The Daughter Of Hideyoshi

Chapter 16

The day felt like it dragged on forever. I practiced the moves that dad showed me with the knife. It didn't go exactly like I thought it would, but I did get better with the knife. It felt good to practice outside. The air was warm, but not stifling hot. The sun sat high in the sky, lighting up the yard with a warm yellow glow. Clouds passed, but they didn't drift over the sun at all. A cooling wind passed once in a while, but not much. It was a perfect day to be practicing, seeing how the weather didn't change that much. I walked around in circles as I practiced the moves that I was shown. I kept focusing on my hand, trying not to make the knife slip again. The palm of my hand felt dry and starting to pulse, due to the tight grip that I had on it. My knuckles were white as snow and my fingers felt like they could snap off at any moment. I shrugged off the pain and continued to practice, trying not to show it on my face. I took a deep breath as I did one final move, but this time I winced and dropped the knife. I held my wrist as I stretched out my fingers, feeling the pull of the muscles just tightening as I relaxed even more. I closed my eyes as I took a deep breath and massaged the spot that was in pain. "You alright, Harp?" dad asked as I looked up at him. He stood tall with his sword tip resting on the ground. He studied me with a worried look on his face. I nodded. "Yep. Just held the knife too tightly," I said, as I started to shake it off. "You don't have to hold the knife that tightly, especially that knife. You can break your hand that way," Mitsunari said. I chuckled. "Yeah, and I almost broke bones twice already," I said, as I looked at my hand.

I got up off the ground as I shook my hand and took a deep breath. "Ok. I think I can try again," I said, as I picked up the knife. Dad took a deep breath himself. "Alright. Whenever your ready," he said, as I nodded. Mitsunari sighed. "Try to loosen your grip on the knife. It might be harder but you're not going to break your hand practicing," he said, as I nodded. "Ok. I'm ready," I said, as I looked at the knife. I opened up my hand as I regripped the knife in a more comfortable grip. I took a deep breath as I relaxed again. Dad stepped back out of the way. "Alright Harp, whenever you're ready," he said, as I relaxed more. I took a deep breath as I did the moves one more time. I kept my mind focused on my form as I did them. When I did the final move, the knife slipped out of my hand again. I studied the knife as I took a deep breath. "Is fighting always this hard?" I asked as dad chuckled. "Maybe we should call it a day. We've been practicing for a while," he said, as I looked at the knife. "Yeah, maybe you're right," I said, as I handed him the knife. He took the knife and started to take the protective sleeve off. I took a deep breath as I looked down at my hand again. "You did very well, seeing how the knife is too big for you," he said, as I took a deep breath. "It was hard. But I think I got the moves down," I said, as dad looked at me. A huge smile grew on his face. "Wanna try a sword?" he asked as my eyes widened. "Is that safe? I almost stabbed myself ten times with the knife," I said, as dad chuckled. "Harp. It's wood. I think it'll be fine, plus it's good to learn just in case it's your only weapon," he said, as I shrugged. "If you think it's safe," I said, as dad smiled. "Alright. You just take it easy. I'll be right back," he said, as he walked to the edge of the yard. I took a deep breath as Mitsunari handed me a bottle of water. "You are doing good today," he said, as I took a drink. "Thanks. But I feel like it's not good enough. I hate to bring it back up, but I did better when I attacked Yukimura," I said, as I dropped my head for reminding myself.

Kanbee took a deep breath. "You'll get used to it. Just takes time and a lot of practice. You just got to keep trying," he said, as I sighed. "Is practice the same as if being in battle?" I asked as Mitsunari chuckled. "It's similar. Your not gonna die doing practice and we're not gonna put you into battle untrained," he said, as Toshiiee chuckled. "I dunno. It sounded like she did pretty well against Yukimura. Maybe he might be able to train her," he said, as he chuckled again. I took a deep breath. "I don't understand what I did differently. I was perfectly calm fighting today," I said, as Mitsunari looked up. "How were you feeling when you met Yukimura?" he asked as I looked up. "I was scared. I felt like I was gonna get hurt. Even though Yukimura was trying to help, I felt threatened and had to do something. So I started attacking, hoping that I wasn't going to die," I explained. Mitsunari studied me in silence. "Could it be because your adrenalin made you go into attack mode?" he asked as I shrugged. "Maybe," I said, as Toshiiee looked up. "Maybe Harper has to fight with reactions," he said, as I studied him weirdly. "Maybe. Some people wait for their opponent to fight first, so their reactions make them fight better," Mitsunari explained. I looked at him. "Do you think dad would be comfortable making the first swing?" I asked as Mitsunari shrugged. "Ask him. Maybe it'll work," he said as I nodded. "Maybe if I don't get better, we can try it," I said as walking came from behind. "I'm back," dad said, as I turned around to face him.