3 3 - Kyo's Morning

Kyo waved goodbye to his partner as he walked down the garden path. He hated leaving her alone, he knew she would spend her entire day-off working; whether it was in the garden or doing household chores. But the garden does look beautiful, he thought to himself, she has done a great job. Kyo smiled noticing the hedge had finally come into bloom, knowing full well that his partner would be pleased but he wished he could have been part of it. The cat sighed, wishing he could do more despite his work hours being increased. He opened the garden gate to walk through and closed it behind him before marching off down their street.

Their neighbourhood was quiet, filled with a number of families and retired couples. The street had very few shops on the strip, but each was a family-run business, including the bakery and floristry Tohru worked at. Kyo always enjoyed the days Tohru would bring home various baked goods from work, his favourite being their rock cakes. The cat continued down the street when he noticed a mother with her small children. He couldn't help but smile, the sight filled him with joy. Maybe one day, he thought to himself, it's just not the right time. Kyo watched as the group made their way into the bakery before he turned right on the intersection. He pressed on, picking up the pace as he walked down the steep hill.

The dojo was situated at the bottom of the hill, surrounded by a wooden oak fence that overlooked the ocean. It was a perfect location for martial arts training due to the variety in terrain, however only the more advanced students were allowed to train in certain terrains. Kyo stopped as he reached the front of the dojo, every day he was overwhelmed by nostalgia. His childhood spent with his foster father Kazuma, how they trained together to help Kyo relieve his frustrations from the pressures of the Sohma family curse. He approached the door, fiddling in his trouser pocket to find his keys. Kyo pulled the keyring from his pocket, unlocking the door. He stumbled on the mail laying on the welcome mat, he scooped it up ready to put on Kureno's desk, for he dealt with the business side of the dojo now Kazuma's memory was fading.

Kyo tapped the wall, flicking the light switch pausing for a minute until the electric kicked into power. He removed his trainers, tucking them inside one of the cubby holes that sat lined up against the wall. On the other side sat a line of coat pegs, ready for today's classes. The cat glanced at the dojo clock; it was eight forty-five. He had exactly fifteen minutes before his first class of students was due to arrive. He walked over to a sliding door, on the left side of the room, it was what they used as a changing room. It was fitted with a handful of lockers, mostly used by the staff, toilets and a shower room. The changing facilities were separated by gender for the student's comfort.

Kyo walked into the room, throwing his rucksack against one of the green-painted benches, along with the mail he'd retrieved. He began removing his plain t-shirt and throwing it to one side. He was never the tidy type, Tohru had learned that the hard way the day they moved into their new house. She had seen only a fraction of his messy side when they lived with Shigure back in high school, but that had just been the tip of the iceberg. Kyo continued to strip off his trousers, throwing them to the same side he did his t-shirt. He stood in his boxers, he shivered, the morning chill running through his body. The cat grabbed his rucksack, rummaging around inside the main pocket. He pulled out his training gi, placing the crisp white shirt and trousers to one side before pulling out his belt. Kyo smiled as he held the black belt in his hand. He had spent his childhood training with Kureno for this. He had regretted giving up martial arts whilst he attended high school. Back then he could barely manage the pressure of his schoolwork alongside the Sohma family drama.

The cat quickly got himself dressed in his uniform, there was a time and place to reminisce, and this wasn't it. Kyo grabbed his discarded clothes, from the floor, and rucksack, throwing them inside the locker. He secured the metal case with a small cat-head padlock Tohru had given him for his birthday. She had got it custom made, knowing how forgetful her partner could be, a gold lock in the shape of a cat head with engraved paws prints on the back. It was a little gimmicky, but he couldn't help but smile every time he saw it. Kyo walked barefoot back into the dojo training hall, mail in hand.

"Hello Kyo," a male voice made him look up. He saw his foster father Kazuma standing before him, wearing his own training gi but dyed the colour of a raven's feather. He was a dark-haired man in his mid-thirties, standing a few inches taller than his foster son.

"Sensei," Kyo bowed his head as a mark of respect, "I didn't expect you today." He was a little taken back by his father's appearance.

"Skip the formalities, son," Kazuma replied, waving a hand in the air, "Are we all set up?"

"Almost," the cat spoke, handing the older man the mail, "These were on the mat when I arrived." Kureno accepted the letters and thanked him.

"Perfect, let me just put these in the office. It's almost time for the first set of students to arrive," he said as he walked off to the back of the dojo, disappearing behind a screen.

Kyo began setting out a few padded training mats on the wooden floor. They were perfect for the younger students and prevented a lot of accidents that usually occurred with his older students. When it came to the children in his care, he didn't want to take any chances. He pulled a bag of cushions from the storeroom and placed them in front of the cubby hole and coat hook walls. These were for the parents who preferred to sit and observe their children during the sessions. Kyo liked seeing the parents supporting their children, it gave him a sense of doing something good and helping those children achieve something positives, watching their faces present their certificates to their parents was one of the highlights of his job.

'One day, that will be me," he reminded himself, his thoughts escaping from his mouth instead. Kyo chuckled to himself, he really needed to put these thoughts towards the back of his mind. For now, at least, he thought to himself.

Once he had finished laying out multiple rows of colourful cushions, he opened the dojo door. He was greeted by a dozen chubby-faced children, beaming up at him. Kyo couldn't help but smile back at them, acknowledging each child and parent by name, ushering them into the dojo hall. The children lined up in the centre of the wooden floor while their teacher finished speaking to the last of the parents, settling them in their cushions.

Kyo walked to the front of the class, at the north of the hall. He bowed before his students, noticing Kureno appear from his office in the corner of his brown-dyed eyes. The older man gestured for his son to ignore his presence and continue with his class.

The cat return to standing position, "Morning class," he greeted his youngest students with a smile. The group of children between the ages of four and five tried to stand as still as they could, but their mentality prevented this. A couple of them began waving chubby hands at their parents, who were encouraging the behaviour. Kyo turned to glance at his foster father, both of them letting out a little chuckle. Both of them knew, they had been that child in martial arts class, a number of years prior to today.

"Today we will be practicing our rolls. But what do we need to do first?" he asked his class. Half a dozen of the students eagerly outstretched their arms to the ceiling, a couple jumping on the spot with excitement, "Yes, Lucy." Kyo pointed to a blonde-haired girl, one of the children who had begun jumping.

"Warm up!" she called out, her chipmunk voice echoing throughout the hallway. The crowd of small children erupted into laughter and began squealing with excitement. The two grown men couldn't help but laugh. Kyo gathered the children and begun there usually pre-training warm up; a quick jog around the training hall before stretching out their little muscles.

"Everyone ready for the fun stuff?" the ginger-haired teacher asked, knowing full well what the answer was going to be.

"Yes Sensei," the crowd of children erupted once more. Kazuma ushered the class into an orderly fashion at the west side of the hall. Kyo adjusted the blue safety mats more central before stepping forward to deliver the next set of instructions.

"Now, we are going to practice our forward rolls," the cat explained, adjusting his stance, "Copy me." He smiled, squatting on his heels. He placed his ginger head onto the safety mat and gentled pushed himself off the floor. His body rolled forward into a ball, landing perfectly on his feet. Kyo stood back onto his bare feet and returned to where the class was gathered.

"Your turn," he gestured to the children. Each of them taking it in turn to attempt a forward roll, as they had been instructed. Their parents clapped and cheered as their child performed their roll. Kyo watched each of his students, in their attempt, a proud smile appeared on his face.

"You know, I used to pull the same face when I watched you years ago," Kazuma teased, giving his foster son a little nudge.

The younger man let out a groan, "Don't remind me, old man," his cheeks began flushing red. Kyo nudged his foster father back to brush off the embarrassment. He noticed in the corner of his eye, his students coming to the end of their attempts. Kyo took his place at the head of the class once more.

"We will now practice our blocking. You will work in pairs," he called to the class. He turned to Kazuma and ushered him to join his side. The men bowed at each other with respect, "Sensei will now attack me, I shall block him. Pay attention." Kyo turned to address his students, informing them of their next exercise.

Kazuma nodded, understanding what he was to demonstrate to the small children. He stepped closer to his son, throwing a right hook at him. The younger man held up his left arm to block and push his arm anyway. This then allowed him to take a step forward and strike. The men stepped back to their original positions and bow at each other once more.

"Thank you, Sensei," Kyo thanked his father, giving him a flash of a smile. Kureno smiled back before returning to the west side of the hall. He stood there for no longer than five minutes before disappearing back into his office. The younger man shrugged it off and figured he probably had a business phone call to take care of.

Kyo turned back to his students, "It's now your turn," he bowed to the children, giving them the go ahead to split themselves into pairs and practice blocking. He decided to walk around the room to watch his students' practice. He complimented pairs that had successfully executed the task, and with the pair who struggled he assisted in demonstrating the task to ensure they understood. The teacher left his students for a little while to continue their practice while he went to speak to the parents. This was something he enjoyed about his job, conversing with the parents.

A young mother noticed Kyo standing close by and began to speak, "Sensei, how is your partner?" she asked politely making conversation.

"She is fine, thank you," he replied, a little curious as to why she asked.

"I'm surprised you don't have you own little one yet," another perked up.

Kyo scratched the back of his head nervously, "One day. The timing isn't quite right for us yet." Or so we have discussed, he thought. He glanced back over to watch his students, unable to shift the proud, warming feeling flushing over him. One day, he thought, one day my child will be able to train in the very hall I once did.

Maybe, Kyo continued to think about the subject, I should reconsider the future with Tohru. He devised a plan in his head to have a conversation with Kazuma before he left later this afternoon.