Clash of Blades 3 & Knuckles [Tetsuko]

Training. That was all Kenshin seemed to be doing lately. Whether it was training his mind at school, training his body by taking G's lessons to heart, training his hand coordination and fingers as he strummed the strings of his bass guitar, or training his reflexes and techniques with a sword, it was clear that the boy was seeing much improvement. And it showed. He could maintain his high grades more easily, run for longer without tiring as quickly, play songs more accurately and with fewer mistakes, and swing his sword harder and faster. There was definitely growth.

However, this was not nearly enough in Kenshin's opinion. There was always room for improvement. He could do better, get stronger, be tougher. There could not be any slacking off, no unnecessary rest, lest he becomes complacent and all that progress goes down the drain. No, Kenshin would never allow that! He needed to keep on getting better. He wanted to be the best of the best! How else would he be able to compete against those who currently stood above him, not just in height but in skill?

One of those people was Tetsuko Shindou. Although the very first match they had was several months ago, Kenshin could still clearly remember it all like it was only yesterday. It was a day that he would always remember (barring something like memory loss or old age or something). Prior to that day, Kenshin had never lost to a sword user outside his family. Perhaps it was naive to think that he was the best swordsman other than his very skilled mother, but when clashing blades against anyone else, the boy had always come out on top. No one ever came close to pushing him to his limit. That was until Tetsuko came along. Although their match was fierce, it was ultimately Tetsuko who had claimed victory. On that day, Kenshin had felt two things for the very first time. Frustration from having been defeated for the first time, and immense joy from someone having pushed him to his limit and had given him the battle of his life.

Naturally, Kenshin had declared Tetsuko to be his rival in swordsmanship. He would continue to hone his skills day after day, eagerly awaiting the day when the two would fight once again in a glorious rematch. He was determined to not repeat the same outcome of the previous battle. No, this time, he would win! He would best the swordswoman in a fair and honorable clash of blades.

With this intense desire to beat the first person to have ever bested him in combat, Kenshin's respect and admiration for Tetsuko and her skills only grew. Teaming up with her to protect Shien's Dojo from the shadow swordsman Kagemitsu Yamitou not once but twice only help increase the amount of respect for Tetsuko Kenshin had. Kenshin loved to talk to his family about his battles with the girl so often, that his younger brother Sai began teasing him about having a crush on the girl. Naturally, Kenshin quickly grew annoyed by this and had to constantly explain that this was not the case. It was clear that Kenshin saw Tetsuko Shindou as a worthy opponent and rival, a powerful ally, and a good friend.

Today started off like any other. As soon as he was free, Kenshin took the train from Tokyo to Musutafu to visit Shien's Dojo as usual. Once there, the boy greeted the old swordmaster and the other students. Then, he requested that several of the students spar with him and try to gang up on him all at once. Naturally, they stood no chance against the skilled swordsman.

Kenshin had been developing a new kind of martial arts, one that was unique to him. He dubbed it Kenshin's Asskicking Techniques And Nonlethal Attacks™, or K.A.T.A.N.A. for short. The purpose of K.A.T.A.N.A. was to allow the boy to continue to fight well with a sword while also being able to fight without one as well. Seeing as the boy was mostly vulnerable when he was not donning his armor, it was important to be able to learn how to fight without the need for his sword arm or a sword-like weapon. Thanks to G's training, the fighting style was coming along well.

However, it was far from perfect. There were still several kinks to iron out and new techniques to learn. Of course, the best way to hone and improve a martial art was constant and diligent practice. And thus Kenshin came to the dojo to improve his technique.

There posed a problem, however. None of the students were anywhere near his level. They were no match for Kenshin, even eight against one. And Shien himself could not help the boy, at least not all the time. He had a dojo to run, visitors to greet, and students to supervise. Besides, he was far too strong and would need to hold back. Kenshin did not want a fight like that. He wanted both sword users to be able to go all out and stand on an even playing field. He needed someone strong, someone to try out K.A.T.A.N.A. on, someone who could push him to his limits while being pushed to theirs. Someone like Tetsuko Shindou.

Fortunately for the boy, he would not need to wait much longer before getting his wish.

Word count: 900

Notes: Featuring Don-Tay from the Fiend Could Weep Series