Pit Stop

Yes! He grabbed hold of Kore and that little dude was about to go flying into the dirt! "Yes! Finally got somethin' on them- Oh, come on! Not even that?!" He was fighting someone that had potentially centuries of experience more than him in a fighting style that consistently whooped his ass, but he was still optimistic about his chances! At least he knew what to do when someone was flipping him over their shoulder. All he'd have to do is... That. "You're gonna teach me all the stuff you're doin' here, right?" As this was going on, all he could think about was all of the broken bones and bruises he would've missed out on if he fought like Kore. Why did he never learn to fight defensively again?

Oh, right. When Yogu was twelve, he told his granddad he wanted to only learn the 'cool moves'. And it turns out those cool moves don't do much good when they wind you right after using them. His new teacher also brought up a very good point, how he even got to flip them in the first place was a fluke, something that'd never work in a real fight. Kore had been nothing but encouraging at this point, but he was increasingly becoming more self-conscious about how skilled of a fighter he was other than his ability to punch kind of hard. Now it was time for Yogu to go on the defensive. Uh oh.

Alright, he knew Kore was gonna come at him. He had a chance to come up with some kinda plan and- Oh, they were alright right on him. "Crap!" It was all up to muscle memory now. Yogu thought back to a time in high school, a real bad fight he had gotten in. He didn't remember why, something to do with him graffiti tagging some other delinquents' usual spot. They met up after school and duked it out on a football field. It was exactly the cringe angsty teen fight it sounded like. The only difference was Yogu actually kind of knew how to fight then. That weird kid he beat up had thrown a punch the same way Kore attacked him then. His body reacts, swinging a forearm up and smacking the wrist of Kore's attacking hand to get it out of the way, then he throws am elbow out to hit Kore in the same place they were aiming for. Obviously he wasn't going to knock his teacher off their feet, but with any luck, it'd give him enough distance to follow up with a trio of ki blasts to make an even greater distance! If he's able to get all of that off successfully, he fires another at the ground to kick up a dust cloud that's a good enough size to obscure him for a moment or two. Hopefully, that would provide him the cover to come up with something more substantial. If he wanted to do something really impressive he always had that move! But he'd never even used it before! "I guess that's what would make it impressive..." and from what he'd seen so far it would probably end up doing more damage to him than Kore. It was a fun idea, but he'd keep it as a last resort plan in case his teacher ends up absolutely wiping the floor with him.

---

KP: 4/6 -> 6/6
MP: 4/6 -> 5/6
Damage: 40%
---
Total WC: 4,309

Yogu felt a swell of pride blocking that attack but was a little disappointed by Kore blocking the hit. He wasn't expecting a very different outcome, so he'd have to take solace in the fact that he was at least keeping up with his sparring partner. Kore then apologizes for their friendliness, and now Yogu was starting to feel a little guilty. "What? You don't gotta apologize, I'm the one takin' a spar a little too serious!" He shouts over the sounds of ki blast meeting ki. So Kore wanted to know some stuff about him huh? What was there to tell?

He was a criminal. A terrible son. Even worse brother. A deadbeat with no future. The only thing of note he's ever done was take a martial arts class from his weird self-righteous grandfather, and even then, he just used that "skill" to steal stuff and take lunch money from nerds. He was a strange little loner who refused to grow up.

Kore complimented him on his defensive work. He felt a little guilty not letting his teacher know it was pure luck. But he didn't even know if the shinjin teaching him was a certainty yet, so he'd have to make the best impression possible! "I dunno Kore, from my experience, what I do have a knack for is bein' able to get the crap knocked outta me, not avoid it." Obscured by the dust cloud, Yogu makes a decision on what to do next. He'd have to just fire another Kamehameha! At least with the cloud up, he'd have a better chance at actually hitting the guy. But it was then that Kore made their comment about the technique. "It's KA-ME-HA-ME-HA actually!" He yells, taking slight offense to the mispronunciation. "And yeah! I got wayyyyy more in my arsenal!" He was completely talking out of his ass there. He had one maybe two other moves. And one of them was even weaker than the beam. And the other...

Well, the shinjin said not to hold back. Just how strong was this guy?!

"Alright, you said it so I'm gonna go ALL OUT!" The cloud clears and Yogu is standing, hunched over with his hands out in front of him, fingertips touching to form a triangle shape. His whole body tenses and he begins to shake. If he wasn't sweating under the desert sun already, then the effort he was putting into whatever this was would make him start. "You w-wanted to know some stuff about me right?" His hands begin to light up yellow, but not with ki. His energy begins to rise, at first matching Kores, then doubling- no, tripling! This was far more energy than anything Yogu had come close to using before! A loud buzzing sound could be heard, and his hands begin to crackle and spark with electricity. "I ain't entirely h-human. My grandfather's grandfather came from space, a planet called K-k-k-konats... I dunno a lot about 'em, but they could do magic and use ki, that sorta thiiiiing." Bolts arc off the ground around him like a tesla coil. He separates his hands, pointing them palm out at his target! His voice was shaky and tense, "He taught me a martial art he picked up called Turtle Style. Some of it, at least, before he died. He called this move Thunder Shock Surprise, used to say it turned your ki into twenty-thousand volts of electricity! I think a more fitting name is TURTLE STYLE LAST RESORT!" That was because it really was his last resort, he could feel it. He'd at least need to take a break after using this, so he had to hope it'd be sufficient for Kore. Seemed like a lot to stake everything on this one move, but hey, Yogu deals in extremes!

All of the sparking stops and the buzz becomes a low hum. Yogu falls silent, hoping Kore would give him the opportunity to actually use the move. The amount of time it took to charge would have to be seriously improved. But hey, for his first time using the move he was pleasantly surprised by how well it was going. "HAH!" And just like that, a narrow bolt of 20,000 volts was headed straight for Kore! With any luck, something like this would catch his teacher seriously off-guard and impress the hell out of them! He hadn't really considered how scary suddenly getting jumped with something like that was.

---

Well. He didn't hold back.

Yogu transforms to MAX Power! His PL is now 24,000!

Yogu activates Support Technique || MAX Power! The power of his technique is boosted by 10%.

Yogu uses SPARKING HEAVY || Turtle Style Last Resort - An old technique passed down through the Turtle Hermits. Yogu charges up and shoots a lightning blast of ki towards the target using both hands, trapping them in an electrical field and doing incredible damage. According to legend, this technique turns all the energy in the user's body into 20,000 volts of electricity. The attack is extremely lethal and dangerous, and as such, Turtle Hermits prefer not to use it. Good thing Yogu isn't one.
This move is going at Kore for 24,000 damage! This technique has the following variants: Bleed+ and Homing+
---
KP: 6/6 -> 0/6
MP: 5/6 -> 0/6 (MAX Power is cancelled)
Damage: 40%
---
Total WC: 5,055



While he was wrapping up charging his attack, Kore said some words that spoke to him. Yogu wasn't sure about the shinjin at first, but what they said had incredible wisdom. It answered the question that had been wracking his mind for months: Why get up? Why keep fighting when it was feeling like the whole world tried to snuff out his light? Because he could change. He didn't have to be this monster that destroys buildings and moons and his own life. This was the motivation he needed.

Well, Yogu went all out. He couldn't see very well while his attack was going on; a lot of light to go along with that power. As he finishes the attack and finally takes a breath, he gets a look at Kore. Who is completely unharmed and suddenly completely overpowering Yogu in strength! He was awestruck at the incredible shinjin. "Wow. You're amazin' Kore!" He stumbles for a moment, completely out of it after using an attack like that. It might've been small compared to what Kore could do, but that really was the half-humans everything. Then came the Shinjin's attack, which, while not leaving any real physical damage, still knocked him on his ass.

He stares up at the great blue above them, splayed out on the ground like he was about to start making snow angels. "Conviction, huh?" While he would've loved to lay there and rest for a day or two, he couldn't disappoint his teacher now. So he picks himself back up. Although a little shaky at first, he was feeling a little confident about continuing. Like sixty percent confident, which was pretty good for Yogu!

"Hey- uh- I lied about havin' way more in my "arsenal"... That was all I got in the way of any moves other than a good punch or kick." He had the strength to pull his arms up for air quotes, so that was a good sign!

---

he's takin' a breather after getting smacked up.
---
KP: 0/6 -> 2/6
MP: 0/6 -> 0/6
Damage: 93%
---
Total WC: 5,381

Kore said something. He couldn't hear because there was an overwhelming ringing in his ears after that move. Judging by how these things usually went, he assumed they were asking if he was alright. "I've been worse!" He shakes his head until the ringing stops, and that seems to help a little bit. Then Kore threw an orb of light into his chest like it was the most normal thing ever and that helped a lotta bit. Yogu scratches at and pats where the orb entered his body. "Huh. Neat." Now he felt like he hadn't even used that attack!

Kore went on to explain that the number of techniques they had was on the smaller side too, Yogu knew that didn't mean they didn't have much to teach though. And hey, that still meant there were some moves to pick up! Like that cool pink beam they used! And that bubble shield! "Well, hey, maybe I could teach you some of what I know too? You may have all those years of experience, but I might know a move or two you don't."

Hey! A seat! Yogu loved those. Some shade wasn't too bad either. He sits back down in the lawn chair while taking the thermos back from his trainer. He sat there for a moment, sipping on the water. He thought he needed a break, but he didn't feel tired at all after that orb to the chest. he scoots his way to the front edge of the chair. Leaning forward and looking at Kore, "So we gonna get back to brawlin'? I can't do that move again, but I can still do the other one!" But Kore didn't see the use in continuing with that. Yogu hated to admit it, but he was just too weak for that. He'd need to train. But that's exactly why the shinjin was there. Well, actually the shinjin was there by pure chance and had just been looking to investigate earth a bit. But the boy had forgotten all about that by now. "So the Hanaka is like that beam thing you did right? Shouldn't be too hard, right?" It had been a long time since Yogu had to learn something. He'd forgotten about the months of being up all day and night not even getting a tiny ball of energy in his hand to charge up the Kamehameha. He was the worst when it came to learning new tricks. But this was what he needed. Relying on the stuff he'd learned when he was barely a teenager wasn't going to get him through life.

---

---
KP: 0/6 -> 6/6
---
Total WC: 5,816

Kore didn't seem all that interested in learning the moves Yogu had already. They were right; their styles felt almost opposite of each other. With that comment, the boy began to wonder just how strange of a fighting style the combination of the two would be. He made it look like he was listening, nodding along to his new teacher's words. He was mostly focused on the future though; like what if Yogu did master the shinjin's style? Think of how unorthodox and weird of a fighting style he'd have! He'd really confuse people, fighting like a drunk street brawler one second and then the next he's blocking and cutting moves in half with the technical skill of a one-hundred-year-old martial arts master!

Something like that was a long way off, however.

Kore started explaining the move, this mystical 'Hanaka'. At first, it didn't sound all that hard, just a beam of energy right? Then he started to think about that whole one-handed part. That would be pretty hard. It was difficult enough, using both hands to gather up the energy without it dissipating into the air. He wasn't sure if he could do something like that. Sure, he'd focused ki into a fist before, but that was a much different principle than gathering it up and throwing it at someone. This move seemed like a sort of awkward in-between of a Ki Focus and a Kamehameha. He stares down at his right hand, splayed out. He slowly curls it into a fist as Kore continues to explain, "So this aura slide thing, you're kinda constantly focusing energy into your hands, so you could make a beam in a split second, right?" The idea of having all of that energy just... Sitting there. He wasn't sure how Kore did it. If he focused ki into his fists for more than a couple of seconds, they feel numb the rest of the day! So yeah, using the aura slide to make this easier wasn't going to be an option. He'd have to just brute force it to learn.

He follows Kore away from the shade and seats and stands across from him, taking the same awkward, uncoordinated stance from before. He does as Kore says and changes his stance immediately, squaring his shoulders and making his posture look a lot nicer. It still wasn't close to what you'd call 'perfect form', or even 'good form' for that matter. But he could still definitely do the technique like this. "So what d'you call your fighting style, Kore? Do you Shinjin even got a name for how you guys do things?"

---

Total WC: 6,254

So the Aura slide was more like turning your body into a more efficient ki battery. It made sense to him. Kore said it would take a slight bit of focus. But in Yogu terms, that would be a herculean task. It was going to be hard, learning to clear his mind. He wasn't sure he'd ever had a calm and clear thought. His brain constantly bounced around from one thing to the next. He never gave himself the chance for a break. There was never a time when he stopped and thought this was a problem before. He'd always seen it as having a lot on the mind. But now he was rethinking everything. Were most of his thoughts just noise? Something to drown out and distract from real problems he had in his life? Did he even know what clear, calm, and concise thought was like? He had to do it for a reason, make all that noise in his head. Like he was trying to keep something buried deep down, but what? That didn't matter right now. He was doing it again.

Yogu takes his stance and immediately his teacher sets to work poking at all the holes in his stance. He stops slouching, at least stops slouching enough so that Kore stops making a face like he was making a complete mockery of the art form. He scootches his legs closer together and adjusts the back foot a little, but letting go of that rigidness felt a little too awkward for the boy. He makes other slight adjustments while he listens to the history of Kore's fighting style. It fascinated Yogu, how much of what people know is just other people's knowledge that they just copy. He supposed it wasn't much like copying and more like just passing it down. That is what they called it. He wondered if his grandfather would be proud of how he did against the shinjin in that fight. He didn't want to think about what the older Om thought about all his previous fights. "I wonder how he'd feel about me learning someone else's techniques." The old coot would've probably said something like, "Well 'least yer learnin' somethin'! And they're RIGHT! Move yer feet chump; ya look like a clown! Heh heh!" Finally, Yogu loosens up that back leg and looks like he's giving an actual effort now. "Hanboei?" He wasn't sure what it meant, but it sounded right to him.

He does as Kore instructs and starts going through the motions of a Kamehameha. He tenses his body, far from the fluid motion that he was supposed to do for such a move. He makes slow, exaggerated movements with his arms, his hands make a claw gesture. The hands come together at the wrists and he slowly draws his cupped hands to his right hip, the palms pointing out towards Kore. He takes a deep breath and steels himself before shooting his arms out with sudden force, overextending them an uncomfortable amount. He breathes out, completing what would be the Kamehameha had he concentrated any energy into it. Yogu has an expression that clearly shows even he wasn't impressed by it. He pauses a moment before doing it yet again, there were slight improvements this time, but the form was overall still quite sloppy. "So ya think I could learn the Hanaka doin' something like this?"

---

Total WC: 6,821

Kore's comment about how he looked going through the motions had caught him off guard. Had he looked so depressed, doing the move his grandfather had spent his last years passing down to him? He supposed it made sense. Something about using these moves always brought something out in Yogu. The movements, sloppy as they were, still were enough to conjure up memories of him sitting beside his siblings on their front lawn, staring in awe as they watched their crazy grandpa do the impossible. Fly, shoot fire from his hands, get thrown through a building, and come out the other side fine! Then he'd tell them all about how they'd be able to do it too! Given time. Yogu had never realized just how much of a love for life the old man had. How lucky he was to have gotten to share that time with him.

And now he was dead and gone. And so was that passion for life itself. Yogu just hadn't realized he'd let it die in him too.

Kore's words hit him in a real deep spot. He'd decided his life was over before it had even begun. Like loose energy that constantly radiated off every living thing, he was formless potential, just waiting for something to shape it into something incredible. Yogu feared that potential, it was true. He hadn't always. His grandfather had shown him just what that potential could be used for. Doing the impossible.

To better himself and improve on the craft that had started with his grandfather. To be greater. To carry that lust for life he'd loved about his grandpa so much and to make the world a better place, regardless of past mistakes. Not to atone, he felt he'd done enough of that to last a lifetime. But to honor a man so impossibly good, so infallible in Yogu's eyes that he could only hope to make him proud. That's what his life was going to be. He decided it right there and then. To do that, he couldn't play dead out of fear anymore. "Yeah, that makes sense." He says in a noticeably cheerier tone. He carries himself a little different, his back a little straighter, chest a little more puffed out, shoulders squarer.

He takes a deep breath, "Alright. Clear mind. Now." No more getting stuck in his own head all the time. No more constant self-doubt. If he wanted to get anywhere in life, he'd simply have to shut up and do it.

He follows along with the Shinjin, doing the movements in tandem. As he brings his hands to his side he feels a well of energy in his chest. Like that weight had moved from his shoulders down, before all at once swelling into his arms and out. As Kore's arms shoot forward, so too does Yogu's. This Kamehameha is quite different, a smile across his face as he does the move. The beam has much more serious power to it, the Beam becoming larger and overpowering Yogu from his teacher's view. The brilliant wall of light tears through the desert like paper, sucking in the air around the boy like a vacuum. A couple of hundred feet away, the beam begins to curve upward, tearing off into the empty sky until it blends in with the dusk colors, now a gorgeous blend of blues, oranges, and purples. 

His arms gently fall to his side as he watches his work tear through the sky. But it wasn't just his work, was it? Tears hit the sand at his feet, causing the countless impossibly small individual grains to stick together and change into mud. His tears didn't come from sadness. He'd never felt more right in his life.

---

Total WC: 7,446