[Honda Dojo] Early Morning Practice || Alfred

[Kiku Honda]

them mad sword skills Alfred F. Jones words: 590

The light of the rising sun through the window roused Kiku from his sleep, hand moving to shut off the bedside alarm before it even attempted to ring. Slipping out of bed, he stepped over the sleeping white dog and exited his bedroom, the noise waking said dog who bounded after his owner. Walking into the bathroom to start his morning routine, the small ball of fluff very nearly plowed into Kiku's leg. Cracking a small smile, he looked down at the overly excited dog. "Ohayo gozaimasu, Pochi-kun." {Good morning, Pochi-kun.} With a bark and wag of his tail, Kiku gave him a thorough petting before continuing with his standard routine. One relaxing soak in his bathtub later and Kiku was slipping on a navy blue hakama over his white kendogi and tieing it in place. He wasn't expecting anyone visiting the dojo at this time so he might as well get some practice in. Walking into the living room while also avoiding the hyper dog at his feet, he opened his chest of equipment and pulled out his katana. The hilt and saya were worn down with age but as his father and grandfather did before him, he always took extra care in maintaining the blade. As such, it still maintained its sharp bite from when it was newly crafted. The purple braid around the hilt held a menuki of three sakura blossoms tightly within its bind and the guard was engraved with bamboo shoots on either side. Securing the saya to his waist, Kiku descended the stairs to the back room of his dojo, aptly named the Honda Martial Arts Dojo. A simple name, but it got the meaning across and that was all he needed. There, he grabbed five rolls of goza and a stand for them and stepped into the main space of the dojo. It didn't take long to set up the stand with one of the rolls sitting vertically on it and he unsheathed the sword, falling into stance. 'Focus now. Maintain control of every muscle.' It was an advanced technique with a simple routine in theory. Diagonal cut downward from right to left. A second diagonal cut, against gravity this time, from right up to left. A quick recovery to cut the second fragment in half. Kiku centered himself before striking. First cut done. It was always the easiest for him; the thick material was never an issue. If he really thought it over, this ease was actually quite frightening. Goza held the same density as human flesh, after all, and should he include green bamboo with the goza, it would be mimicking not only flesh but human bone as well. Now on to the last two cuts. Rotating his blade, he sliced upward. 'So far, so good.' Now for the hard part. Eyes focused on the detached fragment, he switch his blade angle once again and brought it across his body to sink into the goza, successfully slicing it in two. Technique completed, Kiku straightened and relaxed, taking a single step back. Not bad for the first practice of the morning. Slipping the katana back into its sheath, he approached the stand and removed the goza that still remained on it. Time to up the ante. Kiku picked up the remaining four rolls he had set behind the stand and situated them on four consecutive pegs of said stand. Moving back around to the other side, he faced the stand, hand ready on the hilt to draw... Hakama Kendogi Katana Part Names Menuki Goza Kawasemi Cutting Technique hidden sympathy

Made by Sifr @ THQ.