Chapter 24: Comparisons are Brutal
"Compared to her," Kai said, his face dead serious, "at least I'm not faking it. I act my age. I'm honest!"
Ginta, the burly, afro-headed man, just stared at Kai's dead-serious expression and said nothing.
Menchi looked skeptical. "A fifty-year-old woman who looks like a little girl? Is that even real?"
Ginta cleared his throat. "I assume you're talking about Biscuit Krueger. You know her, Kai?"
"I know of her," Kai said seriously. "She doesn't know me."
Ginta: "..."
Menchi was floored. "She's real?!"
"Bisky is Chairman Netero's most accomplished student, and my senior. It's not my place to comment," Ginta said. He paused. "I'd also advise you not to bad-mouth her in front of me."
"I'm not bad-mouthing her!" Menchi protested, clenching her fists. "I'm jealous! That's eternal youth! Nen can do that? When I get old, I totally want an ability like that..."
Kai just stared. "...Are you guys done? I'm going back to my training."
Training again? Menchi was floored. Kai's diligence lit a fire under her, and she decided to join him.
Having a hot-headed (but cute) girl to look at would make the boring grind a little better, so Kai didn't object. Butch, however, seemed to have reservations about the chef, but he kept them to himself.
Ginta looked at Kai. "Are you sure?"
He was asking because a Nen user's type is a critical secret, usually reserved for one's closest allies.
"Oh, it's fine," Kai replied.
When Menchi realized what Ginta meant, she was touched. He trusts me that much?
"I already finished my Hatsu training this morning," Kai continued. "This afternoon, I'm just drilling fundamentals. No secrets to see."
Ginta: "..."
Menchi: "...What about me?"
Kai scoffed. "You haven't even developed a Hatsu yet, have you? I couldn't peek at your secrets even if I wanted to. There's nothing to peek at."
A vein bulged on Menchi's forehead, and her hand instinctively went for her knife...
"Besides, you already admitted you're a Conjurer," Kai added. "You've got no secrets left to hide from me, kiddo."
SHING! The knife was out. "Stand still! If you're going to be that arrogant, at least have the guts to take the hit!"
Ginta just sweat-dropped, watching them.
After blowing off some steam, Menchi huffily began her own training. She had already mastered Ten, Zetsu, and Ren. Her Gyo was passible. She really should have been working on her Hatsu, but Ginta had dragged her here to hunt poachers. After passing the exam in January, she'd wasted months on a cooking competition, and now it was almost the end of December. She still had no clear idea what kind of ability to develop...
"Shouldn't I just be working on my Hatsu?" Menchi complained, holding her Zetsu. "Why do I have to keep drilling basics I already know?"
"The fundamentals are everything," Ginta said. "Focusing on Hatsu before your basics are perfect is putting the cart before the horse."
Menchi was skeptical. To her, Nen was all about the cool superpowers. Hatsu was the core.
Ginta just said, "Watch him."
Menchi looked over. Kai was standing in the clearing, eyes closed, fists clenched, his body tensed. Butch was lying nearby, watching him, with birds perched on his head and tail. The scene was... strangely peaceful. "What's he doing?"
"Use your Gyo," Ginta said.
"Oh, right." Menchi focused. Slowly, she saw it. Kai's entire body was enveloped in a powerful shroud of Aura.
"That's Ren?" Menchi said, confused. "But... I couldn't feel his presence at all."
She knew that Ren was an explosive release of Aura. Anyone, even a non-user, would feel the pressure.
"That's because it's not Ren," Ginta said. "It's Ken. And his control is so good that he's not leaking any excess Aura."
"Ken?" She'd never heard of it.
"It's an advanced application of Ten and Ren," Ginta explained. "You're not ready for it. You need to master your basics first."
"Oh..." Menchi nodded and went back to her own training. "Ren!" she shouted, releasing her Aura. Then, she immediately (and incorrectly) tried to copy Kai. Her Aura control shattered, and the Ren dissipated. Ginta just watched. She needs to learn the hard way.
...
Kai, tired from his own drill, came over to watch Menchi.
She was finally trying to develop her Hatsu. As a Conjurer, she'd settled on an item. As a chef, she'd settled on... a kitchen knife.
"Just a knife?" Kai heckled from the sidelines. "Why not just buy a good one?"
"You're so annoying!" Menchi snapped. "Not a normal knife! I want 'a knife that can cut any ingredient'! It's perfect for cooking and for combat!"
Kai was speechless. "Give me your knife."
"I haven't Conjured it yet!"
"The one you tried to hit me with."
"Oh." Menchi handed him her paring knife.
Kai gripped the handle. Ginta's eyes narrowed as Kai's Aura flowed from his hand and enveloped the blade.
Kai took the normal knife, walked over to a nearby boulder, and sliced. The rock parted cleanly, as if it were a tomato. The blade was unharmed.
"'A knife that can cut any ingredient,'" Kai said, handing the knife back to the dumbfounded Menchi. "A normal knife can do that."
"What... what was that?" Menchi demanded, pointing at Kai.
Ginta sweat-dropped again. "That is Shu. The technique of enveloping an object in your Aura."
He added, "Like Ken, it's an advanced application. You need to--"
"Master my basics first, I know!" Menchi snapped, clearly frustrated. She turned to Kai. "How long did it take you to learn Ken and Shu?"
"Separately?" Kai said, handing back the knife, looking genuinely confused. "I just... learned them at the same time. Is it really that hard?"
Menchi: "..."
Ginta was now almost certain. This "boy" was just like Bisky.
(End of Chapter)