Misadventures at the Dojo Part 1 - Peace and Disharmony

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5iwk8xqNSM&t=203s)

Deep within the woods east of Kyoto sits the Mitsurugi Dojo. While the house attached to the side of the dojo shows signs of disrepair, the walls of the dojo itself stand proudly and firmly. To the west of the dojo sits a bamboo grove with a small meandering path leading back to Kyoto. To the east of the dojo sits a unkept sand garden and a lone sakura tree, and beyond that the forest full of pine trees. The forest leads deeper into the mountains, a place where no signs of civilization lie. A place that the owner of the Dojo, a young hero student named Chihiro Mitsurugi knows like the back of her hand. Countless times she's traversed the pine forest, and she knows it better than anyone else. Every hill, pond, and animal trail imprinted firmly in her mind.

.."I expect so. When you leave let's go back to being classmates, though. We only have to be teacher and student in here."
Hoge tugged at the bottom of her blazer and clearly said something in response, though between the gloom paling over her and the silence that came out, Chihiro couldn't figure out what it was meant to be. Chihiro tilted her head questioningly at Hoge. She looked frustrated and pulled down hard on her clothes, leaning forward a bit, and yelled with all her might - managing slightly above normal speaking volume in this quiet shared space.
"Can we instead be friends?"

Outside, a sōzu gently poured out a stream of water shimmering in the evening light and fell against a smooth stone. Donk.

Chihiro's eyes widened, as if in shock. After a moment, she hesitantly extended her hand: "If... If you would have someone like me... I'd like that- being friends..."

With a brilliant smile, Hoge grasped Chihiro's hand: "Then- then we're friends now. Chihiro."

Chihiro met Hoge's gaze: "Um. Indeed. We're friends now, Hoge. (I? Have a friend?)"

The two introverts didn't really know what to say after this, and spent some time fidgeting in silence before snapping back into business mode: "AH, uh. Sensei, it looks like that part isn't clean yet. I'll go get a cloth and some water" "Oh? Oh! Yes. Yes, of course. I'll leave it to you."

...

(Some months later)

Within the dojo stands Chihiro and her recently acquired student, Nyoro Hoge. Both wore the same kimono like uniform used by martial arts dojos. The two had gotten used to their student/teacher relationship and had settled into a regular routine of practicing stances and live sparring- it was a very normal friendship. So normal it was cherished by both girls, as even those kinds of normal friendships were a rare and fleeting thing.

Watching from the side were two more girls also wearing the same uniform- one was proud looking girl with an amused expression and three hydra heads bobbing up and down from behind her. Her uniform was a bit loose, owed to her unique physique. The other girl was a bored looking foreigner that kept one eye trained tightly on the sparring match in front of her- beneath her calm exterior was a deep nervousness. Her uniform fit just right, although her legs were a bit too long. The girls, respectively, were Orochi Atsushi and Sally McCathy.

Hoge and Chihiro's match wasn't anything terribly exciting. The slightly fuzzy shape that was Hoge would slash out with her practice sword, and it would be promptly parried by Chihiro. Chihiro in turn would mutter short phrases: "Legs", "Arms", "Too low", "Too high", etc. Hoge would then focus on correcting the offending part of her stance, only to gradually have a new flaw take it's place. Every once in a while Hoge would hesitate, as if considering her next move. When that happened, Chihiro would go on the attack, slashing out at Hoge and forcing her to block- a reminder that you shouldn't stop moving in a sword fight, especially not in close quarters. Planning ahead wasn't forbidden, but Hoge needed to keep fighting while she did so.

Eventually the spar was interrupted by a small buzzing sound- curtesy of a small egg shaped timer sitting on the floor near Orochi and Sally. The egg timer had been set for 15 minutes, and it's buzzer signaled the end of the match. Hoge stepped back to her starting location and the two bowed lightly. With the little exhibition match over, her figure slowly became more defined as the anxiety of being watched so intently started to fade.

Hoge yelled out loud (or at least she tried to): "Sensei, thank you for the instruction."

Chihiro nodded: "Mhm. You've made excellent progress. You truly worked hard."

As Hoge stood in a happy daze at hearing the words 'You truly worked hard', Orochi called out: "I've been wondering the whole time, but how can you even tell? Nyoro-chan is kinda blurry. Can't tell where what direction her feet are or anything even when I focus on it. How can you tell when she's making mistakes?"

Chihiro paused for a moment and slowly explained: "It takes a bit of effort on my part, but I'm using the sensation of crossing blades. The angle she strikes at, the force she strikes with, how the blade moves after I make contact. A stance is 'right' or 'wrong' precisely because it affects those things."

Sally couldn't help but wonder out loud: *"Can a human even do that...?"

Chihiro tilted her head a bit and continued: "For a random stranger, it's probably impossible. I can do this with Hoge because I taught her the style she's using. I more or less know her next move ahead of time, and that gives me a basis for comparison. She's the only one I can do this with at the moment... Most of the time, Hoge isn't this blurry however."

Just hearing this explanation gave Sally a deep sense of unease. She carefully glanced at Orochi who caught that glanced and smiled back. Sally cursed Orochi and her whole rich family, as well as herself- after all, Sally had come here due to a bet she made with Orochi. She needed to spar with Chihiro and land a hit! She thought it wouldn't be that bad to land at least one hit, but that frustrating blur known as the class representative had been training for this and didn't land a single hit. She was even using her quirk!

Caught between a rock and a hard place, Sally forced herself to stand up and addressed Chihiro: "Hey! I want to try that too. Sparring, I mean."

It was hard to catch under her blur effect, but Sally noticed Hoge covering her mouth with her hand. Was she laughing at her? Sally felt like it was definitely laughter. Honestly, this group was pretty far outside her comfort zone. Chihiro... Seemed fine, but Sally couldn't really read her. Orochi was clearly a rich snob. Hoge was an annoying 'honor student'. It didn't help that Sally barely knew any of them.

Chihiro was wholly unaware of Sally's inner frustrations: "Of course. Please grab a practice sword from the rack."

Meanwhile, Orochi casually smiled at Hoge: "Hey, hey. Since they're having a match, wanna spar with me? Neither of us can turn our quirks off anyway, so it's fair. Right, Nyoro-chan?"

Contrary to Orochi's expectations, Hoge agreed after a short deliberation- Hoge herself didn't feel much confidence towards this match up- in her eyes Orochi was one of the students that shined the brightest in the entire class! She simply didn't want to lose face for the dojo in front of Chihiro. The rational part of her mind told her that Chihiro wouldn't actually care, but the paranoid part of her mind told her that Chihiro would be disappointed deep down. It was only when she really stood in front of Orochi, each of them holding up their practice swords, that the stomach cramp inducing absurdity of the situation dawned on poor Hoge. Her? Fighting Orochi? Head on? Was this a new form of suicide? Her figure got blurrier and blurrier, as if her quirk was responding to her wish of fading into the background and being forgotten.

For her part, Orochi wasted no time fetching a practice sword and running back over. Ready to stretch her limbs and get some exercise. Of course, she was mindful of how much force she used- she knew full well how strong she was and she didn't want to hurt her sparring partner by accident. On the flip side, using practice swords was a pleasant experience. It provided a buffer with which she wouldn't poison someone by accident. It meant she could cut loose a bit more than usual and have some fun.

Sally, having witnessed this, felt some level of schadenfreude. The fact that she wasn't the only one to suffer under Orochi's claws today was a small comfort. With the small boost offered by Hoge's misfortune, Sally strode forth and stood in front of Chihiro.

Chihiro, who had just set up the small egg timer, was very direct: "If you're ready, take your stance."

Sally attempted to take a stance, holding the practice sword in front of her body with both hands. She dipped her hips and leaned forward a bit, almost resembling a cross between someone ready to place tennis and someone ready to swing a baseball bat.

Feeling her lips twitch, Chihiro softly questioned: "Should I show you a proper stance?"

Sally took a moment to process before a deep red flush crept up her neck and into her face- she had been immediately exposed: "No- no need! Let's just do this!"

Accepting her opponents request, Chihiro took her own stance, with her practice sword at her left side, facing the dojo floor. Her left foot was back and her right shoulder was facing forward. She called out: "Then begin!"

Seeing her opponent already hesitate, Chihiro leapt forward and swung over with her blade! Sally rushed to block, not unlike a batter trying to bunt, only to immediately feel her practice sword ripped out of her hands and sent flying- an immediate loss.

However, Sally wasn't about to give up yet. She gathered her practice sword and ran at Chihiro, hacking downward at her! In return, Chihiro gently sidestepped and held her own practice sword out- it was pressed right against Sally's neck. Another immediate loss.

This process repeated itself a few more times before Sally well and truly understood that no amount of guts or good luck was going to let her land a hit on the 5 ft. tall monster in front of her. Even so, she was bitter. Sally didn't want to give up so easily, nor did she want to lose that bet, however petty a reason that might be- in a sense, she let the blood go to her head and prepared for a risky gambit.

With the utmost caution, she prepared the most harmless ammunition she had in her. She rushed forward, looking as if she was going to hack at Chihiro with her practice sword, only to let go with her left hand and shoot out a small pellet at Chihiro's legs! Sally hoped the distraction would be enough for her to land a blow. Those hopes were dashed however, as the moment Sally released the pellet, Chihiro leapt to her left side, practice sword held high above her head and crashing down towards Sally's head.

With a loud 'SMACK', Sally recoiled and held her head: "Argh! That stings..."

Chihiro caught Sally's glare and stated flatly: "Use of quirks is not forbidden in this dojo, but it needs to be agreed upon before hand. Sneak attacks result in punishment."

Upon hearing the world 'punishment' something in the back of Sally's mind shook, and she swallowed whatever words she wanted to say. It was just a small thing, but it mixed and swirled with her bitterness and the stinging pain in her head, leading her mind to somewhere dark and fearful. She turned around and fled the dojo! Chihiro looked over to Hoge, who was desperately dodging Orochi's onslaught, and called out: "I'm heading out for a bit. I'll leave the dojo to you". Hoge wasn't sure if she was happy to be trusted or if she had just been abandoned.

Orochi naturally noticed Sally's sudden escape and Chihiro following after, and figured the latter had things under control. So she focused on the blur in front of her name Hoge: "Hehehe. Nyoro-chan, I'm kind of impressed. You've managed to smack me a few times and I haven't gotten a singe hit in yet! I'm seeing you in a new light. I might need you to teach me some of those acrobatics you keep doing."

Hoge withheld the urge to retort 'And none of those smacks even phased you, while I'm seriously going to die if you hit me!'. The entire fight had just been her rolling and jumping around like she was in recreating a boss battle from a video game.

...

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooiSfD2a6pI)

With some light exertion of her quirk, Chihiro easily caught up to Sally, who had fled into the bamboo grove that led away from the dojo. She had fled away from the path, and into a small clearing with nothing in sight but a sea of bamboo and a blazing summer sky over head. Neither the sound of the dojo nor of Kyoto could be heard under the pervasive cries of the cicadas.

Chihiro tried to call out: "McCarthy-"

{"GO AWAY! If you think I'm some sort of crook then leave me alone!"} However, Chihiro was immediately cut off by Sally's outburst (in English).

Undaunted, Chihiro rushed out in front of Sally and reached out: "Please calm down. I'm worried about you."

Sally, however, was caught in her own head and couldn't hear the concern in Chihiro's voice: {"NO, just leave! I don't need someone to watch me! I'm not some villain in need of monitoring!"}

Someone that understood English would know that she wasn't just emotional, she was having some kind of breakdown- that this wasn't some small reaction, but rather a larger problem that had been building up for weeks now, only exploding out now. Unfortunately, Chihiro didn't understand English well enough to know what she was saying- or that Sally had misunderstood what exactly she was worried about. She only knew that Sally was getting more upset and not less, so she thought back to what Hifumi had taught her, and stepped closer to Sally.

As she saw Chihiro get closer and reach out her hands, Sally panicked and once again fired her quirk- narrowly missing the head of Chihiro who unflinchingly got closer. Chihiro grasped either side of Sally's face and pulled it closer. Then, in one fluid motion, Chihiro rammed her forehead into Sally's, leaving both of them seeing stars!

Before Sally could recover from her confusion, Chihiro (who was still holding Sally's face) slowly said: "I... Think I know a bit about what you're going through. I feel like you're hurting inside so much you can't handle it, and it worries me. I don't want you to handle it all alone."

Between her panic, her new found headache, and everything that led up to this point, Sally didn't really know what to think. In her confusion, she let out a bitter whisper: "What do you know? Are you surrounded by people that don't want you? Did you fuck up and toss your life away like an idiot?"

Chihiro maintained eye contact and said in a flat tone: "I've done all that and more. I'll spend my entire life trying to atone and I won't even make a dent in it."

Sally had only recently enrolled in Shiketsu, and she hadn't exactly jumped at the chance to gossip about her classmates. For the most part, their personal histories weren't on her radar. At the very least, she didn't expect to hear words like that: "Then, what? Did you kill someone?"

Content that Sally was talking to her, Chihiro finally let go of her face and took a small step back: "A bit less than a hundred people, and I knew them all by name. Among them were my mother and father."

Sally's eyes went wide as she heard the girl in front of her reveal such a cruel thing. Chihiro continued on: "The short version is that when my quirk awakened, I didn't even realize it. The people in the dojo mistook it for some kind of disease or airborne poison. By the time anyone figured out the truth, they were all dead. Since then, I've been considered someone too dangerous to be around. Enough so that I was discouraged from ever leaving the dojo."

Sally had all kinds of things to say to that, from telling her own story to a myriad questions to ask. After a long pause, she turned her eyes down and something escaped her lips: "...Does it get better? The guilt...?"

Chihiro waved her head back and forth: "I don't know know. I've haven't tried to make it better. I don't think I deserve to get better, but I don't think the same will be true for you."

"Why is that? Is doing something wrong OK just because someone else did something worse?" - Having received a less than ideal response, Sally's mood once again began to spiral.

Yet Chihiro calmly waved her head again: "No, I don't think I can judge the value of someone's life. I think you're different because you are being allowed to atone. Even if it's difficult, you were given a goal to complete. Something to prove to others that you aren't a threat. This shows the people around you didn't give up. It shows that they still believed in you- that they were willing to forgive you. It shows that they still have expectations for you."

Chihiro didn't outright say it, but what that implied about herself was fairly clear- that she wasn't even allowed to atone. Her sins were so dire that there was no forgiveness was afforded to her. Her words were blunt and to the point, as well as cruel. Even so, the idea that Sally wasn't abandoned, but rather was instead entrusted with something was nonetheless a much needed comfort. Hearing it from someone who had gone through the same thing... It simply hit different.

Sally had held it in until this point, but tears started to fall from her eyes. It was only a little bit, but she shed some small fragment of her anxieties and trauma in that moment. In it's place was a bit of warmth that shook her frail heart. It was one step in a long journey of self-forgiveness.

Chihiro didn't quite know what to say or do (Hifumi's lessons didn't cover this part). She just stood with Sally quietly as the latter cried out.

...

Sally's voice rung out through the bamboo grove, faintly competing with the cicada's cries.

...

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5iwk8xqNSM&t=872s)

Within the dojo, Hoge and Orochi's spar had slowly evolved into something else entirely. At first, it was more akin to a game of tag- Orochi would chase after Hoge and Hoge would dodge out of the way, occasionally landing a blow in the process. Sometimes Hoge would parkour her way up the pillars of the dojo. Sometimes she would slide under Orochi's legs. Sometimes she'd even vault over Orochi using her opponent's attacks as a pivoting point! At each and every turn, the agile, blurry ninja that was Hoge slipped away

Meanwhile, Orochi's own movements weren't just random slashes and sweeps. There was a rhythm to it. An ebb and flow that caught Hoge's eyes. The more Hoge saw, the more she found herself slipping into that rhythm, and the closer Orochi would get to landing a blow. There was something strange and mystifying about Orochi's footwork that lent her both agility and unpredictability. If not for Orochi's awkward bladework, she would have long since landed a blow on Hoge.

This pattern repeated itself for a solid 15 minutes before the buzz of the small egg timer sounded out, prompting Orochi to remark: "Damn! I didn't land a single hit. That was fun though- trying to keep track of you with all those crazy acrobatics was seriously challenging."

Hoge caught her breath and glanced at Orochi who seemed to have infinite stamina. She replied: "I didn't think I'd last. I kept getting caught in your rhythm. Even when I landed a hit, you didn't even flinch. How do you move like that?"

Orochi shifted from side to side: "You mean this? It's just a simple dance routine. I can probably teach you... But in exchange, teach me some of your moves too, especially the one where you grabbed me and jumped over my head."

Hoge nodded: "That move? Sure, it's all about keeping your momentum. First you move like-"

However, Orochi cut her off: "Er, it's not as much as earlier, but you're still kind of blurry. How about this? Just move my arms and legs for me."

For a moment, Hoge froze and stood still. Eventually, she agreed: "Um. Uh, sure. Sure, if that's OK with you... I- I can do that... I think..."

Orochi chuckled in amusement at Hoge's awkwardness. As she felt her limbs placed into a pose, not unlike a manikin, Orochi noted that Hoge was much more... entertaining than she previously thought. Due to Hoge's quirk, Orochi always had trouble really paying any attention to her, but was starting to realize what a waste that was. Hoge was delightfully fun to mess with!

Hoge on the other hand, tried her best to bury her inner excitement about this turn of events, and tried to focus on carefully showing Orochi the movements needed to perform the maneuver. Step by step, she grabbed hold of Orochi's arms and legs and pulled them into position- to teach one of her classmates she admired the most (and in such an... exotic way) was a special kind of treat for her.

Yet all good things must end, and Hoge professionally announced the end of this lesson: "...and that's all there is to it. Quickly carry out these stances in a single fluid motion, and you should succeed. Take care to remember that momentum is key. Any hesitation will ruin your momentum, and then you'll just fall on your opponent instead of jumping over them."

Orochi nodded along: "Great. I think I've got it, so now it's time to practice... And don't worry, I'll be careful."

Quickly connecting the dots, Hoge realized what she meant- that Orochi was going to try and vault over her this time. With the mentality of someone in too deep to back out, Hoge resolutely nodded and swiped her practice sword at Orchi, prompting the latter to reach forward, grasping Hoge's arm and kicking off from the ground. Orochi successfully, leapt over the wooden blade, but just before she rose over Hoge's head, her movement stalled. Hoge looked on as her brain went into overdrive- it was her tails! Orochi's tails shifted her center of balance! Even as Orochi realized this herself and tried in vain to adjust, Hoge could only cry out as Orochi landed on top of her with a deep THUD.

Hoge flinched, and when she opened her eyes, she simply saw Orochi's beautiful face hanging a mere inches overhead. In spite of it all, she didn't feel any weight on her- Orochi, always mindful of her poison, always took special care in not making careless physical contact. From the moment she grabbed Hoge's arm, to the unfortunate crash landing, she made certain that Hoge didn't get poisoned.

With a mischievous grin, Orochi decided to say something before she got up: "Are you OK, Hoge?"

Having received critical damage, Hoge's heart skipped a beat. She had an impulse to crawl away and find a hole to hide in, but ultimately managed to avert her eyes and reply: "Uh. Y-yeah. I'm fine. Doesn't hurt at all."

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5iwk8xqNSM&t=1114s)

Yet at this moment, Hoge's eyes went wide, and her pupils shrank into dots- something Orochi hadn't noticed, but she nonetheless followed her gaze out of instinct. There, at the entrance to the dojo, was a wide open door featuring a moderately puzzled Chihiro and an abhorred Sally. It was an unexpected twist that Orochi didn't expect, and facing Sally's horrified expression, even Orochi's face started to freeze up in the realization of what the trigger happy American had to be thinking. She hadn't even noticed when Hoge had crab walked out from underneath her and rushed over to the doorway.

Stumbling over her legs and her words, Hoge cried out: "Ah, nonono, that wasn't what it looked like."

Chihiro tilted her head to the side: "You weren't sparring?"

Seeing her innocent sensei's face, Hoge cursed herself for being hasty: "No, I mean yes- I mean no. WE WERE SPARRING... IT. WAS. JUST. SPARRING. I thought you mistook it... for... something else..."

Chihiro was content with that explanation, but Sally was about to raise hell out of confusion and disgust: "The hell kind of sparring was- argh"

But before she could finish her sentence, Hoge pounced forward and dragged Sally off under Chihiro's curious gaze. She trusted Hoge wasn't doing anything strange, and put the matter aside. She walked over to Orochi, who calmly explained the failed attempt at learning a new combat maneuver. Meanwhile, two loud and angry voiced sounded in English, one calling out words like '{shameless deviant} or {lesbian freaks}, and the other voice yelling out {No! It's not like that.} or {Listen to me, damn you!}. Slowly, the yelling calmed down as Sally (hesitantly) accepted Hoge's explanation- that it was simply parkour training gone wrong.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5iwk8xqNSM&t=342s)

When the four girls had regrouped inside the dojo, the atmosphere was awkward. Hoge was holding her head in despair, fighting off a mild stress induced migraine. Sally was standing close by Chihiro, both seeming to use her as a shield and wanting to guard the innocent girl against the other two. Orochi wanted laugh things off and wash away the awkward atmosphere, but didn't know what to say that wouldn't just make Sally annoyed again. Lastly, Chihiro stood silently, unsure as to why the group seemed... off.

Seeing her guests not taking any action, Chihiro assumed that perhaps they didn't want to spar any more. With a clap of her hands, she called out: "Since we've already had some sparring, why don't we take a break."

Orochi happily took this chance to brighten things up: "Yeah, that sounds nice. Got anything in particular in mind?"

Chihiro placed a hand on her chin and pondered: "...Hmm... I was going to go boar hunting this afternoon, would anyone like to try it out?"

Ears perked up at the mention of hunting, Sally took an immediate interest: "Now that sounds like something fun. I can use my quirk, right?"

While Hoge pondered the logistics of sneaking up on a boar and stabbing it, Orochi voiced a concern: "I could take a boar down easy enough, but I don't think you'd want to eat it afterwards. It does sound like fun though."

With no opposition, the group accepted the proposal to hunt a boar, changing out from the dojo uniforms to their own outfits. With a goal to distract them, the discord in the group slowly gave way to a peaceful atmosphere once more. Notably, Chihiro's three guests were surprised at how friendly the wildlife was. Squirrels would stay and watch from only a few meters away, and a finch even perched itself on one of Orochi's horns! (Hoge kindly took a picture and send it to Orochi, conveniently acquiring a new LINE address in the process).

Across overgrown grass and animal trails, Chihiro steadily led the group deeper into the woods, unaware of what they would face in it's depths...

...