Marlene sat down with her Mother at the dinner table. "This training seems kind of rough... But it's the best chance I got at winning the Tournament." Marlene said. "Normally I'd say You better go through with it because of how much money it was, but keep Your safety in mind Mar. Don't get Yourself hurt." Marlene's Mom responded. "Alright. I guess I should go get some sleep if I'm gonna get up early enough for training." Marlene said, heading to her room.
Marlene slept well and woke up nice and early. She got dressed in her Gi and headed down to the Temple to resume her usual training routine. However, Master Shi had someone else with him this time. A tall man wearing a Gi similar to Marlene's. "Marlene, I would like You to meet My Student Lei." Master Shi said. "Nice to meet You Lei!" Marlene said, putting her hand out for a handshake. "I'm only here to train You." Lei said, slapping Marlene's hand away. "Okay then... What's todays lesson Master Shi?" Marlene asked. "I want to see how strong You are truly before I teach You anything else, so I brought my student here to fight You." Master Shi said. "Wasn't our fight enough Master Shi?" Marlene asked. "No. Unfortunately not." Master Shi responded. Lei stepped up to Marlene. "Are You afraid to fight Me or something?" Lei asked. Marlene backed up. "Not at all, big guy, just don't want to do anything unnecessary." Marlene responded.
"Lei! Take Your stance." Master Shi commanded. Lei held his right hand forward, aiming his palm at Marlene, and held his other hand behind his back. "Good. Now, Marlene! Take Your stance." Master Shi commanded. Marlene put her fists up in a strange boxing-type stance that made it painfully obvious that She was nowhere near being a pro-fighter. "Now... Begin the match!" Master Shi shouted, marking the start of the spar. Marlene ran straight in and punched Lei in the chest, however the punch didn't actually land as Lei caught the punch and redirected it right back into her own face. "Okay, pretty smart." Marlene remarked, doing her best to ignore all pain. Lei slammed his fist into Marlene's gut before She could even react to his hand moving, nearly launching her upward and forcing her onto the ground. "You lack Speed, Strength, Strategy and possibly even basic intelligence. Why I was chosen to fight You is beyond Me." Lei said, kicking Marlene away from himself.
Marlene forced herself to stand up, the pain She felt in her gut was impossible to ignore but She was still willing to fight through it. "You sure think highly of Yourself, huh?" Marlene remarked, as She punched Lei in the neck. Lei once again however gripped Marlene's fist before the punch could land, but this time Marlene had a plan. Marlene launched her knee upward into Lei's lower stomach, sending him backward. Lei responded to the attack by slamming his fist into Marlene's chest, near her neck, putting her on the ground quickly. "You don't even deserve to be in the same ring as Me." Lei said, putting his foot on Marlene's stomach. "That is enough. It is clear that I have much to teach Miss Krueger." Master Shi said, interrupting and ending the fight. Marlene sat up and held her hand on her chest where She was struck. "I could've kept going You know..." Marlene said, a bit annoyed that the fight ended so early.
Master Shi sent Lei away from the ring and helped Marlene get back on her feet. "Miss, it is going to take a lot of work to make You durable." Master Shi said, being straight forward. "Hey! I could've kept going like I said. If You wouldn't have ended it so early I'm sure I could've turned things around." Marlene said. "Lei had his foot on You, holding You down to the ground. What could You have possibly done?" Master Shi asked. "I could have knocked him off and held him down." Marlene said with confidence. "I'm sorry but that simply wouldn't have been possible. He is far more skilled than You Marlene, and would have undoubtedly won this fight." Master Shi responded. "Then what was the point of having Me fight him in the first place?" Marlene asked, a bit angry. "To see what I need to teach You. This fight wasn't a battle for You to Win or Lose, it was for You to show Me Your flaws." Master Shi responded.
Marlene sighed and looked down at the ground. She thought about her own fighting style and combat capability, and tried to figure out what more She could have done to actually win the fight She was in. "You lack defense and have only a small understanding of battle strategy." Master Shi said, almost as if He read Marlene's mind. "Let us begin working on Your flaws to ensure You can be the fighter You want to be." Master Shi said. Marlene nodded. "What should We work on first, Master Shi?" Marlene asked. "Firstly... You need to learn how to evade an attack. Evading attacks will be key in many battles, especially in Your case as it seems You have trouble taking physical punishment." Master Shi explained. "Hold on... In our previous lessons You said that Ki is useless to the Shinsei Style, then You said that it is important for Me to learn Ki. Then You started teaching Me all of this... This all seems pretty suspicious Master Shi." Marlene said, having just realized how strange the teachings were last second.
"I like to shift around my teachings based on what I see. At first I thought You would be a fit for Shinsei Style, then I changed my mind. I am never vocal when I change lessons, as it causes doubt and makes the training far more complicated than it already is. Now may I move on to our next lesson?" Master Shi asked. "Of course. Sorry if I came off disrespectful." Marlene responded. Master Shi took up a strange stance with his hands in front of his stomach, making a square shape with his fingers. "I want You to do Your absolute best to evade this attack." Master Shi instructed. Marlene watched Master Shi carefully, trying to figure out how He was going to attack. Master Shi slammed his head directly into Marlene's gut, knocking her backward. Marlene grabbed her stomach in pain. "How the hell was I supposed to predict that?!" Marlene yelled. "You need to watch my movements, not just my stance." Master Shi explained. Marlene fought through the pain and got back into a stance.
Master Shi launched a kick at Marlene's shin, however Marlene countered the kick by catching it and forcing Master Shi's leg back. "Good counter. However this lesson is about Evasion, You can't always rely on counters." Master Shi stated. Master Shi then sweeped Marlene's legs, however Marlene hopped over the sweep and kicked Master Shi onto the ground. "Good. You still have a ways to go, but You seem to be learning fast." Master Shi commented. "Thank You Master Shi. Shall We continue?" Marlene asked. Master Shi nodded and took another stance. Marlene watched Master Shi very carefully and tried to read his every movement. Master Shi dashed forward at Marlene, elbowing her in the stomach. However, Marlene was actually able to see this coming, and evaded the elbow by sweeping his legs. "A Counter-Evasion? Impressive." Master Shi said, getting back up. "I think I have this down. Can We get on to the next lesson?" Marlene asked.
"It is definitely early to be rushing into a new lesson. However... If You can defeat Lei by using Your newfound knowledge of evasion, then I suppose I can start a new lesson with You." Master Shi responded, willing to slightly compromise with Marlene. "I'll... Face Lei after a bit more evasive training." Marlene said, not overly confident in her evasion skills yet. Marlene spent a few hours repeating a cycle of predicting Master Shi's movements and evading his attacks until She finally felt like She was prepared to take down Lei. "Alright, bring out Lei. I'm sure I can take him down this time." Marlene said, far more confident than before. Master Shi went into the temple and brought Lei out to the circle Marlene had been training in. "I heard that You wish to face Me again. I look forward to putting You on the ground again." Lei said, surprised that Marlene even continued her training. "Each of You... Take Your stance." Master Shi instructed.
Lei took the same stance He did in their first encounter, as did Marlene. "Begin." Master Shi said, marking the start of the rematch. Marlene ran toward Lei, trying her best to read Lei's movements. Lei slammed his fist into Marlene's gut, or at least He would have if Marlene didn't slide under the attack and between Lei's legs. Marlene sweeped Lei's legs from behind and jumped onto his back once He fell over. With Lei at her mercy, Marlene grabbed his wrists and held his hands behind his back. "Ready to give in Lei?" Marlene asked. Lei responded by sending his foot into the back of her head, knocking her off. Lei quickly recovered and dusted himself off. "You have definitely improved, but You are not superior to Me... I will allow You to take this as a victory but We will fight in the future." Lei stated, surrendering. Master Shi approached Marlene and looked her over. "You do not need anymore lessons for what You are trying to do. This marks the end of Your training." Master Shi said.
"Eh? No way. I gotta learn way more before I step into that tournament!" Marlene said. Master Shi shook his head. "It isn't a Martial Arts Tournament. You have the skill to win, as far as I'm concerned." Master Shi said, walking away. Marlene looked down at the ground and made her way back to her Mom's House, disappointed in the training She received but still grateful She got any at all.