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Untitled Document
"But I need to train! I've got to! Why won't you-"
"Look kid," snapped the irritated receptionist
sitting at the desk in front of the Training School, "I already told you, no
codestones, no training. Now, the Techo Master and Ryshu-master have a class
to attend to right now, so if you don't have the codestones, I'd advise you
to stop wasting your time."
"But-" the small red Aisha began again plaintively,
but the yellow Quiggle had already turned his back to her and was engaged in
writing something on a small piece of parchment.
Sadly the Aisha left the Training School. When
she had walked far enough away, she stopped and looked back at the bamboo-built
building with the red-and-yellow flag flying cheerily from its grounds with
the words 'Neo-Fu' emblazoned across it in black. A tear fell from her eye,
but she was too preoccupied to wipe it away.
"But how am I going to become the best Battledome
fighter Neopia has ever seen if they won't even let me train," she said aloud,
her heart feeling more heavy than it had ever felt.
It had been her ambition all her life to fight
in the Battledome and emerge as champion. She had often watched matches from
afar, it was one of her favourite things to do. She longed for the thrill fighting
against the champions of the league.
Only trouble was, she didn't have any experience
at all. She had thought the Training School would be the answer, but now it
turned out they only trained you if you had codestones. She knew how expensive
codestones were, she'd seen them in the Neopian Bazaar being haggled over. She
hadn't thought them of any particular importance until now. How was she to get
one? And even if she did, would it be the right one? There were so many different
types.
The young Aisha hung her head in disappointment.
It seemed her dream would never become reality. Absent-mindedly she played with
the pendant that hung about her neck on a length of string.
"Best 'Dome fighter Neopia has ever seen, eh?"
Startled, the Aisha looked around to see a Kougra emerging from the nearby shrubbery.
He was obviously very old; his blue coat was faded and thin and his stripes,
which must once have been a bold black, were grey, as was the fur around his
muzzle.
"Best 'Dome fighter? Then I'd advise you not
to go to that place." He jerked his tail at the Training School. "Not that I've
got anything against Ryshu and the Techo Master, but their training in Neo-Fu
doesn't come cheap."
The Aisha nodded.
"A very wonderful art, Neo-Fu," the Kougra mused.
"Beautiful to watch and very powerful too… but
that's the only place that teaches it. The only Neo-Fu training hall in Neopia.
Neo-Fu is incredible.
However, just as incredible, but much less noticed
or practiced, is the art of Neo-Kido."
The Aisha's ears pricked in curiosity. "Neo-Kido?"
"Yes, a rare Neopian martial art, and like Neo-Fu,
native to Mystery Island. Neo-Fu, thank Fyora, has been preserved and regularly
been in use for thousands of years. Neo-Kido is much, much younger than that,
and as a result there are very few Neo-Kidokas in Neopia.
"I believe I am probably the one of the last
Neo-Kidokas left. My old contemporaries who studied the art with me died years
ago. We only took a few students, and I have no idea what became of them. Now
there is only me, and I do not have long left to live."
The Aisha stood, lost in thought, and then she
suddenly burst out, "Teach me! I'll be a Neo-Kidoka, and once I become a master
I will train other Neopets so they'll be too! I'll help Neo-Kido grow. Oh, please
teach me!"
"Well, since you put it that way," the Kougra
chuckled. "I'll train you up. Mind you, it needs dedication and a lot of hard
work to be a master. Are you sure you can do this?"
The Aisha nodded firmly. "My mind's made up.
I will be a Neo-Kido master if I have to train all my life."
"Then follow me."
As they padded together through the bushes,
the Kougra said, "By the way, my name is Naro. As you are my student, you should
call me Naro-Master."
"Yes, Naro-Master."
"And your name is?"
"Aihami."
"Ah," said Naro thoughtfully. His eyes suddenly
darted to the pendant around her neck. "That pendant… May I see it?"
In some surprise Aihami removed it and handed
it to him. Naro looked at it wonderingly. "Where did you get this?"
"I... I just found it somewhere one day. Why?"
"It embodies the spirit of Neo-Kido," Naro said
gently. "See, the two colours, red and blue, merging. Red for fire, and blue
for water. Those elements are natural born enemies. When they meet, conflict
results. Water extinguishes fire, and fire turns water to steam. But… when the
two instead of fighting blend together… harmonize…they truly become a force
to be reckoned with."
Aihami looked at him wonderingly. The old Kougra
smiled.
"Yes, I think you'll do well at this art, Aihami.
With your spirit and determination, you should be a master before you know it."
Before long, they reached a small bamboo hut
in the middle of the dense jungle. Most of it had been overgrown by shrubs and
climbing vines covered its walls.
"My old training hall," Naro murmured as he
gazed at it. "I sometimes come back here to muse over what life was like when
there were Neo-Kidokas to be found all over Neopia, and to remember my old master
and my friends… but that is all in the past. Come, Aihami." Aihami followed
Naro as he slid a screen aside and entered. She sat down just inside and examined
her surroundings. Although the outside looked like part of the jungle that one
would have missed it if they were just passing, the inside was clean. The floor
was covered with straw mats and light poured in from the open screen door. There
was a door like that on every side of the wall, Aihami noticed.
"Aihami."
The Aisha got up and padded across to where
her master was waiting near a small closet. From it he took a small bundle of
white cloth. He handed it to her. "I saved this in case I should ever get a
student. I never did, but I kept it sealed anyway. It's your training uniform,
and your first belt. Go put it on, now, and we'll get started."
Over the next few months Aihami trained hard
at her lessons. Naro was a very experienced Neo-Kidoka, and he taught her well.
He taught her the basic principles, such as how to move out of line of an attacker's
strike, how to fall without hurting herself, the weakest points of an opponent
and how to find her centre, the source of her power.
She also learnt that Neo-Kido was about blending
your own energy and that of your attacker before turning that strengthened force
back upon the attacker, and therefore required a minimal amount of strength
and violence. In all that time, she grew to love it as much as her master did.
"Are you nervous?" Naro asked for perhaps the
tenth time that morning as they waited at the Island Arena for their challenger
to come.
"Naro-Master, I'm ready for this," Aihami replied
calmly, making sure her white belt was tied on securely. It was to be her first
actual Battle Dome match. "I've practised and polished all my techniques. I'll
be okay."
Naro smiled at his first, and most likely last,
student. He had grown rather fond of the young Aisha, almost as if she were
his adopted daughter. And now, as they waited for the pet they had selected
for a fight, not too high a level and not too experienced, he was still slightly
anxious for her safety.
"Message For Aihami: Your Challenger, Fleren,
Has Arrived!" boomed the voice on the loudspeaker. The old Kougra quickly dispelled
all doubts and fears from his head. Aihami wasn't incapable; on the contrary
she had learnt every technique of white-belt level perfectly, and each one had
become second nature to her.
"Come, Aihami," he said quietly, and padded
over to the Arena battlegrounds, where several other pets were also engaged
in battling each other.
Standing at their allotted ring was a tall,
sandy-haired boy with a large Acara by his side. The Acara was obviously strong,
his muscles bunched under his green coat as he moved. Aihami couldn't help feeling
a bit intimidated.
"Naro-master," she whispered nervously. The
old Kougra put a paw on her shoulder reassuringly.
"Don't worry. Just remember to keep relaxed
and not get tense. The stronger they are, the harder they'll fall."
Aihami nodded resolutely. "I'll be ready for
him."
Taking a deep breath, she climbed into the arena
where Fleren was waiting for her.
"No weapons?" the Acara's owner observed with
a smug look. "Great! Go get her, Fleren!"
Fleren responded to his owner's command by letting
loose a Kalora Battlecard. Aihami instinctively dodged it, but not before it
grazed her ear stalk slightly.
She chided herself inwardly. *I have to concentrate…
can't let him get me again…* Surprised that it had inflicted minimal damage
on his opponent, Fleren tossed several more battlecards and snowballs but true
to her word Aihami was not caught off guard again.
"All right, Fleren!" yelled his owner. "Hit
her with your Grand Lightning Beam!"
Fleren growled. Jagged bolts of electricity
exploded from his outstretched paws and headed straight towards Aihami. The
Aisha lost no time in wondering what to do but dived to the side and rolled
out of harm's way, hearing the crack and sizzle as the beams seared the area
where her head had been not a second ago.
"Never mind the weapons!" Fleren snarled. He
was getting more and more frustrated as he tried and failed several more times
to hit that elusive Aisha with the Lightning Beam. He stopped the beams and
dropped to all fours. "I'll just take care of you the old fashioned way!"
He charged at her with a full-strength Fierce
Attack. Aihami rolled backwards, avoiding him. This continued for several more
minutes, the Acara getting more and more worn out and frustrated. Aihami, on
the other hand, was perfectly calm and fresh in mind and spirit. She felt like
she could go on for a lifetime. She even laughed once as she rolled away from
him, making his attacks looking like clumsy headlong dashes beside her ease
and grace of movement.
"Can't… you… hold… still… for just a SECOND?!"
Aihami got up from her roll and stood up on
her hind legs. She smiled brightly.
"If you insist…"
Fleren roared and hurled himself at her again.
Aihami neatly twisted out of his line of attack at the last minute and pushed
him hard forward in the direction he was already going at his full speed with
all her own strength. Unable to stop, and doubly speeded up with the Aisha's
force, Fleren careened into the side of the ring with a crash. He collapsed,
totally exhausted and unable to rise.
Aihami went over to his crumpled form. Behind
her she could hear his owner pounding up, shouting, "You stupid Aisha, get away
from my Fleren, you've already beaten him!"
Ignoring the irate human, she placed a paw on
Fleren's back.
"Are you okay?"
Fleren looked up at her dully. "What do you
care? You beat me…"
"Winning isn't everything," Aihami replied gently.
She heard the owner stop short in his tirade as he heard her quietly spoken
words to stare at her, astonished. And she realized for the first time the change
that had come over her. All sense of competitiveness had completely disappeared,
though her spirit and strength of mind remained as strong as ever. She realized
she didn't long for the thrill of battling, or the triumph of winning a match
anymore. That joyous abandon she felt as she effortlessly evaded her opponent
and harmonized her force with his was far superior to all of that, and now she
simply wished for his swift recovery.
"I just want to know if you're alright," she
continued, "and if you can't manage I'll help you to the Healing Springs."
The Acara looked at the young Aisha in a new,
wondering light. Then he said, "I'll be okay. By the way, that's a great strategy.
You must teach it to me sometime…"
"I will when I'm a master," Aihami replied.
She helped Fleren to his feet and waved goodbye to him and his owner.
"Well done."
Aihami looked around to see Naro standing beside
her. "It was a beautiful job, Aihami," he said, smilingly. He held out a paw.
Aihami gasped. Dangling from the tan pad was a belt identical to the one around
her waist in every aspect but colour.
"B-Blue? I'm a blue-belt now?"
"You certainly demonstrated it," replied her
master, still smiling benevolently, "I wanted to test your skill. And you have
proved you're worthy of this belt."
Aihami unfastened her old white belt and reverently
tied her new blue one in its place. "Thank you, Naro-Master," she whispered,
still rather overcome. "You earned it, not me," the old Kougra replied gently.
Aihami found her voice again. "Naro-Master…
if it's alright, I'd rather not come to the Battle Dome again."
The Kougra cocked his head at her. "And your
dream? Of becoming the best fighter in Neopia?"
"That doesn't matter anymore," Aihami replied
steadily. "I don't care about winning, don't even care about battling now. Now
I know Neo-Kido… it's just so much more than simple fighting…"
"I knew you'd come to feel that way."
Aihami started. "How…"
"All who learn Neo-Kido, whatever their motives
are, eventually come to believe in the same creed, Aihami. Neo-Kidokas should
only use violence as a last resort. Like you, they realise there is more to
life than battling. The harmony of movement and peace is a better solution to
a problem than needless fighting where the stronger will come out on top, whether
they are right or wrong.
"Come now, we must go back home. After you have
had a rest and some food, we'll embark on the second phase of your training.
In a few more months you might be a blue-gold."
Together master and student left the arena.
The End
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