Striking a Balance

Disclaimer - I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. I have my own redheaded swordsman, thank you very much.

Striking a Balance

Chapter 1

Kamiya Kaoru walked around the Nakagawa dojo observing the students she was training for the day. This was one of her many jobs with other dojos to help make ends meet back home. Kenshin certainly helped with his odd jobs and care for the household, but more was needed to keep a roof over their and Yahiko’s head. Married life was treating Kenshin and Kaoru well, solidifying their little family, but the same financial problems continued.

Not that Kaoru minded. Teaching her Father’s style was one of her great joys in life, even if it wasn’t in her own dojo. Unlike most dojo masters, Nakagawa-san liked his students to gain abilities in more than one style, lest they rely too heavily on familiar katas and similar opponents.

Kaoru surveyed the fifteen or so students that had paired off and were trading blows with boken. Kaoru stopped pairs occasionally to adjust stances and grips, pointedly ignoring the stares she got from the older students. Most were putting their efforts fully into their practice, trying to catch the eye of the lovely kenjitsu-ka. However, some were not as enthusiastic at being taught a different style, especially by a woman.

Masuyama Hideaki was one of these students. While he tolerated Kaoru’s teaching because Nakagawa-san was always present, she had caught the heated, sometimes outwardly hostile looks he gave her. Tall, short haired and with piercing black eyes, Masuyama was from a very well-to-do, traditional family, and did not appreciate Kaoru’s presence in the dojo, however infrequent. His study of swordsmanship was encouraged by a long family history of excellence in fighting. He was a talented student, and knew it, which made him more intolerable.

Today, Masuyama was paired with a less experienced partner, mercilessly raining blows down without giving the other student much room to respond. His form was also off, especially when applying Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. Kaoru felt she needed to intervene, and provide another lesson before the class finished. She clapped her hands sharply.

“Yame,” she called. The students lowered their bokens and sheathed them in their belts, standing ready. “Masuyama, please take up your stance.”

Masuyama sniffed and drew himself into a fierce forward stance, right foot and boken held in front of him. The class formed a rough semicircle around him as Kaoru circled his form.

“I have observed several of you making the same mistake, especially those who are more eager to attack than learn to defend,” she started, glancing at Masuyama from the corner of her eye. He shifted uncomfortably, eyes stony.

“When you stand in such a narrow, high stance, you are easily set off balance.” Kaoru pushed slightly on Masuyama’s hip and shoulder, causing him to stumble to the side slightly. “Your opponent will not always come to you from the front, and may have friends along. If your stance is weak, your attack and defense are weak.”
Masuyama had recovered his stance, still in the same position Kaoru had just chastised.

“Additionally,” she continued, “when your hips are not aligned properly, it is more difficult for you to pivot to avoid an attack.” She took up a wider, grounded stance in front of Masuyama, her front hip slightly forward. “Attack.”

Masuyama complied all too willingly, but Kaoru deftly side-stepped his attack. He came again, and she did the same, easily deflecting his blow using the force of his own attack and the rotation of her body.

“Yame,” she held up her hand to him, and he stopped short, breathing strongly through his nose. “Now, watch what happens when I attack.”

Kaoru and Masuyama squared off, and she attacked quickly, landing a hard strike on his weapon. She attacked quickly again from a different angle, catching his bicep and hip in two quick strokes. Masuyama stumbled backwards, eyes flashing dangerously. Kaoru knew she was pushing him, but couldn’t let the opportunity to take him down a peg go by. She attacked once more, pushing him off balance until he stumbled back against the dojo wall.

Kaoru turned and walked back towards the other students who were watching in awe. Masuyama was very aggressive in class, and seeing him defeated was a rare sight.

“So, when executing this stance, place your front foot forward as wide as your hips. . .”

A rush of air and the startled looks of the students were her only warning. She was able to move just slightly to the side as Masuyama’s boken came down hard on her left shoulder. A blinding pain flashed across Kaoru’s vision, and she dropped to one knee.

“You dare insult me and my family tradition!” Masuyama began from behind her, enraged.

Conscious thought didn’t intervene as Kaoru reacted. She pivoted on her right foot while crouching, swinging her boken with great speed, knocking Masuyama to the side. As he fell forward, she dropped her boken and grabbed his right wrist with her hand, twisting the arm straight behind him, locking the joint. She ground her left knee into his shoulder, pinning him to the ground.

“Let me up, bitch!” Masuyama snarled, wincing at the pain in his arm.

“Enough!” roared Nakagawa, having caught the exchange. “Line up, and bring Masuyama forward.”

Kaoru released Masuyama, and two older students took him by the arms to kneel in front of Nakagawa’s observation platform. Kaoru tried to move her left arm, and found herself unable to do so. The pain was not unbearable, but it was disconcerting. She took her place at the edge of the platform, holding her limb awkwardly.

“Masuyama Hideaki, you have disgraced yourself and this dojo for the last time. I have looked the other way because of your prowess and family, but can do so no longer. While you owe Kamiya-san an apology, I doubt you will deliver one. Consider this your apology: you are no longer welcome in this school.”

Nakagawa stalked to a wall behind him, picked up a wooden plaque with Masuyama’s name on it, and broke it in two. He threw it onto the floor in front of Masuyama.

“Get out.”

Masuyama angrily threw off the holds of his fellows and glared maliciously at Kaoru. “This isn’t over,” he hissed, turning and stalking out of the dojo.

The class bowed out formally to Nakagawa and Kaoru, and dispersed. Some murmurs of shock and some of approval were heard as they collected their gear and started to leave. Nakagawa approached Kaoru with an older student close behind.

“Are you hurt?” he inquired kindly. Nakagawa had known Kaoru’s father, and respected her fighting style and strong spirit.

“My arm. I can’t move it, but it doesn’t hurt like a break.”

He probed her shoulder gently. “Ah, a dislocation. I’m not surprised, Masuyama struck you coming down from a jump. He would have hit your head if you had not moved.”

Kaoru paled slightly at the thought of being struck with such a strong head blow. “How do we fix this?”

Nakagawa nodded to the student at his side. “I’ve done this before, just hold still.” The student stood on Kaoru’s good side, murmuring a quiet ‘gomen’ before putting his arms around her lower chest, bracing her firmly. Nakagawa took her left arm in hand by the elbow, and gently rotated back and forth, using his thumb to place the shoulder joint back in place. Kaoru gritted her teeth through the now excruciating pain, gasping and slumping slightly against the student when it was complete.

“Give your arm a bit of a rest, but not too much. It’ll get weak quickly.”

Kaoru stood up straight, bowed slightly to the student who helped, and moved towards her bags near the wall.

“I’m sorry things got out of hand today,” she said. “Using Masuyama as an example may have not been the best choice.”

Nakagawa shook his head sagely. “To be honest, he has been a step away from dismissal for some time. He is running with a pack of neighborhood thugs now, and they have been a terrible influence on him. Mostly petty theft and intimidation, but still problematic. It’s changed his attitude, and made him not welcome here.” He put his hand on her good shoulder. “I’m sorry you bore the brunt of his rage.”

Kaoru smiled a bit shakily, and gathered her determination. “I’ll be fine.” She looked at the heavy training bag and extra shinai that she had brought with her. “Would you mind if I picked these up tomorrow? I don’t think I can carry both my training bag and shinai home today.”

Nakagawa nodded. “Would you like an escort home?”

“Oh no,” she responded, waving her hand at him. “I’ll be fine. I’ve had worse injuries than this before, and Kenshin will be unbearable if I come home with an escort.”

“As you wish.” He paused as Kaoru left. “Be careful Kaoru,” he murmured as her silhouette disappeared from the doorway.


Glossary
Yame - stop
gomen - sorry

A/N: Here\'s my next story! Thanks to all of you who reviewed my first one, Enticement. This one is a bit longer, and not as lemony, but please bear with me. Any feedback is welcome. Special thanks to hubby-chan who helped me with all the martial arts.

-gretel_chan