ja_koniga

Hsu Chao remembered when the masters first tested his skiells: His eyes were covered and he had to fight with some fellow students. The next test were much harder, he had to fight while talking to someone else. Next time, the test was harder, he had to answer difficult questions while fighting. But he knew, that the next tests will be even harder. Tomorrow, he will fight against a woman, for the first time in his life, and will have to use the power of his mind to lift crates and move them across the room while fighting. And to make it harder: He shouldn't do any real damage. It is a hard challange, and the masters try to make it even harder. Fighting without thinking or seeing is an easy feat: You just feel with your skin, and let your body react. It is faster than the eye, and if your body is trained to react well, it is efficient. You don't have to see, you don't have to think, and you are in almost continous contact with your opponent. To fight without hurting your opponent is difficult, since you have to control your reactions constantly, even while paying attention to something else. And fighting against a women for the first time, and constantly touching her body? Now that is enough of a distraction. Lifting crates will only make it harder.

And of course the test can have other surprises. But he wasn't worried about them. He was too tired for that, and also knew, if he worry, that can just make things harder. He went to his room and slept for the night. When the sun rose above the horizon, he was already up, and prepared for the fight. He seen Aika Matshuhama doing the same. The woman he will fight against. Will she be distracted when fighting against a man? Will she be distracted when her opponent will touch her body almost every moment? Will she be distracted when she will hear compliments about her looks? Of course she won't be distracted, it isn't her exam after all, and when she passed her test, she shown, it is hard to distract her. It doesn't matter if she just passed it two days ago, or she is a master already, she knows how to avoid distraction. Or how to ignore it. Or how to fight even if the distraction works. And she won't have to be busy with the crates. Hsu Chao knew it will be a real hard test, but he trusted his own skills, and his mentors, and knew he will pass the test. He went to Aika slowly.

"May the gods bless your morning!"

"Blessed morning to you too!"

They greeted each other. Hsu Chao examined Aika slowly, and he thought about how her looks can distract many warriors, and as he spent more time with watching her, he become more and more distracted as well. He knew, this is why they learned blind fighting: To be efficient, even if they face distraction. But how he can concentrate on moving the crates? They learned how to concentrate on it, and he has to use what he learned. He knew, that speaking with this women won't help, but yet they spent the morning together chatting and learning the ways of each other...