Path of a legend

Minato had just been accepted into the Shinigami academy. He had already made a few enemies here, a few over there, and some in the middle, just because he showed no fear. He made sure to keep his face void of all emotions at all times. There was only one reason for this: because if he didn't, he would fail. Not his classes, no no, he would fail himself. Showing fear would allow others to pick on him. It would be all the excuse someone needed to come up to him and start problems. It was such a human trait, and one Minato hated. Just because a bully died, didn't mean he stopped being a bad person. Minato refused to be that kid who was new and scared and lost. He would find his own way around this place, and make a name for himself. That was his way that was his calling. He had to do it to not fail himself. He would not show weakness.

Minato had Zanjutsu training at this time. He really didn’t want to do it. He would rather not use his blade. He enjoyed the feel of his skin on another. Flesh hitting flesh. It was something he always loved to do. Even in the Rukongai he fought. There it was different though. There he fought for food, for money, for life. There he did not fight to save others. He did it so that he could see the sun rise the next day. That is how he wanted it to be at all times. He wanted to train in Hakuda first. That is not his luck though, he trained in Zanjutsu first. He tried to find the positive here though. That he would be able to get this horrid task out of the way and done with first, which would leave more room for Hakuda later. Besides, he could always practice in his free time. He was sure not everyone would hate him, so he was bound to find a sparring partner at some point or another.

He was dressed in standard academy uniform: blue shitagi, a white kosode with blue stripes, blue hakama, white socks and sandals. He didn’t really like the uniform as he didn’t like bright colors. He couldn’t wait to graduate and wear darker colors. It was more his style. Nonetheless, he would deal with this as it was what was required of him as a Shinigami in training. He arrived at the field where he would be taught the skills of Zanjutsu. He looked around for the instructor, but nobody was there. He sighed and gave up looking around. He sat down in the middle of the field and waited…and waited….and waited. Finally he threw his hands up in the air and stood. Just as he did a Shinigami appeared behind him, his hands were bound, and there was a blade at his throat. A soft voice trickled into his ear. He froze, but refused to give into fear despite the feeling creeping up his spine. The voice was soft, elegant, and yet extremely deadly. “Do not let your guard down. Never give up. And above all else, never settle for anything less than dead…” She released Mina, and gave him a hard shove forward.

Minato stumbled forward and turned to glare at her. She was about two inches shorter than him, long red hair, gentle playing dark eyes, and ivory skin. She placed his blade on the ground and walked to a near by bush to retrieve two wooden swords. She threw one at Minato and he barely caught it. She was not going to be easy, that was certain. “Lesson number one! Always respect your instructor!” She shouted “What is your name?” She asked him softly. Despite the soft voice, and playful undertone, Minato knew better than to keep this woman waiting. “My name is Minato suzunamil.” He answered with a barely even tone. It was shaky, and filled with fear. He wanted to kill himself for that. She grinned, and walked forward to him with her sword extended. “Defend yourself…” She said softly. That was the end of the pleasant conversation. This was Minato’s first step down the path of a Shinigami. This was his first step, and he would not faulter…or so he thought.

The woman with red hair was quick. She effortlessly managed to get to Minato and was below him. Her face was level with his waist, and her sword hit him hard behind his knees. His locked knees immediately bent, and he was off balance now. She smacked him with the flat side of her blade on his kneecap, and quickly flipped over Minato. His legs burned already from the quick hits. Before he could react she was behind him, blade at his throat again, and arms bound. ”Ignore all pain.” She said quietly, seductively, and with a heavy feeling of pleasure. It gave him the feeling that she was a sadist. “It’s a distraction that will get you killed. Just because we are training doesn’t mean I won’t kill you. Shinigami need to be strong. They need to be fast. They need to resist all pains. Ignore it, Minato.” As she said these last few words she quickly drew the flat side of the blade across his chest. He let out a small scream of pain as he felt the wood scrape against his skin. She was clearly skilled with this as she managed to have minimal damage done to his shirt, but a lot of torn skin to his chest. He didn’t have to look to know there would be a long red mark there, possibly even a bruise. He wanted to kill her.

He swung back with his own blade, but she blocked it and kicked him in the stomach. He was sent flying onto his chest. More pain raced through his body. It was sent straight to his head and legs, but focused on his chest. It radiated from the torn skin. He heard her coming and quickly rolled over, face twisted in pain, and raised his sword. She brought hers down quickly, and met his block. She pushed on him hard, and he tried to push back. There was so much pain on his chest, and the strain put on his arms didn’t help at all. “What should you do?” She asked him. “What happens when you find yourself on the receiving end of bad leverage?” She asked in that damned seductive voice. Minato tried to shake his head. “Ugh. They are letting them into the Academy, younger and younger. Smarter students…” She sighed, and glared at him. “My legs, you twit. Zanjutsu is swordplay, but that doesn’t mean that you are restricted to only your swords. Save that restriction bull crap for Hakuda training.” She barked and Minato did as he was told. He swept her legs out from under her and she fell over sideways, and Minato rolled over quickly to get up. She once more proved her speed by getting up long before he did.

She took a swing at his back and it connected sending Minato back down. He tried to get back up but each time she struck him on his back again. “Smarten up boy! Roll over and block!” She shouted and he did, and he knew where to block too. She wasn’t going to damage his manhood, she was going to hit his largest wound. Minato held his sword with the flat side up and she hit it multiple times.Minato looked at the blade as it rose and fell. Each time was harder than the last. As she raised the blade he leaned forward, swung the blade, and she couldn’t defend in time. The sword made contact with her side, and she winced for a half second. That was all Minato needed to get up and push himself backwards in a jump and land on his feet. She grinned at him. “Good. You’re learning. You still have a long way to go though.” She charged him and fainted left, but she struck on his right. Naturally, minato went to block left. He felt the wooden sword hit him hard on his right side. She placed the blade on his side and spun to the left, this time cutting some of the fabric of his outfit. This also did a lot of damage to his skin, even causing some bleeding, but not a lot. This new battle wound connected with his first. The wounds both radiated with extreme pain.

The woman stood before Minato and shook her head. “You’re done kid…come back here and train with some dummies next time for a while. I’ll be supervising your of course, but you are nowhere near ready for a real fight.” She turned his back on him and walked away. Minato’s grip on the sword was tight enough to cause his fingertips to turn white. “Damn you!!!” He shouted and charged her. He swung his sword up , but he made the mistake of speaking. She turned around and held her blade down. The swords clacked together, and she took a hand off her hilt to backhand Minato. Minato was sent away a few feet, and he struggled to get up. She kicked up over, her sandal nailing Minato on connecting point of his wounds, and Minato groaned loudly. She stepped on his chest, once more pressing on both wounds, and placed the tip of her sword at her throat. “Do not tempt me Minato suzunami…” Her voice was low and hushed. It was dangerously cold as well. She was not playing. Without another word she walked away, leaving Minato there to rot for all she cared. Minato laid there for a moment before struggling to rise.

Minato struggled back to his dorm and fell on his bed. He was sore all over his upper body. He knew this would not be an easy point in his afterlife. He was going to have to train night and day with swordplay. Hopefully not all of his instructors were extremely hard on him like she was. Otherwise he would die on day one. Hell, he might die on the job. His kido class was next. According to his studies, kido would be useful but only if used sparingly. Otherwise he could exhaust himself out before the real fight began. He would have to keep this in mind. Maybe next time he could even use a bit of it in his Zanjutsu class. Yeah, that would teach that woman. For the first time since his class started, he realized he didn’t even know her name. He sighed and sat up, and began to walk to the Kido training grounds.Grats you pass the training.