Chapter 4: A Random Encounter

"Hey, you." Someone called out to Ayame.

"Oh? Who are you?" She replied curiously as she stood up.

"My name is Kaito Toudou. I'm in the first year of college," he introduced himself before pointing in the direction of another person standing beside him.

"And that's my little sister, Mina." He added as he pointed to the other girl.

"Have I met you before?" Ayame thought she was familiar.

"We're from the same class," Mina replied.

"You're having trouble with the meditation, right? It's pretty easy. My brother's a good teacher. Why don't you guys go for lunch together?" Mina offered, making a gesture towards the cafeteria.

Ayame nodded and smiled politely.

Mina then led her friend outside and waved goodbye to her. They walked to the cafeteria.

Kaito and Ayame ate food, talked casually, and enjoyed each others' company.

"Your sister said you can help me with meditation?" Ayame asked as she finished eating.

"Oh, that. It's pretty easy. The secret is imagination." He answered with a smile.

"Imagination?" Ayame asked, looking confused.

"Yeah, imagination. If you want to sense qi in the air, you must imagine seeing the qi in your head. It's not real, but it will make you more sensitive to qi, and the more you practice it, the closer you will be to achieving it. To absorb qi, you must visualize yourself breathing in the qi along with the air." Kaito replied as he looked at her.

Ayame paused briefly before answering, "I see. I'll try it when I get home. Thank you for your help and the food."

"No problem. And I hope we meet again soon." Kaito smiled brightly as he bowed slightly.

Ayame agreed and waved back. Then she headed toward the park near the campus.

There should be no one there now. I can practice meditation there.

After several minutes of walking, she finally arrived at the park. And as she expected, there was no one there.

Ayame started meditating. As she imagined being surrounded by countless strands of pure energy, she inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with fresh oxygen.

Then, she exhaled gently.

Ayame repeated these actions multiple times. After doing so, she felt her mind clear itself. She was able to focus better and concentrate.

When she opened her eyes again, it was already dark outside.

She opened her phone and noticed it was already 10:41 PM. Her phone was filled with missed calls from her mom and dad.

As she made her way back to her house, she was blocked by a group of men that looked like hardened criminals.

The gang leader was covered in scars and wounds, with a bandage wrapped around his forehead. His left eye was made of black marble, while his right eye was red, probably caused by some drug.

"What do you want?" Ayame asked with hostility in her voice.

"You're not going anywhere." The scarred man laughed menacingly.

"Then I'll have to walk over your corpse before I get home," Ayame replied as she grinned from ear to ear.

Ayame rushed forward and punched the scarred man in the face. The scarred man blocked her punch, but it was only a diversion. The actual attack was a knee-strike to the man's crotch, it was a technique inspired by Karate's Yamazuki, but instead of two hands punching the face and the stomach, it uses a punch to the face and a kick to the crotch. The man screamed loudly as Ayame kicked him in the stomach and sent him flying through the air.

Ayame ran towards her opponents while they were distracted. One of the men swung a wooden club, which she dodged easily. She used the opportunity to go behind the man and strangle him with a rear naked choke while biting his ear and attempting to claw his eyes.

During her days as a rebel in the Philippines, she learned how to use many weapons, from assault rifles to knives and unarmed combat. One of those was Kinamutay, a style of fighting that uses dirty moves like biting, pinching, eye gouging, and other unorthodox moves. Using the many martial arts she learned and her experiences in combat, she created her own style of mixed martial arts, one that was built with the sole purpose of killing as many as possible. Even without her magical spear, Gungnir, she was a very deadly fighter.

Her opponents were so surprised that they didn't react quickly enough before Ayame killed them all.

Ayame had killed exactly ten people.

She walked away from the murder scene and went to the road she usually takes to her home.

As she reached the vicinity of her house, she noticed her parents standing nearby.

She couldn't let them see the state of her uniform. It was filled with the blood of the thugs that harassed her.

She made her way into the hidden path behind their house and climbed through the walls before climbing into her room's window. She immediately hid her clothes, took a shower, and changed her clothes before meeting her parents at the front gate.

"Where have you been!?" Her father said angrily.

"It's nothing. I just wanted to take a stroll." She lied.

"It's late. What happened? Did you encounter any problems?" Her mother asked worriedly.

Ayame told her parents what happened during the day.

"But why did you stay out so long? You should know that it's dangerous here, especially for girls," Her father scolded.

"It's alright! I'm fine!" She replied defensively. "I'm just tired, so I'll sleep early." She added. "Goodnight."

They both nodded and returned to their home.

Ayame returned to her room and sighed as she lay back on her bed.

The following day, Ayame was woken up by the sound of someone knocking on her door. It was her father.

"Come in!" Ayame shouted as she got out of bed and put on her uniform.

Her father entered the room and told her, "There was an incident a day ago near the park. There were ten dead bodies."

"I know you like to hang out in that area, so I'm warning you to stop going there. Just go home after class." Her father continued.

She began readying for school.

Today was the same as the previous.

She entered the class and the last period was still about meditation. After the class was over, she had lunch with Mina and Kaito.

She tried imagining herself absorbing qi with her hands and body, but she couldn't absorb anything.

She then began focusing on the qi around her.

She concentrated on the qi around her, trying to feel its presence. It wasn't easy at first, but after practicing repeatedly, her mind was gradually able to grasp the sensation.

She then focused on her own qi and imagined her qi flowing through her body and entering every single cell within.

She continued until her consciousness grew hazy.