CHAPTER 28
Gekka paused for a moment, staring at him with a peculiar expression; then she slightly backed away and nervously scratched the side of her neck.
"Uh… Why exactly do you want me to teach you?"
Megumi's face was a mix of confusion and subtle glee. He looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
"Why wouldn't I want you to teach me?"
The young lady's nervous countenance quickly turned into one of mirth once more as a cheerful smile went across her face. Then, it slowly turned into a sly, one-sided curve.
"Ah… So that's how it is. Well then, kiddo, what do you want me to help you with?"
Megumi leapt up with joy, and then he went on to explain everything he knew about the technique he intended to master, and then he made it known to her what it was that he needed her help with learning.
Raven's Flick was quite similar to Shadow Dance but lacked one crucial thing: the essence of murder. Shadow Dance was a technique specifically designed to take out your opponent in one swoop, while Raven's Flick was something designed to allow the wielder to maneuver the battlefield.
Which meant that in terms of precision, the shadow dance was much more difficult to master, but Raven's Flick required more finesse and agility, though they were both just as sophisticated and couldn't compare to the balance that Great Dragon Sway offered.
After listening to him talk for a while about techniques and why he would need her to teach him, Gekka sighed and patted him on the head.
"Erm… I guess we'll begin with some basic training. Say… How well can you move your body?"
Megumi didn't ponder the question as he stretched his hand forward quickly, throwing a punch into the air. Gekka stared at him intently, and then she smirked.
"Again."
For a few more minutes, they continued in the same fashion, with Megumi repeatedly throwing punches while Gekka tactfully observed him.
And then, after she was finally tired of watching him, she asked to stop.
Megumi's arm felt a bit sore due to the exercise he had been performing right before Gekka's arrival, prompting him to stretch and gently swing it a few times. However, while he was still in the motion of doing so, he felt a sudden pain go through his shoulder.
He held it as he stepped back, groaning slightly.
"What the…"
Gekka quickly cut him short…
"Dammit, kid, you'll need a lot more work before you can even begin to master the basics of Raven's Flick."
She sighed as she walked past him, heading toward the very place he had come from right before she met him. Then, she stopped and began observing the area.
Her hands were carefully placed on her chin as she thought, and after a while, she turned her gaze to him and back to his training spot.
"There's a dojo inside the mansion. Why do you come here to train… all alone?"
Megumi answered,
"I just want somewhere people can't watch me."
Gekka nodded her head.
"I see."
Then, she turned around and calmly walked toward him as she quickly added:
"Well, I've got just the right place for you."
******
A few minutes later, he was sitting in the midst of a dimly lit room. Shadows pooled around him as the edges of the room were veiled in thick shadows.
The only source of light in the entire place was a circle of candles lit in the middle, and encircled by the candles was Gekka.
Megumi was watching intently as she stood calmly in the midst of the light, and then she began moving her body in a fluid, gentle succession. She was performing a dance.
Her feet and hands moved in tandem, and her waist joined to create a perfect, mesmerizing rhythm.
The dance was like nothing he had seen before; her performance was a symphony of elegant movements, fluid and flexible while being as precise as a surgeon's scalpel.
It was a whirling tempest of limbs; her intricate footwork seemingly wove a spell.
Her steps were timed with perfect precision; her body moved like the wind through the trees, weaving a captivating pattern across the floor.
The symphony of elegant poise had him fully drawn in, with each flexible transition having him further enthralled. Then she performed the dance again, again, and again until she went on for a total of ten times.
Megumi couldn't get the sophisticated and elegant movements out of his head as he watched her, and pretty soon, he began imagining himself performing the dance .
However, the intricate weave of fluidity, flexibility, and precision was something he wasn't quite used to. He was rigid and straightforward, and he could already imagine himself breaking a few of his bones the moment he tried performing even a single one of those dance moves.
And that was precisely why Gekka had brought him here to watch her perform the act herself. This was the first step he would be taking toward mastering Raven's Flick.
Soon, she walked over to him and ordered him to go stand in the midst of the lit candles. He could feel butterflies in his stomach as he tried to free his body, slowly closing his eyes.
Then he began the dance, trying to imitate Gekka's graceful movements to the best of his abilities; however, he soon realized that something was wrong. It was bound to be.
And he wasn't the only one who had noticed. Behind him, Gekka was standing as she stared at him intently, her mind pondering endlessly.
She began correcting some of his mistakes, standing behind him in the circle of candles as she helped him replicate the intricate weave of steps and elegant hand gestures.
He grimaced as he made his innate energy circulate around his body, supporting his muscles as they strained to assume some of the flexible poses.
For a while, she stood behind him as he repeated the dance, his movements slowly becoming more fluid and refined. His muscles were hurting less as well, and his footwork was getting better.
'I'm almost there.'
That wrongness he felt at the start… it had slowly begun to fade away, and then Gekka stepped out of the circle, allowing him to perform the dance on his own.
Once again, he began repeating the captivating dance pattern with as much fluidity, flexibility, and precision as he could muster. It wasn't nearly as perfect as Gekka's, but he could feel a subtle change in himself.
He was now able to bend and twist his body a lot better, and more than that, his reflexes had become much more fluid.
A little more time, and he would soon fully master it.