Post by Maxine on Jul 11, 2021 7:24:22 GMT -8
Once more.
”Your pose is too stilted. Relax your right leg. Let the momentum run through you.”
Once more.
”Loosen your arms. Put your heart into each jab. Follow-through as much as you feel is right.”
Once more.
”No, no – let it flow! Let the kata flow from your body. Don’t think about it. Just – act.”
Once more.
”That’s still not it. Your posture is all locked up. Use your instincts!”
Once more ---
”That’s enough for today.”
Maxine lowered her stance at long last. It wasn’t an uncomfortable, or tiresome; but she felt deeply irritated.
She was a machine. This was a waste of her time.
As Maxine waited patiently in the dojo, her unlikely – and perhaps unlucky – tutor shifted to the side. Doctor Unid waited patiently, his intense gaze finally softening as the exercise came to an end. It was clear the pair had a lot to talk about. Unid’s creation could not handle even the basic kata of the Crane School, in spite of all his work. The android could merely stand in silence, awaiting her orders.
Time wore on; minutes through hours. Students and Shinobu staff drifted through the room. But she simply lingered there.
She – didn’t really know what to do, without orders.
”Yo. You’re still here, standing and staring, android. Relax already. If you’re wearing a Shinobu pin, you can take it easy in this city.”
A low, smooth voice – definitely a Shinobu member. A man stood by him, slim and limber; wearing a plain white gi. No doubt a member of the Crane dojo here, but he wore a belt without a single dan. A complete beginner, much like Maxine. He seemed… not quite young, but not old; an adult. Short black hair, with sharp features and sharper eyes. ”You – are the Duchess’s plaything, aren’t you?” asked the man, with an air of suspicion. Maxine merely nodded. She had nothing to hide. ”Right. I’ve seen you ogling her. I know she’s all smiles, but she’s a bad lady. The Shinobu are all like that, mind you. Oolong City is full to the brim with bad people.”
Maxine cast her gaze downward. Was her Duchess bad? She wasn’t sure. But, she had been kind to her, so she had no room to judge otherwise. ”And you – are you a bad person, sir?” asked the machine, her tone uneasy. She still wasn’t used to… other people. ”And… me?”
A sharp laugh. But not a condescending one. ”Yeah. I’ve been bad. You, though? That’ll remain to be seen. Of course – what Duchess Rhyme calls bad, and what I call bad, and you call bad – they’re all different.” Falling silent, and finally with a serious expression rather than a smile, he continued. ”I’m like you. I didn’t fit in with these martial artist types. Fighting was all I was good for, and all I enjoyed; but I never called it a sport. Yeah, but… at least I always fought for what I believed in.”
Silence fell once more. Maxine took in his words, pensively. Good and bad – she hadn’t understood such things yet. Perspectives… she knew them, but not how to use them. Ah, but, fighting… she had a handle on that much. She tensed, suddenly – the man was right beside her. She hadn’t even seen him close in –
”You look like a lost puppy. I saw your work earlier. I get what you’re feeling. ‘Flow’, ‘spirit’, ‘heart’ – they never meant anything to me, either.” murmured the man, standing by her ear. ”Come with me. Let’s spar properly. No drills, and no rules.”
Yes. Live-fire training. This, she could understand. Maxine gave a sharp nod. She might be new, but she knew that this was where she could learn. She glanced to Doctor Unid and her tutor – and they had not even noticed their company.
So… the unknown beckoned, and Maxine followed.
-------------------------------
It was just another dojo room, but the air was totally different. The man looked so casual and limber, but had an icy cold mood to him. Not a teacher, but – Maxine knew that presence. That was what she associated with combat; not this talk of sport and respect.
”Right. You’re a full android, right? A synth, they said? So – you can’t die, can you?”
Dangerous words.
”You’re correct. So long as my central unit isn’t damaged, I can be put back together with ease. Once, my design was state of the art – but, it’s been a long time. My parts are fairly basic now. I simply won’t die like a normal person.”
”That’s good. You already figured out, didn’t you?”
”Yes. You’re not a martial artist. You’re a killer.”
”It’s easy to pick them, isn’t it? You, too. You’re a killer as well, aren’t you? …Or, maybe that’s just the nature of a robot?” He talked about such a matter with an easy-going smile. Maxine was glad for it. Yes, for it was all just business. ”I wish to find that out. Usually, kindred spirits like that just clash. But, you really are just a baby. I’m just some old punk now, but… just like those foolish teachers, I too want to see my techniques passed on.”
With a slow motion, his ki materialised in his hands – a pair of thin blades, like boomerangs or cutlasses. A beautiful, smooth white energy; with no flourishes. ”Well – my technique. But, I never learned, or had a teacher, so… I don’t know how to do this. Aside from…”
”---Killing me.”
…And so, she died.
Interlocking lines, threads of red; crane wings, without opening
He cut her to pieces, again and again.
Yet, she was transfixed.
The technique with no holes.
The art with no flourishes.
The murder with no victim.
She had spent so long doing kata and learning techniques, but they had all been so dry. She comprehended the practical and the pragmatic, and incorporated them, but she was always told – it was about the whole, it was about yourself, it was about your heart. For her, though, martial arts were just a tool. They weren’t art – they were just self-defence.
But his technique – she could finally grasp at something more.
█████ ████████ ████████ ████ ███ ████████
Two blades, four blades, six blades.
Not ki blasts, nor waves, nor weapons.
█████ ██████████ ████████ ████ ███ █████
Smooth motions, unspoken words.
The poem that did not speak of it, yet spoke for it.
Back then, she had liked stories, and this one was more important to her than any other.
█████ █████ ██████████ ████ ███ ███
She practiced for weeks on end, grasping at the butterfly that was just out of her reach.
It was hard at first. She’d never tamed her ki. She only saw it as energy.
But, Doctor Unid, too, was enchanted by the concept, even if he never knew her reasons for investigating it.
Day by day, she found that control deep within. Perhaps still just a program – but still a deeper part of her.
█████ ████ █████ ███ █████████ ████
Mornings and evenings with her Duchess Rhyme, practicing her social skills.
Days spent tuning her programming and shell, slumbering in Doctor Unid’s care.
And nights spent in that dojo, veiled in death, yet with not one fatality.
█████ █████ ████ ██████ █████
…She would do anything to see those days herself.
But now, the real Maxine can only wonder about such old things.
Records to an android – though so real, and simulated throughout the body, were still no more than photographs to a normal being.
Even the past had drifted away.
After she’d found those logs with Two’s help, she’d looked for that killer’s name.
He passed away several years ago, with no one left to bury him.
It was so sad.
She didn’t even get to say thank you.
Yet, she knew he would never care for such a thing anyway.
He had implanted her with his technique, and with his final words.
No doubt he had worn that motto until the day he died.
If you want to survive in this world, brand your chest with these words:
‘Don’t rely on anybody.’
From now on, you’re all on your own.
The only way it should be, for the honourable killer.
[1389/1389]
”Your pose is too stilted. Relax your right leg. Let the momentum run through you.”
Once more.
”Loosen your arms. Put your heart into each jab. Follow-through as much as you feel is right.”
Once more.
”No, no – let it flow! Let the kata flow from your body. Don’t think about it. Just – act.”
Once more.
”That’s still not it. Your posture is all locked up. Use your instincts!”
Once more ---
”That’s enough for today.”
Maxine lowered her stance at long last. It wasn’t an uncomfortable, or tiresome; but she felt deeply irritated.
She was a machine. This was a waste of her time.
As Maxine waited patiently in the dojo, her unlikely – and perhaps unlucky – tutor shifted to the side. Doctor Unid waited patiently, his intense gaze finally softening as the exercise came to an end. It was clear the pair had a lot to talk about. Unid’s creation could not handle even the basic kata of the Crane School, in spite of all his work. The android could merely stand in silence, awaiting her orders.
Time wore on; minutes through hours. Students and Shinobu staff drifted through the room. But she simply lingered there.
She – didn’t really know what to do, without orders.
”Yo. You’re still here, standing and staring, android. Relax already. If you’re wearing a Shinobu pin, you can take it easy in this city.”
A low, smooth voice – definitely a Shinobu member. A man stood by him, slim and limber; wearing a plain white gi. No doubt a member of the Crane dojo here, but he wore a belt without a single dan. A complete beginner, much like Maxine. He seemed… not quite young, but not old; an adult. Short black hair, with sharp features and sharper eyes. ”You – are the Duchess’s plaything, aren’t you?” asked the man, with an air of suspicion. Maxine merely nodded. She had nothing to hide. ”Right. I’ve seen you ogling her. I know she’s all smiles, but she’s a bad lady. The Shinobu are all like that, mind you. Oolong City is full to the brim with bad people.”
Maxine cast her gaze downward. Was her Duchess bad? She wasn’t sure. But, she had been kind to her, so she had no room to judge otherwise. ”And you – are you a bad person, sir?” asked the machine, her tone uneasy. She still wasn’t used to… other people. ”And… me?”
A sharp laugh. But not a condescending one. ”Yeah. I’ve been bad. You, though? That’ll remain to be seen. Of course – what Duchess Rhyme calls bad, and what I call bad, and you call bad – they’re all different.” Falling silent, and finally with a serious expression rather than a smile, he continued. ”I’m like you. I didn’t fit in with these martial artist types. Fighting was all I was good for, and all I enjoyed; but I never called it a sport. Yeah, but… at least I always fought for what I believed in.”
Silence fell once more. Maxine took in his words, pensively. Good and bad – she hadn’t understood such things yet. Perspectives… she knew them, but not how to use them. Ah, but, fighting… she had a handle on that much. She tensed, suddenly – the man was right beside her. She hadn’t even seen him close in –
”You look like a lost puppy. I saw your work earlier. I get what you’re feeling. ‘Flow’, ‘spirit’, ‘heart’ – they never meant anything to me, either.” murmured the man, standing by her ear. ”Come with me. Let’s spar properly. No drills, and no rules.”
Yes. Live-fire training. This, she could understand. Maxine gave a sharp nod. She might be new, but she knew that this was where she could learn. She glanced to Doctor Unid and her tutor – and they had not even noticed their company.
So… the unknown beckoned, and Maxine followed.
-------------------------------
It was just another dojo room, but the air was totally different. The man looked so casual and limber, but had an icy cold mood to him. Not a teacher, but – Maxine knew that presence. That was what she associated with combat; not this talk of sport and respect.
”Right. You’re a full android, right? A synth, they said? So – you can’t die, can you?”
Dangerous words.
”You’re correct. So long as my central unit isn’t damaged, I can be put back together with ease. Once, my design was state of the art – but, it’s been a long time. My parts are fairly basic now. I simply won’t die like a normal person.”
”That’s good. You already figured out, didn’t you?”
”Yes. You’re not a martial artist. You’re a killer.”
”It’s easy to pick them, isn’t it? You, too. You’re a killer as well, aren’t you? …Or, maybe that’s just the nature of a robot?” He talked about such a matter with an easy-going smile. Maxine was glad for it. Yes, for it was all just business. ”I wish to find that out. Usually, kindred spirits like that just clash. But, you really are just a baby. I’m just some old punk now, but… just like those foolish teachers, I too want to see my techniques passed on.”
With a slow motion, his ki materialised in his hands – a pair of thin blades, like boomerangs or cutlasses. A beautiful, smooth white energy; with no flourishes. ”Well – my technique. But, I never learned, or had a teacher, so… I don’t know how to do this. Aside from…”
”---Killing me.”
…And so, she died.
Interlocking lines, threads of red; crane wings, without opening
He cut her to pieces, again and again.
Yet, she was transfixed.
The technique with no holes.
The art with no flourishes.
The murder with no victim.
She had spent so long doing kata and learning techniques, but they had all been so dry. She comprehended the practical and the pragmatic, and incorporated them, but she was always told – it was about the whole, it was about yourself, it was about your heart. For her, though, martial arts were just a tool. They weren’t art – they were just self-defence.
But his technique – she could finally grasp at something more.
█████ ████████ ████████ ████ ███ ████████
Two blades, four blades, six blades.
Not ki blasts, nor waves, nor weapons.
█████ ██████████ ████████ ████ ███ █████
Smooth motions, unspoken words.
The poem that did not speak of it, yet spoke for it.
Back then, she had liked stories, and this one was more important to her than any other.
█████ █████ ██████████ ████ ███ ███
She practiced for weeks on end, grasping at the butterfly that was just out of her reach.
It was hard at first. She’d never tamed her ki. She only saw it as energy.
But, Doctor Unid, too, was enchanted by the concept, even if he never knew her reasons for investigating it.
Day by day, she found that control deep within. Perhaps still just a program – but still a deeper part of her.
█████ ████ █████ ███ █████████ ████
Mornings and evenings with her Duchess Rhyme, practicing her social skills.
Days spent tuning her programming and shell, slumbering in Doctor Unid’s care.
And nights spent in that dojo, veiled in death, yet with not one fatality.
█████ █████ ████ ██████ █████
…She would do anything to see those days herself.
But now, the real Maxine can only wonder about such old things.
Records to an android – though so real, and simulated throughout the body, were still no more than photographs to a normal being.
Even the past had drifted away.
After she’d found those logs with Two’s help, she’d looked for that killer’s name.
He passed away several years ago, with no one left to bury him.
It was so sad.
She didn’t even get to say thank you.
Yet, she knew he would never care for such a thing anyway.
He had implanted her with his technique, and with his final words.
No doubt he had worn that motto until the day he died.
If you want to survive in this world, brand your chest with these words:
‘Don’t rely on anybody.’
From now on, you’re all on your own.
The only way it should be, for the honourable killer.
[1389/1389]