Akisho's tale...

[______________Akisho]

((OOC: Please don't jump into this thread yet. At some point, I'll slowly open it up for more and more people. There are some things I do want to establish and it will take some time to get it developed. Thanks for your consideration. OOC comments are welcome, either in the thread, or via PM.))

January 16, 2316 hrs RKST(Rubi-Ka Standard Time)
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slickityslack slickityslack slickityrikkityikittyslack the sound went, promising to reveal a message in it's rhythm if you could just listen. The scent of lemons hung thickly in the air, rivalling that low-level industrial cloud, nearly 800 years in existence, far too pervasive to be named with a word as short as smog.

slickityslack slickityslack pickthatoneandstickherback the sound went, offering comprehension to those who would just listen. The hum of electronic infoboards & advertboards, the whine of Yalmahas, the yammering of crowds gathered at the Bronto Burger stand, the snapcrack heals of marching police-soldiers and the rumble of groundcars sought to obscure the blessing of that sound. The apostacy of the sounds of Omni Trade insufficient to stop the Chosen from receiving divine instruction.

slickityslack slickityslack openupthathereticsback the sound went, growing louder as he drew near the prey selected by the Most Holy.

slickityslack he stalked, listening.

slickityslack she walked, oblivious.

slickityslack they stepped into the hunterprey dance as old as time.

slickityslack slickityslack the sound thundered as they both saw black.

[______________Akisho]

Unity.

That was the secret. That was how he moved in tune with the universe. Do isn't the art of fighting. Do isn't the skill of conflict. Do is. That simple. Once you are one with your surroundings, your opponent, yourself you realize that conflict is impossible, and in that moment cannot be beaten.

Or so Akisho had been told. Mr. Fukishima, Sempai Fukishima and Adopted Father Fukishima of 16 years had drilled this into him with his classic subtlety and overwhelming grace.

"No, unworthy son of unworthy children. Unfortunate I was to have found and adopted you. Stop trying and do! Stop thinking and be. Once you reach that place where it doesn't matter if you can dodge the target or not, you'll be able to do so effortlessly."

Mr Fukishima, a short, wrinkled, thin Solitus with a head too big for his body, was unstinting with his corrections, and begrudging with his praise. He would wax poetic in his disparaging remarks concerning Akisho's progress, and would become inscrutible in the face of mastery of a lesson, always insisting there is more to be learned.

"Now, Akisho, the kick."

Akisho had been working on this kick for 3 months without much success. It called for him to leap in the air and spin 540 degrees, culminating in a smashing contact with a clay pot tossed into the air.

Mr Fukishima's voice went uncharacteristically soft. "Aki, I know it seems impossible", he never called him Aki unless he was speaking to him, rather than railing at him. "Just relax and accept the inevitible...that you will hit the target today." With that, he turned and picked up a clay pot.

Akisho settled his breathing, fighting down the waves of doubt that threatened to overwhelm him. He closed his eyes, feeling his surroundings with his skin. He concentrated on the changing air around him.

"Good, good Aki. Go with your feelings. Sense the perfect moment to strike."

Listening, Akisho heard the rustle of his father's gi. He felt the passage of air as the pot rose.

He sprang, feeling a confidence and surety in his motion that was almost foriegn to him. His muscles seemed to move of their own volition as he whirled and spun in the air. His leg flung out with a certainty much like fate, as if it were his destiny, to hit that pot.

Spin. Whirl. Smash!

Akisho landed, fighting off a smile. He composed himself and turned to face Mr. Fukishima.

"Get out! I have told you and told you I don't approve of implants. I warned you that I wouldn't allow you to continue to train if you defiled your body with a false knowledge. You've taken the lazy way out of your studies! You are no longer welcome in my house and you are no longer my son."