The Turn: Chapter Six

The Turn

Chapter Six

~Twice a Day~

Three Years before the Turn

Once everyone made their way to the shrine they all sat on the floor, weapons in hand. Crow walked around for a while. He disappeared into a room. Shortly after, he pulled out a long table of weapons. After that he sat down in front of the others. He stared vaguely at them before speaking.

“Alright,” he started, “let’s get a few things straight. I hate repeating myself. If I need to repeat myself I won’t, I’ll just have you do something else to get the point across. No shoes inside the shrine. It isn’t easy to clean this place, you know. No talking out of turn. Pretty much what I say goes for the next two weeks. Any questions?” There were none, “Alright, when I call you, I want you to stand up give me your name and tell me what power you have. After that you hand me your weapon to inspect it. You.”

Crow pointed in Zara’s general direction.

Zara stood up with her katana, “Name’s Zara Uzek. I’m a fire wielder.”

Crow extended his hand and Zara walked up and placed her weapons in his hand, “Ah, a katana, and horribly balanced one at that.”

Hina leaned over and whispered in her brother’s ear, “Of course it’s a katana, anyone can see that. Is he blind?”

“As a matter of fact, yes I am, but I’m not deaf. You can take a jog around the shrine when we’re done here, young lady. I distinctly remember telling you not to talk out of turn,” he said. His hands ran up and down the two blades, “Is this a school issued weapon?”

“Yes,” Zara answered.

“Return it,” Crow said flatly, handing her the weapons, “Get a new pair over there. Next.”

Zara walked over to the table and looked at the weapons. She quickly looked over her shoulder to see Chaud handing Crow his weapons. They looked to be a special advanced type of gun. She shrugged and continued looking of a pair of katana. Two shining blades lay on the far end of the table. A decorative carving was etched onto both blades. It looked like a type of wild cat jumping though a blazing fire. Zara picked up one and instantly saw the difference in her own katana. She picked up the two new shiny blades and went back to her seat. Naru walked past her carrying his sai. He smiled at her and she nodded back.

When everyone’s weapons were inspected, Hina was sent running around the shrine while Crow explained their next task.

“Alright, everyone up. I want to see how well, or poorly, they trained all of you. Uzek, step forward,” Zara did, “Attack me.”

For a moment, Zara was unsure of what to do. He was blind after all and she didn’t want to hurt him in any way.

“It’s alright,” Crow said as if he read her mind, “I’ve gotten this far in life with being blind; I can get through the next few minutes.”

Zara noticed his hand drop his sword. She moved her right leg back. She shifted her weight on her ball of her feet. Then Zara raised the katana in her left hand and held it in a horizontal position. She pulled her right shoulder back so the blade was even with her eyes. Crow moved his left foot back and gripped the hilt of his long sword with his right hand. Zara took a quick breath and charged forward.

With only feet to spare, she saw Crow draw his sword. She half spun, causing the right katana to hit the sword. Zara stabled herself, her back temporarily facing Crow and her back leg situated appropriately. She shifted her grip on the left katana and shifted her body to make a stab attempt. Crow pivoted out of the way, placed his left hand on the back of his sword and pushed. Zara lost her balance and had to move her foot forward to keep herself from falling.

“Good approach,” Crow noted; he kicked her leg into its right position “balance could use some work. Try again.”

Zara nodded and assumed her position again. This time, however, her left hand was extended across her body and the blade tip pointed to the left horizontally. Crow held his sword with both hands, his arms were bent and the hilt of the sword was by the corner of his eye. Zara ran forward.

Crow lunged forward and extended the sword in an attempt to pierce. Zara quickly reacted and spun on her right foot and jumped lightly into the air. Her arms were extended and tilted in an angle, the blades hummed quietly in the quick change. The blades clashed together. Zara’s blade pushed Crow’s aside. She landed on her left foot and took a large step with her right. Then she dipped low, pivoted on her right and swung her right katana at Crow.

He brought his blade back and blocked the low attack. Zara quickly got to her feet shifting only slightly at the impact. When she got to her feet, she used her right blade to block a sudden attack. The attack made her take a few steps back. Zara silently cursed as she lost her balance again. Crow kept on her, attacking in rapid succession. Zara blocked, parried, and dodged accordingly. She kept looking for an opening but she couldn’t find one.

Suddenly, Crow stopped, “Good,” he stated, “You’re getting better already. Your speed is good too and it seems that the school has at least taught you how to use the katana properly. Have a seat.” Zara did so, secretly happy that she wasn’t in the spotlight anymore. The others clapped at her performance. Glad for her darker skin, Zara blushed with self-consciousness. She was glad that no one seemed to notice. She glanced at Chaud as she sat down. There was a phantom of a smile on his face. Oh, how she hoped that he didn’t notice her reddening cheeks.

“Galaxy, your next,” Crow called.

Chaud stood up and walked across from Crow. Zara took the opportunity to look closer at the weapon. In looked like some of the more advanced guns that she had seen some agents carrying. It was black and silver in color and design and it was a little bigger and longer than most hand. Other than that it looked normal. Chaud placed one gun in a holster on his belt.

“Begin when you’re ready,” Crow placed his weapon in its sheath.

Chaud smiled and pressed a button on the gun. It seemed to dismantle to everyone’s surprise and form a sword. The sword’s blade was silver and the back of the blade was coated a thin layer of the black material that the gunblade was made of. For a brief moment, Zara felt a pang of envy for Chaud and his money, but she pushed the feeling aside. As cool it would be to have a weapon like that, she was better with the curved katana and more comfortable with it.

Crow situated himself moving his left leg behind his right, his hand lightly on his sword. Chaud kept his sword pointed slightly down. He waited a moment and then ran forward. Crow drew his sword and struck out at Chaud in a wide arc. Chaud raised the sword, blade outward and hand on the bladeless side. The two blades clanged together loudly. The impact caused Chaud to slightly loose balance and Crow took advantage of the fact. After the first strike, Crow withdrew the sword, pivoted, and attacked in a straight up and down arc. Chaud acted quickly, shifting the position of the sword and crouching down to lessen the blow. He reached for the other gunblade in its holster. Quickly aimed, and pressed the trigger. There was an empty click that signaled the end of the battle.

Crow smiled and placed his weapon in its sheath. He began walking back to his starting point, “You think fast and you’re resourceful. But again, balance.”

Suddenly, he turned around; sword coming in on Chaud’s left side. Chaud, surprised, acted quickly. He raised his left hand and caught the blade in a section of the gun.

Crow nodded, “You’re reflexes are good too. Hina!”

Hina stood stiffly. The after effects of the run had started to tighten her muscles. Zara could see that Hina was going to make Crow pay for making her run. She got into position and raised her fists; a light purple mist began to form around them. Her violet eyes narrowed with determination. Without warning, she shot forward.

Crow took several evasive steps back. Hina punched and jabbed at him, shouting various swear words at him. Crow hit her arm to one side, crouched down, and lifted his sword sheath from his sash. The hilt of his sword hit Hina square in the lower sternum. She staggered back trying to gain her breath. Crow stood up and replaced his sword in his sash. He smiled slightly.

“It looks like we might have a temper problem,” he stated, “I think that will be enough. What do you think?” he asked, naturally, Hina had trouble answering. He looked over to Naru, “Come on up, Naru!”

Naru quietly stood up. Zara noticed that he rarely said anything, a complete contrast from his sister. He was quiet, waiting for the test to begin. Crow cleared his throat and got into position as Hina sat down. The scowl on her face spoke volumes.

“Start when you’re ready,” Crow said.

He had just finished the sentence when two shuriken stars flew passed his face. For a moment, Crow paused.

“I win,” Naru stated flatly.

“How so?” Crow asked.

“The first star, had I actually struck, would have cut the external jugular vein. The other, as a failsafe, would have nicked the right brachiocephalic vein. Either way, it would be a bloody mess.”

There was now a sense of ‘wow, not messing with him’ in the air. Looks like those anatomy classes paid off. Crow simply smiled.

“What if I had moved my head?” he asked.

Naru flicked his wrist and in a swift movement, threw something in Crow’s direction. He avoided one of the objects but suddenly he lost feeling in his left leg. He looked down and saw a long pointed needle in his upper leg. Crow reached a hand to his sword. Naru ran toward Crow. He drew one of his sai. As Crow withdrew his weapon from its sheath, he tried to defend himself but Naru’s sai caught the sword in the sai’s yoku. Naru dug the short blade into a crack in the floor, temporarily trapping the long sword rendering it useless. He continued his charge without slowing and jet out his hand. Naru struck Crow in his front shoulder. Crow’s arm felt weak and he dropped the hilt of his sword. Then Naru grabbed his second sai and rested the tip under Crow’s chin.

“The sciatic nerve runs down the length of your leg from your spinal cord. Strike and keep the pressure there and it might be a little hard to move that leg for a while. The brachial plexus in your shoulder is made up of the posterior cord, the lateral cord and the medial cord. The lateral and medial cords join up to create the median nerve that runs down your arm. Strike here hard enough and your arm goes to sleep. Care to take a guess what happens when a sai goes through the roof of your mouth?”

Naru stood up and pulled out the needle in Crow’s leg. He went to sit down.

“Am I finished?” Naru asked looking over his shoulder.

Crow made his way to his feet, “I guess so.”

Naru bowed his head respectively, “You should get feeling back in your legs soon.”

“I appreciate it,” Crow muttered.

Hina smiled at her brother’s return. She lived out her revenge though him though he probably didn’t do it on purpose, not with that sweet innocent face. They were complete opposites. While Hina was more of a powerhouse, Naru was precise. If there was an enemy behind a closed door, Hina would kick the door down. In Naru’s case, he would use the rules of ricochet on a paperclip and rubber band though the key hole.

It was silent while Crow tried to get the feeling back in his leg. It was now apparent to everyone who could easily get away with murder and no one wanted to be Naru’s first.

“I think that’s enough for one day,” Crow stated as he tried to get the feeling back in his legs, “I’ll get the remaining two tomorrow.”

“Do we keep the weapons?” Zara asked.

“You have any better ones?” Crow asked, “Keep them. It’s better that they are used.”

At that, the six teens went their separate ways.

IOIOIOIOIOI

“These are beautiful,” Puppetmaster nodded as he looked over the two katana.

The two weapons lay in his lap as he fingered lightly at the carving in the blade. Shuppet sat in his master’s lap and seemed interested as well, its wooden arms on the blade as well. Puppetmaster’s eyes tended to light up at a work of art, whatever it was and no matter how bad it looked. He enjoyed viewing other people’s masterpieces. His eyes looked up at Zara.

“I hear you’re training in the Old Shrine,” he said.

Zara looked shocked, “How did you know that, I didn’t tell you!”

“You didn’t,” Puppetmaster looked at Shuppet, “He did. He also tells me that he was left in your locker at school…”

“I was late!”

Puppetmaster laughed and handed Zara back her new weapons, “You need a scabbard, don’t you?”

Zara shrugged, “I guess, now that you think of it.”

Puppetmaster leaned in from his perch on the large desk, “I could make a pair for you. What do you say?”

She smiled, “If you want to—”

“I must,” Puppetmaster withdrew, ending the decision, “Do you have a bus fair?”

“Yeah, I have enough,” Zara nodded.

“Good then,” he pointed to a broken clock on the wall, “It’s time for you to go or you’ll be late.”

“That clock is broken,” Zara looked at him as if he were insane.

Puppetmaster looked at her and smiled. His purple eyes seemed to glow in the darkening room, “Even a broken clock is right twice a day. And that one says you’ll be late.”

Zara shrugged and walked toward the door, “I’ll see you later, Puppetmaster.”

“Goodbye, friend,” Puppetmaster said as the bell rang. There was a moment of silence as the dolls all seemed to settle for sleep. Shuppet looked up at its master. Puppetmaster smiled, “Oh, shush, so what if it isn’t 8:30. She’ll just be early then.”