Dawning Skye

593 Shinobi Potential(Part Five)

Skye and Tidas glanced at each other, then back at Genie as she said; “That’s nae a problem-”

“Seriously...With intent to harm each other,” Genie cut Skye off with a stern tone; “You both have a Shaman trait, and I know that you can heal yourselves as you fight. So I’m not worried about a few drops of blood being spilled. What I Am concerned about is whether you two will actually follow through when the time comes..”

“And what’s that supposed ta mean?!” Peggy bellowed as she practically stomped her way over to him; “Don’t mind them spillin’ each other’s blood?! Have ya cracked, ya fool?! They dinna need ta go that far!”

“Yes they do, Peg,” came Genie’s harshly-toned reply; “Wars are won by those willing to bleed-to die, to achieve their goals. That’s Both sides..”

“How much blood do you think the Sync kingdom will spill when they attack Alcon? What about next King of Alcon? How much will he spill to keep his status and crown? Others will have the intent, so I Must make sure that these two are prepared.”

Peggy had grown pale as Genie’d spoken, but her eyes were still burning with ire as she countered; “But why do they have ta fight each other ta the point of injury?! Doesn’ it make more sense ta have’em fightin’ yer ninjas?! WORK on their Teamwork?! NOT jeopardize their marriage?!”

Genie went to yell, but Peggy’s last point made him stumble a bit; “They need to-wait, what does this have to do with their marriage? It’s a training-never mind.. Let me ask you this, Peggy: how do two people become the perfect team?”

Seeing a blank expression beginning to cover Peggy’s face, Genie continued talking; “By learning their partner. I don’t mean things like what hand they use the most. Where are Skye’s weak points? What is Tidas’ favored attack? They can tell each other these things, but unless they fight each other without holding back: they’ll never know ALL there is to know about each other.”

Genie had already explained this to Skye and Tidas, so they understood where he was coming from. Their amount of experiences were vastly different, which meant their limitations were different. In order to function as a proper shinobi team, they needed to learn everything about each other so they could compensate for each other’s shortcomings.

.....

Skye stepped up to Peggy’s side, and spoke in a gentle voice; “Fer example: Tidas always swings down and at an angle when he punches wit his left arm, and reserves uppercut-type swings fer his right arm. If he’s fightin’ someone wit me, I already ken where ta guard him. That’s just a wee tidbit I learned durin’ our regular sparrin’ matches..”

Peggy’s face scrunched with dismay before Skye could continue; “And makin’ each other bleed is gonna help learn what, exactly?! Where his blood runs out the fastest?!”

“I think that you are overly-fixated on the words that I used, rather than the actual fighting that will take place. It’s not like they will truly be trying to kill or hurt each other. I just need to make sure that when push comes to shove, they follow through with whatever they decide on,” Genie commented as his patience neared it’s limit.

Peggy narrowed her eyes on Genie with stewing anger, not sure of what to say back. She understood his point of view, but she didn’t think he grasped the potential backlash that Skye and Tidas’ training could have on their relationship.. ‘And just when I was gonna start ta push fer grandbairns again!’

She wanted to argue further, but knew that she’d simply be wasting her breath. Frustrated and angry at Genie for the coming consequences, Peggy commented before stomping away; “Fine! Do as ye please! But dinna come cryin’ ta me when yer at each other’s throats Outside of the ring!”

After she’d left, Skye seemed uneasy as Tidas and Genie talked. She walked over to her position slowly as she thought over what Peggy had said.. ‘Will fightin’ Tidas really cause problems between us? I dinna think it will, but tis Peggy who said it, and she’s usually right when it comes matters of the heart..’

As Skye lost herself to her thoughts, Genie and Tidas finished up their conversation, and took their positions. Genie was simply acting as a referee, as well as Hao for when they became truly serious. He knew that once the two started to fight with intent, he would need help making sure that things didn’t go too far.

Hao had told his master prior that he didn’t agree with his approach to the Alconians’ training, but he would do what he was ordered to. Genie appreciated his trust and loyalty, and hadn’t outwardly wavered in his decision. At least, not until after the two had fought each other...

Skye looked up just in time to hear Genie explaining the scant amount of rules for their match. It was all basics that he really didn’t even need to say, but stated regardless. Once he’d finished his little lecture, Genie took a breath before addressing them a final time.

“I know that you two love each other dearly, but you need to set that emotion aside. Imagine that the other is someone else if you have to, but do not hold back. Otherwise this will be pointless, and I Will follow through with not training you two. Understand?”

The two nodded as they took their stances, ready to attack at the sound of Genie’s word. An eerie silence filled the training hall as the massive room grew still and electric at the same time. Like how the air felt right before an explosion. With no warning or waiting, Genie raised his hand as he glanced back and forth, then called out; “Begin!”

The two ran at each other and clashed the moment after Genie had shouted. Tidas went for his classic starting punch while Skye dodged, and tried to sweep out his legs. He jumped and kicked out at her head, but Skye rolled to the side, causing Tidasto miss her by a sliver. The second Tidas’ feet hit the ground, he was running at Skye again.

Instead of retreating, she met him head-on, and they locked fists for a few seconds before Genie called out; “Hold! Hold! This is Exactly what I am talking about! This training will not work if you two aren’t taking this seriously!”

As they pulled apart, Skye glared at his approaching figure; “But we Were goin’ at each other hard! What more do ya want?!”

“The intent to harm.. Don’t pretend like that was your best shot, you two. Because I know it wasn’t,” Genie commented matter-of-factly.

“How do you know?” Tidas asked with obvious annoyance in his voice.

Genie smirked; “Let’s just say that a fuzzy birdie with a penchant for cream told me exactly how enthusiastic you two truly were when Skye won her Mage Trial. So I know that you two Want to fight each other. The question is, why do you hesitate? Do you not trust yourselves to stop?”

Tidas and Skye stared at each other for a few moments in silence before Tidas spoke hesitantly; “That was different. That wasn’t anything like what you’re asking us to do now.”

“I’m just asking for you two to let go of your restraints, and fight as you would with any Real enemy. Not necessarily one that you hate, but an enemy none the less. If you can’t do that, then I cannot accurately gadge your potentials.”

Skye waited until Genie had finished speaking before she said; “Ya gotta Promise ta stop us if things get too intense, kay? Or we’re not doin’ this.”

Tidas turned towards her with an apprehensive expression; “Are you sure about this?”

Grinning cheekily at her husband, Skye replied; “Tis the only way I’m gonna get a go at him, so let’s just get this done wit. Otherwise he’s gonna keep draggin’ this out.”

Tidas glanced between the two again as a slight annoyance crept up the back of his mind. Skye was basically brushing off their fight like it was over already; like fighting him wasn’t going to be taxing in the slightest, and she’d be able to fight with Genie right away.

As he focused on Skye and nodded, a small surge of anticipation shot through Tidas. He liked sparring with Skye, but they had never gone all-out against each other before. At least he hadn’t before, and the prospect grew more appealing as his excitement fed off of his irritation.

Skye hadn’t noticed the shift in his aura, but Genie had. The air around him grew ever more tense as the seconds ticked by. When the two equally stood at ready, but with different levels of intent, a sinking feeling began to grow in his gut as Peggy’s words rattled around in his mind..

‘These two better not prove her right, or I’ll never hear the end of it..’

As the fleeting thought passed, Genie raised his hand, and signaled the start of their match with the flick of his wrist..

Their initial clash was already different from their first as Tidas put more power behind his punches. Instead of parrying like they usually did, Skye had to step back to gain a solid footing. Tidas used that opportunity to try and sweep out her legs with his massive one, but she quickly threw herself to the side, rolled, and ended in a crouching position.

Tidas didn’t miss a beat as he turned and ran at her. Skye’s eyes widened when she realized that he meant to punt her like a football, and her body instinctively jerked her out of the way of his foot. She could hear the ‘woosh’ noise made from him kicking through the air with force, which sent a cold chill down her spine.

‘Is-Is he really tryin’ ta Hurt me?! That Asshole!’

As her hurt instantly turned to rage, Skye slammed her foot into the ground, then lept at her husband with fury in her gaze. His own nearly popped out at the realization that he’d gotten her to get serious, and he barely managed to dodge a spearing to his gut. Skye tucked, rolled, then instantly took off at a run as soon as she’d gotten to her feet again.

Tidas chased after her with a small smile playing at his lips. His wife was the most powerful person he knew, and he couldn’t help getting excited over finally fighting with her seriously. Even if she wasn’t using her other traits against him, he was still anticipating seeing the full extent of her Tank trait.

Zas and Shasta were the only other mages that he’d met who could keep up with him. Murdoc was pretty good as well, but he had already sulkily admitted that he’d lose to Tidas if they ever got truly serious ina fight. The only other person whom might be considered a threat was the Sync King, but he’d never fought him before.

While skirmishes with the Sync kingdom were common in the late summer and early fall, the Sync King himself had never made an appearance on the battlefield. So Tidas could only go off of rumors when it came to him, but Skye was different..

She ran in a half circle, digging her feet into the ground like Shasta had taught her. Tidas had never met a mage with potential like Skye, and it made the darker side of him stir. She’d been trained by Shasta, Maevis, and Amara had even taught her several things that only Highlanders were privy to.

To Tidas, his wife was the most tantalizing opponent he could ask for. And because of that, his darker side began to seep out..

Without realizing it, Tidas had increased his speed, and had instantly caught up to Skye. As she turned her head to look at him, he lifted his arm up. Skye readied to block a downward punch from his left fist, but he turned his upper body, and swung straight across with his right instead.

The punch had so much force behind it that Skye not only flew to the side from the impact, but skidded right into the wall as well. Dust from the broken wall spewed into the air, blocking their views for a moment. When it had finally cleared enough for them to see her face, all three men felt icy chills run down their spines..