Post by Saito Kito on Feb 5, 2014 13:28:46 GMT -5
They had been sitting around the table for almost thirty minutes in complete silence. They had finished their bread and butter, sipped on their miso, and were prepared to retire with the nightly ritual of a soft cup of tea. Mother silently poured the last of it into Jin's cup. The old man wasn't looking well these days. His body had gotten frail and weaker. Undoubtedly it was due to the harsh lifestyle they had grown so accustomed to. The other members of the family were left to eat outside of the main halls, but the inner circle would always be invited in.
They were the five born under his first and only love, and so they were all full brothers. Jin found it only right that they eat in the same room every night. It was a sick way of being noble in what could only be described as a morally reprehensible situation. But none of them knew it. His knee's cracked from underneath him, as Kit finally stood up from the table. The glass in front of him rattling gently against the empty bowl. Such a small noise seemed so powerful in a room of dead silence. Words had to be broken, no matter the cost.
"Father"
His deep voice broke the eerie silence, causing his own mother to stir in her seat. She knew the conversation that was about to transpire, and knew not how to stop it. She couldn't bring peace to their lives, nor had that ever been the wish of her husband.
"Sit down Kito"
Jin replied in a stoic tone, taking the remaining sip of tea from his cup before reaching across the mat towards the sweet buns in the center. It of course is not in moments like these were men find their most heroic spirit, and yet this is where Saito Kito would make his stand. His own hand darted forward, his knuckles making hard contact with the bowl of freshly prepared breads, and smashing it into pieces. His brothers all fell backwards in surprise, his mother even letting out a light shriek in surprise. Jin simply retracted his hand. The old man knew exactly what Kit wanted, and it was time he had it. Putting one hand on the ground for leveredge, and the other on his knee for support. The old man stood. As his legs moved his body upward the cracks of an old could be heard resounding in the echoing corners of the room. crick crick pop The sounds of an old and frail man brought a small trickle of regret to Kit's heart, and yet he knew it was finally time to assert himself.
"Not in the house boy, lets take this outside"
Grabbing the short walking stick in the corner, Jin made his way off of the wooden floors of the dojo and into the harsh windy mountain climate beyond its walls. Kit turned to follow, his only older sibling grabbing his pant leg as he walked. She had intended to say 'Don't do this' or 'Think about what you're doing', but in the end a silent stare was all she could muster. Kit knew what he was doing and there was nothing that could stop him from achieving his goal, not his loving sister, not his frightened mother, and certainly not the frail old man who was already a few steps out the door. Pulling on his leg until she released him, Kit followed him out into the bitter cold.
Down each step of the carved out mountain head Kit felt his temper rising. The hunched over elder in front of him was the only person keeping him from achieving greatness. Not even for himself, but for the entire family, and as the two approached the training arena at the base of the tallest mountain, he knew it would be his only chance to make a change.
"Now Father!"
Jin took one uneasy step up and onto the hard wooded arena ground. Without roof or walls to block them in they would be left defenseless to the winds harsh requirements. A sharp cold ran across his skin as he undid his vest and let it fall to the wind, wisping up into the air and getting caught a few feet later by a training pole. Even in the cold he could not afford to be limited in movement by a simple sweater. His arms shook with anticipation, or perhaps a feverish cold before finally entering their fighting position. Both elbow's protruding outward, with fists up to either side of the face. His feet began to shimmy back and forth, quickly moving not only to warm his body up, but to keep his opponent guessing.
"Jintoku Masamune, I will prove to you that there IS another champion to be made out here, and once I have taken your honor I will go and claim the title for myself!"
"Give it your best. Ingrate"
With that exchange of words the battle was off, Kit taking a few steps forward and starting the show. Pivoting on his right foot, his left spun around on the hard ground, and lifted up to strike the elder in his head. This would be blocked by the man's elbow and countered with a swipe from his oak staff. Kit had not expected the elder to use his walking stick in the fight, but at this point if he wanted to cheat in order to win, then there was no reason to stop him. Kit was going to take this victory no matter what obstacle stood in his way. The staff was relentless and quick, causing Saito to skid back from his attack position and begin a manuevering defense. His body darted from side to side as his elder jabbed with a heavy hand. For such brittle bones it appeared that the man still had a lot of lightning hidden in his nerves. Finally a jab hit its mark striking right under the ribs. The diaphram was expunged of all oxygen leaving Kit temporarily stunned, long enough in fact that the staff made contact yet again to his chest, and then with a swinging motion slapped the fighter in the side of the head sending him to the ground.
In the brief second it took for Kit's body to make contact with the earth, he had already determined his next plan of action, as the pole came in for another jab Kit turned to the side, and then quickly rolled on top of it. Then with all of his might raised, and then brought down his right leg on top of the sturdy oaken staff, snapping it in half. By now a small crowd of other trainee's had gathered, and many were monumentally impressed that the master's staff had been removed from the fight, but things were far from over. Leaping up back up to his feet, and spitting the blood from his now busted lip off the side of the arena Kit let out a disgruntled growl. 'No more of that you tricky bastard'
There wouldn't be a moment of rest for the poor boy, as Jin decided it was time to end this charade. Although the fight was hardly a few minutes in, the insubordination and challenging needed to stop, and Saito had to be made example of. His elbows came in, his legs lifting off the ground in an incredible leap towards his opponent. Kit took a step back to hold his ground and used his own forearms to block the incoming strikes. Each elbow strike left an immediate and bright red bruise, some of them taking the time to morphe into an ugly purple. Kit grimaced at the idea that such an old man could provide such thorough punishment, and not a moment to far into thinking that Jin released an unthinkable combination. Although his body was remarkably still in the air during his elbow strikes, his own knee came up defying even the laws of gravity and rammed deeply into the man's already bruised mid section, then as if demanding the end of the fight, the destracted kit would take another blow to his head, this time a downwards elbow sending his chin to the hard ground below.
Saito's body bounced twice before finally resting on the icy arena floor. The crowd of students around them had fallen to a hush in disbelief. An elbow strike like that could kill a man and it was all to possible that Saito's insubordination had been his demise. Yet shaking on the ground rose a forearm, and then an elbow. A shaky, and now bloodshot Kit rose to his feet. His own bones shaking like his father's had been at the dinner table. With heavy breathing and what could only be described as a painful concussion, the boy had to finish what he started. With only a few feet seperating him from his mentor the man dove in, his right elbow swiping across the air, leaving his midsection open for yet another punishing blow by the elder. Grunting and taking a knee as Jin came in from behind, the fighter put both hands on the ground and with all the force he could muster brought his right leg around hitting the elder in the shoulder. Although this attack to had been blocked, the man wasn't done. His core tightened, and his upper body strength was put to the test as his other leg came up as well striking the master's chin and sending him flying backwards.
The elder flew at such an alarming rate that the other students found themselves scrambling to catch him several feet outside the arena. Although Saito had only hit the poor man once, it had been enough to end the fight entirely. Panting heavily as he looked out at his father, who lazily rolled his eyes to look at the first man to have ever defeated him in combat, Saito spoke.
"Father I am traveling to the World Martial Arts Tournament. I will reinstate our school and I will represent it...and I will win"
No more words were necessary, stepping down the steps off of the arena and over to his jacket which was still fluttering carelessly in the breeze the boy left his home a man. No more discussion would take place on the matter. Saito would leave the only home he had ever known in the hopes of bringing his school honor, and bringing his body a new and exciting challenge.