Kai woke early the next morning and got straight to work. Being refreshed helped his sore limbs a ton and some sleep allowed him to think clearly. But time was still ticking. It had been two days since Samukai had kidnapped Nya. He had to get faster; he had to get stronger.

With encouragement from Ash, Kai took on the training course from the beginning. There were secrets to each challenge, each platform. It took determination, a whole lot of luck, and bruises, for Kai to unlock those secrets. It took him three tries before reaching the third platform from start to finish.

He watched it spin, occasionally ducking to dodge the punching bag that whipped it's way around the course. Kai had gotten used to avoiding it the day before. From what he could tell if he timed his jump onto the platform just right he wouldn't have to spend much time there at all. He could jump right off and onto the next challenge

Only one way to know, though. He leaped for the platform and was instantly knocked out of the air. He slid down the steps slightly dazed.

"Fail… serious fail man." Ash snickered, after all, it wasn't his body that was being bashed and bruised.

The punching bag swung around in front of him in a taunting manner. Kai glared, this course wouldn't take so long if it weren't for that bag. It had knocked him off the course one too many times. "Shut up! This is hard enough without you keeping score."

"Hey, who said I was keeping score! I simply informed you that you failed!"

"Just shut up!"

He jumped to his feet and ran back to the third platform careful to keep the punching bag in his peripheral vision. He waited till the bag had gone over his head before attempting the platform again. He landed on the platform and quickly sprang from his kneeling position. He slid under one of the chopping axes and jumped off the platform, rolling to his feet in front of the next obstacle. This pattern continued till he mastered all the parts of the obstacle course.

"Ha! I knew you could do it! I was right!" exclaimed Ash.

"Now to do within the time limit," thought Kai determinedly.

Kai walked back over to the start. His eyes darted to each obstacle, trying to discern when was the moment to start. With everything spinning and moving Kai couldn't tell when that moment was.

"Will you STOP OVER THINKING!" yelled Ash.

Kai surged into motion taking on the dummies again. Quickly he was thrown from the platform.

"Fail," came an old voice. Kai looked up and saw Sensei sitting on the porch with his tea.

Again Kai tried the course, letting his body react. He got further and further with every attempt, but he wasn't fast enough. Every time he was knocked down or thrown off both Sensei Wu and Ash let him know it. Every time it was because he'd stopped to think or he'd hesitated.

Kai's body begged for relief. He was sore and bruised. He had to complete it, though. "One more time," he thought. He got to his feet and readjusted his grip on his sword.

"You can do it. I know you can. Don't think about it. Just react."

Kai took a breath calming his shakiness. The punching bag swung overhead. Kai leaped onto the first platform letting his body and skills take over completely. Dodge, slice, jump. Next obstacle. Slide, roll, jump. Next platform.

Kai realized this wasn't any different from the years he'd spent training with the swords from the shop. If he quit thinking so much he could notice the breeze on the back of his neck and he'd know to duck.

About halfway to the end, Kai threw his wooden sword with all his might knocking Sensei's cup from his hands. Two more platforms. Time seemed to slow down. He was so close to the end. Now weaponless Kai ducked, dodged and slid accordingly. He finished by swinging over the railing of the porch while Sensei was filling his tea cup. Moving lightly on his toes he picked up the sugar bowl and offer it to his confused sensei, "Was that one lump, or two?"

"Really… I can't believe you said that. I'm disowning you."