Rush

Aki planted his feet apart, as firm and balanced as he could. His palms relaxed and half-opened, eyes on his attacker some twenty meters ahead.

His training back in Hm wasn't meant for that world. It was meant for this.

For a beginner, he was average. A gifted youngster could've kicked his ass. But a doppelganger can become an expert in a matter of hours, even minutes.

Aki had been receiving not only the muscle memory from his original body for the past hour. Combat theorizations, principles, observations – lessons from first-hand and indirect experience – had been 'uploaded' to his doppelganger. This information seeped into Aki's brain, rewiring his neural pathways, etching into his sinews. They became more than ideas but a reality of his new body.

He didn't experience time distortion, no one did, but his neural signals fired more than double the speed. And the distance between him and Lem was enough for Aki to calculate his next moves. In fact, Aki found the gap a weakness to Lem's next attack as the latter poised himself for a straight dash.

One of the counters Ben had always wanted to master was a throw. For Aki, it was the perfect opportunity to apply it.

Lem blasted through the air, ripping the earth apart under his feet. Aki could see the leader coming, and he would catch him mid-air and slam him against the ground or flung him across the air.

Or… or he could evade to either side… to the right, and then launch a counter-attack from the flank. But there was no time for that. No room for second-guessing.

In a fraction of a second, Lem closed the gap. With arms tucked to his side, he began to extend both legs.

Another jumping kick, Aki anticipated. Too predictable.

At the last moment, Lem straightened both his legs so that his heels plunged into the ground, bringing him to a full stop a couple of meters before Aki. The impact shattered the earth into dust and pebbles and chunks, making Aki fall back a few steps with arms shielding his face from the barrage of dirt.

In the next heartbeat, Aki proceeded to the next logical move. Twisting through the cloud of dust, he dashed towards his opponent's left flank.

Lem's eyes darted towards the corners before the rest of his body could follow, regarding the rookie less than three meters to his side.

Before anyone could blink, Aki charged in, closing the gap in less than a second and planting a powerful strike with his left shin. The attack connected with Lem's arms blocking at the last moment. But Aki's kick carried a force twentyfold his weight, enough to throw off Lem's defense.

Everyone gasped as the leader was sent back-flipping and landing with much less poise than a few seconds ago.

"You got him!" Vino hooted, high-fiving with Arman.

Mel hopped in glee, clapping in rapid-fire.

"Gave him just what he deserved, hon," said Cleo.

Maricel flicked her red hair, looking away. "Hmf. Beginner's luck."

Aki's ears wanted to clap with pride, but there was no time for celebration yet. Instead, he should attack again while the opponent's defense was down. Lem was some ten meters away, gathering himself. It would be risky, but Aki could land another one if he attacked now.

Lem held out his left palm, startling Aki for a bit but held back nonetheless.

"That's enough." Lem's voice was rough. He rose back up heavily before dusting himself.

More than surprise, there was relief in Lem's face wearing a somewhat tired smile. "You didn't disappoint me, at least."

"Ah, come on, Lead. You can do better than that," Vino protested.

"This young man just kicked your ass, and all you can say is 'you didn't disappoint me'?" Cleo's mocking retort.

"I don't want him to get cocky." Lem shrugged, walking towards the tables and weapons rack. "Everyone, come. You too, Aki."

Mel puffed her cheek, letting out air with a funny noise through her pouting lip.

"You're awesome," Mel waited for Aki, but Cleo landed beside him and took him by the hand towards the clearing.