Chapter 3 : Young Dragons
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Still with his back on the chalky ground, he grumbled. "Well, I am not the one to be ordered around by a whiny child. I guess….Your Highness?" The blue-haired grinned, mocking at the still reddish eyes of the other boy.
"I am not a child. I am thirteenth. And you should—" Before the other boy could finish his sentence, his fencing saber was ripped from his grip and flew away, piercing a rock nearby and stayed there. Astonished, the blond boy watched the older boy sat up. Then he said carefully, "You can name your price for a daily private lessons during this season."
The blue-haired boy clicked his tongue in mockery. "What all these rich people know. Tell you what, your money has no value for me. And that's your free private lesson for this season. Now, take your saber and get lost, boy!" He casually stood up, brushing up his training clothes, then walked uphill to sit under the nearest Cypress tree. There, he dug up behind the bushes and took out a bundle of cloth. Inside was his lunch and some fresh bandage clothes.
The blond boy insistently followed the blue-haired. "I should be allowed in my family's property."
The blue-haired frowned. "No one owns the caves and the beach." He unpacked the lunch and changed his hand bandage into the fresh one.
"Until his very tree, my family does." The blond boy extended his hand. "I am Richard Walden."
The blue-haired snorted, leaving the hand hanging in the air. Foreigners. He continued to bite his lunch. "Hello, mushy lord."
Richard ignored the gibe. "Not yet. The title is my father's. Just Richard would be fine." He put his hand into his pocket, and came back with some notes and a gold pendant. "These also have no value for me compared to being able to do what you just did. I believe you would find the value of these later on." The Walden boy swallowed hard. "Please."
The blue-haired stopped eating and cocked his head, judging the sincerity in Richard's plea. "Why don't you ask your lord father to send you into those exclusive martial-arts classes?"
"That would be my precise problem." Spontaneously, Richard touched his swollen right-cheek. "He does not agree to anything else except economy and governmental studies, at least lately." He paused. "But I just feel different. And there is nothing else I really want other than—" He was cut by the loud growls from his stomach.
The blue-haired boy laughed out loud, nearly rolled his body.
Richard frowned, but his other cheek was also getting red. "I have not got any breakfast today." He realized that his mouth was watery while observing the blue-haired eating his lunch. "I mean, I think you can teach me more than any other boring instructors I have met so far."
The blue-haired grinned. He put aside some of his uneaten lunch and offered it. "There you go." He did notice the swollen cheek and that was why he decided to accept the contact rather than turned his back on the rich boy. Birds of the same feather flock together. And so he just met another rebel like him, although from a different class.
Richard took the food eagerly. "Heavens, thank you….er...?"
"Kanon." The blue-haired boy shrugged, finishing his meal. "Normally, I don't like beating ordinary little boys. But if you really think it's cool to take a blow, I could show you one or two standard fighting moves."
"Excellent." Richard mumbled with full mouth. He was too excited to remember the table manner.
"How much did you see me?"
"I just arrived here, only enough to see you in a kind of fighting position and then almost blew up the cave. What is that technique, Kanon?"
"It's a, uh, kind of martial Chi Kung." Kanon smirked. "I think Shion said something about it in relation to an old Roshi."
"The chinese technique for internal power? I do have interest in such power."
"Uhm. It's not for everyone, though. I cannot guarantee you will achieve it with only the few moves I'll show you."
"If you let me watch you, I will be able to unravel the secret."
"Heh! So confident aren't you, lord-boy? But first, I want you to put those money into something with real value."
"Eh?"
"Get me some ice cream. From the Aggeliki one, they have a new flavor on sale. I saw it on their display window since yesterday, but was too expensive. Now I have a good reason to get one."
"Ice cream, now, really?"
"Look, Richard boy. I am eighteen. So I am the adult here who knows what's best for our training session. Now, get going, fast. And don't forget that double dark chocolate topping!"
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