Actions

Work Header

I want to see you smile

Chapter 3: Round 1 part 2

Chapter Text

...

First rounds of these competitions were always boring. They were always about weeding out the weak who tried to prove that they were strong. All it did was slow down the process and annoy the oldest members of the clans.

Jeon was not one of these even if he was a Clan Elder. At 35 he had taken part in the previous Shinmujengpe and had done well for himself. He earned two seats of the Dragon going farther than any in their Clan had in centuries.

The Sunwoo Clan was one of the oldest Clans in Murim. Their first Ganju had reached the Manifestation point of training. This allowed ki to form into a master's animal. A point few reached even today. Only Murim Alliance Leaders, the Ten Grandmasters, and a handful of others had reached the point where they could reliably use Manifestation.

It wasn't that they weren't skilled enough to use it. That wasn't the issue. Most masters even Jeon's age had the control necessary to condense their ki into an animal form. No, the issue was that to even make a small animal form it took an enormous amount of ki. To get that amount naturally took a lifetime.

It was why Jinyup of the Reunion was working on a way to artificially expand a person's ki center. Doing this would allow more to reach Manifestation and to be able to use it reliably. From what he heard it wasn't far from the testing stages. The One Moon School was aiding in the endeavor.

His clan only had two who could use Manifestation. Himself and Elder Kwon. Kwon was something of a stick in the mud and had been for nearly 20 years years. Ever since the last Clan Head had passed away. They all had been close to the man even Jeon who had only been 15 at the time. His death had broken something in them all. Kwon though he never fully recovered from it. He treated everyone including his own granddaughter like a puppet to be manipulated. It made him sick to think about.

Jeon hadn't been much better less than 10 years ago. He was 25 when his older sister died in an accident. She had left a son orphaned for all intents and purposes. No one could find the father and it was either take the child in or let him be sent to an orphanage. Unwilling to leave a relative in an orphanage he had taken the boy. For the most part, things had been easy. The Clan took care of their own and Izuku had fit in well with the others. At five he was the same age as Jinnie. Kwon's granddaughter. She hadn't taken kindly to someone new hanging around. She didn't touch him but neither did she let him hang out with her. Older children such as Ha Ill mostly ignored him. Especially those who had started their ki training.

When Izuku was seven he was tested with the other children. To everyone's surprise, he had open lines which meant he would be able to use the ki he had. Unfortunately, that was not a lot of ki. When testing the children they found out that Izuku barely had enough to be considered alive. Every living thing required ki to live. If he learned martial arts he would simply be killing himself.

So they didn't let him join with the others in their training. They gave him the ki gathering exercises but that was it. No one thought he would make it to disciple status much less master. Then one day he was simply gone. No one could remember the last they had seen him. Jeon had been forced to pull his head out of his ass and really look for the boy. Unable to practice martial arts or not he was still family. No sign of him was ever found nor was a ransom made. One would have thought a kidnapper might try to extort the Clan for one of their own. Just as they had done for Lady So-Sul. But there is nothing.

So he was once again left alone in the world. Jeon wasn't interested in trying to find his soulmate. His life belonged to the Clan and he needed to do his best to protect it. With the Alliance trying to tighten its grip on the Clans they needed to have as much strength as they could.

Which was why they were here. It wasn't just to support Jinnie and Ha Ill. They were looking to recruit any promising disciples who weren't bound to a Clan. In older times it was something done often. Clans weren't nearly as large as they were now back then. Sunwoo Clan needed to rebuild its strength and prove itself as one of the strongest without the Alliance stepping in. Goomoonyrong had taken So-Sul just a few months prior right out from under their nose. Their only trusted source of information had been Gyu Bum. He had seen and spoken to her.

"Lady So-Sul has ordered that we wait for her chosen Head of Clan," calmly said Gyu Bum, "He will have the Phoenix Medallion."

That's all they knew about this supposedly trustworthy person. All they could do was trust in their Lady and that Gyu Bum hadn't betrayed them.

"Flicker steps?"

Jeon jerked his head up at the question to look. Next to him was Kim Sul-Joong a tall thin man ten years his senior. Jeon could not see anyone using that particular foot technique in Group A or B. Had his fellow Elder been mistaken?

At his questioning look, Kim Sul-Joong pointed to Group C. That made him frown even more. They had agreed to ignore Group C until Round 2. They wanted new members but they didn't want those with bad habits or who would only bring a bad name to the Clan.

To use Flicker Steps reliably in this kind of condition though. That would be someone they wanted to keep an eye on. The screen was on Group C where two teenagers he guessed 15 years old were exchanging blows. Nothing unusual there. It would be their first major competition. What was unusual was that he recognized one immediately.

The one he recognized was a dirty blond-haired boy with bright blue eyes. Kavar Karasu, the disciple of Jinyup. Now, why was he in Group C? At the very least he should have been in Group B. Did he lie to avoid attention?

Then the other boy with black in color with the tips shining green when the light hit it caught his attention. His form flickered in and out as he moved around Kavar with ease. That was definitely Flicker Steps a low-level foot technique that was easy to learn but difficult to master. Someone had put a lot of effort into that boy if the ease he was using them was any indication. Who was he?

"So the Cub has come to sharpen his claws against the trees of the world?"

Jeon had to force himself not to jump at the voice of Jinyup who had come out of nowhere. How had he not sensed the other man's presence as he approached?

Forcing himself not to show his surprise he asked evenly, "Do you know the boy using Flicker Steps?"

Jinyup sounded contemplative as he replied, "Do I know him? I guess you could say I'm invested in him. How far is the Cub willing to go to prove himself? Will the Tiger acknowledge him after all? Or will he fall? So many interesting possibilities. I look forward to seeing what that one does."

Tiger? What in the world did he mean by that? Jeon noticed how the man didn't use the kid's name. Only a title. Cub. The pieces were there if only he could make them fit.

 

...

Izuku caught the kick on his shoulder before shoving Kavar off balance. He had let the hit land just as Kavar allowed him to land a strike to the other's abdomen. It was just like old times. They were exchanging strikes to understand how the other had grown since the last time they met. For them taking light blows was nothing. If they were serious few in Group C would have been able to keep up much less intervene.

More than once members tried to intervene only to be thrown back or out of the arena entirely. Both Izuku and Kavar were holding back a great deal. It was simply they were on an entirely different level than the other disciples. Some of them even began to leave the arena in fear.

There was a flicker of movement and Izuku brought his arm up to block. A fist powered by ki glanced off his block and the person stumbled forward. As Izuku released his breath he slammed his lower leg into the other's abdomen. This sent him flying back before he crashed down onto the floor. He didn't get back up.

Kavar scratched at his chin as he said, "This group is so weak. Why did Master Jinyup want me here? I'd get better practice from fighting with first years at the school."

Izuku snorted, "It's because we are in Group C. If we wanted a real challenge we should have gone into Group B."

"And risk alerting everyone?" Grinned his friend.

Izuku shared it and they both said, "Nah."

Before they could say or do anything else the announcer said, "And that's it! Group C Round 1 is done! Contestants head to your waiting rooms for further instructions."