Chapter 5: Opportunity
"Look at what you did kid. You broke one of my prized possessions"
"You broke your own possession by slicing it in half you dumb geezer" I said with an indignant tone
"If you weren't so incompetent it wouldn't have snapped like that. That blade was forged to near perfection, if it breaks the fault is on the swordsman wielding it" He said while taking deep breaths to calm himself
I clenched my hands tight, holding back the urge to scream at him. 'Maybe if you taught me properly. Maybe I wouldn't be so weak'
Slap
A loud slapping noise resounded through the garden as I was rudely awakened from my thoughts. All the rage that had been building up fizzled out while I stared up and my grandpa who was wearing a disgusted expression. Only for it to burn brighter than ever a few seconds later after I realized what happened
I dug my nails into my palms, my knuckles white as I held back my urges to lunge at my mentor.
"You fool." He simply said, no tone of anger or disgust in his voice. Only disappointment. "You don't deserve to hold a sword."
'Oh shut up you stupid bastard who gives a fuck about the art of the sword. Just let me wield one. I don't give a flying fuck about what you're preaching' Those words got stuck in my throat, like a dam waiting to burst at the slightest nudge.
But my grandpa said nothing. He silently walked behind the boulder again and emerged with another sword and a key.
"Take these. If you dare break this sword, it's your head that's gonna roll." I had the feeling he wasn't joking. "As for the key, go to the library and look for a trap door. It contains everything you need to know about what I just did
"Come back when you mastered every movement in that book. This is your last chance with me kid, remember that" My grandpa said with a trace of warmth
"If you manage to do it, I will overlook your blunders and teach you properly. Though if you succeed i doubt there'll be much for me to teach you"
I reluctantly took the items from his hands and looked at him one last time
"Thank you. And I'm sorry" I said, giving him a deep bow
He placed his hand on my head and ruffled my short hair.
"You better be." He said while gripping my head and shaking it violently.
"I know you can do it. In my professional opinion as your mentor, I think you'll crash and burn, you are utterly incompetent and you'll be lucky if you can learn even the first form
"But as your grandpa, I know you'll do just fine" He said, briefly flashing a smile before going back to a stern expression
I gave him a sheepish nod and smile before scurrying away. As I walked away I realized something. 'I think that old man isn't half bad', I thought, tears threatening to burst from my eyes.
The unbridled rage I felt completely dissipated, being replaced with an equal amount of shame. Shame for not being good enough, shame for being weak. Shame for my own misguided anger.
'The only person I should be angry at is myself. I won't miss this chance' I thought to myself, as the tears began flooding out.
"Yukiko, Yukiko! What happened? Are you ok?" A concerned house servant spotted me crying and rushed over
"I'm fine. I just... scraped my knee" I cried, though my words were incoherent mess while I tried speaking through my sobbing.
"Poor thing, let me have a look at that" She lifted the pants of my hakama - a traditional dress resembling a kimono- and looked at my knee
"Your knee appears to be fine, are you sure you scraped it?" She asked with an expression I couldn't make out through my teary eyes.
"No, I scraped it" I said, still crying
The servant said nothing for a while, patting my back and waiting for me to finish crying. All the servants in the house were kind and caring. Either that or they were scared of what would happen if they weren't.
When I finished crying, I got up and thanked the kind lady before making my way back to where I stashed the sword. Afterall I couldn't carry it back in broad daylight.
"Are you sure you're ok Yukiko? Should I contact the doctor?" She asked with a worried look on her face
"I'm fine, really. I'm just exhausted from exercising and I just fell." I said with a smile
"If you say so" She sighed, not asking any further questions. "But if there's anything wrong, you can tell me"
"Sure I will"
With that, I left and looked for my sword. I could carry the key around with me but the sword would raise questions. Especially since it looked nothing like the swords dad and Tatsuya use. It was a slender, gently curved longsword around 60 cm long. Its blue hilt was covered in white handle wrapping, encasing it like clouds in the sky. The guard was beautifully adorned with various patterns and colored the same white as my hair.
I continued staring at the blade in pure awe. Its scabbard was of lacquered wood also dyed a beautiful white, with little ropes hanging near the guard.
I then carefully unsheathed the blade and took a peek. What I saw was a little disappointing though. It was just a regular looking blade, the same I saw a million times while training with dad. I put it back into the scabbard and continued admiring the outside.
'If I ever get my own sword' I thought 'I want it to be just like this'
The key on the other hand was nothing special. It was made of iron and after touching it, it gave your hands the same metallic smell as fiddling around with a few quarters in your pockets would.
After placing my sword with the guard resting against the belt of my pants (To visualize, look at the cover of this book). I headed to the library. Though, the blade was so long and I was so short that it basically touched the ground whenever I walked, so I decided to just carry it instead.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone