Hakuda Class

*After leaving his zanjutsu class Tenkai made his way down the halls to his next class. His next class was a Hakuda class, something he had never heard of before. He hoped to god that it didn't have to deal with fighting since his side was still killing him. This class took him a while to find just like his kidou class. He wandered for a good five minutes before he found the room that the class was in. When he walked inside it was just like his zanjutsu class room except that their were wooden training dummies in three rows around the room. Tenkai had a feeling that these dummies were going to tie in to their class and most likely involve fighting. Sighing and rolling his eyes he sat down on the ground like he did in his last class and waited for the teacher to great them. After waiting several minutes and after the rest of the students arrived the door in the back of the room opened and out came their teacher. Instead of some big guy that was some kind of kung fu master and ripped beyond all belief a women came out. She was a little shorter then Tenkai and she looked very slender as if she had no muscle on her at all.*

"Hello everyone, welcome to the Hakuda class. I'm sure some of you may have an idea of what this class is so i will fill in the blanks for you. Hakuda is the hand to hand fighting style that the shinigami use in combat. I will teach all of you how to effectively defend yourself in hand to hand combat against an opponent who is also unarmed or who has a weapon. Everyone please take a position up at one of the dummies. If you have already received your zanpaktou please leave it at your seat."

*Tenkai took his zanpaktou from his sheath and left it down where he was sitting. He then made his way towards one of the training dummies and stood in front of it. He then waited for all the other students to make their way to a dummy as well and then awaited further instruction from the teacher.*

"Alright, now that all of you have moved to a station let me show you a few examples of what you will all be learning. Watch me carefully."

*The teacher then walked up to a dummy and took a deep breath. After she exhaled she attacked the dummy with incredible speed and power causing it to shake. Her hand movements were barely readable as she flew between strike and block as the wooden pegs of the dummy moved. Not only was she using her hands to attack the dummy but she was also using her legs to strike at the pegs as well. The entire display was incredibly impressive and left Tenkai in awe.*

"That is Hakuda once mastered to a high degree. I will now slow down my moves so that you can all watch what i do. We will take this step by step and motion by motion until you all have the basic moves down."

*Tenkai watched as the teacher began to attack the dummy once more. This time he moves were much slower so he could watch them effectively. In essence all she was doing was attacking and blocking but the different areas she hit and the different pegs she was blocking turned into a dance of combat. All the moves meshed with one another as she continued to strike at the dummy. Tenkai began to try and mimic her movements on the dummy that he had in front of him. He looked incredibly stupid trying to copy her movements as he was striking it a lot and getting hit back by the pegs just as much.*

"I want all of you to take what i did as an example an practice the strikes yourself. Try out with a simple hit, hit, block combination. Then after that a hit, block, hit. Those two combination's are the building blocks of the Hakuda fighting style. Once you have the two combination's perfected we can move onto more complicated combos. I will let you know when we will be moving on to the next exercise."

*Tenkai went back to striking at the dummy as the teacher had instructed. Hit hit block, hit hit block, hit hit block. He said it through his head as he continued to attack the dummy. As he continued it started to get faster and faster as he slowly learned the pace of the attacks and blocks. Hit hit block, hit hit block, hit hit block, hit hit block, hit hit block. He was beginning to get the hang of it. Just when he was thinking it wasn't all that hard he lost his focus for a moment and got smacked in the side of the head by one of the pegs.*

"Focus Bushinji, focus. If you let your mind wander your going to get hurt."

"Yes mam."

Sentence Count: 56

*Tenkai shook his head quickly to clear his mind and then got back to his practicing. Hit hit block, hit hit block, hit hit block. Over and over it repeated in his mind as he continued striking the dummy. He started to slowly stop repeating the words in his head and was just hitting the dummy on reflex. This was what he had been trying to do the entire time. It seemed it was a lot harder then he had thought it would have been at first. After doing the same combo over for a while he decided he would have a change of pace. Finishing up his last block of the combo he began to try the other combo the teacher had taught them. Hit block hit, hit block hit, hit block hit. It was the same basic concept as the first combo but it was somewhat harder then the first one. With the block having to come sooner then the last combo it threw Tenkai off while he continued to strike the dummy. He got hit several times by the pegs which he tried to just ignore for the time being. After a while he began to get the combo down. Hit block hit, hit block hit, hit block hit, it ran through his mind over and over. Eventually he slowly started to not think about it and just let his body take over. Less thinking and more attacking was his way of fighting. He wanted it to all be by reflex. Eventually it was indeed by reflex but it was harder then just thinking about the strikes in order. While attacking the dummy on the occasion Tenkai had still been struck by the dummy just from letting his guard slip. Every time he got hit he came back at the dummy harder then before. It got to the point where it looked like he would break it from how hard he was hitting it but the teacher then called the class to attention. Finishing up his last combo Tenkai turned to face the teacher while also getting smacked in the back of the head by the dummy.*

"Alright class you are all doing wonderfully. However let us now move on to more difficult attack patterns. By now you should all have the basic combinations in your head and be able to do them to a decent efficiency. Now we will mix the combos together and form more intricate and difficult attack patterns. You could try them in any way you would like. Whether you put one after the other or just meld them together. Go ahead and practice now, I will be watching over you all to track your progress."

*After listening to what the teacher had to say Tenkai turned back to face the dummy and began to attack it again. He started by putting the two combos together instead of melding them together right from the start. It was much more difficult then the simple three hit combos. Hit hit block hit block hit, that was what he was doing over and over. In no way was this easy to do. It was physically strenuous in repetition but he didn't want to stop. The best way to get better at something was to practice, practice, practice. That was exactly what he was going to do. Hit hit block hit block hit, hit hit block hit block hit. Over and over he did that until he was pounding his fists raw. While he was practicing he didn't even realize how hard he was hitting it until he took a small break. He looked around to see how the other students were doing and he noticed several of them were staring at him. From across the room Tenkai also noticed that the teacher was keeping a close eye on him as well. Once again he had apparently done something right during the class to make him a focus point in the room. He enjoyed doing well but he didn't really want to stand out in the room. He just wanted to do what he had to do and go on his way. After taking a breather Tenkai went back to beating on the dummy very briefly as the teacher stopped the class once more.*

"Good everyone, go ahead and take a quick break and then head back to your dummies. Once your all ready I will give you your next set of instructions."

*Tenkai had already taken a break and didn't need to rest anymore but decided another minute or two wouldn't hurt. Sitting on the ground next to his dummy he waited for the other students to finish up so the teacher could get on to the next portion of the class.*

Sentence Count: 50

*After waiting a few minutes all of the other students eventually made their way back to the dummies one by one. Once they had all gone back to their stations the teacher made her way to the middle of the room to address the class.*

"Alright, you have all done well with the hand combinations but now we will move on to something else. While fighting at close range without a weapon you hand are not your only weapon. You can also use your legs to fight again an opponent. Now we wont be learning combinations for kicks right off the bat. First you will all have to practice the basic kicks against the dummies before we can move onto something more complicated. The first kicks you will need to know are a front kick, roundhouse kick, and side kick. After you practice those three we will move on to combinations of kicks."

*The teacher gave a brief example of each of the kicks to give the students a frame of reference. Once the teacher finished giving her example Tenkai turned to face the dummy and began to practice his kicks. He was going to start with his front kick and then move forward. He figured that she named them in order of difficulty. The roundhouse kick however looked like the most difficult of the three to learn and use effectively. He would put aside his thoughts for the moment and went back to practicing. He raised his leg up and kicked forward sending the ball of his heel into the dummy. The dummy rocked violently as the force from his kick vibrated throughout it. Tenkai then brought his leg up again and sent another kick at the dummy. Once again the dummy rattled violently from the kick. He started to try targeting different areas with his kick and to try and increase his speed of striking. It wouldn't matter how strong he was in his attacks if he couldn't hit his opponent. He began to try striking higher on the body and then lower after that. When lower he found that he could attack faster but he was compromising the power of the strike. When hitting high the power of the kick was greatly improved but was much slower for the second strike. He would have to learn when kicking a certain way would be appropriate. For now he would move on to the next kick, the side kick. He wanted to save the roundhouse kick for last after having a small debate in his mind. While delivering his first side kick he accidentally struck one of the pegs sending a large amount of pain up his leg. He would have to be more careful when performing this kick since it was performed differently then the front kick. Bringing his leg up again Tenkai delivered a side kick once more to the dummy this time striking the body of it instead of the peg. The dummy rocked to the side opposite his strike and vibrated from the force. While continuing to practice his kicks he found that the same rules that applied to the front kick applied to the side kick. The higher he went the stronger the kick but it was slower, the lower he went the kick was faster but weaker. It was in proportion to how far the leg had to travel for the strike. Once Tenkai had practiced his side kick long enough he was going to begin practicing his final kick. Right when he was about to start his practicing the teacher stepped back into the middle of the room to address the room.*

"Sorry everyone, you are all doing well but today's class is over. We will continue from where we left off when we are back here tomorrow. Class is dismissed, I'll see you all tomorrow."

*Tenkai let out a sigh as he walked back towards where he had placed down his zanpaktou and reached down to pick it up. Placing it back into his sheath Tenkai made his way down the halls of the academy and towards the dorms. He had finished his classes for the day and wanted to get some rest to get ready for tomorrows classes.*

Sentence Count: 41

*Tenkai arrived at his hakuda class and took his seat in the spot he had sat in the last time he was in class. He took his zanpaktou out from his sheath and placed it beside him on the mat. He then waited for the rest of the students to assemble and the teacher to come out. He waited a good five minutes and all the students had finally arrived and took their places. The teacher then came out from her room and shut the door gently behind her. She walked up in front of the class to address us.*

"Class, yesterday our practice of the kicks was interrupted by the end of the class so we will pick up where we left off. I want all of you to go to a station and begin practicing whatever you were practicing yesterday. Eventually I will address the class when we are ready to move on once more. Now go about your exercises."

*Tenkai walked away and went to the same dummy he had taken last time. He then got in positioned and practiced a few front and side kicks just to get back in the groove. After he got enough practice in he decided to move on to the kick he was going to start learning, the roundhouse kick. Tenkai positioned himself to strike and then went into the motion of the kick. On his first attempt Tenkai utterly failed and fell backwards on his ass after losing his balance. He got up quickly hoping none of the other students saw him. Luckily he managed to hide his failure from the students. He got into the position once more and raised his leg up and went into the motion of the kick. He pivoted his foot while kicking to make the motion easier and managed to get the jist of it down. He continued to kick over and over and he was slowly getting the motion refined as he continued. Eventually he was at the point where he could just keep kicking and was practically spinning in place. The teacher walked up to him while he was practicing and caught his foot while he was mid kick.*

"Nice work there Bushinji but try reversing the direction of your kick. But instead of switching the leg continue using the same one. Make sure your also using your dominant leg to strike as well. It makes the strike slightly stronger as well as easier to control."

"Alright, I'll give it a try."

*Tenkai turned back and faced the dummy and dropped into the position again. He went to kick at the dummy but reversed the path of his leg and found it much harder to do. Before he had been going with the path of his leg this time he was going against the natural direction. He fell off balance and fell on his ass once more. He rose up quickly but this time attracted the attention of some of the other students. He pretended he didn't just fall and continued practicing his kick. Eventually he got the method down and was just as good with the reversed kick as the normal way. He began to swap between the various kicks practicing them all so he would be ready for when he would begin using them in combos. Not long after the teacher called the class together again to give them further instruction.*

"Alright class, lets move on to the next step. You have all have ample time to practice your kicks so lets move on to practicing combinations with the kicks. Meld the different kicks together in anyway you see fit. Make it your own personalized fighting style."

*Tenkai turned back towards the dummy and started to wail at it with his kicks. He began to meld the three kicks he had learned and tried to put them into a fluid combination. The hardest kick for him to place in was the front kick. He kept trying to add it in towards the end of his combinations but it just wasn't working. He then thought of a better idea of how to utilize it. Putting it in the front of his combo he used his left leg to kick forward at the dummy and then quickly switched legs and moved into a roundhouse kick. After his roundhouse he moved into a hard side kick. He practiced this combo over several times trying to increase the speed and power of his attacks as much as he could. He eventually developed a good fluid method of attacking with his legs.*

Sentence Count: 48

*Tenkai continued his practice with the kicks until the teacher stepped into the middle of the room once more. All of the students turned their attention to her as she was probably going to give more instruction to the class on what to do next.*

"Class, I assume most of you have figured out some fluid style of attacks for your kicks. Now with that in hand we will move on to the final part of the basic learning. You will put together the combinations you made with your punches and your kicks into one fluid fighting method. Once you have all learned that we will move on to actual fighting, or sparring i should say. You will all spar with another student and use what you have learned so far in the spar. After that you will begin to learn more complicated techniques to incorporate into your fighting. You will learn more intricate kicks as well as grapples and throws. But that will most likely be saved for tomorrows class. For now all of you just need to continue practicing your combinations."

*Tenkai moved back to his station and thought in his head of combos he could use with the punches and kicks. He had a hard time thinking of a combo that he could use fluidly in combat and figured it would be easier if he actually did it hands on. He began to attack the dummy with what he had learned and tried to put the moves in order that they would meld together most effectively. Eventually Tenkai came up with something that worked well for him while he fought. His combo went, hit hit block side kick hit block front kick block hit hit roundhouse kick. Since the roundhouse kick was his most powerful attack at the time he figured he would save it for the end of the combo as a finisher. He continued to practice the combination he came up with until the teacher stepped in and stopped the class once more. He didn't have enough time to finely tune his attacks but he had a solid method of fighting in unarmed melee he knew would work.*

"Everyone, unfortunately it is time for todays class to end. You should all have had enough time to come up with some form of combination with the attacks but just in case I will give you all five minutes tomorrow to practice further. After that the sparring session with your classmates will begin. That is all, class dismissed."

*Tenkai walked away from his stationed and gathered up his zanpaktou. He was very tired and wanted to just go to his room, make something to eat, and then go to sleep. He however took his zanjutsu teachers words into account and decided he should stop by his zanjutsu classroom and get some practice in before he retired for the day. Leaving the classroom he headed back to the zanjutsu class to practice his form.*

Sentence Count: 26

*Tenkai showed up at his hakuda class and took his zanpaktou from his sash and placed it down on his sitting mat. He made his way over to one of the wooden dummies and began practicing his combos. He didn't want to wait for the teacher to come out and tell everyone to begin their practice. He was going to go ahead and start then so he could get a few extra minutes in of practice. He started out with his punches doing his hit hit block hit block hit combo. He did that for a minute or two and then moved on to his kicks. He first started with repetition of the single kicks and then made his way to his kick combos. After getting a good amount of practice in the respective areas he began to practice his hit and kick combo that he came up with yesterday. While he was mid practice the teacher came out from her room since all the students had assembled. She walked in front of all the students and simply turned her head to look at Tenkai. He stared back at her for a moment and then stopped his practicing instantly and took his seat at his mat.*

"Thank you Bushinji, I'm glad you could join the class. Moving on, everyone you will get five minutes to practice your combinations as i said yesterday. After those five minutes are up I will put you into pairs to spar with your classmates. For now all of you get to practicing. I will call you all when time is up."

*Tenkai got up and went back to his station to practice his long combo. It went hit hit block side kick hit block front kick block hit hit roundhouse kick. He practiced that combination over and over for the five minutes that his teacher had given the class. He had it down to a point where he thought he had his combo perfected or as close as he could come to it. He would need to get stronger to improve upon his attacks any further. He had a slight problem though while thinking about the spar. Once he executed the combo what could he do. If he kept repeating the same combo over and over he would be easily readable and not even hard to beat. He needed to think of a way to mesh his attacks together in various ways other then one combo. He needed to think of which attacks combined with others the best. He wanted to find that nice medium where it was quick yet strong. He didn't want his attacks to be too slow or too fast. When going to one side it tended to compromise the opposite. Before he had the chance to really think about it though the teacher had called the class together ending the practice period.*

"Alright class, its time for the spars to begin. I would like everyone to get back to their sitting mat and I will begin to make pairs. Once I make pairs I want you to move to a mat and take the wooden dummy off of it. Whichever mat you go to will be the one you will begin your spar on. Now for the pairs."

*Tenkai listened to the teacher begin to rattle off names. It seemed she went alphabetically but by first name instead of last name. With that being the case he would probably be the last one to be named on the list. She actually moved down the list quickly surprisingly to Tenkai. It was only a minute till she got to the T's*

"Tenkai, you are with Tetsuo. Go on and get to a mat you two."

*Tenkai quickly stood up and looked around to see who his sparring partner was. Another boy stood up two rows behind him and began to walk off towards one of the mats. The boy was actually taller then Tenkai standing at about six foot four but he looked scrawny. He was very thin and had minimal muscular definition to his body. Tenkai thought that this would probably be a very quick spar with the opponent that he was given. He walked over to the mat that Tetsuo had picked and helped him move the wooden dummy. Moving to the red corner he waited for Tetsuo to take his position. Tenkai bowed down to his opponent and then got into a fighting stance. Tetsuo did the same and then rushed forward at Tenkai. He didn't think that his opponent would rush at him so recklessly but there he was rushing towards him. Tenkai decided to sprint towards his own opponent and right before reaching him bent over sending Tetsuo catapulting over his back. Unfortunately for Tenkai with Tetsuo being as large as he was he hand springed forward and then turned to face Tenkai.*

"Hmm, this may actually turn out to be interesting."

Sentence Count: 55

*Tenkai rushed forward at Tetsuo and aimed a right hook at his face. Tetsuo ducked down and came up with an uppercut striking Tenkai's chin hard. Tenkai stumbled backwards and put his guard up while facing his opponent. Though he looked scrawny and not much of a challenge he more then he looked. Tetsuo sure as hell did pack a punch, the hit to Tenkai's chin was more then proof. Tenkai knew he was going to have to be more careful while fighting this new opponent. Adding to the fact that Tetsuo's arm and leg reach was longer then Tenkai's that would make it even more dangerous. While mid thought Tetsuo rushed at Tenkai and sent a side kick to Tenkai's left abdomen. Tenkai brought his left leg up blocking Tetsuo's strike and then kicking forward at Tetsuo's lower chest. The kick hit hard sending Tetsuo sprawling backwards. Tenkai took this opportunity to rush at Tetsuo and try one of the kicks that he had seen some of the more advanced students performing, the axe kick. Bringing his leg up so that it was at a 45 degree angle into the air Tenkai brought it down hard aiming for the middle of Tetsuo's abdomen. Tenkai's heel was caught by a prepared Tetsuo and his leg was turned aside causing Tenkai to lose balance. Tetsuo leapt up and then was going to perform an elbow drop on the now laying down Tenkai. Tetsuo's strike hit Tenkai hard right in the middle of his spine. The pain was agonizing as Tenkai struggled to get up from the mat. Getting up he had to keep his wits about him not sure where Tetsuo would come from this time. Tenkai suddenly noticed Tetsuo right behind him preparing a roundhouse kick to that back of his head. Tenkai brought his leg back in a rear kick that hit with his heel into Tetsuo's solar plexus. Tetsuo doubled over in pain as Tenkai spun around preparing a fierce roundhouse kick in the process. The kick missed its mark and struck Tetsuo on the top of his left arm. The power of the kick though was more then enough to knock Tetsuo to the ground. Tenkai jumped on his opponent and pinned him on the mat. Tetsuo tapped out shortly after that declaring Tenkai the winner. Letting Tetsuo up off the mat Tenkai sat backwards taking a moment to rest. He didn't think that the spar was going to be as intense as it was even though it seemed relatively short. Tenkai stood up since Tetsuo was waiting for him and the pair bowed to each other. The teacher walked over not to long after seeing that their spar had ended.*

"So who was the winner?"

"I was mam."

"Well good job Tenkai. As for you Tetsuo it was a good try I wasn't surprised though seeing that he beat you. He's got potential and a lot. Anyway, Tetsuo go ahead and sit down over at your mat and take a break. Bushinji you will continue on in another spar. Unfortunately though today's class is pretty much over. I will introduce you to your next sparring partner and then class for today will be dismissed. Alright, so who is it..."

*Tenkai watched as his teacher went through the roster to see who his next sparring partner would be. She occasionally looked up around the room checking names with faces to make sure she was correct in who it would be. Once it seemed she found the right person she looked up and called over one of the students. When Tenkai saw his next sparring partner his jaw nearly dropped. It was a girl who was probably the most beautiful person he had ever seen before. He tried not to stare while she was walking over so that it wouldn't be awkward.*

"Tenkai this is Harumi, she will be your next sparring partner. Try not to look so bug eyed and act at least a little normal. People usually don't like it when you gawk at them."

"Oh, I'm very sorry Harumi. I didn't mean to stare."

"It's fine don't worry about it. It's nice to meet you and I'm looking forward to our spar tomorrow. I'll see you then I guess, bye."

"Goodbye."

*Tenkai watched as Harumi and his teacher walked away. The two were talking to one another and Tenkai watched as Harumi giggled a little bit while glacing back at Tenkai. He was wondering what the two were talking about. Most likely his stupid staring while she was walking up to him. He acted like a complete idiot in front of someone he had never met before. Of course that was what they would be talking about. Tenkai shook his head a little bit before gathering his zanpaktou and placing it into his sash. He then made his way over to the kidou range to meet up with his teacher to practice and possibly learn a new kidou time providing.*

Sentence Count: 61

*Tenkai showed up at his hakuda class and sat down at his mat. He looked around at the other students and caught Harumi's eye. The second he walked into class she started looking at him since he didn't show for class. Thankfully she didn't seem upset more curious then anything. Suddenly though Tenkai heard the office door slide open from across the room. Tenkai continued to stay seated as the teacher came closer to the students. Tenkai took a glance back over at Harumi who was now laughing a bit. Tenkai knew something bad was coming his way.*

"Class, continue where you left off yesterday. If you were still sparring meet with your partner and start sparring again. If you were on the sides then that is where you stay unless there is someone you can spar with. Now everyone go ahead and get to work. And Bushinji, come here I need a word with you."

*Tenkai stood up and walked over to where his teacher was standing. As he approached her he noticed her leg was bobbing and she was tapping her foot. She was obviously annoyed at the fact that he didn't show up for class yesterday. When Tenkai reached her she raised her hand up into the air. Tenkai winced a bit thinking he was about to get smacked for missing class. He suddenly felt the hand resting down on his shoulder. He looked back at this teacher and opened his eyes and all he saw on her face was a kind smile.*

"Don't worry about it Bushinji. Your zanjutsu teacher Koga spoke with me about what happened. I know that you were in the medbay yesterday and you missed class. As for Harumi laughing at you though, she was just trying to pull your leg. Now Koga also tells me that your having some issues controlling your reiryoku and anger along with it. Since we don't need any incidents and your probably still sore and tired from yesterday I will let you skip todays class. You can go ahead and sit down over by the wall and just relax until the class is over. Tomorrow however, I will be expecting you to be ready to participate in class."

"Thank you mam, I appreciate it very much. I was actually really worried on my way here as well as while I was sitting in class. I didn't know if you were going to be angry at me or what. I'm glad though that Koga sent word ahead and let you know what was going on."

"No problem, and you can refer to me by my normal name, Rin. You can just refer to me as plain old Rin or you can use the honorifics to refer to me as such. I honestly don't care all that much, probably because I wasn't raised like that. Anyway, go ahead and rest out on the sidelines."

"Thank you Rin."

*Tenkai got up and bowed to Rin and walked over to the wall where some of the other students were resting. A few of them noticed that Tenkai hadn't been in class the day before and were wondering why. Tenkai merely responded by opening up his upper shihakushou revealing the long scar down the right side of his chest and abdomen. The students usually responded with 'wow' or 'that must have hurt'. Tenkai simply nodded and didn't want to get into any more detail then need be. He sat there for a while talking to student after student that was inquisitive as to why he wasn't there. Eventually it came time for the class to end and Tenkai slowly stood up and returned to his seat. Rin then walked over to the students and addressed the class.*

"Alright, good work today everyone. I expect to see you all here tomorrow and performing just as well if not better then today. We will be doing this for the next day or two and then we will move on to the more advanced fighting methods. Class is dismissed."

*Tenkai stood up and left the class heading back to the kidou range. Takahashi-sensei was going to be waiting for him there and didn't have a lot of time. Tenkai wanted to get there as fast as possible so that he could begin working on the next bakudou. He only had this bakudou and one more after that until Takahashi-sensei could start teaching him some more advanced kidou. He was thoroughly excited at his chance to excel even further then he already was.*

Sentence Count: 54