I spun my arm in a wheel shape, catching Victor's punch and directing it away. I dipped down and swung under his next punch then twisted at my waist. Using chi to anchor my foot to the ground I snap kicked out at Victor. It wasn't a chi channeling blow so he only folded around my foot before being thrown off by the force. Victor shot across the back lot then hit the side of the van in a ragdoll fashion. He flipped off that then hit the chainlink fence that surrounded the dojo before falling to the ground. He was silent for a bit before he let out a pitiful groan that echoed across the yard.
Victor had gotten close enough to putting a hole in the barrel he had started feeling his chi. Putting a hole in the barrel as I had done so would have been something Victor would have had to try for years to get. Right now I was teaching him something else. I lowered my extended leg and planted both my feet. Victor shifted where he lay and Jacob, sitting on the steps watching us spar, burst out laughing, “Hey Vic, you're supposed to dodge.”
Victor picked himself off the ground and glared at his older brother. Jacob grinned then turned to me, “So what made you decide to beat him up today?”
I waved at Victor where he was walking back to me, “Victor already has a good idea of how chi works. I am using that understanding and building him a base. What's the first thing you teach someone when they fight?”
“How to take a hit.” Jacob answered.
I nodded, “I am teaching him the technique, Hardened Oak. It will just make him tougher and more durable all around.”
“Is that what you use?” He asked.
I wiggled my hand back and forth, “an upgraded version of it. It does the same thing at a higher level.”
Victor got close enough to start the fight again but I held up my hand, pausing it. We had been going at it for a while and he was covered in sweat with small bruises forming. He let out a sigh then collapsed his hands together and bowed to me in thanks. I nodded then watched him turn to his brother, “I can't wait until you have to go through this.”
Jacob looked his brother up and down before shrugging, “That doesn't look too bad.”
I waved my hand between them, “when you feel your chi, you will spar with your brother.”
Victor gave his brother a savage grin, “Hear that. Better hit the weights.”
Jacob shifted where he sat before nodding, “You're right. It's going to be a learning experience for you.”
Jacob was slightly right. It was going to be a learning experience for both of them. They bantered back and forth before we headed inside. It was an off day so there weren't any serious classes. There were some people using the facility but Anthony was off and it was just Jacob and Victor here to answer questions. I just hung out on days like this, sat around and studied the written language. I was pretty far along, able to piece things together now but it was slow dry work. I was looking at a letter and seeing how it sounded out in the children's book when my instincts told me to look up.
I was against one of the walls sitting down with my books in my lap when three people walked in. The first person looked to be in their early twenties, they wore shorts and a shirt with gym shoes for stepping on gym mats. He was leaning forward and stalking. He hard darker hair and he scanned the room, his eyes passing over me. The second guy was following behind him, leaning back with his hands in his shorts. He wasn't looking around like the first guy and seemed to be not paying very much attention. They didn't look to be related but they walked very smoothly.
The last person that walked in was different. He looked to be around Jacobs age but I could tell it was a lie. He had a solid foundation in chi, he was probably around Jacobs father age. I could feel it shifting around in him slowly just like Victors. He was wearing long loose leg pants with cloth shoes and a sleeveless shirt. He gave me more than a glance and scanned my form before dismissing me. I think it was the children's books in my lap that threw him off.
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Jacob and Victor stopped what they were doing when the people walked in. They glanced at each other then turned and met them in the middle. I closed my book and sat up from my slouch. The two groups got close and the two that were ahead paused and glanced back at the older man. He stepped between them and stopped in front of Jacob and Victor. Jacob stepped close and held out his hand, “Welcome to Browns Dojo. What can we do for you?”
The older guy shook Jacobs hand, “Royce Cormier.” He glanced at Victor, “You're a practitioner.”
Victor gave me a glance. I nodded at him so he turned back to Royce, “I know some things.”
The two behind Royce gave me a glance and Royce crossed his arms, “Someone was talking about this dojo online. Saying they were going to learn chi from here.”
Jacob stepped back and looked between his brother and Royce, “we got a whole batch of new people coming here over the summer.”
Royce ignored Jacobs words and stared down Victor. Victor didn't back down and met his eyes with a straightened spine, “Is that a problem?”
The two behind Royce shifted and Royce answered a few seconds later, “On the west side of Ta’pire mountain there's a little town called Pirest. In two weeks from now you will go there and participate in the tournament being held there.”
Victor crossed his arms and shifted his weight, “What kind of tournament? I am kind of busy working here. I can't just walk off to some tournament.”
Royce uncrossed his arms and let them fall to his side. Victor did the same and rolled onto the balls of his feet. “It's a tournament of Chi practitioners, and you misunderstand. This wasn't a request. You will show up.”
Jacob shifted onto the balls of his feet and the two people behind Royce gave him a glance. I rolled to my feet and got myself a glance while Victor replied, “That doesn't sound like the kind of place I would hang out.” He looked Royce up and down, “The people don't seem to be too nice either.”
To everyone else in the room it probably happened fast. Victor, proving just how skilled he was, started leaning backwards. He was running off of instinct. Royce lashed out with a palm strike. To me it was like he was moving in syrup. It was not a chi charged blow and I had hit Victor harder when I kicked him this morning so I let it pass. Victor's chi started to shift just before the hit, he almost had the technique, a few more hours of beating on him and he would have it.
Royce’s palm hits Victor square, blowing the air from his lungs and knocking him back. He didn't go as far as my kick but it blew him back into a roll the rest of the way across the room. Jacob took a step back and gave me a look. I waved him down letting him know it was fine. Victor picked himself up from where he had fallen with a glare, “Yea, definitely people I wouldn't hang out with.”
Victor looked like he was going to get back into the fight so I stepped forward and waved him down, “He will be there.”
Royce turned and looked me up and down before nodding, “Someone with sense.”
Jacob stepped over to me and Victor slowly walked back over. Royce turned and started to leave. The two with him nodding at us and leaving. Victor watched them leave with a glower before turning to me, “Why didn't you step in?”
I shook my head, “You were fine. It wasn't that hard of a hit.”
Jacob crossed his arms and stopped glaring at the doorway they had left through, “Those guys are assholes.”
I nodded at that. They could have sent a letter or something. It would have been treated better, Victor didn't seem to be the kind of person who would back down from a challenge like that. I glanced between the two of them, “So.. Where is Ta’Pire Mountain?”
They both gave me looks of disbelief before glancing at each other. Jacob pointed in the general direction of the mountain I had appeared on, “Thats Ta’Pire mountain.”
“Do you know where Pirest is?”
Victor shook his head, “It should be on a map though.”
I brought my pipe to my mouth then glanced at the back door. Victor shook his head and Jacob headed for the back office. I turned to Victor, “Well, let's get to it.”
I started walking to the back and i saw a look of alarm flash across his face before he turned to follow me, “What are we doing?”
I nodded and pushed open the back door. “You just got invited to a tournament right?”
He gave me a slow nod and followed me outside, “Yes. It's in two weeks though.”
I turned to him and sparked my pipe, “That means I have two weeks to cram as much as I can into you before the tournament.”
I watched his shoulder fall and he drooped, “I have to help with the dojo. We can't be out here all day doing these things.”
“It's ok. I imagine it won't take long. We were going slow before.”
He straightened up, “We were going slow? How are we going to go fast?”
“I am going to beat the techniques into you.”
He paled, “Can we just stay slow?”
I shook my head, “You are a natural talent. This should be how I train you anyways. You'll pick it up quick.”
“Fuck.”