aterat | Down an unknown road

Entry tags:

Down an unknown road

Who; Nida

areasontohope
What; Sword fighting
Where; Near the Gullwings office
When; Mid June?
Warnings; None

There had been an idea in the back of his mind for a month or so, probably for longer if he thought it over. And it really hit home when he saw Mono and thought of his younger cousins Kisa and Momiji. What if somehow they showed up here? It had bugged him and the thought stayed in the back of his mind that he couldn't be a casualty like Jacob had been or even Caelan if some demon should appear again. Of course the more he tumbled it around in his mind, the more he recalled Miss Yuna being out there fighting too that night. And he'd done nothing but stayed in his little apartment, hoping nothing bad happened.

But what if children had gotten hurt? While he certainly wasn't Miss Honda, he was sure she would've been out there too that night, trying to save as many kids as she possibly could while that demon thing roamed the streets. After all, she'd gone after Kyo when he'd transformed into that awful monstrosity after his bracelet had been taken off by Shishou. And while he could fight Kyo all day long and win, that wasn't the point here. Their little petty fights were child's play compared to this place.

He had to be more useful than just growing flowers and medicinal plants.

As he'd accused Kyo, saying 'maybe it's not like a hero's supernatural power' but to 'get a clue and realize that there's only things you can do.' Right. And that included wanting to keep the kids safe. Maybe not for himself, but for adults who couldn't fight at all. Maybe they couldn't protect their kids.

What if he'd been stronger and had been able to protect his friends that night from their cruel fates?

So this made him get dressed and head out to find the one person that knew Jacob too. The man he sought had trained his boyfriend and had always been so proud to display the moves he'd learned. So it couldn't hurt to at least ask. Standing in front of the Red apartment now, he raised his hand to knock on the door. But as he went to do so, a lady came by and told him that Mister Nomura had moved to the Green apartments.

Informing Yuki as to which particular unit Nida was currently occupying, the silver haired man felt his nerves gnawing at his insides. But he couldn't fail people anymore. He couldn't run away like he'd accused Kyo of doing when the orange haired boy had said he had 'failed to protect' Miss Honda. No, he had to do this.

He stood in front of the correct green door and sighed, looking at it with a stern face. He had to do this, so he raised his hand and knocked.

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Paid? For teaching? Nida wouldn't even know what to do with that. He'd absolutely refuse payment if it was offered to him.

"See, that's what makes a very good spy. We don't look like spies."

The things Yuki didn't know about his sensei. And he just stands and blinks for a few moments. This guy now definitely had traits of Shigure, but not in the oily creepy stalkerish and totally inappropriate way.

Just different somehow.

"You haven't done any of that here, have you?" Somehow there's a slight judgement in the tone now.

Oh the things he didn't know could fill a book. And Nida wasn't writing one anytime soon. He reached out with the end of his staff to tap at Yuki's shoulder lightly, gentle taps to note that the shoulder should drop just a bit.

"Used the skills I spent many years cultivating? Yes. Actually used them for the reasons I was trained in them? No."

The shoulder dropped as Nida tapped it and he looked at his sensei in a new light. It wasn't the most favourable light maybe but the man meant well here. Maybe he was done with all of that stuff in his own world and needed a fresh start here. After all, the man was getting married which implied someone trusted him implicitly.

And Jacob had always spoken so fondly of the man, except for the time in the Mage tower.

So the grey head shook. "Okay."

Edited 2021-08-04 06:50 (UTC)

There it was. That's better. If he knew how much conflict Yuki was facing about his own background, he might say more. But chances were that he'd make the young man even more uncomfortable with more true.

But perhaps the thing he'd been seeking at the tower mattered too. After all, he'd been searching the Tower for a way to leave this world and return home with his lover, his to be husband, and not to his own world.

If he was looking he might see the language in Yuki's body that said he was nervous. But he was trying not to be SeeD Nomura anymore.

"Okay, move your left leg forward just a bit and twist that foot so your toes stay in mostly the same spot but your heel rotates away from your middle just a bit. Trust me, you're going to feel more stable when you do that."

Quietly Yuki moved into the format that Sensei wanted him to. And it was weird that he was going to get actual training instead of just being told that he was the Rat and could pretty much do anything. While that was true most of the time, it made him feel different than even the cursed Sohmas.

He kept the staff in the same position but just maneuvered his body around. And he wondered how much better he was going to get once all of this was over.

"Good," Nida answered, lowering his own staff and moving forward to walk around Yuki to evaluate him from other angles. Worked for now.

"Okay, I'm going to push your shoulder now, gently. I want you to be able to feel how strong this stance is, how it absorbs some outside force. If you feel you need to move, take the foot on the side that feels like it needs to give, and take half a step back. Do not lock your knees. A bent knee will take far more shock and serve as a better brake."

He nodded and listened carefully to sensei's instructions. Some of this sounded way more thorough than shishou had instructed back home, but he was determined to learn. He had to be a help to people more so than he had before. And he thought of Jacob too, hoping that wherever he was he was okay.

"I will keep that in mind."

"Good," Nida smiles. "You're a bit old compared to my other students, but you seem keen. We should be able to make this work."

He circled to Yuki's left side, and put a hand against his shoulder. He pushed, and it wasn't fully gentle. It was meant to have some force, but it wasn't meant ot be a blow. He truly just wanted Yuki to feel it. And then he came off the pressure ot see if Yuki would right himself back into the stance.

The fact that he was considered old somehow irked him but Yuki was determined anyway. So there was a bit of a scowl, but it didn't remain because sensei was moving and pushed at his shoulder.

Automatically he righted himself again but made no effort to look at his teacher or anything. He kept his eyes forward, trying to figure out what the other was doing but didn't want to question it.

He's old compared to people starting their training at eight. Which meant he had lessons that needed unlearned, habits tha wouldn't translate.

"Very good," Nida said, clearly pleased with Yuki returning to position. "Very very good. It's not a position you want to hold if someone's moving around you, but we'll teach you about changing positions. It's a bit different than one would have with a sword. Alright. Drop the stance and get back into it. We'll do another two or three getting into position practice. I want this stance to feel natural. Is that okay with you? Do you have time?"

He didn't want to push a new student or someone who hadn't been in practice for a while.

Yuki nodded at sensei's words and did as he was told. So he moved accordingly and decided that he was going to go at this for as long as it took. This was the beginning and he would see it through to the end. He had to, both for himself and those that he would help get and stay out of harm's way in the future.

"I'm here for as long as you need sen-" And then his voice cut off. "Instructor."

Well that's dedication.

"Alright then. Twice more and then we'll take a break for food and drink. And we'll talk. If we're starting with a polearm it's a whole different philosophy of combat than swords are. Usually my students have another instructor to cover those discussions of weapons and their traits with my students. But I can handle it now."

He nodded. And the offer of food and drink wasn't something he'd expected so it gave him something to look forward to other than grinding these lessons out. "A pole arm will be a completely new experience for me."

But really, Yuki was looking forward to it.

If they were going to be working together, why not eat together? It didn’t seem like Yuki was the sort of call of practice early.

“And teaching someone better with swords will be new for me. Few people start in swords and change disciplines back home.”

It was on his mind to ask if he should find another trainer for swords, but he liked Nida and thought they might learn new stuff together. This would be different if he found a sword master and would have to learn from instead of learn with.

"Well the more I can learn, the better I can be if it comes down to it."

No. Given the chance, given the weapon... Nida would steel himself for it and teach Yuki all he knew about swords. He just needed to get his heart into it. And for that he might go to Ignis, asking his lover to practice with him some after Nida acquired a sword.

"Well now that's a positive attitude. I wish more Garden Cadets were like you."

Yuki shook his head. "I never really gave much thought to how other worlds worked or much about the people in them..after I came here. But hearing you talk about your Garden cadets..it makes me wonder what they're like."

There was no judgement in his tone, it was just a simple curiousity. He'd wondered about Miss Yuna's world too when she gave details and it had all seemed pretty fascinating.

"They are... hopeful idealists thinking they'll save the world," Nida answered.

And, in some cases, canon fodder. And he hated it. Hated the very world he had come from and what it had made him.

"Saving the world..not sure if that could be done..even here." Yuki said, looking at the floor. It was a great ideal of course, but then again people lived heir lives differently than others. Could people be saved? Saved from destruction? Could they make a difference here?

"Of course it can be done," Nida dismissed. That was a pessimistic thought there and Nida wasn't going to put up with it.

"My world was nearly destroyed. Commander Leonhart and his team actually saved it. There are a lot of ways to save a world."

This conversation sparked something. If this world could be saved, wouldn't it be interesting if they could pull it off then? And if so..

"Then how do you propose we save this world, Sensei?

And Nida was free to get mad about the title.

Save this world?

"I..."

Nida's eyes fell to the mat. Then he sighed and looked to Yuki again. "Stand up straight for a moment, then try and get in the stance again while I think?"

The problem was he didn't know how to say 'I don't know that I can save anything.' Because it hadn't been his role. His job was support at first. Then a mercenary. But a hero? Nida? No.

He'd seen the eyes go to the floor and something about it irked him. But he did as he requested because he was the student here and he was here to learn. However, a part of him chewed over a statement he'd made to the stupid cat once about not being a superhero and how there were things only he could do, which were about Miss Honda.

Funny how that was turned around on him now.

"I think it's possible for some people to save the world," Nida said at length. "I think each world and each time has a hero that is meant for it. Perhaps you are that hero."

But Nida? No. He knows better than to think that.

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