Sacred Arts

28. Catch Me If You Can

"Now you need to implement the breathing techniques into your day-to-day movements," Dustin instructed. "I will chase you, and if I catch you three times, we are done for the day," Dustin said. "The exact moment I touch you for the third time, we will continue to practice the breathing techniques five hundred more times," Dustin added. "Are you ready?" He asked. "Yea let's do it," Amon said excitedly.

Amon ran as fast as he could all around the training field while still keeping his eyes on Dustin. While he ran, he made sure to continue focusing on his breathing techniques. "It's been a while since I've run, my speed is incredible," Amon thought, amazed. "I'm probably at least ten times faster than before even when I used my Whispering Wind technique," he continued. "Amazing, he's very fast," Dustin thought watching Amon run.

"This might be more of a challenge than I thought," Dustin whispered to himself. Dustin inhaled deeply and then exhaled as he took a running stance. In the blink of an eye, Dustin charged towards Amon at great speed. Dustin came within reach of Amon in seconds and extended his arm out in an attempt to tap Amon's chest. "There's just no way!" Amon thought, surprised at Dustin's speed.

"This guy's speed is crazy, but I can dodge it," Amon thought with a determined look on his face. Amon stepped to the side, intending to evade Dustin. Dustin quickly recovered, and tried again to tap Amon. Amon inhaled deeply and exhaled as he took a huge leap in the air to get her away from Dustin. "Smart move, let's see how you handle this," Dustin yelled, jumping into the air after Amon.

"Let's see him match my top speed," Amon said, as his speed began to increase. The distance between Amon and Dustin began to grow wider and wider. "So he still wasn't going all out," Dustin thought, laughing. "Dustin might have himself a rival when it comes to speed," Jake told Lee with a grin on his face. "Yeah, this guy shows a lot of promise," Lee replied.

"Instead of us all working with him each day, I feel like maybe each of us should work with him for a period of time," Lee suggested. "It'll help him improve at a more consistent rate, and it'll just be easier on the mind," he continued. "You know, that's a good idea," Jake said agreeing. "After their session, I'll let them know about the change of plans," Jake continued. Jake and Lee continued to watch Amon and Dustin race all around the training field for many hours.

"OK guys," Jake yelled, laughing. "How about we call it a day here," he suggested, walking towards Amon and Dustin. Amon and Dustin were covered in sweat and grinning as they both dropped their guard. "Man you did a heck of a job," Dustin said, smacking Amon on the back. "Thanks, that was actually really fun," Amon said with a grin.

Amon and Dustin walked towards Jake and Lee. "So there's been a change of plans," Jake announced. "It was Lee's idea, and I think it's a great idea," Jake continued. "Long story short, what if we all just trained you one at a time for a longer period of time," Jake suggested. "For an example, you'll get a month with Dustin, a month with Lee, and a month with me," he explained.

"That is a pretty good idea," Dustin agreed. "I'm down," Amon said eagerly. "The only thing is this guy doesn't even need another month with me," Dustin said pridefully. "You think so?" Jake asked Dustin, surprised. "Don't play dumb," Dustin said smiling at Jake. "I know you both seen this kid practically running circles around me out there," he continued.

"I say about another week, and then he can move on to Lee," Dustin said. "Ok well great, in seven days, Amon will be with you Lee," Jake said. "Agreed," Lee said. "Alright we will leave him in your care," Jake said. "See you soon Amon," Jake said, turning away. Jake and Lee walked away and left the other two squad members.

"To be honest man, for the next week we are just going to work on your form and technique a bit more," Dustin informed Amon. "You are already probably faster than me and a lot faster, in fact," Dustin said, acknowledging Amon's speed. "So all I need to do is help you get even faster," he continued. "Ok great, sounds like a plan to me," Amon responded. "Let's go and get some rest for the day," Dustin said to Amon.

"Yes sir!" Amon said, walking towards the barracks. Hours passed and everyone was fast asleep. Amon got up from his bed and snuck out of the barracks. He headed towards the training field. "If I can incorporate chi with my movement techniques, that'll make me unstoppable," Amon whispered to himself before sitting down in a cross-legged position.

"I am at the peak of the third rank within the Spirit Realm," Amon thought, inspecting his body. "All of my techniques are at their highest potential," he whispered to himself. Morning came, and Dustin headed towards Amon who was already on the training field. "Got here early I see," Dustin said grinning. "Yea, I'm an early bird," Amon replied.

"Today I figured we could just work out, and work on breathing techniques," Dustin told Amon. "To be honest, that is exactly what we are going to do for the next few days," he continued. "Follow me," Dustin said, before taking off running in a random direction. Over the next couple of days, Amon ran all day, on many different terrains and in different environments. Finally, the seventh day arrived.

"This concludes your training," Dustin said, clapping his hands together. "Congratulations, now you will go and complete your weaponry training," Dustin informed Amon. "Great, I can't wait," Amon said excitedly. "The crazy thing is, I've been wanting to use a weapon for a while," Amon thought to himself. Jake and Lee walked onto the training field to meet with Amon and Dustin.

"How'd he do?" Jake asked Dustin. "He did great, his speed is something serious," Dustin responded. "You think he's ready for his training with Lee," Jake asked. "Yup, he's more than ready," Dustin added. "He's all your Lee," Dustin said walking away.

"Lee or Jake might not realize it yet, but this kid is powerful," Dustin thought to himself as he walked further and further away from his squad members who were still on the training field. "Alright Lee, your up next to train him," Jake said, smiling. "Your going to be with Lee for about a month based off how well you do," Jak informed Amon. "Alright that fine," Amon said. Jake turned and walked away from the two squad members, leaving them to train.

"To start us off, these are all the weapons you will be trained to use," Lee said to Amon, pulling a variety of weapons off various parts of his body. Lee put a short straight sword, Kunai, and throwing stars on the ground in front of Amon. "These are the three weapons that you will be efficient at by the end of our training," Lee told Amon confidently. "First is the Kunai and throwing stars," he said, putting up targets all around the field. Lee gave Amon his own set of kunai and throwing stars. "I'll show you and after that, you will begin," Lee said.