A Student and Her Teacher (Musashi)

"Your early." Musashi said, sitting among the hundreds of Buhda statues he had carved himself. Musashi and the Buhdist statues he had carved were the same height. He was incredibly detailed with every statue. On the outer edge of the field, inside the forest, were demon statues he had carved to thwart evil spirits. He held a pipe in one hand, smoke arising form the pipe, and a small knife in the other. He held the knife out and said. "For your first lesson, your going to carve out a Buhda statue from the branch you picked." He didn't explain why he wanted her to do so. He placed the pipe on his lips and breathed in the tobacco smoke, breathing it out quickly.

She couldn't help but stare lostly at her teacher for a few seconds. "Carve... a statue?" She looked down at the large branch she'd brought, sitting down with her legs crossed. She poked the branch gingerly, her head tipped to one side like a child who was presented with some sort of impossible task. She bit her lip, and nodded, looking at her Teacher with a large smile. "Where do I start?" As if bracing herself she released a pent up breath.

"Wherever you think it should start," He said, breathing in the tobacco smoke and out through his nose this time. "before I can teach you how to fight for yourself both with and without your powers you'll need to master another art. I say without your powers in order for you to fight when your powers are lost and when you have no other way." He added, watching her progress.

She absorbed the words slowly, nodding as she raised a small knife. She smiled, looking down at the peice of wood. She looked at one of the statues, and slowly began to mimic the basic curve of it. In her state of focus she accidently dissapeared, dropping the knife. A few minutes later she managed to have herself reappear, looking startled. She went back to carving, making sure not to focus too intensely. Every few minutes she mumbled a few undiscernable words.

Musashi observed her carving a mock buhda statue, watching as she worked on the figure of the buhda. He took his pipe out of his mouth and watched her patiently. He noted that she disappeared as she was getting into the whole carving. To him it seemed that she wasn't in control of her powers.

She shook herself as she began to see her hands fading from view, she looked up, letting her mind roam for a few seconds before going back to work. She had the main form, and was now making details into the statue. She didn't allow herself to hyperfocus again on the wood, to avoid dissapearing, she let her mind roam every few minutes.

He noticed what she was trying to avoid, turning invisible, by focusing on different things. He stood up, walked around her, and settled his pipe on the top of her head. The warmth of the shaft of the pipe was hard not to ignore. "Focus on different things. I can see your powers are stopping you from proceeding with your carving. Try to focus on my pipe and on the carving. If the pipe falls through you and hits the ground, the embers from the tobacco will fall out of the pipe and onto the grass, catching it on fire and burning all these Buhda statues as well as both of us. For a greater challenge, focus on everything around you. Listen to the birds, the trees flowing through the wind, and the animals playing. If you focus on a leaf, you will miss the forest." He said, the metaphor he learned from a monk. He sat back down in front of her and watched her progress.

After a pep talk like that who could feel nervous? The girl nodded in agreement to her Teacher's suggestion. She let her mind slowly wander back and forth between the pipe and the carving, never pausing to focus on one or the other directly. Most people who had her powers might not feel as serious about this place catching on fire, since she herself wouldn't be injured. Nerinia wasn't most people. The thought of her new Teacher and all his hard work burning to ashes didn't quite sit well with her...

"Alright..." Her voice was calm and quiet as she took a glance at one of Musashi's carvings. Hers didn't look as accurate, but it still held all the details. Really what it needed was some sanding down before it was finished. She set the knife down, picking up a nearby, smooth rock. She ran her finger over it slowly, looking up at her Teacher. She was careful not to lean her head back too drastically.

As she continued crafting, knowing full well if that pipe on her head falls, Musashi's art would be destroyed, he observed how she used the knife. When she reached for the stone, he squinted his eyes, not in disappointment of using a foreign tool he didn't tell her to use, but at the fact that she was wise enough to use it. He approved of using something else than the sword, except the gun which he thoroughly disapproved.

Noting her Teacher's expression she looked back to her project. She took the smooth rock to it, evening down the harsher edges. After five minutes of smoothing she lifted the statue for his inspection, ready for any suggestions he has for improving on her work, or comments. She didn't move the pipe, just in case she was to continue after his comments. Her head was straightened, but her eyes gazed up at him curiously. She swallowed, suprisingly nervous about her work being frowned upon by her Teacher. His opinion mattered to her.

When she was done, he picked up the Buhda statue and examined it. He gave no expression of approval nor disapproval. He tossed the statue over his head and into the forest. "Good, but I think you failed to see the lesson. I want you to carve seven more Buhda statues and extra statues if possible. You must master this before we move on." He said, standing up from where he sat. "However, today is young and I need some food." He walked past Nerinia and to a Buhda statue that was holding two fishing rods. "Pick one up to. You will need to do so in order to eat." He said, intending for her to stay in central park until her training was over. By the time he was done with her, she would be able to fight without using her powers and to evolve her powers (if possible) into something better.

She stood up, hurrying to catch up with her Teacher. "I've never fished before..." She looked unsure as to whether or not she'd be able to do it. She picked up the other pole, nervously pulling her hand through her hair.

A branch snapped in the distance, and without meaning to, Nerinia went into hyperfocus mode. She dissapeared from sight, only to reappear when she realized that the snapping branch was no more than a wandering dog.

Musashi didn't flinch at the branch. In fact, he heard the dog a mile away and even smelled it. It was all thanks to his life long goal of enlightenment and the training he had done. He turned around, hit his pupil's forehead with the fishing pole, and said. "That was pathetic. I do not want my pupil to flinch at such a weak thing. By the time your physical and mental training is over you will be close to enlightenment. In other words, you will be as I am, enlightened. As for training with your powers, how can you when you yourself don't even know your bodies limits?" He turned and walked towards the path ahead. "By the time I'm done, you will be equal to Buhda."

Two months of training later....

Musashi sat down amongst the carved statues of Buhda, all of which were life size making it seem like there was a "Buhda look-alike" convention. He bit on the tip of his pipe and breathed in the tobacco, breathing out the smoke. In the course of his pupil's training he had taught her almost everything he knew. He even taught her how to wield a sword (the 80 pound wooden sword to be exact). He waited for her to return with the fish he had told her to go get. This time he wanted twice as many fish as she had caught last time.