The Dragon's Scale [COMPLETE]

8.2 || Only the Beginning

A couple of minutes later, they arrived at the other end of the castle, which had another hole opening to an indoor courtyard. Unlike where they found Hisato, though, this one had a concrete path leading to a large sand circle that took up most of the space. Patches of grass gave color to the corners, but that was it.

A dark-skinned man stood in the center of the circle. His body faced them, but he twisted his upper body to look at the left wall, his arms raised as if to fight. He punched once, twice, and then spun, delivering a snapping sidekick. He continued like this for some time. Each movement was so quick and precise that Josh had trouble believing there weren't actually invisible opponents around the man.

The sequence ended with the man facing them, though it took him a moment to focus on them. When he did, he gave a slight bow.

"Welcome," he said as he straightened back up. "It's nice to see you, Mara. And you must be Josh. I am Akachi, your combat teacher." He gestured to the ring. "Would you please join me?"

"Yeah, sure." Josh walked forward, Mara at his side. As he did, he examined Akachi. Even without the earlier demonstration, he would have believed the man to be proficient at combat. He wore sweats and a t-shirt, letting most of his muscled arms show. Although relaxed, he gave an air of being ready to strike at any moment, and his dark eyes studied every small move Josh made.

"I'll be right here if you need me," Mara said, jolting Josh out of his observations. They had reached the end of the concrete path.

"You're staying behind?" he asked.

She nodded as she took a seat. "I'm just watching this time, not learning anything," she said, then added to Akachi, "Let me know if you need me to move."

"You will be fine there," Akachi said, then turned an expectant eye toward Josh.

Taking a deep breath and shooting Mara a quick glance, Josh strode into the middle of the ring and stopped in front of his new teacher. "You're not going to make me meditate or something, are you?"

Akachi chuckled, and Josh relaxed. Laughter was always a great way to start an interaction, and it meant that Akachi probably wouldn't make him do something as boring as meditating—

"No, I leave the meditation to Hisato, but I would like you to run around the ring."

"Oh." Josh deflated. "Okay."

Akachi's lip twitched. "Don't worry. We won't be running the entire time."

"We?" Josh asked.

"Yes." Akachi nodded. "If I am going to ask you to run, it seems only fair that I do as well. I've also come to find I enjoy running. It is a great way to relax and focus the mind."

Well, maybe if it was so great for the mind, Josh could try meditating while they ran. Then he could knock out two boring tasks in one go. Instead, as he followed Akachi around the ring, he found himself talking with Boomer, discussing all the things someone could do while running. They started with something simple—eating—and somehow got to trying to sleep and run.

You know what? Josh finally said. How about you just try it sometime?

I'm not on a sandy field. If I do it, I can hit a tree, so you do it.

You're a dragon. Your head is harder, Josh pointed out.

I don't know, Boomer said. Have you ever tried to convince yourself to do something?

Before Josh could retort, Akachi started to slow down. Josh stumbled to match his pace. They came to a stop, and Akachi turned to fix Josh with an amused, assessing stare.