The lesson. As passed on to him, from his father, relatives and later on - Order instructors; Was about to be delivered. The instinct that was responsible for his position. His continued survival in a sea of dead men; The sharpened edge of a blade called will-to-survive. The universe was uncaring and unpredictable, flowing like an endless torrent. It was not content, or in fact, capable of stopping for anyone's convenience. To survive, one had to learn how to swim downstream, and fast. And the fastest way to teach a child to swim - was to throw it into the water.
"Shame of failure pales in comparison to the shame of inaction." He stated bluntly without moving from his position. "You will begin today. Right now. Anything later, might be too late."
He signaled one of the students to abandon their current sparring partner and stand aside. Then turned his head towards Akiko, his look neither encouraging nor otherwise. He was throwing her into the water. It was time for her to learn how to swim.
This confused her. Why would he ask if only to disregard her wishes? Was this a test? Was he trying to prove something? All these and a million more questions rushed through her head. With a visible gulp, she stood up from beside the Daimyo and approached the designated students. The attention of a few other pupils was attracted, while others continued their sparing sessions.
As they took their positions in direct view of the Daimyo, they both gave a bow of honour. Akiko knew this much from reading it in the archives during her research projects, and a bit of her free time to appease her almost limitless curiosity. This was, for the rest of it, a wordless interaction. Words were not required as both sides were supposed to know what to do.
She took her stance; the student theirs. Weakness and flaws were already rather evident and visible from this initial step alone. Incorrect spacing. Knee bent incorrectly. Arms incorrect distance from the body. It was, bluntly, incorrect. It was more fitting for that of a drunken brawler, fists clenched rather than open palmed. The moment the Daimyo nodded, they were to begin. Akiko gave attempted slugs with her fists, each and every one evasively dodged by the pupil, who had ample opportunity to strike. Each failed strike left more and more holes in her defences before eventually her fist went right past the pupil's head. With that done, he quickly turned, using her own strength against her, twisting her arm and flipping her over onto her back.
Afterwards, Akiko just lay there on the floor, breathing heavily but saying nary a word. There really wasn't much to say. The nameless pupil looked back at his Daimyo, seeking direction for what was next.
The training was long and brutal. It was nearing the five month mark of her training. As the time had passed her skill had increased exponentially. It was not perfect, but her form of finesse were on point. The majority of her training was focused around her future mission. Stealth and espionage. Getting caught was failure, and failure was unacceptable. However, there were cases of when quick reactions and reflects were tested and improved.
Sometimes the test would change. What was being tested wouldn't always become apparent until the end. It was this teaching technique that gave a snapshot into operating in the real world, and how the environment was filled with ever-changing situations. Sometimes defending yourself was all that mattered, and others were focused entirely on the objective at hand, with the rest falling down to be nothing more than a after thought. These teachings would stick with Akiko, shape her world view.
Her training was nearing it's end. She'd be trained in hand-to-hand combat, stealth, and even undergone the basics in assassination. The latter was more reserved down to theory and target practice, as it was not directly relevant to her mission. Akiko could disarm a target, cripple them from range, and even evade detection even in the toughest of situations. All this stacked upon made her training rather successful. It had it's toll on her both mentally and physically; but it had rewarded her ten-fold.
Hirotada was aware of her progress and preformed his duty to the letter. The time was nigh for Akiko to be sent back to the Asai clan, taking what she had learned with her. She was not a perfect fighter, but given the short span of time and her previous ability, her skill was more than adequate. In the final hours the tests she faced became exponentially more difficult, but her passing indicated her success.
Hirotada was situated within his office, overlooking the inner-workings of Hikone, not entirely dissimilar to the initial introduction of the pair. After a few moments of appreciating the efficiency of those under him, he spoke up to Mitsubachi, his loyal little drone.
"The time has come. Go and fetch Akiko Miku from the Dojo or her quarters, wherever she is currently residing."
His command was to the point, and his tone authoritative. The little drone hovered out the room, the door automatically sealing behind it. Hirotada continued to look out, but with his eyes closed, enjoying the silence and serenity of his office.
Hirotada's eyes opened after some silent contemplation. His posture tensed up. His task was now finished and a sliver of satisfaction passed over his face. He had trained, perhaps, one of his last pupils. Though he also steered her towards a dangerous path, he was content to think that he also endowed her with valuable tools. Something gained, something lost. It balances out. Extending his hand in front of him, palm up, he saw it shaking noticeably. He held the position, scowling at the weakness that was overtaking him, until it subsided. What is a man to do? He mouthed under his breath. Assailed by sickness and decline of faculties. As if by a curse. Unwarranted? Unfair? Perhaps. But justice and fairness is the domain of men. Not of whatever dictates the natural order. To succumb, then? Give up? No, never.
He turned away from the window, the shutters closing behind him and drowning out the light and noise from without. He went for the door.
---------------------------
Floating into the dojo, the drone, Mitsubachi found Akiko meditating, with but a few students remaining at this hour. It beeped and performed a somersault to get her attention, then promptly started playing a message. A holographic projection of Hirotada's face appeared in front of it, the background suggesting he was inside a fighter craft. A collar like contraption was affixed to his neck and behind his head. He nodded once before speaking.
"Akiko Miku, of the Asai Clan. After all this time invested, one would wish you were of the Watanabe Clan, instead. But we all have our jealousies to contend with, hm?" He let out a long chuckle. "But no. It is time for you to return to your house."
"I would wish to say, that you are completely prepared. But that would be a lie. I've yet to meet someone who could accomplish such a task. The lessons continue until the day they can continue no longer, and we resign our spirits to oblivion. But at the very least, I can say, that you are well enough equipped to undertake the task that lies in front of you. I hope, that your stay here has been at least somewhat pleasant, and that you weren't too offended by my methods throughout."
"As for myself, I will be departing Hikone to attend to Shogunate business. You will take Mitsubachi, as a modest parting gift. I apologize for not meeting you in person, but I am certain we'll meet again, some day very soon." He paused for a moment, as the collar automatically deformed and enveloped his head to become a pilot's helmet. He continued, with his voice now morphed through the helmet. "And on that day, you shall regale me with the tales of your success."
"Take good care of yourself. Long Live the Blood Dragons."
The holographic feed cut off, and the drone initiated a shut down protocol, as it slowly descended onto the floor.
The drone's message did not manage to alert or disturb the few remaining students who were preoccupied in their own training. As it slowly descended to the floor, it's little hum faded into nothing more than a silent echo. The last bit of life of it silenced with a small tab that reverberated with it's connection to the Dojo's wooden floor. Akiko was rather motionless while her brain processed all the information she'd just received.
"What?"
She simply asked herself that, muttering it silently under her breath. Her legs were no longer crossed, but rather slung to one side, almost as if to lay down. She reached down to the drone and picked it up with both hands, it feeling shockingly light given what it was.
"Mitsubachi, hai?"
The drone pulsated in response, but did not reactivate. A simple blue light provided a warm glow before fading back into its powered down state. A quick shake of her head and Akiko picked herself up to her feet, the drone still in hand. After a short walk through the station, she made it to her quarters. The moment she was through the door, she let out a huge sigh and sealed the door behind her.
"Just as I was getting used to things? While I am a damn sight better than I was, I don't feel even close to what I need to be. I suppose I should gather my things, not that I have many."
She quickly collected what few possessions she had brought with her, as well as a few of the miscellaneous gifts she'd been given by her fellow students. The main thing was her datapad, which she couldn't really be separated from. With all her belongings in hand, along with the drone, she made her way out of her room, leaving it almost exactly like she found it all those months ago.
The basic layout of the station was extremely familiar to her now, and it was a rather simply trek back to her ship. There was no smile on her face, but nor was their a frown. There wasn't a person that stopped her along her way to the ship, normally they'd be at least one person stopping her for a talk or something; but perhaps they were informed, or could just see now was not the time for such. Perhaps, Akiko was once again overthinking things far more than they needed to be.
It didn't take long. The ship fired up, the drone positioned on the co-pilot seat. With her on her way home she once again input coordinates for her home away from home, the decaying liner of Okinawa. It only just occurred to her she'd never actually given it a name, it was simply just "The Liner". She never got a chance to talk about her offer to Hirotada, so perhaps her only real chance to get this Liner fixed was Kajima.
"At least I'll have some company and interesting thing for the log this time around." Akiko chuckled slightly to herself, before returning her focus to the ship.
She quickly set the ship on it's way before diving her attention across her ship. She'd noticed that it seemed noticeably cleaner and everything seemed rather organised, it would seem that she'd have to return and thank the Hikone engineers for that at some point. While the ship entered cruise and began to shoot off into the void, Akiko looked back towards the drone.
"Mitsubachi. Awaken." She only knew this was the command to restart it after overhearing Hirotada say it once, it was nice she had a somewhat selective memory. The drone slowly hummed and burst itself back to life. "Konichiwa, Miku-San. Daimyo Watanabe has assigned me to your service as a token gesture. It is an honour, Miku-San." The lights on the drone dipped slightly when it finished talking, as if to emulate a bowing gesture.
