Upon entering the headmaster's office, Blink knelt and gave a deep bow, his forehead pressed against the floor.
"This lowly disciple thanks Master for all that Master has done for him," Blink said.
"Sit down," the headmaster commanded Blink with a quiet authority.
Blink assumed a lotus sitting position.
Master Tszarek looked at his disciple. There was none of the sternness that Blink had been accustomed to seeing from him all the years since he was acknowledged as a genius among his fellow disciples. Instead, Master Tszarek looked rather wistful one moment and regretful the next.
"What is your analysis of that last fight?" the master asked his disciple.
"I took two hits from Boomer and that was nearly it for me."
"Before that he took about 20 hits from you. A year ago that would have got him eating dust in his sleep."
Blink quietly acknowledged his master's point.
"And the year before that ten hits from you would have been more than sufficient."
"I'm sorry, Master, your disciple hasn't been trying very hard."
"Kraszad, we both know that's not it."
Blink was stunned momentarily. It had been a long time since anybody called him by his real name. Ever since he pulled off that double skipping trick that disoriented sparring partners in his second sparring match, he had been called Blink and Kraszad had been forgotten.
Master and disciple looked directly into each other's eyes.
"Master, why did you keep me after you have discovered that I was trash?"
"Who said you were ever trash?"
Tszarek regarded Blink with an adoring gaze.
"The truth is I always considered your fights as a thing of beauty," the headmaster revealed. "These last two years were especially enlightening. I am sure I learned more from watching you fight than I could have learned from a grandmaster in ten years."
"Master flatters me," Blink replied, his countenance displaying his embarrassment.
"No, not at all. You are a truly special fighter. It's such a pity that I'm such a lousy master and could not help you break the talent barrier."
"Master, please, it's not your fault at all. Learning martial arts has forever changed my life in so many ways you could not possibly imagine. I am forever grateful for Master's teachings, not only about martial arts but about life as well."
Any master would have been happy to hear his disciple speak such sentiments. However, it only made Tszarek gloomier. Having a very sensible, hardworking and intelligent disciple such as the one in front of him was very rare. He thought back to all his encounters with Kraszad. In all of them, the boy had always displayed utmost humility and courtesy towards others.
Tszarek was so absorbed in his thoughts that he failed to hear his disciple asking him something.
"Master?"
"Oh, sorry. You were asking me a question?"
"Master, when I was fourteen you noticed that I had no talent for martial arts. Why did you not send me away right then?"
Tszarek contemplated the matter carefully before giving his answer.
"For two reasons," he said. "The first is you were always such a joy to watch and watching you has been very instructive. The second is for purely selfish reasons."
Blink couldn't quite process the last statement.
"What do you mean by that second one, Master?" he wondered.
Tszarek explained himself very slowly: "When your talented martial brothers and sisters shall progress further in martial arts, their prowess will likely get into their heads.
"This is specially so for the more talented ones. It's not very unusual for a talented practitioner to become contemptuous not just of others but towards their training as well."
Blink tried to contemplate his master's words. His analysis had a profound sense to it. Still, Blink felt confused.
"But, Master, what does this have to do with me?" Blink expressed his bewilderment.
"It has everything to do with you," his master stated.
"In fact, just this day you have ensured that nothing of the sort will ever happen," Tszarek continued.
With his high intelligence, Blink was able to deduce his master's scheme.
"So, you had me spar against the five best disciples from the second class in order to keep them in line in the future?" Blink asked even as he already knew the answer.
"Correct," Master Tszarek simply said. "This way they'd always remember that someone is greater than them."
"But what if I lost?" Blink asked. He had always won, sure, but losing was never out of the question.
"I looked at all the possible scenarios and in none of them did I deduce that you could lose against your most talented classmates."
"But, just now, Boomer nearly knocked me out."
"Yes, and that's precisely why I can no longer let you spar with anyone of them."
This was the moment that Blink dreaded. This was the point to which this conversation converged into. Master Tszarek didn't call him to his office to praise him. He was ending his martial path.
"I understand, Master," he spoke meekly with a reasonable shade of bitterness.
"Do you, really?" Tszarek wasn't about to paint a rosy picture over a bad canvass.
Tszarek took a deep breath and stood up. He walked over to a stand of books and withdrew a thick notebook before moving towards Blink who had already stood up by then.
"I want you to have this," Tszarek handed the notebook to Blink.
Blink looked at the simple leather covering and the elegant strokes of the characters written vertically along the left edge. Just a glance is enough to tell him that it is made of precious materials.
"Master, I can't. This looks too precious even for a favored disciple." Blink had to decline.
"It's not really that precious. Besides, it is of no use to me now. But it can help you a lot. It contains my insights on martial arts, among other things. Hopefully, they might be of help to you."
Tszarek held Blink's left hand and placed the notebook on his disciple's palm. "It's my parting gift to you," he said.
It was every bit as Blink had feared. The day he had dreaded for the past two years had finally come. A surge of emptiness invaded his lungs even as a dreadful churning assaulted his stomach.
"I am sending you away," Tszarek said softly but clearly. "If there's anything you need, just ask me now. I will try to provide it if I'm able."
With hands shaking, Blink ran his palm over the surface of the notebook. He had a sudden inspiration.
"Uhmm…Master?"
"Yes?"
"Can this notebook bring me back here?"
Tszarek was pleased with his disciple's incisiveness. "In a way, yes," he replied.
The gloomy face of Blink lit up momentarily.
"However, that will probably be at least five years from now," Tszarek added.
His words just doused his disciple's enthusiasm. Tszarek knew very well that he was being cruel, but it was too important for him at this very moment to be completely honest to this young man before him. He knew that Blink was going to walk a harsh and torturous path that would require every ounce of toughness from his body and soul.
Blink did not try to hide his disappointment. He wanted nothing less than to be back with his martial brothers and be by Berge's side. A year should be fine. But five? He didn't think he could wait that long.
As he was mulling things over his master stroked his back. Master Tszarek wanted to tell him something important.
Master Tszarek said, "Kraszad, you don't have to tell everybody about it, just your best friend and your girlfriend should be enough."
Blink nodded to indicate his understanding.
"Also, please leave before daybreak. It would help avoid the necessity of having to explain your abrupt departure. I'll just tell them that you went on a secret mission."
Again, Blink just nodded his head. It wasn't unusual for disciples to be made to undertake missions although recent missions mostly dealt with gangs. There were of course missions that were so dangerous they were labelled as secret missions and only the top disciples may undertake them. With his impressive record in sparring, Blink is undoubtedly a top disciple.
There was an awkward moment as master and disciple looked each other in the eye with no words exchanged for about a minute.
"Right, it's time for you to see that pretty girlfriend of yours," Master Tszarek recovered first.
As Blink was about to step out of the door, Master Tszarek called out to him.
"Kraszad, don't forget to read my journal."
"Of course, Master. I'll definitely read it."
With a final bow, Blink trudged towards the students' dormitory. Master Tszarek listened to the fading footsteps, each one of which seemed to take something out of his heart.
When there was no more footstep to be heard, he let a little tear come out of his eye.