you three stop being so calm!" Miu yelled at them. "This is serious!"

"Ohma! Say something!" Kenichi pleaded, lifting him by his shoulders, more afraid than he's ever been. "Please! Speak to me!"

"…op…elin…n…m…ac…"

"W-What?" Kenichi asked unable to hear his whispering.

Ohma took a deep breath, regained his awareness, and said clearly. "Stop yelling in my face!" He then placed Kenichi off of him. "And stop crowding me."

"Ohma, you're okay?" Miu asked, shocked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Ohma asked, seemingly fine.

"Whadda you mean why?!" Kenichi snapped, still shaken. "You were cut back there! I almost had a heart attack!"

"Take a closer look you took you two," Akisame informed them. "While it's true he was cut, the wounds aren't anything serious. Those cuts are all just and only barely broke through the skin, they'll close on their own before long."

Just like Akisame said, when both Miu and Kenichi looked again they saw that Ohma's damage merely looked worse than they actually were, all the cuts were small and only broke some of the skin, and the bleeding had already stopped.

"Even so, it's unwise to just leave those cuts alone, "Kensei advised him. "I have some ointment that is good at close shallow wounds."

Ohma shrugged and picked up his knife as he put it back in his pocket while leaving the one Shigure gave him. Before he could go, however, Shigure spoke out. "When you're… Done, we'll continue… Training."

"Fine by me." Ohma accepted.

"But before that, you have training with me to do next." Akisame reminded him.

"Whatever." Ohma sighed as he left, obviously not enthusiastic about that.

After they left, Miu sat down and let out a sigh.

"That was scary," Miu admitted, referring to what just happened.

"Yeah, I know." Kenichi completely agreed. "I really thought Ohma was in danger back there."

"Which begs the question though." Akisame stepped forward. "Shigure, on that last move you got serious. Why is that? This was just supposed to be training."

"Yeah, why did you do that?" Miu asked as well, though she sounded more like she was scolding her.

Shigure looked at the blade of her Sword and saw her own reflection before she answered. "…Instinct."

Akisame and Hayato widened their eyes while Miu looked confused.

"Instinct?" Kenichi repeated.

"In the…Beginning he seemed to…Have the basics down…To an extent. But…The longer it went…On the sharper…His moves became…" Shigure explained her reasoning. "He was…Learning while fought…And that last move was…Different from…All the rest. It felt like my…Instincts took over before…I could think and…They respond due to a…Sense of danger."

"Oh, a danger you say?" Hayato asked while stroking his bread.

"Yes…I don't really…Know why but…As he went in for…That last attack…I felt my instincts…Warning me of…Danger…" Shigure admitted as she put away the knives. "He... has fought... death battles... with blades."

Hayato smiled when he heard that explanation. "That's almost exactly like what happened when he first trained with Apachai. That boy seems to be getting closer to sharpening his fangs every day."

Akisame pondered on it as well. "He was able to make a Master like Shigure feel danger with his instincts alone. Ohma's potential with blades may be better than his unarmed combat one."

"Apa, that still no excuse," Apachai said to Shigure in a scolding manner. "That was dangerous. You need to learn how to hold back better."

"Like you're one to talk!" Kenichi snapped at Apachai, knowing he had the same problem. "Still though, he learned while he was fighting? Is that even doable?"

"It is actually. There are those capable of improving in the middle of combat, more so when they are being pushed back." Akisame informed him. "When you're facing an opponent that you know is superior to you even before you start, the only thing you can do is get stronger even if it means while you're still fighting. They both had knives but he was facing a Master who was far more skilled and by adapting to that disadvantageous situation he was able to gain new reserves of ability that he didn't have before. But that something you learn from a good master or risking your life in death battles - Many death battles."

"Haha! The advantage of being at a disadvantage?" Hayato laughed cheerfully. "I haven't heard that in a while."

"But wait, something seems odd about that," Kenichi spoke out. "If it's possible to improve while at a disadvantage, why did Ohma take away that guy's knife? Wouldn't doing so make so I was the one with that advantage in that fight?"

"Well, maybe because since that's only the case for certain people, he didn't want to put you at risk given the uncertainty of it?" Miu guessed.

"Or maybe he because after seeing you freeze up he just wanted to salvage the situation before you made a fool of yourself?" Akisame bluntly gave his guess.

"Aaahhh! Why do you always say the worst possible thing?! Are you trying to hurt?!" Kenichi grabbed him by the collar and yelled at him with a mixture of pain and frustration.

"So, Kenichi, why don't you give it a try?" Hayato suggested.

"Huh, me?" Kenichi looked at him.

"Since you just saw Ohma learn how to fight during armed combat why don't you learn how to counter an armed opponent using your bare hands?" Hayato explained.

"Are you insane?!" Kenichi wasn't on board with that idea. "You saw what just happened! If anything, watching all that just made me even more terrified of weapons!"

"Kenichi, what would you say is the most important characteristic a fighter can possess?" Hayato asked him.

"I don't know…Hmm, strength maybe?" Kenichi guessed, thinking it over. "Or technique?"

"Nonsense, it's courage!" Hayato declared before going on. "If you don't have courage you can't stay calm and you overlook openings. Without courage your strength is limited. Without courage, your technique is sloppy and unfocused. Ohma demonstrated it perfectly. His strength, technique, and concentration were flawless and he didn't just find an opening, he made one. That was only possible because he had unwavering courage in the face of a sharp blade in the hands of a Master that never hesitated!"

"Well, that's where the two of us differ…" Kenichi dejectedly looked down. "My courage… Well, it's pretty lacking."

"If you don't have it you have to train for it!" Hayato told him. "Practice is the key to everything." He then looked to Shigure. "Shigure, this time I want you to push him to the absolute edge."

Shigure nodded as she once again started the draw her Sword which made Kenichi and Miu nervous again. Miu ran over to stand beside Kenichi. "Hold on, isn't it way too much to start off with your Sword right away?"

Shigure shook her head. "It's fine, I'll be…Careful this time!"

SWISH!

As if to demonstrate her ability to hold back and not directly cut him. Shigure's hand and the Sword it was holding flashed out in a blurry as she began slashing and slicing around Kenichi and Miu as though she was cutting the air itself. The result; small cuts appeared around the sleeves, sides, and front shirt of Kenichi's training gi, but not a scratch on his skin.

For Miu, a greater number of cuts opened up around the sweater she was wearing as well as her leotard, and yet no cuts on her skin. But, unfortunately for her, since her leotard was skin tight those cuts on it now exposed parts of her skin, which Kensei immediately took attention to after suddenly reappearing.

"Agh!" Miu cried out as she tried to kick him away while using her hands to cover herself. "Kensei you pervert!"

"What are you doing back here Kensei?" Akisame asked curiously. "What about Ohma?"

"I finished up with that almost right away!" Kensei answered cheerfully while circling around Miu, dodging her kicks and taking photos at the same time. "Looks like I choose the perfect time to come back!"

Kenichi meanwhile was so shaken at the flashing cuts that Shigure unleashed on him that he fainted. Apachai became worried and lifted him up by his leg.

"Kenichi!" Apachai cried out while slapping him in the face to wake him up. "Kenichi! Don't be dead!"

"ALRIGHT! THAT'S ENOUGH!" Hayato bellowed making everyone come to a halt.

"I need to go change!" Miu dashed out of the room.

Hayato was now sitting on Kensei's back while the Chinese Master in question didn't try to escape and merely laid there while pouting. "Kensei, you know better. And Kenichi, your training isn't complete yet, try again from the top."

Kenichi slowly rose to his feet as his mind started to wonder. "Shigure, she really is a Master of weapons but otherwise she's such a mystery. Most of the time, I don't even know she's here.

"…Get set, go."

"What happened to 'get ready'!?" Kenichi shouted again. "One thing's for sure though, I definitely found the right person to teach me about weapons." He thought before they started. "AAAAHHHHHHHHH!"