"Then, I got exactly what you need. For the right price, of course."
Aki cast a gaze of skepticism at the man, searching his face for any signs of deception. Utterly strange. The man was clad in martial artist robes, the pattern of Wind Spirals riddled the fabric, etched with delicate care. It was the outfit for Wind Artists, which meant the man was a local.
Thus, he must be aware of Aki's identity. And if that was the case, how could he propose an offer like that, knowing the consequences if he'd be caught selling them.
Leaking the Wind scrolls was a grave sin in the eyes of the clan, and those found to have committed such betrayal, were given brutal punishments.
Why would he risk that for some coins? Especially that it involved Aki, which redoubled the consequences of the dangerous gamble.
Or perhaps, he was an undercover officer, simply trying to lure Aki into a trap. But the more he thought of the scrolls, his hunger for them grew stronger.
If he managed to get his hands on a few, he would do his best to try and learn the techniques within them. And upon successfully doing so, he could participate himself in the tournament alongside Renji.
Aki brushed aside his reluctance and cleared his throat. "Right price?"
"What you'd normally buy them for. Plus a small fee since I'm taking a risk."
"How much?"
The man pondered for a second. "60 coins for the scroll, 20 for the fee."
He spared a glance at the bag of coins then returned his gaze to the man. He did have the money, but the cost left him with barely anything. Gritting his teeth, he decided. 'Dang it. I'll just borrow some money from Renji later.'
The coins spilled into his palm and he stopped at 90, closing his fist and wrapping the coin bag shut. He offered his hand out to the man, holding the coins before him.
"Excellent! Follow me!" A smirk spread upon the man's lips as he snatched the coins, pocketing them. "Follow me."
***
Aki should've grown suspicious when the man dragged him deep into the woods, but he held firm to the idea that he was simply reducing the threat of being spotted giving him the scrolls.
At this point, he was clinging to anything other than the potential of being led into an ambush or trap.
"It should be somewhere around…" The man looked around, then settled on a patch of dirt. "Yeah, it's here."
Aki watched with a puzzled expression as the man scooped up dirt and grass with his bare hands. After a few seconds of digging, he pulled out a scroll covered by plastic.
"Here you go." He tossed Aki the scroll.
"But this is only one?"
"Hm? You never said you wanted multiple."
"90 Coins for one scroll is nuts!"
"Tsk. Youth like you think that quantity is what matters. That scroll holds the strongest technique in all of the Wind nation. If you master it, nobody will be your match." The man said with pride dripping in his tone.
Aki's face brightened. "Really?"
The man nodded. "Yes! Now, go before somebody sees you."
"Wait—" Aki crouched, plucked a coin from the grass and tossed it to him. "I dropped this. It should be 90 now."
With that, he turned and made his way back home.
***
Frustration swelled in his chest as he dropped the scroll on the table.
As expected, it didn't work. Not that the scroll itself was fake or anything of that sort, but the fault lied on Aki himself.
He had wasted his money for the month, on a scroll that he couldn't use due to his Ki channel deformity, knowingly.
This wasn't the first time he tried something like this, he had successfully stolen scrolls when he was younger and spent months learning from them. But no matter how hard he attempted to learn, he just couldn't utilise the knowledge and mend Ki like required.
But it didn't matter that much, as the scroll was still useful, although not to him, but the next best person.
Renji picked up the scroll, examining its outside. "Hmm. Just one technique?"
Aki heaved a sigh. "Yeah. He says it's one of the best."
"Well, the paper does look high quality. Let's see." He dragged the scroll open and held back a chuckle once he read its content.
"What?"
"Nothing, it's just…" He cleared his throat. "This is a basic Enhancement technique. I was taught this when I was 7."
"Huh— What do you mean?"
"You were scammed." He rolled the scroll shut and lobbed it towards Aki.
Aki caught the scroll, his knuckles whitening as he gripped it with strength fueled with rage. "That fucking…"
***
Joseph whistled as he walked back home. He juggled the coins in his hands, savouring the sound of the coins crashing against each other.
The Disgraced had fallen into his trap rather easily. Desperation clouded the unfortunate's judgement, after all.
"You!" A recognizable voice called out from behind.
'Speak of the devil. Ugh.'
Joseph turned. Aki leaned on his knees, panting. "Oh, it's you." Joseph's cheerful expression watered down, and he looked utterly unamused.
"You scamming, lying piece of shit!"
Aki quickened forward and swept his spear in an arc. In one continuous movement, Joseph ducked and moved away from the weapon's range, pocketing the coins. Aki redoubled, the tip of his spear chasing Joseph with a jab.
Wind Ki surged through his body and he concentrated it on the center of his palm, then shot his hand forward. Air rippled and tore ahead, striking a dozen trees, splinters flying wildly in the air.
Aki had barely dodged unscatched, hurling himself away at the last moment before he would've exploded into pieces.
"Are you trying to kill me?!"
"Hm? You attacked me, why were you?" Ki condensed around Joseph's fists, crowning his hands in seamless white flame. "Besides, you could be a pain in the ass and report me to the police, could you not? I'm not taking that risk." He shrugged.
Every strike Aki launched was deflected or smacked away with ease, and the youth's face contorted with rage further with each failed attack.
Joseph skipped back, creating distance, and crouched. He flipped a coin and watched Aki recover his stamina, desperately charging his body with pure Ki.
"This is how you tracked me, huh?" Joseph eyed the coin. "A coin forged by Ki, wind Ki at that. This isn't your creation. Which means…"
Without even as looking in his direction, Joseph had grabbed Renji's face and slammed him onto the tree on beside him, leaving a bloody mark of his face etched on the bark.
"Renji!"
Aki charged. Joseph blocked and dodged. It was hopeless. The ambush had failed and Aki had no more tricks up his sleeve, he was doomed.
Well, he had one final trick, to be honest.
He stabbed with the spear. Joseph formed a barrier of wind, propelling the weapon back. Aki grounded himself with Ki, gritting his teeth as his feet sank into the dirt.
With every fiber in his muscles, he pushed his spear forward, tearing through a weak point in the flow of wind. The center.
Aki designed the spear for this one purpose, a counter for Wind attacks. Piercing weapons were the bane of such style, and with the tip of the spear being so thin, it easily exploited the weakness of the flow, heading straight for Joseph.
It plunged deep inside of his chest, sinking through muscles and coming out the other side, before finally, skewering him to the tree.
A second passed, a breath, a beat of Aki's heart, and then—
Joseph's body exploded into a gush of wind. Aki's eyes widened.
'An illusion?!'
Time seemed to stop.
"You think nobody tried that before?" Joseph muttered behind Aki. He drew his fist back as far as possible, squeezing his core dry and powering his attack with the whole of his Ki. "You're impressive, astonishing even, but still, foolish."
The back of Aki's spear struck him right on the chin, sending him cras
hing into a tree. A reversal strike fueled by the very own Wind Joseph had released.
"What? You think nobody tried that before?"