Clay Pinions
By Lochar
Disclaimer: Can be found in previous chapters.
Chapter 3
Vernon spent the next few weeks looking around for a good instructor for Dudley and Harry. He asked his co-workers and the few people he knew outside of work.
Everything he had been told had led him here. The sign simply stated, "The Dojo." Apparently, this was the best place for people to learn several different styles of martial arts. He had actually driven by it several times until both Harry and Dudley had pointed it out to him.
He got out of the car and led the boys into the building. Harry and Dudley both stopped, gazing around at all the people practicing here. The building seemed much larger on the inside than it did on the outside. Vernon actually stopped at this, and then shook his head.
An older gentleman stopped the class and called another student up to finish their instruction, and then walked over. What odd children. Such energy flowing from them. "I am Sensei Uzuki. May I enquire as to what you are here for?"
"I want to enroll these two in your class. They've been playing at Martial Arts for several months now, and if they're this serious about it, I want them to have real instruction. They've already hurt each other enough." Vernon stated.
Uzuki looked over at the two boys. Noticing Dudley's arm in a cast he asked, "And would that include a broken arm?"
Vernon grimaced. "Yes, Harry broke Dudley's arm by blocking him. Incorrectly I'm assuming since it did break."
"I do not take children on as students usually, and especially not children who try to break the bones of their playmates. My lessons are not to be used as ways to hurt." Uzuki looked towards the children.
"Hey! I didn't mean to. I was just blocking like it showed in the book; it said nothing about breaking a bone. It didn't even say it was likely to bruise, like some of the blocks Dudley used sometimes." Harry protested. Both he and Dudley looked mad that the Sensei had thought they were trying to hurt each other.
"Oh really, and what book was this? How to hurt your friends without meaning to?" The Sensei almost laughed at the looks he was receiving from both boys now.
"No. It was a Tai Chi book that we had checked out of the library." This time it was Dudley who put in his two cents.
Tai Chi? That may explain why these two have such interesting auras. "Alright then. Can you show me the block you used against your friend here?" At Harry's look of fear, he shook his head. "Not on him again, just right there. I'd like to see what you did that broke his arm."
Harry breathed a sigh of relief, and took his stance. "Hold on a moment. Where'd you learn that stance?" Uzuki asked.
"From the last book we read. It was a Karate book." He replied.
"Ah, ok. That was not a Tai Chi stance. Continue on." Uzuki nodded.
Harry swung his arm out, elbow bent. At the last moment, his forearm turned and the edge of his arm stopped in midair. "Just like that sir."
His aura didn't change in the slightest. He wasn't adding anything at all to it. Uzuki shook his head. "That was not the block you used Mr. Harry. A punch coming at you from that angle would have hit you long before your block moved it out of the way. Do it again please, and this time the actual block you used on your friend there."
Harry scowled at the Sensei. "Alright."
To Uzuki's eyes, Harry's aura nearly disappeared as Harry got back into his stance. Swinging his arm out again and knifing the air with his forearm, Uzuki saw a weak blade of energy pull itself away from Harry's arm. Most interesting. Although, even that weak it should have nearly pulverized his friend's bone, not just break it.
"I see. And you, can you show me the exact punch you threw at your friend here?" Uzuki motioned to Dudley at this. "I'd like to see how you did it."
At this, Vernon snorted. "Isn't a punch a punch? Just depends on where it hits."
Uzuki shook his head. "No, there are many different ways to punch. The way he did may explain why his arm was broken."
After getting a nod from his father, Dudley took up his own stance.
"Also taken from the same book that Harry found his stance in, correct Dudley?" Uzuki smiled at him as he said this.
Dudley just grinned and nodded. Again to Uzuki's eyes and slight surprise, the aura around Dudley shrank a bit. The glow seemed to envelop Dudley's arm as his arm shot out.
Ahh, that is how. It was force versus force, and Harry's block was a bit stronger than Dudley's punch. "I take it the two of you know the Tai Chi forms?" At the two nods, he continued, "Then please show the first one to me."
Both Harry and Dudley went through the form, while Uzuki watched.
Turning to Vernon, Uzuki smiled. "While I am going to have to go back and correct the errors in their forms," there were two insulted, "Hey!" at this, "I think that they will do fine. They seem to have the basics down enough that they should be able to keep up with the class. Would you like to discuss times and payment?"
Vernon and the boys' new Sensei walked off towards Uzuki's office.
Harry and Dudley stood where they were, watching the class. After a few minutes, the class broke up for a break and a few students came over.
"Hey, is that your Dad in there?" one of them asked.
"It's Dudley's Dad, he is my uncle." Harry replied.
"Ah, ok. Is he signing up? Didn't think he'd know enough of the basics for Sensei Uzuki to allow him into the class."
Dudley shook his head. "Nuh-uh. Me and Harry are going to join."
Several students' eyes widened at that comment. "No way. Who was your teacher before? Sensei Ramsus? Master Sigurd?"
Both boys shook their heads. "No, we learned the moves from library books."
A couple of students shook their heads. "Alright, whatever. I guess your previous teacher didn't want you to tell who taught you. You could have just said that." They turned around and went back to the main floor where the class was reforming. Sensei Uzuki was walking out of his office, with Vernon beside him.
"Alright Dudley, Harry. You two will be coming back for classes three days after you get your cast off, alright? You'll be doing three days a week here, two evenings and one day class. Think you can handle it?"
Dudley nodded excitedly. "Yeah, we can do that." He turned to Harry. "Now I can learn lots and be able to beat you fighting really quickly."
At this, Uzuki frowned. "No Dudley, you won't. First off, you will both be learning so Harry might just as easily be able to beat you. Secondly, you'll have to agree to my rules before you even begin your lessons."
"What are your rules, sir?" Harry questioned.
"First rule: Don't start a fight. That means no verbally or physically starting it. No mean words to other people, no making them angry enough to throw the first punch. No making the first attack either. Understood?"
Harry and Dudley nodded. "Yes sir."
Uzuki shook his head. "No, while you are here, I am Sensei, or Sensei Uzuki. Not sir, and not Mr. Uzuki. Alright? Anyways, second rule: While you cannot start a fight, end it. Quickly, and if possibly, painlessly. Your aim in my classes is not to harm someone else, but self-defense. Disable them however you can. Although, you will occasionally find a person who will not stay down and quit attacking, then you may take whatever means necessary to stop them. Only then. Got it?"
"Yes Sensei Uzuki."
"Third and last rule: My word is law in the building. If you want to argue with me, it's fine to do so, but you will do it in a respectful voice and you will do it calmly and thinking it through. If you don't want to do it that way, there are two choices. Leave my Dojo, or fight me. And I will not hold back." Sensei Uzuki's voice during his last sentence was extremely cold, and neither boy could stop a shudder. And neither disbelieved it.
"Yes Sensei Uzuki." They both repeated.
Their Sensei's manner changed abruptly, and he smiled at them. "Alright then students, I will see you back here Tuesday for your first class."
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The ride back home was filled with a quiet excitement as Harry and Dudley talked about exactly what they were going to get to learn.
"Wonder if we're going to learn to break bricks and stuff just by tapping them?" Dudley whispered.
"That'd be neat. But didja notice how Mr. Uzuki was watching really close when you were doing your punch? I think he was when I showed him my block too." Harry mentioned.
Uncle Vernon broke in at this point. "Sensei Uzuki, Harry. You heard his rules, and I agree with him. You should call him that even when you're not in his class so neither of you messes up."
Harry nodded. "Yes Uncle." He looked back at Dudley. "Alright then, didja notice Sensei Uzuki?"
Dudley thought for a moment, and then agreed. "He was watching you pretty close. He was probably just wanting to see how well we did the moves though."
With a small frown, Harry shook his head. "I dunno. Just seemed like… he was looking for something else. Oh well, guess we're going to find out sometime."
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The next day was Dudley's appointment at the doctor for a checkup on his arm. They took him in for an x-ray, and came out looking puzzled.
"I guess we can take off your cast off today, Dudley. Your arm seems to have healed fully. Strange though... we weren't expecting it for another week or so." The doctor told everyone.
Both Dudley and Harry grinned, and then looked at each other. Dudley looked thoughtful for a minute. "Hey, Harry. You know what three days from now is, right?"
"It's… Tuesday? How did Sensei know that?" Harry whispered.
"Dunno, but we're definitely going to ask. Nicely of course." Dudley replied.
Vernon scowled. Better not be anything freaky going on there.
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That Tuesday, Vernon dropped Dudley and Harry off at the Dojo, wearing the uniforms that Vernon had ordered for them. The uniforms were simple white gi's, complete with a white belt tied at their waists. When they walked in, everyone turned to them and quiet laughs and snickers could be heard near them.
Sensei Uzuki walked up to them and smiled at them before turning to look at the other students. They quieted down and their new Sensei turned to face them again.
"I take it your guardian bought you those uniforms, correct?"
"Yes sir, Sensei Uzuki." Harry answered.
"No 'sir', please Harry. And I guessed this would happen. He didn't seem to take notice of what the students were wearing when he was in here last time."
Both boys looked again at their fellow students. They all wore pants that looked about like theirs, but they were all in dark colors. The shirts were all just grey t-shirts that loosely fit them.
"I took the liberty of acquiring suitable uniforms for you. They are in my office if you wish to change into them." Both nodded and rushed off to change in the office, not wanting to standout in the crowd. As the door closed, they heard the Sensei talk to the other students. "They may be young, but they-"
Quickly changing, they rushed back out onto the Dojo floor.
Sensei Uzuki turned to them and smiled. "Alright you two, join the ranks. Make sure there's about five feet between you and anyone else. This is the general class. You'll develop the basics you know, and branch out a bit into other forms.
"Now class, please begin with the Tai Chi forms." Good-natured groans. "Yes, yes. You all know them. Our two new students know them as well so they say, but I need to watch and correct them. If you finish them twice, you may move into your current skill forms."
The class started going through the forms as Sensei walked past them. Occasionally tapping a shoulder or a leg, moving them into the correct position. Coming up to Harry, he stopped him. "Begin with the first form again. Go slowly, so that I may correct your movements. Dudley, watch so that I won't have to correct the same mistakes in your movements."
Harry began moving, slowly sweeping his arms and legs in the forms that he had read from the book. Sensei Uzuki put a hand out occasionally, stopping a kick from going to high, adjusting a block, or twisting a fist into the correct punch.
After going through the same form several times, Sensei stepped back and nodded. "Good, keep going through just that way while I work with Dudley." Turning to face Dudley, he put him through the same form. There were only a few slight corrections he had to make, as Dudley had been watching carefully.
He repeated this for the second and third form that they both knew, and then motioned for them to continue with those. Turning back to the rest of the class, he worked with them for a while, occasionally going back to Harry and Dudley to work on their next form.
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That evening, after Vernon had taken them home, they sat up and discussed the day.
"It was really fun Daddy. We went through about five or six of the forms from our book, and he corrected what we did wrong. I could actually feel the difference. The punches and kicks and stuff felt a lot more powerful." Dudley was beaming as he spoke.
"And you Harry, how'd you like it?" His Aunt Petunia asked.
"It was fun Aunt Petunia. Thank you both for letting me join the class with Dudley."
Petunia smiled slightly at him, and nodded. "You're welcome."
Vernon didn't say anything about that, but did speak up. "Alright you two, time for bed."
Both nodded and Dudley ran upstairs to his room. Harry headed for his cupboard and opened the door. He was almost toppled by the toys that had been jammed into it from what looked like Dudley's second bedroom. Turning to his guardians, he asked, "Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon?"
Petunia looked at him and gave him a nice smile. The first he had seen from her towards him. "You've got Dudley's second bedroom now. I talked Vernon into it." Vernon just grunted at this. "Go get some rest."
Harry ran up to her and tried to hug her. She stopped him and bent down to his level. "Not right now, and not in front of your Uncle, Harry. He's going to be very touchy about Dudley giving up his room, so don't push him ok?"
Harry nodded, and smiled back to her. "Yes ma'am. Goodnight. Sleep well Uncle Vernon." Harry said as he raced up the stairs to his new bedroom.
A/N: I wasn't about to do the clichéd thing were new young students get ganged up on by older students, even though it would be a snub against canon Dudley. Besides, Uzuki's students are young adults. They're not going to gang up on 7 year olds. Geez, what kind of guy do you think I am?
Beta by Dr. Gero.