“Tiger-Man: Ascension”
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Chapter II: Meditative Searching
Qiqiang took a tea set and followed Josh to his private room within an old training room situated in the back of the temple, the brick floors had dents in them from all of the centuries of training, and tourists were not allowed to go there, even the monks hardly came there in all of their years of training. It was very spartan with only a small twin-size bed, a wardrobe, and a nightstand. Josh tossed his duffle bag on the ground and unpacked while Qiqiang prepared the tea. He only brought one pair of street clothes, his Tiger-Man suit, and his Shaolin uniforms. The teacups clattered as Qiqiang set them down on a wooden table, he sat with Josh and poured them each a cup of tea, "Thank you, teacher."
"You're welcome, my student." Qiqiang responded as he sat with his student and sipped his tea, "I know you are upset with me." he sighed. "I do not have a problem with you being in Chicago. What is truly bothering me is that the others are supposed to be your comrades, not your friends."
"So what if they're my friends? Are you sure you're not mad at them for something else?"
"What do you think that could be?"
"The fact that I don't just work with experiments and rich men, I work with gods."
Qiqiang, bothered by this comment, continued, "They go against centuries of legends and teachings."
"Well, it looks like we have to get with the times."
"They will make you stop practicing your beliefs. I know it."
"I know all of them well, and they would never force anyone out of their own beliefs, fantastical as some beliefs are."
"If this is true, everyone should be wary of the fire one. Fire is unpredictable and strong; he can either be a worthy tool or a detriment."
"Davis is not a tool, Qiqiang! He's my friend, why are you so up in arms about this? Your student is finally traveling the world and using his skills for good, and now you have a problem with it?"
"Worrying about your friends is displacing your chi, Josh. Do you not remember how you were before this?"
"Don't remind me about my past; it's over now."
"It wasn't that long ago, Josh. It takes many years to become a Buddhist Monk."
"But what if that's not my place? I still have the right to choose where I stand."
"Josh...we've gone over why I don't want you to become a Warrior Monk. Do you know how I found you? All that time wandering the forests, you were barely human, the Buddhist teachings were what lead you to peace."
"Yes, I know. But come on, teacher...you're so strict about the choice when other students can choose whatever they want. No other teachers are as strict about a student's decision."
"Again, they are not you. You're a special case, and I was tasked with teaching you specifically. If you choose to fight and be a warrior, it shines a bad light not only on you but on me, because the Abbot and the other teachers don't trust you because of your tiger-side. That's the truth."
"Oh, come on…" Josh scoffed, getting up and walking to his duffel bag, taking out his Evening Eye, "I'm just gonna go train."
"Joshua, I'm just worried."
Josh stopped at the door, "I understand." he said as he went outside. He made his way to the training room, where he took a staff from a weapons rack as he went out to practice his forms. Getting into the horse stance on two horizontal logs that were nailed onto stilts in the ground, Josh pressed a button on the back of his eyepiece as new earpieces deployed from the ends, "I dunno what I’d do without Miles. He’s always making improvements." Josh thought. Miles had left the upgraded Evening Eye on Josh's bed while Josh was in the SDU infirmary. Josh gently took each earbud and put them in, using his Evening Eye to select calming music and nature sounds to listen to as he meditated in horse stance for five hours until he got bored and stepped down, picking the staff up from the ground.
As he was practicing his Yin Shou Gun, Josh started to think about Hailie when she saved him. He had never felt like this before. It was an odd warmth that made him feel full and passionate, as Josh kept focusing on this strange emotion; he lost concentration with the staff! The stick flew out of his hands as it was swung, and it smashed into a stone wall, "Alright. That's enough for tonight, I think." he groaned as he took the staff and placed it back in the training room and went back to bed.
Josh laid down on the cot, remembering his past before living in Chicago. He remembered scouring the forests of China, hunting, and killing to survive months before coming upon Qiqiang for the first time; he remembered being taken in and was seen as more of an animal than a human who should've been left to die. He fought for his life when he arrived at the temple as kids would laugh at him because he was starved and weak. They tormented him until Qiqiang came to his defense and was the only one who did so; even after this, kids continued to challenge him, and once back to peak health, Josh defeated every single rival. He learned all forms of Kung Fu at the temple, and on top of this, he would travel the world to train in other martial arts, mastering Ninjutsu, Krav Maga, Muay Thai, Judo, Taekwondo, and Aikido.
"Training under Qiqiang was a privilege and has made me who I am today for the most part, for which I am thankful. But how much has really changed? It’s still training and fighting like before…but it’s different. I was an ‘urban legend,’ a myth…now I’m exposed to be the real deal."
Meanwhile, as Josh fell asleep in his old room, a supernatural presence was watching and listening to his thoughts. "Well, if this isn't a troubled soul…" the presence observed, "...looks like the only way he'll carve his own path is if I lead him to the answer...the world can't have an influential figure such as he to fall off the path. People are going to have to rely on him someday." the aetherial being said as it became visible, appearing as a blue puff of smoke and it passed through Josh's head, coming out the other side, there was no damage as that isn't what the spirit was aiming to do. "Okay...the false memory is planted. Now what to wear?" the spirit tried a variety of different forms before falling on an average helicopter pilot, "Now to bide my time. One of the few things I have no control over." it said before transforming into smoke and leaving the room.
Josh was startled as Qiqiang stepped into his room, "Joshua, there's a helicopter here...the pilot said he'd been scheduled to pick you up."
Josh rolled out of the cot and got up, walking to the wardrobe before looking back, "I'll be out in a minute." He mumbled, "Helicopter? …Oh yeah. I forgot I accepted a mission to aid a village before I do my final test. Still, cutting it close, only four days until the test. I’ll find time to study, though." he thought as he got dressed.
Qiqiang and the others looked at him in awe, as the 6'5" and 250 lbs. muscular superhuman towered over everyone. Tiger-Man suit under the traditional garb, "Joshua...what is this?" Qiqiang muttered, thinking that the way that Josh wore the uniform was a little distasteful.
"Getting a leg-up on the bitterness of the mountains where that village is. There's no dress code for this journey, teacher."
"Very well, follow me." As they got into the chopper and it took off, Qiqiang sighed, "Josh, I'm sorry for accusing your friends. I don't want you to become like I did when I lived in cities."
"What do you mean?"
"When I lived in Shanghai, I was involved in many unsavory gang happenings. I killed innocents, went to prison. I did horrible things and surrounded myself with horrible people that took my parent's teachings and made them mean nothing to me. The temple was my only salvation from that life."
"Teacher...I didn't know. I realize how rude I was when I came back. I didn't expect you not to trust my judgment on what I've been doing."
"I know, I just did not expect you to have friends, you never talked as a child."
"I was too busy training." Tiger-Man laughed.
The rest of the way was silent until they reached as high as they could before exiting the helicopter at the base of a trail, a quarter way up the mountain. "Don't be too long. You don't want to miss your final test!"
"I won't, teacher! I'll be back in one piece!" Tiger replied as he looked towards the beginning of his journey.
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