Chapter Nine

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“So,” Seth said aloud, “what do you want to start with?”

"Well, we won't end up in the hospital. But we need a more open area...let's go to the river."

Seth’s hands clenched involuntarily, but he tried to hide it as best he could. ‘Idiot! Stop running away or so help me I will throw you in a lake until you are over it.’

The wanderer almost snorted. You knew you had issues when your own mind started threatening you… Though it/he/his conscience/whatever had a point. Weaknesses weaknesses everywhere, huh?

“All right,” the boy nodded, “any specific rules this time around?”

"Seth, this isn't a fight. This is training. My father wasn't going to fight me to train me. There were other things I had to learn first."

“Ahh, my mistake,” Seth said, embarrassed. “When you say ‘other things’, what exactly do you mean?”

She smiled, "You'll just have to wait and see."

“Meanie,” the teen stuck his tongue out childishly. ‘Ugh, I swear I’m forgetting something,’ the brunet thought quizzically, ‘something I’m mi- Oh crap!’ Seth accidentally bit his outstretched tongue as the realization hit him.

“Yeow!” The wanderer yelped, “Oooh, ahhh, tha’ ftingff…” he mumbled incomprehensibly around the injured appendage. His gloves, and more importantly, his chestplate were still in for repairs. Repairs he couldn’t pay for. ‘Oh man, this is so embarrassing… I am going to regret this so much later…’

“Ummm, thorry abou’ thi-“ Seth grimaced, retracted his tongue into his mouth and tried again. “Sorry about this, but could I borrow a bit of money again?” he asked sheepishly.

"What for?" she asked quizzically.

“Weeeeelllll, some of my stuff got damaged during our last fight, and I took it in for repairs.” The teen started nervously. “And, well, I, ummm, I kinda forgot that… I’m flat broke.” He rubbed the back of his head bashfully. “The guy there seems really nice and all, but I really don’t want my jaw busted if I go back there empty-handed.

“So could I borrow just enough to pay for the repairs, pretty please? I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.”

She nodded. "It's not a problem, since I have quite a bit saved up, but one of these days I'm going to have to fight someone else...the bets cover most of my 'wages'."

“Oh, by all means,” Seth assured his friend hurriedly. “I never meant to monopolize your time. If you have other things you need to do, please don’t hold off on my account.”

“Well then, shall we be off, or would you like a day or two more to rest?”

"Training you won't take any energy for me. At least, not for what I have planned. A walk won't tire me out either, so why don't we go now?"

“All right,” Seth nodded, pushing himself off the wall. “Though… how, ummm, dangerous is this training? Will I need my armor, or can I hold off on picking it up for another few hours?”

"It might help, but it'd work even if you didn't use it."

“‘It might help’?” Seth echoed dubiously. “You’re not planning on chucking rocks, or alligators at me or anything crazy like that, are you?”

"No, no, of course not. Honestly, what do you think my father did to me?"

“Toss you into a pit of wild dogs when you were five to see if you’d make it?” The improvisationalist deadpanned.

She finally rolled her eyes. "All right, let's go."

“Hey, where’s my answer?” Seth needled cheekily as he fell in line with the black haired girl. “I swear, if I end up in a smelly hole in the ground with some half-ton pitbull next to me, I will make you regret it, somehow, some way; I know where you live. Just so you know~”

"I knew it was a mistake to bring him here," she mumbled half-heartedly.

“Well you’ve got no to blame but yourself,” the brunet chirped helpfully.

They headed towards the river, taking more back roads than Seth would've imagined was possible. Finally reaching a grassy spot between the bank and the trees, Kyari stopped.

The wanderer kept his mouth shut thereafter, though. The sheer amount of half-hidden routes the ebony haired teen led him down was dizzying, and it was all he could do to keep up with her without absentmindedly wandering down the wrong alley. He could only imagine how much time it must have taken the young thief to memorize all those little paths that were hidden in plain sight. After the twenty-seventh turn down yet another half-invisible alley, he stopped trying to even imagine.

‘What kind of eidetic memory were you born with?’ Seth wondered numbly, staring at the back of Kyari’s head. Oh well, at least he had a good guide.

“Nice spot,” Seth commented when they arrived at their destination. “Doesn’t look like it gets much traffic,” he peered down at the unbroken swathe of grass, “or use. I take it you haven’t come her in a while?”

She shrugged. "I don't normally use it personally." Glancing around, she continued, "I would've thought there would be at least one couple around here, but it seems we've got the place to ourselves. Alright then," she turned to him. "Fall down."

Seth stared at her. “Ummm, what?” The brunet whacked the side of his head, trying to clear his ears. “I’m sorry, I could have sworn you just asked me to…”

With a gust of wind, she knocked him backwards. "Yes, I said fall down. Now get up."

Caught completely off-guard, Seth landed heavily on his rear, bouncing once before coming to a stop.

“Hey, what’s the big idea!?” The brunet complained loudly as he slowly pulled himself to his feet. Seth was rather ticked. The fall had stung a bit, yeah, but being taken completely unawares like that… Outclassed as he was, that still took an uncomfortably large bite out of his ego.

"You didn't respond. I'm the teacher, and you're just supposed to do what I ask. Questions later. Let's try it again. Fall down."

Seth swallowed an acidic retort with some effort. Kyari’s attitude towards training reminded him far too much of Alreck for his tastes. He’d told his ex-instructor where he could shove his orders on more than one occasion.

And would it kill the girl to give him a little direction? What was she expecting him to do? Fall on his face, on his rear, on his side? What?

“You’re the boss,” Seth shrugged. Deciding he really didn’t feel like making a decision, Seth just stiffened and let gravity choose which way he’d fall. Luckily for him, gravity didn’t send him tipping forward face first into the grassy loam.

However, he did land with all the grace of a two-by-four, bouncing slightly as his back slammed roughly into the ground.

‘It could be worse. I could be doing this on paving stones. Seth thought in a rare burst of forced optimism as he tried to ignore the fact that it felt like he’d just performed an inverse belly-flop.

"No, no, get up," she demanded. "You're not falling right."

“Well excuse me for not ‘falling right’!” The brunet complained as he picked himself to his feet, grumbling the whole while. That was twice he’d just hit the ground for no visible reason, and his patience was likewise earthbound.

“Would it be too much to ask how you’re expecting me to fall?” He twisted a kink out of his spine.

She slid her backpack off, tossing it gently away from her. "Like this," she demonstrated, taking a step small step back wards, and then fell, almost rolling the length of her body onto the ground. Getting back to her feet--"Try it yourself," she said--she showed him a second time, and got back up.

“Ummm, ok.” Seth said, acquiescing to the order. Tossing all his unnecessary baggage to the side, the wanderer paused a moment before just letting himself… fall.

With mixed results.

“Ok, that could have gone better,” the improvisationalist grumbled as he got back to his feet. “Let me try again.”

And he did. With the same results.

“Ok, I see what you’re doing,” Seth said as he got up again, “I know what I’m supposed to be doing, but…” he shook his head. “I can’t get the flow. It’s not really a problem after I land, but that first impact’s still… jarring.

“How do you hit the ground rolling instead of hitting the ground before you start rolling?” He asked quizzically. “Like, I can see how you do it, but I can’t see how you do it…”

"You have to take the small step back, and make sure your butt hits the ground first, then your back. Truth be told, this is a purposeful fall, but if you know how to fall on purpose, than falling on accident won't be so hard."

“All right, I’ll give it another try.” Seth nodded. Standing ready, he made sure to take that extra step before he let himself tip over.

The results were surprising.

It wasn’t a perfect landing, no, but it was much better than what he’d been doing earlier. It was amazing how much force could be bled from his fall by taking that tiny, extra step.

“Wow, that’s… well, quite frankly amazing.” The brunet breathed as he got to his feet. “Though there’s one thing… This is great and all, and I can easily see how it could be applicable in all sorts of situations, but…” he paused tilting his head to the side, “what about falling sideways? I’ve mainly been landing on the side of my thighs whenever I have to jump out of the way; is there a better way of landing those?”

"What do you think? I've showed you how to fall backwards; how should you fall sideways?"

“Well, that’s kinda the problem…” Seth mumbled, scratching the back of his head. “Taking a small step backwards makes sense if you fall back, because that direction works just fine in conjunction with your knee, but to the side…” He shuddered unexpectedly. “It just seems like there’d be a higher likely hood of locking your knee, especially if you’re leaping out of the way…”

The improvisationalist shook his head. “Haha, listen to me, griping like an ornery old man,” he chuckled. “Some advocate of learning through doing.” With those words, the boy raised his left foot, moved it slightly to the side. And then tilted the rest of his body to match.

A silly grin spread across his face as he felt his knee instantly fold the moment he became unbalanced. Crumpling softly into the ground, Seth too it one step further, converting his fall into an impromptu logroll before springing up.

“Well, I guess I just made a royal fool out of myself,” the teen laughed nervously. “Maybe it’s time I started switching out ‘think before you speak’ for ‘try before you speak’.

“So, was there anything else you were thinking about passing along?”

"Truth is, it's not the falling that's the problem--it's the getting up that's the hard part." With a gust of air, she attempted to knock him over, asking him to get up as quick as he could.

Caught off guard yet again, Seth was blown off his feet. The wanderer was slightly more prepared this time, though, and managed to execute an awkward application of the falling technique he’d just been taught. All things considered, he thought he did quite well.

The teen was a little while in getting up though, having been unable to hear Kyari’s request over the rushing of the wind.

“Woah,” Seth breathed as he picked himself to his feet, “could you at least give me a warning before you do that?” His face turned pensive. “though I guess that would kind of ruin the entire point of it. Augh, this is so impractical.

“Though I guess falling without it taking place under my own power does have it’s merits, even if I’m ready for it…” He looked to the raven haired thief. “Could you do that again?” He asked.

"You didn't hear me, did you?" she asked, casting him a withering look.

“Ummm, no?” the teen asked innocently. ‘Oh crap, now you’ve done it…’

"You need to learn how to get up now, not just fall down," she said, sending air to push him onto his front.

“Some tips would be ni-woah!” the teen exclaimed as the burst of wind hit him full in the back, sending him tumbling forward.

Luckily for the improvisationalist, while effectively falling backwards or sideways was new to him, forward rolls were old hat. Alreck had a taste for attacking him from behind when he wasn’t paying attention, and Seth had quickly learned how to go with the motion under pain of faceplant.

Unluckily, however, Seth had been facing Kyari when she’d decided throw him for another loop. While the smoothly executed summersault couldn’t really have gone any better, the young man’s rolling figure was now on a crash course with the wind mage’s kneecaps.

Realizing her mistake, Kyari moved out of the way, shaking her head.

Rising smoothly from his roll as he passed Kyari by, Seth spun around, his hands slipping into a defensive posture on instinct alone.

Ok, so maybe the old goat’s constant ‘hands on’ extravaganzas weren’t pointless after all.

Point to Alreck, then. Stupid relic.

“Ok, I’d really appreciate some kind of guidance or direction,” the brunet pouted at Kyari as he slowly lowered his arms. “I’m just saying.”

"Must I explain everything?" she half-teased, half-bemoaned. "Try getting up from the same position you fell down in. No rolling forward this time. Fall down, and then get back up."

“Yes!” Seth huffed exasperatedly. “That’s what mentors are supposed to do, isn’t it? Explain things in a way that actually makes sense?”

“All right, fine, I’m doing it, but one or two tips would be really, really appropriate right about now.”

So saying, the brunet took a step backwards and fell smoothly onto his rear…And found that reversing his momentum was stupidly impractical. It was slow, awkward, and preventing himself from tipping to the side took him far more effort than he could ever deem efficient.

“See that?” Seth said irritably as he rose unsteadily to his feet. “That was a perfect exhibition of a technique I like to call the ‘Sitting Duck’.” He crossed his arms and stared flatly at his bespectacled mentor. “I rest my case.”

She chuckled. "Try something different this time

“‘Try something else’? That’s your advice?” Seth deadpanned. “Ok, now you’re just trying to piss me off.

“Fine, something else. Well, logically…” The teen frowned. “Ok, that’s just retarded, and it’ll make me look like a total idiot, but I’ve don’t have any other ideas…”

Taking that oh-so important step backwards, Seth collapsed swiftly onto his rear, but instead of trying to stop and reverse his direction, the brunet took his momentum and ran with it, figuratively speaking. Using the speed from his fall, Seth just kept rolling, right into a reverse somersault, culminating in an attempt at a handspring of the same fashion.

Being someone whose acrobatic experience bordered on non-existent, the wanderer’s results were predictably comical.

The somersault went surprisingly well, but Seth ran into a solid brick wall in the form of a gymnastic technique that he really had no business trying when he went for the handspring.

Shooting his hands out behind him far too early mid-roll, the improvisationalist jammed an impressive eight out of eight fingers (thumbs having no place on this arbitrary scale), and promptly collapsed face first into the dirt as his fingers buckled under his weight, eight jolts of fiery agony briefly shooting up each of the unprepared digits. His legs followed moments afterwards, thudding dully into the ground, accompanied by a decidedly salty (and creative �" using slugs in that manner would take some doing) expletive.

With his nose still buried in the grass, Seth raised a hand shakily.  “Expanse of inanimate dirt �" 1. Seth �" 0.”

She began smiling, and before long she broke out laughing, joining him on the grass. "You need some help," she managed to say between spurts. "Not that we weren't working on that already..."

“Thank you Captain Obvious,” Seth grumbled god-humouredly, his voice muffled by the grass. “I ‘need some help’? Really now? Just ‘some’?” The teen chuckled, rolling onto his back and gingerly shaking out his throbbing fingers. “Understatement, thy name is Kyari. So, since I apparently ‘need help’, then help me Oh Great and Sagacious Mentor.”

"Alright, here's a guiding question: what would happen if you couldn't roll away? How would you get up then?"

“Well, I’m assuming this is a combat situation we’re talking about,” the young man started tentatively, “so I most likely got knocked down by an opponent. If so, then I probably wouldn’t be preoccupied with getting back to me feet so much as dealing with whatever follow up my hypothetical opponent has in store for me.”

He sat up and caressed his aching hands. It didn’t feel like anything was broken. Maybe sprained at the worst. Which didn’t make him feel any better.

“I know staying on the ground isn’t the greatest tactical position, but it’s better than giving whoever I’m fighting against a free shot at me.”

"It puts you at quite a disadvantage though, doesn't it? The trick is getting up quickly and efficiently."

"Like I said, not 'the greatest tactical position', but it's still better than the alternative." Seth shrugged. "I'm operating under the assumption that no matter how quickly or efficiently I get up, I'm still going to be giving my opponent a free shot at me.”

The boy cracked his neck ponderously. “I guess it’s kind of a gamble. If you get up quickly, there’s the chance that their attack will get thrown off and you’ll only get a flesh wound. Course, that won’t do much if they’re wielding a maul or some such giant hunk of sharp and/or spiky piece of metal on a stick. Same applies for going with the fall; you might be able to block or deflect their attack, or you could just as likely end up eating a faceful of battleaxe.”

"So you prefer rolling out of the way to be the most effective approach, except when impossible, in which case, you're trapped either way?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Seth said shortly. "The basic philosophy I’m going with is that if I’m at a disadvantage, it’d be in my best interests to retreat and regroup. If I can’t do that, then, as you put it, I’m in deep trouble either way, so I may as well go with what feels best, and what feels best usually doesn’t include giving my opponent a free whack at me while I pick myself up.” The teen chuckled. “Besides, if I got up and they managed to mark me, then I’d probably end up on the ground again real quick which would kinda defeat the whole point of me getting up in the first place.”

She sighed. "So you aren't going even going to bother practicing for a possibility?"

The brown eyed teen opened his mouth to reply, but paused and slowly closed it as he went over the conversation in his mind.… Nope. He wasn’t seeing it.

“Ugh,” he pinched the bridge of his nose, “forgive my absentmindedness, but which possibility was that again?”

"The possibility that getting up quickly is your best possible option?"

"How so?" Seth asked curiously. "Like I said earlier, all getting up really does is basically make me a larger target. Not only that, but I'd have my hands full with getting to my feet, and there's always the chance that I'll end up right back on the ground if I get marked while getting back to my feet."

Hopping to his feet, the teen dusted off his pants, wincing slightly at his sore fingers. Ok, so maybe they were in a bit worse shape than he thought they were. "It's just that I can see a whole host of advantages to going with the flow, so to speak, and not so many with getting back up."

She shrugged. "Your loss."

“Well, that’s kind of what I’m asking,” the brunet scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He felt as if he’d suddenly stepped into very deep waters indeed, and wasn’t sure just how it’d happened. “What loss are you talking about?” He continued regardless.

Turning away slightly, she rephrased her statement. "Seth, we both know this isn't going anywhere. Can we just agree to disagree and move on?

"Besides," she said, her face lighting up, "I remembered a reflex exercise my dad used to play with me."

“Ok, how does it work?” Seth asked cheerily, taking Kyari’s advice and letting the subject drop.

She repositioned her self, spreading her feet shoulder-length apart, and putting her hands together in front of her. "To begin, you stand like this, and then we bow." After her bow, she moved her hands apart, putting one in a defensive and one in an attack position. "The goal is to get the other person's hands out. We take turns attacking, and you get one fluid motion. You can carry it as far as you wish, but you cannot pull back. If you are defending, however, you are allowed to pull your hand back. If the hand is hit, then it is 'out.' At any time you may use your turn to readjust your position or take one step. Make sense?"

"Seems fairly straightforward," Seth replied, “though I’d like to clarify a few things. Are there any set stances for this game,” he nodded towards Kyari’s current stance, “or does it just depend on personal preference? Oh, and do you have to get both the opponent's hands out before you win, or are they out after a single hit?”

Time Skip

INSERT NINJA GAMES!

Kyari and Seth got into a disagreement concerning getting up during a fight...they agreed to disagree, and Kyari is teaching Seth how to play Ninja. Unfortunately, due to time constraints on the author's part, there are no Ninja scenes. Yet. This is jumping ahead...

(This takes place at the end of the Ninja training)

"What do you say to training on Friday next week?" Kyari asked.

The flush from their little Evasion-Reaction exercise fled Seth’s face faster than paint thinner down a rusty drain. Why does coincidence hate me? he whined mentally. The longer he lived, the more convinced he became that chance was anything but.

Aloud, he mumbled an awkward, “Sorry, I’ve got a couple things to take care of Friday,” while shaking his hand, as if adding to the vagueness was somehow a good thing. “And, well, Wednesday’s kind of busy too,” he admitted abashedly, nervously rubbing the back of his head, hoping she hadn’t notice his momentary change in complexion as a healthy, embarrassed blush took over his face. “Sorry. Does some time Thursday work for you?” He wasn’t really lying, per se. He really was busy Wednesday, just not with the same things as he was Friday. Hopefully Kyari would just take his words at face value and let the subject drop. And hopefully he’d suddenly gain a miraculous insight into hitherto unknown reserves of personal strength. But hey, one always had to try, right?

She shook her head, partly as a reply, and partly at the annoyances of coordinating schedules, "No, I have another fight already set up that day. I've got to pay for your expenses somehow," she half-smiled. "Why don't we leave it for a couple of weeks, and then we can get back to work? If you happen to be close to anyone else in this city, your homework is to play Ninja."

“Sure, make me feel even guiltier,” he pouted. While he was intent on eventually paying her back, and so wasn’t entirely averse to her giving him a hand with his monetary woes, having to leach off the thief in the first place irked him something fierce. He considered Kyari’s proposal for a moment before nodding his assent. “I suppose a little down time every now and then is a good thing,” he admitted. “All right, a few weeks it is. So… should we set down a solid date, or do you want to hash it out later? You know where I’m staying, so I guess you can always get word to me if you want to; just slip a note under my door, or leave one with Brian, the guy that manages the rooms. He’s a good man, he’ll get it to me.”

"I'll get a hold of you. If you leave a message for me at the arena, I can get that as well." She picked her pack up, dusting off the bottom and trudged off.