Capítulo 2: Grandpa's Strength!
"497*huff*…498*huff*…499*huff*…500*huff*!" Collapsing on the ground while huffing heavily, a 5 year old Edwin felt as if his muscles were burning after this many push-ups. Sweat was running down his body, vouching for the intensity of his workout.
"Argh, why does grandpa always make me do these stupid exercises, all I want to do is swing a sword!" Harrumphing in displeasure, Edwin got up from the floor of his room as he put on his top, and went out looking for his grandpa. His morning workout was done, so now it was time to practise his swordsmanship, which was by far his favorite thing to do!
'Heh, even grandpa says that I'm so talented it feels like I was born with a sword in hand!' Pride swelled in his chest as he remembered how his grandpa always compliments his pure talent in the art of the sword.
Although some may think otherwise, his pride was not misplaced, after all, being only 5 years old yet standing as one of the best disciples in the dojo was quite the feat to achieve.
Though, when you take into account the fact that he was trained by Shimotsuki Kozaburo himself, it makes much more sense that his talent bloomed like this.
Having his thoughts interrupted by a sudden gust of wind, Edwin found himself already at his grandpa's favorite fishing spot, and it seems he had taken the best time to arrive as Kozaburo was currently battling fiercely against a sea king. 'OOOH, I finally get to see gramps in action, let's go!'
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Pulling as hard as he could on his fishing rod, Kozaburo was currently trying his hardest to reel in the sea king. 'NGH! You better believe I'm gonna eat you for lunch you little fish!' The old man grinned as he thought of the tender meat of this monster.
However, it seems that the one he had caught was quite strong and had good instincts as it didn't wait for even a second to double its efforts at getting away from this crazy old fool.
After all, Kozaburo had been fishing in this same spot for quite a few years and had quite the bad reputation amongst the sea kings of this area, although not many, he still managed to catch one or two every year, thus instilling fear into them.
Yet, it seems that some of them still had courage blazing in their hearts as they didn't hesitate to bite onto the bait, literally.
As the battle went on for more than 10 minutes, both the sea king and the old swordsmith were getting tired. While Kozaburo kept pulling on his fishing rod, the sea king kept pulling the other way, trying by all means to escape.
But, unfortunately for the sea king, it realized it couldn't escape, it initially thought that maybe at some point the rod's line would snap in two but it didn't. As a matter of fact, it even tried biting it off, but when its fangs made contact with the line it felt as if it was trying to bite through seastone.
Continuing its futile struggle, the sea king finally decided that it would put its brain to use and come up with something. As it racked its brian for a solution, the sea king's eyes suddenly went wide as an idea formed inside its mind. It would let the old man pull it out of the water and immediately eat him in one bite!
The sea king, reminiscent of a clownfish but with sharp teeth, grinned savagely, thinking it had solved all the problems in its, blissfully unaware that this very idea was the downfall of every single sea king previously caught by Kozaburo.
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Edwin had stars in his eyes as he watched his grandpa battle with a monstrous marine animal for over 10 minutes! 'Grandpa is crazy stron-' As he was thinking of his grandpa's amazing strength, his thoughts were abruptly cut short as all struggle from the sea king ceased, and Kozaburo instantly pulled a gigantic clownfish out of the water.
The sea king's scales were a beautiful white and orange, the sun's glimmer enhancing their natural color. Yet, now wasn't the time to admire its beauty, for the simple fact that its jaws were currently wide open, ready to munch down on anything in its vicinity.
"So you've finally decided to stop playing around, huh? Burorororo!" Kozaburo laughed as he finally saw the sea king jump out of the water, the exact thing he had been waiting for.
While preparing himself, Kozaburo shouted, "Hey Edwin, look closely, this is the power that you'll need to learn to become truly powerful!" Instantly taking a stance, Kozaburo smiled widely as he suddenly unsheathed his katana and disappeared from his spot, just to reappear right next to the sea king a moment later.
"Take this, you overgrown fish! Ame no Ukihashi O Hakai Suru (Fall of Heaven)!" Watching attentively, Edwin suddenly reeled back in shock, as a hole wide enough that he could pass through it appeared through the sea king right after his grandfather's blade made contact with it. It was insane to think that someone could do something like that so effortlessly.
Although he knew his grandpa was strong, after all he had seen him bring back some sea kings a few times, he never knew that he was this strong. That he could so easily kill a sea king like that…Simply put, Edwin was speechless at his gramps' strength.
'Grandpa is so strong, he's the best! I want to get this strong too, will he tea–Wait a minute, is it those exercises?!' Right at this moment, Edwin seemed to realize a fundamental truth of the universe as his eyes popped out comically. 'Oh no, could I have been this strong already if I hadn't skipped them?'
On the verge of tears, Edwin felt like he had been stupid for not listening to the wisdom of his elders. "So, what'd you think of my skills, huh? Not too shabby, aren't they? Burororo!" Kozaburo looked at his grandson, who already had tears forming in his eyes.. 'Heh, I bet he's gonna ask me to teach him how to do that.'
"Grandpa, teach me how you did that!"
'Bingo.'
Edwin jumped towards Kozaburo taking a hold of his kimono, the sea king lying dead next to them. "I want to do this too! Pretty please?"
"Hmmm, well, it should be fine, right? I mean you're already 5 years old after all." As the old man pondered on what to do, he looked at Edwin who was making puppy eyes at him, "Okay, okay, stop doing that. I'll teach you how to use Ryuo, but you gotta promise to do exactly what I tell you, alright? So that means no more skipping out on your morning exercises, am I clear?"
"Yes grandpa, I promise I'll listen to everything you say!" Sincerely promising to do as he says, Edwin felt excited at the prospect of learning this so-called 'Ryuo' that his grandpa had mentioned.
Breaking out of his thoughts, the little boy looked towards Kozaburo eagerly as he reached towards his waist for his sword, taking his eyes off of his grandpa for merely a second.
Yet as he looked back up, Edwin was stopped dead in his tracks, as in front of him no one was there, not his grandpa, or even that sea king. Astounded, he quickly looked around and immediately spotted his grandpa walking away, the sea king placed on his shoulders.
"Hey! Aren't you gonna teach me?" Calling out towards the old man, Edwin caught up to him, a pout on his face as he gave his grandpa the stink eye.
"Why are you looking at me like that? I'm gonna cook that sea king, I'm hungry. Or are you telling me you don't want to eat some of it too? Burorororo!" The old samurai smirked and proceeded to laugh out loud as he looked at his grandson's stunned expression.
"Heh, surely you're joking gramps, how could I miss out on such a good meal." Making a haughty expression, Edwin followed Kozaburo back to their house next to the dojo.
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Arriving at their destination, Kozaburo immediately shouted out, "Koushirou! Come out, I'll need your help to cook that thing!" Dropping the sea king on the ground, a resounding thud echoed from the garden, attesting to the sea king's impressive weight.
Not long after, a man could be seen coming through the door, along with him a young girl about the same age as Edwin. "Kuina, you go with Edwin to get the spices and cooking utensils. Koushirou, you'll be helping me with preparing the meat." Kozaburo said, separating the tasks between the four people present.
"""Yes, sir!"""
Agreeing, Edwin and Kuina immediately went to get what they were asked to retrieve. "I can't wait to eat that sea king, Shishishishi! What about you, Kuina?" Edwin asked Kuina, as they made their way along the house's main hallway.
"I can't wait! That fish looks so good, Dahahaha!"
As they got to the room with all the cooking essentials, they took all that they needed, thereafter quickly making their way back to the garden, eagerly wanting to see the whole process of dissecting a sea king.
"Grandpa, we got all the stuff you asked for!" Kuina sounded out, as Edwin and her put the stuff down next to the father and son pair. "Thanks kids, I'll be sure to turn that fish into the best thing you'll ever eat, right Koushirou?"
"Of course dad, we can't disappoint the little guys, Hohohoho!"
"Alright, let's do this!" Unsheathing their swords Kozaburo and Koushirou each took a stance, which was quickly followed by multiple sword slashes from the both of them, easily removing the head, scales and fins of the fish.
Afterwards, they immediately focused their attention on its body. "Let me do the gutting Koushirou, you'll remove the fish bones after I'm done."
"Okay, father." The both of them looked extremely serious, the aura radiating off of them even managing to suffocate Kuina and Edwin. Both kids were thinking the same thing, 'Is this why they say to respect your elders? It must be, right?'
Narrowing his eyes, Kozaburo focused intensely on the fish. Taking in a deep breath, the old man made his move *SHING*. One sword strike, that's all it took to gut it entirely, displaying the mastery that Kozaburo had over his blade.
*clap* *clap* *clap*
Koushirou, Edwin and Kuina applauded the impressive display of skill that the old man just showed. ""You're the best swordsman, grandpa!""
"Burororo, no need for that, it's not that impressive!" Despite saying that, it was clear the old man loved to receive praise from his grandchildren.
"Alright, I'll take care of the deboning. Kuina, Edwin, you two go get rid of the guts, okay?" Koushirou cut short his old man's shameless display, as he made his way towards the sea king.
"Ugh, again?" Edwin remembered the last time he had to dispose of guts. At the time, he had accidentally punctured one on a sharp rock, and to this day he still remembers the disgusting smell that came out of that thing.
"Heh, you scared, Edwin?" Kuina looked at Edwin with a look that said 'Who thought someone could be so cowardly?' Truly, ruthlessness ran through her whole body, daring to challenge the courage of a young boy, knowing damn well that they couldn't back down.
Gritting his teeth and pouting, Edwin made his way towards the guts, not forgetting to grab the wheelbarrow. "Let's go Kuina, I'll show you who's cowardly! Hmph!"
Smiling, Kuina joined Edwin in putting the guts in the barrow. After they were done, Kuina turned around, "We'll be back soon, bye gramps, bye dad!" Waving at Kozaburo and Koushirou, the duo went on their way, heading towards the sea, where they would dump the guts to fatten up the fish around the island.
Making their way down the path, the two soon arrived in a forest, "Hey, watch out for any branches or rocks that might get in the way. Alright, Kuina?"
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry Edwin, I got this!"
As she said that, Kuina started observing the surroundings attentively, making sure nothing could pierce the guts. "What did it smell like, by the way?"
"The pierced guts?"
"Yeah."
Edwin took a few seconds to think about what to say, when all of a sudden Kuina cried out, "Watch out, Edwin!!" Looking to his right, Edwin could see a leopard lunging towards him.
Having been trained in the ways of the sword, Edwin's reaction speed was quick as he let go of the barrow and rolled back on the ground. Getting back to his feet as fast as he could, the sight in front of Edwin made his blood freeze.
Something horrific had just happened, something no horror stories could ever match. The guts…Had been punctured! The leopard's attack had formed a large opening on it, its liquids coming out.
"NOOOOO!! Quick, Kuina, block your nose or–" It was too late, she had already smelled it, apparent by the green color of her face and her puffed cheeks.
***BLERGH***
"I'm sorry Kuina, I couldn't save you from this." A tear came down Edwin's left cheek as he was pinching his nose with his left hand, "But worry not, for I will get rid of the one that did this! You're dead, you overgrown cat!"
Reaching to his waist, Edwin took hold of the katana Kozaburo had forged for him, Amaterasu, a katana at the peak of the 21 Great Grade Blades. That's right, despite having studied Hi-no-Kagutsuchi extensively, Kozaburo wasn't able to make a Supreme Grade Blade.
As a matter of fact, he would never be able to make one, for he missed the most crucial component in the creation of a blade of this caliber…
The Color of the Supreme King.
Unsheathing Amaterasu, a beautiful silver blade was revealed, adorned of its white hilt with orange accents, and a white round crossguard with orange studs lining the inside of it, Edwin called out, "That's for making my sis breathe in that crap!"
Rushing forward, Edwin raised his right arm, blade in hand, as the leopard reciprocated the aggression. As they reached close to one another, Edwin took a stance, while thinking, 'Imma steal your move gramps, well, at least the name, Shishishishi!'
"Ame no Ukihashi O Hakai Suru (Fall of Heaven)!"
Swinging horizontally, Edwin's blade clashed with the leopard's opened jaws. However, there was no clash to speak of, as the blade ran through the leopard's body like a hot knife through butter.
*Thud*
The leopard's halves hit the ground, a small thud resounding out, "Hmph. That's what you get for making her barf you dumb cat. Bleh!" Edwin stuck his tongue out and pulled on his eyelid as he mocked the leopard.
"Hey Kuina, you alright?" Making his way back to her, Edwin asked her in worry as he knelt down close to her, making sure not to touch her vomit.
"Wh-why didn't you tell me earlier…That it was this bad?" Guilt rampaging through his mind, Edwin averted his gaze from her pained visage. Yet as he did so, Edwin sighted something strange hanging from a low branch.
Getting up, he made his way towards it, "Kuina, look at this weird fruit!" Thinking it would cheer her up, Edwin plucked it from the branch and made his way back to Kuina. In his hand was a round shaped fruit, with red swirling patterns that became white towards the bottom.
Looking at the fruit, Kuina couldn't care less, simply lying back as she still felt nauseous.
"Well, whatever. Hmmm, I wonder what it tastes like?" Gazing at the fruit curiously, Edwin took a bite and immediately swallowed it, "Blergh! This tastes like shit!" Throwing the fruit away, Edwin tried to regurgitate the piece he had swallowed when out of nowhere, flames came out of his mouth!
""WHAAAAAAAAAT!!!!"" Edwin and Kuina's eyes popped out of their heads simultaneously.
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