Writing Days of Insomnia

[sahkiryce]

[FONT=Times New Roman] [COLOR=purple][I]I hope that you enjoy this story . . . I keep posting it on the Otaku site that I have but nobody seems to be reading it *sniff sniff* Well I hope that you will take the time to read it, I know it's probably not as good as the others that I see here . . . being that I am a newbie and all *sigh* -_-; So I hope that you enjoy again when you read this . . . oh um, only if you want to, I won't force you! ^_^;;;[/COLOR][/I][/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman]~Chapter One~

It's been about six years since Avelias stayed with Kito's family, and for those six years, he remained as quiet as ever. Now the young boy was a grown man at twenty-one and he lived in peace, working for Kito's grandfather at the family shrine and at the family dojo. He had a few students at the dojo, though he seldomly spoke...a perfect guardian of the Spirit Sword...

Avelias only had four students and Kito was one of them. There was Horemitsu, a young dilinquent coerced to learn a technique that would control his outbursts of temper. There was Kajiko, a young boy who sought to lessen his pride and live in more humility, and then there was Raijun, a quiet fellow as well. And though Avelias scarcely spoke, thus hiding his affections from all of his students, he secretly favored Raijun. After all, Raijun was more like him, and more submissive to Avelias' commands.

The problem was, since Kito knew her teacher more than any of her classmates, she knew of the favoritism that Avelias held for Raijun. Was it because he was a better fighter? Was it because he was always obedient and much more skilled? Kito's questions were never fully answered, but she had often thought that Raijun was just a first class suck-up. In other words, jealousy fueled her hatred for Raijun...and the cause of her jealousy was perfectly valid...or so she thought...

So Kito sought to improve her skills and discipline in order to surpass Raijun. She could not help but feel competitive at times, especially when they were commanded to perform simple tasks.

On a warm sunny day in the late spring, the four students were commanded to fetch some water at the stream which ran at the foot of the hill. All four were commanded to wear a yoke onto their shoulders and fill the two pails with water, then hurry their way up the hill. It should not have been too hard of a task, but Kito always found herself in a struggle to run up the hill...because she was just a girl. Nevertheless, she was motivated to defeat Raijun.

After they were commanded to leave, the four of them quickly hurried down the long flight of steps. Kito concentrated on placing her foot onto each step as she rapidly descended. Horemitsu was at her side a few seconds later and as he ran, he asked her, "What's the purpose of this? I see no purpose in it."

"Just do it!" Kito quickly replied, and her eyes focused on Raijun who was pulling forward past her with unimaginable ease. She narrowed her eyes and quickened her pace, cautious of each step, and in the process, she left Horemitsu.

The flight down the hundred steps was easy enough and all four of them reached the foot of the hill rather quickly. Kito and Raijun were the first ones to make it to the stream, while Kajiko and Horemitsu lagged behind.

"It'll be hard going up those steps," Kajiko said as he approached Raijun who was quickly filling up both pails. Kajiko then added, "I'll die for sure. These pails are gonna be heavy!"

Raijun hastened to place the yoke onto his shoulders after he finished. He mumbled to Kajiko, "Good luck then...I'll see you at the top later..."

Kajiko only grinned and said, "Not if I can help it."

"Shuttup you two, I'll get there first!" Kito proclaimed, pulling ahead after quickly putting the yoke onto her shoulders.

Raijun watched her and sought to catch up. The two of them quickly made their way up the steps, and Horemitsu and Kajiko watched them.

"Kito's been a little competitive lately," Horemitsu observed as he hauled the yoke up to his shoulders. Then he quickly followed after Raijun and Kito who were already a couple steps up the stairs of one hundred.

Kajiko remained at Horemitsu's side and jokingly, he replied, "Perhaps those two have a thing for each other, because it's always Raijun competing with [I]her[/I]."

"I thought it was the other way around," Horemitsu said, already feeling a little fatigued as he ascended.

"Well," Kajiko continued, also feeling fatigued, "I guess you're right...Raijun's not really someone...who wants...to compete..."

"But did you see...the look...in his eyes just now?"

The two of them were panting from the strain but they continued to ascend. Kajiko ran up a few steps, then he eased down to a slower gait. He saw up ahead that Raijun and Kito were still struggling to pass each other. Kajiko began to take huge gaping breaths, trying to endure the pain at the same time. He spoke to Horemitsu to ignore the pain.

"I didn't see it. What did he look like?" Kajiko asked.

Horemitsu flashed him a tired grin and he replied, "He gave her...a look of contempt...then he hurried to catch her at the stairs..."

Kajiko laughed and so did Horemitsu. Up ahead, Raijun succeeded forward and was the first. Kajiko clearly saw Kito's struggles to surpass him, but unfortunately, she could not. She slowed down, while Raijun steadily jogged up, gradually pulling further away from Kito. Obviously, she gave up, and the unbearable weight upon her shoulders did little to soothe her frustration.

~~To Be Continued~~
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[sahkiryce]

[font=times new roman]Eventually, after a grueling jog up the one hundred steps, Raijun was the first to make it to the top, and Kito followed after him feeling quite enraged. She sighed and placed her pails and yoke down onto the ground. Horemitsu and Kajiko at once made it to the top as well.

"Master," Raijun said, doing a good job at hiding his fatigue, "I have made it to the top with the buckets of water."

Following immediately after, Kito quickly stated, "And so have I, Master..."

The teacher looked down upon them and replied quietly, "That's good..."

Raijun felt a little disappointed that his teacher didn't say more. After all, he was sure that he was the fastest out of all of his classmates, and he was sure that he had put the most effort into climbing up the one hundred steps...unlike Horemitsu and Kajiko who thought nothing of it and treated the task without seriousness. Raijun felt disheartened, but Kito on the other hand, was already used to the teacher's short and blunt comments.

Then the teacher Avelias lifted his arm and directed his finger towards the Mokonome Shrine saying, "Now you must clean the wooden floors."

Immediately, Kito picked up her yoke and said, "I'll get right to it!" and quickly, Kito rushed towards the nearest building.

But with a firm voice, Avelias called after her and said, "Kitokane..."

She halted and her body froze. She had just realized that she had committed a mistake...after all, he called her by her full name. She turned to face her teacher, and without looking at her, Avelias said, "I gave no order to leave."

Immediately, Kito quickly blushed and felt weak. She wanted badly to put her yoke down. She replied quietly, feeling quite ashamed, "I-I'm sorry, I apologize Master."

It was quiet once more, and she could feel Raijun's piercing stare glaring at her in mockery.

Then Avelias spoke to his students in the usual calm tone, "You must clean the wooden floors but do not go near the Forbidden Temple. The consequences will be great...you may leave."

With that said, the four students carried their yokes with the pails of water to the shrine to clean the floors. Kito fell behind after being so badly humiliated...


~~End of Chapter One~~[/font]