Outrun - Chapter 459 - Guidance (Patreon)

The Hound wanted Nightshade. He didn’t want Shiro, or a streetrat, or anything else. He wanted the phantom thief that was rapidly rising in infamy. This was my first big league job, and I couldn’t afford to mess it up. That meant I needed to be prepared, ‘course.

My armor and weapons were locked and loaded. All my gadgets and tech were ready to go. That just left one little, tiny issue—Nightshade used a katana. Panther’s Fang, to be exact. It just so happened that I had no idea how to wield one of those things aside from the obvious. 

That was what brought me here, to the Jade Fang dojo once more. I was hoping I’d be able to put it off a bit longer, but going in with a weapon I didn’t know how to use would be suicide. I shouldn’t even need it since, you know, phantom thief. Still, if something went wrong, I needed to be prepared. I didn’t even know what job the Hound had, either. Could be a silent heist like I was used to, but it could also be something way different.

The path to mastery was unfortunately narrow for me. Maybe once I got a Melee Weapons Perk, I could dump it into a sword technique. For now, though, I had one clear path forward if I wanted to get anywhere fast. Unfortunately, that was with Sakurai Yuki.

I hesitantly followed behind a duo of Kage through the Jade Fang dojo. The giant borgs were as intimidating as ever even with one trying to smile and look amiable. I just… I got flashbacks every time. It was hard not to considering what happened back then. I’d get over it eventually, maybe.

One of the Kage pounded on an ornate door. “Ojousama.”

”Come in~!” Yuki practically sang through the door. At least she seemed to be in a good mood. To be fair, she was usually in a good mood. It’s just that her mood swung so quickly that it didn’t matter.

The guards pushed open the door for me, and I stepped into a private training ground. It was much nicer than the storage courtyard I was shoved into last time. We were high up on the central pavilion of the dojo, in a courtyard that was totally open to the air. A massive torii gate blocked the far side.

A small cobblestone fence ran in between the legs of the torii gate. Just beyond it was a breathtaking view of the entire cavern. Even this far up, I could hear the shouts and clashes of blades from those below. Honestly, I preferred the courtyard. There was a lot less pressure.

Yuki herself stood in the center of the space. If there was some moonlight streaming through the place, she’d look like the perfect jade maiden. A soft smile curled her cheeks into an incomparably warm expression as the doors closed behind me. “Shiro~!”

She had on a sports bra and shorts that fully exposed the dragon tattoo running across her body. I thought it was just on her arms, but it ran down her chiseled abs. The tail of it ended just above her ankles, where it was wrapped into an anklet. 

“You done checking me out?” She asked with a teasing smile, and twisted around to show off. Her green eyes practically sparkled as she struck a pose.

“Cool tattoo.” Maybe I should get one? Not a dragon, but… I dunno, a fox might be cool? Or I could just finally bite the bullet and cut off my arm for some chrome. I could change the pattern out whenever I wanted then.

A shiver went down my spine. I may be able to heal back with Quick Healing, but the thought of cutting off a limb still made me feel a little sick. I just wasn’t made for chrome… I’d have to suck it up soon, though. I was already working on some stuff I wanted implanted before we headed for Lathvin.

“Thanks, mikata!” She brushed a hand down her side, and poked at the scaled tattoo. “Want one? The Jade Fang’s tattoo artist is the best in the city.”

”Somehow, I’m not surprised.” Most of the Fang had surprisingly intricate tattoos. It was almost like a rite of passage for them.

Her thumb brushed over the green ink. Circuitry ran alongside it, and cast a dim glow over her skin. “Well… anyway. You called me sooner than I was expecting, Shiro. Had to totally rework my schedule for today.”

”Sorry.” I shifted from foot to foot. “Were you in the middle of something?”

”Ah, nothing important. I passed it over to Ishi to deal with.” She walked across the room to me. Her every step held more elegance than I’d probably ever had. It was like she was gliding across the ground and totally in her element. “Just a few executions. Oh! And finishing up the gang war in Portside. Nothing too crazy.”

“You didn’t have to drop everything for me.” Executions and a gang war definitely sounded important to me. Maybe this was just another day for her, though?

”I said I’d train you personally, didn’t I?” Her head tilted to the side. “What kind of master would I be if my word only mattered when convenient?”

“Master?” I felt my cheeks warm up as I repeated after her. Right, she did want to be called that. No way was I going to call someone master, though. 

She nodded her head a few times, and laughed lightly. “You don’t have to call me that if you don’t want to.” 

“I-if you say so.” Yuki grinned, and approached me with her arms stretched wide. I shied away as she reached forward for a hug.

Yuki’s smile fell into a forlorn frown. She stretched a hand out before it slowly dropped down by her side. “Do you… do you not like me anymore?”

”Haha. ‘Course I still like you.” I hesitantly reached forward and gave her an awkward side hug. “Sorry about that. Just got some explosives in my bag that I’d rather not have go off.”

It was an excuse, ‘course. I’d be a total slag if I walked around with explosives unprotected like that. My bag could be shot a ton without any issue. The explosives themselves could be mostly shot without going boom. Carrying the detonator caps and explosives together probably wasn’t smart, to be fair, but not like I had someone else I could have carry them around.

She nodded her head in understanding, and her smile returned. It looked all the more radiant than before. Her glowing green cyberoptics crinkled around the edges. “I get it… shall we get started then?”

”I’m ready when you are.” I took off my backpack, and tossed it to the side of the room. My jacket followed it shortly after. For once, I changed up my style and had on athletic clothes. All marked with the Crusade, ‘course. Most of my clothes were.

“Let’s start with something simple.” Yuki grabbed two wooden blades from a rack, and tossed one of them at me. “Attack me with all that you have.”

I caught the wooden practice sword, and twirled it around in my hand. Although I wasn’t super great at the combat side of things, I had the theatrical twirls and spins down to a science. I did try to watch some videos and figure out a bit on my own, too, but I didn’t want to learn bad habits.

”Are you sure?” I held the blade loosely at my side. I didn’t want to hurt her—ah, that was me being arrogant, wasn’t it? I was no good at close combat outside of my gadgets and Perks.

“Not like you’re going to hurt me.” She chuckled softly. Her chrome collarbone flickered in sync with each laugh. 

“Chek…” I lowered my stance and held the blade forward. Silence settled on the rooftop courtyard. The silence was abruptly shattered as I lunged forward—

Clak!

Yuki smoothly smacked my blade to the side with her own. My posture was broken for a split second. Instead of retreating like I probably should’ve, I burst-stepped forward into a shoulder charge. I slammed into her—only to be pulled into a throw. My momentum was used against me, and I slammed into the ground on the other side of her.

”I like the initiative to get physical~” Yuki winked at me, and lowered her hand to help me to my feet. “In an actual fight, using your entire body is smart. You’re here to learn the blade though, no?”

”Yeah.” I groaned softly and rubbed at my back. It probably wouldn’t bruise, but it definitely wasn’t pleasant. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Yuki waved her hand at me once more. Thin lines of circuitry moved down along her collarbone, and danced alongside a vibrant neon green dragon tattooed onto her skin. 

She hauled me up to my feet, and backed away. “Ready to go again?”

”When you are.” I shook out my arms, and held my practice blade in front of me once more. 

I was knocked on my rear several more times. Yuki was skilled with her katana—like, incredibly so. I couldn’t even get close to her even while cheating through my Perks. I didn’t do anything too crazy like whip out Fear the Reaper for a free hit, but that didn’t mean I held back on my more subtle ones. She handled it all with surprising ease.

The worst part was just how easy she made it look. She was never in a hurry. Every time I lunged or committed, she gave me just enough space to think I would finally get a good hit in. Then she turned my overcommitment into a punishing blow that hurt my ego more than my body.

“Haah!” I charged once more. For the first time, Yuki let our blades lock instead of slipping around me like an eel. I immediately leaned into the contest of strength.

Yuki’s smile widened, but it was too late to pull back. She gave ground, and I abruptly slipped forward. I tried to fix my posture. Her katana was already moving, though. It flicked forward, darted past a failed attempt to block, and lightly tapped me on the head before I could even start a swing.

“What am I doing wrong?” I leaned forward on the wooden sword, and dragged in a rough breath of air. “I can’t even touch you.”

“Don’t feel too bad. You’re keeping up extremely well.” Yuki swung her blade up, and rested it on her shoulder. “I guess the first place we should start is with your swing.”

”What’s wrong with it?” I stood back up to my full, totally-not-short height. 

“It’s all arms. You’re losing a lot of energy, and tiring yourself out in the process.” Yuki took a stance across from me and swung her sword to show me what she was talking about. “Do you see the difference?”

”Um… no?” I watched her swing again and again. “You’re using your arms too, aren’t you?”

“I mean, yeah. ‘Course I’m using my arms.” She shook her head and sighed. “I’m not only using my arms and relying on brute strength, though. You’re basically using your arms to drag your sword around. Instead, focus on your posture. Your legs and hips start the motion, your core carries it, then your shoulders and hands guide into one strike.”

”Oh. Like swinging a baseball bat?” I finally started to catch what she was talking about. I lifted my own sword and tried it a few times. It was surprisingly difficult to put it all into practice. It was like I was tripping over myself instead of pulling anything off.

“I guess a bit like baseball?” She dropped her practice sword, and approached me. “Can I guide you?”

”Chek.” I tried not to tense up as she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me up against her. Her fingers interlocked around the back of my hands, and she smoothly led me through a simple swing. 

“You aren’t just a brute, Shiro. The katana is ultimately a blade designed to slash. Use your full body to throw the slash, not just your arms.” She guided me through one last slash, and then pulled away. “You try?”

”Like this?” I carefully thought back through how she did it, and followed the movements that she did. The blade of my practice sword whistled sharply through the air and into a simple slash.

”Close?” Although she said that, her expression indicated I was way off. “Here, let’s practice some more. After that, we’ll move onto footwork.”

“Footwork too?” My shoulders slumped low. I thought I was at least at the beginner stage, but… “Did I do anything right, Yuki?”

“Um… you took a hit pretty well?” She laughed and scratched at her ebony locks of hair. “Your foundation also isn’t too bad. Just a bit more practice, and you’ll be fine. Now come on, attack me one more time.”

I waited for her to pick up her practice sword, and then charged once more. Predictably, I ended up on the floor again and again.

— — —

AN: Sorry I’m so late. Been super busy prepping stuff for tomorrow. Oh! Right! Book 2 releases tomorrow. I’ll probably make a dedicated post about it at some point.