Episode 8 - Training

Ryoichi clasped his hands behind his back. He paced in front of the lower-ranked duelists of the team, arranged in rows before him in the courtyard.

"When I say to begin, you will make your first throw. You will all throw simultaneously, then continue making new throws every second. Make your sequence as unpredictable as possible. If I do predict one of your throws," he paused menacingly, obviously enjoying this chance to chew the scenery, "you will give me ten pushups, then return to your sequence!" His head snapped towards them. "Begin!"

The students' hands descended in tandem; Rock, Paper, and Scissors flashing out in rapid succession. Ryoichi slowly stalked down each row, a cunning smile in his eyes.

"Scissors," he said. The boy in front of him had indeed thrown Scissors, the moment he had said it. He looked up at Ryoichi, who arched an eyebrow. The boy dropped to the ground, started his ten pushups.

"Paper," Ryoichi walked down the rows, "Paper," surveying his subjects, "Scissors," and with each word, "Rock," another one fell to the ground.

Then, he paused. He was watching the next student in line, a boy with a fierce, determined look. The next few throws ticked by - Scissors, Rock, Rock, Rock, Paper, Scissors.

Ryoichi grinned. "Pretty good," he whispered to himself, then turned his attention to the next student. "Scissors!"

~

Mizumigawa rolled out of the dueling arena and into the main office like a thundering stormcloud, her irritation practically forking through the air around her. She kicked the mini-fridge open, cracked open a soda, drank it in seconds, crumpled the can, and chucked it forcefully into the garbage, teetering the basket.

Jihara entered behind her, an almost embarrassed air about him. "You've become much faster, Mizumigawa-dono. It is very difficult to read you."

"One point! I got one measly point. I'm not fast enough." She drew herself up as tall as she could, looked Jihara in the eye. "But I'm going to beat you."

He blinked. "Ah," he started, but she was out of the door by then.

~

Behind the compound's main building and the duelists' dormitory, there was a small zen garden of low plants, winding paths, large stones, carefully raked sand. It was quiet and serene, insulated by some architectural means from the sounds of Ryoichi's drills in the courtyard.

On two large rocks near the middle of the garden, surrounded by sweeping waves of sand, sat Yukimura Hisoka and Kotei Jin. Jin tugged at the blindfold over his eyes, adjusting it, seemingly unable to find a comfortable way for it to sit on his head.

"Stop playing with that," said Yukimura, "you need to focus."

Jin lowered his hands to his lap, grudgingly.

"Ultimately, in the moment," she began, "Rock Paper Scissors isn't about your feelings. It's about your choices. Rock, no matter how forcefully thrown, cannot tear Paper. Paper, no matter how cleverly planned, cannot entangle Scissors. Scissors, no matter how sharp, cannot cut Rock."

"So why are we...?" asked Jin, trailing off and gesturing at the garden around them.

Yukimura shook her head. "This isn't about spiritual enlightenment. We're only here because it's quiet." She raised one hand. "I'm going to make a throw, and you're going to tell me what it was."

"How am I supposed to to do that?!"

"I don't care how you do it," she replied. "But I'd suggest paying careful attention. If you're not willing to do what seems impossible, you won't last long in the championship." A pause. "What did I just throw?"

"... I didn't hear a thing."

"Then keep quiet and try again."

Jin frowned, concentrated, reached out with his mind for the faintest sound, the tiniest vibration. Then, a faint rustle, Yukimura's clothes? The air around her hand?

"What did I throw?"

"... Paper?"

"How sure are you?"

Jin shrugged. "How should I know? It was just a guess."

"That was Scissors. Do it again."

Another faint sound, which Jin thought was slightly different this time.

"Paper?"

"Scissors again."

"This is pointless!"

"What's pointless," snapped Yukimura, "is guessing randomly. You'll never learn how to do it if you rely on chance! As soon as you start thinking like that in a duel, your opponent has the advantage."

Jin snapped back at her, "then why do you keep asking me what you threw?! There's no way I'd be able to do this so quickly! The only right answer would be for me to keep silent!"

Yukimura smirked. "Now that is a clever idea. You're right, don't bother guessing, just listen."

Then, "Rock." Another pause. "Rock. Paper. Rock. Scissors."

Jin simply sat there listening. His anger died down, and he became quickly absorbed in the succession of sounds.

Time passed, Yukimura making a series of throws at the blindfolded Jin, Jin silent and still.

"Scissors. Rock. Scissors." Then, suddenly, they said together, "Scissors."

"... Very good. I think you're catching on."

"I'm still not entirely sure what you've thrown," mused Jin, "but I think my guesses are better than chance now."

"That's enough for today, you two." Jin turned and peeked under his blindfold. Ryoichi Kei stood at the entrance to the garden. To Jin's surprise, it was starting to get dark. How long had he been training? "Good work, but you need to take a break sometime." Ryoichi gestured for them to follow with a slight incline of his head. "I'm going to go play some pool with Ji-kun and Mizu-kun. Want to join us?"

Yukimura stood, stretched. "Why not?"

Jin hopped up from his rock. He started for the garden's entrance, then stopped, turned to Yukimura. "Thank you for training with me, senpai."

She raised an eyebrow. "Training like this is useful, even necessary. But your best teacher will never be a teammate, or an ally, or a friend. It will be your strongest opponent, someone driven to find your every weakness."

Jin smiled and glanced at Ryoichi. "She's always this serious, isn't she?"

Ryoichi laughed. "Ha ha! Pretty much, yes." Yukimura frowned at them, half-seriously. "Now quick, we need to catch up with the others."

Ryoichi waited at the entrance for Yukimura as Jin walked ahead. He held up one hand to stop her as she reached him, not taking his eyes off of Jin. "He's good, isn't he?" His voice was quiet.

"He is." She also watched Jin. "I didn't expect him to do so well so quickly."

"Good enough for the championship?"

She shrugged. "Perhaps. No way to know yet." She looked up at Ryoichi. "You may have picked well this time."

Ryoichi smiled faintly, lowered his head in thought. Then, he started after Jin. "Come on, Yuki-chan."

~

"Bosatsu Academy." The boy wore a pressed white shirt, an expensive-looking haircut, an expression of long-practiced condescension that still looked strange on his youthful features. "They are to be our first opponents." His posture was rigid, his voice high and soft.

"Haven't faced them before," mumbled another boy. He had long, dark hair that hung untidily in front of his face, and though he was tall, his slouch brought him almost down to eye level with the first boy. He leaned against a wall nonchalantly.

"They're strong, but we've beaten stronger."

The slouching boy rolled his eyes. "So what's your point?"

The first boy glared. "I just want us to be ready. I've prepared reports on each of them, and you all should study them carefully before the match."

"Whatever. I don't need this stuff." He turned to leave. "I'm out of here."

The first boy pressed his hand to his forehead.

"Don't worry!" A girl, bubbly and smiling, with a brightly-colored sundress. "I'll make sure he reads it!" She giggled, and grabbed two copies of the documents. "Wait for me!" She ran out after the boy who had left.

The boy sighed. "Fine, go." He picked up another copy, flipped through the pages. He tapped his finger on a picture of Ryoichi. Then, he closed his eyes, let out a deep breath.

A thin smile slowly crept across his face. "These people... have no idea what they're in for."