Toddler Oni Tournament

"Begin!" Kadiri signaled.

Fighting with cushioned kanabos was more difficult than Meioshi thought, especially when limited to using techniques learned from the bears. For whatever reason, Kiyonobu requested that she do bear strikes only. The doctor could only assume that the fog oni was curious about how much she was able to learn from her furry specimen. Her opponent was a young girl with a pigtails and little pictures on her skin such as happy rabbits or winking kittens. To the doctor, of course, the little pictures were cute and made the tot look adorable. She seemed to specialize in acrobatics as her go-to move was a spin kick or spinning dash. Allowing herself to be struck a couple of times in order to understand this tot's move set, Meioshi took a mid-kick to the stomach and stumbled backwards before she twirled her kanabo around and positioned it behind her. She closed her eyes and employed the Kage o Tasuo ritual in order to keep the little oni girl safe and not hurt her. Hasumi took an interest in this and fluttered a little closer to the ring to see what the doctor was doing. She had always been fascinated by the doctor's martial skills when they met, but she never used them on her. She always went on the defensive. It looked like she was choosing to do a combination of defensive and offensive fighting styles.

Swaying like a bear until her claw hand opened, Meioshi waited for the tot to attack. When she rushed at her to perform a sliding dash and club swing combo, Meioshi hopped over to her side and grabbed at the girl's outstretched ankle to fling her away. She turned just in time to block the girl's kanabo strike with her stationary kanabo positioned behind her back. The young tot got frustrated at this and stomped once she got up. Creeping up to Meioshi instead, she was able to keep up with Meioshi's claw strikes and low kicks. Every now and then, their kanabos would clash in humorous squeaks or rattling noises. Though the noises of the children's toys would normally take away the seriousness of a fight, the squeaks and rattles interested the oni parents. Squeaking usually meant that the kanabo clash garnered a certain amount of impact force that would normally send the children into extreme recoil. The louder or more high-pitched the squeak, the lesser the impact; muffled squeaks or short squeaks meant greater impact. The fighters were in-between muffled and high-pitched squeaks; meaning, one of them was delivering high-powered blows without realizing it and the other was just acting in response to the power delivered. Kiyonobu was guessing that his young daughter was putting out high amounts of energy in order to wear Meioshi out, but Meioshi was preserving her energy and learning his daughter's moves in order to respond. The rattling, on the other hand, was a different story. Rattles tell the parents how much energy is being transferred to ordinary attacks. Meioshi's kanabo was practically silent.

This was what Kiyonobu was interested in. Though his daughter was truly an exceptional fighter for her age, the orphaned doctor was different. She trained differently. She moved differently. As the girls ran away from each other for a moment, they rushed back in to perform a couple more strikes until the young tot quickly swept her club under Meioshi's feet as she was going for a low kick and hit her ankle to make her fall. The doctor let out an "oof!" before allowing herself to be defeated. She politely gave the painted oni girl a compliment and earned a warm hug from her in response. As well as the promise of painting her skin with flowers and leaves...

The next couple of fights resulted in a similar ending. Meioshi let herself be defeated to protect the children and complimented each one's fighting prowess out of genuine sportsmanship. She actually was quite impressed by their skills. Each child promised her some form of a gift related to what they had on them like the pictures or treats. She gingerly accepted each one. Omezo, however, wanted to learn a particular strike that Meioshi performed in the middle of their fight, so the doctor happily taught it to him. Each child had an interest in her bear strike, so she showed each one how to do it. Kadiri immediately caught on to that and understood why her husband wanted Meioshi to limit her skill to just the bear strikes. The orphan oni was holding back in favor of befriending her classmates instead.

"Kids, breakfast!" a feminine voice called. It had to be the last of Kiyonobu's wives. She didn't sound like Maemi or Tazu.

"Get outta my arena and eat, brats!" Kadiri ordered, watching the children scurry out with exception to Meioshi and her group of girls.

"You held back, Kachan oni," Kiyonobu said, rising to stand. Omezo stopped in his run to turn around and look at his father as he was walking up to Meioshi. The doctor didn't move and only blinked at him before rushing to stand at attention. He then said, "There was a move you did just before you used the bear strikes. What was it?"

"Huh? Oh! You must mean my ritual. It's the kage o tasuo. My great uncle taught it to me," Meioshi replied with a bright smile. "It helps me understand how to defend myself against certain opponents. Your children are very strong, Master Kiyonobu! You and Mama Kadiri taught them brilliantly!"

"... Kadiri, a wood kanabo," Kiyonobu requested, walking to the opposite of the arena.

"Wh-wha-what?" she questioned.

"Kachan oni is more advanced than she seems. She needs to be tested accordingly," Kiyonobu explained.

"Then let me do that! I can just arrange for her to train with the older children if that's the case," Kadiri suggested.

"No, you can't," Kiyonobu said with a sigh.

"Why not?" Kadiri demanded, insulted by his words.

"Mama Kadiri?" Meioshi called, tugging on Kadiri's legging. The mother oni looked down at the doctor to show her attention had been gained and noticed that something was in Meioshi's hand. The rose-haired child then said with a bubbly smile, "You dropped your treats. Whoo!"

Oni mothers were certainly fast. Meioshi couldn't brace herself for the scoop Kadiri performed and simply clung to the crocodile armor. Ah, she missed those days of her youth. As firm and hard-pressed as Kadiri was known to be, she crumbled around cute children. This made Kiyonobu close his eyes and say calmly, "That's why."

"I'll train with her again," Omezo said in a soft voice. He was blushing a bit, but he was looking down on the ground. "Were we doing bad, daddy? Is that why sister oni held back?"

"No, no!" Meioshi said, waving a hand. "I don't like to hurt people in spars, least of all kids my age. I'd rather help my friends get stronger, even if it means they outgrow me in hurlyburly. Battle, as you say. My powers are all used up, too. That last scuffle was a doozy! You did great, Omezo! It'd be my honor to watch you grow into a great warrior like your daddy. After all, we're friends now."

Omezo lightly gasped at that, looked up at Meioshi with watery eyes, and smiled before nodding. He then raced off to the dining room, smelling his favorite buns. Kiyonobu was surprised by Omezo's behavior. Out of all of his sons, he usually stayed to himself and found joy in doing activities on his own. His brothers and sisters do engage in play with him, and he doesn't seem to mind the interactions, but he winds up daydreaming after a while. This child hardly ever takes the initiative to get to know someone or even suggest spending more time with them. Maybe Meioshi's words made something in him sort of sparkle.

Speaking almost to himself, the fog oni said, "I have been mistaken. A wood kanabo will not be necessary. Kachan oni may keep her cushioned one. I will take witness to the ritual instead. Until her powers return, her next tournament will be withheld, and I will let the commander of the earth keep watch over her just as Lord Numa-o had sent me to do the same. Release the girl, my wife."

"But she's so soft," Kadiri said, cuddling against Meioshi as though the girl were a stuffed animal.

"Another time, Kadiri," Kiyonobu reprimanded lightly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Begrudgingly, the stern wife placed Meioshi down and returned to the spectator's seat. Kiyonobu walked over to the left of Kadiri and removed a larger cushioned kanabo from the wall. He proceeded to wait for Meioshi to pick up her cushioned kanabo. The doctor quickly grabbed her club, not realizing she was sparring with the master of the house, but she wasn't sure of what to do. Kiyonobu didn't rush at her or anything. He just stood there and waited. Remembering that he wanted to see how she performed her kage o tasuo ritual, Meioshi got into a defensive stance with the kanabo over her shoulder and her legs spread out for balance. Kiyonobu's eyes started glowing white against the blackness of his eyes and he breathed deeply to try to control his fighting instincts. He then got into an offensive stance and slammed his kanabo into the ground to pick the arena floor up from the sheer impact of the strike. Jumping over a soundwave, Meioshi was met with Kiyonobu delivering three devastating blows that would've broken her bones had not the kanabos been made of cushion. Kadiri heard only muffled squeaks from the attack. Meioshi was thrown to the ground, but she recovered quickly enough to see the fog oni's next couple of strikes.

She dodged the two lefthand strikes, but the righthand one connected to a lower rib and knocked the wind out of her for a moment. It was a good thing Kiyonobu didn't have an actual kanabo in his hand because Meioshi was certain she would've been dead.

Regardless, the doctor whispered, "Kage o tasuo. Oni of the marshland, master of fog. Seek."

Like before, Kiyonobu repeated a three-hit strike, but he didn't land any of the hits. Meioshi blocked each one and was able to perform a counterattack, but Kiyonobu blocked it and retaliated with another move. This one, Meioshi struggled with because it included a low kick and two middle strikes. She allowed herself to take the blows until she noticed a small window of opportunity on the fog oni's right side. Blocking the kick and dodge rolling out of the strikes, she popped Kiyonobu in his side and ran away when he snapped his attention to her. He just looked scary in that moment, so Meioshi let out a quick "Eep!" before scurrying away. Slamming his kanabo down again, Meioshi side-leaped over the soundwave and timed her defensive a bit better. She still took a hit because the man was simply too fast, but she dodged his critical blows efficiently. When Kiyonobu was satisfied, his eyes returned to normal and he stood still. Meioshi didn't know what to do until Kiyonobu nodded in approval.

"This ritual is of great use in combat against your equal, but it will leave you weakened against stronger opponents," Kiyonobu complimented. "Is this why you studied those bears? You mentioned that they use attacks that allow them to preserve their energy. You were doing the same thing with the other children."

"Ah, it's not a perfect fighting strategy by any means, but it helps me understand my opponent. I preserve as much energy as I can until I really need it," Meioshi explained. "The bears did help me understand this, but that's not why I studied them. I mainly wanted to learn how they hunt, not how they attack."

"Hm..." Kiyonobu replied, smirking a bit at her. "You may return to your vacation after you eat and sleep for the day. We will meet again, Kachan oni. I believe Omezo has much to learn about you and your way of battle. Hurlyburly as you call it. When your vacation ends or, at the very least, when your powers return to you, I will take you to meet Shizukesa. She is the commander of the earth and forest. I believe it better if she look into taking you under her wing, but do not believe this will be the last time we see each other. You have much to learn about your heritage as oni. I, and my family, will teach you this. You also must take me and Shizukesa to King Shanwang if he is alive as you have claimed."

"Will you promise not to hate me, Master Kiyonobu?" Meioshi asked with sad eyes and not a single smile on her lips. "Once you learn of his truth, I doubt you'll want me to be your friend or part of your charming family. Lord Numa-o might not have been wrong in trying to kill me, but he is wrong if he doesn't think Shanwang has been away for this long without having suffered."