Makoto's Training and Chihiro's Search

Shiro and Makoto made their way to the Apex Training Grounds. It was about midday by the time they got there, and Shiro turned to face Makoto. "So," he began. "How much about fighting do you know?" "Not a lot, " replied Makoto, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I didn't want to pick fights with the jocks." Hearing this, Shiro tilted his head slightly. "Could you tell me what a... 'jock' is?" He asked with genuine curiosity. "Well," Makoto tried to think of how to phrase his explanation. "They're students who act like, um... the Abyss Warriors!" He said with slight excitement.
Shiro nodded thoughtfully, his brow furrowed as he tapped his chin. "I see," he said looking back at Makoto. "So, they are students who harm others?" Makoto's expression became shocked and confused. "N-Not as bad as the Abyss, trust me!" Makoto said, waving his hands in front of himself. "If it was that bad, they'd go to jail! The jocks I've seen just pick fights with each other and get put in detention for an hour or two. And they steal lunch money," Makoto said the last addition looking away.
Shiro nodded again, seeming to understand better. "Ah, I see," he said. "Anyways, if you can't fight, do you at least know what a punch is?"

"Yes," Makoto said, nodding.
"A kick?"
"Mhm."
"A chant?"
"Yep."

Shiro smiled slightly and nodded back. "Alright, then. Now," he continued, "punch me."
Makoto became shocked by this. "W-W-What?!" He shouted, confused and concerned. "I mean no offense," Shiro said, taking a step forward, "but if your skills are as low as you say, then I won't feel a thing." He turned so his shoulder, which he nudged lightly with his fist, faced Makoto. "Punch me," he repeated. Makoto looked at Shiro, who looked straight back. Summoning his courage, Makoto made his hand into a fist, and punched with all his might!Except...

His fist hurt.

And Shiro didn't even blink.

"A-Are you OK, Shiro?" Makoto asked hesitantly, shutting his eyes as tightly as he could. "Puer," Shiro said, moving Makoto's fist away from his shoulder, "I didn't feel anything." Makoto, his eyes still shut, gulped down some of his fear. "A-And," Makoto asked, "my hand is OK too, right?" Shiro chuckled. "Yes," he answered. "You can look, Makoto." Makoto opened one eye and squinted at his hand, making sure he hadn't injured himself. "Phew," he sighed when he saw nothing had happened.
'Well,' Shiro thought, looking at Makoto, 'I suppose he might be better at kicking.' He cleared his throat and said "OK, now try to kick." Makoto bit his lip and nodded. But just as he was about to kick ー which looked like he was about to kick a soccer ball ー Shiro quickly rushed behind him and, with unrivaled speed, grabbed Makoto's kicking leg by the ankle before Makoto could even notice Shiro had moved. "First of all," Shiro began, "don't kick like that. If you do, your enemy might be able to take advantage of it in some way."

Shiro let go of Makoto's leg, causing him to stumble a bit. Moving back in front of Makoto, Shiro continued. "The proper way to kick is like so," he said as he swiftly side-kicked a training dummy, breaking it to pieces almost the moment his shin touched it. 'S-Shiro's so strong,' Makoto thought, gulping back shock and slight fear. "Now," Shiro said, turning to face Makoto while pushing his bangs away from his eyes, "Try to kick me."
Makoto nodded and attempted to kick Shiro the proper way. But...

He lost his balance.

And fell.

"S-Sorry," Makoto said as he stood up. "No, it's alright," Shiro replied. Though he appeared calm and collected, on the inside, he was trying to figure out what Makoto was even good at. 'His punch doesn't have enough force, he falls over when he kicks, what does this mean for chanting?!' He screamed in his own mind. Taking a deep breath, Shiro began. "Well, if melee combat isn't working, perhaps spells would be a better fit for you." He taped his chin as he thought. "Have you seen anyone say a chant on Earth before?" Makoto scratched his head. "Uh, I've heard a few, I guess." Shiro's eyes widened at this. "Could you tell me one?" He asked, trying to remain calm, though it was quite obvious he was relieved that Makoto knew at least some kind of combat. Or so he thought.
"Well," Makoto started, "does 'Fight, Fight, Fight' or 'Chug, Chug, Chug' count?" Shiro's eyes go to half-mast as he realizes what Makoto thought was a chant. He groaned in frustration, rubbing his temples. "Puer," Shiro said. "Makoto, child, that's not a chant."
"But, you only say them if a bunch of other people are saying it, and if you're encouraging them," Makoto said, confused. "Isn't that what a chant is for?" He asked. "No, no, no!" Shiro said, shaking his head vigorously. Taking another deep breath, Shiro lowered his voice a bit. "Alright, I will say a chant, and I want you to say it after me, OK?" Makoto nodded. "Got it," he said. "Alright," Shiro said as he said the chant:

                                                            "Montes concutientur,
                                                                  Terra dissiliet,
                                                             Ut meteorites cadant"

'What?' Makoto thought. He jut couldn't wrap his head around how to pronounce this, let alone say the chant properly. "M-Mon... tes... M-Montes... c-con... c-concu..." he stammered. Shiro facepalmed. 'Of course,' he thought to himself. 'I forgot that he doesn't know a word of Astrian.' "OK," Shiro said, putting his hand on Makoto's shoulder. "Repeat after me:"

                                                       "Mon-tes con-cu-ti-en-tur,
                                                              Ter-ra dis-si-li-et,
                                                       Ut me-te-o-ri-tes ca-dant"

Makoto then attempted to repeat the chant:

                                                      "M-Montes concu... t-tientur,
                                                             Terra... d-dissili... et,
                                                          Oot meteorites c-cadant"

Shiro nodded. "Well," he began, "for your first time reciting a real chantー ouch!" He looked backwards and saw a small pebble on the ground. "Ah, I see," he said. "You must've said part of the chant wrong. Otherwise," his voice trailed off. "Otherwise what?" Makoto asked slowly. Shiro chuckled as he spoke. "Well, otherwise it would've been a meteorite instead." Makoto's eyes widened at this. "A M-M-METORITE?!" He shouted. Shiro nodded, still smiling slightly. "I suppose that's a good thing, then, nonne?" Makoto nodded slowly, slightly nervous from Shiro's words. "Y-yeah," he replied.

After a few hours, in the Apex Library, Chihiro was still looking for the scroll. 'Where could it be?' He thought as he brushed dust off the cover of one book. "'Astrian Chants', 'The Abyss'," Chihiro muttered the titles of some of the books he had found. "How am I ever going to find the one scroll?" He sighed. Then, as he sat down at a table to look through the books and scrolls he had found, he started to feel drowsy. He was about to fall aleep when he jolted awake after remembering the state Ryu was in. 'No no no, I can't fall asleep,' he thought to himself. 'Ryu is hurt, so I have to find that scroll before it's too late.'
Just as he thought this, an idea came to him. 'I've got it!' He thought excitedly. 'I just use one of my spells to focus. That way I can find the scroll faster!' Quickly, Chihiro recited the spell that would increase his focus, and in an instant, it took effect, giving him the energy to keep searching for the scroll.

Five days eventually passed, with Chihiro still looking for the scroll, getting closer and closer to finding it and Makoto getting closer and closer to fully learning the basics of martial arts. Meanwhile, Ryu sat in bed in the infirmary, with his father making sure he didn't try to leave the room and train.
"Father," Ryu said, turning his head. "Let me train." "No," Ryosuke said firmly. Ryu groaned in frustration, putting his hands on his face. "The Abyss is still out there, so I need to train!" Ryu said loudly. "Aside from the fact there's nothing for me to do." Ryosuke looked Ryu in the eye and said, "Ryu, you're hurt. You are not going to be training."
Ryu dropped his head, annoyed. Yet, his father wasn't wrong; the Abyss King had dealt a heavy blow. But just then, he remembered something. "Father, won't Mother be worried if you're gone too long?" He asked, slightly concerned. Ryosuke shifted in his seat slightly, and said, "No worries, she knows." Ryu looked at Ryosuke, confused. "Usually," Ryosuke continued, "when I come here, I stay for a few days. So your mother shouldn't be worried." Ryu, understanding the situation, nodded.

After a few minutes, Ryu looked at Ryosuke. "Father," he started, "that day when the Abyss came to our village, why won't you even mention it around myself and Chihiro?" Ryosuke, who had been lost in thought, cleared his throat but didn't look at Ryu. "You already know why," he said simply. "No, I don't," Ryu responded. "I don't even remember what happened." Ryosuke turned, his back facing Ryu, and remained silent. After a few seconds, he sighed, turned to look at Ryu, and spoke. "Ryu," he said quietly, "the Abyss threatened me that day." Looking straight at Ryu, Ryosuke continued. "They threatened me with your life."
Ryu looked at his father, shocked. "What?" He managed to say, barely audible. Ryosuke's expression changed almost instantly from unsure to guilty. "Ryu, I'm sorry," Ryosuke said, meeting his son's gaze. "I couldn't think straight, and I just did what I thought was right, I wasn't thinking about the other villagers' homes. You can hate me if you want, I justー"
Before he could finish, Ryu, though he technically shouldn't have because of his condition, leaned over and hugged his father, something he hadn't done in a long time.  "It's alright, Father. I don't hate you," Ryu said quietly. "After all, I probably wouldn't have done much better," Ryu said, breathing sharply as he spoke the last few words. "Ryu, you're still injured," Ryosuke said, though he hugged Ryu back. Pulling away slowly, Ryu said, "I'll be fine. I'm your son," and smiled at his father, who attempted to return the smile.

But, before anything more could be said, Haruka entered the room. "Mr. Yamamoto, may I say something to you alone?" Ryosuke looked over at Haruka, confused. "Anything you have to say can be said in front of Ryu," he stated simply. Haruka looked outside the room, making sure no one would hear.

                                                       "It's about Ryu's condition."