I was lying down on the ground panting heavily because of the beatdown I got from Natsumi-san. She stood there carefreely not even showing a bit of worry on her face as she looked down on me. She stabbed the long handle of her scythe right beside my face and rolled me over.
"You are definitely trying to kill me. Do you really hate me this much?" I said while panting.
"If I wanted to kill you, you would have been dead the second I move my legs. So no, I was not trying to kill you," she said and poked my chest with the scythe handle. "And now that I have seen how your body will move in a fight, we can get to train for real now."
"Huh?"
So, what we have been doing right now was just a beat down? Was she taking revenge for the punishment I gave her yesterday? It was really her fault for pulling off something like that. Give me a break.
"Don’t give up Kazu-kun!" Ai cheered from the sidelines clapping her hands trying to encourage me.
"Get up Kazuki, and show me your stance," Natsumi-san said poking my chest.
Wincing in pain, I stood up somehow and looked at the katana in my hand and that was when I noticed something on the scabbard which I did not before. There was a handle made on the scabbard and before I thought that it was only for holding the katana in place but now that I hold it, I felt it could be used as a weapon.
"So you noticed that finally? Kazuto would hold the katana in his right hand and since the scabbard was pretty strong and was made of wood, he made it sharp at the end to even kill the vampires with it," Natsumi-san said smiling.
"Dad really comes up with really absurd ideas but I don’t think it is that bad," I said.
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I got in my stance and held the katana in my right hand and the scabbard upside down with the tip face back in my left hand. I bent my legs a little and face Natsumi-san who had her scythe placed on her shoulder. Her eyes scanned me from top to bottom and I saw her eye twitch at some points.
"Though your stance is not that bad though there is one thing that really irritates me," she said and walked over to me. "You put too much weight on your forward leg. It is very easy to throw you down if we were in a fight."
I looked at myself and realized that unconsciously, I was leaning forward holding the weapon. Natsumi-san held my shoulder and pulled me back a little putting more weight on my back leg and then pushed my back straightening it up. She then proceeded to align my shoulders with my body and in the end, I felt a little better standing that way. Why didn’t I do it before?
"That is much better," she said and got her scythe off her shoulder. "Now, attack me."
I complied with her order and charged at her. As I got in the range, I raised my right hand to slash at her but she sliced upward at me and I quickly blocked it with the scabbard. Though I was able to block her hit but it really had a lot of power to it that I got thrown up. My eyes trailed at the ceiling and I felt a kick on my stomach pushing me back.
It was so strong that I started coughing since the air was almost knocked out of my lungs. A certain piece of advice from Natsumi-san got played back in my brain.
Don’t let your opponent get out of your sight.
"Well, you were finally able to block my attack when I was holding back, I will give you that much," Natsumi-san said and clapped her hands lightly.
"Are you just boasting or really holding back?" I asked her getting the air back in my body.
"Believe me, kid, I have seen her fight many monsters and she really is holding back," Iwaguchi-san said while Ai cheered.
"Yaay! Kazu-kun blocked an attack. Keep it up!" Ai cheered and even though it sounded really weird, I felt a little confidence build up in me.
I got back on my feet and my body was paining all over. My legs were shaking due to the pain but I was still able to hold my ground. Seeing me, Natsumi-san smirked and dropped her scythe on the ground. The loud sound of the weapon hit the concrete ground resounded in the room but I did not let my eyes of Natsumi-san. I am not making the same mistake again now.
As I expected, she charged at me with her fist clenched and jumped up kicking and aiming for my head. I bent down to dodge it and Ai cheered in the back. Natsumi-san landed behind me and I quickly turned around to see her already close to me as she punched me in the face but I blocked it with the scabbard.
"Huh, you are slowly getting better. What does the saying go like? The more hurt a person gets the stronger he becomes?" Natsumi-san said and grabbed my hand throwing me over but I was able to get out in time and land on my feet.
"Well, I don’t really follow sayings of other people so I don’t know. But this one might make some sense," I said and this time, I was the one who attacked first.
Getting in range, I sliced the scabbard horizontally at Natsumi-san’s head and she bent down to dodge it only to meet my katana’s blade which was on its way to cut her. She smirked and held the blade with her bare hands stopping it in its tracks. I felt the amount of force she put in it because I was not able to get my blade out of her hold. Her power is inhuman.
"Finally putting some brain in your fights now," Natsumi-san said somewhat proudly. "As I thought, getting you in a fight and instructing during that time is the best way to teach you. Now, let’s have a rundown of the places you have to aim for when fighting a vampire."
"So, what have we been doing all the time now?" I asked Natsumi-san loosening my body.
"Making you get used to being hurt and using your weapon. These two things are inevitable in a battle because no one is invincible in a fight. Your sword is a part of you so use it that way. Get as familiar with it as possible."
"Okay, so fighting a vampire, where should I aim for? I mean, seeing Ai fight so many of the vampires, the heart is the place to get the fatal blow but I have seen her beheading many vampires multiple times. Is there a reason for that?" I questioned.
"There is. That is because, at the end of the day, they were humans. Our brain is the main control system of our body and when beheaded, that part will be detached from the body and it will render them defenseless and not able to fight properly for some time. It is preferred to do this when fighting a vampire that you know will be strong and hard to defeat. Some noble can regrow their heads within three seconds but in a battle of life and death, that much time is more than enough to get the win," Natsumi-san explained and I held my chin thinking.
So strictly speaking, at the point where I am. I should first go for the head and then give the fatal blow. I am still far too inexperienced in a fight and vampire hunting so that also makes a far more viable option than normal. Then what about the other body parts?
"Then what about the other body parts? I mean limbs and all?" I asked Natsumi-san.
"Vampire limbs can regrow a lot quicker and they can be instantly reattached if they have it next to where it was cut off. So, cutting a limb or two won’t do anything much except if they are the legs. They can render them motionless for some time but they can still use their arms even if they are at a disadvantage. When fighting a vampire, strength normally doesn’t come into account since the battle is more concentrated on strategy and speed," she explained.
"So having overwhelming physical strength won’t do anything?"
"Exactly because vampires also have a lot of physical strength which we cannot imagine of fighting but their speed is manageable. Like how it goes, if you can’t defeat an enemy in strength then use your speed, if you can’t do that then use your brain but never give up in a fight because miracles don’t happen on their own. Giving up in a fight against a vampire is the same as giving up your life," Natsumi-san said and I gulped because she said it with a lot of seriousness. "Okay, now that is enough. Get ready for some more combat practice. Iwaguchi, you’re up."
"What? Me? You know Natsumi-san I don’t know how to hold back in a fight," Iwaguchi-san said with pure concern and worry in his voice.
"That is exactly why I am telling you. When fighting Kazuki, I cannot go all out since I don’t see him being strong enough for that. You are a better choice for this," Natsumi-san said blatantly telling me I am just too weak.
"Can I do it?" Ai asked raising her hand.
I looked at who had stars in her eyes and it was not because she wanted to fight against me. That was definitely not it.
"You can have your one-on-one time with Kazuki later. Also, you cheering for him is doing wonders so keep doing that," Natsumi-san said and rolled her scythe turning it into a small pen.
Ai lowered her head dejected and I had the feeling of patting her head but I don’t think I will do it in front of Natsumi-san again. Not to mention I am in the middle of being trained. I am still too weak and I need to get better and this was something that couldn’t happen overnights. I am so going to exhaust myself today.
Iwaguchi-san walked before me and placed her hands in his pocket and got out two keys. They transformed and became bigger and quickly took the shape of two combat axes. For some reason, I think this weapon really suited him. No offense to him.
"Okay then Kazuki, I am apologizing in advance if I hurt you," Iwaguchi-san said and I blinked my eyes and he was no longer there.
My eyes darted around and I could not see where he was. I suddenly felt a presence right in front of me and I looked down seeing Iwaguchi-san crouching down with his axes ready to cut off my leg. I jumped back avoiding my kneecap from being cut off but I did not get enough time to react to the combat axe’s hilt hitting my stomach making me lean forward and my leg got kicked making me fall down face first.
A weight got on my back and I felt a cold, sharp blade on my neck. How long did it take for me to end up like this? Two seconds? Yeah, that sounds about right.
"Ouch," I said out loud.
"I am so sorry Kazuki. I could not hold back during the fight," Iwaguchi-san said worriedly.
"No, it’s fine Iwaguchi-san. I think this is exactly what Natsumi-san intended to happen. Isn’t it Natsumi-san?" I said looking at her.
"How did you figure it out?" she asked sarcastically.
"Because I know how great and dedicated of a teacher you are," I said and Iwaguchi-san got off my back and pulled me up helping me stand. "You don’t even think twice before doing something different if it meant that it would make your student get better a lot faster."
"Exactly, though I know basics are very important but we don’t know how much time for that so I decided to put you in a battle and let you adapt is the best way to go about it. You are pretty good at adapting aren’t you Kazuki?" Natsumi-san said with a smug on her face and Ai puffed out her chest proudly.
"That’s my Kazu-kun," she said.
After that, I was back at sparring with Iwaguchi-san and after every single loss, I could tell that I was putting up a better fight but I was really exhausted at the end of all this. As I was lying down, I crouched down and pocked my cheek and I looked at her looking at me with a big smile on my face which cheered me up.
"Let’s go and have that lunch Kazu-kun," she said to me giving me a big smile.
"Sure, let’s go."
I really got the best teacher and best cheerleader for myself.
I am so lucky.
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