Fantasy Daikan Dojo

[TanteRegenbogen]

Japanese middle ages: A peaceful time with barely any external conflicts. But also a time of the rise of the shogunate. In a need for more swordsman to battle against rebels and oni (demons), many schools have popped up to train future swordsmen. Most schools however only train human men, despite some women capable to becoming skilled fighters and peaceful oni existing. However in the town of Inari exists a dojo that also trains oni and women. It is the Daikan Dojo, or in it's long form the Daikan School of Skilled Weaponmastery. The school has two instructors. The actual master only trains the most skilled students and the instructors. Most students from here become local samurai, assassins or personal bodyguards.


However rival schools and people who look down upon the fact that the school trains women and oni and that the master is a woman herself cause problems for the school. But moreover the real foes have a grudge against the master. The students aren't aware of the actual reason, however there is something dark about their master, they'd rather wish not to know of.


The dojo: The only requirements of the dojo is that student must be at least 12 to enter and at least 16 to wield a real weapon. By age 20 or 22, depending on how old they were when they started, they finish their training. Depending on their skill, they may be immediately taken as a samurai for local lords. Students from poor families must work in the afternoons to earn their tuition. The work is mostly simple tasks such as fetching water or sweeping the court. The school has two instructors and a master who is female. The school is made up of four buildings. A living building, the dojo, a shrine and a separate building that serves as both a storehouse and a bath (onsen/hot springs with restrooms). Aside from sword training, students learn how to wield other weapons like spears and learn normal basic school curriculum too (Maths, Literature, Japanese, Courtship).


Rules:


There can only be two instructors.


You can play oni (demons).


Please stick to the setting (clothes etc.).


No godmoding


You can't just expect to have an overpowered character.


At least 70 words per post.

 

[Tenebris]

He'd walk into the town of Inari. He was tired from the journey, and he was here for the roumored school. He was still disguised, and he wanted to keep it that way. He walked into the local Izakaya. He sat down and laid back for a second. He set down 3,000 yen, and ordered a large plate of noodles. He devoured them quite quickly. He left the Izakaya, then headed to the local inn. He ordered a room, and summoned his armor, and removed his disguise. He stretched out, then fell into the bed. (Consider this just a preview of my plans, if we aren't ready to start.)

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

It was morning and Tatsu sat on the outer walkway of the dojo holding a kiseru in one hand. Her swords lay within her reach. A distance away two boys got a view of her from behind some bushes. "Is that her?" One whispered. The other then replied: "Yes, that is the demon the lord employed to protect him in battle." "Why don't you come out? I can hear you two." Tatsu said. A shiver ran down the spine of the two boys as they slowly appeared from the bushes. Tatsu got up and approached the boy. She could clearly sense their fear. "Lighten up. I won't hurt you two." Tatsu said with a smile. "Now what was that about demon? Where did you get that from?"


"Well we heard stories of how you could decapitate waves of soldiers with just a single blow and we have never seen a young woman with white hair. So..." Said one. Tatsu then interrupted and said: "So you expected me to be a demon because demons often have white hair and should beyond human abilities? You should believe exaggerated rumors about me. I may be good with my sword, but I am not so good that I could just sever the heads of dozens with one blow."


The boys went to their knees and apologized. Tatsu chuckled a bit. "You don't have to be like that. It is expected that some may feel a certain way about me, plus hiding could put you in danger. Ninjas have attacked her before." A whizz in the air could be heard and Tatsu quickly pulled her sword cutting a shuriken in half midair. She then quickly moved back towards the dojo and swung her sword, grazing the wall. Suddenly a mat rolled down from the wall. Behind it was a ninja. The next moment the lower part of the ninja's clothing slid to his ankles revealing his fundoshi. The ninja was all tensed up. "You are arrested." Tatsu said and knocked him out with the grip of her sword. She shortly disappeared and reappeared with some rope. After tying the ninja up, she quickly pulled him to the entrance hoping a constable would be nearby and one was there. "This one tried to sneak an attack. The attacks have become more frequent. Two of the ninjas were demons. This should maybe get investigated." Tatsu said.


As Tatsu got back, the two boys looked at her in astonishment. "Someday, I want to be that skilled!" One said. Tatsu then said: "Then maybe next year you can become a student. You just need to check your priorities, because if you are the eldest sibling and your parents are ill, then maybe you should wait until a sibling is old enough to support the family." The boys bowed and one said: "I will think about it." The boys then left.

 

[Tenebris]

He was woken up by an irritating knocking. "Get out now! Your purchased time is up!" The man yelled. "Must be the innkeeper." He thought. Shikado got up and put his disguise back on. "Be out in a minute sir!" Shikado yelled. He got up and walked out. He walked downstairs and ordered some fresh rice. The bartender stared at Shikado, and it was starting to unnerve him. "Is there a problem?" he'd ask irritably. He finished up the rest of his rice while the man looked at him. "G...G...G.. Get out of this establishment!" the bartender yelled.


He was taken back. "Why do you judge me so? I haven't done anything to you." The man started trembling. "O...O...Oni! Leave this place!" Shikado's eyes would widen. "Why would you think that?" Shikado then realized he did not have his kasa on. He cursed under his breath. "I'm not an Oni, but people will hear of your prejudice," Shikado said with an offended voice.


He walked outside of the inn and put his kasa on. Shikado walked for a little while and then saw a constable. He walked down the path twards the constable. The constable dragged an unconcios ninja on the path. The ninja seemed to have his leggings cut from the thighs down. "Where'd you find this one?" Shikado asked. He'd hope he didn't catch the man in the act, A ninja stopping for a woman. "The Daikan Dojo," the constable replied. Shikado's eyes went wide for a bit. "Can you point me to it?" He asked. The constable pointed to the direction of the dojo, and he walked down to the school. Shikado walked up to the front of the dojo. He noticed a woman, in her youth, sitting with a sword. Something didn't feel right about the woman, but he disreguarded it. He went to the outer walkway of the dojo. Soon, he was a mere 10 feet from the woman.

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

Tatsu notice a boy approach. "May I help you? Are you a new student? There is something odd about you though. That aura isn't ordinary. May I ask if you are an oni? Don't worry, even if you are one, we accept not just human men but also oni and women to the dojo. I am a good example that women can master swordsmanship." Tatsu said to the boy.

 

[Tenebris]

"I wouldn't call anyone a master swordsman. You can never stop improving. I learned that for myself." He'd sigh. "I'm an Oni." He would straighten his posture. "Son of Tuirihn Nochiachi. You may have heard of him." His eyes would change out of their disguised form for a second, and back to their red form, on mention of Tuirihn's name. They then changed back to their hazel form. "I wish to kill him one day."

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

"I see. Well, it is simple. If you can't pay tuition, you will have to take care of duties before and after class such as fetching water or sweeping the courtyard. Classes start shortly after sunrise and go until about noon. Afterwards you are free to do personal training, take care of duties or get some tutoring. Aside from swordsmanship, you will learn literature, maths and other things important if you ever want to rise up in the ranks." Tatsu said. "The building behind me is the dojo and next to it are the living quarters. Take the third room on the left. I will bring you a hakama for training soon."

 

[Tenebris]

"Thank you." He bowed, then walked off to the living quarters. He walked into the small room. A small crash was heard, as he threw his bags to the ground.


"I've finally found it..." He had said, making a slight rememberance of why he was here. He thought little of training, further prefering combat experince. When they were on good terms, his father had always believed in learning from experience.


Good memories flashed through his head, going through it like a camera reel. Then, an image of the dead girl shattered through all of the good memories. He started to meditate.

 

[SdrawcabDaer]

It was the early morning. Chen was walking in the court towards the training grounds. As she approached the dojo, she saw Master Tatsua speak with some youngster she hadn't seen before. As the latter went towards the living halls, Chen approached Tatsua. Before speaking, she bowed deeply, as he had a lot of respect for the woman.


-Good morning, master Jingami, she said. Who was that boy you were just talking to?


The little girl was very curious, and as such she always wanted to know what was going on at the dojo.


@Aniihya

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

(It's Tatsu not Tatsua.)


Tatsu was approached by a student of hers named Chen. She asked: "Good morning, master Jingami. Who was that boy you were just talking to?" "That was Nochiachi-kun, a student who will be starting his training here. Be nice to him despite him being an Oni." Tatsu said. Tatsu then went and grabbed a hakama, she thought would fit the boy and opened the door to his quarters. laying it on the floor. "Be ready tomorrow morning for physical training." Tatsu said.

 

[DreamFeind]

Gorou decides he would try today and find his way to the dojo. This proved to be a great task for Gorou, but he listed around the local inn and herd a old man or what sounded like an old man talking about he had to drop off some supplies at the Daikan dojo. This was Gorou chance. He asks the man if he could join the man in his travels. The man about to say hell no agrees after seeing his blindfold. The man finishes his business in the inn and guides Gorou out to his wooden cart pulled by a small horse. The man guides Gorou to the back of the cart and sits him down. " Hold on" The man says. "Thank you" said Gorou quietly, holding on to the side of the cart as he felt the cart start to move. An half an hour passes before he feels the cart stop. Gorou hops off the cart, and starts to walk in the wrong direction. The man grabs him and leads him to the entrance of the dojo. The man lets go of him and goes back to his cart to unload some crates. The smell of rich mahogany and garden flowers fills Gorou's noise as he takes in a deep breath. He could also smell something nice, but he didn't know what it was.

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

Tatsu noticed a boy with a blindfold at the entrance. Tatsu guessed he might be blind. She approached the boy and said: "I am guessing you wanted to learn how to use a sword but got rejected by all other dojos. It is difficult for someone without eyesight to learn how to use a sword effectively and honestly, if I didn't have solutions I would turn you away but if you intend to start here, I might actually be able to help you."

 

[DreamFeind]

He steps back a little when he finds out that other smell is a women. "I promise I will do my best sensei" he says moving his head in the general direction of her voice. He was super excited to finally be in a dojo.

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

"Then first we need you in a condition so that you will be able to wield a sword. If you are just blind then it would be no use. You need either a functioning eye or at least hearing good enough to practically see with your ears. Please wait here while I go get something." Tatsu said. Tatsu then grabbed a vial filled with a red liquid and emptied its contents into a cup. She brought it back to the boy and said: "Here drink. Sometimes it may cause some pain and sometimes you barely notice anything until afterwards.


(Now you get to pick whether you want a single functioning eye with a red iris or if you want superhuman hearing.)

 

[DreamFeind]

He lifts the drink to his mouth and drinks every last drop. "I don't feel any...." He drops to the ground and puts his hands on his ears. He could hear every little thing. The spider crawling on the ground. The cart moving 10 houses down. He didn't know how to explain how he could hear the heart beat like a hammer slamming on his ear drums.

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

"It might be overwhelming at first, but you should get used to it rather quickly. Most do after drinking oni blood." Tatsu said with a smile. Now all that he would need is to recognize faces with his ears. "Why don't you come with me and I will show you your quarters. You can rest until morning when classes begin." Tatsu continued. She picked him up in case he couldn't momentarily walk himself and dropped him off at his new quarters.

 

[DreamFeind]

Still covering his ears he hears another heart beat in the room next to him. It was quite different from Tatsu's heart beat, this was more rapid. He lays down and trys to sleep, but is kept up by the many sounds of the day and night.

 

[Tenebris]

He'd smell a small hint of blood in the air. His eyes darted. He'd smelled that same metallic scent when his father had abused him. He'd stop meditating, and leave the Hakama where it was lying on the floor. He walked out into the courtyard, and saw a small amount of remaining blood.


His armor revealed itself for a moment, and then he'd remember what human alchemists used Oni blood for. He then took a small walk through the forest, slaughtering all creatures in his path, His armor dissapating when he saw humans. He wouldn't return until morning, with a small amount of blood on his face.

 

[DreamFeind]

He jumped up out of his bed to the sound of loud footsteps walking down the hard wood floor. The sound rang through his ears, He tried to deafen it, but it was no use. He opened the door to his room and outside was a man not much older than he. He can smell the blood of some sort of animal or multiple animals he couldn't tell. His walking or what sounded like stomping told Gorou that he was not in a good mood. The sound of his steps got closer and the same heart beat he heard the night before came back.

 

[Tenebris]

Shikado looked at the now opened door, and realized who had noticed him. He'd mumble under his breath. "Relying on the blood of another creature is a weakness, One i know well." He knew Gorou had heard him. Shikado wandered into his room, and picked up his Hakama. He'd head out into the courtyard, and waited for training.

 

[DreamFeind]

'Oh no' Gorou thought 'I already have a person who hates me' He puts his hands on his head and puts on his Hakama hearing the ruffling of the fibers. He leaves his room carefully. He sits down by a tree in the courtyard. He tightens his blindfold and waits for sensei to come. He thinks he should talk to Shikado, but he didn't want anything thing else bad between them so he kept his mouth shut.

 

[Tenebris]

He sharpened the small blade he'd kept in his jika-tabi. He had sharpened it for the past three nights, but he would entertain himself with it. He'd hum a catchy tune to calm himself. Shikado grabbed a small stick, and began sharpening the stick of wood. Every once in a while he'd look around, noting exit routes and possibly breakable walls, just incase this happened to be a trap.

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

Tatsu sat on the roof and called out to the two. "I hope the one of you rested well. And Nochiachi-kun, why do you go killing animals in the middle of the night." Tatsu said holding a kiseru in one hand. This time she didn't wear a layered kimono but a single grey one with the sleeves tied short and a hakama. She had to since the usual teachers would be there for the next month or so. "I guess you two can do some physical training until Chen gets here." Tatsu said. She jumped off the roof and gently landed on a boulder in the garden. She lifted a stick with two buckets attached and held it out to Shikado. The buckets were filled with heavy stones. "Pace around the dojo with this." She said. She then told the other: "Why don't you try do lift those stones over there onto the table."

 

[SdrawcabDaer]

Chen walked away. She wondered what the new student would be like. The little girl didn't know many onis and was rather curious about them. As she got to the dojo, she saw the oni from earlier and another new boy. The latter looked blind.


-I'm sorry I'm late, master Jingami, she said and bowed once again. What skills will we train today?

 

[Tenebris]

He'd start to jog around the dojo. He'd think nothing of it. He only had the blood of his kin on his mind. He'd slowly jog with the stones, able to go faster but he'd refused. He slowed, but then he'd arrive back to the place where he was sharpening his knife. Shikado put the stones down, and sat back on the ground. He'd look at the 3 other supposed humans around him. Shikado let out a long sigh. "Greetings." He mumbled.