Chapter Text
At the beginning of the day, everything was as usual. Rudo and Zanka met at the outdoor training ground, although Rudo was three minutes late, so his mentor made him do 30 push-ups to impress upon him the importance of punctuality.
And no matter how much he apologized to him, saying that the dining hall was ungodly crowded and he hadn't been able to get out in time, or that Fu had blocked the bathroom for so long that he had already tried to go to the girls' bathroom.
Just because he was forced to be his mentor was no reason to waste his time.
After that, the focus was on light jogging as a warm-up exercise. For this, Rudo had to run around the square for ten minutes while Zanka stood on the sidelines and counted the time. It would probably have been much more enjoyable if he hadn't already done these exercises by himself two hours earlier and was just a spectator. But at that time, the younger one was surely still lying in bed. That lazy genius. Besides, he couldn't deal with his and Rudo's training at the same time, which is why different time slots made a lot of sense.
When the time was up, he raised his Lovely Assistaff to signal that the other should return to the starting point.
Slightly sweaty, he approached his trainer and, although he looked determined, he seemed as if he was about to complain about Zanka's methods. That's why the other one continued without giving him a chance to reply: “Now that you can't tear your muscles directly anymore, we'll continue practically. That means: Come at me, ya gremlin.”
While Zanka had adopted a rather defensive stance with his Lovely Assistaff, appearing relaxed and standing with his feet shoulder-width apart, a red aura flared around Rudo. With a fork that transformed into a spiked trident, he lunged at the older boy.
Rudo fought the way he communicated with his environment most of the time: aggressively, brashly, and far too honestly. This made him incredibly easy to read, allowing Zanka to effortlessly dodge the blows and kicks directed at him. Every now and then, he pushed his opponent's trident away with his staff for fun, causing Rudo to tighten his grip on it even further. A blush spread across the younger boys face, born of frustration and shame that he could not break through the other's defense at all.
Hell, Zanka didn't even have a single bead of sweat on his forehead!
Was he made of stone or something?
Feeling like he was getting nowhere, Rudo lost himself more and more in his thoughts and concentrated much less on the fight. Therefore it came to pass that Zanka gave his weapon a push at a critical moment, causing Rudo to lose his grip and send the Vital Instrument flying far away.
Now he was facing an armed Zanka, which would normally have been challenging enough, but to him, who currently had no means of defense or attack, it seemed more like a death sentence.
The other man seemed to find their power imbalance similarly dramatic, as evidenced by a manic gleam in his blue eyes. In addition, he now decided to mock him: “Where does your lack of attention come from today? Do you think I'll take on your training when you're continuing to act like an idiot here?”
Rudo gritted his teeth, and now anger was added to his already potent frustration and shame.
Well, maybe he would put a little more effort into their fight now.
Furious, he snapped at him: “Today is just not my day! Just because you wake up every day with perfect focus doesn't mean it's the same for everyone else!”
Zanka just grinned, somehow enjoying the banter between them as part of their training routine.
“Is that so? Then I'll just hope that your lack of concentration isn't related to the fact that you and Amo wanted to go into town later. If such activities steal your motivation for proper training, I'll have to make sure that such matters are prevented until your training is back on track.”
Rudo blushed even more and seemed to have long since given up the hunt for his own weapon. His voice became a little squeaky as he replied, “My business is none of your concern, you jerk! I'm trying to concentrate, it's just a little complicated right now!”
“Then take a deep breath and show me your focus!”
Rudo slapped his cheeks with his hands and narrowed his eyes. He exhaled audibly.
“Okay, let's continue!”
Zanka fished for Rudo with his staff, who nimbly dodged the forked end. However, when he tried to approach the trident again, Zanka cut him off.
Damn it! How was he supposed to get through this unarmed?
Should he transform one of the emergency items from his pockets?
But Zanka would certainly not give him the time to do so!
Thoughts raced back and forth in his head. The sheer amount of thinking alone made his skull hurt violently. It felt as if someone had hit his forehead with a hammer.
Inside, he continued to stagger back and forth. He was honestly surprised that this behavior wasn't visible outside of his head.
As if he had read his thoughts, Zanka intervened.
“Urgh. You're really lost. Let's try a different approach then. Everything you do, you comment on now. Loud and clear. Why are you attacking? Why are you blocking? Try using your head for once in your life!”
“What's that supposed to mean, you weirdo?”
“Ask less, do more!” his mentor instructed him, as he struck him again with his stick.
Rudo's brow furrowed in irritation. Somehow all of this felt super awkward. Zanka knew how to fight - he didn't need the explanations. It would be the same, if he tried to teach Riyou how to use scissors.
Why should he even attempt to teach a master in theit own discipline? That was an utter shitshow!
This was nothing like the brutal, silent fights he was used to. But he didn't want to enrage nor dissatisfy Zanka any further - he needed him as his mentor after all!
Hesitantly he stepped forward, bringing his hands up.
“Okay,” Rudo muttered, “I'm... I'm going for a feint. I'm pretending to swing my fist at you...”
He swung his fist in a wide arc, a flicker of the metal ring on his gloves catching the light. Zanka, however, didn't move. He simply stood there, his face a mask of stone. Rudo, caught off guard by the lack of a reaction, let his guard down for a split second. That was all Zanka needed. His hand shot out, not in an attack, but to simply clasp the other's glove.
“Feint is not bad,” Zanka complimented stoically. “But your hand wavered. You were already preparing for the next move, weren't you? A good feint convinces your opponent that it's the real deal. You have to sell the lie completely, Rudo.”
Rudo gritted his teeth. He felt a surge of frustration again, but he also recognized the truth in Zanka's words. He wasn't such a bad mentor after all. In a real fight, that sort of hesitation might have been a death sentence.
The other boy released his hand again.
“Again!” Zanka commanded, taking a step back. “And this time, I want you to tell me what you're seeing. What do you see in my stance? My eyes? What's the next step in our fight?”
Rudo took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. Strangely, the image blurred briefly before his eyes until it appeared clear again. Then he looked at Zanka, really looked at him. He saw the slight shift in his weight, the subtle tension in his shoulders. Zanka was like a spring, coiled and ready to release.
"You're... you're waiting for me to overcommit,“ Rudo said, his voice barely a whisper. ”You're ready to dodge and counter-attack."
“Exactly.” Zanka smirked at him with something akin to pride. “See, it's not so hard when you actually think before acting in a fight for once. Now, attack me. But don't just swing blindly. Ready to continue?”
"I don't know. I feel a little strange—but actually, yes."
“Okay, let's continue.”
Meanwhile, Rudo had rummaged through his pockets and transformed one of Remlin's pencils (they were a gift from their coloring session in the lobby with the other kids) into a makeshift sword while Zanka was asking his questions.
Now Rudo lunged, a guttural cry escaping his lips. He was done with this stuffy talk, the analysis. He wanted to feel the impact, the raw power of his blow. The pencil, with its newly added blade, whistled through the air. Zanka, however, was a ghost. He didn't just dodge; he flowed around the attack, the staff a blur. The end of the staff tapped Rudo's elbow harshly, a sharp, precise strike that made Rudo's arm go numb for a second.
‘Can you feel that? It's not just a block,’ Zanka called out with a mischievous smile in his voice. ‘It's a diversion. You throw your whole weight into the attack, but if I just block it, I'm at a disadvantage. Instead, I use your own momentum against you. I don't fight your strength, I ride it!’
The younger man felt the impact clearly. His rapid loss of focus was now compounded by even stronger headaches and limb pains. It was unusual for him to be affected like this, after all, he had endured much wilder chases and fights in the slums.
But something was different today...
Rudo set these feelings aside, to grit his teeth and clench his jaw. He swung again, with a wide, sweeping blow intended to force Zanka to retreat. But Zanka did not back down. Instead, he struck the Vital Instrument head-on with his staff. There was a loud, metallic CLANG, but instead of a stalemate, the smooth surface of the staff slid along the crossguard of the pen. Zanka twisted his wrist, and the end of the staff hooked around Rudo's weapon and pulled it to the side, throwing it off balance.
Completely taken by surprise, Rudo stumbled. Before he could recover, the staff was already there, a relentless whirlwind. It struck his shin, his forearm, his ribs, not with enough force to break bones, but with enough precision and speed to sting and disorient him. Rudo felt like a toy being tossed around by a master.
Completely lost and on the verge of a final collapse.
Finally, he fell to his knees, gasping for breath, his body screaming in pain. He gasped for air like a fish struggling for breath on land, because of its closed gills. The pencil lay next to him, once again just a piece of wood. But when he looked at it once more, he saw something else. He saw the new, sharpened piece he had added. An idea formed in his head of how he could overcome Zanka.
He grasped the hilt of the sword again, even though he felt rather dizzy. Stumbling, he got back to his feet.
As Zanka began to swing his staff for the next attack, Rudo quickly changed his grip. He let go of the hilt and grabbed the rough blade he had added, a last desperate attempt. He used the blade to hook onto Zanka's staff. Zanka, expecting the typical blunt force, was completely surprised. The blade bit into the bandage of his Jinki, and for a split second, the staff was stuck.
But when he looked up from his Lovely Assistaff again, he saw something he hadn't expected.
Rudo had paused in his movements. His lips and chin were covered in blood.
When he noticed his mentor staring at him, he touched his nose in surprise – the viscous, wine-red liquid spread over his glove.
Shocked, Rudo looked at Zanka with wide eyes.
Then he simply toppled over.