Chapter 60: Physical Therapy

"You know we don't blame you for anything, right? You have been putting us to sleep every night since we came back Sis, it doesn't take a genius to guess what you are thinking." Ciaran said before yawning, he had a long day, and tomorrow was going to be even more annoying.

Verdania looked at the boy and then pinched his cheeks. He had gotten a lot more chatty after his mom started her nightly visits.

"Don't you get cheeky with me boy, I will still kick your ass. Regardless of who is watching. Hell, with your mother in the audience, it would be even more fun." She told him in mock anger.

He wanted to retort that his mom had left already but held his tongue. Some battles were left avoided.

" When are we starting the training for Rank One?" He asked, and his sleepiness vanished as if it was all a lie.

With a quick knuckle to the head, she pushed him down to his makeshift bed.

"When we are given permission Ciaran. I messed up, and so did you. Now we wait for the grownups to forgive us." She said and vanished, not wanting to engage the kid anymore.

The boy was disheartened that his boring routine would continue, but he was powerless to stop it. His mother and Master wanted him to adapt to a peaceful environment. And they weren't taking a no for an answer.

The boy shrugged and went to sleep.

When he woke up he went to the Academy for a quick breakfast and hurried back home. Today was the day he would be allowed to move his body a little more.

"Ready for your morning stretch? I will not take it easy on you kid, prepare yourself to be humbled." Eleftherios told him with a smirk.

"Ariadne stays with Roxy. This will be one-on-one. None of your little toys are to be used either Ciaran, only your body and your soul."

The boy nodded and started undressing.

Eleftherios thought he was preparing for battle, but when the kid started to take off his pants the dryad got flustered.

"Why are you addressing you brat?"

"Nothing but my body and my soul, that's what you said. And by the way, technically Ariadne IS part of my soul now, so your leaving her out contradicts the rules. But I will let it slide, you need an advantage after all." Ciaran said and grinned.

"Enough of your pranks. You can beat me with words easily. You could even before we met, that is your forte, but we are not testing how sharp your tongue is kid. Put on your pants and let's go." He said, and this time there was no emotion in his voice.

The kid did as instructed and took a stance. He was standing with feet shoulder-width apart, with one foot forward and the other foot turned slightly inward. His body was turned slightly to the side, and his hands were held up in front of the body, with one hand in a fist and the other hand open and palm up.

Ciaran looked relaxed, but Eleftherios knew the kid was ready to fight. He then took his own stance. The man stood with feet shoulder-width apart, with one foot slightly forward and the other foot turned slightly inward. His fists are held up near the face, with elbows close to the body, and the body is angled slightly to the side.

The dryad didn't waste any time, he pounced at the boy. He throw a barrage of left jabs, which then were followed up by a right hook, and a few knee-kicks.

The boy couldn't keep up with the speed, but that was never the plan. He deflected the jabs with his hands, just gently pushing them to the side while sliding the arm he used for deflection along the arm of his opponent.

The boy's counterattacks landed on his mentor's shoulders. Each did negligible damage but over the course of a fight that would add up. He himself didn't take any hits, managing to deflect all of the jabs.

For the kicks, Ciaran had to think outside of the box. His opponent wasn't just stronger and faster, he was also taller, which meant he had more reach. Every time a kick went out the boy used his Wind to just slightly move himself to avoid or deflect it. He even used his hips when the chance presented itself, which surprised his opponent and allowed Ciaran to deliver a low kick of his own.

The real problem came with the hooks. They were strong, fast, and shot out from his blind spot. So far he had managed to avoid a hit, but just one of those, and the kid would have to go back to his bed for a while.

Eleftherios launched a particularly nasty hook right after the knee-kick. He kicked with his left leg, and by twisting his body in accordance with the repositioning of his kick, he was able to make his hook even faster.

The boy had nowhere to run to, so he just ducked and launched himself forward. Ciaran hit the ribs of his mentor with an elbow from his left hand, which he followed up by raising the same hand and hitting him in the pecs near the armpit. He wasn't resting his right hand either. It delivered a devastating palm strike to the stomach, and then the boy bent his right arm and used his elbow to hit near the other armpit.

By moving like that, and making use of his flexibility he hit a nine-hit compo in the span of less than half a second. Alas, it wasn't enough. While being hit, his mentor raised his knee as if for a knee kick, but then he extended his leg, empowered it with his own Wind, and kicked the boy right in the stomach.

The boy flew back and slammed himself into a wall.

Ciaran tried to stand up as quickly as possible, but about halfway up he fell to his knees and puked up blood.

"We are done. That was wonderfully done." His mentor said as he appeared next to the boy and slapped him on the back, with some force.

The boy spits out some more blood but then got up, as good as knew. His mentor could have been more gentle, but he had healed the boy.

"Still a little mad at me, are you? You never used to draw blood in our spars before." The boy asked with a wide smile, his teeth still red from his own blood.

"Yes, but that is not why I am harder on you now. Kid, you are very close to Rank One. Just a little bit more and you will reach it. From now on our spars are going to hurt, a lot. I need you to be ready, because starting next year, the Academy starts to see its students die."

"Year Three is the final year of a normal-ish life for you. And knowing you, you will rush into more trouble long before it's over. Hence more training, harder, with fewer holdbacks."

Eleftherios intended to intimidate the boy a little, so he would at least appreciate the ever-dwindling amount of peace he had left. But the way the brat grinds at his words only got on his nerves. Luckily he had a way to change the subject.

"So, are you ready to face your old man today? It's not going to be an easy conversation." He asked, and the boy shrugged.

"It all depends on my old man. If he wants to be all whiny about it, we will go with that. But to be honest with you, I kind of don't care anymore. I miss my family, and I want to reconcile."

"Now this just might be because I have not been bled in so long. So when Sis goes at it again, I might just curse them all out. For now, however, I am done moping around. Crying about it was never really my style, I was just discipled to a crybaby and got swapped up in his methods." The boy sighed dramatically.

The dryad's face got red from anger and he protested his status as a crybaby. When Verdania and Ariadne backed Ciaran up on his claims, the dryad just clicked his tongue.

"This proves nothing, you two always play favorites." He protested.

When even Roxy took the side of the majority, however, Eleftherios slumped down in defeat. Today they all took a stance and named him The Warrior Crybaby. Outnumbered, betrayed by his puppy, and defeated, he gave them all the silent treatment.

The mood was cheery, and the spirits were high, but then their guest arrived. A new section of the Maze was created, just for the talk that was about to ensue between father and son. It was made private, and secure. Of course, the sound was enchanted so everyone could hear everything on the other side of the Maze, but the boy didn't need to know that.

And finally, after almost a year, it was time for the boy to talk to his father