Burning Question

A/N: Hope you enjoy the chapter.

---------------------------

[1 week later]

"1..2...3" Rapid punches sliced through the air, Felix struck the bag with a bang.

"Keep your core tight, remember to twist and snap."

"Yes." With a flick of his wrist, Felix's feet jolted to shift, snapping at the just the right angle, moving with the flow, his punch shot through and shook the bag.

Heavy chains rattled, pulling his arm back, Felix spotted a small tear in the leather, the cracks began to propagate, shearing at the seams. 

"Clean hit, stand back." Lee caught the bag before it ripped any further, he unhooked the chain and tossed it aside.

"Your technique's improving. But the strength isn't good enough. The endurance and other tests prove that you're still holding back."

Felix nodded along, staring at his hands, he ball them up to a fist, and clenched.

"When I punch, it feels like I'll pierce right through. I can't control it that well."

Lee glanced at the punching bag, rated for amateur boxers, slightly surprised. 

"Good job at holding back, we'll switch you to a heavier bag."

"Ok."

Tossing him a shin guard, Lee pointed towards the five-inch thick wooden pole installed in the room.

"Let's continue with kicks. Focus on your soles, but stay on your toes, grip the floor and twist, carry your momentum with your hips, and just at the end, let it go." 

Lee crept towards the bag as he took a stance, one leg behind the other. He casually hopped on his feet, instantly, he flickered towards the bag, shifting to one leg, as the other wound-up and struck towards the pole.

A resounding thump echoed, the wooden pole slightly frayed at the tips.

"Muay Thai, Taekwondo or Karate. The principal of a kick is the same, momentum, and force at the right angle."

Felix mimicked Lee's routine, sliding closer to the pole. Shifting in his soles, he whipped his leg, and struck the pole. 

"Good, two-hundred repetitions."

"Yes." Felix circled the pole, every few seconds, a kick whipped the wood, chunks shearing off as the fibers frayed.

--------------------------------

Felix continued kicking, until his shins went bright red. But his motions didn't stop. The five-inch thick pole was now completely frayed, barely holding.

Lee continued to observe the kicks, his eyes gleaming with every strike, astonished at the resilience Felix showed.

"Good job, your pain tolerance is quite high."

Drenched in sweat, Felix stopped the kicks as he turned to listen, wiping his face with the towel on his neck.

"You've gotten a hang of the basics in this week. Let's focus on the extremes. What are your limits? Can you do a clean break of the pole?" Lee inquired, reading from a checklist.

With saying a word, Felix shifted in his place, slicing with a backwards kick, cleanly cracking the pole in half. The wood tumbled to the ground, completely shattered.

"As expected." Lee slyly smiled, and ticked the box. "Congratulations, you've finished the first week of training."

Felix took a deep breath, and relaxed. "Are we done for today?"

Lee signed off on the sheet, "You're free to go. Just try to rest and not exert yourself any further." 

A four hour training session was already pushing the limits, in his opinion Felix still needed some rest, after all he was only six.

"Ok, thank you." Felix turned to leave the gym, but his steps halted as he grabbed the door handle.

He glanced at his teacher, an itching curiosity in his eyes. Felix gulped, as he looked towards the veteran.

"How did you lose your arm?" He blurted out.

Lee smiled, "Is that your question?"

Felix hesitated for a few seconds, but agreed. 

He pondered, memories flashing by his eyes. "It was a long time ago." 

Lee's voice shriveled up, recalling that day. He carried a great burden on his heart. "At that time, I made a mistake."

Listening to his pained voice, Felix's face stiffened up.

"As a hero, I thought I knew everything. Thought I was the strongest, the best I could be. My hubris, was not something I could overcome."

"It was a rescue mission, a group of kids were taken hostage." Lee poured his grief out, recalling the faces he saw that day.

"I was advised to wait, to let backup arrive. Of course, I didn't agree. To me the best way was to rush right in, and beat bastards down. In my arrogance, I did just that."

"It was twenty to one, all I can recall was the blood on my hands. It was over in minutes, and by the end of it, I was standing at top, beaten and bruised. But I let my guard down."

Felix's heart quickened as Lee's eyes flashed with melancholy.

"One of the bastards somehow got to the kids. Took her on gunpoint. I tried rushing to him, but he was too fast. Pulled the trigger. I managed to twist his wrist at the right moment."

"The bullet pierced the kids stomach. But he didn't stop shooting. A telekinetic quirk, is what they said. He used the bullets, and drove it right back into me, shattering the bones in my arm."

"I broke his face in, rendered him unconscious. When I got to the kid, it was too late. The successive trauma of the bullet ripping through her once more, was too much."

"Backup arrived, and there I was, cradling her body. She died in my arms. I couldn't believe it."

"My failure was too much for me to handle. Not only that, the nerve endings in my arm were completely broken, the bone shards had caused too much internal bleeding, it was just a useless chunk of meat."

Lee clenched his left arm, or the stump that remained of it, "I told them to cut it off. I put down the mantle of a hero. I didn't deserve it."

He let go of the stump, "That was six years ago. Now, I tend to not think of it much." Lee smiled bitterly.

Felix knew he was lying, the grief on his face, and the misty residue in his eyes. His teacher had definitely not moved on, but he knew it wasn't his place to ask. 

Pressing his lips, Felix felt ashamed to ask such a personal question.

"Sorry."

"Don't sulk, I promised to answer so I did. Besides, you can't run from your mistakes forever. It's better to learn from them."

Felix nodded fervently, "I have one more question."

"Oh?"

"Why, did you decide to become a hero?"

Lee smirked, "Let's leave that one for the second week. For now, you should focus on resting. The next week won't be the same, we'll be testing your refined control."

Lee ushered Felix out of the gym, and forced him to go take a rest. Unable to argue back, Felix readily left, waiting for the second week for another answer.

As his figure disappeared, Lee looked at the empty gym. Bags scattered across the floor, broken poles and various other equipment.

"Why a hero huh..." He thought to himself, recalling his early days. "I wonder why."

------------------------

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter, slow updates but I got a main series to focus on so can't really help it.