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Akari stepped out onto the porch of her family dojo, surveying the rather grand courtyard before her. It was admittedly rather beautiful, especially when touched by the morning sun's rays in such a manner, the neatly arranged greenery lining the area faintly adorned with sparkling dewdrops. In addition, it was fairly well-maintained, thanks to the efforts of a few hard-working students, as well as Akari herself, the ground largely composed of a flat, wide space paved with numerous square bricks on which the establishment's martial artists could practice their techniques. And yet, there was something missing, something that made the dojo, as well as the gated area around it, feel like but a shell of what it once was. Akari was reminded of this almost every morning, when her father's faithful disciples--her classmates--came strolling in, one by one, in order to do their warm-ups before training began.
Attendance was easy... too easy. Only a little over a dozen--14 students total, including herself--were considered official members of the group. For one as large and prestigious as the Red Phoenix Dojo, this number was, to say the least, pathetic. No, it was embarrassing. Reputation, as well as 'face', was practically everything in the world of Honrainese martial artists, and this one had little to none. Worse was the actual reason for this. The master of the school, Akari's father Hayato, was not always a subpar warrior by any means--his strength was very real, and despite his age at the time, he bore a frame well-toned from countless years of conditioning, no doubt a force to be reckoned with. And while he still had traces of his fabled abilities today, this wasn't as consistent as it used to be, as he was prone to collapsing or falling into a state of temporary paralysis every once in a while. It didn't interfere much with his abilities as a teacher, but it kept him from being able to properly participate in duels or contests with the other masters.
Winning fights in competitions, between members and teachers alike, was necessary for a dojo in the southern region of Honrai to maintain any sort of positive ring to its name, and as the Red Phoenix could only do so with their students, not their master, they were limited in more ways than one. None of it was Akari or her father's fault, either, or so she was certainly convinced of such. Rumor had it that an old prodigy of her father's, from when Akari herself was but a toddler, had betrayed the master and poisoned him in order to sabotage an important duel--one that Hayato lost due to a moment of paralysis, leading to a downward spiral that brought the dojo to this sad state. The rebellious student, whom Akari only knew as Isao, then left, said to have eventually started a dojo of his own. Her father was not fond of speaking about the subject, but she remembers the feelings of despair that engulfed both of her parents at the time, the courtyard that only seemed to look more and more empty with each day... needless to say, none of it was pleasant to the young Akari.
Still, Hayato was strong of both mind and spirit, even amongst other martial artists, and he persevered in teaching his daughter well despite his deteriorating physical condition. Through both of their combined efforts, the Red Phoenix Dojo gradually acquired a small handful of strongly devout followers. It was humble, but it was a new start nonetheless. Now at the age of nineteen, she was considered more than old enough to marry and take a husband, but not even half of the class could qualify, strength-wise, to be considered her equal, and there was much to be done. One day, she would once again see this courtyard full of budding martial artists, eager to learn, and her father's name, as well as that of her family dojo, restored to its rightful place in the hierarchy.
Today, despite some of the usual melancholy undertones of things once had and glory lost, was a day like any other; of hard, rigorous training. A true martial artist would rise in the morning, and seek to be a better person, physically, spiritually, and mentally, by the time they went to bed at night--those were words that Akari's father spoke often, and the entire dojo lived by this creed. As the students got themselves ready, warming up and stretching out a bit, they would greet the dojo's 'princess' in customary manner, with a bow and a solemn salute of sorts, putting a closed fist into an open palm.
The boys would enter in order: Shin, a fun-loving and light-hearted boy with purple hair; Kyo, a serious, red-headed pupil who took everything almost too seriously; Sora, a prodigy of sorts; Take, a brash and somewhat dim one who was known for having a hot head; Ryuu, who was known to be an insatiable flirt; Daichi, an incredibly wide-framed young man; Ichiro, Jiro, and Saburo, triplets whose mannerisms were practically identical, Haru, a boy effeminate and androgynous in his appearance; Eiji, a slacker with no limit on his ability to make light of a situation; and of course Akio, always well-mannered, the most polite of the bunch.
As Akari's father finally entered the courtyard, he gave each of them a solemn nod, and simply watched as they proceeded the morning warm-ups without further need for instruction. Such was their discipline that, for the most part, Hayato needed not whip them into shape... at least when it came to honing their martial skills. In terms of social behavior, however, that was another matter.
And yet, after the head count was done, Akari would find there to be only thirteen of the supposed fourteen present. It was already fifteen minutes past the supposed start time, and someone was late...
"I'M HEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!" yelled a youth with bandages all over his hands and messy green hair as he skidded to a stop. It was Souta, one of the newer members and something of a klutz; if there was one to be considered a 'black sheep' of the group, it would be him. "Just in time! I'm not late, am I?!"
"...You're very late," commented Kyo with no lack of disdain in his voice. "When will you learn to tell the time? Timing is important in everything."
Ichiro, Jiro, and Saburo tried their best to hide a synchronized chuckle, while Sora commented, "You know it's bad if Eiji gets here before you."
"Aw... man. W-Well uh... I've been doing some SECRET TRAINING at night, every night for the past two weeks, and today's the day!" Souta stopped to catch his breath, then looked up at the others.
"You mean masturbating over Miss Akari?" said Ryuu with a grin. This earned him a bad look from some of the others, however, and he flashed an apologetic expression before looking down.
"If today was the day you decided you'd come in on time, you're a little late for that," replied Kyo flatly. "I'd recommend getting warmed up."
"W...W-What?!" A telltale blush creeped over Souta's face. "No! I've been training on my sparring skills, and... today... Akari, I challenge you to a duel!" His visage reddened, sweatdrops collecting upon his forehead as he stuttered to get the following sentence out. "I-If... if I win... y-you have to g-go out on a date with m-me! Just... just like you said y-you would last class!"
A collective silence came over the class, with almost all of them looking at Souta as if he were crazy. Some of them began to mumble amongst themselves.
"Uhhh... I think he's had too much of the bad tea," groaned Take with a sigh. "I don't remember Miss Akari agreeing to anything like that."
"Fantasizingggggg..." teased Ryuu before going quiet again.
"Do you think he can actually do it?" whispered Haru to Sora.
"Hardly. Even I have trouble with Miss Akari in live sparring, and he hasn't shown us anything special in class... well... ever. If he can manage to beat her, that's... quite some training he's been putting himself through."
Akari: HP = 70, PP = 30, EP = 30, Status = Fine
Akari stepped out onto the porch of her family dojo, surveying the rather grand courtyard before her. It was admittedly rather beautiful, especially when touched by the morning sun's rays in such a manner, the neatly arranged greenery lining the area faintly adorned with sparkling dewdrops. In addition, it was fairly well-maintained, thanks to the efforts of a few hard-working students, as well as Akari herself, the ground largely composed of a flat, wide space paved with numerous square bricks on which the establishment's martial artists could practice their techniques. And yet, there was something missing, something that made the dojo, as well as the gated area around it, feel like but a shell of what it once was. Akari was reminded of this almost every morning, when her father's faithful disciples--her classmates--came strolling in, one by one, in order to do their warm-ups before training began.
Attendance was easy... too easy. Only a little over a dozen--14 students total, including herself--were considered official members of the group. For one as large and prestigious as the Red Phoenix Dojo, this number was, to say the least, pathetic. No, it was embarrassing. Reputation, as well as 'face', was practically everything in the world of Honrainese martial artists, and this one had little to none. Worse was the actual reason for this. The master of the school, Akari's father Hayato, was not always a subpar warrior by any means--his strength was very real, and despite his age at the time, he bore a frame well-toned from countless years of conditioning, no doubt a force to be reckoned with. And while he still had traces of his fabled abilities today, this wasn't as consistent as it used to be, as he was prone to collapsing or falling into a state of temporary paralysis every once in a while. It didn't interfere much with his abilities as a teacher, but it kept him from being able to properly participate in duels or contests with the other masters.
Winning fights in competitions, between members and teachers alike, was necessary for a dojo in the southern region of Honrai to maintain any sort of positive ring to its name, and as the Red Phoenix could only do so with their students, not their master, they were limited in more ways than one. None of it was Akari or her father's fault, either, or so she was certainly convinced of such. Rumor had it that an old prodigy of her father's, from when Akari herself was but a toddler, had betrayed the master and poisoned him in order to sabotage an important duel--one that Hayato lost due to a moment of paralysis, leading to a downward spiral that brought the dojo to this sad state. The rebellious student, whom Akari only knew as Isao, then left, said to have eventually started a dojo of his own. Her father was not fond of speaking about the subject, but she remembers the feelings of despair that engulfed both of her parents at the time, the courtyard that only seemed to look more and more empty with each day... needless to say, none of it was pleasant to the young Akari.
Still, Hayato was strong of both mind and spirit, even amongst other martial artists, and he persevered in teaching his daughter well despite his deteriorating physical condition. Through both of their combined efforts, the Red Phoenix Dojo gradually acquired a small handful of strongly devout followers. It was humble, but it was a new start nonetheless. Now at the age of nineteen, she was considered more than old enough to marry and take a husband, but not even half of the class could qualify, strength-wise, to be considered her equal, and there was much to be done. One day, she would once again see this courtyard full of budding martial artists, eager to learn, and her father's name, as well as that of her family dojo, restored to its rightful place in the hierarchy.
Today, despite some of the usual melancholy undertones of things once had and glory lost, was a day like any other; of hard, rigorous training. A true martial artist would rise in the morning, and seek to be a better person, physically, spiritually, and mentally, by the time they went to bed at night--those were words that Akari's father spoke often, and the entire dojo lived by this creed. As the students got themselves ready, warming up and stretching out a bit, they would greet the dojo's 'princess' in customary manner, with a bow and a solemn salute of sorts, putting a closed fist into an open palm.
The boys would enter in order: Shin, a fun-loving and light-hearted boy with purple hair; Kyo, a serious, red-headed pupil who took everything almost too seriously; Sora, a prodigy of sorts; Take, a brash and somewhat dim one who was known for having a hot head; Ryuu, who was known to be an insatiable flirt; Daichi, an incredibly wide-framed young man; Ichiro, Jiro, and Saburo, triplets whose mannerisms were practically identical, Haru, a boy effeminate and androgynous in his appearance; Eiji, a slacker with no limit on his ability to make light of a situation; and of course Akio, always well-mannered, the most polite of the bunch.
As Akari's father finally entered the courtyard, he gave each of them a solemn nod, and simply watched as they proceeded the morning warm-ups without further need for instruction. Such was their discipline that, for the most part, Hayato needed not whip them into shape... at least when it came to honing their martial skills. In terms of social behavior, however, that was another matter.
And yet, after the head count was done, Akari would find there to be only thirteen of the supposed fourteen present. It was already fifteen minutes past the supposed start time, and someone was late...
"I'M HEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!" yelled a youth with bandages all over his hands and messy green hair as he skidded to a stop. It was Souta, one of the newer members and something of a klutz; if there was one to be considered a 'black sheep' of the group, it would be him. "Just in time! I'm not late, am I?!"
"...You're very late," commented Kyo with no lack of disdain in his voice. "When will you learn to tell the time? Timing is important in everything."
Ichiro, Jiro, and Saburo tried their best to hide a synchronized chuckle, while Sora commented, "You know it's bad if Eiji gets here before you."
"Aw... man. W-Well uh... I've been doing some SECRET TRAINING at night, every night for the past two weeks, and today's the day!" Souta stopped to catch his breath, then looked up at the others.
"You mean masturbating over Miss Akari?" said Ryuu with a grin. This earned him a bad look from some of the others, however, and he flashed an apologetic expression before looking down.
"If today was the day you decided you'd come in on time, you're a little late for that," replied Kyo flatly. "I'd recommend getting warmed up."
"W...W-What?!" A telltale blush creeped over Souta's face. "No! I've been training on my sparring skills, and... today... Akari, I challenge you to a duel!" His visage reddened, sweatdrops collecting upon his forehead as he stuttered to get the following sentence out. "I-If... if I win... y-you have to g-go out on a date with m-me! Just... just like you said y-you would last class!"
A collective silence came over the class, with almost all of them looking at Souta as if he were crazy. Some of them began to mumble amongst themselves.
"Uhhh... I think he's had too much of the bad tea," groaned Take with a sigh. "I don't remember Miss Akari agreeing to anything like that."
"Fantasizingggggg..." teased Ryuu before going quiet again.
"Do you think he can actually do it?" whispered Haru to Sora.
"Hardly. Even I have trouble with Miss Akari in live sparring, and he hasn't shown us anything special in class... well... ever. If he can manage to beat her, that's... quite some training he's been putting himself through."
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