The Rise of Faim

Wimp

V. Wimp

Koh turned and approached Sokuh with the bottle in hand. As he raised the bottle of gin to take a sip, Sokuh charged in to steal it though Koh countered with a kick that smacked the boy's wrist away. The dojo master took a swig from the gin and awaited Sokuh to return to regain his balance as the youth repeated the same maneuver, as Koh smacked Sokuh's hand away, he perceived Soku sweep his left leg towards Koh's shoes but Koh jumped and kicked Sokuh square in the jaw and backflipped, balancing himself with the glass bottle for a brief second then stood straight then took another swig before putting the bottle down on the wooden flooring and waited for Sokuh to get back up to fight.

Sokuh slackened his jaw and spat globules of blood as he got up on his two feet, then noticed that Koh wasn't holding the glass bottle in his hand. Faim simply stood and watched as he saw Sokuh dash to snatch the bottle. Koh swung his fist to hit his opponent and Sokuh blocked the attack with his arms that was supposed to strike the sternum and was pushed back by 4 metres. Sokuh staggered for a couple of seconds and regained his equilibrium.

“I'm so close to obtain it.” He saw the crystal bottle, transparent save for the small amount of alcohol. Remembering how he used to steal to survive in the streets.

He was quick on his feet to rob the purse and ran, though he was caught by a bigger kid that was faster than he was. Sokuh got tackled to the ground by an orphan nicknamed Chok. “Let me go!”

“Try being a little faster next time, whimp!” Chok sneered as he took the purse and ran off snickering with other kids like him. Sokuh became determined to surpass him ever since, not knowing that they would become friends.

Sokuh went after the bottle time and time again, each time getting closer as he managed to dodge one of Koh's moves. Gradually moving faster, though fatigue got the best of him. He countered some of Koh's quick strikes while getting close to taking the battle, the dojo predicted Sokuh's next move and made him trip over his ankle, making Sokuh miss by an inch.

“So close.” Sokuh exhaled.

“I was so close.” Sokuh gave a disgruntled groan as Chok put a hand on his shoulder reassuring him.

“Is not easy on the forst try. It took me many shots to take Waldo's wallet.” Chok admitted, then crouched to Sokuh' level as he plopped his chin on the back of his hand which was still on Sokuh's shoulder. “You see drunken Duncan?”

Sokuh nodded, eliciting a low hum.

“Feign taking his bottle.” Chok coaxed him.

“You crazy!?”

“No, I'm bold. There's a difference between crazy and bold. Crazy people don't have clarity in what they do. Bold people take risks in achieving what they want.” Chok said, looking at Duncan's backpocket. “Be bold, be clever. Go in there, aim for the bottle, swipe the money and scram.” Sokuh sneaked in as he reached out to grab the bottle, as the drunkard swiveled his head and reacted. Duncan pulled the bottle away, leaving an opening for Sokuh to steal the money and snatched it from him.

As the tawny skinned figher got up, he figured out how he was going to take Koh's gin from him. First, he would run towards the bottle, then jump kick at one of Koh's attacks and propel Koh away to take the bottle.

Though something unexpected happened.

Sokuh ran towards his intended target and expected Koh to attack him. An ascending knee was inches away from connecting to Sokuh's left ribcage when Sokuh made a feint to receive the hit, but the young lad leaped and descended to punch Koh but instead unleashed a force through his fist to break the glass bottle to hundreds of pieces, some of the shards melted and other shards were lodged in the floorboards.

Faim's eyes widened in surprise at Sokuh's attack.

“What have I done?” Sokuh thought to himself.

“Congratulations. You've convinced me to accept you as my pupil.” Koh responded as he clapped slowly as he kept a straight face.

“Really?” Faim and Sokuh said in unison. Koh gave a nod as in affirmation before Sokuh looked at Faim and gave a lopsided smile.

“I did it.” Sokuh said, more to himself before Koh knocked him out with one hit to the nape as Sokuh fell to the floor in a loud thud.

Koh walks over Sokuh as Faim takes a defensive stance and the dojo master approached him in close proximity and stood still to look at the blonde fighter closely.

“Congratulations, you are the only one who passed my test.”

Confused at what he just said, Faim dropped his guard and tilted his head slightly and cocked an eyebrow.

“But didn't he--”

Koh raised his hand for Faim to keep quiet.

“You've proven your worth as a fighter. However, you weren't meant to master One Strike.” Koh clarified as he eyed Faim and he could discern the intentions of his adversaries with a glance in their eyes and the intentions within their hearts. “You have a kind heart, and that is worth more than all the power in the world.” Koh turned away from Faim as he looked at the shards scattered across the floor.

“It took me years to master One Strike — and perfect it.” In his youth Koh had spent countless days training to become stronger. “The first time I discovered this power, I was driven by bloodlust.” Koh had knocked down bamboo stocks and sliced the nodes of the bamboos in half while the remnant was bent in an awkward angle. After he successfully achieved it, he prepared to fight his opponent by dawn. “I only wanted to kill and destroy anyone that got in my way.” Koh unleashed his deadly attack on Sho, his fist connected to Sho's sternum and sent a shockwave that made his coronary artery burst as Sho spewed blood and fell to the ground as he died in that instant. “I also lost an ally and my mentor because of this.” Koh confessed as he recalled the moment when Ki Wen was aghast with what Koh had done. Koh glared at his mentor sardonically as he went on to strike Ki, and the sage blocked the chakra that made Koh unleashed the dark power within One Strike yet it didn't prevent Ki Wen from getting hit. The dojo master perished in Koh's arms. “Jì wén dàshī! Zhǎngwò!”

“I don't want you to suffer the same fate.” Koh said to Faim.

The blonde fighter looked at master Koh, then at Sokuh as the tawny skinned pupil remained unconscious.

“What about Sokuh?” Faim queried, just as Koh looked at Sokuh intently for a couple of seconds.

“He'll be fine.” Koh assured, considering at the prospect of training him and to mold him into a strong student. Or to meet with the requirements in staying at the dojo.

Then the austere dojo master looked at Faim with a solemn glance. “Go home, make your own path.” Then Koh waved him farewell.

Faim exited the dojo, before the dojo master picked up a broom to sweep the shards from the shattered glass bottle. The blonde fighter walked down the mountain, crestfallen at the outcome as he returned home to his village.