12. Kitaro

Chapter 12

Kitaro

U pon their arrival back at the castle, Kitaro led them to the large training hall. All kinds of weapons lined the walls, most of which Kitaro had trained with using in the past.

"I have seen you use your purifying abilities, but what other forms of fighting have you practiced?" Kitaro asked.

"Very little, honestly. Mages have few reasons to fight in my era, so there's only minimal self-defense training for those who decide traveling is their calling. My companion did all the fighting, so I mostly tried to stay out of the way."

Kitaro nodded. "How long have you been traveling with him?"

"A couple of years."

"Did you not travel prior to meeting with him?"

"I traveled before we met, but I laid low and avoided trouble as best I could. Mages in my time live rather impoverished lives, so I didn't really have to worry about getting robbed on the roads. Even if someone tried to steal from me, I'd happily give them what little money I had. They clearly needed it more than me if they were desperate enough to do such a thing."

Kitaro's gaze softened. "You are too kind."

A blush graced Vanra's cheeks. "I trained with bow and arrow, but it was hard to travel with those when I was carrying a pack by myself. But I never used that weapon when I was on the road. I primarily relied on my dagger, but mercifully, I never had occasion to use it during my travels."

Kitaro grabbed a bow and arrow holster from the wall. "Show me what you can do."

The mage accepted the proffered bow and a single arrow. "I'm not actually good at it."

Kitaro gestured toward the target across the room. "You may stand closer if you wish."

With a deep breath, Vanra notched the arrow and took aim as he drew back the bowstring. The arrow shimmered bright blue with Vanra's spiritual energy. He fired, guiding the arrow with his power to hit high on the target.

Kitaro hummed with interest. "Fascinating. You use your power to ensure your shot. Can you hit the target without using your power?"

Vanra accepted the next arrow Kitaro held out to him. He took a moment to steady his aim before firing a second time. It hit the target, but it bounced off it harmlessly and clattered to the floor instead.

It was an effective demonstration of where they needed to start with Vanra's training. "You have the basics down, but your form needs some work to maximize your abilities. Observe." Kitaro took the bow to demonstrate. He aligned an arrow and drew the string in a smooth gesture before firing it into the center of the target. "You need to keep your left arm and your posture straighter. It will give your shot more power. Also, drawing the arrow back further to your ear will aid with that."

Vanra tried to mimic what the shifter had just done when Kitaro gave him the bow and another arrow. He struggled to draw the taut bowstring back as far as Kitaro had suggested, but he did his best before firing his next shot. The arrow grazed the target but missed, bouncing off the wall behind it.

"Here, let me help you with your posture." Kitaro guided Vanra to press their bodies together.

Vanra accidentally let go of the bow, which clattered onto the floor. "Sorry, I didn't mean to?—"

"It is fine." Kitaro handed the bow back to Vanra and pulled another arrow from his quiver to give to the mage.

Vanra focused as Kitaro guided his form into a better position to improve his aim. He obeyed when Kitaro softly commanded, "Fire. "

The arrow hit a little off-center, but it was an improvement over his previous attempts. Vanra cheered his success.

Kitaro provided him with another arrow. "Use your powers this time." He remained pressed close to the mage as he readied his next shot.

Vanra called his powers into the arrow. He fired it straight into the center of the target near Kitaro's arrow, the glow of his spiritual energy disappearing upon impact. "I did it!"

"Well done." Kitaro gave Vanra another arrow and stepped away to see if he could replicate it without assistance. It surprised him how he missed the way their bodies felt being close to each other.

Although it wasn't dead center, Vanra's next shot still hit the target.

It was time to take things a step further. "This time, we shall see if you can do it without looking."

"Huh?" Vanra's eyes went wide when Kitaro produced a blindfold through his dragon magic. "What are you doing?"

"Sometimes you must fight at nightfall without the aid of fire or the moon," Kitaro explained as he tied the blindfold over the human's eyes. "This will be good training for firing at things you cannot see."

"Even if I can't see an enemy, I can still feel their presence," Vanra argued. "How am I supposed to hit a target I can't feel, let alone see? "

Kitaro walked over to stand behind the target. "Then use me as your reference point."

"I'm not firing at you! It would purify you!"

"You will not harm me," Kitaro assured him. "Although your spiritual abilities are strong, it would take far more than a single arrow to rid this realm of my presence."

"While I have no doubt about that," Vanra agreed, "I'm not comfortable taking that chance."

"Then fire without using your powers."

Vanra scowled. "Yeah, but then I'll miss."

"Then you miss," Kitaro retorted, amusement coloring his tone. "You are not being scored on your accuracy."

The mage seemed to have a momentary debate between the merits of using his powers or not to guide the arrow into connecting with the target. "Do you promise you'll avoid my arrow if I miss?" Vanra asked in an uncertain tone.

"You have my word, on my honor."

Vanra pulled the bow up and notched the arrow into place. It took him a moment to aim as he called his purifying power into the arrow before releasing it.

The arrow connected with the target. Vanra lifted the blindfold to see how he did. His expression lit up with pleasure at seeing his latest arrow still within the center ring. It was close to the edge borderline of the second ring of the target, but it still counted.

"I can't believe that actually worked! "

"You did well," Kitaro praised him. "Your training as a mage has made you well suited to being an excellent pupil."

"I don't know about that." Vanra laughed. "Don't get me wrong. I love reading, but I hated studying. The canonical texts were always so dry, and the scholars at the temple rarely made it interesting. I was always happiest running around outside or reading under a tree."

"I shall endeavor to keep things interesting, then."

"Then I will look forward to it."

Kitaro picked up the arrows and collected the bow from Vanra before putting them back in their rightful place on the wall. "Come, let us go to dinner."

Vanra hesitated. It wasn't hard to guess what his fear was.

"Mitsuki takes a late dinner, so we should be spared his presence tonight," Kitaro told him.

"What about your father?"

"He is the same. They use the time to strategize. It is why I do my best to avoid the dining hall around those hours."

Vanra's mood brightened. "Then dinner sounds great."