9 Kyoto
"Kyoto? Seriously man?! You're lucky! I'm going to the aquarium on my school trip!" Baji looked at him with a surprised expression. It has been two months since the addition of Draken and Kazutora to their friend group.
Fuutarou revealed to them that he was going to Kyoto on his school trip. "Be careful man, that place has the yakuza there. " Draken warned, making Fuutarou snort.
" Dude, I'm 11 years old. What would the yakuza want with an elementary school student? " Fuutarou asked back with an amused smirk on his face. Draken shrugged.
"Dunno, but you better not jinx it though. At least bring a weapon with you or something. Do you even have one?"
" What would Fuutarou need a weapon for exactly? " Kazutora asked while lying on the ground and looking at the clouds with Mikey doing the same.
"Obviously it's to protect himself and possibly others. Punches and kicks won't do the trick if the yakuza carries swords and smuggled guns." Draken replied while throwing stones at the river.
" Don't worry guys, I have a katana. " Fuutarou replied nonchalantly, making everyone look at him.
" Show us. " They all calmly demanded in unison.
" But I'll get in trouble—
"Show. Us. Fuutarou." They interrupted his sentence with serious facial expressions on them. Fuutarou sighed and palmed his face.
"Fucking hell you guys are hopeless, I'll see what I can do."
.
.
" Woah! "
" Holy shit! "
" Awesome! "
" Damn! It's real! "
" Of course it's real Mikey. You think I would lie about this shit? " Fuutarou asked Mikey who had stars in his eyes while he was looking at Ame no Habakiri.
" Sorry man, it's just that some people brag about shit they don't have. " Mikey apologized.
" I understand." Fuutarou replied as he dapped Mikey up. Fuutarou unsheathed it, showing them the blade.
"Hey, do you know how to fight with this?" Kazutora asked. Fuutarou nodded and did some mock swings.
"I've been learning Iaido and kendo from my master. He teaches me martial arts too, that's the reason why I fight very well. " Fuutarou explained as he sheathed his katana back.
"How the hell are you gonna keep that in your school bag though?" Baji pointed out the obvious. Fuutarou grinned at them.
" I'll just bring a duffel bag. Modern problems require modern solutions."
"Yeah, except this problem you're having dates back to 300+ years ago. Man, I wish we could carry katanas out in the open!" Mikey grumbled. Fuutarou sighed.
" Times have changed since Japan's warring periods, Mikey. The Edo period had peace and prosperity that lasted for a good while. I'd much rather have a lawful boring country than a country full of crime and death. " Fuutarou muttered as he put the sword back in his plastic bag.
"But what if we can carry them out in the open?" Fuutarou wondered. Draken sighed and shook his head.
" Best not to think about stuff that will never happen. "
" Yeah, you're right Draken. I gotta go now, I have my part time job with Shinichiro-san. "
" Good luck with that. "
" Thanks Mikey. See ya guys tomorrow!"
" Bye man!! "
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" You are going to Kyoto tomorrow, right?" Gyatsu asked Fuutarou who nodded in response to his question.
"And you are bringing Ame no Habakiri with you?" Gyatsu asked him another question, making Fuutarou nod again.
"Then take this and hide it under the sleeve of your hoodie, it will be easier to reach if you don't have time to reach for your katana which you would be hiding of course." Gyatsu handed him a tanto with a white colored sheath and handle. It looked like the little brother of Ame no Habakiri, matching its 'Heaven' motif.
"Thank you, Master Gyatsu. I will cherish this gift of yours." Fuutarou bowed at him a little. Master Gyatsu nodded back.
"Alright, now that that's dealt with, let us move on to today's lesson. I will be teaching you a new move. Look carefully now. It's all about the footstep and timing. " Gyatsu unsheathed his own katana and entered a sword stance. He stood in front of a bamboo stand placed in front of him.
*SHING!!!*
Suddenly, Gyatsu dashed past the bamboo stand in the blink of an eye. The bamboo was cut in half horizontally. Fuutarou was watching in shock and awe.
"Do you think you can do it, my student?" Gyatsu asked while sheathing his katana. Fuutarou nodded slowly.
"Yeah, I got it.... I think...."
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[Heavenly Strike: Lvl 1
A blindingly fast attack that has its user flash through the enemy with a single horizontal slash of the blade.
Sword strike deals 200% more damage when using Heavenly Strike. Cool down for 2 minutes. Reduce it by leveling up the skill.]
[Killer Hook: Lvl 10
When you perform your signature spinning hook kick, the kick's speed and damage will increase by 300%]
"So, Fuutarou. Do you think you can break a metal pole right now?" Gyatsu asked as Fuutarou was about to leave the dojo and straight to S.S MOTOR for work.
"Not yet, but I believe I can in the next year or so if I keep this up."
" Confident are we? I will support you then.
Good luck on your trip to Kyoto, son! " Gyatsu waved Fuutarou goodbye with Fuutarou doing the same back to him as he started running towards Shinichiro's motorbike shop.
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"Clothes, check. Money, check. DSLR camera, check. Sketchbook and sketching supplies, check. Hidden tanto under the hoodie's sleeve, check. Katana in my duffel bag, check. " Fuutarou whispered as he zipped his black duffel bag and carried it.
It was the day of the school's trip to Kyoto. Fuutarou was making sure he had brought everything because it was a two day one night trip.
"Fingers crossed the hotel is decent. Dad didn't pay the ¥10000 fee just for me to live in the woods." Fuutarou grumbled as he gathered up with his team. He looked at Takebayashi and grinned at her. She wore a plaid shirt with rolled-up sleeves and long pants.
"Hey Takebayashi, is everyone here? Everyone's going on the bullet train already." Fuutarou asked her. Takebayashi nodded.
"Yes, everyone's here. C'mon, let's go find our seats." Takebayashi commanded as they entered the bullet train.
'If I remember correctly, it would take around 2 hours and 15 minutes to travel from Tokyo to Kyoto.' Fuutarou mused as he sat on his seat.
[Physical Conditioning: Lvl 13
Proper strength and conditioning allows an athlete to strengthen supporting muscles, even out muscle imbalances, increase mobility, correct posture, stabilize joints, learn new movement patterns, enhance coordination and peripheral skills, and so much more.
When you max out this skill, you will gain a new max level skill called 'Heavenly Restriction'.]
'Heavenly Restriction. Wonder what that does? Hopefully it's not as literal as it sounds.' Fuutarou thought as he looked at the rest of his skills.
More intense training means that his skills improve faster and his body gets stronger. Fuutarou's training was now 6x more intense than when he first started training with Gyatsu.
"I think I gained some muscles too." He whispered as he flexed his biceps on his right arm. It wasn't much but it's a start at least.
[Sketching: Lvl 10
Traditionally a rough drawing or painting in which an artist notes down his preliminary ideas for a work that will eventually be realized with greater precision and detail.]
'There's no extra benefits to this skill. But I don't give a shit, my drawings are already better than most of the kids in my class. ' Fuutarou thought arrogantly as the bullet train started zooming.
Fuutarou yawned as he became extremely bored. He was grouped with Takebayashi, Sanada and two other students whose names he didn't bother learning about.
"Sanada, that bastard. All he cares about is studying and grades. Go outside and feel the sunlight for once in your boring life." Fuutarou grumbled.
And before you make fun of the author, yes I do touch grass and exercise(weightlifting). Writing and reading manga is a hobby of mine that I just love a lot.
"Guess I'll just sketch Takebayashi." Fuutarou whispered and took out his sketchbook. No
Fuutarou does not have a crush on her, he admires her personality and he only sees her as a very good friend.
He finds himself similar to her to an extent. She is a responsible girl, acting as the class representative of her class alongside Sanada. She is always upbeat and wanted to have fun as well, despite being the one to keep everyone in check. She also wants to include everyone in activities, even Fuutarou who finds no interest in the activities she wants him to be included in.
"How the hell can someone that cheerful exist in this shitty world?" Fuutarou mumbled as he started sketching her. It was an adequate sketch, but as his skill levels up, he immediately finds some mistakes in the sketch and corrected them. And just like that, his skill just leveled up a bunch.
[Sketching: Lvl 13]
"Wow Fuutarou, is that me?" Takebayashi asked Fuutarou with an expression of awe on her face. Fuutarou smirked confidently and nodded.
"Mhm! That's you! You want it? It'll cost you ¥500($3) though, I don't give out things for free ya know. " Fuutarou grinned at her. Takebayashi pouted at him.
" Baka....Hmph!" She huffed childishly and looked away. Fuutarou laughed and gave her the piece of paper that had his sketch of Takebayashi.
"I'm just kidding Takebayashi. Here, take it. I even signed it." Fuutarou added a scribble of his signature before giving it to her. Takebayashi giggled and smiled at him.
"Thanks, Fuutarou! I'll cherish it!" Takebayashi thanked him gratefully. Fuutarou nodded and smiled at her before resuming his sketches of other things that popped up to his head.
Eventually he ran out of things to draw, so he put the sketchbook and sketching pencils back to his duffel bag and got out of his seat.
He looked at Sanada. Sanada is a young teenage boy with curly black hair and wears a big pair of glasses that covers his eyes.
Fuutarou grabbed the papers Sanada was holding and threw them away. "Arithmetic drills?! Party pooper! We're on a school trip dude! Will you just relax and hold off on studying for a second?" Fuutarou looked down at him seriously. Sanada tried to argue with him.
"But—
" But nothing Sanada! All you care about is studying and that's it! That just goes to show that you don't know how to manage your studying schedule." Fuutarou scolded him while Sanada looked down on the ground, ashamed of himself.
"Fuutarou...." Fuutarou turned to look at a pouting Takebayashi.
"Pick them up and apologize to Sanada." Takebayashi requested. Fuutarou rolled his eyes.
"You just don't want me to tell him the truth, Takebayashi. I'm trying to get him to enjoy life." Fuutarou grumbled as he picked up the papers he threw away.
"Here." Fuutarou shoved the papers onto Sanada's hands. Sanada looked up at him. Fuutarou grinned at him.
"Sorry about throwing them. But if I catch you working on them during this trip I'll beat you up, you understand? " Fuutarou asked them. Sanada nodded repeatedly, prompting Fuutarou to nod.
" Good. "
To be continued.....
