Chapter 93 - Qi

Four Months Until Purgatory--

Standing in front of him was the joyful Outlander who exuded both frivolity and confidence, hopping in place as he shook his limbs to warm his body up. Watching Fai warm up, Ren reluctantly followed, stretching side-to-side as he slid the bottom of his jet-black boot across the grass.

As the standard attire he wore for physical activity had been destroyed in the battle against the white stalker, Ren acquired a new set of clothes courtesy of Beatrice. Sirius insisted on him getting something resembling his military-like uniform, but he opted for something a little more subtle. With autumn now occupying the world, bringing with it a looming cold, he wore a set of black, somewhat fuzzy leather armor that sat over heat-retaining wool garments. Over this armor, he decided to wear a beige ranger-cloak.

--I really don't know how to feel about this. I was just getting used to Brahmi's antics, now this? There's no helping it since she had to go on another mission, but sheesh--I don't know what to expect from Fai.

From what Sirius had told him, Fai was the man he considered to be just behind him in terms of overall power--which didn't exactly help boost his confidence going into this day of training. At the same time, having such a high-level mentor did somewhat excite him.

Watching the ponytailed martial artist move with such flexibility, stretching his limbs to the utmost, was somewhat unnerving, if not downright unorthodox. Fai wasn't a man of a hulking physique like Sora, but he wasn't exactly thin either, muscle clad itself to his body in every section that could be seen. It was a body not forged from purposeful bodybuilding but from countless years of training, that much was something even Ren could tell.

"How about a quick spar? Just so I can see where you're at."

Fai adjusted the wraps that were coiled around his fist to his forearm before running his fingers through his well-kempt, hazel hair with a smile.

"A spar, huh? I'm still kind of rusty, you know…"

Attempting to sideline Fai's proposal, Ren feigned weakness, caressing his shoulder as if it were sore, faking a wince. His reluctance was quickly dismissed as his substitute mentor gave him a playful, yet daunting smack all the same, slap on the shoulder.

"Hey, what the hell--"

Ren complained out of instinct but quickly realized there was no pain from the slap, in fact, his shoulder felt better than ever.

"I gave you a bit of qi, don't worry!"

"Qi…? Do you mean mana?"

Rolling his shoulder a few times and swinging his fist up and down to test his fully-recovered arm, Ren looked back at Fai with an eyebrow raised at the mention of "qi".

Fai simply laughed at his student's confusion, rubbing his index finger against the groove between his nose and lip, "That's what everyone thinks when they first hear about it. Qi is a separate force from magical energy. It exists within everyone; actually unlocking it is another thing though."

"Elaborate."

It was the first he had heard of it in this world, but he was familiar with qi as a concept on Earth. Usually, it would be chalked up to be in the same realm as magic itself, but hearing differently piqued his interest.

"How about this--if you can land a single hit on me, I'll tell you all you want about qi. Not a bad deal, right?"

Fai gave his conditions with a smile, holding his arms crossed over his toned chest as he awaited an answer from Ren.

--I knew it. Was this all part of his plan?

A less than pleased look plastered itself over Ren's expression before he reluctantly agreed with a, "Fine," that followed a heavy, drawn-out sigh.

"Yeah, that's the spirit!"

As he expected, the energy-fueled Outlander was ecstatic to have an opportunity to battle. Seeing this nature of his settled in a bit more anxiety about having a battle-loving man such as him be his mentor.

"Is there a time limit?"

"Nope, just until you give up! We can start whenever you're ready."

--He really doesn't expect much from me, does he?

Doing a few last stretches for good measure, Ren finished with a smooth inhale and exhale, feeling his mana begin to pump through his body as reinforcement was activated.

--Go!

Pushing off of the tip of his toes, he propelled himself forward with a sharp, low dash towards the frivolous martial artist. With his cloak fluttering behind him, Ren pivoted on his right foot as he reached Fai's position, swinging with his right fist--only meeting with air as Fai reared his head back with a subtle evasion.

Not allowing this to dull his momentum, Ren continued with a volley of jabs, switching stances as Fai evaded each and every hit without a hint of being pressed.

"Come on! Come on! Put your back into it! I want to feel the air against my skin!"

Being taunted by his opponent who held a joyful smile in the face of his all-out attack was nothing short of frustrating, feeling blood rush to his head as he did his best to ignore Fai's comments. Attempting to go for a sweep of the leg, he witnessed an unorthodox dodge in the form of Fai flipping his entire body backwards, keeping his arms over his chest the entire time.

"Are you even trying?"

"I am! You're just slippery as hell!"

Ren jabbed his finger forward, finally venting his frustration, only earning a slight shrug from Fai who held a look in his eyes that asked him, "Ready to go again?"

Each time he attempted to close the distance with amplified speed, Fai was always one step ahead of him, reading him like a book with those glistening silver eyes of his. It began to become what he aimed for--those eyes that belittled his efforts, swinging his fists towards them as over and over again, his attacks met only with the parted winds.

Miss. Miss. Miss.

This repeated for a good few minutes, exhausting himself as he began to learn the difference between him and the seasoned fighter.

"If this is all you've got then forget Purgatory. You won't even last a day there at this level."

Fai dropped his stance low to evade the next attack as he spoke, kicking Ren back before he continued.

"That place will eat you for breakfast."

"What the hell do you even know about it?"

"I know that I lost a precious friend and comrade to that pit of death."

Hearing Fai's solemn words, Ren opened his mouth but could find nothing to say. It was a first for him, seeing the vibrant, somewhat flamboyant martial artist take a somber look like that. Snapping his concentration back into place, he narrowly avoided a swift high-kick from his temporary mentor, who had replaced his bleak expression with his trademark, glowing smile.

"Come on! Come on! You're not giving up just from a few words, are you?"

"Hell no!"

Jumping back into the action, starting with a few wild hooks that were mostly fueled by his accumulated frustration, Ren found his punches dulled by what was mentioned.

--It's no use, this isn't working. It doesn't matter what array of punches or kicks I throw at him--it's like he can see them all coming from a mile away!

Attempting to think of something that could work against the silver-eyed, tan Outlander, Ren spun around into a spinning high-kick--aiming directly for Fai's nose, missing once again as the man leaned back just enough to dodge the blow.

As this little game went on, Ren took notice of Fai's arms twitching whenever he let loose a barrage of fast attacks or got too close--every time that would happen, the man would hold a vice grip on his own arms as if trying to hold them still.

--Being on the receiving end of relentless attacks like this as a lifelong practitioner of martial arts--I bet his instincts are running rampant.

Continuing his fruitless attacks, delving into the arsenal of moves taught to him by Brahmi--spinning his body and hips around for sharp kicks, even going for an airborne punch every now and then--Ren came to a realization.

--He just wants me to hit him. That's all he said. He didn't specify whether it had to be by fist, foot, or even magic.

This time, he decided to throw a feint, throwing his left fist through the air with the target being that bullseye of a nose he had been targeting all of this time.

As he had hoped and predicted, Fai only dodged the necessary amount, leaving him still close to the extended fist.

"Dunkel: Piercer!"

"--?!"

Catching Fai by complete surprise, a spear of dark magical energy emerged from Ren's extended hand, leaving no time to dodge--even for one as swift as him. Not left with much room to form, the spear instantly collided with the man's face, exploding into a ball of obsidian dust that filled the air briefly.

Ren froze in place completely, realizing the fault of his plan.

--Oh crap. I didn't kill him, did I?

Answering his worries, a cough was heard behind the smoke before it was then instantly dissipated by a powerful slap against the wind that released a subtle shock wave. There was only a stain of darkness left on Fai's nose as if he had spilled some ink on his face.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Ren placed his hand over his rapidly beating organ of love, earning a pat on the head from the frivolous instructor.

"Good job! I didn't think you were going to catch on!"

"...Yeah, well, I did."

Taking a break to catch his breath, Ren was plastered on the bed of grass while Fai looked as if he didn't spare an ounce of energy for that entire session.

"So, are you going to tell me about this qi stuff or not?"

"That was the reward if you won, so of course! Now listen up."

Fai sat himself down, criss-cross apple-sauce style, in front of Ren. Pressing both of his palms together and shutting the mirrors to his soul, a serene aura began to release from Fai's pores--put onto display for his companion, who was left in awe.

--He's right...That's not mana. It's so tranquil, so warm...It feels like any knots in my mind are unwrapping themselves just by being in his presence.

Peeking with one eye open, Fai smiled at the boy's engrossed reaction.

"Mana is something that originates within this world, in a way, we're conduits for it. However, with qi, it is something that spawns from within ourselves, our life force itself given form and power."

"I see...Mhm, mhm," Ren nodded his head a few times with his hand on his chin, "So, can you use it for spells?"

Hearing Ren's curious question, Fai chuckled and waved his hand back and forth before answering.

"No, no. To be quite honest, I don't really understand it all too well yet myself. Beatrice told me that this type of energy was something only ever used by clans of ancient times, it's a lost art in this world. Right now, I think I'm kind of a guinea pig for Beatrice."

Fai laughed again at his own words, ruffling his own locks of hazel. From what Ren could tell, he was truly a genial man, holding a spark of innocence within him that seemed lost with most of the others.

"So, what can you do with it then? You fixed my shoulder with it earlier…"

"Ah, well...For the most part, it's sort of a further reinforcement, with like you said, a few special touches of its own."

--This wasn't exactly the most insightful conversation...I did learn something new though.

Fai had a way with words, not an eloquence but a smooth, joyful coating to his words supported by his frequent hand movements. It managed to keep Ren's undivided attention on him.

What he had hoped to learn was that qi would be something he could learn--but Fai was simply too inexperienced to attempt to teach it to anyone else, insisting that that it would be best to let it occur naturally.

Assuming that was his sparring session was his first mistake as Fai continuously insisted on them practicing a round of combat in the name of "testing his ability". As Ren had feared, a single round of sparring against Fai wound up exhausting him, ending their training early.