Training with Chari II

Chari had to stop his explanation when he realized they were beginning to run out of time. "Go and read up the rest by yourself" was the last thing he said before he began climbing up a tree.

'Is that supposed to be training?'

Watching him go higher and higher Luck decided to focus on his own training. He picked up two short sticks that would serve as makeshift daggers and took a stance. He calmed his mind and let himself feel every single part of his body, the wind that caressed the delicate skin on his face, the tall grasses that caressed his shins and the gentle swaying of his hair.

Then he began to move.

He mimicked his regular movements swinging his arms in the air, his eyes closed tightly so that he could mentally feel each movement. His movements were slow at first but he slowly began to increase his pace. Beat after beat he got a little faster until he got to the point where he knew he was at the limit of his speed and then he pushed even further until his arms began to burn.

Now he needed to maintain that speed for as long a as he could. He swung his arms forward in violent arcs as though he was locked in an actual fight.

It didn't take long before he began to visualize. His mind went back to his final moments, the last fight.

How would he have handled it?

The force of his swings increased, each one splitting the air at an alarming rate. He spun his body to give extra torque and then suddenly danced to the left. He had just dodged strike from Jericho.

Jericho pursued, his wicked dagger hungry for his soft flesh, but he wasn't the only one out for blood. With a smooth sidestep Luck was now behind Jericho and he was wide open. He swung the tip of his dagger to the base of Jericho's skull causing him to stagger back, he wasn't going to kill him yet.

Jericho staggered and rubbed his hand against his now bleeding skull. He licked the blood and smiled.

"That didn't save her though, did it?"

Jericho moved like a blur, his speed now multiplied two fold. His swing was deadly but Luck was fast enough to dodge it, only that he didn't. He let the dagger burrow deep into his skin. He wanted to feel the pain, feel what Vera felt and multiply it ten fold to Jericho.

He wrestled the dagger from Jericho's fingers while the latter watched him with a shocked expression that slowly curved into a smile.

"You are not him." Came Jericho's oddly amused voice.

"You wanted a killer didn't you?"

A heavy blow knocked Jericho to the side followed by a blow to both his ears at the same time disorienting him. And then in a horribly devastating stab Luck moved the dagger straight toward Jericho's eyes but just before it could make contact he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Luck?"

Luck stared at a wide green clearing slightly confused. Where was he?

To his right was a seven year old boy with dark blue hair and eyes. He was oddly familiar.

Then suddenly everything hit him at once.

'Oh, that's right… I died.'

***

"Are you okay? You seemed very off during while you were practicing."

"I'm fine." Luck was obviously not, but Chari simply chose to let him be.

"Do you want to see the technique I've been working on?"

"..."

Allowing the last bits of anger dissipate he paused a little and then a forced smile spread across his face.

"Of course!"

***

Chari gave Luck some time to catch his breath and when he had rested sufficiently enough went over to a small bush and brought out a pretty decent looking staff from it. Actually it couldn't really be called a staff, it was more like a long branch that happened to be straight enough to work as one.

Chari took his stance in front of a large tree and rested the staff against his right shoulder, his right arm gripping the other end tightly.

"I have been working on this technique for 3 months now. It's called 'the defender's bane.'"

"That's a pretty cool name."

Techniques in this world were different from the ones he used on earth. Certain precise movements when done right had the potential of strengthening an attack by up to 30 fold and sometimes even more when you poured your pysia into it.

Luck and Chari had received basically no training on pysia manipulation so he didn't think he would be using any today, it was amazing that he managed to perfect a technique at all considering how young they were and how restricted they were from the clan techniques.

Only that Chari hadn't actually perfected it.

Luck watched Chari move towards the tree, his speed was good and his stance seemed okay but when the staff came against the tree nothing happened. Chari went back to his starting position and moved again this time his movements were faster but the staff uselessly bounced against the thick bark of the tree leaving no scratch.

"Umm, is that how it's supposed to look?" Luck asked, scratching his head.

Chari was not irritated by his question in the slightest, he simply returned to his stance and got ready to swing again.

"You'll see it when it comes, I haven't gotten everything right yet."

He moved again, his staff aimed at the humongous giant but once again the stick simply bounced against its mighty frame.

What chance did a little twig have against damaging its creator? The branches of the trees swayed as if to mock him as Chari went back to his position.

The staff rested gently on his shoulders and he held onto the bottom just like he had done countless times. But this time it was different.

He spun the staff forward rotating his body as he did the staff and when the staff was just across his chest switched it to his left hand. Then letting go of the staff he let the shaft smoothly curve around his waist.

The staff was now in front of him once more, he grabbed onto its center spinning it around his head and then suddenly, something shifted in the air.

It was as if the little twig now had the ability to obliterate anything in its path. Just as he completed the last stroke the speed the staff multiplied and it cut through the air like a speeding train.

The wind blew against the tree as if trying to force the tree to avoid the strike but the mighty tree stood firm.

Not for long though.

Because once the staff actually connected with the tough bark a gaping hole was left at the point of contact a quarter of the tree's trunk completely obliterated.

Chari smiled and looked at Luck. Beads of sweat were rolling down his face, the technique had definitely taken a toll on his delicate body.

Luck on the other hand had a shocked expression on his face. He looked over to the tree and back to Chari and then to the staff that was now turning to dust.

"Cool right?"