"It that it?" I asked as Hyaku went to get some water. I frowned, slightly out of breath. I was tired from doing this all day, but I wanted to keep going. I was retaining this a lot faster than I was getting anything else Hana was teaching me.
He nodded "Yes,tomorrow we might continue," he said, though it sounded doubtful.
"Might? So we are not," I said impatiently.
"I don't know; my brother is coming tomorrow," he said, looking away.
"That doesn't sound so bad," I said with a shrug as I grabbed some of the water for myself. I was thirstier than I had thought.
"Hmph," he grunted. "Just go and head to your room you need rest." He stood up and went into the temple.
I watched after him for a moment before grabbing my wooden sword and moving to my room. I was not going to be done for the day. I Practiced a few stances in my room, but I decided I needed more room to move. SO, I climbed out the window and into the garden below the window.
I found a nice patch of grass passed the tree I had fallen out of a few days ago and began my work. Singing to myself, I worked on the moves he had given me; it was getting easier the more I practiced. I decided to get tricky and do some summersaults and flips into it.
Smiling when one of the moves I had tried turned out ok, I sang to myself, doing a little dance. My hair bounced on my shoulders and I felt as light as a feather. It was the first time I had felt this way. I suppose this was what happiness felt like.
Talking to my imaginary friend, I parried with my invisible opponent. After defeating it, I sang a little victory song, realizing how much I missed singing. I heard someone cough, startling me.
I whipped my head around, giving me whiplash. It was Hyaku. I turned beat red. "Uh, how long have you been standing there?" I asked, dropping my wooden sword in the grass, turning away. I couldn't look into his eyes knowing he was probably laughing at me.
"Long enough," he said with a smirk and a chuckle. He walked over to me, grabbing the fallen sword. "Your stances and moves have gotten a lot better, but you're being too showy."
"I- uh- that was just me screwing around. I wouldn't actually fight like that," I stammered.
"You have to practice the way you'd fight in a real situation, otherwise, you'll just end up killing yourself," he told me bluntly, handing me the sword. I nodded, knowing he was right. "You have a nice voice," he said, surprising me.
"You think so?" I asked. No one had told me that before, not seriously anyway.
He nodded. "You're good."
With those simple words, he had said one of the nicest things anyone had ever said to me, at least since before my parents had died anyway. I was thankful for this.
