Chapter 34: Can't hang with us!

"Those Barbarians!" Duri's oldest friend, Ji-An, commented upon hearing the news Duri gave. "Who are we going to replace Bae?" Ha-Yoon, another of his friends, asked as she was feeling downbeat about the news she heard. "They took out our best, I know someone, a teammate that we can build to be our best. I'll go find him and negotiate something." Duri promised his team of friends before he left them in the studio. "Do you think he'll be able to get whoever he's got in mind on board by tomorrow?" Ha-Yoon asked Ji-An after Duri left. "I don't know, can we make a bet on it?" Ji-An answered her question with a smirk. "You can't handle losing a gamble. No." Ha-Yoon replied before walking away from him.

"Why was your room filled with so much smoke and how were you living perfectly fine?" Sun-Young asked her older cousin as she guided to a place she promised him prior. "Ever since I turned twelve and my powers began becoming stronger, when I would critically injure myself doing stunts I had no business attempting my room would always fill up like that and there's no time I ever felt stronger, healthier, healed." Derek answered her question as he followed beside her down their exhaustingly long hall. Sun-Young turned her gaze toward him after hearing his story eyes wide. "Last week your body was ravaged and roughed up. I don't want the old man lecturing me or you isolated in that room after hurting yourself, swear to me that you're absolutely strong enough not to take care of yourself in here." His younger cousin assertively demanded as they stood beside a door. "I swear." Derek nodded his head afterwards. "Here it is. Our home gym. Our family believes in staying fit. Especially since my Mother has an enemy who runs a den of thieves and degenerates. Never know when she gets the balls to hire them. I want to see you live up to the hype that Duri was excited about seeing in action." Sun-Young informed and reasoned as she couldn't hold back her own excitement. "Hype?" Derek asked as he was confused about what she was on about. "You still don't get it do you?— Maybe your Grandfather exaggerated to guarantee my father's attention?" Sun-Young proposed a question. "Probably." Derek replied in his low tone. "That's stupid, beat my best hand balance time and I'll tell you a few fascinating stories my father actually told me." Sun-Young replied to his response knowing he knew it was to taunt him. "Passionate, Huh? At seven, I decided I was going to use my arms to walk for an entire day out of sheer boredom." Derek retold as they walked through the building. "For real?! You got what you wanted?" Sun-Young asked with her utmost interest captured. "Ten hours, I wasn't big on paying too keenly to my father's basic training back then." Derek answered her curiosities. "I tried something similar back then but only made it five hours before falling flat on my face." Sun-Young retells him. Derek and Sun-Young worked out, together and competitively until the younger cousin got exhausted.

"Hey, American, how've you been holding up?" Jang inquired after catching his new younger cousin on his last squat set and leaning on the gym's door. "Finer than I did a week ago." Derek answered him as he looked exhausted but kept going until he reached his goal. "I heard your ability to tap into your ashen is gone for now but have you thought about the practices you want to study and develop if you don't lose them?" Jang stated and inquired again, genuinely curious about his choices. "My father's side don't have the scope of our abilities scoped out, some, but not as discovered and practiced. There's far too many choices, levitation, weight control, answers, Swordsmanship and Spearmanship, height control, arrows—" Derek replied before he was interrupted. "I recommend practicing that one, it comes in handy more than anyone would thinks." Jang interrupted but confidently assured his younger cousin. "Tell me what's possible." Derek suggested as he did find sincere interest in it. "Our powers are based on perfecting precise movements. Let me perform it for you." Jang smiled as he replied. Derek's eldest cousin moved his arms with the arrow Derek noticed he loved to carry like he held a bow with a beaming smile on his face, out of thin air, one colored cream beige made from his ash appeared and formed in his hands. Jang had the bow disappear then placed the arrow on the ground, he pointed to the air above him five times with one finger and ashen arrows were engendered out of thin air after he'd moved on to the next. He rubbed his palms together, he separated his palms, the sheer size of these arrows grew, he changed his hand to form the nihon-Nukite position and the length of the arrows grew. "Then I launch with my two fingers." Jang informed his younger cousin. "Why do you carry a real arrow with you?" Derek questioned when he revealed he can conjure his own and the arrow has been on his mind since he observed him. Jang looked toward the ceiling with his arms crossed and eyes fading from a cream beige back to brown as he recollected his memories. "We have more family out there, you have more cousins than just us. When I was little, I struggled with every practice I tried until our uncle Bitgaram gave me this arrow to use as a reference for mastering archery. He kneeled down next to me and told me with confidence that my potential for handling a bow was astounding. It was the push I needed." Jang pleased his curious wonder. "Sentimental value then. Sentimental value. You have a clue where I can find Duri?" Derek replied then inquired after a moment of brief silence, Jang thought to himself and Derek hesitated to ask about the uncle he mentioned.

Derek walked in on two unwitting strangers when he arrived at the address Jang gave him that he informed him would lead to Duri. "She was really into my fingers and toes. One time, she caught me off guard too early in the morning after breaking into my house and felt up my feet and I stood there for ten minutes staring at her." Ji-An told Ha-Yoo as the two sat as Derek admired the way the two were moving in sync. "Why'd you stay with her for two years?" Ha-Yoon inquired and wanted to address, Ji-An placed his chin on his chest as he had an answer. "She also felt up my heart but her problem worsened. Even after the intervention. I'm a lover boy, dum spero spiro." Ji-An answered her with a downtrodden tone. Ha-Yoon looked behind her and as soon as her eyes processed this stranger that's been listening to them all that time, she got defensive.