The Martial Unity

She smiled at those words. "You're this mature. At your age too, interesting."

"Everyone matures eventually," Rui modestly remarked.

"I wasn't talking about that, though there is that too, I suppose."

Rui glanced at her quizzically.

"Your Martial Art possesses a depth that I have never seen from any Martial Squire in my entire life," She murmured as she stepped closer, circling around him as she sized him up despite her closed eyes. "Intriguing, really."

She reached forward, clasping Rui's arm, lifting it up as she dropped it, almost like he were a toy.

Rui, on the other hand, was unsure whether to feel awkward or amused.

"Your Martial Art is formless," She remarked. "Yet you aren't an all-rounder. Your combat style changes and changes, like the water in an ebbing river."

"…"

"What is your Martial Path?" She asked with a hint of curiosity, as her soft yet deeply potent voice poured into his body.

"…I believe I am not obligated to divulge that," Rui steadied his nerves as he refused her question in the least confrontational way possible.

"That is true," She smiled, much to his relief. It appeared that she wasn't the egotistical type. "Most Martial Squires would readily divulge their Martial Path regardless."

"I have reasons to keep my Martial Art hidden, I'm afraid," Rui bowed his head in apology. "I hope you understand."

"No worries," She smiled softly, putting a hand on his shoulder as she stood him straight. "Still, even if you don't tell me, I can tell that it is a particularly potent Martial Path. The highest… no, the second highest grade Martial Art I have ever seen in a Martial Squire, that's for sure," She murmured, deep in thought.

Rui raised an eyebrow. "Second?"

"Hmmm…" She nodded, deep in thought.

Rui furrowed his eyebrows. She couldn't just say something like that and leave him hanging. Who was above him?

But it appeared that she wasn't paying attention to his reactions. She still hadn't opened her eyes, which Rui was starting to find odd.

"Uh…" Rui tried to draw her attention. "Is there anything else you need, mam?"

He wasn't sure why he was here. For the most part, it appeared as though she simply wanted to satisfy her curiosity.

She broke out of her stupor as she glared lightly at him, knitting her eyebrows "Don't call me that. It makes me feel old.

"How would you like me to address you?"

"Let's see…You can call me big sister."

"…Right."

"But the reason I called you here has nothing to do with what you can do for me," She smiled softly. "But what I can do for you."

Rui raised an eyebrow.

"You, you aren't aware of the effect that your Martial Art can have on others, do you?" She asked with a serious tone.

Rui knitted his eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"Squire Seronin." She replied, turning toward him with her closed eyes. "You broke him."

Rui's eyes narrowed. "I did not. I only struck with him normal strikes. His mental breakdown at the fight was not as a result of a technique of mine."

"Not a technique, no," She murmured. "No technique can break a Martial Path."

"What?!" Rui's eyes widened. "I did no such thing!"

"To think that you aren't even self-aware of it," She murmured. "It looks like it was a good thing to bring it up to you. As a leader of the Floating Sect, I cannot have you breaking our assets every time you get heated and give your everything."

Rui frowned as he stared at her with incredulity. "Mam, I pro-"

He paused after a wave of displeasure arose from her, washing over him. "I mean, big sister."

"What is it? Little Falken?" She smiled sweetly.

Rui's lips twitched. He did not appreciate being babied, even if it was by a Martial Senior. "My Martial Art does not have anything that could allow for such effects, it's more likely that he is being afflicted by a neurological disorder, the symptoms of which began displaying themselves in combat. Acute blunt force trauma is a known contributing factor to the propensity of neurological behavioral symptoms. Alternatively, it is possible that some brain damage caused by my attacks triggered an underlying-" "-Enough"

She interrupted him with a troubled sigh. "This is a dangerous lack of self-awareness. You are too self-absorbed in combat. You certainly do pay attention to your opponent while deconstructing their Martial Art, yet you are unable to see what you do to their minds because your Martial Art requires you to tunnel vision on their Martial Art, and nothing else."

Rui's eyes narrowed. He reflexively felt the need to defend himself, but that last statement was not wrong. "I don't understand, where is this coming from."

"I inspected Squire Seronin after he physically recovered." She replied. "Yet I was unable to sense his Martial Path when I looked into his eyes."

Rui's eyes widened. A Martial Senior's intuition and senses were definitely not something that could be dismissed out of hand. "…What?"

"It's true," She replied seriously. "I tried questioning him, but he simply did not respond. He was like a vegetable."

She turned toward Rui with her closed eyes. "Until I mentioned you. Then he had another psychotic mental breakdown."

Rui's eyes widened.

She turned away from him, walking towards her chambers. "Revisit your past. Look for it. You will find it. You did this, I'm sure of it."

Rui's eyes began wandering as he scanned through his memories. He froze as a memory from a long time ago surfaced in his mind. ('That Martial Apprentice bandit… He broke down even though the fight was far from over.')

Several memories flashed through his head, several oddities that he had never quite strung together and connected. But now that he did. He couldn't help but feel shocked.

Just how many Martial Paths had he destroyed? Just the thought of it sent a shiver down his spine. It wasn't that such a thing was intrinsically never justifiable, not at all. It was just chilling to know that he had perhaps done it many times without his own awareness.