I Wonder if He Could…

Omoide walks towards the basement entryway that is just off the kitchen, or at least that is what Sumi had told him. "Can't miss it!  Big dark cherry wood door that has huge black hinges and handles… you know, that iron Hecklin-ship-looking kinda door?" Sumi obviously has strong opinion about the masculine aspects of the ancient Hecklin race that conquered the oceans of their word, along with most of the coastal villages and towns.  Not only were they known as a race of only males, but their prowess in wood and iron working was renowned and obviously offending to Sumi for some reason.

Omoide enters the kitchen and heads for the hallway at the other end of the room where the pantry is located and, he hopes, the door to the basement gym.   As he enters the windowless hall, the ceiling illuminates with a faint glow. He slows his steps and admires the lighting once again.  He comes to a full stop as his eyes move to the door that is at the end of the hall and, yes, it's quite hard to miss. 

The door is indeed a dark red, almost like dried congealed blood-red.  There are very ornate carvings covering almost the entire door.  As he gets closer, he can see that the carvings depict a battle… no…. It's more like a festival, maybe?  He moves in to get a closer look and nods his head as his second assumption is correct.  The carving is very detailed and shows a festival of strength.  Much like what was held by the Hecklin race.

The Hecklin would hold festivals of strength that was open to all in their lands.  It was at these festivals where the nations and races of the Hecklin controlled territories would send their best warriors to be tested to be allowed to join the Hecklin clans.  It was an honor (more like a requirement to fill the ranks) of the villages that were under the Hecklin's control to send their strongest sons to compete.  To be brought in under one of the Hecklin clans was to become royalty.

Omoide runs his fingers over the carvings, feeling the details in the muscles and weapons of the competitors.  He stares at the faces of the Hecklin event masters that are shown presiding over each event.  He squints and gets closer to one such master that appears to be presiding over the strength of hand combat.  He touches the carved face, 'This one looks quite familiar.' He thinks to himself. 

He kneels next to the door with both hands moving over the carved face and body (they compete in the nude, evidently) when he hears someone lightly cough behind him.  Being brought out of his trance-like state, Omoide knows it's Harold behind him, "Harold, I was told you would like a sparing partner this evening."  He stands and turns to Harold.  He sees Harold staring at him wide-eyed while his face is flushed.

"Ah, well, no, I mean…. Who told you that!" Harold stammers as he moves past Omoide and presses a button next to the door.  To Omoide's surprise, the door slides open revealing an elevator cabin.  Harold steps in and turns around to face Omoide.

"Uh, Sumi said you wanted me to meet you in the gym.  If you would rather train alone, I can come back another time."  Omoide answers with a bit of confusion thinking that Sumi was playing a joke on him. 

Harold's face relaxes as he notices Omoide's attire, "Yes.  Oh yes, that is what I had told her.  Yes, please, join me in the gym to train.  Of course… I uh, train with Benjimin daily, well, did, before all this," Harold flails his hands about, "but I know the general routine he does so, he did say that you two used to be sparing partners.. Well, ah, training partners that is…. So I can, um, spot you?  If that's what you need or want or like… or.. Er, I'm going to stop talking… just let me know what you want to do."  Harold finally stops talking and embarrassing himself.

Omoide looks at Harold and raises an eyebrow, "One too many cups of tea today?  I'm sure we can work that nervous energy out, take the edge off before we get into more serious routines."  He enters the elevator and moves aside so Harold can work the controls.  The doors closes silently and the elevator began descending into the basement.  It was so quick that it was hard to sense the elevator moving at all.

The doors open and Harold exits the elevator.  The ceiling illuminates and brightens revealing a very respectable home gym.  The ceiling is about 10 feet high, which is not what Omoide expected but he is happily surprised by.  The elevator is in the center of the space with the locker room directly across on the far wall.  He can see frosted doors with "LOCKER ROOM", "ONSEN" and "SAUNA" written on them in black framed gold letters.

To his right is an area with a few machines and free weights, kettle bells and various other equipment.  To his left is an open space with colored mats laid out with boarders and other markers for different kinds of martial arts.  Along the left wall are stacks of mats in different thicknesses and textures and to the right of those is a wall full of martial arts weapons.  Most of which Omoide is familiar with.  He will have to ask Benjimin about the others.

Harold has already made is way to the locker room door when he waves at Omoide, "I'm going to change.  You're welcome to come in here and check things out or set up whatever you want to work on out there."  He smiles and drops his hand as the door swings closed behind him.

Omoide had planned on a run to work out his stress and restlessness but looking at the mat area again, he has a desire to do some grappling and self defense instead.  He walks over to the mat area and sits on the bench that is off to one side.  He removes his running shoes, tucking them neatly under the bench.  Standing up, he stretches his shoulders and back before he steps up to the edge of the blue mat and bows.  He stays in this position as he quietly asks his god for clarity of mind and strength to have a successful training session.  He stands upright and steps on to the inner area of the mat.

Harold has changed and is waiting at the edge of the mat for Omoide to notice him before he enters the mat area.  Omoide himself was checking the mats along the wall for the ones he would use for grappling and ones he would use for hand-to-hand self-defense.  He felt Harold's presence and without turning around, invites him onto the mat, "Please join me, Harold.  I appreciate you taking time out of your schedule to train with me."

Harold bows and makes his own request for a successful training session to his god, and then enters the mat area. "Of course, Omoide.  Having the opportunity to train with a master is an honor."  Harold replies and bows to Omoide, who also bows in return.  "What routines will we be going through during this training session?"  Harold asks hardly masking his excitement. 

Omoide chuckles, "I'm glad you have changed your opinion of me since our original meeting.  From the looks you were giving me when Ms. Shugosha and I arrived, I thought for sure you would be kicking me out before the first evening had concluded."

Harold bows his head, "I'm truly sorry for my behavior.  It has just been Benjimin, Sumi and I for so long that I wasn't sure how to deal with a new person being added to our group. But I soon realized that you have always been included in some way or another.  Benjimin didn't go a day without talking about you.  I guess I was worried that your being here would change our dynamic, our relationship with each other, but you fit in where he has always left room for you.  I'm glad you are here and that Benjimin has someone like you in his life."  He lifts his head and looks Omoide in the eyes and smiles.

Omoide just hums and takes a deep breath, "Okay, lets start with mokoso.  I want to listen to this space and hear what it's saying.  How long do you usually meditate before you start training?" 

"I would say a good solid five minutes but I have listened to this space for a while so you may want a longer period of time.  I will follow your lead."  Harold turns and lets Omoide lead the way to the center of the mat.

Omoide nods and walks to the center of the mat.  He sits with his back to Harold and turns his head, "Back to back is preferable for me.  I know Benjimin preferred to be facing so if that is more comfortable for you, we can meditate that way."

Harold quickly turns around, his back to Omoide, and sits down.  He shuffles back until his back is touching Omoide's.  They both adjust so their backs are completely flush against one another.  Omoide begins to breath deeply and Harold quicky matches his depth and pace.  Their breathing sync as each man clears his mind and focuses on the sounds of each other and the space around them.

Omoide uses this opportunity to reach into Harold's soul and mind, just to check his health and stability.  It's not intrusive and Harold will have no indication it's happening.  Omoide usually does a quick check when he first meets someone but with Harold's apprehension, it would have been troublesome and he would have put up some pretty strong barriers. 

Harold feels content.  More content than he has felt in a long while, certainly not since Benjimin fell ill.  He lets his mind clear as his breathing stays in sync with Omoide's without effort.  Omoide pulls back his magic from Harold's mind and soul and is glad to find that he is in good health physically, mentally and spiritually.

Omoide opens his eyes slowly, knowing that the magic is still receding.  Once he feels the magic completely return to his soul, he quietly calls to Harold. "Harold?  Did I put you to sleep?"  He feels his back vibrate with Harold's quiet humming, "Hmm, I could probably fall asleep if you let me."

"Nope, it's time to wake up and train.  Are you ready?" He says while pressing his back against Harold and drawing his feet closer to his body.  They push against each other and walk their feet back to stand up.

"I'm ready, Omoide.  What's next!?"  Harold says while stretching and twisting his body.

"Assisted stretching, if that's okay with you."  Omoide states as he rolls his shoulders.

Harold sits back on the mat, "Ready when you are!" 

The next 30 minutes is spent stretching each others legs to their limits and then some more.  They assist each other in getting the deepest stretch possible by using consistent body weight against the others back and legs, depending on the type of stretch.  At one point, Omoide has his back against the wall and Harold has a hold of his right leg, Omoide's ankle rests on Harold's left shoulder while he is squatting.

"Okay, ready?" Harold asks.

"Yes, just rise up steadily."  Harold nods and begins to rise.  He stands up fully and raises an eyebrow at Omoide, "More?"

"Yes, use your hands and brace under my ankle." Omoide instructs.

Harold does as instructed and starts to gently raise Omoide's leg so that he is almost in a sanding splits position.  He looks down to make sure Omoide isn't rising on his toes which would indicate discomfort but his eyes don’t get any further than Omoide's groin.  There is a defined bulge there and the compression leggings leave nothing to the imagination but Harold has quite and vivid and wild imagination sometimes, so he is quickly distracted.

He shakes his head, 'Not the time, Harold.  Not the right guy either…. But….. Oh my, I wonder if he could…'  His eyes quickly move back to Omoide's face as he slowly lowers his leg and backs away.

"Ah, thank you.  I'm ready now.  Do you need any additional warming up before we begin?"  Omoide asks as he is adjusting his shirt and leggings.

Harold turns and does some adjusting himself before he turns back around, "I'm good.  What did you have in mind?  You mentioned grappling and with all the leg stretching, I bet you want to work on guard techniques, possibly scissor chokes or maybe triangle?"  He smiles at Omoide.

"Very astute!.  I wanted to run through mount and guard techniques then some fight simulation ending with freestyle, if we still have some energy left."  Omoide is now jumping up and down in both offensive and defensive stances trying to taunt Harold into making a move.

Harold begins to match his movements but remains neutral, not advancing to attack.  "Are we starting from an attack to take down or should we just start on the mat in mount position?" 

Omoide smiles and stops his movements. "Probably best to start down on the mat first."  He nods and sits down. "I'll start so go ahead and get into mount.  No hooks in for the first few rolls, sound good to you?"

"Sounds good." Harold says as he lowers himself over Omoide's stomach.  He places his knees on either side of his hips, "I will give you an indicator and we will go from there, good?"  Omoide nods as Harold places his hands around Omoide's neck and leans down putting as much weight as he can on his chest. 

"Ready?" Omoide smiles at Harold.  With very little visible movement, Harold is rolled over and Omoide is suddenly above him, resting his heavy chest upon his and trapping both of his arms in his large strong hands.