Baka Deshi

Kirara sighed. This child was going to be difficult. It had only been a day when she accepted Hinoe, and she was questioning why she ever picked her up anyway. Sure sure, she was a family friend. Sure, Hinoe was a good fighter, she had seen her in action before. So what if the child was raised to be a pure-bred fighter? What was a fighter with no spirit? I wonder if she really IS Ido's kid imouto. She sure doesn't have the spunk I thought she'd inherit from him. Again, she gave Hinoe that analyzing look.

"Hinoe!"

The small framed girl froze immediately in her fighting exercise, in perfect sync as she heard her name being spoken by her sensei. She didn't even turn around. Her heavy but controlled breathing was something to be noticed.

"Practice with those two kodachi doing those 10 different katas, 5 times each!"

The young girl nodded, continuing on into the late afternoon. Her fatigue was obvious, but she gave no reactions to that a child would react to. Kirara sighed deeply. Rebellion, protests, complaints, whining, those would be a normal reactions of a student. Be it a boy or girl. These commands should have irritated the student, and give a bit of reassurance to the master. Kirara didn't have a name for a style, but hell, why do you need to name it? It would be more effective if your enemies could not probe the basic movements and predict the attacks. They didn't need a name. They just needed specifications.

Her... style allowed her to read her opponents, aside from ki. She could read them perfectly. But this child... why couldn't she read her? Hinoe's thoughts were closed, and sealed. How could you read ki without Hinoe's emotions? Would it matter if she gave Hinoe 500 or 1000 repitions of an exercise?

"Hinoe!"

Another quick and fluid movement. Hinoe's reactions are perfect. But she's just not... reacting... Hinoe stood, poised and in her stance perfectly, again frozen and not answering. Still not turning around. Kirara looked at the sunset. It had been hours at least. "Nothing Hinoe. Finish your exercises and then bring some water from the river."

Hinoe nodded, a very short and curt action. Kirara noted the stamina and will power she had to go on. Even when she sharply called out her name, the control of movement was quite promising. But they were the only promising signs in a very discouraging first day of training.

Strange kid... doesn't talk, and when she does, she never talks above a whisper.

Kirara sipped her sake thoughtfully, observing her gakusei across the fire. Hinoe sat as far away as possible from her, while still staying close to the fire. Her dinner was finished a few minutes ago, and Kirara tried to explain her fighting style to Hinoe, explaining even the most complex and exciting moves and philosophy. But she had only reacted by picking her rice. All Hinoe did was stare into the rice and pick up her hashi, take about 2 or 3 rice grains, and drop them again. Then she would repeat the process. Mattaku, she follows me all this time and when I finally accept her, she's like.... THIS. Kid imouto of Ido, che.

"Do you eat?" Kirara was tired of this. She was not known to be a very patient person.

Hinoe looked up, startled by the sudden movement.

"I asked you a question, baka deshi. Do. You. Eat? Then it is your turn to take the initiative to answer, 'Hai sensei, I do.' or maybe for you, 'No sensei, I do not eat. I don't exist!'"

"H..h-hai, sensei." Hinoe whispered.

"Hai, what?"

"I... do eat. Just...... not now."

Kirara had just had about enough. At least IDO had spunk and personality. This girl... ugh! She flung the bowl of sake and pointed at Hinoe, across the flames. "Fine!! See how long you can keep up with MY kind of training with such an uncooperative attitude!! I'll promise you this: I'm turning you into a worthwhile student even if I have to kill you!!"

At the word, "kill", Hinoe was instantly on her feet. Her wide-eyed gaze was so genuine and silly that Kirara felt her anger leave her. "Oh sit down, baka!" Hinoe remained standing. "SIT!"

The girl sat, eyeing her sensei warily. "What am I going to do with you, Hinoe?"

Kirara wasn't surprised when she received no reply.

The baka deshi was watching her in the darkness. Kirara kept her breathing light and regular, disguising herself as asleep as she watched Hinoe through narrowed eyelids. Hinoe sat, tense against the wall with her knees drawn up, her chin resting on them. The picture of innocence. But this picture was different. It was a picture of tense innocence. In the moonlight, her eyes looked huge. Does she even sleep, even after I brought her to this hut when I met her? Kirara knew that Hinoe's green gaze had not shifted once in the hour. Again, she found herself growing angry, an anger directed at Hinoe, and at herself, and this whole damned situation. Kirara sat up abruptly, and Hinoe merely blinked.

"You react?" Kirara asked sarcastically, all the while smirking. "Good. Very good for you. I thought you turned to stone." She graced Hinoe with an appraising look. "What's the matter with you? I thought you were intelligent, but now I wonder. Maybe you're sick. Is that it?"

Hinoe shook her head, an innocent, pleading look in her eyes.

"This silence is going to end." Kirara said grimly, walking over to where Hinoe sat. "One way or another, this stops now." She reached out for Hinoe, but she shuddered, closing her eyes. "I'm not going to hit you, baka." Kirara laid her gentle hand on the small girl's forehead. Hinoe looked up at her questioningly, fear and hope passing in quick succession across her face.

"You're going to have to get used to being frightened if you don't answer me." Kirara said. "You're sick." The sensei gave the gakusei another analytical look. Then she slid her hand down Hinoe's face. "Your face is hot. See? You could have spared me the trouble if you've spoken up. You know why you're sick? Because you don't eat and you don't sleep and you don't speak up. You don't make any effort to be well, so you deserve to be sick. Don't you agree?"

Hinoe nodded, putting her forehead on her knees.

"You know..." Kirara said more gently. "You said things to me when I found you. In fact, you said some very intelligent things... things I wouldn't expect kids... let alone adults, to say. But your behavior is a heavy disappointment. I didn't want to become a master of my fighting to waste my time training a worthless gakusei. You had better decide. Tomorrow morning, I want you gone, or else ready to learn with all your heart and will to be strong. And if you choose to leave, go FAR away, and NEVER show your face to me again or I really will strike it. Understand?"

Hinoe nodded, her head still lowered.

Kirara raised the girl's chin, making her blue gaze meet her green gaze to meet. "I said... 'Understand'?"

"Hai..." Hinoe whispered.

"Alirght then. Now go to sleep. You have a big decision to make before dawn." Kirara firmly and gently started to tuck the poor girl in, putting her hands on Hinoe's eyes. "Now close your eyes."

Kirara was blown away by an aura that Hinoe had produced herself, the wind swirling deadly around the crackles of light blue which surrounded her deshi. Being the sensei, Kirara had shown her 'surprise' by putting herself into a stance which stopped her body from crashing into the wall. Dust clouds errupted from her sliding, but she was too busy staring at her deshi, standing in the middle of the hut. Hinoe had her fists clenched, her eyes... finally filled with some kind of emotion.

Fear.

The aura immediately died out, the objects around the girl dropped, and Hinoe's head dropped. "I.... I... I-I didn't... mean... I mean..." The girl never spoke above whisper.

"Gomen nasai, sensei..." Hinoe said in such a soft tone, that whispering was not even close to it.

Kirara had felt the blow, but it was nothing that couldn't be healed in the morning. She fully stood, smiling. "Daijobu ne, baka deshi. I'm just glad you have reactions. Now..." Kirara walked over to her and again, and repeated the process to tuck her in. "Get some sleep." Kirara covered Hinoe's eyes again..

"I... I can't!!" Hinoe sat up abruptly, shutting her eyes. Her voice was actually over a soft whisper now, a real voice to be heard.

Kirara felt her anger frustration rising again. "Why not?!"

"I... I can't sleep!!" The words were blurted out so quickly, and with such aggression and vehemence that it didn't fit this... soft-spoken girl she knew a few minutes ago. "I... I can't close my eyes without seeing... seeing everything!! Everything happening over and over again!!" Tears made rivers down the small girl's cheeks. "I-I... I want to sleep, but I can't!! I want to eat, but I can't... I... CAN'T!!" Her tiny fists beat against her knees, emphasizing each word.

Kirara sighed again. She knew how kids would react. But this was only a 4 year old, Kai was older. Had Kai ever been like this? Oh well... "Well..." Kirara said. "This is better than your silence."

The girl's weeping grew louder, filling the entire room.

"Ohhhh... come here you baka." Kirara sat down and drew Hinoe close, awkwardly putting her arm around the girl's shoulders. "Be quiet, you little brat..." Kirara said gently.

"Haven't you learned yet that the world cares nothing for your tears?" She added.

But still... she wouldn't let go of Hinoe until she felt the small, tense body relaxing. When Hinoe fell into a much needed sleep, Kirara put the small girl on her futon. For a moment, she stood looking down, pondering the child's tear-stained face. "You are a real pain in the neck... I guess you're not so different from Ido afterall." she said softly, "But maybe I didn't choose too badly." Kirara went to fix another bed for herself, and stretched out, closing her eyes. You might just do, after all... and who knows? Maybe you are the one.

Kirara woke to a room full of sunlight. For a moment, she wondered why the hut was so bright inside... then she saw that the door was wide open. Her eyes quickly flashed to the girl's empty futon... a very dangerous expression darkening her face. She quickly jumped up, saying things that would put Tasuki to shame. After that... "Damn her!! I'll kill the little coward!!" Immediately, she rushed outside, nearly tripping over the tiny figure leaning over the fire.

"Ara?" The small figure spoke. Her voice was now normal, and not whispering. But it was a timid.. shy... voice.

"OMAE!" Kirara roared, pointing down at Hinoe. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Kirara knew she must have looked horribly foolish, standing disheveled and barefoot in front of her deshi, but she hoped her stern tone of voice would intimidate the small child.

Hinoe tipped her head to the side, looking at Kirara with curious eyes... and eyes that was good at analyzing just like her. As if she was reading Kirara's thoughts. "I didn't go very far away, sensei. I just went to gather some wood so I could cook our breakfast." Her voice still hadn't changed. The gentle and shyness of the tone was still there, with marks of agression and intelligence.

"Good... good idea." Kirara relaxed, slightly mollified, and unclenched her fists. The girl noticed this and smiled. The green gaze that met Kirara's was clear and direct, no hint of diffidence of the previous day. "So... I guess my gakusei is recovering?"

"Hai, sensei. I mean.. I feel better and the world doesn't seem quite so strange. But I still... I still don't think I can talk much... not yet." Hinoe tipped her head to the other side again, an action that Kirara found very cute and innocent. But the way Hinoe did it, was shyly.... Kirara knew this girl was shy. "I'm not used to this..." Hinoe continued. "My voice didn't want to be heard."

"You have an annoying voice, so I can understand such sentiments entirely." Kirara said dryly. "Speak or not, as it suits you so long as you answer to me when I talk to you. Now stop sitting there like an idiot and fix my BREAKFAST! We have a lot of training to do today." Kirara turned to enter the hut, but the girl remained by the fire, always watching her every move.

"Sensei?"

"Nani?" She turned to face her gakusei.

Hinoe spoke in that shy, quiet tone of hers. "I'm sorry I'm a disappointment to you...." She swallowed and looked away. "I... I really don't mean to be. You saved my life and you were kind to me..."

Kirara rolled her eyes and smirked. "I've never been kind to you, baka deshi." Then she folded her arms.

"Ara? Well, anyway, I want you to know," Hinoe raised her bright, yet dark jade eyes to Kirara's face, "I want you to know that I'm going to work very hard. I'll be the best for you!! I promise that I'll never... EVER disappoint you again!"