"Long time no see scrub" Doza chuckles, reaching his arm out to shake hands.
D' Anthony instinctively knocks Doza's hand out of the way denying his gesture, "Don't give me that shit" he growled.
"You're still in your feelings about that?", asked Doza. "Get over it, I won
D' Anthony's nostrils flair, "say that shit in my face."
Doza starts walking aggressively towards D' Anthony, "you think I won't."
"I won't even have to go all out to fight you" D' Anthony taunted.
"He still isn't over their duel", Kenos chuckled to Aeolus while the two scuffled in the background. "He was avoiding Doza the whole night of the banquet as well,'' Aeolus laughed.
After a mini slugfest Doza and D' Anthony push off one another.
"I think I need to pop that big head of yours before any more hot air gets in" D'anthony growled, exuding his Zen causing the building to rumble.
"Big words coming from a tree branch like you", responded Doza, his body sparking causing lights in the building to flicker on and off.
Aeolus lets out a long sigh, "Seems I let them speak amongst themselves for too long." "Nala, separate them." The body language Nala displayed instantly changed, she looked more primal and aggressive. It was only for a split moment but Kenos watched with great joy as Nala tackled and trampled over both Doza and D' Anthony. Knocking one into the air and the other under her paw.
"Calm yourselves," shouted Aeolus. There will be plenty of opportunities to go at each other's throats later. It's been years, you too could at least pretend like you were still friends, the both of you used to be inseparable."
"Yeah welp", said Doza, breaking the silence and picking himself off the floor. "It's hard to be cool when someone wants to be a salty bitch about it."
D' Anthony dust himself off, "That spot was supposed to be mine!."
"Aye, what did I just say!," spoke Aeolus. "Now, get these boys settled in a room at the estate for me.
The next day rolls around and Kenos is awoken by a knock at the door. "Wake up master Kenos," shouted Aeolus from outside the room. "It's still dark out," Kenos whispered, his eyes still adjusting to just getting up. "You have 15 minutes to be in the back," Aeolus continued to walk then turned around "Don't be late" he growled
(The back of the estate)
"Your pop's not here to save you this time", snarled Doza as he fell into his fighting stance.
"Like I needed him", D' Anthony chuckled. He was saving you," he replied, raising both fists, getting into his own stance.
"Ahhh," shouted both of them as they charged towards each other.
Before the two could make contact the sliding glass door to the back of the house burst open. Aeolus walks out of the house with an irritated expression. "You want me to have Nala watch the both of you!", he shouted, causing his muscles to tense.
Doza and D' Anthony instantly pulled their punches coming to a complete halt, both bowing to Aeolus in fear. "No sir", the two of them quickly replied.
It was then when Kenos came stumbling out of the house his eyes still barely open and an apple in hand.
"I told you, you can have your rematch with Doza after you bring Kenos up to speed," said Aeolus.
I'm training with D' Anthony?" Kenos questioned.
"Don't worry Master Kenos", Aeolus responded. "I've taught D' Anthony everything I know, you're in good hands with him. You'll get personal lessons from me soon but for now, I need to focus on seeing where Doza is with his technique."
"Doza's plenty strong," Kenos whined. He could just spar with D'Anthony and improve that way.
"Doza's been training like that your whole journey while watching you", replied Aeolus. "It'd make no sense for him to continue training like that in an instance like this. He needs someone to break down his techniques and help see all the faults within it."
Kenos takes a moment to remember all his training sessions with Doza. I guess he's who Doza got his teaching style from. "I suppose you're right," Kenos sighed, walking towards D' Anthony."
"Ah don't get so worked up over it little Ken, '' said D' Anthony as he motioned Kenos to a different area in the yard. "You don't wanna train with that old man anyway he's a demon in disguise I tell you", he grimaced.
"Training with him was pretty enjoyable back then, what are you talking about", Kenos laughed.
"You were a little kid back then he couldn't force anything crazy on you yet", D' Anthony replied. "You and I both wield bows. This is a blessing in disguise for you little Ken, you'll see.
How good are you at hand to hand?", asked D' Anthony as the two walked farther from the estate coming to an area in the swamplands with tamed grass.
"Good enough, but chill with the little Ken." Kenos replied, finishing his apple and unraveling his bow from around him. Where archers, what's the point of working on that when I can be learning new bow skills."
"That's almost true", D' Anthony chuckled, "but what will you do if you meet an opponent who can disrupt your aim and clear the distance between you and him." How would you defend yourself then? Your bow is bladed on one end but what's the point of it if you can't use it properly.
Don't ever be narrow-minded in your approach. "
Kenos was silent for a moment, dammit he's right. "Where do we start?", he grumbled.
D' Anthony let out a little chuckle, "I'll start by teaching you a form of martial arts my father created. He told me he created this when Lord Kronos started using a prototype Void arm."
"Aren't void arms distance weapons?" asked Kenos.
"Your bow has a blade." D' Anthony responded. "Wouldn't be that hard to imagine."
"Point taken," said Kenos.
"You'll have to use your imagination to incorporate that bladed limb of yours into the fighting style", D' Anthony continued. "But even if you just learn the basics of this technique it'll do you some justice.
"The name of this martial art is Bowmen Karate," he said, getting into a stance lifting his bow ever so lightly. There was a certain grace to how he held his weapon, drawing on its string with a certain finesse. "There are 4 parts to this fighting style", he explained. "first there's Phantom stance, Phantom stance allows you to dance around the battlefield with ease without making a sound. Next is Primal stance. In short, the primal stance is for when someone breaches your comfort zone making it difficult to draw your bow. Instead of backing up and trying to make space, you fight head-on with a combination of kicks and bow swipes."
"After you've gotten the hang of that two stances there's Counter-stance, with this form you'll learn to react to what your opponent shows in an instant. Using their momentum against them, halting all their movements and techniques, and quickly firing arrows in any direction. Finally," D' Anthony smirked. "There's a dragon stance. In this stance, you push your body to its physical and spiritual limits allowing you to shoot concentrated amounts of Zen across long distances. If done correctly your projectile will resemble a dragon while also matching its destructive capabilities. You can kill a whole army and they wouldn't even know who killed them.
Kenoses' face showed a wide smile gripping his bow, "Alright, I'll admit I'm a little excited, let's get this started."
Raising his head again, D' Anthony vanishes and reappears behind Kenos. His bow was drawn to the left of Kenoses' ear.
"Dead," said D' Anthony in a low and cold tone."
"This is the silent grace of the phantom stance."
Kenos stared in disbelief, If this wasn't training I would've had an arrow through my skull. D' Anthony wasn't kidding he really did get stronger I didn't see a thing out of place.
D' Anthony showed a pleased smile looking at Kenoses' stunned face. "Until you leave the training area a living man, you'll be working on this stance."
(On the other side of the state)
"Doza it's been a long time since I've observed your skill," Aeolus chuckled, his rough exterior softening for a moment. "Why don't we treat this like the old days."
An innocent smile grew on Doza's face as he bowed and fell into his stance. "Of course Sensei
Aelous replied to Doza's bow with one of his own. Raising both his hands in front of him, rushing towards Doza the two trade blows.
"There was a reason why Master Kronos trusted you," said Aeolus in between his punches. "As a member of his circle, I intend to honor his choices and protect his legacies."
Doza jumps avoiding a punch, launching his foot outward his foot nearly connects with Aeolus's Jaw creating space between the two.
"Legacies?, Doza questioned. "He left more than one? "
"You're open!"shouted Aeolus, appearing from behind catching Doza off guard. "Don't be a fool," he cried, tossing Doza across the yard.
Walking up to Doza with his chest high, Aeolus spoke once more "Kronos cared for you as if you were his own son, you surprised he'd leave his dream with you as well?"
Doza got back onto his feet, "I could never forget the time he spent with me!", he shouted wiping a tear from his eye. "All the time we spent training, teaching me how to hunt."
"Enough sobbing" Aeolus interrupted. "It's time to get serious. This isn't a path you've chosen but instead, given to you by fate. You're too weak to continue down it, honestly the best I can say is you've been extremely lucky to have made it so far. If the government knew young Master Kenos was alive, We wouldn't be having this conversation right now."
Doza looked in dismay
"You're weak," Aeolus continued but I will mold the both of you into pristine warriors. "That way you and Master Kenos can live out his dream."
"His dream?, Doza whispered, his mind drifting to a far-off thought.
"Now again" shouted Aeolus, quickly vanishing and appearing behind Doza once again.
Although he was caught off guard, Doza wasn't going to let Aeolus pull the same move twice. Quickly spinning around he swung his left leg out aiming for the side of Aeolus's face. With his elegant footwork and body control, he majestically avoided Doza's kick while planting his foot on top of Doza's planted foot, knocking him over.
"You understand I'm not being serious right now," Aeolus grimaced.
Doza grits his teeth before rolling back and springing up. His dagger now drawn, he began encircling Aeolus. With the slightest hand gesture, Doza threw his dagger to the right of him.
Aeolus as suave as ever spun his body in a complete 360 degrees while grabbing it and throwing it back towards Doza, with an even faster speed.
Doza staired baffled, that someone could use his weapon against him. He was even more impressed by the grace of Aeolus's footwork. Dropping low Doza snags his blade from the air. Before he could even reset himself Aeolus appears before him. Doza was hastily hit in the face before being slammed to the ground causing all the nearby leaves to disperse.
An annoyed smile grows on Doza's face, "I'm gonna kick your ass."