Jin eyed Rai with a quizzical look, “Let me get this straight. You want to imbue your body with lightning?”

“Yep.”

“And you failed miserably when you tried, making holes in the field?”

“I think I skipped along the floor like a rock on water. Twice.”

Jin couldn’t hold in his laughter; the boy was full of surprises but to think he’d try something that Jin’s own subordinates wouldn’t have dared to attempt. Wiping tears from his face, “Okay okay, show me what you’re trying to do.”

Rai didn’t want to embarrass himself more than he had to, but he knew that there was no other way. He guided Jin to the field where he attempted this just yesterday, even though his body was still sore from his previous attempts. Jin stood to the side and carefully observed. He saw lightning begin to fly off Rai’s body.

BOOM!

Rai shot off from his starting position and skipped along the ground just as he’d described. A third line of holes in the ground were now present.

Jin walked over to Rai lying on the ground, trying to hold back his laughter. “First of all, does it hurt?”

“Of course it hurts old man.” Rai groaned.

With a chuckle, Jin spoke once more, “I see the problem.”

Rai’s eyes widened in anticipation, which was a rather silly image considering his body was splayed out across the ground.

“Your perception. You’re moving so fast that your mind and eyes can’t keep up with it.”

Rai’s eyebrows rose, giving him a quizzical look as he stared at Jin, “But you can keep up with it.” It was a question, but stated as a fact. “Who even are you old man?”

What kind of question is that? “I'm your grandfather?" He thought that was relatively clear already. "And your sword tutor, I suppose. So bear with the pain and get ready for your lesson today, you can think about how to improve your perception later. You have an hour before we begin.”

Rai drifted in thought while he was sprawled out on the ground, thinking about how Jin sometimes acted like the soldiers he’d sometimes see in Acies. He often wondered what type of person Jin used to be before he adopted his mother. Jin seemed to know everything, and was obviously a great fighter. Time passed as Rai let his imagination go wild, imagining Jin in a number of different stations. Even as a butcher who happened to be a hidden master of martial arts. As fantastical as many of the ideas flowing through his mind were, Rai felt comfort in the fact that Jin was his grandfather.

His body still sore, Rai got up an hour later from where he seemed to have obtained a new bed and returned to the house. Jin was sat outside. Leaning against the wall beside him were two wooden sparring blades, shaped similarly to the katanas he used in his dance.

“Good, you look ready to go.”

Rai groaned, “I don’t feel ready to go,” he voiced the concerns of his body. “But, you said that today was an important lesson, so I’ll just pretend I’m fine.” He reached around and softly massaged his hips.

“You’re right. There’s a reason why I’m not teaching you to use two blades. Yet.”

Rai already knew the answer, it was because he still didn’t understand Balance. Yet? This was the first time he’d heard Jin say that Rai's use of two swords was even a possibility. “What do you mean by ‘yet’?”

“It's self explanatory, no? You’re not ready, right now that is. You’ll come across an instance, a moment, where you feel that one blade limits your capabilities. That will only happen if you can internalise Balance.” Jin could feel a mix of emotions coming from Rai, he knew that Rai wanted to learn to use two swords since that was what Jin did the sword dance with. He also knew that Rai was a patient boy. He would wait until he was ready before pursuing dual wielding.

Rai came across as somewhat desparate, “There’s no way for you to give me some hints? Or some kind of knowledge to build from? I can’t figure it out from just the word.”

Jin shook his head, “If you don’t discover it for yourself, then you’ll remain stuck, in an eternal purgatory where growth is no longer possible. I can’t help you any more than I already have when it comes to understanding Balance.”

Rai resigned himself to the reality, his body still needed developing. Though he was smart, he liked to think, this was something that would take time to figure out.

“Alright, enough of that, I’ve already told you that you can do the dance with a single sword so there’s no need to think about dual wielding for now. Focus on the stances and the movements we’ve been going through. Let’s do some drills.”

Rai enjoyed learning swordsmanship, Jin told him that by learning to do the dance, he would learn how to fight. Though they haven’t sparred, Rai’d been given challenges that he had to accomplish without mana. He could only use his sword. Reiki seemed to finish up her chores and came outside to watch. Jin handed Rai one of the wooden katanas leaning against the walls, then they began the sword drills.

After going through the drills for an hour or two, Jin presented Rai with another challenge. This time seemed... Different? Jin picked up the other katana from where it stood leaning against the wall.

“Now. Let’s see how much you’ve learned. If you can make me move from where I stand without using magic, then you win. I won’t attack. I’ll only defend and counter. You have a minute.” Jin got into a defensive stance with his left hand behind his back, and his right hand holding the sword upright just in front of him.

Rai spared no words, the timer already started. He allowed himself a second to mentally prepare, then got into an attacking position. Speeding across the ground, Rai attempted a basic horizontal strike, but was knocked off balance as Jin struck his shoulder.

“Your footwork has improved.”

Recovering swiftly, Rai attempted an overhead strike, bringing his sword down onto Jin’s horizontally blocking blade. Jin was taller than him, but he wouldn’t use excuses if he failed. As their blades were pushing against each other, Rai used a movement that Jin wasn’t expecting, he twisted his blade and pushed off the ground. Flipping backwards, he tried to kick Jin’s blade out of his hand.

Rai landed on his left hand, which he used to push off the ground and land back on his feet, completing the backflip. Jin remained where he stood.

“Creative, and making good use of your athletic build. You’re learning well. Remind me to praise your teacher after this.”

Rolling his eyes, Rai knew he only had time for one more attack. He thought back to one of Jin’s lectures from a previous lesson, “There is no nobility in battle. Fighting honourably is for those who don’t care about their lives. If you want to win a fight, don’t be scared to use tactics that you might feel ashamed about. Pride doesn’t matter when your life is on the line. Treat every battle as if your life is on the line.” Rai scrunched a bunch of dirt in his left hand and threw it toward Jin to create a makeshift smokescreen.

WOOSH!

Rai nearly lost his footing; a wave of wind and dirt flew by him. Reiki’s auburn hair flailed in the wind as she watched from the side.

Jin held his blade pointing horizontally to his right, with his arm outstretched.

“Time.”

Rai was gobsmacked, Did he seriously just blow away the dirt by slicing the air?! What the...

“You’re making good progress, and you’re fighting creatively. Good job, you pass.”

Stunned for just a moment, Rai shook his head, “but I didn’t make you move?”

“Did I say anything about passing? I said you would win if you made me move.” Jin winked.

Rai internally groaned and rolled his eyes.

“You’re doing well, but you need to think less. Try to make your movements so familiar that you can react with them instinctively.” Jin gave the boy some good advice.

Reiki brought Rai a towel, “You don’t have to overdo it, I don’t want to see you fighting in a war.” With a look on her face that made his mother look older than she was, Reiki looked at her son. After a moment, she sighed. “If you want to fight, make sure you’re fighting for the right reasons. Don’t fight other people’s wars. Your life is your own and I want to see you come home alive, not as a hero.” Reiki walked back toward the house. “Come and eat. You have to go to Acies for the rest of the week with Jin, so I made you your favourite food for tonight.” She turned and gave Rai a soft smile before she entered the house.

The conflicting emotions about the heavy thoughts that his mother left him were serious, but they practically evaporated at the mention of his favourite food. A combination of meat and rice was a simple meal, but getting a hold of meat where they lived was difficult. Acies hardly supplied meat for households. The butchers in the town would only supply the restaurants, inns, and taverns. Reiki only managed to buy meat through Bort. Rai’s thoughts drifted to Bort, and the prospect of seeing the big-bellied dwarf again.

With the mixed feeling of the joy at seeing Bort and annoyance at not being able to practice magic or swordsmanship building up inside him, Rai’s feelings about going to Acies balanced out to be rather tepid.

In the end, he chose not to think that much about it, and went into the house to eat with his mum and Jin.