The Sensei's Aid [Work Topic -- Morning]

From the slatted window sitting above the slumbering Lui came the blistering light of the morning sun. While Lui could normally rise out of bed in an instant on a weekend morning, he was feeling especially groggy today. From the workout session, zombie attack, and follow-up interrogation from his "beloved" sister, he was feeling less energized to get the day started. He needed to pep himself back up, though. He had previously talked with a sensei from the Ori-shiki Dojo who had approved his application to join the dojo as a teacher's aid. His past experiences in fencing along with the dojo helping to start his club got his foot in the door, and the owners had invited him to work the morning classes in fencing and sword combat. As he heaved himself out of bed, he grabbed his clothes for the day and placed them on the sink counter of the hallway bathroom. After tossing his clothes from the last day into his laundry bin, he turned the shower on and shivered as the cold water washed over him. For years, he had begun taking cold showers to get himself into his best form for school and his fencing club, and today required his absolute best. As he ruffled his hair to scrub in the shampoo, he heard a familiar voice echo in his mind.

"Good morning, Lui. Sleep well, I imagine?"

"W-oh right, Shiro. Listen, I need to focus today. Don't distract me while I'm working, got it?"

"As I expected to hear, m'lord. What do you think of Ms. Gagnon's suggestion from last night?"

"You mean the monster hunt? Well, I'm curious. Perfect opportunity to get some training and learn more about you."

"And the key?"

"That's for later. I need to actually find a door to that... Velvet Room. Now shush. I need to get moving."
Feeling content and alert for his new part-time job, he quickly got dressed and ran down into the family room, packing his uniform into a duffel bag. The television was still on, meaning that his sister had been up before him. A quick glance in the kitchen showed a packaged box with a handwritten note tacked on the top.

"Good luck with your first day, Lui. Lunch's already packed for you. Show them what you got, kiddo. -Sumi"

After munching on a microwaved breakfast sandwich and legging it down to the dojo, he placed his tennis shoes in their respective hole and moved into the side room, finding the sensei he talked with moving equipment. The younger teacher appeared to be in his late 30s, his long, brown hair tied into a ponytail for the fencing mask at his hip. He was covered in the usual white attire with a foil gripped at his side.
"Morning, Lui. Glad to see you're raring to go this early. You can get suited up in the back room over there. Ms. Claire may be coming around later, so watch your step with her."
"Gotcha, Sensei Roto."
After Lui quickly slipped into his fencing gear, he helped the sensei move the training dummies and practice weapons into the side room. The students came into waves, forming little discussion groups as Lui glanced over everyone present. When the time came to begin class, Sensei Roto called everyone to attention.
"Alright, class. Let's get started. Starting today, my assistant Lui here will be helping with our lessons. He's had years of experience with swordplay, so follow his instructions. Alright, start with laps."
As the students lapped the room and went through the motions of lunging on the dummies, Lui slipped his mask onto his head and took his place across from his sensei.
"Now, today we're going over our parry and riposte form. Since a majority of you are new students, you'll be pairing up with each other. Hmm... But we have an odd number today. Lui, mind paring up with Mira back there? She's been here the longest, so you can help her with more advanced techniques."
Lui followed Roto's gaze to the girl in the back corner of the room. Her short black hair with noticeable purple streaks flicked to the side as she shot a disinterested glare in his direction before throwing her mask on. Lui walked over to her and settled the starting lines to avoid bumping into the others. Running through the basic parries, thrusts, and movements, it seemed to come second nature to her. While the teacher watched over the remaining students, Lui and Mira had moved on to beat attacks, knocking each other's blades out of the way for a quick attack on each other. She was slow and deliberate with her strikes at first, but as the lesson went on, she became faster and more forceful. As they dueled, Lui could hear Mira speak from behind her visor.
"How many years did you say you've been doing this?"
"4 years, almost 5 now. How about you?"
"Coming up on 3 now. I'm getting kind of bored with this class lately. Barely getting a challenge anymore."
"Well, I can always help with that. Your form is pretty good, but your strikes could use some work. I'll be here later if you want to spar."
"Why wait? Open spar should be starting after break. We can get a few rounds I before then. Care to take me on?"
"Sure. Just move back... Good. Now, on your mark... Fence!"
In an instant, the two moved across their strip of mat with quick lunges and parries. While Mira was going on the offensive, repeatedly striking Lui to try and trip him up, Lui remained defensive by parrying and blocking her attacks. Just as she seemed to let up, an unseen gleam in his eye indicated that it was the end for her. Just as she had settled into a rhythm, a surprise lunge by Lui caught her off-guard as she walked straight into his foil point.
"Alright, good work today. Everyone take a break. We're getting to free sparring next."
As Lui moved outside to take a bite of his lunch, he found Mira sitting beside him, curiously watching him.
"You're pretty good, Lui. I might actually get a kick out of working with ya. Don't let your guard down just yet; I'm demanding a rematch when class starts back up, and I won't be taking it easy on you. See you then."
As Mira strolled back into the dojo, Lui couldn't help but smile as he kept munching on his sandwich. First Bat, now Mira. It seemed like he kept meeting more and more promising fighters. This job was becoming a pretty neat investment. Now, better finish up and get back to class...

Final Word Tally: 1122 words

You get 3300 VC, fam.