Michael’s Tai Chi

Michael's advantage lay in his experience and power, but he hadn't trained since he traveled to another world. He wasn't sure where his body's limits were.

"So, Tai Chi, huh? Isn't is only for defense? If I stand here and don't attack you, what can you do?"

Michael smirked inwardly and made the first move. He reached Donald with two wide steps, provoked him into movement and stepped back. After Donald's awkward punch missed, Michael closed in again, slapped his cheek and twisted out of place to catch the judoist's second punch.

Holding Donald's left wrist with his own left hand, he turned his back to Donald and smashed his opponent's whole body with his own. Donald's experience in judo prepared him to be thrown, not pushed, so he stumbled and fell on his ass.

In a short three-second exchange, Michael got away with an insulting slap and gained momentum over Donald. That was only possible due to his empowered nervous system. In fact, he used none of his enhanced strength.

"Instructor Hwan," asked Anna in the back, "Can Michael really win?"

The Korean athlete shook his head, "His technique seems top-notch. Tai Chi is only used for combat in the East, and I've seen several fights myself. Your friend seems to have great control over his opponent's movements and balance, which is key. Perhaps, his instincts aren't inferior to those masters."

Donald stood up and touched his face. That slap burned. He snarled ferociously and charged at Michael. He threw a strong punch which Michael caught again. Donald's arm was locked in the elbow, he expected to be thrown one more time, but Michael side-stepped and started running. He ran behind Donald, guiding the boy forward, and the judoist had to lead the way because his arm was still in a painful lock.

After a few steps, Michael kicked Donald in the back of the knee and he fell with such momentum that he tumbled on the grass.

"Done yet?"

"Shut up!" the loser snapped.

"Look, there is no need to continue. There's still that punishment waiting for you. Just how badly do you want your day to go?"

"That was nothing," Donald spat on the grass, making the girls in the crowd wince, "You think pushing me around will make me give up? I'm completely fine!" In fact, Donald's head and joints were hurting from Michael's painful holds, but he would rather die than admit to that.

"You want to suffer? I can make you," young cultivator threatened.

Donald went on the offensive again, having decided his best chance was to grab Michael and use his greater weight against the wimp. This time, he approached cautiously, aware of what Michael could do if he lost balance.

Meanwhile, the Tai Chi practitioner stood on the mat serenely, his hands at his hips. Donald faked a punch, failing to provoke a movement. He came closer and pounced on Michael for the second time, opting to grab him.

Michael's hands were in the air in a moment, grabbing Donald's wrist. While the judoist couldn't do the same to Marco's punches, faster-than-normal Michael performed the trick on slow Donald with ease. He preemptively turned his body 45 degrees, put one leg behind for stance stability and, controlling the wrist, placed his other hand's fist right before Donald's upper chest.

The massive Donald found himself impaled at the smaller boy's fist. Michael's body was streamline, like a spear meeting a horse's charge. With his leg protecting him from being pushed, his fist took Donald's weight and held. Seeing the judoist gasp, Michael decisively opened his fist and hit the same place with an open palm.

To their classmates, it looked like David beating Goliath. Donald was completely open and couldn't respond to the last hit, so he fell on the mats like a sack of potatoes. Trying to catch a breath, he patted the ground in a sign of defeat without realizing it.

"Conceding is unnecessary. Unlike you, I know when to stop."

Amidst the cheering, Anna blushed in embarrassment. If she was braver, she would've hugged her friend, but that level of physical intimacy was beyond her yet. She congratulated him loudly, like the others, patted him on the back and didn't go further.

"Ninja skills!" yelled Carina, "I told you he had ninja skills!"

"Dude, how cool can you be?!"

"Stop stealing the spotlight!" cried Jack, "You already have a girl at your beck and call, leave some for us, you mongrel!"

Marco looked on with jealousy. He wasn't fully aware of his father's machinations and had no idea about Michael's role in his enrollment process. Even so, his impression of the boy started to mirror his father's, that of a self-centered, smug and conceited person.

Glancing at Donald still lying down and in pain, he felt sympathy for the one who beat him instead of the one who avenged him. He recognized the humiliation Donald suffered. He felt it too, albeit at Donald's hands, but at least nobody cheered when he bit the dust.

"Come on, man," he said, helping the heavily breathing boy up, "Peace?"

"Huh? Sure. I'm sorry, I was too hard on you."

"No worries, we've both been beaten."

Unlike the simpler Marco, Donald was sly as a fox and rivaled many of his classmates in intelligence. Recognizing the impulse at becoming friends, Donald reacted like the businessman he was groomed to be.

"This is how it feels? Losing, I mean."

"Pretty shitty, yeah."

Both of them followed Michael with their eyes. The boy was lavished in praise from his classmates, pretty girls and instructor Hwan. The man even forgot to act on Donald's punishment, so happy he was to train such a prodigy.

"Say," began Donald, "Don't you want to see someone else get beaten up?"

"I think I know what you mean. Right now, there's nothing I want more."

"Donald!" exclaimed Hwan, "I will forget about your actions today. But only if Marco is fine with that."

"No problem, sir. Holding grudges is useless. I've become buddies with Don already."

Proud of Marco's demeanor, Hwan let go of his disappointment in Donald. For the teacher, the end result was more important than the measures that led to it.

The kids were encouraged to run for the rest of the lesson. In this school for gifted children, discipline was rarely a problem, and the students were comfortable running in peace.

As Michael ran alongside Anna, he thought about how his intervention changed the girl's future in this world. In another life, it took her so long to reach the top of the academia community because of a setback she suffered at Donald's hands. Coming from a poor background, the young woman cooperated with Donald's and his father's company for her first significant research. However, when her results proved to be valuable, father and son snatched them from her.

They used a modified contract she didn't know about to misappropriate her work. Anna's attempts to claim it back only led to them dragging her name through the mud. It took the young woman years to prove herself again, clear her name and become a role model for girls interested in science.

That was another reason Michael was excited to beat the disgusting boy up a bit. Not only as a retribution for his future self's deeds, but to establish a divide between Anna and him. Now, even if Angry Birds failed to become popular, Anna would never think to turn to her best friend's enemy for a job.

More importantly, today's conflict with Donald reminded Michael of two old Chinese men who lived on the school grounds – his Tai Chi master and Old Zhao, a geneticist ostracized by his peers for his ridiculous ideas.

In fact, his ideas were brilliant, not something the world was ready to accept. In another life, Anna became Old Zhao's assistant and apprentice at the age of 16. However, why couldn't Michael help them meet one another sooner? It was the only other thing he could help Anna with at this time.

Perhaps he thought of the girl just as Alice's friend once. His knowledge of her struggles also came from his beloved, not from personal friendship with Anna. But now that he took it upon himself to prevent a few tragedies he knew would come one day, he might as well see this through.