Rue had been quite useful as of late. The diminitive little node seemed to have a knack for infiltrating into the most unusual of places moreso than any of Aegir's other nodes. This had naturally concerned Aegir for the node was still young but seemed to be displaying its first quirks of intelligence which only meant that Aegir would have to destroy it. A pity, considering the usefulness of the particuliar node but he would not be soft hearted upon the thing knowing full well that in time it would turn upon him. Right now though it was too weak, too small and too insignificant to pose a threat to its parent. Still he would not risk being undermined by Rue even if the node had its uses.

Some how the little creation had worked its way into a student interview. It even pressed its own psionic abilities upon the student in question drawing emotions from each and every question that was asked. Rue scratched the surface of what was said and delved a little deeper before passing on its new found knowledge to Aegir. Physical specimen ... Tae Kwon Do practioner ... swimmer ...

Aegir analyzed Rue's meager summary knowing full well that those traits would interest Aegir. He was after all interested in both willful and athletic students and with this one being a swimmer he could have easily arranged something pertaining to his native aquatic environment though he dismissed this notion preferring to challenge himself a little Aegir thought upon some of her other qualities and interests.

That had been nearly a week ago. And while Aegir had been busy primarily hunting for his own nourishment to sate his incredible hunger throughout the initial days of her arrival he was still able to consider his options and make a few rudimentary plans. That was one of the perks about having a compound mind for he could think upon several topics at once, concentrating on numerous tasks had certain advantages. For starters it let him take care of his physical needs while contemplating what he desired to accomplish through his research. It also let him calculate plans to place into motion.

Now a being like Aegir couldn't just slither into the dorms and snatch up whomever he wanted. For starters there would be too many witnesses to deal with not to mention there was little challenge in such a brazen action. He preferred to keep a low profile not minding if his victims were aware of him though not wishing to deal with any other distractions or annoyances along the way. For the task at hand he had something far more subtle in mind.

Dispatching one of his nodes he patiently waited throughout most of the morning and into the early afternoon hours for the tiny half dollar sized creature to get into position. Having gleaned a little bit of knowledge about his prey through the ample use of his nodes Aegir had been ready to act. And while he was to noticeable to just storm on into classrooms and dorms his nodes could accomplish what he could not. Furthermore he could focus upon them using them as conduits unto which he could extend his own abilities broadcasting his powers through them.

So was it little wonder that he had positioned his node in the most likely path Kireina would take from her last class of the day to her dorm room. Through the node he had already invoked an illusion consisting of two students, earlier victims whom he could conjure up in explicit detail rather than create from nothingness as Aegir hadn't been renown for his creativity. Of course he had borrowed his creative streaks from those individuals he absorbed and the memories he pulled straight out of the minds of others which allowed him at least some measure of leway when it came to spinning such elaborately detailed illusions.

How to bait his trap? Why it was simple of course. He would simply play out the illusion having the two girls speak about a Tae Kwon Do tryout, one would seem interested in getting involved the other would seem reluctant. It was his intention that Kireina would over hear at least part of the conversation and inquire more about it. If so then he could communicate through the illusion exactly where he wanted her to go. Weaving a web of deception couldn't have been more fun though if she had ignored his little snare Aegir had a back up plan. He always did, which was what made him so efficient in cornering his prey. He was not agile though he possessed incredible reflexes and coordination so he wasn't into chasing after his victims. For the time being though he concentrated on his initial plan and would fall to his back up only if it were necessary.

Its been a week since she arrived, and frankly she was starting to get a jus a tiny bit bored.

Its not that the place lost its charm. Actually its something out of every high school girls dream. It was huge, but not overflowing with buildings. There were a lot of places to hang out and relax. There was a humongous library, top of the line computer rooms, luxurious dorms, an amazing gym filled with the best equipment and even a beach.

The reason was she missed her old routine. She missed her guy friends, the people that taught her how to brawl. She missed her school’s gym, her dojo and most of all she missed the adrenaline rush of competing in her favorite sports.

Of course she was still diligently training. She was accepted in Shokushu under a sports scholarship to she have to maintain her peak form. Unfortunately it’s been quite unsatisfactory training alone.

With a sigh she turned the corner, intending to go to the only place that amused her, the library.

She passed by a pair of girls talking about something. She barely registered them.

“Why not I think it would be to try out for the school’s team…” A voice floated into her ear. She shrugged and didn’t change her pace.

“But that’s a physical sport! You might get hurt sparring”

Wait sparring?” The word caught Ki’s interest. She slowed her pace a bit, her ears listening.

“We’ll be wearing protection anyway…” the first girl said offhandedly. “Besides its not like anyone here has been killed for practicing Tae Kwon Do”

“Wait… what?” Kireina turned in surprise facing the two girls. A small smile played on her lips even though she tried hard to suppress it.

“There’s a Tae Kwon Do tryout?”

There was a moment there when he thought that he might have lost her. She kept moving hardly paying any attention to the illusionary students until a key word played upon her ears causing her to stop. That magic word so happened to be sparring. Despite the distance that had separated them, Aegir found that he was instinctually responding to his prey. His tentacles fanning out as they danced in the air haphazardly almost as if agitated or excited. Normally he would have forced himself to control their movements, surpressing them while remaining hidden so that he could observe his target. This time, however, there was no need for such precautions. Kireina could not see him and there was no danger of being discovered. Later he would have to exhibit better control but for the time being he was free to behave as he willed. Not just that but he could study her through his well hidden node just as much as he could interact with her through the illusion that he projected through it.

"I don't remember speaking to you newbie," one of the girls snapped her eyes flowing over Ki in a quick assessment of the teen as she folded her arms across her chest. Aegir wanted the illusion to be believeable. He was not a master of such things, not being very creative, though he did have a decent understanding of the psychology of humans. All that delving into their minds allowed him to draw upon the occassional tid bit of information that proved useful from time to time. Hostility had a way of throwing individuals off their guard, in placing them on the defensive and thus otherwise distracting them. If he could keep her just slightly unbalanced then it would be less likely that she would spot the camoflauged node or perceive this interaction as illusionary. At the same time though he did not intent to drive her off for that would have gone contrary to his purposes.

"Don't be so mean, Brooke," the second girl said to the first, her eyes flowing to Ki as a smile spread over her full red lips. "You heard correctly. This evening at 6 out on the soccer field. The word is that Shokushu has brought in a 5th dan to lead instructions." A master level instructor ... Aegir felt no need to be over the top with his illusions nor did he feel that he had to make things seem too good to be true. What was important was that he had woven something both believeable and desireable. Besides, what would a 7th dan or grand master be doing here on this remote island? A master was more believeable, though stretching it a bit he hung a lantern on the tale through relaying surprise into his illusion. The girl that spoke seemed to be surprised at that fact, yet anxious.

Throughout the exchange he managed to multitask. Deceiving her senses was easy. Any fool that could harness the powers of illusion could pull that off. What was more challenging was deceiving her mind. In the past Aegir had found that deceiving the mind could be done by supplying it with what it wanted to a point. There was the old earth addage that things were too good to be true and that applied to weaving successful illusions. If they were too perfect then the illusion was bound to fail. Thus he had the tricky task of making things appealing to her but not amazingly so.

His illusions at work Aegir had begun reading her mind as easily as a being would sit down and partake of a good book. Her recent thoughts being the freshest were tasty tid bits that he nibbled upon. Appetizers for the larger meal that was to come, Aegir used this time to double check what facts he had gathered about her while discerning whether or not she possessed any hidden traits or talents that could prove challenging to overcome. He knew that he would later have his tentacles full should she fall for his charade though whether or not she did made little difference.

Either he would lure her to the fields at an hour of the evening where most were either hitting the books or partaking of dinner or he would be forced to go to her. His boneless body could compress through some of the tinniest of cracks. There was virtually no challenge in controlling the mind of a student to leave a window ajar allowing him an easy point of access ...

Reeling in his thoughts Aegir realized that he must have drifted away. He had been getting too far ahead of himself in his thoughts and thus turned his focus fully upon the development of the present. What happened now would dictate what he chose to do later after all. He had already worked out contingencies, already had a few details set into place so it was primarily determining which location he would need to travel to and what surprises he could bare against the unsuspecting young woman.

Ki’s eyes went to the first girl first, meeting her gaze in so calm and confident. She never let anyone take her lightly, not even seniors twice her age. Often she was underestimated, after all she was a little bit thin and not as fast as she wanted to e.

But speed, like the style of strikes, is a skill, and one that she’s learning day by day.

Her eyes flickered coolly over the first girl, her gaze scrutinizing and just little a bit critical of the cheerleader build. Personally she didn’t like girls who were too thin, they tend to starve themselves to have Barbie doll builds.. She, herself, was quite heavy, not from fat but from the firm well toned muscles she built up in the past years.

“Don’t be so mean brooke…” the second one’s voice drifted into her ear, breaking the staring-glaring contest that was about to start. She turned her gaze dismissively on the first girl, breathing deeply to steady her feelings. Being hot headed was one of her small faults, and she knew how deadly it is in the field.

“word is that Shokushu has brought in a 5th dan to lead instructions.” She blinked at that statement. She didn’t realize how interesting it was going to be, in fact her master at home was only a 3rd degree black belt.

“thanks for the information, maybe ill join” She smiled at the second girl her eyes twinkling slightly. In fact there was no other reason for her not to join. She was waiting for an opportunity like this ever since she came into the High school.

With one final glance at the first girl she turned and walked away, with every intent on limbering up her body before the tryouts….

So it had worked like a charm, the distraction pulled Ki's attention to it as Aegir had intended. All the while he drank down the emotions that rose up in the student consuming them like a refreshing draught. She was a fiery one it seemed and thus he had begun to anticipate the challenges that remained ahead. Having drunk in her thoughts Aegir had a good understanding of her plans. Without a doubt Ki would be at the try outs. She probably would not have minded in the least to get her hands on Brooke either and that thought had lead to other entertaining prospects. With much to do before hand Aegir drew his presence away from his node and with that action the illusion had faded. Oh, he ensured he had waited long enough so that no one had been in sight of the two students ensuring that the deception remain just that. There was little point in having gone through the efforts of setting something up only to have it unraveled because of some witness or another that came across and reported an unusual matter.

Due largely in part to his slow moving nature it took Aegir a good while to reach the field in question. His mind glimpsed back into the pasts of some of those absorbed memories in an effort to draw upon them. What did a martial arts try out entail? What guise should he display? What personality should he adopt? This deception would be far more challenging than the first though it did help that he had no need of maintaining it for a protracted period of time. Long enough for Ki to drop her guard, to unleash his attack and snare her in his mass of tentacles. Naturally he had wanted her to tire herself through the try outs first, which would take some planning on his part. If the ruse was detected too soon then he would have to strike quickly before loosing the opportunity to do so. While his coordination and reflexes were superb Aegir understood that he was no match for the speed of most humans, atheletes in particular. There were a few tricks that he could employ to slow down his quarry, and of course there was always mind control though he was loathe to use that ability upon the prey he hunted. It was a bit disdainful to him that he would be required to usurp the mind of his victims to snare them. Rather than resort to that method Aegir was content in letting the occassional victim escape his grasp, replan and reorganize then nab them in the future. Humans being short term creatures generally dropped their guard soon enough whether in a few days or months made little difference to one like Aegir.

At last he had turned up at the field he had planned to use. Having surveyed it several times since his arrival at Shokushu Aegir was familiar with the place. White eyes danced around the perimeter taking in the sights, considering the escape routes from this place and analyzed difficult terrain features in the nearby area. How to manipulate matters so that he stood greater chances of snaring his victim while limiting her ability to slip away.

He had settled some of these concerns by setting up at the far end of the field ensuring that Ki would have to travel the greatest distance to flee back towards the dorms or classrooms. Thankfully the elements had been on his side too for the rain that had come down the night before had made the grassy terrain a bit soggy and more than a bit mushy in places. Footing would be an issue for bipedal creatures while the mud would slow near anyone down. This benefitted him seeing that his mode of travel was done through slithering and crawling along the ground anyway so there was no chance that he would loose his footing, slip or fall. It would not equalize his speed to a fleeing human but it at least gave him more of a chance to catch up to Ki should she decide to flee and so happen to slip and fall. Barring that he could use the extra time it would take her in crossing the field to draw upon his other talents to both slow her down, divert her flight path and otherwise muddle any sort of escape plan.

Aegir liked having a contingency plan or two in place. Few times had anything gone according to plan and so it was always better to be prepared for as many eventualities as one could muster. Content that he had mastered the terrain there were but two vital parts missing to achieve victory, at least according to the general Sun Tzu. Knowing oneself, and knowing one's adversary. So he could safely scratch off knowing himself. He knew what he was capable of, his weaknesses and his strengths. Lastly he knew some, though not all of what Ki was capable of. Prying into her mind further during these fictious try outs would allow him to learn exactly what she was capable of and thus use that against her. Total victory was at the tips of his tentacles.

Assuming the form of a man in his early to mid 40's seemed to suit the matter at hand. Someone that started training when young enough, and talented enough, could have achieved the rank he was striving to imitate. As for appearance? Well Aegir had never been known much for his creativity and so once more he borrowed from the absorbed memories that he had access to. For appearance he had gone with the template of Jean Claude Van Dame, added a bit of long hair styled into a pony tail like Steven Segal then marred the skin tone to a weathered bronze. A facial scar couldn't hurt matters so he added a jagged one along the left temple in order to tarnish the otherwise perfect form if only to make it seem more believeable through that imperfection. Next he melded in a tattoo of an Oriental dragon that ran down the length of the man's upper left arm beginning near the shoulder and tappering off at the forearm. On the right bicep were the Korean symbols for the words Discipline, Devotion, Understanding.

Drawing upon his illusionary talents Aegir had assembled a small selection of students, Brooke being one of them. Further he had added an injury to one of the girl's, a lump upon her forehead which would be explained as an injury in practice ... natch, he expected Ki to be on time though he would explain this as Ki having received faulty information as to the time that the try outs had started placing her roughly a half hour late. Believeable in that the girls she derived the information from had deliberately mislead her or so it was his hope that she would arrive at that conclusion. The thing with constructing good illusions was not to over play your hand, to let your prey draw their own conclusions from the stimuli you subjected them too.

Having the illusionary students huddled around the injured girl, Aegir would dismiss some of them to help the stricken one back to the hospital wing. Thus, he could cut down upon the number of figments that he had to control upon Ki's arrival. Then, seeing that try outs were near over he could grill Ki for being late having her work double time in an effort to exhaust her quicker. It all seemed like a rather elogant plan to Aegir. He could refine it as he went if there were any snares. He just hoped that he had drawn upon the right martial arts gi. Now all he needed was a name and personality for this identity, something that he would come up with while he awaited the arrival of his prey.

Kireina walked towards the field, dressed in her spotless white gi. She looked at the mud with disdain, and looked back up at the sky. The stars were there, but they were nearly covered by clouds, showing that its was either going to drizzle, or it’ll rain later in the night.

*Its still an… unusual place to hold a try out…* she thought, herm mind becoming more alert. She hesitated, lingering at the edge of the field and gazing at the lights on the far side.

Most tryouts were held in the gym, where the floor was hard and secure enough to insure complete balance and a chance to show one’s true strength in equal footing. The field, on the other hand, can be quite… rough, stony and not really good on the feet. Add the fact that tae kwon do was an art usually practiced barefooted; she was more than a little wary of everything.

She shifted her weight looking around. It was always a not good thing not walk somewhere new without first checking out the place. With a trained eye she noted the patched of mud and rocks, filing them in her mind just in case.

With a soft sigh she debated whether to go or not. She’d been hearing things about monsters from other students, and the story varied every time. From illusionist to powerful tentacled monsters, a lot of things seem to attack the place. Usually in day light she would have dismissed them, but now in the nights dark embrace she had a hard time pulling her thoughts away.

“Okay Ki, think…” she closed her eyes and focused her chi, breathing and calming herself down. When her hands stopped shaking she opened her eyes and smiled slightly.

“Alright lets do this…” she murmured, dismissing the fear and nervousness to the back of her mind. With a steady pace she made her way to the other side, still unconsciously noting the place.

The stage set, the environment to his liking, Aegir could sense Ki's nearness well before his acute eyes could spot her. He had adapted to seeing through the murk and gloom found at the bed of the ocean floor so deep down that sunlight could not penetrate the icy waters he so often submerged himself in. Thoughts though, brainwaves of sapients carried further to his attuned senses than visual stimuli or audio for that matter.

At first he could only pick up the most fleeting of matters. The general concern and uneasiness Ki had felt upon approaching these grounds. Specific thoughts, ideas and memories that he could have plucked from her conscious and subconscious mind with relative ease eluded him at such a vast distance. Soon enough he would attune himself to her as she drew near. In much the same fashion as an old style television had to have an antenna relay turned and twisted in a particular fashion in order to get a reception Aegir had to do such the same to filter through her thoughts and those of other students that lurked within campus buildings. Syphoning through them, tuning into Ki's his reception grew clearer the closer she had gotten.

His illusion already in place he had set it into motion so that it had not appeared so static and mundane. He directed the movements of the illusionary students, added in their concerned chatter while adding his own voice to the mix issuing his commands to get the injured girl to the infirmary. When he cast his gaze up from the task his eyes followed the two students that assisted their injured comrade away before his eyes swept the field coming to rest upon Ki as she approached. So it had seemed that he had gotten the gi right after all, a good thing seeing how that could have unraveled this charade in a heartbeat.

"Your late," his tone sour though not too sour as hard eyes fell upon her. Folding his hands across his barrel-shaped chest he regarded the newcomber with a discerning eye as if quickly appraising what to do with her. "Normally I would bare you from competiting being so late but a recent injury has left us with an opening."

While it would appear that he had spoken those words they were relayed into her mind through telepathy for Aegir possessed no vocal chords in which to mimic human speech. A psychic or another psion could have picked up the telltale signs of this though Aegir had trusted in his talents as well as the preliminary information he had received from his nodes about her.

During that once over he relayed upon her Aegir drew upon her mind. While only a scant few seconds had slipped past they were far more than enough for him to dig into her conscious thoughts. As deftly as a scalpel's blade Aegir manuevered his mind through her own scratching beneath the conscious mind to the subconscious. Peeling away a few layers of information had been just as easy as removing the skin of an orange. Once done he could glimpse her most recent thoughts and emotions, scan them and follow them back further into her mind.

In just a few seconds he had processed her recent doubts plucking her thoughts from her recent memories by tracing over the newly formed synapeses that allowed information to be passed to neurons that would store this information into her long term memory. Finding her short term memories was a bit trickier though nothing challenging for one of his practice. His mind being as complex as it was allowed for Aegir to multitask upon a good number of things at once while allowing him full motor control over his numerous appendages. So Ki had doubted his choice of a training area, that was of course easily rectified and placed at ease. He had not managed to search back to her thoughts upon monsters and the rumors she had heard though given enough time and study of her he would no doubt come across that information as well provided of course he looked for it. The human brain took time to navigate, to sift through all the data that it contained was much like going through the card catalogue of a library, a catalogue that was randomized rather than sorted in a rational fashion. Eventually you would find what you were looking for but that could take hours pending the size of the library in question. This too could pose a slight problem to Aegir. If he did not know what memories he was after, if he was just digging for random bits then it could take him quite awhile to uncover anything of worth or interest. Even if he did know what he was after it could take precious time to secure that information. Surface thoughts and recent memories were often easy enough to acquire quite readily.

"For late arrivals," again turning his gaze upon Ki then sweeping it over the illusionary students, "I am Sensei Mako Tsuiri. I detest tardiness for it wastes my time as much as it wastes your own time. Either you want to be here or you don't. If you don't want to commit to tae kwon do that's fine, you know where the dorms are. If you're looking for an easy extraciricular activity I suggest you take up knitting or pottery. I'm not your mother and I certain am not going to baby you.

"Now some of you may be wondering why we're not indoors practicing. You might be thinking that this is miserable weather, or that the terrain is uneven. Well guess what people? Do you think an attacker is going to give you the luxary of chosing when and where they strike out at you? Do you think some mugger or rapist is going to care if there's slush, or snow, or mud? Do you think he's going to stop and let you get upon the concrete? Or out from being sandwiched between two cars when you're coming off your work shift and getting ready to head home?

"I think not. Shokushu brought me in here for a reason. One, to provide you with an activity that will develop both your mind and body. Two, to make you competitive. Though most importantly I am here to offer you practical lessons in self defense. Tae Kwon Do may be an Olympic sport but it is also a means of defense. What you will learn, provided that you have what it takes to get through these try outs, is methods that can be useful in practical day-to-day situations that are far more likely to occur than the controlled situations found indoors on nice practice mats. Oh, we will have such sessions too but what good is your art form if you are not able or willing to use it in any location at any time?"

Aegir had elected to go with the firm but fair approach for his personae. A nononsense instructor that sought to challenge his pupils, that was a bit stern but not unapproachable either. Furthermore he sought to address Ki's concerns from the knowledge he had achieved trying to put at rest at least some of her concerns. He had to be careful not to play it too over the top though. He had stirred clear of elaborate illusions and charades for the most part though from time to time Aegir enjoyed pushing himself to the limits if only to accomplish a finer appreciation for his own abilities. Even while he spoke he was probing Ki's mind, sucking up the thoughts that had filled it, processing them and adapting himself in order to keep this illusion as believable as possible until he was in a better position to drop this veil of deception like the final curtain going down upon a play.

OOC: Sorry for suddenly disappearing. RL reason kept me away from the computer for a month. Hope you don’t mind me picking up where we left of.

Kireina found her questions answered. In a span of a heartbeat her mind has already analyzed the new information, organized her thoughts and filed them away.

*I’m…. Late?* She tilted her head, remembering the conversation she had with the girls. No she wasn’t, she actually came 10 minutes before the desinated time.

The only explanation is that she was set up.

“so they want to make a fool out of me don’t they?” she mused under her breath. Well they have another thing coming.
“Oh you’re going to regret messing with me…” she murmured softly to herself. She resisted the urge to stretch and just tuned in the instructor’s voice.

Practical lessons? That’s something she could handle. But first things first, she has to get in the class.

She walked towards the teacher when he’s finished speaking and ower respectfully.

“Forgive my lateness Sensei. I know excuses are intolerable so I will not bother with them. I promise this will be the first and the last time.” She said, her voice firm and resolved. She straightened and met him eye to eye.

OCC: INo problem, I've been hospitalized for a great deal of time so forgive my lateness in responding if you wish to continue well here's my post.

He eyed her almost suspiciously as she spoke aloud, his hands folding across his chest as if he had heard that excuse plenty of times before and hadn't quite believed it.

Aegir had swatted at an illusionary bug with a hand as he turned his attention to the sun that hung in the sky. The day was warm and probably would only get warmer as the day progressed. He contemplated dropping his illusion now but did not in order to lure her into a false sense of security, His eyes had peeled away from the heavens as he regarded Ki for a long moment.

"On second thought," he said at last as he matched his words up with the telepathic message that he had relaid. He had tapped into her mind by this point seeing the inconsistancy in his illusion thus far. Fortunately she had dismissed it as little more than another student pestering her about the time, granting her a falsehood,

It had been almost too good as she had made up excuses for his oversight. Inwardly he grinned, his eyes shimmering with something much like delight. "Would you take your place up here."

He pointed out a spot with his hand lazily.

A wave of relief washed over her body as he asked her to go to her place. It wasn’t everyday that one can be trained by a master, and the reputation that Shokushu hired only had the best for her students was confirmed by this man’s presence. Still Ki was sure to mask everything she felt, a martial arts class was serious business and she’d rather not mess up.

Straightening herself she moved to the general direction pointed by the instructor. With her preliminary fears washed away by the chance offered, ki felt her mind shift back into more important things.

With a few movements of her head, she took in the lay of the land around them, again making mental notes about rocks and ruts. Kireina could feel the adrenalin rush of being in a place where she was sure of what she was doing, unlike in a normal academic class where she was considered only average.

Aside from the energy she also felt a tiny bit of nervousness, one born from the small fact that she hasn’t seen the other girls in action yet. To cover up her slight burst of fear, and to give her something to do, she absently patted her brown hair to make sure its securely tied and straightened her pose, waiting for the next commands.

Sensing a little bit of trepdiation from Ki. Aegir had fanned his eyes over all his students. He could tell that Ki anticipated what was to come next and he did wish to tire her some before hand knowing that it would increase his odds. She had been capable of defending herself after all and while he had no fear of what she could do he had been a cautious being covering all avenues that he could think of.

"We will begin with a simple warm up."

He stated this as he performed anything but a simply warm up as he conducted a series of complex katas. "now copy that. Lets see your form first."

He walked among the students, brown eyes discerning their movements. His eyes studying each in turn as the illusionary students under went the kata. Some getting it off the bat, others struggling with it as Aegir varied up his illusion a bit. This way he didn't draw on any undo suspicion with it.

His gaze turned towards Ki though. He had checked on her while tapping a few of the students on the shoulder, hooking his thumb and dismissing them. "Done." The single word passed from his lips as he dismissed a few of the students that had been struggling badly with the katas that they were performing, not following everything exactly to his liking or at least getting matters close to what he had demonstrated seemed to be grounds for dismissal.

Aegir had used that time to flow into her mind stimulating Ki's memory so that she could recall the kata that he had performed before her eyes.

Studying the forms, Kireina almost laughed with delight. At first the movements seemed to be a mess of moves, but a practiced eye can figure out tht the instructor was performing a high level Poomsae.

“Poomsae Taegeuk Pal Jang” she whispered to herself,. A slightly complicated pattern, it’s not really surprising a few of the students had difficulty in getting it down. Most of them were probably lower levels, those who haven’t encountered that pattern yet. Still, being a first degree black belt with formal training gave her a huge advantage.

The only doubt that crossed her mind is the small fact that the instructor neglected to really warm up the students. Without the proper stretching and exercises, one can get hurt, or worse, pull an unprepared muscle,.

Pushing that thought at the back of her mind she reassured herself that the coach was one who went through proper training. He’s supposed to know what he was doing so she trusted him.

At first her movements were a touch slow as she let her body have time to remember the sequence. After completing the pattern for the first time she paused and breathed in deeply. Getting back to the ready stance she let her breath go out slowly.

In time with her group’s counting she snapped the first position flawlessly. The same went for the rest of the pattern. Her punches were steady, her kicks were strong, her legs were straight, her jumps were high, her speed was perfect and the way he head snapped into place was flawless. After the second pattern she noticed the instructor making his way towards her.

Pushing down her nervousness she breathed in deeply as she prepared to go through the pattern again. Without showing fear she went to the first position again.

He moved about the rows of students, his eyes studying each as he dismissed some who did not seem to get the concepts of the form. He paused stopping before Ki. His brown eyes upon her as she underwent the katas studying them with an appraising eye.

His mind had picked up some of her doubts that she shoved to the back of her mind, doubts that he would soon address. Watching her for a full minute the dan eventually moved on without producing any form of comment as to her technic.

When he had finished going about the rows of students dismissing some he returned to the front of the group giving them a final look over.

"Enough," he bellowed out to them as the students ended their katas. "As you know in the real world you don't have the opportunity to warm up properly before acting. Often you don't realize when your abilities may be needed to defend yourself.

"I have weeded out those of you that may not be up to par. Now everyone grab a sparring partner. Brake into pairs and show each other your best technique." His arms folded across his chest as he looked over the multitude of illusionary students.

“The instructor seems intent on making us fight in the real world…” One of the students behind Kireina whisper conspiratorially to her, almost making her chuckle.. Still she held her laughter, lest she irritate the coach, and turned to face the girl. Again it was surprising that the teacher wanted them to spar without protective armor.

“Shush, don’t you know better than to piss the teacher off?” Ki asked with a grin. With a smile and a formal bow, the other student introduced herself as Celeste.

“Want to be sparring partners? I was watching you during the poomsae,. You were really good.” Celeste complimented her, making her blush. With a pleased smile Kireina accepted.

Walking till they were in proper distance both girls bowed to each other and with a shout snapped into fighting stance. Almost at the oment they started Celeste launched a quick stepping-45 kick, aimed at her abdomen. With barely enough time to react Ki snapped her arm down, blocking the kick.

“You’re fast…” Ki gasped as she performed a quick side kick, also getting blocked. Both girls just smiled and paused.

Without further ado Ki went into motion, letting ot a routine of quick yet controlled alternating 45s, which Celeste blocked, and a sudden roundhouse kick, hitting the side of Celeste’s head.

“Two points for me…’ she smiled, after Celeste nodded, assuring Ki that she was okay. Getting back into position both girls continued the spar, being careful not to enough not to kick too hard to injure the other girl.

"Image if you will going to your car. Its dark, you just finished a work shift and are about to head to your car to head home when you are attacked by a rapist or a mugger or some other such fiend. Do you think you will have armor then? It's you or them.

"You have to act fast and instinctively if your going to make it out of there in one piece."

He explained as he walked amongst his students as he seemed to be looking over their techniques that they acquired. Of course he had not shown them how to defend against unseen or rear attacks but he would eventually get to that.

Again he had paused by Ki as she combated one of his illusions. She had seemed to buy into the illusion and most importantly she had been expending untold amounts of energy as he had made Celeste seem fast and more durable than most. Nothing that Ki would not eventually overcome, he would see to that personally, though enough to give her troubles in doing so, which was what he had been after anyway.

He watched the pair for a moment longer before addressing Ki. "Good, keep your guard up and be weary of any feints."

Moving on he pretended to watch some of the other students for a bit before moving on again to another group and doing the same.

All the while his mind bled into her own as he appraised her. Gauging her mental fortitude and resilience had been on his mind though first and foremost had been her perception to the illusion thus far. After all it would do no good if she failed to believe in the web that he had established for her, knowing that he would have to sum forth something else. He had not been adverse to thinking on his feet, often using contingecy plans though in this case his simple tactics seemed to be working quite well.