After two more years of training in the mountains, Wong decided that it was time to head elsewhere. "You have learned all you are capable of learning here. Now we shall head out to my house in the country to train you further," he explained to his disciple.

Sion was very excited to be moving on to the next level. "All right! I can't wait! Let's get going!"

"Heh heh…Take it easy, kid. We head out tomorrow morning."

The youth woke up before the old man for a change. He was too anxious to sleep that night. Wong was surprised to see him up so early. He found him waiting outside his door with a wide grin on his face. "Time to go?"

The aged man smirked slightly and nodded. "Sure, let's get going."

Wong led Sion to his large mansion in the countryside. It was a humongous estate. The fields surrounding it stretched as far as the eye could see. The martial artist in training gazed around in absolute awe. "This place is amazing! So what are you gonna teach me now?" he asked, eager and impatient to learn more.

"Sion.... you have done much better than I ever thought you would. I am very proud to consider you my student. Now, I want you to fight me. Show me all that you have learned," Wong said seriously.

"Are you sure, Master...?" he asked doubtfully.

"Do as I say, Sion!" he demanded.

The pupil reluctantly charged at his white-haired master. Wong held his arms behind his back in waiting. He threw a right fist toward his stomach, but he easily stepped aside to dodge it. Sion punched with his left, then with his right in a quick motion, but Wong again dodged the boy's attempts. He swept his right leg along the ground in an attempt to trip him up, but the old man effortlessly hopped backwards out of his range. From a crouching position, he leapt forward and aimed a kick at his teacher's head, but he ducked and the youthful apprentice sailed harmlessly overhead. Sion was becoming aggravated. He threw a barrage of furious and haphazard punches at Wong. Every time, the master easily dodged his pupil's attacks.

"Ok, that's enough for now, Sion," Wong said.

He was not fazed at all. He hadn't even broken a sweat and he looked just as he did when they started. Sion, however, was sweating profusely. He was bent over trying to catch his breath. He growled at himself in disgust.

"Do not worry, Sion. I did not expect you to be able to make contact with me. It will come over time with more training. Just remember: never give up, train hard, and one day anything will be possible for you," Wong said encouragingly.

The next day, Sion was practicing in the fields by himself while his sensei was away at Mikado for the day when something caught his attention. He turned to see a teenage girl watching him closely at the gates of the estate with a puzzled look. Sion wiped the sweat from his forehead and ran over to where she stood. She smiled as he approached her. "What're you doing?" she asked curiously.

"Can't you tell? I'm training!" Sion exclaimed proudly, running his hands through his drenched hair.

"Looks like a lot of fun," the girl said.

"No one's stopping you from doing it."

"I get sick real easy, so..." she informed him.

Sion paused for a moment and examined her intently. She had long hair as dark as the night sky, which flowed down her back. She had dark brown eyes, which were consistently in motion, looking over him as well. "...What's your name?" he asked.

"Kaldea," she said. "...And what's your name?"

"Me? I'm Sion," he introduced.

"Nice to meet you, Sion," she said with a sweet smile.

In the months that followed, Sion and Kaldea formed a great and true friendship. She often came to watch him train with Wong. She was very entertained and watched him develop slowly into a great warrior. She wanted to cheer him on, but knew she had to be silent since they needed to concentrate.

At the end of one day, Wong allowed Sion to go eat dinner with Kaldea and her parents. She led him to her house, and both of them were very thrilled at the opportunity to spend more time together. Her house was large, but not nearly as big as Wong's estate in the countryside. It was a quaint brick house with plenty of land surrounding it. She opened the door and looked around. Nobody was in sight. "Mom! Dad! I'm home!" she called out.

Her parents had been in the kitchen, preparing dinner, and came into the living room to greet her. They were pleasantly surprised to see Sion with her.

"You must be Sion. Kaldea's told me so much about you," her mother said with a bright smile.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Sion," her father said and extended his hand, which the young boy shook.

Her mother had the same hair and eyes as Kaldea. She was wearing a full-length skirt and dressed very modestly. Her father had bright red hair and hazel eyes. He was a well-dressed man and it was obvious they were very well off.

Things went well at dinner that night. Sion was very polite toward everybody. When he was finished and had to return home, they invited him to come back another time. Wong gladly agreed to allow him to eat with them whenever he pleased, since he had also gotten to know Kaldea and knew he could trust her.

In the next four years, Sion and Kaldea's relationship became more serious. She loved to watch his seriousness in training and his caring attitude toward her and her family. He loved being with her, no matter what the circumstances. He also loved her beautiful smile and optimistic attitude. Each day they spent with each other was more pleasant than the previous. They were slowly falling in love with each other.

One day, Sion was training with Wong and he noticed Kaldea wasn't there. He didn't let it distract or disturb him though. He fought powerfully against his master and made an impressive breakthrough. Sion jumped and kicked at his head, but he ducked. His training was going extremely well, and Wong had to actually put some effort into avoiding his attacks. Then he ducked and kicked both of his feet into the air while balancing and holding himself upright with his hands. The white-haired man lowered his head to evade the attack. Sion recovered quickly and threw a right fist while his master was still regaining his composure from the last attempt. Caught by surprise, Wong was forced to lift his hand to block his fist. They were both equally surprised. There was a brief moment of silence while they both stood still before the instructor finally spoke.

"That was outstanding, Sion. You're maturing in the ways of the warrior, and you've finally made me use one of my hands," he congratulated. He paused before continuing. "However... it'll take you a lifetime to get me to use both hands."

Sion smiled as he noticed his master smiling slyly through his beard. "I'm so excited! I've gotta go tell Kaldea!" He ran off before Wong was able to stop him.

"That boy will never lose his energy," he muttered to himself as he shook his head.

Kaldea was awakened from a nap with a fast, continuous knock on her door. Slowly, she opened her eyes and stumbled over to the door. When she opened the door, she saw Sion smiling proudly and beaming. "Where were you today?!" he asked frantically.

"What? Did I miss something?"

"I finally made my master use one of his hands!" he exclaimed.

"Wow! You finally did it!" she said with a bright smile.

"Yeah, but that geezer said it'd take me a lifetime to make him use both of his hands," Sion told her.

"You two really get along, don't you?"

"Kaldea, your parents are always kind and caring to you, too," Sion said.

"I've never been scolded my whole life. I don't know if you call that caring..." she said, pausing momentarily while she looked at the floor. "Oh! Sorry, come on in, Sion!"