izuminokami ❝ beautiful disaster ❞ kanesada (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
namelessfighter) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
arrays2019-05-02 09:00 am
namelessfighter) wrote in arrays2019-05-02 09:00 am
[closed] for rayne
[ It’s not uncommon, or so Izuminokami has heard, for a citadel to get a new saniwa. The fight against the Revisionists has been going on long enough that plenty of saniwa have reached retirement age. The peculiar thing about this saniwa is that she seems to be fully grown (even if she looks no bigger than a wakizashi) but is somehow completely new to this business instead of having grown up in it.
Izuminokami doesn’t see why that’s a problem. They were all new to this at some point; she just needs a little help getting into the swing of things like the rest of them did. He wonders sometimes if she isn’t feeling a bit overwhelmed with it all because there’s so much going on, but there’s no one here who isn’t happy to lend a hand when they can.
It both helps and hurts that she’s so… timid. While she’s not as bad as Gokotai - no one could be that bad - some swords in the citadel worry about startling the girl if they come on too strongly. But it also makes her easier to tease, and that makes conversations with her more fun for Izuminokami. Their last master wasn’t so easily flustered, so he’s hoping that particular trait sticks around as she gains some confidence as their saniwa. ]
Don’t tell me, [ Izuminokami says, grinning at her with the wooden training sword resting on his shoulder. Namine won’t be taking them into the field herself, but she should at least have a basic understanding of sword fighting to understand where they can best be used. Starting in the dojo with an uchigatana like him is best - as mid-range swords, they’re easier to learn and aren’t quite as limited or specialized as the others. ] My looks are too distracting, right? Is that why you’ve been off all morning?
[ He hears someone give a snort and chooses to ignore it. Before Namine has a chance to answer, he continues: ]
We can take a break if you need a moment. Practice is important, but it’s no good if your head’s not in it. [ With a wink, he adds, ] And I’ll try to tone it down so you can focus better next time.
Izuminokami doesn’t see why that’s a problem. They were all new to this at some point; she just needs a little help getting into the swing of things like the rest of them did. He wonders sometimes if she isn’t feeling a bit overwhelmed with it all because there’s so much going on, but there’s no one here who isn’t happy to lend a hand when they can.
It both helps and hurts that she’s so… timid. While she’s not as bad as Gokotai - no one could be that bad - some swords in the citadel worry about startling the girl if they come on too strongly. But it also makes her easier to tease, and that makes conversations with her more fun for Izuminokami. Their last master wasn’t so easily flustered, so he’s hoping that particular trait sticks around as she gains some confidence as their saniwa. ]
Don’t tell me, [ Izuminokami says, grinning at her with the wooden training sword resting on his shoulder. Namine won’t be taking them into the field herself, but she should at least have a basic understanding of sword fighting to understand where they can best be used. Starting in the dojo with an uchigatana like him is best - as mid-range swords, they’re easier to learn and aren’t quite as limited or specialized as the others. ] My looks are too distracting, right? Is that why you’ve been off all morning?
[ He hears someone give a snort and chooses to ignore it. Before Namine has a chance to answer, he continues: ]
We can take a break if you need a moment. Practice is important, but it’s no good if your head’s not in it. [ With a wink, he adds, ] And I’ll try to tone it down so you can focus better next time.
no subject
Usually, instead of traditional seiza, she curls up into a relaxed ball with her arms around her knees. She's still too shy to insert herself into any of the groups that might be practicing in the dojo alongside them, but if left alone, she could stay there for hours, bright blue eyes following them and the flow of their movements, staring as if she could burn the sight of them onto the backs of her eyelids.
Today, there's none of that. She's upright and stiff in that position she finds so uncomfortable, head bowed again as she reflects on what she's learned from her morning's lessons.
Very little, if she's brutally honest with herself. Not from a lack of trying on Izuminokami's part; she can tell he's an excellent teacher. But the longer Naminé remains here at the citadel, the more she thinks her coming here was a mistake. How could a tiny slip of a girl like her possibly become a proper saniwa? She hardly has the temperament of a normal soldier, or a normal member of society, really. She's brimming with creative talent instead of physical prowess, in a time when the whole country is essentially a battlefield.
It isn't that she has no understanding of the stakes at hand-- Naminé has seen wounded swords and civilians, after all, and felt the fire of righteous anger inside the pit of her stomach. What she lacks is confidence, the conviction that each movement she makes is exactly the one she should take. She "died" 31 times in this morning's class alone because of that.
And yet, doubting herself when so many swords have been nothing but encouraging and willing to help her...it makes her feel terribly guilty. Like she truly will be wasting their time if she doesn't produce results.
Hence her current period of self-punishment.]