Chapter 29
Skillset
Daken grabs his stunned foe by the neck and squeezes hard, Dean starts to choke, "You're so pathetic, you've only won fights against weaklings" Daken said.
"That's not true I—I" Dean struggled to speak.
Daken started beating on him until Dean's vision became red with his own blood, "Shut up! You're nothing but a clown who wants to be a true fighter!"
"I am a fi—"Dean gets interrupted by a fist to his gut that shatters his spine, "AAAAHHH!" the pain cannot be described.
Daken pulls back his right fist looking like he's going to punch Dean when all of a sudden four dark metal claws come out of his knuckles. Dean looks right at them and is afraid of what's going to happen next.
"Time to die meat bag!" Daken goes for the kill.
"No, no, please no!" Dean begged.
Right as Daken plunged his metal claws into Dean's gut he awakened from his dream, "NO!" He immediately grabbed his stomach as if he was in pain. He looked again and he was fine, he looked all over his body and there wasn't a scratch on him.
Logan runs in his room to check up on him, being the only one who heard the noise. He found Dean laying in his bed, sweating, pale skin, and looking petrified.
"Kid you ok?" Logan asked.
"I…" Dean looked at his hands and they were shaking, but why?, "I'm ok, just a bad dream"
Logan nods but has a confused face on when he leaves.
Once Logan leaves Dean notices the sweat on his body, 'Why am I sweating?' then he notices that he's shacking and his pal skin. 'What's wrong with me?' he asked himself.
At the Hideout
Later on that day after Dean had calmed down and returned to normal he was going to meet up with his half-blood friends to work on their fighting skills. Tim and Billy at least seemed like they had some skill with their weapons but physically they didn't seem like much and Jon looks like he doesn't know anything.
So before they would get started Dean wanted to work on the gym they had and place everything around the way he pleased, and maybe add a few things.
Tim, Billy and John walked into their new gym and were fascinated at how quickly Dean fixed the place up.
"This place actually looks presentable" Tim said.
"I can see myself spending a lot of time in here" Jon said cracking his neck.
"Then let's see what you got then" Dean said, "I'm going to fight you one at a time, without any sort of weapons. Tim you can step up first"
Tim put down his Bronze Staff and utility belt and walked over to him. The whole floor of the giant room was covered with mats so they could use the full space.
Dean went into his classic stance, "Begin"
Tim raised his hands to his face so as to try and mimic a sort of boxing stance. He threw a few punches but Dean blocked them with ease. He tried different combinations of fists and feet but they were all blocked by Dean.
Dean then purposely left a weak point in his guard to see if Tim would notice, which he did and tried to exploit it but once again Dean blocked it.
Dean went on the offensive for a little and sent some light kicks and punches to keep Tim on his toes.
Tim struggled to keep up with the barrage of attacks and couldn't block them all so a few connected.
Tim faked a punch and went for a low sweep but Dean did not fall for the trick so he jumped over it and back-kicked Tim knocking the wind out of him.
Dean throws a downward punch to send him to the floor and ends the fight with him standing over Tim.
Dean gives him a hand, "Nice try" he pulls him up, "Billy you're up"
Tim went over to Jon and Billy stepped forward.
"Begin" Dean said.
Immediately Billy zipped over to Dean which was what he expected Billy to do so he sidestepped and tripped Billy sending him flying into some heavy bags.
"I'm ok" Billy said rubbing his head.
"You should always be aware of what your opponent is doing, especially when you have the advantage in speed." Dean said.
"Yeah, yeah, let's continue" Billy said trying again. This time Billy made an effort to stay one step ahead of Dean when it came to speed so it's safe to say he managed to hit him a lot. Unfortunately Billy's light fists don't do any damage to Dean.
Dean manages to catch one of Billy's fists and pulls him closer before sending a punch right for his face.
Billy closes his eyes and cringes ready for the impact but it never came, he opens his eyes to find Dean's fists stopped right in front of his face.
"Alright then, Billy take a seat. Jon you're next obviously" Dean said and Billy sat down next to Tim while Jon stood across from Dean.
"I don't know if this is a good idea" Jon said feeling nervous.
"Don't worry about me, I heal very fast so whatever you do to me will go away eventually. Now begin" Dean went into his classic stance.
Jon charged forward swinging his arms hoping to hit his opponent and end the fight quickly.
Dean must admit that Jon is faster than you would think, for someone his size and his strength you wouldn't expect him to be moving at a fast rate. A lesson to learn for the future, great strength gives some speed too.
But Jon wasn't fast enough to hit Dean when he was trying his best. Dean knew that one hit from Jon could very well take him out, he had to be extra careful with him.
Jon pulled back a fist and launched it aimed at Dean's midsection.
Dean recognized how much force Jon put into that so he grabbed his arm and flipped him over.
Jon landed on the floor on his back but got right back up.
His endurance also seems like it won't be running out any time soon, so letting him burn up all his energy is not an option.
Jon throws a heavy right hook but Dean ducks under it and sweeps his legs from under him. While Jon was on his back Dean got him in an arm-bar to try to get him to submit.
Jon couldn't reach behind him with his free arm so he pushed himself off the ground and went flying upwards towards the ceiling.
Dean let go of Jon at the last second which left Jon to collide with the ceiling. They both landed on the ground but Jon's landing was a little noisier.
Jon jumped right back at Dean, mad by the looks of it.
Dean jumped over John at the last possible second and grabbed him mid-air and threw him on the ground again.
This time Dean grabbed Jon's leg and put him in a leg bar, ready to twist it.
"Give up" Dean told him.
Jon's face turns red with rage and he kicks Dean away.
Dean lands safely on the ground, "Calm down Jon"
Jon charges at him and starts throwing rapid punches to try and break his opponent.
Dean manages to avoid two punches from Jon and grabs his hands, "John, an angry mind is a narrow mind. Calm do—"Dean was cut off from a head-butt from Jon that made him stagger back.
Dean feels his forehead and sees a stain of blood, he squeezes his fist which means he's had enough. "Alright then, you wanna play rough? Fine!"
Dean charges at Jon with renewed vigor.
Dean was moving purely on instinct, dodging Jon's attacks while hitting Jon in specific weak points of the human body. All around the neck, the underarms, and the center of the chest right where the ribcage meets the stomach. Unknown to most fighters, but they are weak spots nonetheless.
Even though Jon was vastly stronger than Dean he gradually started to feel the pain shooting through his body slowing him down. Dean would constantly put all his energy into his fast punches and kicks in order to output his maximum amount of strength.
Slowly but surely Jon's movements started slowing down to the point where he stood in place for a few seconds before falling backwards on the ground.
Billy started clapping, "Bravo!"
Tim and Dean just stared at him.
"What?" he asked.
After Jon pulling himself together and relaxing himself Dean stepped forward, "You all did ok, but it's not enough. Now, I'm going to decide what you're going to learn"
"Why don't we decide for ourselves?" Billy asked.
"Cause our deal is I teach you. You pay me in blood and sweat. And I don't teach you what you want, I teach you what you need." Dean said sternly, "Now what you take from here becomes yours to do with as you wish."
"Sounds fair" Jon said.
"For Jon, I'll teach Boxing and wrestling. Billy I'll teach Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Kick-Boxing. And Tim I'll teach Karate and Judo" Dean said to them, "I'm going to teach you them slowly so you won't be overwhelmed. Now, Billy, give me 1000 sprawls followed by 1000 front kicks" Dean told him.
"But I don't know—"Billy was cut off.
"I'll show you in a minute" Dean told him.
"Jon, come here, I got somethin special for you" He leads him to a hanging chain. He rips a page of paper from a notebook and puts tape on it. "I want you to punch this piece of paper" he attached it to the chain. "Now, your punch has to be perfectly straight and accurate. Use the first two knuckles. Watch" Dean demonstrated by punching the sheet of paper with a fast punch that made a small hole through the middle. "Make a hole in the center of the paper" he replaced the sheet of paper with a new one, "You don't get it done, you don't move on to the next technique. Go" he walked away.
Jon sort of stood there confused as to whether think that this would be too easy or too hard. He positioned himself in front of the paper and punched it. All it did was move. He repeatedly tried.
After Dean showed Billy how to do a sprawl and properly perform a front kick he went over to Tim.
"Alright Tim, let's start with some katas" Dean said.
A few hours later Dean returned from a little lunch break to find his new students practicing hard, some maybe a little too hard. He looked over to Jon who looked extremely frustrated with the exercise Dean gave him, it seemed like he ripped through half the notebook already.
"Hey Tim, Billy, you guys can take a 5 minute break" Dean told them.
Tim and Billy went outside to get some air while Dean approached Jon.
"Having trouble?" Dean asked him.
Jon punched the paper with hatred and ripped it in half by accident, for like the 8th time in a row, "Damn it! Why did you have me do this! It's a stupid exercise!" Jon was obviously frustrated that he couldn't perform the task correctly.
"You're letting your anger get the best of you, that's not the way to fight." Dean told him.
"What's the point?! What's punching a piece of paper going to do for me?" Jon asked.
Dean sighed, "You're really not grasping the concept of this"
"What concept?!" Jon shouted.
"Control" Dean said with a serious tone, "If someone has enough power as you do then you need complete control over it, which is the first step of learning how to fight correctly."
"But I already have control" Jon complained.
"Do you?" Dean asked, "I spent my whole life learning how to control my strength, I can punch a heavy bag right off its chains just as easily as you can, the difference is that I don't let my emptions take control of my power. You on the other hand let your emotions take over, what happened to you?"
"You know what happened to me" Jon said with a mean look.
"No, I don't. We figured out who killed your mother but even though we can't bring him to justice you still did your best to accept that, something else happened that you're not telling me." Dean told him.
"I don't know what you're talking about" Jon played dumb.
"I'll forget about this for now but eventually you'll need to tell us what's going on with you" Dean said, "Your problems aside, it's obvious you're not ready for this technique, I'll just get right to Boxing then."
A week had passed since Dean started teaching his friends different fighting styles, Tim and Billy were doing relatively well, Jon not so much.
He found it difficult to help the angered teen, especially when he wasn't willing to learn anything and he didn't seem to take instructions very well.
All this worrying has been distracting Dean while he was running around the danger room in increased gravity. He accidentally lost focus and tripped, luckily he regained his balance and continued running.
After spending quite a while in the danger room Dean finally emerged drenched in sweat but his facial expression didn't have one of fatigue, but one of concern.
Logan was waiting for him right by the entrance to ask Dean something. Dean had recently stopped wanting to train with his weapons against Logan, something very strange and unlike him, he wondered if he could get an answer from him.
Logan noticed the concerned expression on the youth's face. "Something got ya thinking kid?" Logan asked.
Dean sighed, "It's about my other friends" he said bluntly.
Logan looked skeptical, "You're gonna have to be more specific kid"
Dean cleared his throat, "My half-blood friends"
Oh those, Logan wasn't sure what to think about the little gang Dean had going on on the sidelines, that would be a topic for another day. "What about 'em?" he asked.
"Well, I've taken the role of their teacher of martial arts, and one of them doesn't seem to be progressing much. I'm not sure whether it's me or him that's doing something wrong." Dean said questioning his teaching skills.
"Well tell me the situation then" Logan suggested.
Dean described the last few sessions he had with Jon to Logan.
"Hmm" Logan looked skeptical, "Well you're not doing bad, no not bad at all, in fact you're doing fine. Jon is the one who seems to have the problem."
"So what do I do then?" Dean asked.
"Well you have to be patient with him, try approaching it differently." Logan said.
"I'll keep that in mind" Dean said as he went to change. It was bad enough he had to deal with his own mental problems but now he has to deal with somebody else's, great.
As Dean was changing in his room he stopped after putting on some comfy workout pants to think about what he was going to do with Jon.
'His anger is going to get him killed one day' he thought, 'I have to reach him, or he might jeopardize himself and the rest of us'
As Dean was thinking about his little problem Jean walked in his room without knocking only to find him standing by the window shirtless.
"Looks like I came at the right time" Jean joked.
Dean snapped out of his train of thought, "Huh?" he looked at himself and noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt yet, "Oh shirt, right" he went in his drawer and pulled out a tight grey shirt that highlighted his muscular figure.
"You're not bothered one bit that I caught you getting dressed?" Jean asked.
"Well I normally expect you to knock before you come in but besides that I have nothing to hide" He said as he put his combat boots on while he sat on his bed.
That last part made Jean giggle, "So where are you taking me today?" she asked taking a seat next to him.
Dean looked confused, "Did I miss something?"
Jean folded her arms over her chest and looked upset, "You forgot didn't you?"
Dean thought back and tried to remember what exactly Jean is talking about. Dean suddenly realizes what it is, "I was supposed to take you out on a date today, wow I totally forgot."
"But you don't usually forget things" Jean said.
"Yeah I know" Dean admitted, "Must be all that's going on lately that distracted me"
"What's been going on?" Jean asked curiously.
Dean decides to leave his visions out of it, "Its half-blood stuff, I'm not gonna get into it right now cause I need to go" Dean grabs the rest of his things before laying a brief kiss on Jean's lips, "See ya later"
Jean sighed, how could she stay mad at that boy?
Dean was practicing some wrestling moves with Jon to try and improve his ground game. Jon was trying to use whatever wrestling he learned so far from Dean and use it against him. I didn't seem to go so well as Dean would counter and reverse any grapple Jon got him in, which pissed off Jon a lot.
Dean could see the anger on Jon's face as clear as day.
"Stop" Dean told him.
"What is it now?" Jon complained.
"We need to have a talk before we go any further." Dean said, "I need you to sit down and listen to me very carefully" he sat down.
Jon luckily managed to be rid of his anger for now and sat down a few feet across from him.
"I told you before, an angry mind is a narrow mind. Whenever you're angry you're only thinking about what you can do to somebody. You're not thinking about what can happen to you. Now that's how you lose a fight." Dean spoke very seriously.
"Isn't anger good for fighting?" Jon asked trying to defend himself.
Dean shook his head in denial, "No. It's about emotional content. Not anger." He learned that long ago.
"Doesn't anger make you work harder?" Again Jon tried to defend his case.
"No, it just makes you feel like you're working harder. You're actually burning out your mind. And where your mind goes, your body follows. It's better to make your opponent angry, so you can control the fight." Dean spoke words of wisdom.
"But it's not that easy" Jon pleaded.
"Nothing in life is easy, you're slowly beginning to see that. Everyone has their own flaws to deal with. For example Billy needs to stop being so arrogant, for that is his greatest weakness. The real test for you is to calm your mind." Dean said pointing to his head. "I can help you get rid of your weakness, but only if you let me"
"I…..I don't know" Jon still didn't seem willing to open up to him.
"You'll learn to trust us as time goes on, for now I'll continue teaching you, along with ways to control your anger." Dean included, "You're going to need them"
"Then show me" Jon said.
Dean simply said one word, "Meditate"
"Meditate?" Jon asked.
"Meditate" Dean said again, "Meditation can help you calm your mind, give you better control and with enough practice you will find inner peace. Try and meditate for the rest of the day" he told him.
"I don't know how to meditate" Jon said.
Dean showed him the classic position and how to perform the simple but difficult task.
"I'll see you tomorrow then" Dean went to walk out.
"Wait where are you going?" Jon asked him.
"I got a date with a sexy redhead" Dean said grinning slightly.
