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 Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 3:46 pm
Nana's training goal: Chop down a bamboo clumps. The clump - approximately 160 HP. (16 posts)
Day 1
"Sheesh. Who knew it was out *this* far. No wonder Nii-san didn't want to come out here!" Utakou Nana wiped the sweat from her brow and gazed around her at the endless stand of bamboo that crowned the ridge. She'd spent most of the afternoon getting there. Mainly because she'd gotten lost. Nii-san was going to get an earful about that when she got done.
She'd trekked out here to do him a favor - her adopted brother needed some bamboo for his craftwork, but he'd injured his arm the past week, making it impossible for him to harvest it himself. He'd be unable to do it for quite a while, much to his dismay.
And naturally, Nana-chan hadn't been doing anything that day. How unlucky was that? The young shinigami balefully examined the towering bamboo stalks. It'd take the rest of her life to scythe enough of this! And...
...her gaze shifted from the plants to the asauchi at her side, and she found herself discarding the bamboo knife. Her sword had to be strong enough to cut through this stuff, right? She strode over to one plant, waving in the wind, examined it. Yep, it was fairly soft wood. She could hack through this in no time.
So, do a little favor for brother, and get some practice time in. Maybe get a little more steel in her muscles. She stepped over to the first clump of bamboo, drew her sword, and swung.
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Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 4:10 pm
At least they don't move, Nana thought as the sword sliced through the first few stalks with a satisfying whshhhht! She'd been a tad enthusiastic with that first swing, though; the shinigami-in-training stumbled and staggered a few inches...right into a bamboo stalk she'd knocked back with her sword's edge rather than cutting through.
It was then she realized that yes, bamboo is flexible. And can really, really hurt.
*thwack* *thud*
"OW!"
Clearly, her zanjutsu professor would have to do something about her stance.
There was a brief rain of dead leaves as the stalks creaked and tumbled to the ground, making a surprising bit of noise. Not that she cared; she was busy rubbing her nose and picking leaves out of her hair.
Thank goodness no one was around to see that. She'd never live it down.
"Okay," she muttered, picking herself up off the ground and hoping her nose wasn't broken, "Let's try that again. This time with less enthusiasm!"
Points remaining: 150
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Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 5:56 pm
Nana set her feet more firmly, drew the sword back, and swung again.
The blade sliced into the stand of bamboo with less speed, but more control this time. However, this time she failed to pay attention to where she aimed, and cut less as a result. Instead of slashing higher where the stalks were softer, her asauchi's blade was angled closer to the ground, where the bamboo was thicker.
*thwack*
She could hear the difference, indeed she could. The sound of the cut was thick, rather than airy, and withdrawing the sword from the heart of the bamboo took a bit of effort this time around.
Grumbling, Nana examined the blade's edge, hoping she wasn't ruining it; but no, the blade appeared to still be keen. She cleaned it with the tail of her obi, then looked up to study what was left of the stand. Quite a bit was still standing tall and proud there. This might take a bit longer than she thought. Thank goodness she brought lunch.
PR: 140
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Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 6:09 pm
Well, the stand wasn't going to cut itself, so Nana had to get on with it. She sighed, hefted the blade again, eyed the bamboo stalks again.This time, she'd remember to aim a bit higher. A dead stalk crunched beneath her feet as she stepped forward and swung.
A bird was startled into flight at the sound of the blade connecting with the stalks on the left hand of the stand. The shinigami trainee could hear its protesting calls fading into the distance as she wiped the sweat off her face and examined her work. The cut was a bit cleaner this time, the bamboo stalks falling with a gentle *whoosh*.
She paused then for a minute to move the stalks she'd already cut into a nice pile out of her way. It wouldn't do to have a stalk underfoot during a swing; they were slippery. Besides, her nii-san couldn't make use out of crushed pieces, now could he?
A goodly portion of the stand was still waving gently in the wind that blew through the forest.
PR: 130
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Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 8:02 pm
Bamboo cutting was indeed thirsty work, and Nana took the time out to grab some gulps of water from the bottle she'd brought along. She hadn't thought of that; her brother had. Good thing, too - she would have dehydrated out here if not for that!
After a moment, she lined up on the stand once more and hacked away. Her arms were beginning to protest a bit at her exertions, and the blade felt a little heavy. So she was off aim *again*, managing to slice off some of the thinner stalks, but leaving a large one in pride of place.
It was half cut through, though; she stepped back, took a deep breath, and swung again. She missed the original cut on the bamboo stem, but this time she aimed just high enough to make the followthrough easier.
Several more stalks now littered the ground, and she moved them once more, feeling a twinge of pain in her lower back. Maybe it was time that she rest for a bit. Once the stalks were out of the way, she sheathed the blade and flopped down. closing her eyes for a little while.
PR: 120
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Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 6:53 am
After a fifteen minute break, Nana rose, shook out her arms and legs, and got back to work. She noticed that her right shoulder was still aching a bit as she drew her sword and got into position.
Just ignore it, she told herself. When you start taking Zanjutsu classes, it's no doubt going to hurt worse. All OVER, at that.
Of course, she knew *why* it hurt - Nii-san hadn't called her a 'pampered princess' once for nothing. She'd been a noble in the Heian period. The most activity she'd had was the occasional court dance and moving around in winter court dress (and the less said about *that* the better). A gently born lady did not run around swinging swords, and muscles that rarely got used were now complaining.
But really, this was for her own good. Even if she didn't like it right now.
She winced as a twinge went across her shoulder blades, and swung. The blade cut through the soft wood, sending four more stalks crashing to the ground. More dead leaves from the canopy above her rained down as they fell.
PR: 100
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Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 1:28 pm
Nana sighed, rubbing her aching shoulder. Not much more now, she told herself as she eyed what remained of the stand. She'd made good progress; a little less than half the bamboo bunch was left. Her skill would make a professional cutter laugh. If the stand had been someone's hair, she would be getting sued.
Speaking of hair, her exertions were doing a number on her hair bun. She'd pinned it up like always, but all her flailing around was sending pins flying, and thus a lock was hanging down here and there. She must look like a bedraggled horse!
Well, at least I'm a bedraggled horse that's working. The trainee took another gulp of water from her bottle as she examined her sword. It didn't appear to be nicked, but she *would* have to treat it nicely tonight.
Nana got into position, took a breath, swung again, and bamboo shards flew. Yet another bit of the stand came down, and she cleared it away.
I wonder if Nii-san is wondering where in the blazes I am? she wondered. He's probably got a bet going that I won't show up for three days.
PR: 90
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Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:32 pm
She tucked a lock of hair behind her left ear and glared at the stand she was trying to hack down. This was taking forever. And...did it look like some of it was beginning to grow back? Her brother had mentioned that the plant did have a rather quick growth rate. Oh please, no....!
The girl shook her head. She was just stressed, tired and hallucinating. Had to be. It was just the sun; it was hot out, and she'd been flailing at this stuff for what seemed like hours. There wasn't much left, though...
Frowning at her mind's wandering, she hacked away at the branches again, sending more hitting the ground with a fwoomp.
PR: 80
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Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 3:48 pm
It was about this point that something occurred to the girl that hadn't before.
How'm I supposed to get this stuff BACK?
Nana'd lifted her blade to strike again, but now she lowered it slowly, looking at the pile of bamboo with a fair amount of horror. Oh, dear god. He'd sent her out with a machete, a rope, and a...a back frame. These stems were miles high! There was no way she'd be able to bring those back herself. Not in the condition she'd be when she was done.
She hadn't thought of that. No wonder her brother had been laughing. She snarled and lifted her blade, the fit of rage giving her a new burst of energy. Yet another plant fell to her wrath, although her aim was off yet again and she had to gracelessly hack at the thing before it tumbled to the earth.
PR: 70
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 8:53 am
She was still fuming as she stalked around to the other side of the stand, as much out of boredom as of a need to take better aim.
As she laid into yet another bamboo stalk, Nana wondered where this workout was going to get her. Oh, she knew she wouldn't come away with bulging muscles or anything like that in just one session, but several sessions down the road...huh. Her zanjutsu instructor would be horrified at her form, no doubt, but at least she might be able to absorb some of the strikes from other students and thus not be a total embarrassment in class.
Nana switched her angle slightly; her strike shifted from the horizontal to a diagonal, and she immediately noticed an improvement in how easily she was able to cut through the woody stems. I should have done that before, she thought, and tried it again, arms aching with the effort.
PR: 60
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 9:01 am
Pleased by her discovery, Nana went at it again with a will. Her arms ached, and she had to pause once or twice to rest before continuing. The sun had long passed midday, so it wasn't as hot as it had been earlier, thank goodness. A cool breeze drifted through the forest, ruffling the upper canopy and sending a few cooling puffs of air down to Nana below. It'd take hours more before it was properly cool, however, she knew.
During one of her pauses, she dragged more of the bamboo branches over to the side. There was no way she was going to carry this back. There was no way she could! She'd mark it as hers, then go home and have her brother make arrangements to have it brought back. Arrangements that involved a cartload of men, and horses. The hard part was felling the bamboo. Her nii-san would have the easy job, that was for sure.
The soreness made its way down to her lower back, making its presence known when she stooped to grab another branch. Ow. Wonder if she could spend three days straight in a properly hot onsen?
PR: 50
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 9:06 am
"Not much left now," Nana murmured to herself, trying to be encouraging, but her body really didn't seem to care for encouragement now. All it wanted was a hot bath and a bed. Nana was prone to agree, but she'd promised to get this work done - and she was the one who'd decided to make it as much a workout as it was work.
She wasn't as chipper as she'd been when she started. She was covered in sweat, her hair was falling out of its pins and hanging limply along her cheek and back, and her blade felt like it was forged out of lead. Nonetheless, she hefted the sword, and swung yet again with some of her old strength. Another stalk fell, giving the weary girl a certain satisfaction.
PR: 40
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Posted: Sat May 12, 2007 3:00 am
Shunketsu made his way out of Seireitei and back to Rukongai, something more familiar to him. He eventually found himself in a bamboo grove.
"Wow, I wonder why I don't come here more often."
Shunketsu found an isolated part of the grove and looked around.
"I didn't fare nearly as well as I thought I would during that last spar..."
Shunketsu sat down cross-legged in the middle of the grove and pondered over the day's events.
"I met some people, sparred someone, and left the academy since the sensei kicked everyone out. I may as well think over what I did wrong during that match..."
After about an hour, Shunketsu was thoroughly bored and decided to head back...
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