"Sorry I didn't stop him earlier, but you needed to hear that."
Liam blinked, his mind going blank for a few seconds. The meaning of the words and the tone in which they had been uttered simply did not coincide, therefore confusing the boy. It sounded like someone was saying 'You've got something on your face,' in the most relaxed tone possible. Meanwhile that thing on your face would be a huge leech or just some embarrassing stuff your friends doodled on your face with permanent markers whilst you were asleep.
"E-excuse me?" Liam sat up to face Lee.
Lee observed him for a few moments before replying in a slightly reluctant tone:
"Think about it. Even though he insulted you and said some other terrible stuff, think about the underlying meaning behind his words."
Lee paused and shifted into a lotus sitting position before continuing.
"He told you about your shortcomings. How you failed to utilize previously gathered information, how you get tunnel vision and ignore your surroundings, how you get greedy and want to attack before considering the situation you're in, and so on."
Liam's eyes widened slightly as he realized the truth of what Lee was saying. Whether Kazumi wanted to or not, he had not just given Liam scathing criticism; he had told Liam about the several things that made him a horrible combatant. Yes he had been harsh, but that harshness had concealed guiding words that Liam's overreactive mind could take apart and make use of. However, Kazumi hadn't told him how to improve; he most likely would have to find the solution himself.
But when he thought about it...
"Why are you telling me this?" Liam asked in confusion. It was obvious that Lee did not care about him in the slightest, yet he had opened his eyes to something he wouldn't have noticed even though it was staring him straight in the face.
Liam was already lacking in self confidence. Having someone point out his flaws within such a short amount of time and with such high precision had sunk his self esteem into a deep pit of self condemnation. He would have wallowed in misery and mulled over Kazumi's words endlessly, constantly applying them to himself until they became a part of him. He probably would never notice the hidden meaning behind the entire tirade until it was too late for him or anyone else to do anything about it.
However, Lee had thrown him a lifeline almost instantly, turning his growing self-doubt into self-realization. Liam could not understand why someone so obviously above him bothered to point out something so...selflessly.
Lee met Liam's gaze calmy, and soon Liam broke the eye contact, embarrassed. Lee's eyes seemed to draw him in slowly, and he felt weirded out by the fact that he was drawn into another guy's eyes.
"The only other place I have ever placed lower than first in part from this school is in my own family."
Liam looked back at Lee in slight surprise. "Huh?"
Lee gave a small smirk before continuing. "Academics, sports, extra-curricular activities, I always placed first. And it didn't take too much effort too."
Liam blinked, a blank expression masking his face.
Is he bragging to me... about being a genius?
"When I came here, I was filled with a sense of pride. A feeling of supremacy you could say. I thought I could still be the best here without applying myself too much. So I scored better than average on the theory part of the entrance exams on purpose."
Liam froze as a vein began to throb on his forehead.
Are you telling me that I beat this guy in the exam simply because he let me?!
Meanwhile, Lee's smirk had grown in size. It now covered half of his lower face.
"Then, after the entrance ceremony, I went to the class to check my results. The only person there was Kazumi, and he was looking at the board intently. The moment I entered, He turned and asked me something, Can you guess what he said?"
Liam gave Lee a silent, level stare.
"Liam?"
Staarrree...
"Liam, you heard me right?"
Staaaaarrrrrreeeeee....
"Hello?"
Staaaaaaaarrrrrrreeeeeee....
Lee blinked, then gave a tiny shrug.
"Fine. Have it your way. This is what he said, pay attention now..."
Lee cleared his throat, and in a perfect imitation of Kazumi's gruff voice said:
"Are you Liam Paxton?"
Liam blinked. Then blinked again. Then picked his ears and leaned forward, eyes wide.
"He said what?!"
Lee chuckled, and his smirk came back. "I replied in the negative, then he asked if I was Lieren Lee, and I said yes. That's when I looked at the board, and I was bowled over to see that for the second time in my life, I was in third place."
Liam continued to stare at Lee in growing exasperation. What kind of guy bragged to someone they barely knew about how amazing they were? Someone who, by the way, had no interest in stuff like self-exultation.
"Um...Lee?"
Lee rose an eyebrow. "What is it?"
Liam took in a deep breath, sighed it out, and looked Lee straight in the eye.
"C-can you please stop?"
"Stop what?" Lee tilted his head in seeming confusion.
Liam couldn't hold his gaze and looked down.
"N-never mind..."
Lee observed him for a few moments before sighing, as if in disappointment.
"Both I and Kazumi were expecting this Liam person to be a bit like us. Someone who can hold their head high, make clear judgements, and is a great fighter. Instead we have you."
Liam flinched. That 'you' implied many things, and they weren't exactly good things.
"You, someone with the mere potential to be all those things."
Huh?
Liam looked up in surprise. Lee was looking at him in clear irritation, but deep in his eyes held an inexplicable feeling.
"Yes, you are weak," Liam flinched again, "Not just physically, but mentally. It's irritating, having to watch someone with so much potential just waste it."
Liam shivered under Lee's undeniable words. The boy himself continued:
"You can never imagine how I felt, being third to someone like you. Someone who doesn't have the strength to mirror his position. Someone who doesn't have the same burning desire to grow. Someone who would rather sit back and let someone beat on him."
Lee stood up, looming over Liam like a vengeful wraith, his face covered in shadow.
"I refuse to accept that I lost, intentionally or not, to such a person. Not only would that be a personal disgrace, my family would think even less of me if they were ever to find out."
Liam was trembling slightly under Lee's piercing words and even sharper gaze. The next words that came out of Lee's mouth however, were completely unexpected.
"That is why I have come to the conclusion that the only way to solve this problem is to deal with it myself, as actively as possible. Which now leads to the simple conclusion that I must train you."
Liam froze. Completely.
His mind could not comprehend the magnitude of what he had just heard, so it paused all functions and reset itself. His body, having lost its pilot temporarily, stopped moving.
You could say Liam had disconnected from the world for a short moment and was reloading,
Lee was having none of that however.
With an expression that screamed 'Are you kidding me?', he chopped the top of Liam's head with the side of his hand, forcefully speeding up Liam's reboot.
"Ow!" Liam grabbed his head in pain, getting to his knees to steady himself.
"Hey Liam, get it together. Do you understand what I just offered you?"
Liam frowned in pain and confusion. Why was another student offering to train him? How the heck did he end up in this mess? Why the heck was he in this mess? Why was Lee so uncaring and caring at the same time?
"What... what exactly are you getting out of this?"
Lee gave him a look that said he was stupid for asking that,, the he rose a hand and, whilst counting his fingers, began to speak.
"Reason number one, if you aren't weak and I somehow lose to you again, it won't sting as much because I lost to a worthy opponent. Reason two, teaching is the best form of learning, so by training you I can deepen my own understanding of everything I will be teaching you. Reason number three, the stronger you get, the less Kazumi would disturb me for spars and the more he would approach you. Reason four, I gain an ally whose strength I can trust in purely because I trained them myself."
Lee rose four fingers. "That is why I'm training you, and that's what I'll get when you grow stronger."
Liam mulled it over. Even with his lacking skill, he could sense the obvious gap between them. Not only were their physical capabilities vastly different, everything about them was different. From the way they thought to the way they made decisions, the way they expressed themselves, the way they viewed the world. An amazing opportunity had just presented itself before him, strange though it was, and while there were strings attached, they were the kind of strings he could deal with. However, the more Liam thought about them, the more uneasy he became.
The first reason was not really much of a problem. Liam just thought it would take a long while before he could get Lee to see him as an equal.
Reason two was also reasonable, considering that indeed, teaching was one of the best ways to learn.
The third reason was enough to make Liam want to remain weak. Why the heck would he ever want to fight Kazumi again? That guy was insane, and Lee could fight Kazumi as much as Kazumi wanted, in Liam's opinion. He didn't want a single part in it.
The fourth reason was the source of most of Liam's distress. The way Lee had looked at him while saying the word 'ally' disturbed him. He didn't know how to ask though, so he was going to remain silent. No, he had to remain silent. What if he lost an amazing learning opportunity because he couldn't remain sile-
"What exactly did you m-m-mean when you s-said 'ally?"
You IDIOT!
Liam groaned internally and looked down, unable to look up at Lee.
"Why do you ask?"
Liam paused for a moment to think.
He...doesn't sound angry...
Liam drummed up his courage and took a deep breath. "It, it's just that the way you say 'ally' makes it sound like I'm gonna be your...um...subordinate..."
Liam kept his eyes on the ground, not wanting to see what kind of expression the standing boy was making. Was he angry? Surprised? Liam couldn't guess, so he simply waited for an answer.
"Well, good for you. You're already trying to stand up for yourself."
Liam looked up in surprise at the carefree tone, then was taken aback when he saw a small smile on Lee's face.
"Look, I don't need you as a subordinate, got it? To be frank, this is going to be more of a master-disciple kind of relationship. Yes, I will use you if the need ever arises but the benefits of working with me far outweigh any inconveniences of doing so, nǐ míngbái ma? [Mandarin. Meaning: 'Do you understand?]
Liam scratched the back of his head, a hesitant expression on his face, then sighed.
"Wǒ xiǎng nǐ shì duì de." ['I guess you're right.']
Lee froze in shock, his eyes wide and mouth slightly open. He shook his head and spoke in a casual tone, but Liam could here an undercurrent of excitement.
"Nǐ huì shuō zhōngwén ma?" ['You speak Mandarin?]
Liam smirked. "Méi cuò. Hěn jīngyà ba?" ['Yep. Surprised aren't you?]
Lee cleared his throat and turned his head away. "...I am. I did not expect that you would be able to speak my language so fluently. And with such a clear accent too..." [This was said in Mandarin.]
[The following dialogue is also in Mandarin.]
Lee waved his hand in front of his nose with a small smile and assumed the Lotus position again. "Okay, it seems language will not be a barrier in this situation, which is a good thing. Also, I assume it is alright to say you have accepted my offer?"
Liam remained silent for a few moments, then sighed and bowed slightly to Lee.
"I would rely benefit from studying under your guidance, so I will gladly accept."
[They are both formal due to the change in language]
"Alright then we shall begin with a little saying."
Liam blinked in surprise, and Lee noticed.
"What, were you expecting a practical session right away?" the white-eyed boy asked with a chuckle.
"To be honest, yes, I was."
"Haha! I am afraid you need to understand some things before you begin practical training."
"Alright."
"Good then here's the saying...actually it's more of a quote. I believe you've heard of Sun Tzu?"
Liam nodded. "Yep. Haven't read his book though."
Lee frowned. "Well you should. You could learn a lot. Anyways, this is a quote from his book, The Art Of War:
If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."
Lee paused for a moment to let Liam absorb what he'd just said, then continued.
"You have to learn how work with information. Absorb it not just from your surroundings, but from yourself. Understand what you do, how you do it, and why you do it. This brings me to the second quote:
All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive."
Lee paused for a little while again before continuing.
"Not only must you understand yourself and others, you must also learn how to keep others from either finding out something about you, or keep others from realizing you know something about them. You need to learn how to lie, deviate attention, dodge topics, and build trust with people.
And that trust brings me to the third quote:
Foreknowledge cannot be elicited from spirits, nor from gods, nor by analogy with past events, nor from calculations. It must be obtained from men who know the enemy situation."
Again, Lee paused. This time, he observed Liam's thoughtful expression.
"What do you think this means?" he asked the blue-haired boy.
Liam narrowed his eyes in thought before speaking:
"I see it this way: if I build up enough trust with people, they will eventually begin to tell me things. Rumors, stories, actual facts, secrets, and the like. You're basically telling me to build an information network."
Lee nodded with a small smile on his face. "I'm glad you understand. But you missed something important."
Liam frowned. "I did?"
"I'm not telling you to build an information network. You are simply going to be part of my information network."
Looking at the cold smile on Lee's face, Liam reminded himself once more that they were completely different people from completely different worlds. They were not friends.
"...I, I don't think I can deceive anyone," Liam muttered.
Lee chuckled. "Don't worry. There are many ways to create an ideal story. And I happen to know quite a few."
Liam shivered slightly at the dark light in Lee's eyes.
He's way more dangerous than I thought.
"Okay, today's lesson is over."
"Huh? Already?"
Lee stood, and Liam followed suit.
"The stuff I'm going to teach you verbally aren't that many, but they do require a lot of thought. You seem like someone who thinks way too much, so that should be a cinch for you."
Lee had switched back to English, so Liam followed suit.
"...I guess you're right."
Both boys walked out of the Crucible and headed towards the dorms.
"By the way, what's your room number?"
Liam turned his head to look at Lee, not sure how to answer the question.
"Oh come on," Lee chuckled, "Don't get all nervous. Here, mine's 423."
Liam did a double take. "W-what?! You're on the same floor as me?"
Lee turned his head to look down at Liam. "Hmm?"
"My room number is 419."
Lee's slender eyebrows rose just a little, the only indicator that he was surprised.
"Really? I guess we'll be seeing each other often then."
"...y-yeah."
"I guess this means we should find something to talk about instead of walking on in awkward silence."
At his words, an awkward silence fell on the duo. After all, they still barely knew each other, and their relationship was... unique, to say the least.
We could actually talk about that...
"Hey, since you're technically, you know, my teacher, should I call you shifu?"
Lee stopped walking and turned to look at Liam as if he was crazy.
"If you ever call me that, I will punch a hole through your gut."
Liam shuddered as Lee kept walking.
That's even worse than just saying 'I'll kill you if you say that.'!
"Hey, wait up Shifu!" Liam groaned as he jogged quickly to catch up with Lee.
Something he would be doing for a long time to come.
"No. wait! Don't attack me-argh!"