Chapter Eleven: Master Taix

As it turned out, Cancer did have plans for Emily’s tutorage, but they would not be for several more weeks yet, while everything was sorted out. Dam cat nearly gave her a heart attack, saying it was back to school the very day they had sped half way across the universe. Emily always thought she should have been a Cheshire rather than the, the, whatever species she was. Instead Emily and Anne were both taken to a building made entirely out of wood, and once inside, three dozen identically dressed people were on a mat, moving in surprisingly coordinated synchronization. They all seemed to be following the movements of a man at the front. Nobody so much as twitched as they walked in, which was surprising to see. They were dedicated, and focused to what looked to be some sort of martial art. Rebecca had wandered off somewhere after Cancer took Emily and her mother to this training building place, and so the three stood on the edge until the routine was over. The man then walked past his students, and bowed to Cancer.

“It is good to see you here again, Lady Cancer” the man exclaimed. Cancer was obviously famous practically everywhere, for good or for ill.

“It is a pleasure to see you as well, Master Taix. I have a favor to ask, if you will indulge me….” She started, which seemed to intrigue the man. Nodding his acceptance, Cancer continued. “I would like you to train these two in the Qi arts. They are called Emily, and Anne. I would like a full tutorship, and I shall pick up the bills” she finished. Taix let out a scoff at the mention of bills, and waved her away.

“Pah, were it not for you I would probably be dead in a ditch, or starving in one at very least. I shall honour your request for nothing. It is a simple request, nothing that will bring ruin or despondency to my business” he replied. His eyes lit up with appreciation. Cancer’s eyes went the same way, and then turned to leave.

“Wonderful. I have some things to be getting too. Big Universe, and all. Thank you for taking care of my girls” she said, before turning and leaving the two with the Master. He looked at Emily and Anne with sterner, steelier eyes.

“Well then, tell me what you know about Qi!” he ordered, a voice that could make an army out of pebbles for how powerful and commanding it was. However, Emily and Anne just looked at each other for a few moments, and then back to Taix.

“Umm…don’t give your Chi to someone, it knocks you out” Emily offered, with a smile. However, it only caused Taix to groan softly.

“This is going to be a long day. Come on” he said, gesturing them both to follow him, as they were led into a small room, and handed a simple robe to put on. White, and fastened with a belt, with a cut off around the thighs, it was not something Emily would wear herself, and made her want to keep the rest of her clothes on, but she complied with the orders to wear it.

“The Vestimenta you are wearing are woven with specially empowered materials to allow your Qidong to open more fluidly. However, do not believe you can slack simply because of this. You Qi will still need great work on your part so that your body can be a suitable vessel for it” He lectured, strolling up and down the small room before noticing the look on their faces, and deflating. “You have no idea what your Qidong are, do you?” he asked. Answered by almost simultaneous head shakes, Taix took a breath, and got back into lecture mode. “Qidong are metaphysical gates that are between your Qi and your physical body. They exist to ensure that you cannot utilize your Qi without first training to control it, and work in measured doses. If your Qidong were forced open without this training, you would die of exhaustion within a short timeframe, depending on the physical state of your body. As it is the energy of your life, the more physically fit you are, the stronger your Qi becomes. But you must be careful to balance your physical might, and your spiritual awareness. A strong Qi is useless if you cannot use it in an effective manner” He finished, turning to Anne and Emily, and smiled. “So, let us begin! First order of business is to show me your Chi Sheath. It is a simple technique that wraps your body in a thin layer of Chi, showing off your power, and providing a small degree of protection from heat, cold, and physical attacks. To activate this technique is as simple as envisioning the donning of a coat, while focusing on your internal Qi” He tutored, before stopping speaking, and gesturing to the two, so they could begin. It was not how Emily envisioned the practice. She thought there would be cool fireballs and explosions and incredible arts of the martial variety. But, this was fine as well. Walk before you can run, and all that. So she thought about putting on a coat, her arms moving softly to aid with the mental picture, and then there was something wrapping her skin, something perfect. Snug, but not tight, and warm without being hot, she could really get used to this kind of feeling. However, she thought that keeping it on constantly just because it was nice would exhaust her a bit too quickly, if she had heard everything right about this Qi stuff. It took Anne a good minute more than Emily to manage it, but they were both eventually sheathed in their Chi, and awaiting their teacher’s inspection.“Good. You seem to be natural at this, Emily. Your sheath was quicker, and is considerably stronger than your friend. But do not let this go to your head. Practice and diligence can always beat raw talent” He counselled. “She’s actually, my mother. And, I’m apparently special so I am cheating a little when it comes to having power and learning speed” Emily explained. Taix seemed impressed, and grinned.“I like you. You do not keep your advantage a secret for extra credit. When I am done with you two, you shall possess a sheath like mine” he told them, before he was encased in a semi-visible light. Emily’s ability to see it varied based on each second, but there was no doubt that it was a very thick layer, like a suit of plate armour, or something equivalent. This Chi thing seemed to be very interesting. The light then vanished, and Taix continued his stroll. “Don’t rely on your Qi outside of here for the first week or so. Your Vestimenta are working to aid you in the initial usage of your powers, and without them it will be substantially more difficult to manifest them for significantly reduced results. If you are showing good progress in a week we will discard them for your regular garment, but that is next week, this is now. And now, we shall begin the physical! Maintain your sheath, and copy my movements” Taix stopped his strolling, and turned to them, snapping out a fist, while the other pulled back, as if the two were on a pulley. Then his back fist surged forward while his front fist rolled back. Repeating the action a few times to make sure they got it, he continued his stroll. “This is the basic Kaitsu. We shall begin with a thousand Kaitsu” He told the two, like it was something that would be easy to pull off. Emily looked at Anne for a second, but Taix was not a man who looked as if he was brooking any argument, so they began. Cancer returned, several hours later, and entered the private room to find two women, gasping heavily, covered in sweat, and Taix looming over them.“They are like children. Is there no culture of remaining at one’s peak were they come from?” He asked, still pacing. He had not stopped since Emily and Anne had begun the Kaitsu, and must have covered over a mile just from walking back and forth.“Well, they do but it’s sort of optional, so there aren’t that many people that do it, unfortunately” Cancer replied, walking up to Emily and crouching down next to her. “Can you walk, or do you need to be picked up?” She asked. Emily gave a sour look and forced herself to her feet. Unsteady as she was, Cancer was not going to bruise her pride. And Anne seemed to have the same tenacity, if nothing else. Both were stood on sheer willpower, which was always good to see. “My estimate of a week was off. They will need to be more fit than this before progressing behind basic sheath training” He muttered, before turning to Anne and Emily, and giving them a short but sincere bow. “Thank you for being adherent students. I shall see you again when next you wish to meet” he exclaimed. It was a lovely sentiment, and Emily wanted to return it, but was not confident she would remain on her feet if she did anything other than stand. “You are welcome, Master Taix. You were a very proficient teacher. I’ll be back, when I get some feeling in my arms again” Emily replied, giggling to herself softly at the last part. Anne also gave her thanks, a lot more breathlessly than Emily had. Taix then headed for the door, to open it for the three ladies.“Well then, if you will excuse me, I have some paperwork. The boring side of running a business. Bah, I should really hire someone to do it for me…” he grumbled softly, muttering incoherently as Cancer ushered Emily and Anne out of the door, gave Taix a nod of appreciation, and then exited the building. Carting Emily and Anne back home, she sat them down on a comfortable couch, and set about making them something to eat. By the time it was ready, Emily seemed to have recovered some, and Anne, was…asleep. “She just, conked out. I think this is more than she has done in years” Emily told Cancer. The third bowl of thick broth and bread vanished, and so Emily and Cancer had a nice quiet meal together before Emily took the bowls and cutlery into the kitchen – on her insistence – and then went upstairs to explore for a shower. She found it eventually, but it was while she was taking off her clothes that the entire situation hit her. It all felt so normal, like every other day, but this was actually on an entirely different planet learning to use some sort of tangible energy of the soul. Her life had become very strange of late. Last week the worst of it was a talking cat, and the biggest trouble was a girl who distinctly refused to acknowledge her tendencies towards homosexuality and hid behind torment and bullying as a shield. At least, that is how Emily saw Cat’s actions. She was certainly a more complex girl than Emily thought in the first instance. An evil grin spread across Emily’s face as she finished stripping off and getting into the high-tech looking shower. She wondered how a fight would go down between her and Cat after this week was up. Her Chi powers would probably give her the edge even if she wasn’t receiving martial training as well. She was cut off, mentally, when she was suddenly sprayed with water from the shower nozzle. She hadn’t even looked for nobs yet, so was totally not expecting it to start itself up. But, the water was nice, as was to be expected since it was probably magic or some buggeration like that. Cancer seemed to have a lot of magic stuff, so a magic shower would not be surprising. It was a nice shower, but a tiring shower, although that might have been the fact that the special outfit was not doing it’s do on her QIwhatsits anymore. So she barely got herself dried before shuffling out of the bathroom, into the nearest room, and collapsing on the best. It was a nice bed. A soft, warm bed. A bed to sleep forever on. And at that moment, sleeping forever was exactly what Emily intended.