Part 5 — First Training of the Year
Haruto nodded silently and left toward the training ground.
Daigo raised his hand. "Everyone, in your positions! First period begins… now! Sense… Ryuki… refine it into Seiryu."
The training ground fell silent.
Students sat in formation across the stone tiles.
Legs crossed.
Spines straight.
Palms resting lightly on their knees.
No one spoke.
The morning air was cool.
Still.
Daigo stood at the front, arms folded.
"Close your eyes."
One by one, they did.
"Slow your breathing."
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
At first, it was uneven.
Too fast.
Too forced.
"Do not chase it," Daigo said calmly. "Let it come to you."
The sound of wind brushing against the trees behind the academy grew clearer.
Birds in the distance.
Cloth shifting softly.
Breathing gradually synchronized.
Steady.
Measured.
"Feel Ryuki," Daigo instructed.
"The raw natural energy present in everything."
The air.
The earth beneath you.
The space between breaths.
Students focused inward.
Some felt nothing.
Some felt warmth.
Some felt pressure in their chest.
Natural energy was not forced.
It was sensed.
Like standing in sunlight without looking at it.
Haruto sat near the center.
Eyes closed.
Breathing even.
He didn't search for it.
He simply listened.
The wind shifted slightly.
A faint ripple brushed across his skin.
Not external.
Internal.
Like something quiet answering back.
Daigo's voice lowered.
"Ryuki is unstable when untouched. Wild. Untamed."
A pause.
"Refine it."
"Guide it."
"Shape it."
"Into Seiryu."
A subtle change occurred across the formation.
Raw sensation began smoothing.
Where there had been scattered warmth, it became focused.
Where there had been pressure, it became flow.
Students began gathering the natural energy slowly toward their core.
Not storing.
Just organizing.
Breathing grew deeper.
Slower.
The ground felt heavier.
Denser.
Like the world itself was responding.
A faint shimmer of energy danced lightly in the air—barely visible.
Control.
Discipline.
Patience.
Daigo observed carefully.
"Do not force it," he warned quietly. "Refinement requires calm. Not power."
Haruto's breathing did not change.
But beneath the calm—
Something subtle aligned.
Raw Ryuki.
Softened.
Cleared.
Refined.
Seiryu.
The first step of the year had begun.
The wind passed gently over the field.
Cloth shifted softly.
Breathing remained slow and synchronized.
Daigo walked between the rows.
"Ryuki is everywhere," he said calmly. "It is not yours. You borrow it."
A few students subtly adjusted posture.
"Do not pull."
"Do not seize."
"Invite."
Naoko's breathing stabilized first — clean, precise.
Arashi's energy felt strong, but slightly forceful.
Raizo kept it grounded, dense and compact.
Hina's flow was smooth, almost quiet.
Kaito's rhythm matched the wind.
Further down the rows—
Daichi's breathing wavered.
Sanae tried too hard.
Haruki's shoulders tightened.
Daigo stopped near them.
"Relax the jaw. Drop the shoulders. You are not lifting a weight."
They corrected immediately.
Across the formation, the raw natural energy began settling.
The earlier chaotic sensation of Ryuki slowly thinned and cleared.
Like muddy water being left untouched until it became still.
"Now refine."
The word was quiet but firm.
Students shifted their awareness inward.
Not pulling energy inward—
But aligning with it.
Raw sensation became smoother.
Less sharp.
Less scattered.
More coherent.
The air felt heavier.
Focused.
A faint pressure formed across the field — subtle, collective.
Haruto remained steady.
His breathing had not changed since the beginning.
He wasn't trying to shape anything aggressively.
He was simply letting it pass through him.
The Ryuki around him didn't resist.
It didn't spike.
It didn't flare.
It flowed.
Daigo's eyes lingered on him for a brief second.
Then moved on.
"Seiryu is refined natural energy," Daigo continued. "Stable. Usable. Controlled."
"Without refinement, power collapses."
A long pause.
"Hold it."
Students maintained the internal alignment.
Some trembled slightly.
Some remained firm.
Sweat formed on a few brows.
Control required effort.
Time stretched.
No one dared open their eyes.
The morning sun climbed higher.
Finally—
"Release."
A collective exhale passed across the field.
Energy pressure dissipated gently into the air.
Students slowly opened their eyes.
The atmosphere felt clearer.
Sharper.
Like the world itself had been polished.
Daigo stepped forward.
"Again."
No rest.
No praise.
Just repetition.
"Natural energy will not wait for you in battle. If you cannot refine Ryuki into Seiryu in calm… you will fail in chaos."
Students straightened once more.
Breathing reset.
The training ground remained still.
Rows of students sat in meditation, breathing slow and steady.
Ryuki flowed quietly through the air.
Some felt warmth in their core.
Some felt pressure in their palms.
Some struggled to keep their thoughts from drifting.
But all of them were trying.
Refining.
Aligning.
Stabilizing.
Seiryu formed and dissolved, formed and dissolved again.
Time passed in controlled silence.
Then—
The bell rang.
Sharp.
Clear.
It cut through the calm like a blade.
Several students blinked, returning fully to awareness.
Breathing normalized.
Postures straightened.
Daigo stepped forward.
"Second period," he said evenly.
"Combat session."
The air shifted instantly.
Calm focus became sharp tension.
Students rose to their feet.
Boots scraped lightly against stone.