Jūnigatsu (December) came with an intense cold wave. Most forest critters were nowhere to be seen. One of the coldest winters in Nihon had arrived.
A month ago, Hanzo stocked up on food supplies. He and his pupils also bought warm clothes in preparation for the freezing weather.
Mikoto and Takumi were tasked with finding suitable weapons for their elemental affinities. She chose the tantō for her air and began training with it. She hoped to master amplification before the six months were complete.
Takumi, however, had trouble looking for a weapon. It was hard to tell if he genuinely could not find anything he liked or it was because he thought himself not a fighter. He would spend parts of his days in Hanzo's toolshed daydreaming about great of an Artisan he was going to be. One day, he saw a wrist slingshot in the shed and got the idea to modify and keep it for himself.
Kazuo's training would comprise of kenjutsu with Hanzo during the day and then Vishuddha meditation as well as Mushin activation in the evening. On the first day, Kazuo was asked to demonstrate how to draw, strike the first kata (form) and then sheath his katana.
"If this were a real battle, you would have died before drawing your sword," said Hanzo before explaining how to do it correctly. "First, you need to position your right leg in front and then push your left thumb on the tsuba to unlock the katana. When the blade is unlocked, gently slide it out of the saya with your right hand on the handle and left on the saya without making a sound."
"Wait–wait sensei…you've lost me," said Kazuo. "I think I learn faster when you show me how it's done."
Oh, I almost forgot this kid's a slow learner unlike the other two. Hanzo thought. "Alright, watch closely." He repeated the steps and drew out his own sword. It was a standard katana with a white hilt and scabbard. "This is Zanken, isn't she a beauty?"
Kazuo drew out Sūijin and tried to imitate his sensei.
"Alright, still a bit slow and I could hear the blade being dragged." Hanzo sheathed his katana without making a sound. "Now watch this."
Kazuo blinked twice and in those few seconds Hanzo had drawn his Zanken and made a swing. "This is the first kata, the downward head cut."
"How did you move that fast?"
"That was a Mushin level iai and the majority of Shadow ninjas operate at Zanshin, whilst their elites are at Mushin and Fudoshin. For you to win a battle against an elite, you will need more than just your brute strength but will have to match and surpass their speed as well."
Kazuo listened attentively.
"The eight basic cuts are the downward head, diagonal downward, horizontal, upward diagonal and lastly the thrust."
The young pupil tallied up with his fingers, "But that's five."
"The horizontal and diagonals each have a left and right version. However, there are over one hundred other forms and kenjutsu fighting styles out there. You will learn some those later on as you master the way of the sword but what you will need to grasp are the basic eight fold katas."
Hanzo demonstrated the other seven cuts in succession and Kazuo practiced to get them right. At the end of the first day, Kazuo had gotten the hang of the first two forms.
They took a short break at sunset and joined the others for supper.
Mikoto and Takumi retired for the evening to go and rest while Hanzo and Kazuo began their Throat chakra meditation. They sat on the ground in the lotus position and held on to the Akasha mudra in each hand.
"Considered to be the subtlest of the seven elements…" Hanzo took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Ether represents the space through which all the other elements exist. For the Vishuddha meditation, visualize a rotating blue sphere located at the throat."
Kazuo closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to visualize the blue sphere. The two of them meditated quietly and after an hour, Hanzo broke the silence. "Now that we are done with Vishuddha meditation for today, we can focus on Mushin activation and with this one, we shall head to the shadow plane. So, still on the lotus position, you can focus on your breath." He guided Kazuo through the meditation.
Shit, more meditation!
"If any thoughts fill your mind just allow them to flow by like leaves on a river."
Fuck! I'm still thinking. Shit! Fuck! Kazuo shrugged with his eyes wide shut as he tried to not think about anything. This is harder than it sounds!
"Try to relax Kazuo-kun, and concentrate on your breathing. If any thoughts pop up, let them come and go as you resume your breath focus."
After several tries, Kazuo finally stilled his mind. Hanzo made the Chinmaya mudra with one hand and placed his other thumb on Kazuo's forehead. When they appeared in Kazuo's shadow plane, Hanzo explained to him that for the ten days they would be in his subconscious, only four hours would have gone by outside.
"What will we do for food?"
"Our ethereal bodies in here can only last as long as our real bodies out there."
"Nihongo please!" Kazuo sulked.
"If you can go for four hours outside without eating, you won't need to eat here. Got it?"
"I see," said Kazuo. "So, who did my great grandpa mean when he said that man? I remember he once talked about a darkness he couldn't defeat in his own time."
"He is exactly that…" Hanzo's face was filled with despair. "Your great grandfather thought you were not yet ready to know this but that man is the aid to the Shadow King. He is known as Kurayami (Darkness) and he is the one who killed Kazuro-sensei."
"Then like the old man said, we have to defeat him."
Hanzo sighed at how oblivious his pupil was.
He is yet to understand that that man singlehandedly defeated sensei and I.
"Sensei… you still haven't explained why Raijin didn't strike you before."
"When you open your Crown chakra you can bypass the curse seals. You see each legendary swords has its respective elemental curse that once unlocked, activates automatically. So with Raijin, Kajin and Sūijin the curses are electrocution, burning and freezing."
"What about Dōjin? Was it that no one could lift it?"
"Indeed, Dōjin's weight is his curse."
"How come I could lift it?"
"Not only are you a descendant of Kazuro-sensei," said Hanzo. "But when you were struck by lightning after unlocking Raijin, you experienced a burst of Kundalini (Sanskrit: coiled up) energy that temporarily shot up and opened all seven chakras from the base of the spine to the top of your head. This would have killed a normal person without the amount of prana you possess."
Kazuo's mouth remained open as he processed what Hanzo had told him.
"If we spend four hours every evening for thirty-one days out there, we have an equivalent of three hundred and ten days in the shadow plane to focus on reaching Mushin."
"How will we know that I have reached it?"
"When you are able to act without consciously thinking about it. To achieve Mushin, your mind should be free from doubt, fear, hesitation and anger. So, you will fight against me using the kenjutsu forms we practice during day until you get it."
"Kenjutsu? But we don't have any katanas in here."
"The interesting thing about this place is that, like in a dream, if you can imagine something..." Hanzo stretched out his hand and an exact replica of Zanken appeared, "…you can make it real."
Kazuo thought hard to about Raijin and after a short while, the chokutō materialized in his hand.
"Let's begin!" said Hanzo, advancing towards Kazuo.
The ten days in the shadow plane went by in a flash and Kazuo was still thinking about each move that he made. After four hours outside, they returned to the real world–his body as stiff as a board. With that, the first day's regimen was complete.
☯
Kazuo practiced his katas during the day for thirty days and went on to meditate with Hanzo in the evening. With each set of ten days in the shadow plane, his movements improved greatly as he learnt how to act without thinking.
As the days went on, Mikoto and Takumi were also steadily making progress with their affinities. Mikoto was now able to conduct and amplify air for a few seconds. Takumi had also perfected the modifications to his dart shooter and began practicing with his affinity. The duo had been tasked by Hanzo to amplify their weapons to bring down a single tree. The tree trunks were so thick that towards the end of the month, both Mikoto and Takumi still had not brought them down.
When the last month of the year finally came to an end, Kazuo had mastered the first four sword forms and balanced Vishuddha. His most noteworthy achievement, however, was that after having spent a total of three hundred and ten grueling days training with Hanzo in the shadow plane, he had attained Mushin and could now hold it for a few minutes.