literature

SC: Shika Sensei

Deviation Actions

Published: May 3, 2016

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Literature Text

Shika and Clover were in the center of the clearing near the team’s den circling each other. The little Copybara was watching the Trottoga carefully; concentrating fully on mirroring every step he took while also trying her best to mimic the bored expression on her opponent’s face. She figured that she must be failing that part horribly because it was hard to be focused and look bored at the same time. Shika stopped moving and Clover stopped too. Shika took a step towards Clover and the little Copybara followed suit. Shika then took a step backward and Clover once again copied his movement. This continued on for a few more steps before Shika started trotting backwards with the same bored expression as before. Clover mimicked up right up until she trotted butt first into one of the massive roots of the den tree.

“Ow.” Clover whined. She thought she saw Shika smile for just a moment. He walked back over to her and sat down. “Lesson One: Always be aware of your surroundings. You don’t want to be backing up into roots in a real battle. Instead try to use your surroundings against your opponent to trip them up instead.” Clover sniffled and nodded.

The Trottoga stared at her for a few moments in silence before he spoke again. “Lesson Two: You will not be able to beat your opponent by copying them step for step. It makes you predictable and your opponent will not wait for you to become fully in sync with their movements.” Clover nodded again and Shika continued. “You have a pretty good sense on reading your opponent’s moves. Use that knowledge to get the upper-hand instead of being their mirror.” Clover felt her cheeks grow warm and she shuffled her feet. Did he just compliment her? That was a good thing right?

She glanced up to see him watching her with a quirked eyebrow. “Do you think you could do that?” Shika asked. Clover nodded. “Yes! I think so!” She jumped up to her feet, ready to go again.

Their next round of training went similarly to the first. Clover’s instinct to copy what she saw wasn’t easy to overcome. Shika let out a sigh after his fourth time leading Clover into a jutting root. “This isn’t working. We need a different approach.”

“I have an idea.” Kyunin announced cheerfully. He approached the Trottoga and Copybara and smiled at them. “What if she watched some of the others train? Then she can learn others techniques instead of copying her opponent.” He patted Clover on the head and beamed. “Don’t worry Clover. I’ll teach you the way of the ninja!”

Clover brightened up a bit. “That sounds cool! Okay!” Shika rolled his eyes and fixed the hyperactive mip with a less-than-impressed look. “Let’s just stick with the basics for now.” He said and then muttered to himself something about not needing a second Kyunin running around. “Your idea sounds good though. Observation can be a good teacher as well.” The Trottoga walked back into the middle of the clearing and looked back at Clover. “Clover, watch this sparring match closely. Kyunin will show you how not to battle.”

The little Copybara nodded and focused her attention on the match at hand. Kyunin followed Shika over with a wide grin on his face, happy to help. It wasn’t until he got in position that he registered Shika’s words. “Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” His bright fur began darkening. “I know how to fight! I’ll show you!” Kyunin charged at Shika. He was in full flaming mode by the time he closed the gap between them and threw out a clawed punch. Shika regarding the flaming mip with disinterest as he raised one of his oversized hooves and let Kyunin run right into it. Kyunin fell to the ground dazed.

“Lesson Three: Don’t let your opponent get under your skin. It makes you do stupid things.”