Chapter Ten - Fight Like A Cat

Chapter Ten - Fight Like A Cat

"Modern martial arts can be split, broadly, into three categories.

The first is the exercise art. A martial art that focuses in part on self-defence, but also in simply learning how to move your own body with comfort and grace.

The second is the combat martial art. Less an art, and more a tool of war. Something to learn as a soldier and mercenary to better kill and fight if other weapons fail.

The third is the mystical art. As people become increasingly gullible, even with a plethora of information available to them, more fall into the trapping of mysticism and magic, often disguised as a martial tradition.

The first two will keep you healthy and safe, the third will empty your wallet."

--Excerpt from ''Break Their Noses'' a 2039 MMA Manual

***

How come one afternoon of classes felt more tiring than a whole day of shooting aliens?

Actually, that was a flat lie, and a rather big exaggeration. A day spent hunting down antithesis, or holding a wall, was a lot more stressful, but the whole school thing was tiring too, in its own way.

"I need a nap," Lucy said as I brought the Bastion in for a gentle landing in the parking garage. "Urgh, but the kittens need to be checked on. They had no one supervising them all morning."

"Can''t be that bad," I said.

"Daniel was here, and I told Junior to keep an eye open," Lucy said. "And there''s easy food in the fridge. They won''t have starved, but you just know that at least two of them started a fight or something while we were gone."

"Yeah," I said. I let out a yawn and relaxed back into the pilot''s seat. "Should we head out and check on them?" I didn''t really have the energy to stand up, at the moment.@@@@

Lucy grunted, then pulled herself up to standing with what looked like monumental effort. She leaned in over the pilot''s seat and gave me a kiss. "I''ll do it," she said. "Kinda asked for this."

"Love you," I said.

Lucy grinned, then slipped out of the cabin. I watched her go for a bit, then let out a sigh. If I was reasonable, I''d give myself a kick in the ass and get going. It wouldn''t take that much effort, really. Then I could sort through what needed sorting, get some lunch in me--because a cupcake and a cookie wasn''t a proper meal--and then see about some things. But at the moment I was mostly feeling lazy.

Did you enjoy the day?

"Hm? You know what? Yeah. The class was pretty... well, educational, I guess. But it was fun, overall. I''m not sure if I''ll be into this kind of thing in the long run, but for now it''s kinda neat. I can even see it being genuinely useful next time I have to deal with the antithesis. Tactics and shit. My, uh, strategies so far have mostly involved throwing shit at the wall, but that stuff about deception today? That was more refined than what I''m used to pulling."

I''m glad to hear it. It might not always seem that way--mostly because teasing you is too amusing--but I do actually believe that you have some potential. It would be a shame to see it all go to waste.

"Yeah," I said before I reached up and scratched at my nose. "So, uh. Hey, I''ve got that quick-mind upload wreath thing around somewhere, right?"

You do.

Yes. Exactly.

Real tempting, actually. "What do you think would be suitable for me, though?" I asked.

I''d suggest picking one of two directions. Either a broad, mixed-martial art that covers a range of combat styles and situations, or a modern martial art designed for anti-antithesis combat. The kind of martial art taught to those fighting lower-tier Antithesis. If you''re aiming for the latter, then you could choose some Sunwatcher martial arts as well.

"Wouldn''t their martial arts have, uh, compatibility issues?" I asked.

A few. I''d adjust the art on the fly to make it work. No worries. The advantage being, of course, that none of the students you train with will be aware of your style and its broad moveset.

"That is a pretty big advantage, I''ll bet."

And, the martial art will carry over to tailed-combat in your mechs. It''s as suitable to bipedal combat as it is to quadruped. Of course, you''ll still have to pick an art.

"Isn''t Sunwatcher... the art?" I asked.

Do you think that every non-human race is a monolith? The history of the Sunwatchers stretches further back than humanity''s by millenia. They have a much broader culture with a longer written history to pull from.

"Alright, fair enough," I said. "So is humanity like... a little baby culture?"

The littlest, babiest of them.

"Thanks," I said. "Okay, fine. How many are we talking about here?"

Six thousand complete martial arts. Do you want me to narrow that list down for you?

"I think I''d like that, yeah," I said. "Get me something flashy but effective."

That''s contradictory.

"Look, if it doesn''t look intimidating, then what even is the point?" I asked.

I think I have something, then. The Moonlight Claw arts. It''ll be difficult on your flesh hand, but still doable, especially if you wear a glove. Quite flashy, and very effective.

I nodded along. I was liking the sound of that. "Cool! So... where did I put that wreath anyway? I haven''t the faintest clue where I left it, but I swear I saw it recently."

There was an electronic sigh in my ear.

I''ll guide you to it.

Myalis truly was the best, some of the time. Was this what having a mom was like?

***