When Traditions Collide

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MysticKrystal

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Krystal Tokko was asleep on her desk. It was the last class for today then it's finally Saturday so she didn't really care about listening to the lesson. The bell rings and all the kids in her class got up and rushed out of class, leaving her alone drooling on her desk. The teacher walks towards her and sighs and slowly walked up to her, laying a hand on her shoulder. Krystal jumped and landed on the floor on her butt.
"Owww..." she whispered as she stood up and rubbed her bottom. The teacher giggled and smiled.
"It's time to leave Miss Tokko. So now you can sleep in a comfortable bed." she told her. Krystal groaned and grabbed her bag as she was hunched over still half asleep.
"Thank you Mrs. Ruka. Have a good day." Krystal said and then walked out of the school doors. She started down the street towards home having high hopes of sleeping when she gets home. But that was nothing compared to what she actually got when she returned home.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'HONOR!" Krystal shouted towards her father. He stood there with his arms crossed and sighed.
"We need you to learn the ways of the sword. It wasn't my choice. Your grandfather chose you so if you have a problem with that then go to the grave yard and yell at him about it." her father told her with an annoyed voice. Krystal slammed her hand on the table and yelled, "Why can't Darrick do it and pass down your so called tradition!?" Her father passed a long thin wooden box towards her and opened it. Inside was a beautiful sword with Krystal's name engraved in it.
"He made it for you. Not your brother. Now get dressed and get in the car so I can drive you there. No if's and's or but's." he said and grabbed his keys then exited the house. Krystal yelled in anger and marched into her room. She changed out of her school uniform and into the Kimono that her father handed her. She looked at herself in the mirror.
"Gosh why do I have to wear something stupid like this." she whispered and left to go into the car.

After a 30 minute drive they approached a dojo and she stepped out of the car.
"Whoa..." she said under her breath as she looked at the massive building.
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It would be his luck to be there early. It would not have made sense for him to sit there in his room and moan and groan about going to the dojo his uncle told him about that afternoon. Bad enough that he skipped school for the second day that week, now he had to go to some god forsaken dojo to...'train' with some Sensei. Nairotse listened to his uncle explain his family's tradition for the umpteenth time in his short life of 19 years and that afternoon was no different. The only slight difference was that his uncle lade a katana out for him. That katana had always been hanging above the threshold in the dining room for he and his uncle to stare wistfully at. The two men weren't one for words, so awkward silences were absolutely fine.

Even then when Nairotse leaned his back against the entrance door inside of the dojo, he hadn't said a word. The sensei had not yet appeared to shower them with long monologues of honor and tradition and other things he had no care for. Nairotse really didn't care whether he was late or early; the sooner he could end this night, the better. Tomorrow, he had some plans for the weekend. A drink, a bar, a female, and a bed. No stupid dojo was going to keep him from having his fun. Nairotse's eye lids peeled back when he heard the creaking of a door beside him. The sunlight blasted through the door at the same time, causing for he orange of his eyes to return behind the safety of his lids and above the dark scar on his cheek.

He really hated the sun.

A heavy sigh pressed out of his lips and did not stop until the door was closed and the dojo was enveloped in the dim light as before. He didn't bother to look at whoever entered. Instead he kept his eyes closed, his left leg supporting his body while the soles of his shoes pressed against the wall. He merely dipped his head down a bit more to shroud his face from whoever it was to stare at him like some kind of eye candy, which, believe it or not, was a usual for him.

"About time."he drawled in the lowest and most unamused voice he had, not even bothering to introduce himself or look at whoever interrupted his train of thought with the sunlight.
 
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Krystal walked into the dojo and looked around confused. She didn't know what to do. It was empty, silent. She never liked the silence, it always made her feel uncomfortable. Once she walked in she slowly closed the door behind her. Her sword was hidden to her right side in its scabbard. As she walked farther in she heard a guys voice. She looked at him with darting eyes and a pissed expression.
"Excuse me?!" she said loudly. She wasn't in a good mood at all and she wasn't going to put up with anyone's arrogance. She started walking towards him ready to give him a piece of her mind, but as she got close enough she was interrupted by another voice.
"Sit down. We don't need any fights, class hasn't even started yet, Krystal." said the teacher. Krystal turned to see a man. She didn't recognize his face but that didn't really matter. She guessed that her father gave him her name or something similar to that. Krystal stepped 10 feet away from the guy against the wall and sat on the floor against the wall looking down at the ground.
"This is stupid. I don't want to be here. I'm a girl for God sake!" she said loudly towards the teacher. He looked at her and smiled.
"Gender has nothing to do with being a sword master." he told her. Krystal acted as if she didn't hear him and continued to stare at the floor.
 
Nairotse was finally forced to bring his eyes out of their closed state behind his lids to see why he heard a female talking instead of a man. The answer was simple: because there actually was a female beside him. A brilliant flash of white and orange shot through his pupils causing him to close his eyes just as he did when the sunlight blasted through the door a sliver of seconds before the girl snapped at him. His peach hair brushed against the bridge of his nose when he finally had the strength to turn around and face her again.

"Turn it down, will you?"he murmured when another voice cut across the room. Nairotse let out an internal sigh when he slid his eyes lazily over to the source of the voice. Not to his surprise, the Sensei stood atop the main pallet of the dojo dressed in his all black dojo kimono. If they all hadn't been in a dojo, Nairotse would have thought the man to be a ninja more than a swordsman. The only thing that threw him off was the blue hair. Nairotse raised a brow at the hair and the blue eyes to match. He had never seen someone with blue hair that was a master swordsmen. Usually they were the ones who trained with shurikens and the such. He was learning all sorts of things today.

"This is stupid. I don't want to be here. I'm a girl for God sake!"

His attention was immediately brought back to the girl beside him. She was something interesting herself as well. For starters, she was loud. Too loud. So loud that Nairotse winced every time she opened her mouth to speak. He wasn't sure if she noticed that they were not on the opposite ends of a street or anything, but he thought twice about telling her to quiet down. She was already pissed off and the last thing he wanted to do was to make it worse. The Sensei ordered the two of them to take a seat and, unlike the girl, Nairotse obliged without one complaint. He made his way to the middle of the floor where two silver cushioned pallets lay waiting for their bottoms to meet.

"Welcome to the Gien Dojo. You two probably know perfectly well why you are hear so I don't need to explain that matter, do I?" Nope, Nairotse muttered in his head, lifting his eyes to meet the mans once he took his seat. The Sensei shifted his eyes from he to the other girl, smile never leaving his face. "I am Sensei Roland. Go ahead and introduce yourselves." Nairotse didn't even bother. He pursed his lips together and refused to say nothing until he knew who the hot headed female that snapped at him was.
 
Krystal held her breath. She didn't want to get involved with class at all. Her temper was already burning, she didn't need to be bothered with anything else. But she knew that if she went home and told her father she refused to do what he wants her to do. She stood up and walked over to the cushion and sat down, trying to noticeably mock the other guys "charm". She then looked up at the sensei and replied.
"My name is Krystal as you already know. I'm 15, a horrible student, and i don't really care for anything in the world. Is there anything else you want to know, Sensei?" She had a bit of a know-it-all attitude in her voice and it pressed the teachers nerves but he kept his cool and asked politely, "Krystal, if I were you I'd be a little more engaged in class, because all I see at the moment is that you're all bark and no bite." Krystal frowned at his comment and looked away, her face turned red in anger.
 
It was like the two of them were sister and brother and what kind of man would Nairotse be if he got in between that? The two had a very high level of snarky remarks and sarcasm that it was even a surprise how they managed to talk to each other in complete sentences. Most of the time, when two people are so much alike, they tended to clash. At least, that's what society wanted them all to think. Nairotse knew that it was bunch of bull. If the two of them wanted to have a piss party with themselves, then be his guest. He was perfectly alright with sitting down minding his own business.

"And you?" Just when Nairotse thought he was safe, Sensei Roland moved his eyes over to where Nairotse sat and looked at him with bold blue eyes. Even though Nairotse was not looking up at all, he could feel the eyes on the top of his orange hair. Krystal had finally shut her mouth and now it was his turn to do the introductions.

"Nairotse Tohona. I live across the street." Nairotse brought his view from off of the floorboards and stared placidly at the Sensei and said nothing more. The room was enveloped in an ominous silence while Roland waited for Nairotse to finish his introduction, but that was just it: He had nothing more to say. Sensei Roland let out a large sigh.

"Alright, if that's it, would you two care to tell me what you plan on learning from me?" No, Nairotse answered internally again, leaning the side of his face with his palm, sliding his eyes over to Krystal. Her face was turned to his and it was as red as a cherry. he lifted his brow in amusement, blinking at her and wondering when she would notice that he was looking at her.
 
Krystal heard the sensei ask what she planned on learning. The only thing she planned on learning was Nairotse's personality. She tried to glance over at him. Looking at his orange hair, then attempted to stare into his eyes but noticed he was already staring at her. Chills were sent down her spine and she jumped up to her feet facing the doors of the dojo. Her right foot slammed hard on the wooden floor and she bit down on her lip trying to hold back a small scream of pain.

"Ow ow ow ow ow..." She whispered as she hopped on one foot and held the other. Sensei Roland chuckled at how reckless she was acting today and covered him mouth knowing that if she heard him she would go off on him. Too late, Krystal turned towards him with her fists clenches.

"Why do you keep making fun of me. You're a teacher. You're supposed to act mature!" She lectured. Her anger rose to a point she didn't want to stand in the dojo anymore. She limped out through the doors and walked around a corner where no one could see her. Sensei Roland placed his right hand on his forehead.

"What a pain this session is going to be.. Krystal, wait up!" Sensei Roland yelled as he sprinted towards the dojo's exit. He looked around but couldn't tell which direction she took off at. Krystal kept her breath silent so he couldn't find her so easily and she crawled away into a shadow so she couldn't be easily spotted.
 
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It was like something off of TV. A sitcom or comedy movie or something. Whatever the case, Nairotse could not believe that it was all unfolding around his eyes like that. All he did was simply look at the girl and the next thing he knew, she was out the door. At first, Nairotse lifted his brow when she snapped up suddenly once their eyes locked, almost as if something bit her right on the rear. He remained silent, however, noticing how off balance her 'jump' really was. Then, suddenly, he could clearly see in his mind what was going to happen next. The girl was extremely clumsy.

Before he even got the chance to open his mouth and warn her, however, she let out a series of yelps and started hopping up and down like an idiot. Sensei Roland giggled as if he had never scene that kind of thing before and Nairotse just scowled, lips pulling down in a frown. You mean to tell me I am going to be stuck here every other day with her? Just as such, his thoughts were interrupted when she pelted Sensei Roland with snaps, hobbling out of the door. Nairotse quietly watched the entire ordeal with little to no interest. As said before and will be said many times, he had no care about that dojo and who was in it. He only cared of getting out.

Krystal was prolonging his impending freedom.

Nairotse sighed heavily between his lips, eyes closing as he hoisted himself off of the wooden floor. A bone cracked in his foot which he ignored, scratching the back of his head at some invisible itch. Krystal was acting more like a 5 year old than a 15, but could he really blame her? Nairotse was 17 going on 18 in a week or so, so his maturity level was surly higher than hers. Then again, he remembered the time when he himself was 15. He never acted like that. Eh, must be a girl thing.

The only reason he did what he did next was because he wanted to get back to the lesson and get the day over it. That and only that. Nairotse found his way out of the dojo and back into the sun's wrath. His eyes slanted but did not completely close. He could see the Sensei a good ways away from him down the street, hands cupped by both sides of his mouth and calling Krystal's name. Nairotse, on the other hand, sighed again, leaning against the exit door.

"You know, you could just go home. Wouldn't bother me any."he spoke in a low tone to the darkened space behind him where he knew Krystal sat.
 
Krystal was sitting on the ground, she could her Sensei Roland calling her name, begging her to return to class. She was confused, her thoughts constantly wondered and her mind told her to leave, but her feet kept her in place. She closed her eyes and sighed. Her heart was pounding and her blood boiled in her veins. The last thing she thought was that Nairotse was cute. A little too cute. But that thought was easily interrupted by the sound of his voice.

"You know, you could just go home. Wouldn't bother me any." He said.

Her eyes opened wide as her body stiffened. She held her breath wondering how he found her so quickly. A light breeze went through and blew a few strands of her white hair in front of her face, tickling her nose to the point she sneezed. Her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment thinking that today just wasn't going in her favor at all. She stood up and looked down at the ground. There was an empty soda can next to her feet. Krystal thought if she could make Sensei Roland think she was somewhere else she could escape the opposite direction and run home.

"I make just take you up on that offer."

Krystal picked up the can and stuck a few rocks inside to make a loud enough noise. She threw it towards the entrance of the dojo to catch Sensei Rolands attention. And her diversion went exactly as planned. Roland went sprinting towards the dojo as Krystal ran the opposite direction towards a small path in the woods. She wasn't familiar with the surrounding but it was the safest place to hide at the moment. Krystal passed up tree after tree, getting as far as she could until the dirt path ended. Unfortunately, the path lead to nowhere. She was left in the middle of the woods with no sense of direction to her home.

​"Great, just great. I guess I'll stay here til I think it's a believable time to walk out and go home."

She muttered under her breath and kicked a tree. Not paying attention to which foot she kicked the bark with, a shock of pain went through the same foot that she injured at the dojo. She falls to the ground and grabs hold of her foot again yelling out in pain.

"DAMMIT!!!"
 
Nairotse decided then and there: he would never try to help anyone ever again.

Krystal agreed at his advice and decided to take matters into her own hands in the strangest way he had ever seen. She grabbed a can and jumbled some rocks in it, making a clank! clank! sound every so often. At this point, Nairotse was interested to know if the girl was really smart or insane. He was pulling for insane. Pulling her arm back, she threw the can onto the dojo entrance door, making a clanking sound. Nairotse didn't know how the Sensei managed to hear such a noise from that distance, but the second the can hit the door, he was rushing back towards the dojo, black suit billowing in the small tufts of wind.

Nairotse blinked a single time when he noticed Krystal's idea all along. The plan was to grab the old man's attention while she made her own getaway. Escape by illusion: an interesting tactic. He clicked his tongue atop the roof of his mouth when he eyed the direction she sprinted off towards: the forest. Just when he was beginning to think she was smart, she had to go and run directly into the woods without looking around for a back route to her house.

Idiot.

"Tohona, have you seen Krystal?" Nairotse showed expression in his face and did the only thing he could think of doing. He shrugged. Sensei Roland sighed heavily out of his mouth and murmured something Nairotse assumed to be swear words. It didn't matter to him one way or another. He hated to admit it, but now it was time for him to babysit. He had to find Krystal and drag her body back to that dojo, willing or unwilling. Surprisingly enough, Sensei Roland didn't question him when Nairotse turned around on his heel, hands in his pockets and walking directly towards the woods. He hadn't seen exactly where she may have gone, but a short walk would do him some good.

A tree branch snagged his arm, but Nairotse either didn't feel it or didn't care. The sun's rains melted on the canopy of trees instead of beating down on the top of his head. It was relaxing to feel the wind pass through the pale white cream of his blouse, billowing his tie left and right. Now this was a scene he could get used to.

"DAMMIT!!!"

And now it was ruined.

Nairotse saw the flash of white to his left followed by a thud and a great deal of muttering. Just his luck, Krystal had to be loud enough to ruin the tranquility that had only found him mere seconds ago. The boy leaned against a tree behind her, wind billowing past his face and picking up his strands of orange hair that was now darkened by the shadows of the trees.

"Let me guess. You hurt yourself by doing something stupid. I get why you said you were a horrible student before. You don't even have any common sense."he said in a hushed tone before sighing, digging his hands deeper into his pockets. "Don't run. I don't feel like chasing you."
 
Krystal rocked back and forth in pain and bit her lip trying not to make too much noise in fear that someone would hear her and start looking. But with her luck, she got spotted in just a few seconds. She saw a shady figure lean up against the tree she kicked and the familiar voice that started to annoy her to death.

"Don't run. I don't feel like chasing you."

Nairotse said on the other side of the tree. Krystal was finally done with his smart remarks. He may be cute but she would never get used to him with that stuck up personality he tends to have. Krystal moved to her knees and straightened her back, sitting up facing his direction. A light breeze went through as she closed her eyes and breathed in. She might as well try calming down before she pulled out her sword out and plan of having practice right there in the woods.

"I won't run away. But tell me why do you keep following me? You don't have to waste your time pointing out my mistakes. I would rather
be alone so I'm not a problem to the world."

She told him. Her voice wavered at the end of her sentance. She felt a tear trying to well up in her eyes but she instantly pushed it back down and cursed herself for sounding weak at the end. She opened her eyes and look back at Nairotse's figure and gritted her teeth. She slowly stood up trying to hold back the urge to clench her fists and yell. She constantly reminded herself that she needs to stop making a scene.

"I don't need you to care for me or anything. So we'll just walk out of here and I'll head for home. I'll see if I can get out of this damn place so I don't waste your time anymore."

Then Krystal started walking back to the path and in towards the dojo not caring if she left Nairotse behind or not. The sun was close to setting and she estimated that once they get out of the woods, class would be out anyways.
 
Nairotse lifted his eyebrow for the umpteenth time that afternoon at Krystal. The girl had gone from moping and whining in pain to crossing her legs in a yoga position, breathing in and out as deep as she could, it seemed. Apparently that was supposed to calm her down. It was doing a pretty good job for the pink in her face was slowly starting to disappear, replacing it with what he figured was her calm expression. Nairotse waited until she was done like a good boy, enjoying the sun that tried hard to sneak through the branches above him. The wind played with his hair again and he did nothing to pat it down to its original state. His eyes were set firmly on the girl in front of him as she suddenly spilled out her thoughts.

Nairotse didn't know whether to answer her question or just stare at her until she mentally realized she was saying all of these things to a complete stranger. A pause allowed him to blink down at her with his orange eyes, face still stone shaped and placid.

"We have class together."he answered simply, tilting his head a small bit. "Did you forget that fast?" His question went unanswered when Krystal slid up from her sitting position, white hair flinging around her shoulders as she sent a glare his way. Nairotse remained silent when she spoke of going home, turning on her heel and walking away from him without the slightest look behind her. Nairotse had a right mind to let her go walking away on her own, but he couldn't. Not because he was fearful of her safety. No, that was the last thing it was.

He needed her to finish that damned lesson.

His usual blank expression wiped away and was replaced with an annoyed scowl. The scar below his left cheek deepened when his cheeks dropped in a frown. He took three long strides behind her and reached his hand out to grab her shirt by her shoulder, yanking her around to him. Nairotse shot a glare towards her even as he pulled her closer to him. When she was close enough that he could see the veins of frustration on her face, Nairotse bent his head down dangerously close to her, not ridding his expression of annoyance.

"Krystal. I need you."he said while his eyes dimmed a bit more in frustration.
 
Krystal heard Nairotse come up behind her quite quickly and grab onto her shirt and pull her in his direction. She noticed the way his body language was, the sound of his voice, she did it again. She annoyed him to the point that he could probably burst. As he told her that he needed her, She wished he meant it in a sweeter, more affectionate way. But with how the situation is at the moment, and the fact she could sense tension in the air, she knew he didn't really care about her, he needed to used her for some reason that she didn't understand. She was urged to make a smart remark, to walk away from him and forget that today ever existed, but she thought that if she was in his shoes, She's probably kill the annoying person/herself by now.

"Well, what exactly do you need me to do? I don't have all day to spend my life pushing buttons on a guy that doesn't care if I existed you know."

She said to him as she tugged herself free of his grip. She didn't enjoy being touched, especially in a rude way. But instead of her usual back talk that she knew would make matters worse, she approached the situation differently. She wasn't sure if she was trying to be nice or just trying to end today as fast as she could. But one thing is for sure, she knew the end result was supposed to make him feel better.
 
When she showed no sign of fear and little sprites of understanding, Nairotse released the hold he had on her shoulder. He didn't wipe the scowl off of his lips, however. Whether she understood or not, she had already wasted most of his and her own time. not to mention the Sensei who was most likely pacing the dojo floors wondering where his pupils had gone.

"I need you to get back into the building so I can get this over with. You don't want to be there as much as I do, but we still gotta do it. I don't give two shits about it either, but you don't see me running away from it like a little coward, do you?" His attitude had went from mellow to completely annoyed. Her face had fell in shock only to recover back into a defensive state when she snapped back at him. It still didn't matter to him one way or another. If he had to lift her over his shoulder and carry her back, he would. It wasn't like he asked to go to the dojo. He had no idea that another person would be training with him anyway!

"Make this easier on the both of us, why don't you."he said when she yanked herself away from him. Nairotse let her walk wherever she wanted to; as long as it was towards the dojo it wouldn't have mattered to him. The woods were starting to get hotter even though the canopies ahead blocked most of the sunlight. It didn't do anything to the humidity, however. Nairotse found himself wiping his brow once, pushing his orange hair out of the way, walking behind Krystal to make sure she wasn't going to run off in an opposite direction. He seriously doubted it. Not with him behind her.

"What's your problem with the dojo, anyway? It's better than a public school."he said, wondering if she was too mad at him to respond. Oh well. He could be silent too.
 
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