Resolve

After a sleepless night, full of nightmares, I got up.

Watching the sun rise in the sky gave me an odd sensation of relief and peace, as if it was purifying me from the nightmares.

Since I could not sleep, I cultivated to help me release some of my tiredness.

I let myself fall in the flow of ki, embracing the warmth it gave me. After yesterday, I have become a little paranoid, so I still kept my attention in case something got near me.

Thank God, I did not feel that vile cluster of darkness that attacked me yesterday.

When mom got up, I managed to convince her to let me find some martial art school alone. It was Saturday, so no school and no annoying midgets around.

After several hours of visiting dojo after dojo, I was about to go back home empty-handed. Just when I was about to arrive, I felt a shift in the natural ki. It was not the same unnatural ki I felt yesterday. It was something different, more polished, more in sintony with the ki around. I could not contain my curiosity, so I went to see what or who it was that was creating these scene.

In the middle of the park, there was an old man. Every single move of the old man was polished to the maximum, even an amateur like could see the beauty and power it conveyed. Maybe it seemed like that to me because I could see how his ki flowed with every movement he made.

He wasn't buff like Schwarzenegger, his body was fit, the hair grey and short, his skin wrinkled and his eyes pitch black. I can see from his movements the passion and devotion he puts in the martial arts.

In this instant I decided that I was going to learn from him. I could feel the power emanating from his aura. It was not his strength that impressed me. I was impressed by the control he had over it.

Every single punch thrown contained all the power he could master. It seemed to represent perfectly the concent of "one fist one kill".

Suddenly I heard somebody call me. As if woken from a trance I saw that the old man was in front of me.

" Good afternoon. Are you lost kid? Want me to accompany you to the police station?"

"What? Police Station? NO. I'm not lost." I said a little embarrassed.

"I was just watching you practice martial arts. It was very beautiful. It seemed like a dance. Do you have a dojo, sir?"

"Ahahah, thank you. But no, I don't have a dojo. This are not things little kids like you should learn. Martial arts like these are used to hurt people. It's not something that should be teached."

Are you sure. I wanted to learn it too."

" I can't teach this to a child. It's too dangerous. Listen to me and go apply for some judo or competition karate lesson."

It seems like I found a master, but he doesn't want to teach me. But I can't tell him that I need desperately to learn some self defense martial arts because man eating devil find me tasty.

I think I'll ask him something else then. Something that could lower a little his defense. So I asked him.

"Do you come every day here, grandpa."

"I do. Why?"

"Can I at least come to watch you practicing?"

"Sure. Suit yourself."

"Thank you. By the way, I am Haru. Nice to meet you."

" Nice to meet you Haru. I am Akihiro Takumi."

"By the way. Does your martial art have name old man?"

"Ah. This just some ancient karate based martial art. It's gonna end with my generation, though. It's probably the best."

He said. I could feel the sadness in his voice when he said that.

….

After that day, I kept watching the old man practice for at least two hours every time he came to the park. The way he manipulated his ki, his breathing, the footwork, every single movement.

He didn't use complicated techniques or movements. The martial arts had only basic movements you could learn from every karate dojo. Everything changed in the ki manipulation happening inside. Every single attack had behind it ki. It was not how I did it with the monster. No, his was an instantaneous release the moment he touched the enemy. Every single movement seemed like the black flash from jujutsu kaisen.

Honestly at first I thought it was simple to copy it but I was wrong. There was always a delay. My ki could not keep with body. I kept practicing tree climbing too.

After a year, the old man gave up and agreed to teach me. He made me promise to not use what he teaches me to bully other kids, only for self defense. I agreed, after all I need it to kill devils and monsters, not humans, probably. The only thing that he taught me was a breathing technique that helped me manipulate better my ki during the fight. While following the breathing pattern my body reinforced itself as if I was using a skill. It seems to help my ki integrate with my muscle in order to achieve harmony between body and spirit, ki.

I succeeded in tree climbing too. It took me a little time since I need to go to school too. Good thing that I knew all the things they teach already. Maybe japanese made me suffer a bit with all the Kanji and hiragana etc. This language is too complicated.

All was going smoothly. No devil attacks. I was growing stronger. I had only 3 meridians to unclogg inside my body, my ki was faster and just a little more and I would probably manage to reproduce master's technique.

I shouldn't have dropped my guard. Just when I thought I finally freed myself from the nightmare, another one came along.

One day when I was going to train at the park, I felt something around it. I didn't know what it is, but it disappeared before I could manage to touch it.

Growing worried for the old man, I ran towards our training spot. There he was. Sitting against a tree. Blood flowing everywhere, like a river. Around the park there small holes on the earth, trees destroyed and fire everywhere. It took me some moments to realize what I was seeing. After that brief instant of shock I ran screaming.

"Master!!!"

When he saw me, he smiled, as if seeing me safe gave him relief.

"Good afternoon, Haru. It seems like I will not be able to teach you today. I'm sorry.

"

"What are you saying?! We need to call an ambulance!!"

I tried calling the ambulance but he stopped me.

"I can feel it myself. I am dying Haru." He said.

I still tried using my ki to block his bleeding. I couldn't. It was as if his body was beyond repair. I exhausted all my ki but he still kept bleeding.

" WHY? Please don't die, please. I still don't know anything about you. I haven't even repaid you for everything you did for me."

"HARU!" He raised a little his voice and patted me on the head gently. "You already did something to me. You gave an old man alone in this world a connection with someone. I was pretty happy to have a successor, you know."

He smiled at me, still with blood on his lips and face, and kept talking to me.

" Now listen to me. You are in danger Haru. A man with black wings came searching for you. When I refused to talk he attacked me with weapons made of light. I failed you, my disciple. I could not defeat him. You have to hide. Don't let him get you. I'm sorry."

In that moment, for the first time in my life, I saw someone important to me die. I've seen a lot of death in television ,but this loss broke a piece of my soul. My master was the first connection I made in this world and they took it from me. I could see the black feathers around. Are we humans really just some ants to be trampled?

"I'm sorry, master. I'm going to break my promise. I'm going to kill someone."

I don't care anymore about the blood in my hands. There is nothing more painful than this.

Feeling the body of my master lose warmth in my hands was pure agony.

It was a pain that kept spreading inside me, but did not stop.