What is Yours

 Another day and another sparring session as an early morning warm-up. Leo barely dodged Lula’s training greatsword as he scrambled to find an opening.

ALIESTER’S THRUST

Despite the speed and precision of the skill Lupa easily blocked it. However a curious look on her face appeared.

“Ok time out.”

Leo relaxed as he dropped weapon mastery, “What’s wrong?”

“That!” She said pointing at him, “That whole… thing.” Lupa then gestured to all of Leo.

“You mean the skills? I already told you how the system works.”

Lupa shook her head, “No, like I get that, but you’re doing it wrong.”

“I’m doing it wrong?”

“Yeah you are.”

Leo then looked himself over trying to see if the answer would somehow spawn on him. “I don’t follow, I’m just using the skill and my body just does.”

“No… no that’s not what I mean.”

“Well maybe it’s because they are not my skills? Zentella always tells me that the party’s mana tend to appear around me.”

“Ah! There it is!”

“There what is? The fact that it is not my mana?”

Lupa shook her head again, “No you dork, you are not thinking about them as your moves.”

He was stunned, “Yeah… they aren’t my moves.”

“And there is your problem. Tell me.” Lupa then stuck her training greatsword into the ground, “What do you do when you activate a ‘skill’ or magic?”

“I just figure… I let the skill do the work. I don’t fight it an let it happens.”

“Ah ha! See! You’re not doing anything so you aren’t fighting on your own yet.”

Leo looked at her confused again. “I really don’t follow.”

“How can I put this…” Then Lupa snapped her fingers, “Oh, it is like you are dead weight and you are forcing the skills to move your body.”

“More like the other way around.” Leo interjected.

“No no, well maybe yes,” Lupa then went over and grabbed Leo’s hand. “Come on this way.” She then did a small jog forcing Leo to jog with her. “Now, take me back that way.”

Leo rolled his eyes before he turned to lead them both back. However he couldn’t move far as Lupa remained in her spot. “Lupa, come on.”

“Make me.” Then she allowed herself to fall to the ground nearly taking Leo with her. Then with great effort he moved her a little bit dragging her. “You get it now?”

“What?” Leo said catching his breath.

“What happened to you is what you are doing to you’re skills. You are relying on them to do all the work. You say you are ‘letting go’ but all you are really doing is letting your body drop. You have to do what we did and keep up. Match pace with your skills and you’ll be fighting much better.”

“Isn’t that what this training is helping with?” Leo ask not really seeing the difference.

Lupa then started knocking on his head, “This is more of a mental thing. You keep treating your skills like they are not yours.”

“They aren’t though.”

“Nope! No more of that.” Lupa then picked up her greatsword and swung it downward. “Who’s move is that?”

Leo sighed, “Lupa… that was just a swing.”

“Eh eh eh! No back talk!”

“Fine, it was yours.”

“Nope! It was my teacher. He taught me the downward swing. It is not mine.”

“Come on Lupa, just because he ‘taught’ it to you doesn’t mean that that move is his.” Leo said getting annoyed at the logic.

“Ha! See, see!” Lupa said pointing at Leo. “It’s the same thing, just because a teacher teaches something, well sure certain moves are only given names, but it doesn’t mean that they are only performing it for you. It is the same thing really. Yes they have their names plastered on them, but they are only that. In a fight nobody cares who was taught what move. They only care about the opponent using it.” She then poked her finger to his chest, “So stop letting your body be dragged and start following their example and maybe you can get better at fighting.”

“Lupa,” Leo began, “I really don’t think that is how this works.”

“Why are you being so stubborn!” Lupa then flicked his nose, “You already showed what happened when you claim a skill as your own.”

“Ow!” Leo said rubbing his nose. “What do you mean?”

Lupa in the mean time had gone and grabbed the coconut fruits. “I mean this. You told me later that your ‘killstrike’ needed a weapon in hand right, but what if that was only to trigger it the first time? You used that skill with your barehands remember. You were so exhausted that you didn’t even bothered with a weapon and flawlessly used it. It was because you let it go and demanded the skill’s perks. You made it work with you not for you.”

Leo never thought of it like that before. An it made sense. He based it off all the anime and manga he read about “letting go” but that was always after years of training and effort. So of course when he let his body go all it would amount too is just doing nothing. “I see now. Sho that is why my magic is pouring to much mana like you said? Because I’m not helping channel it?”

“Uh huh,” Lupa smiled, “But I’m not a mage, so I can’t help there. Although…” She then turned and waved at Zentella who had gotten ups early, “Zen! Come here a minute.”

With a nod Zen joined the two. “Here.”

“Ok phase two of training,” She turned to Leo, “We will go over every one of your combat skills and then I’ll help you practice each of them. Zen your job is when after we see them all Leo is not allowed to use his skills. You see the mana right? Inform me if he cheats.”

“Right.”

“Are you some kind of battle genius Lupa that you just need to see a move once to copy it?” Leo asked a little scared of her power.

Lupa shrugged, “Maybe, but chop chop! Show your moves!”

Leo was not amused, “You definitely didn’t make that one up.”