Flaming Sword Catch

There was a thick atmosphere of competition. The swift grunts and ambient scent of sweat let Katie know this wasn’t simple roleplay. She was facing the real deal, and that got her more than a little excited to see just how far she could go.

The bell above her jingled as she took her first step into the dojo, met with nothing but silence from the artists whose concentration could not have been broken if she’d fired a gun in their general vicinity.

She was, however, noticed by one woman- tall, but young- off to the side of the arena, she wasn’t fighting, but carried a practice blade anyway- seemingly always having it rested on her shoulders, right over her long, straight white hair that bluntly laid atop her narrow, snakelike eyes.

“English?”

After walking around the training fields to meet her, careful not to disturb the others, she came face-to-face with the American, staring her down.

“Yes.”

“Are you here to fight, or just sight-see?” The intimidating swordswoman welcomed her arrival with blunt words.

“I’d like to fight.” Katie nodded earnestly. “Can I do that here?”

“Maybe. We do things a little differently here at my dojo.” She traced the ground with her sword, prodding Katie to follow her to an empty square on the combat-centric floor. “Have you fought before?”

“Mhm!” The girl nodded again. “Wait, is this place yours?” She examined the woman- she couldn’t have been any older than her.

“For the time being, yes. Until enough time passes or the founder returns, I’m in charge. So put on that armor.” Like it was an eleventh finger, she used her sword to point to a rack of training gear right beside the arena. Katie began to do as she was asked.

“Who’s the founder? What happened to them? Why’d they leave?” The curious girl jerked as she got herself into the kendo gear, haphazardly placing it over what she was already wearing.

“Can’t tell you why, and I’d be breaking a promise to say who.” She sized her applicant up. “I can tell you that they left a long time ago, and I’ve been holding this place down since I was in high school.”

“Lot of mysteries in this park.” Katie again nodded as she finally managed to squeeze her clothes into the equipment, finally picking up her wooden implement of destruction from the rack.

“To me, you’re the mystery. I’m gonna need to know your name and abilities before we start. Those are the rules.” The teacher readied herself.

“Katie Park, nineteen. As for my abilities… uh, I don’t get tired easily, I guess? And I’m super determined.”

“Don’t you have any trickery?”

“Trickery?” Katie blinked. “Wouldn’t that be cheating?”

“Not in my dojo. Here, it’s tradition.”

“I don’t have a single bit.”

“In that case… well, I guess I’ll have to refrain from using mine against you, at least for now.” The trainer entered her starting stance. “But don’t think that means I will go easy on you. If I don’t see the potential in you… this will be the last time we cross swords.”

“I’ve got the potential.” Katie assured with a smile. “Never been trained, but… I’ve never really been beaten either.” She stepped out into the ring and prepared to fight. “So I couldn’t imagine what that’s like.”

“My name is Sejun Shori. Get ready to learn.”

The woman swung her weapon like her dignity depended on it.