Chapter 3: The Power of Ki
Last time Jason had finally encountered Kai and was accepted to be his student. After Following Kai to his home, he met with his fellow student Evan and after two hard trials of strength, both have passed into the real training under Kai while getting past Evan's hatred for Faunus. Who is the man that Kai talked to, and what has he foreseen? Find out now!
Jason let a short breath as he leaned back against a wall watching the sunset. A year has passed since he and Evan began their training with Kai, and since then, he could feel himself getting stronger every day.
Kai's training has been a brutal one to deal with. Every day they would have to spar more and more shadows in the pit while having to descend and climb the mountain. Thankfully now he had his aura unlocked. At first, it had been hard, but as the days past on, he found it to be easier each time soon he and Evan could go up and down the mountain in an hour.
Nowadays, Kai was teaching him and Evan how to sense the life energy to be able to fight with their eyes closed. Jason could now tell precisely where shadows were even if blindfolded and how Evan is fairing against them.
Since the first couple of days of training, Jason and Evan had grown closer quickly become best friends as well as rivals. Evan had learned to trust Jason even though he was a Faunus to the point that he told Jason why he had such a distrust for them.
"a couple of years ago, my parents worked as guards for the Schnee Dust Company guarding their Mistral division." Evan began to explain.
"They were good at their job and never bothered anyone that didn't deserve it. But one day, The White Fang attacked the building they were guarding in protest of the poor conditions, and they showed no mercy. They killed my parents and several others that day." Evan continued. Jason could hear the hatred in his voice.
"When I heard about their deaths, it sparked the hatred I had for Faunus and especially the White Fang. It made me feel weak, so that's why I looked to find Kai, for I heard that he could make you strong. Even though only a few had done me wrong, I judged them all for it. I'm glad I met you because you made me realize my ignorance though I still can't say that I don't hate the White Fang." Evan finished a saddened look now on his face.
"Yeah, I don't think I could blame you. If I was in your situation, I would probably think the same way. Personally, I never liked the White Fang as they are now. I remember when I was growing up back home with my mom, she always told me to treat everyone the same and not to follow in the footsteps of the White Fang." Jason replied.
"You never really talk about your mom, why is that?" Asked Evan.
"Well, she died a couple of months ago. In fact, the whole reason I came looking for Kai was the fact that she was once his student as well and that I wanted to become stronger." Jason answered.
"I'm sorry to hear about that. Was your mother strong? She must have been if she managed to train under Kai?" Asked Evan.
"Yeah, she was though I did surpass her in strength, she always surpassed me when it came to technique and strategy. I remember my favorite thing to do with her besides training was hearing the stories of her many huntress missions." Jason began.
"My all-time favorite is when she went on a mission near a small village on the coast where she had to fight a sea serpent Grimm. She had a hard time at first, but she managed to lure it near some cliffs where she caused a landslide to crush it to death!" Jason told with passion, recalling some of his mother's many adventures.
"That is awesome. Your mom is pretty cool!" Evan replied.
"Yeah, she really was. She always defended my hometown and is where she would spend most of her time when not on missions, she was like a hero." Jason said, looking into the distance.
Jason then felt a bit saddened at the thought of his mother. Today marked the one-year anniversary of her death, which made him feel down. However, he knew his mom would be happy that he moved on and was making friends. His thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of Kai's fast movements next to him.
"You know I finally think I am used to that trick now," Jason claimed.
"Whatever come with me, maggot, there is someone who wants to talk to you," Kai ordered.
"Okay, what about Evan?" Asked Jason.
"He will be there too now, stop asking questions, and follow me." Ordered Kai. Jason followed Kai to the courtyard, where he suddenly stopped.
"Is this where we're meeting this person cause I don-" Before Jason could finish his sentence, his vision blurred as he felt himself being moved at high speeds.
"Kay, we're here maggots," Kai said. Jason was confused at what just happened and even more so when he saw Evan was here too, right next to him.
"Wait, when did you get here?" Evan asked.
"I was going to ask you the same question!" Replied Jason.
"What did I tell you two, no more questions," Kai said sternly, causing both boys to stop talking.
However, this made Jason confused because he said he told both of them when only Jason was brought here by Kai. They slowly were brought into a big room that was lit up with purple flames.
"Whoa talk about ominous and creepy," Evan commented. As they stopped, both noticed a man in a cloak standing in the center of the room. His hood was down, revealing his face. He had short gray hair and a small mustache.
"Hello Jason and Evan, welcome, my name is Mura, and I am Kai's master." The now named Mura introduced himself.
"Bitch you wish," Kai said.
"Kai, not now, please. I am sure that you two have many questions, and I will answer them in due time. However, the reason I asked Kai to bring you here is that I can offer you both power." Mura began.
"Power, what do you mean, sir?" Asked Jason.
"You see the both of you have gone as far as Kai's training can take you. If you continue, it will not benefit either of you." Mura began.
"The fact is that Kai's training is meant to prepare students like you for me to train. If you wish, I shall train you to become even stronger and be able to fight any opponent." Mura answered.
Jason could not believe what he was hearing. This sounded insane that the entire time he and Evan spent training with Kai, it was just to prepare for this.
"I wonder if mom got this far. Even though Kai said she did not complete, she must have known, right?" Jason thought.
"You are correct, Jason, your mother, did make it this far. However, she declined my offer and chose to instead enroll in Beacon academy to complete her training there, which caused Kai to say she failed cause he's salty," Mura said, making Jason jump back.
"Wait a minute did you just read my thoughts?!" Jason questioned, startled at the fact that Mura had seemingly read his thoughts.
"In a sense, I just looked within your heart and saw what you were thinking. It is a straightforward trick once you have mastered the powers that I offer you." Replied Mura.
"Whoa, these powers are sounding better by the minute." Jason thought.
"So, what exactly are the powers you are talking about?" Asked Evan.
"Yes, I should explain further." Said Mura.
"You see, the power I offer you is this," Mura said as he held his left hand out, creating an orb of energy.
"This is Ki, the power of life energy that lies within all of us, while most people know of aura, this is a step further more potent and powerful energy in a sense as both are types of life energy," Mura explained. Both the boy's eyes widened in astonishment seeing the power in front of them.
"However, there is a catch to learning this power." Mura continued on, explaining turning off the energy in his hand.
"You're probably wondering why most people don't use this power even though it's more potent than aura that is because there was once a time when everyone used to be able to wield this power." Mura further explained
"But you see, when you use this power, you can never gain a semblance, and those who have semblances will lose that power if they chose to use Ki, you technically won't have a shield around you either though you won't necessarily need that," Mura added.
"When the first person discovered semblances the ease of acquiring the power tempted more and more to find their own instead of learning Ki, making the knowledge of it lost to time." Mura finished.
"Amazing, but why does learning Ki prevent us from getting a semblance?" Asked Jason.
"That is because when you use Ki, it is the act of pulling in energy to within one's self and focusing it out. If you use aura, you have a constant stream of energy that is used continually opens a sort of window to the soul, which manifests as one's semblance." Mura began.
"So, in short, the reason Ki training causes a loss of semblance is that it closes that window to the soul, or better yet the power of Ki eclipses aura making basically nulling it out as your body harnesses any energy it takes in," Mura explained.
All this information cause Jason's head spin, but soon he managed to understand it fully. After hearing of a power that is superior to aura, the loss of a semblance sounds like a fair trade.
"I have decided I wish to take the Ki training, sir." Said Jason, whose voice was full of determination.
"If he's doing it, then so am I, I am not gonna fall behind because I wanted a semblance." Said Evan.
"I am glad that you decided to stay. You have now officially completed Kai's training and now will start mine. From now on, I am your master, and you will address me as such." Mura said.
"Yes, Master!" both of the boys said with excitement.
Three months have passed since Jason's Ki training began, and it proved to be very difficult. Both Jason and Evan struggled to bring out any Ki. While they weren't training with Ki, they were increasing their strength with Kai's training, this time with weights.
(AN I know a typical Saiyan would get it easier I just wanted to keep Jason like this so he doesn't get it first try like Goku though later on, he will be showing that Saiyan talent)
One day Jason and Evan were sent to a nearby town to get supplies where they encountered some trouble. Jason had gotten all the food supplies they needed and put it all in a bag on his back the weight giving him more training while Evan got everything else and did the same. On the way back, they were interrupted when a small explosion came from a nearby building.
"What the hell was that?!" Evan asked.
"I don't know, but we should check it out in case anyone is hurt," Jason suggested.
"Right." Evan agreed. Both boys started to run towards the building when suddenly, a man came bursting out with what looks like several injuries. Before either Jason or Evan could reach him, he was tackled by a Faunus wearing a Grimm mask.
"The…The White Fang!" Evan said, stuttering at the sight of the White Fang Member. As both, the boys arrived at the went in front of the member to confront him.
"What are you doing to him?!" Jason demanded. The White Fang member then looked up from the man beneath him and frowned at the sight of two boys confronting him.
"It's none of your business brats now get lost!" He demanded.
Soon eleven other members of the White Fang came out of the building and surrounded them. Jason took notice of two in particular who seemed to be about a year older as him. One was a girl with black hair and cat ears. The other was a boy with red highlighted hair and horns.
"What's the hold-up? Just kill him already." Ordered one of the members causing the girl to look away as if thinking that it wasn't entirely right.
The White Fang member then took out a knife and thrust it towards the man's neck, but before he could reach a hand came out and grabbed his arm, preventing it from connecting.
"What the hell, let go, kid!" The member yelled as he struggled to move his arm from Jason's firm grip.
"Not a chance I am not going to stand by and let you kill this man!" Jason declared. Another White Fang member was about to attack Jason but was thwarted by Evan blocking him.
"If you want to get to him, you have to get through me," Evan said.
The White Fang members that surrounded the two were in shock that the two boys were able to stop two of their members so easily. Suddenly the boy from earlier stepped forward saying
"What are you doing? This man has abused several Faunus that worked for him. He deserves what he's getting!" He then turned to look directly at Jason to say,
"You should understand you're a faunus just like us." Jason looked the boy directly in the eyes, or where his eyes would be behind the mask.
"No, it doesn't matter what this man did, even though he is a bad person, he should face justice. If you kill him, then you're no better than he is!" Jason yelled.
He was disgusted by the fact that someone around the same age as he wanted to kill a man. As he said this, the girl seemed to look at him in shock.
"Figures someone who associates with a human would say that!" the boy shot back.
"Hey, screw you, dick!" Evan yelled, glaring at the other boy.
"If you don't move, we will make you. There are more of us than there are of you." declared a White Fang member.
"Just try it. I guarantee it won't go well for you." Jason warned, causing several to look at him and laugh.
"You two are just kids, what are you going to do!" Another member insulted.
"This!" Jason yelled as he kneed the White Fang member he had in his grip in the gut knocking him out, then he charged at the other members taking them out with one punch or kick.
Evan started doing the same until every White Fang member was on the ground in pain except for the boy and the girl. Both seemed to be shocked by the raw power Jason and Evan exhibited by easily taking out the majority of the group.
"You may win today, but if we ever meet again, you won't be so lucky!" The boy claimed turning around and running with the girl following suit. As they disappeared, the man who was attacked got up and smiled.
"Thank you very much for saving me. I-" before he could finish, Jason's fist hit him in the gut knocking the air out of him.
"You're not out of the woods yet, pal, you still have to answer for what you did when the authorities get here," Jason said with Evan silently agreeing behind him.
When the authorities arrived, it came in the form of three huntsmen and a few local guards who quickly apprehended the White Fang members and the man to answer for what they did. When that was said and done, both Jason and Evan left without saying another word. Soon they got back to the top of the mountain as the sunset in the distance with Kai and Mura approaching them.
"Where have you maggots been? Its been hours?!" Asked Kai, whose voice held the tone of annoyance.
"We ran into some White Fang members attacking a man, so we stopped them before they could kill him," Evan explained.
"It seems the White Fang are becoming more and more violent these days. Oh well, for now, let's eat and continue your training." Said Mura.
After dinner, nighttime had come, but even so, Jason and Evan's training continued. Jason still struggled to bring out any Ki. While he can start to feel Ki in his body, he can't quite seem to bring it out. The Saiyan tried as hard as he could, but each time barely a spark even came from his hands. Evan was having the same trouble. However, it seems he was struggling more than Jason.
"Remember, just relax and keep focus of your energy. Otherwise, you won't be able to bring out any Ki." Advised Mura. Jason kept his words in mind but still could not bring out any Ki. No matter how hard he tried, he kept trying to force the Ki out but came out empty-handed every time.
He knew he was told to relax, but he couldn't. He was annoyed that nothing he did was working and that he could not bring out any Ki. Mura's voice kept repeating in his head, thinking about what he could mean.
"Maybe I should stop trying to force it and just calm down and gently push out energy slowly." Jason thought. As he put his thoughts into action, he could feel the gentle touch of Ki slowly increasing in his hands. During this, he kept his eyes closed as to not lose his concentration.
"Whoa, how are you doing that?!" Questioned Evan. Jason opened his eyes, confused at what he was talking about, only to see a big ball of light in his hands. Everyone's eyes were wide in astonishment seeing the big ball of light that Jason conjured in his hands.
"Hey, that was easy. How was I struggling so much." Jason said as he tossed the ball up and down.
"Impossible no one has he gotten a hold of Ki this quickly and to bring out so much, it was only a minute ago that he was struggling, but now he is holding it as if he could do it his whole life! He must have a natural talent for using Ki." Mura thought.
"But how I still can't do that?!" Evan asked. "It's actually pretty easy. Just don't force it. Release it slowly and calmly, and it comes out." Jason explained.
Evan did what Jason advised him to do, and he could feel it working when he opened his eyes, he deadpanned, seeing a small spark of light in his hands. Compared to Jason's ball of Ki, his was nothing.
"Oh come on, what the hell, why is mine so small?!" Evan complained.
"Don't worry, the more you practice bringing out and using Ki, the more you can use and bring out," Mura explained, calming Evan down.
"If that is true, then why can I bring out so much Master?" Asked Jason.
"Well, it seems you have a natural talent for using Ki. To be honest, I have never seen anyone pick it up so fast and bring out so much in such a short time. In fact, it took me a whole year before I could bring out that much energy." Answered Mura.
"Both of you have made great strides. In fact, you both can bring out Ki much earlier than I expected tomorrow we begin on how to use Ki." Said Mura.
Elsewhere that very same night, the two White Fang members that earlier escaped Jason and Evan had been hiding out in a cave until the coast was clear. "What the hell was that! Two kids, two kids, took out the whole group of ten highly trained members of the White Fang like it was nothing! And we could do nothing!" Growled the boy from earlier.
"Adam, calm down. There was nothing we could do. You saw them. They completely outclassed us." claimed the girl the now named Adam.
"Oh come on, Blake, it was more than that. They were no ordinary kids. Whatever training they had, it made them strong! Whatever they did, we need too, we need to train we are clearly too weak to take on those people or actual huntsman, if we want to make the humans respect us, we need to become strong." Explained Adam.
"Yeah, but what that faunus boy said maybe, maybe he had a point. What if what we're doing is wrong?" Questioned Blake.
"What?! You can't be serious, Blake. He was just some sheltered kid who has never experienced what we have been through. If he ever experienced half of the things we went through, then he would agree with the White Fang with us!" convinced Adam.
"Don't let what he said get to you. He doesn't know anything. Trust me, if you stick with me, then everything will be alright." Said Adam.
"You're right, sorry I just doubted myself, thanks, Adam." Thanked Blake.
"No problem. Now I think the coast is clear. Let's head back to base." Suggested Adam.
"Right behind you." Blake Replied.
Two years have passed since that day, and Jason and Evan's strength and mastery of Ki has grown immensely. The boys, now fifteen years old, have become incredibly strong. However, while Evan has grown to a tall five foot eight, Jason had not grown an inch since he was twelve.
"This is unfair. Why am I still so small? I have been eating good and exercising obviously ever day." Complained Jason.
"Guess it's the trade-off for your talent with Ki." Teased Evan. Jason then put Evan in a headlock bringing him to the ground.
"Well, I can still do this, so I guess it's not too bad." Jason boasted.
"Oh, come on. It was just a joke, let go." Evan said. Mura deadpanned as he looked at the two, they might have grown physically, well some more than others, but they still acted like kids.
"Well, if you're done messing around, it's time for lunch. Let's go," Mura said.
"Yeah, right behind you, Master," Jason replied as he released Evan from his grasp. As the boys reached the dining hall, Kai had finished setting up the meal.
"About time maggots, what took you so long?" Kai asked.
"Do you still need to call us maggots Kai? I mean, we completed your training years ago. I think you can call us our names now." Evan complained.
"Bitch you questioning me?!" Snarked Kai right back.
"No, sir, sorry!" Evan apologized fast, still very frightened of Kai.
It seems like yesterday when Evan accidentally question one of Kai's ordered, causing Kai to kick him so hard that he flew off the top of the mountain straight to the bottom. Jason shivered at the thought. The fact that it could happen to him scared him. After lunch, Mura had told the two to come to the courtyard for training.
"So, what's the training today, Master? Are we going to continue Ki exercises, or are we going to continue making some Ki attacks?" Asked Jason.
"Actually, today, you will practice using Ki in actual combat," Mura answered. "So, Jason and I are going to spar. That sounds like fun." Evan smiled.
"Yeah, it's been a while since we last sparred." Jason agreed.
"Well, sadly, that won't be happening. Instead, the two of you are going to be fighting some old enemies that are at your level." Mura explained.
"Huh? What are you talk-" before Evan could finish, Mura pulled an all to a familiar lever and dropped the two boys into the pit.
"Oh, come on again!" Evan yelled as he and Jason fell down. Kai stood next to Mura as they watched the boys fall.
"See, I told you it as fun." Said Kai.
"Yeah, you're right. It was, but I don't think they feel the same way." Replied Mura.
"Man, I thought we were done with that," Jason said.
"Your telling me. I forgot how much I hated that." Complained Evan. As they got up, they looked around to see that the room had changed quite a bit since they last been there.
The room size-wise was about the same, but no longer was it an intersection bridge but just a solid floor. "So, if what I think is going to happen, we can no longer defeat the shadows by throwing them off the edge." Jason pointed out.
As if on Que, ten shadows appeared from the darkness and began to run towards the two. "Well, we don't need to throw them off anymore. We are a lot stronger now then we were then." Evan grinned as he attacked the nearest shadow.
Jason charged at three shadows, quickly attacking all three with a barrage of kicks and punches to fast for the eyes to see. However, the shadows just shrugged off the attacks and started to attack Jason.
Jason easily dodged the attacks countering with his own, but it seems that his attacks were doing a thing. Suddenly Jason's eyes widened, sensing an incoming attack from behind, barely dodging it in time.
Jason flipped backward, moving away from the shadows charging a Ki blast in his hand. Once fully charged, he shot it at the nearest shadow blowing a massive hole in its stomach. However, it slowly began to reform.
"So, Ki is a weakness of theirs. That means if I shoot them enough, they should disappear." Jason thought.
"Evan, they can't take Ki blasts. If we hit them with enough energy, they should disappear for good." Jason told his friend.
"Got it, thanks." Replied Evan.
Jason continued to back up, keeping a fair bit of distance between him and the shadows to charge up a Ki blast of larger proportions. When he had enough, he charged at the nearest shadow.
"Okay, then feel this! BUSTER FLARE!" Jason yelled as a large Ki beam came from his hand, blasting through the shadow, defeating it.
He slowly turned, using the blast to hit other shadows taking out two more before it stopped. "That's three-two to go." Said Jason before he sensed how Evan was doing without taking his eyes off the enemy.
Evan began to charge Ki in both of his hands while dodging the shadows attacks, he still could not charge Ki as fast as Jason, but he could always bring out the same amount of power. When he was fully charged, he held out his hands shooting two blasts
"TWIN BULLET!" Evan shouted, shooting two blasts of energy from his hands, blowing away two shadows.
"Nice seems like he has things under control." Jason thought.
Jason reengaging the last two shadows. He had to charge more Ki. He slammed his Ki charged fist into the first shadows face defeating it then attacking the second one only for it to dodge. Soon Jason's eyes widened, seeing the shadow charging a blast of its own.
Jason ducked down, barely dodging the blast that the shadow shot at him, then converting the energy into a blast of his own, shooting at the shadow who quickly dodged his attack. "Shit, it's getting faster, just like the other times, the more you defeat, the stronger the others become." Jason thought aloud.
Jason then started yelling aloud, charging up his Ki throughout his body, creating energy all around him. When he was done, he charged at the shadow going for a point-blank Buster Flare.
However, the shadow flew backward at a frightening speed, then charging up its own attack to shot at Jason. As the shadow shot its blast, Jason countered with his Buster Flare. The two attacks collided, pushing against each other, neither giving an inch. But soon, Jason felt the Shadow's attack getting stronger.
"Damn, not good I never had to use the Buster Flare for this long I don't know if I can do this much longer." Jason thought.
"Hey Jason, don't you dare lose you hear me, or else I'll kick your ass after this!" Evan yelled from across the room.
Jason, after hearing his friend, knew he was right. There was no way he could lose this. He slowly began to put more energy into his attack pushing the shadows blast back little by little. Soon he pushed it back enough to were it would be safe for him to move out of the way.
He rolled out of the way dodging the blast. He then put as much energy he could muster in his hand and charged at the shadow as fast as he could, hitting it in the chest, blowing it in two, defeating it.
Jason looked over towards Evan, who finished off the last of his shadows. "Good, you won; I was almost worried that you would lose," Evan said.
"Please, there is no way I would lose to these things even if they can use Ki." Replied Jason.
Both laughed at their victory as they waited to be brought back up. "You know I did beat mine before you, so you shouldn't have been worried." Said Jason.
"Yeah, but I beat mine without as much trouble as you did," Evan responded. The boys started laughing again as they were brought back up by Kai.
"Good, you two defeated all the enemies even with their increased strength." Complimented Mura.
"Of course, what did you expect? We're too good for those things now. But can we talk about how you DROPPED US DOWN THERE AGAIN!" Evan yelled that last part in annoyance.
"Cause it was funny get over it, maggot." Said Kai.
"Fine, still don't like it, though," Evan replied.
"Now take the rest of the day to rest and meditate to increase your Ki reserves. In two weeks, you both shall receive another test much harder than this increase your strength as much as you can by then." Mura explained.
"What test would that be, Master?" Asked Jason.
"I have entered the two of you in this year's Mistral Regional Tournament to test your strength against many opponents. However, you are not allowed to use Ki during the tournament unless it is to increase your strength. We don't want that much attention." Mura answered.
"Really! This is awesome. It's going to be so much fun, so many strong opponents in one place I'm pumped." Jason exclaimed.
"Me too, I have been waiting to test out my strength." Evan agreed.
"Yes, I'm sure you two are very excited, but before then, you still must train tomorrow. I'm going to teach you how to do the after-image technique." Said Mura.
"After-image technique, what is that?" Asked Evan.
"I'll explain more tomorrow, but in a sense, we will be making you faster," Mura answered.
"Enough questions, maggots now go to bed, or don't I don't care," Kai ordered.
"Yes, sir." Jason and Evan said simultaneously. Both left to their respective rooms leaving Kai and Mura alone.
"So, you decided to let them be known to the public?" Asked Kai.
"Yes, eventually, there will be no more for me to teach them, and so I want them to be able to enroll in a school for huntsmen to further their training." Mura began.
"I know that soon they will become stronger than most seasoned huntsmen, so I want them to have proper combat training against real people and not the shadows we create to fight them. And if what I foresaw was true, then Jason shall gain the power to protect the world." Mura explained.
"But first, he must confront the beast within and accept who he is and the weaknesses that come with it," Mura stated.
Jason sat alone in his room, meditating while also contemplated many thoughts through his mind. "If I am to fight in the tournament, then I have to train myself to withstand the pain." Jason thought. He then stood up and walked over to the desk that was in the room and brought out a clamp that he kept there. He had always kept it a secret, but now he had to deal with it his greatest weakness.
His own tail. Every time that someone had gripped it, he would feel unimaginable pain that drained him of his strength. So, to withstand, it he would use the clamp to squeeze it until he could manage to move and fight through the pain. So, for the next two weeks, whenever he had free time, he would do endurance training with the clamp to eliminate the weakness. Jason then took a deep breath.
"Okay, let's do this." He said before putting the clamp on his tail beginning his training.
Two weeks until the day of the tournament, will Jason's secret training pay off, and will he and Evan be strong enough to win without using Ki. What opponents will they encounter in the tournament? This and more next time!
Author's Note:
So hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and the cameo of two actual RWBY characters even though they were short. I don't plan to always update this frequently. I just am having a lot of fun writing this story and am eager to upload it, so in the future, the frequency of updates will probably slow down and take longer, but I digress till next time.