Chương 15: Ki and Tanden

As the noise of the main cafeteria faded to a drone behind the weathered brick of the Old School House, Kenji dropped his backpack onto a bench to retrieve a foil wrapping from the main pocket. Watching the boy with thinning patience, Kurisu noted the defensive hunch of his shoulders and the curve of his spine under a lazy posture that grated on the young samurai's nerves.

"Kenji." The boy paused mid-bite and looked up.

"What?" Narrowing his eyes at the continued bombardment of Kenji's erratically fluctuating Ki, Kurisu felt the energy spill in bursts, wasting power constantly without cause." Unu no chikara." Chewing his food at an agonizing pace, Kenji scoffed.

"I don't speak anime, dude. Can I just eat?" Kurisu exhaled sharply through his nose, pointing at the pocket of Kenji's hoodie.

"Phone," Kurisu demanded. Groaning, Kenji rolled his eyes.

"Oh my god, are we really doing this again?"" Phone!" he repeated, more forcefully this time.

"You are one high-maintenance weirdo, you know that?" Kenji muttered as he fished the device out, unlocking the screen before he held it up as Kurisu leaned toward the microphone.

"It is profoundly vexing." As Kenji bristled, he glared up at Kurisu.

"Okay, rude. Are you done?" Kurisu held the stare, his eyebrow twitching as the leaking energy continued to irritate him." Uzai!"

"Excuse me?" Surging to his feet, Kenji barked the question and shoved the phone into his pocket.

"You dragged me out here just to tell me I'm annoying? I don't even know what you're talking about! You've got me confused with someone else!"

"No," Kurisu said in English." Ware... show you." Releasing the leash on his Ki to flare his own aura, Kurisu increased the atmospheric pressure between them, causing Kenji's knees to buckle as he saturated the air with a force that sent the hairs on the back of Kenji's neck standing on end. With his glamour falling away in a wash of energy, Kenji's black hair faded to silver, his dark irises bleeding into red. Around him, the air crackled as their overflowing Ki clashed.

Just as quickly as he'd released it, Kurisu reined his Ki back, bottling the force within his Tanden as the pressure vanished from the courtyard.

"That," Kurisu said, pointing a finger at Kenji.

"Control... that." Kenji froze at the sight of the shimmer emanating from his skin. Turning toward the window, the boy recoiled at his reflection in the glass.

"Oh god," Kenji whispered, his voice trembling. Slowly, his hair returned to black, his eyes doing the same as he squeezed them shut, sliding down the wall to crouch on the pavement with his head buried in his hands.

"You did that on purpose," Kenji whined, his voice muffled. Stepping forward, Kurisu looked down at the huddled figure.

"Be seated." With a scowl, Kenji looked up.

"I am sitting. I'm literally on the ground."

"No," Kurisu corrected.

"Meditate." Dropping into a cross-legged position on the grass, he pointed toward the smartphone.

"Phone. Down. Listen." As he shoved his sandwich back into its wrapper, Kenji set the phone on the grass between them.

"Hands. Circle." Once he was sure Kenji was paying attention, Kurisu demonstrated the cosmic mudra: left hand resting in the right, thumbs touching to form a loop against his lower abdomen. Mirroring the pose, the boy's shoulders remained stubbornly stiff. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere." Kokyu. Nose... in," Kurisu instructed, tapping his nostril.

"Mouth... out. Slow." Drawing a silent breath, Kurisu inhaled. Despite a hitch of adrenaline on the first draw, the boy managed to synchronize his breathing after three cycles. As he watched the Ki, Kurisu noted how it changed; while the edge remained, the erratic bursts calmed slightly.

"Tanden." Popping one eye open, Kenji frowned.

"Tan-what?" Gesturing toward the phone, Kurisu let the device bridge the gap.

"The Tanden is a muscle unique to every individual. It serves as the wellspring of our Ki," he said, before adding, " Kaki to Kōki. That is... you."

"Fire and light?" Kenji asked.

"Is that why I always feel heat when my hair changes?" Kurisu lifted his hand.

"Now... muscle. Squeeze." He continued, "You leave your Tanden completely slack, allowing your Ki to rage like a tempest." Kenji nodded slowly.

"Okay. So my energy is leaking out?"

"Yes, constrict it." He made a slow, clamping motion with his hand.

"Turn... down. Small." For a long moment, Kenji remained silent, the fragmented noise of his presence dimming as the erratic bursts receded.

"Better. Now..." Kurisu said.

"Observe me." When Kenji opened his eyes, Kurisu gripped his own Tanden, shutting the flow entirely. Recoiling against the bricks, Kenji let out a sharp gasp.

"Whoa. Where did you go? I can't really see you, or is it, feel you anymore." Relaxing the muscle a fraction, Kurisu allowed a single thread of Ki to wash over Kenji.

"Restrain the muscle, and you sever the flow," Kurisu said.

"Your eyes perceive me as I am physically in front of you, yet you cannot feel me as I have cut off the flow of Ki. Your presence is untamed. You act as a beacon. Everything feels you." Once again, Kurisu repeated the clamping motion before pointing at Kenji, commanding, "Practice. Keep... small."

"So," Kenji whispered, fighting to keep the flow closed.

"You said 'everything' feels me. What's everything?" After scanning the roofline of the gymnasium, Kurisu checked the shade beneath the oaks.

"Enemies are everywhere." He leaned in, dropping his voice." Ko-oni." Cocking his head, Kenji asked, "What's a ko-oni?" Kurisu curled his fingers into claws, bringing them together in a gnashing motion before pointing north toward the distant highway, holding Kenji's gaze.

"The monsters struck yesterday. Road... rock," he added.

"The highway..." Kenji whispered, the color draining from his face.

"The news said it was a rockslide. But..." Glancing at Kurisu's clawed hands, he swallowed.

"That was you?" Kurisu tapped his own ear and arm.

"They perceive and they feel," he said in Japanese. Pointing at Kenji's chest, he added, "Your power attracts them like a lure."

"Okay," Kenji breathed, squeezing his eyes shut again.

"Okay. Keep it small. Don't be bait." The shrill sound of the bell rang across the courtyard and Kurisu felt the boy's concentration slip as Kenji flinched at the noise. the air warping around him.

"Discipline your mind!" Gritting his teeth, Kenji clamped down, slumping forward to grab his backpack.

"I hate this. I'm exhausted. I hope the teacher is chill or I'm doomed, because I might fall asleep on day one." With a crumpled slip of paper pulled from his pocket, Kurisu bypassed the English scratches that still made no sense to him, focusing instead on the numbers 1-0-4. Memorizing the digits, he scanned the buildings to locate the wing marked '100'. Hoisting his bag, Kenji stood.

"Well. This has been... terrifying. I'm gonna go. Don't eat anyone." After waiting two breaths, Kurisu fell into step behind the boy, maintaining a position one pace back and one pace to the right. They entered the crowded hallway through the double doors, and roughly thirty paces later, Kenji stopped before turning on Kurisu.

"Dude," he said.

"Seriously. Why are you following me?" Kurisu commanded, "Go," as he pointed down the hall. With a groan, Kenji resumed his walk, passing Room 102, then 103, with Kurisu following silently behind him. Reaching Room 104, Kenji spun around, his hand gripping his backpack strap.

"Okay, stop! You can't just stalk me because I have a 'strange muscle' in my gut. Go to your own class." Kurisu looked at the plastic plate on the wall next to the door: 104. Reaching past Kenji, he pushed the door open, stepping inside as he gave a nod to the woman at the whiteboard. The woman smiled at the class with a level of optimism Kurisu found baffling for a place of instruction.

In the front row, several boys leaned forward, staring transfixed as her blouse rose while she wrote at the top of the whiteboard. With a snort at the teenagers, he shook his head, making his way to claim a desk in the back corner where he pulled a notebook from his bag before looking back at the door to find Kenji still standing there. Mouth agape, Kenji stood in the doorway.

"Tch." Sucking a breath against his teeth, he dropped his head back in disbelief.

"Of course. Of course you're in this class too, why not!?"

"Can I help you?" the teacher asked, several boys glaring.

"You're letting the air conditioning out." Dragging his feet, Kenji entered the room.

"Sorry, Ms. Addison," he muttered.

"Just... bad luck."