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Post by Fateful on Jan 16, 2012 15:43:05 GMT -5
Mansuke shook his head. "It feels like I failed you. I should have come to help you long before this. I'm a fool for waiting this long, Kazuma. I could have intervened and helped you months ago, but I wanted your father to be a man and take care of his family on his own. But he did fail you, Kazuma. He's part of the reason you're so nervous. He does love you, but he's... uncertain of his feelings for you because of this. I'm not. You are my grandson, and I will always love you. Families support one another, regardless of who someone loves." He was still watching the shy boy cook, wanting Kazuma to smile a real smile. He wanted him to be happy, as he was before.
"We'll make you feel better, I promise. You won't feel like a failure anymore." The mention of martial arts made him smile, and he nodded. "I'm going to drill you until you're too tired to think."
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Post by otakulady89 on Jan 16, 2012 15:52:11 GMT -5
The idea of being that tired was kind of scary, really, because thinking was pretty much foreign to him anyway. He had a schedule, a basic outline, of his day, and mostly he just followed it, he didn't think too hard.
So, maybe... it wouldn't be so bad? He smiled a little, setting the french toast in front of his sensei. "Please do. I'm looking forward to it, sensei." He murmured, sitting down to his own french toast.
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Post by Fateful on Jan 16, 2012 16:00:26 GMT -5
Masnuke watched the boy and rubbed the top of his head. "You're a good boy." he said, smiling and starting to eat his french toast. he paused, looking at his grandson, with a rather surprised look on his face. "You... remind me so much of your mother. This is delicious." He said, a warm smile on his face as he resumed eating his breakfast. And, it was strange how much Kazuma resembled his mother. they both had the same facial structure and hair color. It was long, soft, and voluminous. Kazuma was sweet, as his mother was.
"I'm glad you're looking forward to it. Truthfully, I'm wondering how your form is."
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Post by otakulady89 on Jan 16, 2012 16:23:51 GMT -5
Kazuma could only flush. His mother was an angel sent from the gods, and he wasn't sure he was worthy of being compared to her. He nodded, however, allowing the praise to wash over him, and not letting it sink too deep.
"I... don't think that it's really all that great anymore..." He murmured, talking about his form. "I think I've probably forgotten a lot..." He swallowed, "I just hope I don't have bruises this time..."
He can remember the last time he and his sensei sparred. He was never able to get so much as a hit on him, and ended up with a ton of bruises from it. He swallowed the last of his breakfast, and sat back, waiting for Mansuke to finish.
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Post by Fateful on Jan 16, 2012 16:31:51 GMT -5
Mansuke looked at the teen and nodded. "Alright. We can start slow and work our way up. I'm sure you're out of practice, so we're just going to have to make you strong all over again. We have time. I want you to be like you were before, and once that day comes, we can move on and I can teach you everything I know." He knew he wasn't going to be around forever, and he was starting to get up there in years. He wanted Kazuma to learn everything he could from him before that time came.
Don't get him wrong, he felt great, and the Japanese had the longest life expectancy, but... he wasn't immortal and Kazuma was young. He was worried he wouldn't be around to see Kazuma meet someone he loved, get married, and be happy. Even if getting him to the point were he could love was all he could do, he was fine with that.
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Post by otakulady89 on Jan 16, 2012 16:41:49 GMT -5
Kazuma didn't like being reminded of his grandfather's mortality. He didn't want to be reminded of it, because if he was ever gone... Kazuma didn't know what he'd do. No one in the world loved him like his sensei did. Except maybe his mother. So the idea of him being dead...
Kazuma shuttered, and smoothed his dark bangs over his face, before looking out the window. "It's all sunshine outside. Should we go out after breakfast?"
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Post by Fateful on Jan 16, 2012 17:12:10 GMT -5
Mansuke nodded. "Certainly. I think training would be a good way to start." He quickly finished his breakfast and then picked up the dishes and brought them to the sink. He ran some water on them to rinse them off. He could deal with them later, leaving them in the sink for a few hours wouldn't do any harm. "Alright." he lead the teenager outside and smiled, trying to bestow some confidence in him. "Let's get started with the warm ups I taught you."
Mansuke shifted his body, starting to move his arms and legs slowly through the positions, expecting Kazuma to do the same.
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Post by otakulady89 on Jan 16, 2012 17:21:41 GMT -5
Walking outside was the first step, and he stared up at the sky for a moment, dark eyes wide. he hadn't seen the sky except through his window. He wondered how far the sky really went... And he missed the sky in Ueda...
His body went through the movements, small pulls of his muscles letting him know which ones were out of shape, and which were doing just fine. He smiled, letting himself fall back into the feel of it.
"Sensei... You want me to go back to school right?" He'd always felt more comfortable talking when they were moving like this. "What if I just... fail again?"
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Post by Fateful on Jan 16, 2012 17:28:09 GMT -5
Kazuma was always easier to talk to when he was fighting. He was looser and didn't feel the need to defend himself, because that's what he was doing by moving. His dark eyes took in his grandson's mvoements, taking in his weaknesses. After almost seventy years of this style, a man learned a thing or two by watching others. But, it was okay, because he still remembered the movements.
"I would like you to return to school as soon as you're ready, yes." His grandfather stated with a smile. "Fail? No, no no, I don't think that will be a problem. You're shy and quiet, but I won't let my student fail. letting you fail would mean have to admit that I'm a failure, since I trained you and taught you everything you know. So I need to make sure you're confident and strong enough to go back. To put a koi fish that's not ready in a giant pond would ensure it's death. I would never throw you in without testing the waters first."
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Post by otakulady89 on Jan 16, 2012 17:40:03 GMT -5
Reassuring. That was the only thing he could think of to describe the way his grandfather's words sounded to him. His sensei was always there for him. And the movements of his body were making him calm, careful.
His sensei was right. He was like a koi fish... He'd always had problems in the small pond ofh is middleschool... so how could he possibly not have problems in a larger pond? But what... had caused the problems in the first place? He wasn't really sure... It was... It was difficult to say. He hadn't thought of himself as haughty, or cruel... He hadn't hurt anyone... that he knew of...
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Post by Fateful on Jan 16, 2012 21:32:56 GMT -5
Mansuke was glad that Kazuma was starting to feel better. His movements became more sure, directed, and a strength appeared behind his limbs as they cut through the air. That made Mansuke proud of the boy. Honestly, he was starting to wonder why he had been treated so badly by his classmates. He had an idea of why, but he knew if he said it to Kazuma, it would sound like an accusation. The teen wasn't ehre to be criticized, he was naturally quiet, shy, and wasn't afriad to speak his mind when it mattered.
Unfortunately, Mansuke feared that the other boys assumed that Kazuma though he was too good for them and in that anger, they picked on him. He knew that Kazuma didn't think such things, he just didn't see the need to talk unless he had something to say. Again, that would be something they'd have to work on. If Kazuma could make friends more easily, then he would have more reason to go to school.
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Post by otakulady89 on Jan 16, 2012 21:39:26 GMT -5
They passed hours in the shifting sands, listening to the water crash on the seaside, and when Mansuke finally called for them to go inside, Kazuma felt a soft sort of peace in his chest, where his heart sat. It was strange, because for the last several years, there had been nothing but this hectic tangle of emotions and pain.
The peace felt nice. Going inside, he set some rice on the boil, and began to prepare dinner. The time between checks on it, however, made it easy to set up his laptop on the counter, and reply to even more fanmail. Ah. Someone had scheduled a fight with him...
He always left his fighting schedule up for everyone to see, so that they'd know if he was challenging anyone. It was usually pretty clear. He'd also recently had Kenji install a way for people to sign up for fights with him without him having to go through mail to do it, because that was annoying. So, instead, they put in what date they wanted, and if he was free, he quickly replied, and agreed.
Ares... Again. He sighed, shaking his head. He'd beaten Ares a thousand times... And this Sunday? He grit his teeth, but agreed to it.
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Post by Fateful on Jan 16, 2012 22:19:15 GMT -5
Xerxes wanted to fight King Kazuma again. Their fight was schedule to be one of the last nights before the final battles. Their battle wouldn't matter, but he wanted a rough fight to gauge the other's growth over the last year. But in the last few fights, King Kazuma looked weak. His form was slipping, he wasn't doing well, he was making careless mistakes... Ares assumed that if he could do something to take advantages of these weaknesses. That's what battle was all about, right?
Mansuke was watching his grandson cook. He knew he should feel guilty, because the boy was a guest, but he didn't have the stomach to stop him. Kazuma's cooking reminded him of his daughter when she was a teenager. She learned cooking from her mother before she started dating. it was her way of preparing herself for being a wife and mother. And she was so successful at it, he was worried of how many boys would surround his beautiful little girl. He wasn't too fond of her husband, but he loved Kazuma, so their marriage was worth it.
He walked into the kitchen, grabbing himself a beer. He smiled, pulling out some sake and dripping it into what Kazuma was cooking. it would burn off, but the taste would remain. And the taste was worth it. "How're you feeling?"
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Post by otakulady89 on Jan 16, 2012 22:25:28 GMT -5
Kazuma could only huff a little as his sensei adding something to the curry he was making. But ah well. It would burn off, and it might even add a decent taste to the curry. He smiled a little, not really thinking about it, before looking up at his sensei. "Well... To be honest... Releived. I don't know why, though..." He sighed a little, but stirred.
"The rice should be done soon, and then we can eat dinner." He offered, looking to the clock. "We spend a lot of time outside.. I hope i don't end up sunburnt..." A lot of his tan had faded away during his years of being inside. He smiled a bit at the idea of being that dark tan again. He wondered what Kenji would think...
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Post by Fateful on Jan 16, 2012 22:38:10 GMT -5
"You're sweating out everything that's been bothering you." he said, rubbing the top of the boy's head. "That's a good thing. You already feel better." Kami, he wished he had come to get his grandson sooner. He could have been back in school if he'd just reacted faster. If he'd been more attentive to his daughter's family. But, the past didn't matter now. He just wanted Kazuma to get better.
Nodding at the idea of dinner, he smiled. "I think you'll be fine. But I'll have to get you some sun tan lotion." Mansuke's rough skin was used to the sun, and he never bothered with it anymore. He was always out in the sun, on the boat, training. It was useless now. But Kazuma loved the sun and the beach. The summer he learned kung fu, they spent every day on the beach, training, swimming, playing whatever game with the other families that lived close by.
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