[X] Martial Arts. "No, Yukihime I'm not going to teach you martial arts via 'kicking your ass', I'm going to teach you some moves that will go well with your own style, and correct some weaknesses I've spotted."
Didn't get to update yesterday. Crashed hard after babysitting for ten hours. Get ready for a TRAINING MONTAGE.
Well, now you felt like an idiot. To be fair, you were basing your experiences off of what little knowledge you had on the subject of training martial arts... Which came from a half ruined Ranma 1/2 collectors manga in a museum. Yeah, you didn't really think you had any idea of how it actually worked and basing your idea off fiction was pretty stupid. But like, you live in a world where magic exists now so...
"Alright... So... You know that my whole fighting style is mostly instinctual right? I mean of course, in a pitched fight I start planning around my moves and how exactly to best annihilate someone but I just sorta do if you get it." The less you thought about punching, the less hesitant you were and more momentum you had is your thought here. "I know, it's quite impressive. It looks like you're used to wielding some sort of blunt object however, and you seem to slow down a bit when your body catches up with the fact that you don't have one. You can't just get one either, so we have to break that habit of yours... It's a small opening, but that's enough for the people who are going to come after you for being the Shield Hero. You're also breathing slightly incorrectly... I'll work on that later on the way back by using my spiritual energy to force you to breathe correctly, It'll be jarring and uncomfortable at first but you will soon get into doing it naturally due to it being almost the same as you do right now... So what to start with... I know, I'll teach you some kicking techniques, some grappling ones, and then I'll make you practice the kicking over and over on... That tree over there, and then some Balloons and then I will let you attack me as I defend. After that, we'll work on your defense which you're sorely lacking on." Wait hold on. "Work on my defense... Didn't you tell me you weren't going to teach me martial arts by kicking my ass?" William completely ignored you.
First, William got you to do some exercises to see how flexible you were. You were actually pretty good, a lot of your gymnastic skill to break into places required a bunch of flexibility and William showed surprise simply because you don't often show that much. You'd be better if you regularly did exercises, but you didn't really know that when you lived in Tokyo. Then William showed you how to kick someone better than what you occasionally did. "The most important aspect of using your legs in combat is speed and power. Avoid wide kicks unless you have some way to speed yourself, focus on shorter more focused kicks... I will show you how to defend against such kicks as well later. The most disastrous thing that could happen is someone cutting off your leg because you're too slow, the second is someone catching your leg... Now let me demonstrate these simple but effective moves." And so, William picked a suitable tree, and showed off some simple kicking techniques. Some of which you used already in some capacity but more inefficient. Most of them were for body shots, and leg shots... Though due to your height, if you were facing a grown man you'd hit them in the groin if you didn't aim a bit higher... Something to keep in mind if you ever were having a practice match and not a fight to the death. "Now usually, I'd teach my students the old 'kick in the face' technique... But your size means you won't actually hit anywhere near the face... Once we're further along in your Art I will substitute that for an aerial kick." Motherfuckin aerial kicks? "Alright... I'll just, try and recreate you kicking the fuck out of that tree right here..."
Learning Martial Arts is fucking hard. Especially when your muscles want you to do something else than what you are doing. You didn't complain though, just because it's hard doesn't mean you get to whine like a bitch. Nothing worth having comes easy. Everything requires effort, and effort to sustain or else you lose everything... So you give everything your 100%, no matter what it is so these kicks will be fucking kicked damn it. You were an endurance juggernaut. This came from your mostly endurance heavy lifestyle and the things that happened to your body, so when William asked for like two thousand kicks for each kick like this was some sort of shitty manga you gave fucking two thousand kicks. When you were finished you were sweating from all over your body, and your lungs felt like they were on fire but that was nothing. You lightly slapped your cheeks twice, ignoring the sensation of your very rough and scarred face to pump yourself up for the next part of the training.
"I'll be honest and say I didn't expect you to actually manage to do all of them. This was supposed to be a lesson about not everything comes quickly and that there is success in failure and... You know what forget it, I forgot that you're not the regular initiate for a second." William looked a bit put out that he didn't get to talk philosophy at you, well tough you weren't some nonathletic loser. Next he showed you some grappling techniques, which he struggled to demonstrate on you because of how SHORT YOU WERE HAAA FUCK. You were starting to get a complex. Most of the grabs were supposed to lead into some sort of throw, but you doubt you could pull them off unless they were a stick man like Lord Kentway. He awkwardly tried to teach you ways to break out of grabs, until he gave up and had you make your own ones up to deal with your height 'advantage' that allowed you to slip out of them. He showed you where to deliver the most devastating punches in close quarters, like the kidneys and the groin though he said that you are to not aim there in friendly matches... Anywhere else is fair game. You had some mock up matches with William around grappling only, and then some sparring where you were sort of thrown around like a prop when you couldn't escape on time. Not fun.
Finally you were instructed to kill Balloons only with your kicks... That took you a bit, as you weren't used to mainly using your legs for combat and they were a bit more durable to your hesitant kicking then your fists until you got the hang of it. Then you kicked the shit out of a tree for a bit. That was really boring for you, but you managed... Then you took a break, to eat because you were staving since you left without eating that morning... Then you just relaxed lazing about for a few minutes to recuperate. Finally you were willing to fight William again, even if he was only going to be defending for the first couple times you 'battle' him.
So you started with a charge, swinging your right hand at his face which he slapped aside. You don't take a fake opening while he does this, instead aiming a kick at his lower stomach that he blocked with his knee. You slipped under a retaliatory palm to tag him in the chest only to be put into a grab. You tried to escape it, but it's too late and you were sent craning through the air into a shrub. +4 EXP for killing a hidden flower monster. Getting up, you launched and started with a kick, which he accepted for a chance to wack you in the face that you pushed out of the way. Finally you sent and landed your first punch to William's stupid ass face, before retreating. You weren't aware that William was going to go on the offensive after you landed you first punch so he launched at you with a jumping kick that you rolled, barely out of the way for.
You were about to have a bad time. You decided that, you were going to cheat and use the shield because William didn't say you couldn't. So for the last several minutes you futilely and desperately defended yourself against William's punches and kicks, giving yourself a good idea of how to defend yourself with a shield in the process. Soon you were caught and sent sprawling. You got up again, because the pain was nothing. William seemed genuinely surprised you were still able to stand given his assault. You used that to your advantage and the dance began once more. You were slightly clumsy in your attempts to lead, and the tempo was soon stolen from you by a more experienced dancer... But it allowed you to perfect your dance more than any opportunity before. Soon you were able to effortlessly defend yourself against William, and adapt to his speed and ferocity even if you couldn't do anymore than endure. Then William would allow you to lead the dance to gain more experience, to put your new moves into your art... For you were evolved into a true work of art if only for a few moments where you finally got the hang on your new moves... Then you collapsed.
You breathed heavily on the ground, despite the bruised body you had you like to think this as a pure victory. You hadn't had that much fun in a while, and it was mostly risk free... Perhaps it was childish to gain such simple enjoyment from learning how to fight better... But you haven't felt like you accomplished that much with tangible results for a few days so far... It was a bit disheartening but today... Today was a good day you think... "You did very well Yukihime... You almost outlasted me in my old age... That would've been embarrassing! I was slightly cheating to keep up with you, you know! How about you say we go back now?" You nodded, you were exhausted and you doubt you could make it back on your own. You don't even remember making it back to the inn.
So remember way back when where I said Yukihime is a battle maniac who enjoys fighting way too much for her own good? Yeah so fighting related things will always make her happy unless she loses horribly. Yukihime has also finally stopped discarding the shield in battle, and has slotted it into her martial arts while defending, and will actually remember its there in combat! Yay! William was using his spiritual energy to keep up with Yukihime. He could've finished her at the start of the fight but that wasn't the point of the 'battle'. William is old and doesn't have the huge endurance Yukihime has and cant keep up the pressure to make Yukihime actually learn to defend herself and counter attack without dipping into his pool of energy.
Brawler: 4. Has changed into Blackwood Sect Martial Art The Cruel Princess: 3
Reactive Planning has went up to 2.
Shield has gone up to 2.
You dream once more.
[X] Ziggurat. For the perfect soldier is undying.
[X] Daddy...
[X] Revolution.
[X] Winter.
