6 Chapter 6 : Flaws

'' He's waking up. ''

After an hour of rest, the young prince awoke with his head on Sakura's lap. He felt some semblance of pain still but it wasn't as bad as it was earlier. He didn't properly process what happened moments before, he didn't realize how stupid he had been by randomly following a stranger like he did. He slowly rose from laying down , sitting next to Sakura as his thoughts raced.

He knew he could've been in a worse state if things didn't happen the way that they did.

'' I need to do better, I don't have protection anymore. I'm on my own. ''

Seiya spoke out his thoughts but was gently nudged by the pink haired girl.

'' I'm right here you know. I have your back, don't go acting like I don't exist. ''

The female smiled as she ruffled Seiya's hair with her hand. She was right, if he didn't have her help then he may've been fatally wounded if not killed earlier.

'' What happened to that guy? Did he follow us here? ''

He looked around, hoping to see what had become of their assailant but there was no signs that he was here. Matter of fact, he only now realized that there was many students practicing together as if they were part of some organized dojo in front of them.

'' Who are they? ''

'' These people here are students of the Free Flowing Palm School and we are going to join them as the newest students.''

Sakura spoke with enthusiasm and hoped Seiya had no problems with the school and surely enough he had been in awe.

'' An opportunity to get stronger but... I passed out earlier while in the general vicinity, this isn't a good first impression. ''

His doubt cut through his optimism, he knew he wasn't in a good position to expect things to work out.

For one, his heart still felt like it was in pain and he felt like he couldn't merely be accepted without some semblance of a cost.

Sakura had taken the boy's hand and walked with him towards the group of apprentices as they stopped practicing generic hand motions as the duo spoke to the elderly man at the front of the students who was the Teacher of the School.

'' You two wish to take up my lessons but you are quite young, do you think you can handle my teachings? ''

'' Yes, we both believe that we can Mister.... uh.. ''

Sakura responded to the Elderly Male, having forgotten the name he had provided earlier when she asked for his tutelage prior to finding Seiya.

'' My name is Hieki Meiryo, I am the Founder of the Free Flowing Palm School but if you both wish to join my school I must at least gauge where you guys are at to see whether or not you are capable enough to handle my teachings. ''

The Elder Male shot a glance at his students which essentially told them to clear the area so that only those three would be on the giant platform where the training was being held. Seiya and Sakura had wondered what exactly this particular challenge had been and despite Seiya feeling the pain from his chest, he tried his best to ignore it.

'' Alright so the test is simple. ''

The Elder Male revealed his ability, manifesting various boulders that littered the entire platform for a total of 32. There was 16 boulders scattered around the elderly male while the other 16 was around Seiya and Sakura.

'' The test is Boulder Toss. We have 16 boulders each and we are going to use them to wear the other party out. You will show me how strong you are and if you can't handle at least this much then you will not be considered to join my school. ''

The test seemed a bit insane to Seiya as he knew he could not handle throwing boulders that were bigger than him. He knew he did not have the weight-lifting ability to handle such a task and he looked at Sakura hoping that she shared the same opinion but she looked eager.

'' Wait , this test isn't fair ! ''

Seiya screamed out at the Teacher who had shaken his head before replying to the young male.

'' If you don't have the will to at least try then you already have failed. ''

The Elderly male spoke with words that cut through Seiya's heart. He couldn't just take this sitting down. He clenched his fists as he stood upright next to Sakura as he couldn't just leave her hanging like this. He couldn't just hope for the easy way out.

'' If you put it like that, I can't exactly just run from the challenge. ''

The boy spoke again with a more resolute tone, making the Teacher chuckle.

'' That's more like it. Let's see whether or not your cowardice is proof of your weakness or if its this newfound pride a thin veil covering up your flaws. ''