1. The Dark Side of Destiny: Beginnings

Chapter 10 - The Challenge

Zane was starting to feel more and more welcome with his new friends all the time. Whereas in his village, Zane would usually stand out for being different, here he didn't feel that there was any unnecessary attention drawn to him and he could fade comfortably in the background. He enjoyed the presence of Kai, Cole, and Jay. Every day he would learn something new, and every day he was beginning to realize how much he enjoyed this training.

On one such day, Wu announced to the boys that he was going to present them with a new challenge.

"One of the most important things that you will have to learn is how to work as a team. It does not matter how strong or how skilled you are, if you cannot function as one, you will not be able to win. So, to test your ability to cooperate with one another, I will grant this opportunity: from now on, each day before we start training, the four of you will have the chance to fight me."

Zane's eyes widened, and when he glimpsed the others, he could see his own shock reflected on their faces. Here, they had only just begun, and now they were going to go up against their own teacher?

"If you manage to land a single blow," Wu continued, "then you will be permitted to move on to the next stage of your training. Until then, we will continue going over basic hand-to-hand combat. I'll allow you to devise a strategy," he said as he turned and walked a few paces away to give them space.

The four boys huddled together, though Zane didn't think there was much for them to discuss. Surely it would be impossible to defeat their own teacher?

"Ideas?" Cole whispered.

"I think we should all rush him at the same time," Kai suggested. "He can't fight all of us at the once!"

Cole shook his head. "He'd totally be expecting that!"

Jay threw a glance at their sensei to make sure he wasn't listening in on them. "Maybe three of us can distract him while the other one tries to attack him from behind."

"Wouldn't he notice if he can see only three of us?" Zane pointed out. "Then he would expect the fourth to attack."

Cole nodded. "That's true. So what do you suggest, Zane?"

"I think that, since this is a test, we are not meant to succeed yet, and that no matter what we do, we will fail. At this point in our training, it would be impossible for us to surprise our own sensei. The best thing to do is to get an idea of how he reacts to our attacks, to study him so that we can be better prepared for next time. Since none of us have seen him fight before, we don't actually know what we are up against."

Kai rolled his eyes. "It's not impossible. Not if we come up with the right plan. Why would he give us the challenge if we weren't ready?"

"Perhaps to motivate us to train harder." Zane offered.

"I still say we all go at him at once."

"That won't work!" Cole protested.

Kai frowned. "Then what's your bright idea?"

Cole was silent for a moment, his eyes fixed on the ground. When he looked back up, he admitted, "I haven't thought of one yet."

"Dude, we don't have all day!" Kai crossed his arms. "Well, we're supposed to be working as a team, right? So why don't we put it to a vote? All those in favor of waiting for Cole to think of something –" Cole glowered at Kai, and Zane contemplated whether this really qualified as teamwork or not.

When no one raised their hands, Kai continued, "And all those in favor of my plan –" He raised his own hand, looking at Zane and Jay expectantly. Seeing as they didn't have very many options, Zane and Jay raised their hands as well.

"Fine," Cole grumbled. "But don't be surprised when it fails."

Kai ignored him. "We're ready to start, sensei! Spread out around him and wait for my signal," he instructed the others, and they did as he said, moving into position around their teacher.

Wu stood and waited for them to make the first move. The boys focused on their individual plans of attack as they awaited Kai's signal.

"Now!"

All four boys rushed forward at once, fists raised to strike. Wu didn't move until the last moment, at which point he rolled out of the way and four heads bashed together before they could realize he was gone.

Rubbing his sore head, Kai saw that their sensei had gotten away. "Come on!" he shouted to the others, apparently still determined to make his plan work. He charged toward Wu, but as soon as he attempted to strike, Wu caught his fist and twisted his arm, then struck him in the chest. Kai landed on hard his back. Cole took Wu's being distracted as an opportunity. He attempted a kick, though he didn't really know how to execute it properly, so Wu was easily able to unbalance him and throw him to the ground as well.

Jay and Zane promptly succeeded Cole, but even with two of them, Wu seemed to have no problem dodging their attacks. He ducked and swept one leg under their feet, putting them out of commission as well. Kai gave it one last valiant effort, but was harshly elbowed in the nose. At that point, they had no choice but to admit defeat.

"Is that it?" Wu asked disapprovingly as he looked around at his students. Kai's nose had begun bleeding and Cole was cradling his hand which had been cut when he landed on the stone floor.

"With all due respect, sensei," Zane said, rubbing his sore neck, "We have hardly learned anything yet. It has only been a couple weeks."

"It's not fair," Jay added. "You're way better than us!"

"That may be so, but I expect you to put up more of a fight in the future. Even if you are outmatched, you don't get to give up just because it's difficult."

The boys exchanged glances. Zane couldn't be sure what the others were thinking, but he personally considered this lesson bit harsh. What more could they do when defeat was inevitable? Nonetheless, the four boys answered in unison, "Yes, sensei."

As he pushed himself up off the ground, Zane sighed to himself. Perhaps Wu was right. After all, he was the teacher, and they the students. He knew much more about this kind of thing than they did. Still, Zane didn't see why it mattered so much. They had given it their best effort. What more did he want from them?