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It was early in the morning as Wolf awoke. He was a light sleeper. Always had been. Always will be. It was a habit caused by the merciless training by Owl, his foster father, who always woke him up to godless hours.
Therefore, as the first rays of sunlight crawled along the land of Ashina, Wolf heard the soft, unknown steps hurrying through the hallways of the Ashina Castle. They even got accompanied by soft chuckling which was even odd. No one was having fun in any way in this castle.
Kuro and Emma were still asleep, unaware of the ongoings. As the steps came closer, taking the first staircase to the Dojo on the rooftop, Wolf heard fabric rustling and stood up, following the sound curiously.
In the middle of the sun-filled Dojo stood a small person. Wolf had never seen you before around the castle and yet, you seemed to be familiar with your surroundings. Skillfully and light-footed, you danced around with your sword raised above your head to train different postures and attacks.
Wolf was amazed by the way you moved so controlled. One step after the other got placed mindfully and quickly and even if you were training with a dummy, your attacks were powerful and straightforward with no hesitation during the performance.
The sun accompanied your moves as you danced through the rays. Dust and snow swirled around you but somehow, Wolf sensed melancholy radiating from you. You trained and trained and yet, you didn't seem to be pleased with yourself.
The moment you took a turn around yourself, letting your sword flicking after a quick dash forwards, you noticed someone standing in the door of the Dojo. A guy with raven black hair and an unreadable expression. Wolf. You knew his name. It got dropped randomly in the castle. He was the young lord's Shinobi. Rumors got already spread that Wolf was in possession of the Dragon's Heritage. That he couldn't die.
"Good morning, Wolf. I hope I haven't woken you up.", you said politely with your sweetest smile, lowering your sword as you approached the visitor.
"You know my name?", Wolf asked, surprised.
"Yes, I have my ears everywhere. I hear a lot of things. Oh, but excuse me, where are my manners? I'm YN."
Wolf nodded, liking your name, your voice and appearance already in a way that was barely known by him, "I didn't mean to interrupt your training."
"Oh, it's okay. I just love this place. Especially in the morning when the sun rises up, when the snow starts to sparkle like a million diamonds and everyone else is still asleep."
"It's the calmest hour of the day.", Wolf admitted low, not wanting to disturb the peacefulness.
"True. Tell me, Wolf, do you wanna train with me? It would be nice to have a real partner, at least for once.", you asked in hope the tall, serious man would say yes.
"It would be my delight.", he answered, taking another sword dummy from the ground before he followed you into the middle of the Dojo. Slowly, Wolf tightened the grip of his hands around the sword handle while you adjusted your standing.
"Just show me what you got, Wolf. I never fought against an honorable Shinobi.", you said with a smirk which grew even bigger as Wolf nodded and gave you a smile of anticipation.
It was like the two of you were in sync from the first moment. You stepped to the right and Wolf, sensing your move before you did it, also stepped sideways. And like that, the training continued. You attacked Wolf, he countered it. He attacked you and you did the same, even dodging him to attack Wolf from behind. You weren't surprised that he was extremely quick and was even able to counter your attack from above his head.
Thirty minutes later, you were breathless but happy. It was the best training for ages and in Wolf, you had found the most perfect partner. He knew exactly what he had to do while fighting and knew a lot of tricks. So, you tried one last attack on him.
With a swift move, you stepped back, gaining some distance. As Wolf checked your moves, you saw a moment where you could start your attempt. Quickly, you changed your stance, drawing your sword back before you attacked Wolf with the point straightforward.
Wolf stumbled backwards not expecting such a move while you drew your sword aside to avoid hurting him, "That was unexpected.", you said low, tilting your head.
"I can say the same. What kind of move was this?", Wolf asked, softly panting that his breath created small clouds of warm air in front of his face.
You closed up on him, "It's a Mikiri move. Basically, I will pull my sword back before I will lunge forward with it. In fact, it's an older move, not being part of the training here in Ashina even if many use it. You can counter that as well pretty quickly. I can show you if you want? I'm sure it will be useful for your journey."
"Please.", Wolf said and listened to your explanation.
"It's an easy move. When I withdraw my sword to start my attack, you have to watch closely. When I thrust at you, you have to step on my sword to stomp down my blade. That will kill the move and will let your opponent struggle. You wanna try it?", you asked, knowing the answer already.
Wolf nodded, getting ready and watching your moves closely. First, you attacked him with a move from above your head. He blocked it by raising his sword swiftly. Then, you swirled around and Wolf crossed your sword as it was between your chests. You smirked at him, even winking before you jumped back.
In a blink, you drew your sword back to start your thrust attack. You lunged forward, pointing with your sword at Wolf as you stepped one, two paces and quickly, Wolf stomped down your blade, "That was amazing! You learn quickly."
"I got a great teacher.", Wolf said and shot you a small, shy smile.
"Thanks. I always tried my best."
Wolf frowned by the choice of your words as if you spoke of your past. But before he could ask, you got ready for the next round of training. Wolf got ready, taking a secure stance before you nodded to each other to signal the start.
It was like a dance. You and Wolf worked in sync while your blades were dancing through the air like an extension of your both bodies. Getting closer, touching each other, withdrawal to keep the tension on fire you two built steadily.
Then, you stepped forward, swirling around to start a new attack but Wolf knew this move. He intuited what would follow and so, Wolf got you off-balance to be able to catch you with his arms securely around your middle.
As you looked up, slightly surprised and breathless, you met his eyes. Wolf's lips were teasingly close to yours as he just stared into your eyes. You already were hooked by his dark, mysterious sparkling eyes which were telling a thousand tales. Like you, he was panting for air and you weren't sure if it was just because of the training or because you were so close to each other.
Wolf wasn't sure if you wanted the same and waited for a sign. A small reaction given by you that you also wanted him as badly as he wanted you.
You saw the struggle in Wolf's eyes while he was still holding you. The sun was illuminating the both of you while small snowflakes were dancing around, encircling you two magically and just like that, you leant up a little to close the already small gap between your lips and Wolf's.
Wolf closed his eyes, savoring the feeling and the taste of your lips, pulling you closer and deepening the kiss while your hands rested on his chest, slowly stroking upwards to enclose his face, playing with some of his loose, black strands while your touch was as gentle as the wind. As your fingers brushed along Wolf's skin, he felt the coldness in your fingertips as if you were covered in snow...
"Wolf? What are you doing?", Kuro asked carefully as he saw his Shinobi in the middle of the Dojo standing in some weird position.
Wolf swirled around with a racing heart by the feeling of getting caught by his young master, "I just trained, My Lord."
"But I'm also sure that I heard you talking with someone.", Kuro said, entering the Dojo.
Wolf nodded, feeling his cheeks blushing, "Yes, My Lord. This is YN."
"Whom do you mean?", Kuro asked confused, looking around.
Wolf frowned before he stepped aside, giving Kuro a clear view on you but quickly, Wolf realized that Kuro was still confused. Wolf turned around but was alone, except for Kuro. With a scanning glance, Wolf looked around, searching you but in the Dojo, there wasn't much space to hide somewhere. Even the swords you had used were gone. Not one footstep except his own were displayed in the snow on the ground. Swiftly, Wolf ran to the handrail, looking around on the rooftops but even there, the snow was untouched.
While Wolf just sighed, the morning sun was warming his skin. He was sure he still could feel your lips on his. The gentle touch of your hands was still burning on him.
Ashina was a land of wonders and mysteries and obviously, one morning, in the magical light of the rising sun of a new day, Wolf had met a lovely soul that had even been able to teach him something new that would help him on the journey that lay in front of him.
"Thank you, YN. I will never forget what you taught me.", Wolf whispered into the wind, hoping you would hear him wherever you were.