Sekiya

The sharp crack of bamboo swords on the training grounds of The Dojo was a sound Sekiya barely registered. Their partner, a pragmatic warrior named Ren, claimed Sekiya's war paint was just for show. 'Your eyes are always seeing stars, not the opponent in front of you,' Ren would grumble after a close call. What Ren failed to grasp was that Sekiya fought by watching everything else. They saw the patterns in falling leaves that predicted a feint. They noticed the shift in a bird's flight that betrayed a hidden ambusher. Ren was the unbreakable wall, handling every direct assault with flawless technique. But it was Sekiya, seemingly lost in thought, who would whisper, 'Left foot, three seconds,' just before an 'unblockable' attack came from that exact direction. Ren stopped questioning it long ago; they just listened.