Combat

Grey stood opposite of his grandfather. They were a few feet away from one another, both in a punching stance. His mother, father, and grandma were on the sidelines, and all was quiet.

With a sudden burst of speed, Grey practically flew towards his grandfather. Mirroring him, Khan did the same. 

A left hook, a right jab. Khan skilfully blocked or evaded all of Grey's attacks, mixing a few of his own in. The fight slowed down, turning into a stalemate. Grey was trying his hardest, and his grandfather had limited himself, trying to match Grey's skill and tempo.

Unfortunately for the boy, the years of using martial arts had made the skills Khan learned much more precise, much more deadly. Grey had to put his full effort into dodging or blocking, and he was slowly being worn down. 

Out of the blue, an idea came to Grey's head.

'Crazy. But it could work!' As the cogs span in his brain, Grey moved. 

Putting his weight on his right foot, he lunged towards Khan, his left fist cocked for a punch, Yet, when the foot hit the ground, Grey somersaulted beside Khan, twisting mid-air. 

Khan moved to intercept, and as Grey's feet hit the ground, he realized. 'Nice move, my boy.'

Both of them froze, Grey's hand extended like a spear, pointed at Khan's heart, whilst Khan's fist was in front of Grey's face.

It was a tie.

---

"You've got quite the talented monster here, don't you." Khan laughed heartily at the dinner table, wolfing down his food. "Sure, I wasn't using mana, and was limiting myself, but to tie with the Great Khan! He's something, that's for sure!"

Grey, like Khan, was eating his food at a ferocious pace. He thought back to 2 years ago, when Khan said that he would stay with them until he turned 10. Apparently, the old man claimed the spot as his martial art's teacher. He didn't mind, though, for 2 reasons.

First, Khan was acclaimed as the most accomplished martial artist in the past centuries. Getting trained by him would be great, especially for his end goal.

Secondly, Sheila Wulf, Khan's wife and Grey's grandmother, would come over every so often. With her, she brought food so good that it put Michelin-Star chefs to shame.

Stopping to breathe, Grey replied, "Not really, Grandpa. Had you used mana, I would have been dead before I saw anything."

"Well, that is true, I guess. Just know that the Great Khan is benevolent. Now, I'll tell you a story about the Great Wulf."

THWACK!

Before Khan could begin, a spoon found itself nestled on his forehead. 

"Don't you dare start. I can't listen to these tales of yours again." Samantha said. "Last time, you spoke for 4 hours, Not again."

Unbothered by the spoon that fell into his lap, Khan simply said, "Fine." However, the look he gave Grey screamed, 'I'm telling you later!'

Bringing the topic back to combat, Lucas asked, "So, how long until I can get in?"

Khan gave him a menacing stare, before replying, "At least a year, if not two."

"I've taught the boy 'The Paw', 'The Tail' and 'The Fang', but he hasn't learned 'The Gaze', 'The Claw' or 'The Howl'. Until then, he won't have finished 'Way of the Wulf'. Besides, he barely passes the mark for the first three."

Grey reminisced about his hellish training upon being reminded of 'Way of the Wulf'. It was his grandfather's martial arts, one that he had poured several years worth of blood, sweat, and tears. According to Sheila, he had almost died many times. It was also the martial arts his mother had learned, and she, as Grey knew, was very fearsome.

The martial arts was a 6-piece set, for the whole body.

'The Paw'. How you moved. The way, your arms must move in sync with your legs. The way you shift your weight on your legs. Everything to do with movement. Perfection was achieved when you had free movement, even in the air. Grey didn't believe it, but it sounded possible for wind users.

'The Tail'. Blocking. Grey was unsure of the correlation between the wolf's tail and blocking, but left it be. It encompassed timing, strength and formation. Blocking at the perfect moment, with the perfect control, and the correct position to block. Perfection was blocking anything with the least strength possible, and also from anywhere. The anywhere part made little sense to Grey, however.

'The Fang'. Stabs. The first half of attacking. It was the motion, the posture, the build-up. Control over yourself. Perfection was achieved when you could stab through rocks or steel without mana. Of course, that sounded impossible to Grey.

'The Gaze'. Vision, physical and extrasensory. Seeing without seeing, seeing through the other senses, and the sixth sense. It also included situational awareness; the ability to watch a battlefield, find openings, even whilst fighting yourself. Perfection was knowing everything that happened on the battlefield, by yourself. No external help. It made little sense to be able to see that far, though. 

'The Claw'. This was your slashes. The other half of attacking. The angle, depth, stance. All of it was important. Did you want to kill, or inflict pain and humiliation? All of this was, 'The Claw'. Perfection was achieved when you could slash through space. Grey was definitely sure that was impossible.

Finally, 'The Howl'. It was the culmination of the art, used for warfare. All those considered allies would be buffed, similar to light magic, and all enemies would be de-buffed, similar to dark magic. It had an added benefit of causing intimidation upon your foes. Only those who could match your pride could face you.

As his grandfather had said, Grey had barely passed the mark on the first three. He had a long path ahead, if he wanted to reach the top.

Lucas was a little upset at the notion that his son wouldn't learn weapons with him for a long while, but remembered that he had until 17. There was plenty of time to turn his boy into a master.

---

Grey trained and trained and trained. His days were rough, but filled with excitement. The boy learned that, when he had desire, he was quite the battle junkie, for the fights with his grandfather were the highlight of each day.

At 9 years old, just one year short of 'awakening', Grey learned 'The Claw'. Well, he gained a passing mark. Just barely. 

"Grandpa, will you teach me 'The Howl'?" Grey asked, only to receive a saddening response.

"Unfortunately not, boy, for 'The Howl' is intrinsic. It will come to you one day, when it's needed."

Then, the old man suggested something that lit up Grey's face. "However, we can fight!"

---

Once more, Grey stood opposite Khan. The audience; Samantha, Lucas, Sheila, and even Khan's assistant, Layla, watched on in silence.

In a flash, Grey disappeared, only to reappear, his fist in a straight, blocked by Khan. The old man countered with a slash, his 'Claw' fast and sharp. Grey evaded with a short dash, moving to Khan's side. Thrusting his elbow out, Grey met Khan's ribcage. His grandfather moved back, slightly startled by the power behind it.

"Not bad, little boy. You've come a long way. Although, only now can you say that you're at the starting line." Khan bluffed, shocked behind his grandson's process. The boy seemed to be an endless well of talent, and Khan loved it. In reality, Grey had taken at least five steps past the start. The length of the climb made it insignificant, but for him, it was impressive.

Grey did not let up, moving again to the old man. This time, he sidestepped, before curving, using the momentum to propel another elbow to Khan. It aimed for behind the man's arm, reaching for the spine. Somehow, though, it was caught. 

Grey found himself thrown him up in the air, and, remembering his training, tried to swivel, using 'The Paw'. He looked down only to see his grandfather chambering a brutal uppercut, a mad grin on his face.

The grin did not seem out of place, either, for a similar one wore itself on Grey's face. The uppercut came, and Grey's chin was aligned with it. 

The audience gasped, afraid for its aftermath. Yet, the boy's smile couldn't be removed. 

He had led the swivel's momentum into his legs, pushing them through the air, coiling around Khan's arm.

Grey leaned back, narrowly dodging the fist before dropping, and landing with a flip. He sprinted to Khan, and unleashed a flurry of punches on the old man.

They were all blocked, and masterfully so, yet Grey didn't seem to mind.

'A little more, a little more.' Grey's had a plan in mind, and Khan had almost walked into it.

Without warning, Grey unleashed a punch infused with a lot of mana. Too much, actually, for it started to sting. Ignoring it, the boy let it strike in the middle of Khan's guard.

Khan was confused, for, whilst the punch did hurt a lot, it seemed ineffective. A sudden gasp from the audience, however, was all he needed to get back to the fight. 

"I win." The voice of a boy came out from behind him, before Khan chuckled.

"Hah! Who would have thought that you got that far, eh boy?" Khan smirked, once again surprised by the boy.

The martial art, 'Way of the Wulf', was filled with both techniques for and without mana. Grey had utilized a mana technique called 'Wolf Dash' to get behind Khan, presumably slipping through his legs. Grey had concealed it with the flurry of punches, and added to the fact Khan did not think Grey had reached that far in his martial arts, it created the perfect diversion.

"Grey, you surprise me more and more every time. Truly, you are monstrously talented. Just don't let it get to your head." Khan spoke more, happiness evident in his voice, before letting out a warning.

It was a warning Khan had told Grey every day; one that Grey intended to follow. 

"Of course, Gramps!" Grey said with a smile. 

The two of them turned to their family before simultaneously saying,

"Who's hungry?"

"Who's hungry?"