Magic Man Taien (Academy Thread) [R, NDE]

[Manabu Brock]

There was a general noise of alarm as everyone suddenly picked up speed. Taien was about to overtake the ones at the back, but they were given a boost from the imminent danger. Taien was still at the back, and the flare was getting closer and closer. Then it got even closer. Then it hit him. He now had a trace on him. The flare, however, did not continue on as Taien had expected, but went back in the opposite direction. Apparently, Michi had been chasing the flares rather than having them chase him. There's an idea. Although, he didn't seem to be strained by the running at all. It might be more risky for a less fit student.

[Taien Hadohou]

Ugh!! One flare got him! Rats. Ahh well, it stopped everyone else from being hit, so that could be a good thing in the long run. Then the flare backpeddled away and went zooming off on some distant other lane. These things were really unpredictable. . . Anyways, Taien then realized that Michi was actually CHASING the flares, instead of them coming after him. Taien was impressed, these things changed on a dime, and you had to be able to move fast enough to change direction as well. Otherwise you would end up smacked by a flare.

Perhaps he should try following a flare for a while untill it went by an exit? That could work. But he was kind of out of breath at the moment, running like this was hard. None the less, he trailed after the flare that had hit him.

[Manabu Brock]

Off he went after the flare, and sure enough it did lead him to an exit. He made his way outside the maze and rested for a bit. Soon enough though, Michi came running out of the same exit, none the worse for wear. He still looked fresh though a little sweaty. He jogged in place while he spoke to Taien.

"Taking a break? Good idea. You look tired. Just make sure you don't stay outside the maze for too long. Wouldn't want another trace, would you? Let's go!"

He was off again back into the labyrinth. Man, that guy loved to run... Wait, what was that? Staying outside too long gets you a trace? Taien had better get back in there, and if he couldn't keep moving like Michi, he'd better think of something else.

[Taien Hadohou]

"Oya. . oya. . right!! Gotta get back into it! Keep it in the game!! LETS GO, FULL POWER!!"

Taien shouted, pumping a fist into the air. Then what Reti-Sensei said came back to him, to continue to practice creating and improving his dot of Reitsu. Perhaps he should do that while here? Wait a second. . . Reitsu. . . was there a secret of the maze that could be unlocked by Reitsu? Probably not, but it wouldn't hurt to try. Taien immediately conjured up a tiny Reitsu dot. After practicing with it in the time before Reti-Sensei's class was over, Taien had learned to make this little dot on a dime. To think, he could do something as difficult as this so easily. . . anyways! Into the maze!

Taien rushed into the maze promptly, not wanting to get another flare. Though he didn't know what the flares did, or what the traces did either, it couldn't be good. Taien decided to try out his theory and pushed the Reitsu dot into the wall.

[Manabu Brock]

The power of his little dot pushed his finger back with a force similar to two like-charged magnets. The walls were just glass though, and nothing happened. However, with the slowing down he'd done, a flare managed to catch up to him. It was about ten feet down the hall and coming fast. Think fast, Taien!

[Taien Hadohou]

Ahh well, that was just a thought. Though it was interesting to know it was just glass. However, something else came up. Another flare!! Taien jumped to it and ran as fast as he possibly could, turning at sharp corners and just trying to shake off the flare in general. Taien wasn't sure whether it locked on to someone, or just was sent on a random path. Presumably it was the former instead of the latter.

If Taien didn't manage to shake it off though, he vaugely remembered that the flares were made of Reitsu. Perhaps a Reitsu source could also break them? It was just a desprite attempt, but he would be caught if he did nothing. Taien put as much power as he could into his little dot without destroying it entirly. Then he turned around and slammed the dot into the flare. If it worked, well, good for him. If not, well, he would have been hit anyways.

[Manabu Brock]

Well, what do you know!? It worked! Taien would have no problems from now on, and indeed, he finished with just that one trace. Eventually, others noticed what he was doing, and those who were able tried it themselves. By the end of the class, everyone but Michi had 3 to 5 traces. Michi had 0, and he was the only one.

"Wasn't that great? Hadohou! I'll see you later! Gotta get moving to my next class!" Suddenly a Michi shaped puff of smoke stood where Michi was before. That guy sure was fast. Anywho, Taien had better get a move on himself. Next for him was Kick Boxing.

[Taien Hadohou]

"Oya oya! I did it! This should be fun now!"

Taien exclaimed in happiness as he broke through the flare that was about to hit him. From that point on during the class, he went around hunting down all the flares. It was sort of like when Pac-Man got the super pac ball and went around eating all the ghosts. Anyways, next class time! Ohh! It was a required class for the Seventh Division! Awesome!

"Oya oya! See you later than Michi-San!"

Called out Taien to Michi as he ran at insane speeds down the hall. He probably was never late, huh? Taien then made his way down the pathways, consulting the map when he wasn't sure where he was or where he was going. He finally managed to make it to the room that was designated for kick boxing. Taien had enrolled in both boxing and kick boxing, and was eager to see what was different between the two, besides one word.

[Manabu Brock]

Taien reached what appeared to be... some sort of boxing aviary? There were mats and bags and kick boxing equipment, but the place was flocked with birds! Cranes actually. There were cranes stationed all around the room. The students had not yet begun doing anything. They seemed a little hesitant. The cranes were making a slight raucous with their whooping. Some were facing others nearby and whooping less loudly than others. It seemed orderly though.

There was a pristine white crane at the center of the class who was positively majestic. It practically glowed white, and it hurt to look at it for too long if you had just come out of a dark room. This crane whooped loudly, and there was silence. The crane then whooped at the students, kicked a heavy bag a few times, and then gestured this way and that with its head. Looks like the students were mean to train with the cranes. There were plenty to choose from. Most had feathers of varying colors: greys and whites and blacks and speckles. There were some, though, that were a bit unusual. Aside from the pristine crane, there was a scarlet red, a jet black, and one whose head was white and tail feathers were black, but its color transitioned smoothly all the way through. The effect was... something...

Seemingly on cue, they all executed a series of kicks simultaneously. Whichever one you went with, you'd be getting a good teacher.

[Taien Hadohou]

OOC: Sorry, this is gonna be a short post, my time is almost up!

Taien looked around in wonder. It was a gigantic aviary!! Birds were all around them! And cranes, lots of cranes too! The cranes seemed to be the masters, how interesting! Taien spotted four of them, one bright red, one pure white, one midnight black, and one somewhere inbetween the two colors. Though he initially thought of choosing the white one, he decided to go with the mix of both white and black one. It seemed to have the most. . . balance about it. That was the only word Taien could describe it as. Taien walked over to the white and black crane and bowed to it.

"Oya oya! Crane-Sensei, Taien Hadohou humbly asks for your teaching!"

[Manabu Brock]

The crane looked at Taien for a moment. She seemed to be considering him. Eventually, she nodded her head. She stepped forward now and raised her wings, then thrust her head forward towards Taien indicating he should do perhaps the same thing. She kicked several times, but Taien couldn't see it. He heard the wooshing sound of the kicks, but the crane didn't seem to have moved. She was still now and waiting for Taien.

[Taien Hadohou]

Wah! Already into the lesson then eh!? Taien briefly wondered whether this would be the legendary Crane Style of martial arts, one of the multiple disciplines of the world of martial arts. It wouldn't be surprising if it was. Anyways, the crane motioned for Taien to do the same thing as she did, so Taien obliged, and raised both of his arms. What happened next was what Taien would describe as simply extremely fast wind and perhaps the sound of someone kicking the wind. It could have been something else, but punching seemed to be out of the question. Well, it WAS called Kick Boxing after all. Taien then proceeded to start kicking, while maintaining the crane stance.

"Oya oya! Like this, Crane-Sensei?"

Taien asked as he preformed his kicks.

[Manabu Brock]

The crane shook her head back and forth. She put her wings down and stepped forward as she pushed Taien's hands down with her head. She then proceeded to lightly kick his feet lightly until they moved into their proper place. Now Taien was standing closer to sideways. The crane proceeded to grab each hand lightly with her beak and place them in a certain position. She now walked in a circle around him. She kicked the back of his right knee lightly to get him to shift his weight. She kicked his back lightly to get him to straighten it. She nudged his shoulders to get him to bring them up and his elbows to make sure he kept them in.

Having straightened Taien out, she now returned to her spot in front of him and opened her wings. She then kicked once again, apparently in front of Taien's face. After this, she lowered her own head, then nodded quickly in a beckoning fashion.

[Taien Hadohou]

"Ahhh, oya oya, thank you for the help, Crane-Sensei!"

Taien said as she helped him get into position. It looked like a hi-kick, or at least it sounded like one, as the wind from the kick hit him in the face. Now he (hoped) he understood. It was a little difficult getting instruction from something that could not talk, but that problem would probably be erased after a while of doing this. Experiance was the key to everything. Taien then proceeded to do a kick like the Crane-Sensei had just preformed. It was a little difficult for him, mostly because he needed to get more flexable, but he kept at it, no matter how much he hurt from it.

[Manabu Brock]

After a few kicks from Taien, the crane lowered her wings. She looked at him for a bit, tilting her head now this way and now that. She then extended one leg forward a little. It hung there for a few seconds. Then she raised it. Then she stopped. Now it came up again until it was parallel with the floor. This she held for a good 5 seconds before moving on. Up it went and stopped and started until it was as high as Taien's face. There she held it. This whole thing seemed terribly easy for her. She didn't really seem to be putting forth much effort.

She brought her leg back down and stood normally. Then, in that birdly fashion, she shook herself from tail feather to head. The image was confusing and somehow blurry. Having shaken herself out, she raised her left wing and thrust with her head. Then she looked at Taien.