Chapter 8: New teammates.
A year goes by.
The garden is hot. The sun is already high.
Luis stands barefoot on the grass. The wooden sword is in his hand. Jack is in front of him in a plain shirt.
Jack looks at him. "Try to hit me with the sword."
Luis takes his stance. He jumps in and strikes left.
Jack dodges.
He strikes right.
Jack steps aside.
He strikes left again, then up.
Jack ducks.
All of them miss.
Luis is breathing hard. "Again?"
Jack nods. "Again."
Luis grits his teeth. "Take this!"
He throws the wooden sword at Jack's chest.
Jack blocks it with his forearm. He looks down. Luis is not there.
Luis is coming from his left side. He swings to punch.
Jack kicks his leg lightly. Luis falls in the grass.
Jack pulls him up. "You did good."
Luis shakes his head. "Good? For twelve days I am doing the same thing."
Jack tosses the sword back to him. "Twelve days ago I told you. You learned how to punch. You learned how to kick. You learned the sword."
Luis catches it. "I remember."
Jack points at his chest. "Now your first task is to hit me one time. Just one."
Luis tightens his grip. "I know."
Julia's voice comes from the house. "Luis! Jack! Lunch is ready!"
They walk inside.
Julia puts the bowls down. She looks at Luis. "So how was training?"
Luis pokes his food. "Like every day. It was bad."
Julia frowns. "Bad how?"
Luis sighs. "I can't touch him."
Julia turns to Jack. "Don't go hard on him. He is just eight years old."
Jack nods. "Yeah. I know that."
Julia crosses her arms. "He comes home with bruises every day."
Jack shrugs. "He needs bruises to learn."
Luis eats fast. He stands up. "Mom, I'm going out to play for a while."
Julia blinks. "Out? Really?"
Luis nods. "Yes."
Julia smiles a little. "Okay. Come home before sunset."
Luis says, "Yes, Mom."
He walks out the gate. Jack watches him.
Jack speaks to Julia. "Four months ago was the last time he went outside to play. Except school."
Julia sighs. "Yes. It's because of you."
Jack frowns. "Why me?"
Julia points at the garden. "Because you took his evenings. You took his weekends."
Jack leans against the wall. "He asked me to teach him."
Luis walks to the middle of town. A crowd of kids is shouting.
He gets close and sees Lily yawning by the fence.
He walks over. "What's going on?"
Lily looks up. "Luis? How many days later you came out?"
Luis shrugs. "I don't know."
Lily sits up. "It's been months."
Luis points at the crowd. "Why are they shouting?"
Lily points. "Rio and Usik are fighting again."
Luis frowns. "Again?"
Lily nods. "Usik wins every time."
Luis grabs her arm. "I'm going to the front."
They push to the first row.
Rio is in the middle. He tries to hit Usik. Usik is laughing and dodging.
Usik steps in and hits Rio. Rio falls down.
Usik starts yapping. "You're weak!"
Rio jumps up. "Fight me again, you weak fighter!"
Luis steps forward into the circle.
Rio and Usik turn their heads.
Rio stares. "Luis? You are here after four months?"
Luis brushes dirt off his hands. "Yes. I'm here."
Usik looks at him. "What are you going to do, boy?"
Luis picks up the fallen wooden sword. "I'm here to fight with you."
Rio frowns. "I thought you came here to take me out from battlefield."
Luis looks at him. "I am sorry, Rio."
The crowd starts booing. They boo Luis.
Rio is booing too.
Lily turns to Rio. "Why are you doing your friend boo?"
Rio shrugs. "It's really feel fun."
Lily says, "What? Just tell my answer."
Rio leans in. "I know that he was secretly training with his uncle. That's why he don't come out to play with us."
Rio looks at Lily. "By the way, you see him every day in school."
Lily nods. "Yes. So what?"
Rio says, "It means you share your lunch with him every day."
Lily frowns. "Why are you asking it?"
Rio waves his hand. "Leave it. Nothing."
Luis takes his stance. Usik takes his stance.
Usik points his sword. "You should start first."
Luis goes in and strikes from the left.
Usik dodges. "Is that all?"
Usik opens his mouth. "So this only you can—"
Luis is already striking from the right. Very fast.
Usik barely stops it with his sword. His eyes get big.
Usik thinks to himself. He is a monster.
The crowd shouts. "Hey, you kid! You can't beat Usik!"
Another kid yells, "He is stronger than you!"
Another shouts, "Usik, show him who is king!"
Rio cups his hands. "Luis, show them!"
Lily shouts too. "Luis, win the match!"
Usik runs and strikes from the left.
Luis jumps upward. The sword goes under his feet.
While he is in the air, he strikes down toward Usik's right shoulder.
Usik barely stops it with his sword.
Luis lands.
He shoots an upper kick from the left. He stops his foot near Usik's cheek.
Usik is scared. He is taking fast breaths.
Luis stands normal. "I like to fight with you."
He walks to Rio and Lily. The whole crowd goes silent. No one speaks.
Usik is just standing there.
The three of them walk out. They sit down under the banyan tree.
Lily looks up at the banyan tree.
Rio is laughing. "You saw everyone face? How it was? And Usik too. After first time."
Luis smiles. "They were quiet."
Rio turns to Luis. "Luis, please. I want to learn sword fight with you. With your uncle."
Luis nods. "Yeah, why not. But I have to speak to my uncle about it."
Rio says, "Oh yes."
Lily looks down. "If you both start learning, what will I do?"
Luis looks at her. "What do you want?"
Lily plays with a leaf. "I also want to learn about my healing skills. Can your uncle help me in that?"
Luis says, "I don't know. But I will ask them at night dinner."
Lily smiles. "Promise?"
Luis nods. "Promise."
At night, they are eating.
Julia looks at Luis. "You look happy today."
Emily grins. "Luis, did you get a girlfriend, huh?"
Jack and Chris laugh.
Luis shakes his head. "No."
Emily leans forward. "Then why are you smiling like that?"
Luis puts his spoon down. "I want to speak with you about something."
Jack looks up. "What?"
Luis tells them about Rio and Lily.
Jack thinks first. Then he speaks. "Yeah, I can help them."
Luis smiles. "Really?"
Jack nods. "But not fully to Lily. Healing is not my work."
Emily speaks up. "Mom can help. She only taught me how to use maschew energy."
Julia thinks. Then she speaks. "I will try."
Next day, Luis, Lily, and Rio are in the garden.
Jack looks at them. "Before you start your training, you have to do one thing."
Rio asks, "What?"
Jack says, "Bring me many leafs."
The three bring leafs.
Jack holds one up. "This is about precision. And how to catch it."
They stand under the old tree. The wind comes. Leaves fall.
Rio watches. "It's easy."
Lily nods. "Yeah, I think so."
Lily tries first. Right punch, catch one. Left punch, catch two. Right punch again. The leaf falls down.
Lily frowns. "Ah!"
Luis speaks. "You think it's easy? It took me two weeks, you know."
Lily looks at him. "Two weeks?"
Luis nods. "Two weeks."
Lily turns. "How did you do that, Rio?"
Luis goes and looks. Rio is holding all ten perfectly.
Rio says, "I told you it's easy."
Luis stares. "Impossible."
Jack laughs. "Hahaha, Luis. He did it on his first try."
Lily sighs. "I can't do it."
Jack shakes his head. "That's not a problem. Try it. You will learn it."
Lily nods. "Yes."
Evening comes. Lily and Rio are going home.
Jack, Luis, and Jinsoo the dog stand at the gate. They wave bye.
----
To be continued...