02-I Believe, Therefore I Am

By Chronic Guardian

Author's Note: Written for Twelve Shots of Summer: Trinity Limit [week 2: Spreading Grand Wings/Down to the Foundation]

=Lesson 1: Forget the Past=

He saw the fist coming before it hit. The clenched knuckles, thumb on the outside, followed by a taut forearm driving the payload towards its destination. And yet, he couldn't figure out why he couldn't dodge.

I'm not fast enough, he noted. He'd seen others dodge punches like this, but that was always them, not him.

The limits of the human body were a riddle always hanging at the edge of Duke's mind. Not only did they vary from person to person, some people seemed to ignore them altogether. He'd seen children who could barely jump a few inches and acrobats who seemed to jump their entire height, people who bruised their knuckles punching pillows and fighters who punched through stone. There was something special others had that he didn't.

He reeled back as the fist connected with his face. He stumbled a little before he caught his footing again and looked back up. The other boy was already coming in for another punch. Duke winced and tried to brace himself. Why can't I do it?

He at least got his arms up in time to take away some of the impact. That didn't mean it didn't hurt, just that he wouldn't be getting any more of a concussion than he already had. He just hoped it didn't also mean he'd be having fractured wrist bones in exchange.

"Hey!" Someone on the sidelines was yelling. Duke glanced over and saw a tall woman with short, silver hair. Her clothes made her look like one of the mages from East Heaven Kingdom. Was she going to break up the fight? He felt kind of relieved. He was smaller than the other boy, so it'd never been a contest to begin with.

Apparently, the outsider still thought he stood a chance. "Dodge, you knucklehead!"

Duke looked over in disbelief, only to get another fist to the face and another in his stomach.

"I can't!" he shouted back before immediately throwing up his arms again to shield from another blow. "He's—ungh!"

"Yes, you can!" His spectating 'supporter' was adamant. The woman's eyes flashed but she still refused to actually get in the circle and help him. "Don't think about how you haven't, just try because you need to!"

Duke gritted his teeth and pulled his body to the side as another punch came his way. Surprisingly, it worked. The bigger boy lost his balance and went barreling past. Duke took the opportunity to land a few blows on the guy's back. Until his opponent responded with a backhand, of course, then Duke had just enough time to grab his bloody nose before the next hit knocked him out.

=Lesson 2: Humility=

He woke up to see the silver haired woman standing above him with a frown. "You've got a long ways to go..."

Duke worked his jaw and tried to inhale through his nose. A moment later, he was sneezing up flakes of dried blood. He sat up and held his head as everything settled in again.

"You know, you'll never reach your full potential if you don't even believe it exists," the woman continued, dusting him off.

Duke grimaced, not sure if this was appropriate coming from a stranger. Still, he mumbled a thank you when she was done.

Standing back, she offered him a hand. "Kander," she said curtly, maintaining her serious expression.

He tilted his head. "Candor?"

"Close enough," she sighed and reached down to pull him up manually by his collar. When he was on his feet again, she gave him a light push on the chest. He stumbled backwards and glared at her. "You've got to work on that, kid. If your body doesn't know what stance to take when you get jumped then you have to waste time focusing it yourself. This happen often to you?"

"No!" He said quickly, crossing his arms. He wasn't sure if she meant fighting or losing, but they were basically the same thing so he'd rather not admit to either one.

"Mmm…" the woman hummed to herself as she took a step back and examined him. "Okay, let's try this again. Hi, my name's Kander. I'm on a quest to do good deeds so I can get my license as a court mage in West Heaven Kingdom. If I can stop bullies from picking on you, I get one step closer to my dream job. So are you gonna help me or not?"

Duke scowled. "If you're supposed to be doing 'good deeds', why didn't you stop them yourself?"

Kander gave him a secretive smile as she ran a gloved hand through her silver hair. "Because that would just teach you to keep being weak. If I want them to stop going after you altogether, I've got to teach you how to be strong."

Duke bit his lower lip and tried to detect the lie in her tone. This was a trick, wasn't it? She was only telling him this so she could get him into another fight and watch him get beat up again.

After about a minute of waiting for the stalemate to break, Kander sighed and turned to go. "Have it your way, kid. If you change your mind, find me before I leave town tomorrow, 'kay?"

Duke watched her go in silence.

Then he decided it didn't sound so bad after all.

=Lesson 3: Knowledge is Power=

Kander had a self-satisfied smile on as she exited the inn to meet Duke, standing with fists clenched just outside the door. "Good to see you, kid," she greeted him as she reached into her pack. "Here, catch!"

She produced a book and threw it in his direction. Duke had just enough time to squawk and duck as the thing flew over his head and bounced across the cobblestones in the street.

"Well, at least your reflexes are getting better," Kander sighed. She moved past him to retrieve the book. "Maybe we need to work on your listening skills first."

=Lesson 3(revised): Listen when Other People are Talking=

"First, we'll talk about respect," Kander noted as she inspected the book for damage. "The first person you should be listening for in any situation is the one you respect."

"Who's second?"

"Your survival instinct."

"It told me to duck."

"And I told you to catch. Now respect your elders and catch."

She tossed the book at him again. This time he caught it, albeit with a slight recoil. "Oof!"

"Good, now throw it back."
Duke looked back, trying to judge the distance against the weight of the tome. How hard should he throw it? No, wait, stupid question. It felt like she was hiding a brick under the cover, if he got it anywhere at all he'd be making progress. Settling for a mighty heave, he shoved the book back in her direction.

The leaves promptly flew open and caught the wind, causing the book to abruptly drop back down to the ground mid-flight. Kander looked between it and her young pupil. "What took you so long?"

"I...I didn't want to throw it wrong!"

"Yeeeah….That's great," she put one fist on her hips and used her gloved hand to brush back her hair again. "Now pick it up and try again."

Duke stuck his tongue out, but did as he was told.

Kander narrowed her eyes. "What was that?"

"I didn't say anything!"

"And I never said I heard anything. I'm not blind, kid."

Duke resisted the urge to stick his tongue out again.

"All right," she grumbled and picked him up by his shirt collar. "Looks like we're gonna have to dig a little deeper on that last point. Eyes on me, kid!"

=Lesson 3(re-revised): Respect=

Kander threw him up in the air with more force than he would've expected from her thin arms. While still on the upward draft, he winced as little bits of light soared past his face and skimmed his flailing limbs. Were those… fireballs? His eyes watered and he wasn't sure if it was from the airflow or not. Finally, as gravity reversed itself, he found himself staring at a long drop back towards the pavement. He screamed and covered his face with his arms.

Except, instead of landing, thud, flat on the cobblestone street, he hit some kind of air cushion and flopped awkwardly to his feet. He stumbled a few steps unsuccessfully trying to catch his balance before he fell back on his rear end and blinked.

"I didn't have to catch you," Kander said in a nonchalant voice, casually stretching her arms above her head.

"You didn't have to throw me, either!" Duke retorted.

"So you're saying you didn't learn the lesson then," Kander surmised, lips pursed. After a split second of decision flickered through her violet eyes, she lowered her arms and rolled her shoulders. "Wanna try this again?"

"Wait!" Duke yelped, throwing up his arms. What the heck was he supposed to be learning from this? His brain scrambled while his mouth kicked into automatic. "I… I think I get it."

Kander stopped and crossed her arms. "Good. Then explain it to me."

He gulped. He'd sort of been hoping she was just blowing off steam so an acknowledgment would be enough to pacify her. Was she trying to show off how strong she was? "You're… you're a lot more powerful than you look." He finally said dipping his head as a large sweat drop rolled down his neck.

Above him, Kander sighed. "True, but not the point. Let me say it again: I didn't have to catch you."

Duke looked up at her and tilted his head.

"Look kid, you're going to respect me and you're gonna do it for the right reasons. If you just respect every punk on the street who can whoop your pasty tush you're gonna stay at the bottom of the food chain forever. If you respect a skilled magician who doesn't abuse their power..."

He balked "You don't think that was abuse?!"

She gave him a flat expression and shrugged. "You're still in one piece. I'm saying you can trust me to look out for you, even when you're being a little putz. Stick your tongue out at me again and I'll punish you again, but I'll never give you more than you can take, got it?"

Duke scowled, but nodded.

"Good. Now let's work on that attitude and keep going. I've still got a thing or two to beat into your thick skull."

He could only hope she didn't mean that literally.

=Lesson 4: Don't be Afraid to Try=

"Not that I expect you to know the answer, but I'll ask anyway: how do you get stronger?"

Duke looked at Kander and managed to not shoot back a sarcastic "isn't that what you're supposed to be teaching me?"

"Yeah… thought so," his teacher muttered to herself. Her hair wasn't long enough to toss in annoyance, but it must have been at some point because she jerked her head away all the same. Duke chalked it up to force of habit. "Guess that's fine then. If you don't know anything then that just means I don't have any bad habits to grill out of you. Today's lesson is all about watching. Do you know how to watch, kid?"

"Yes," Duke answered, slightly insulted by her patronizing tone.

"Good." She knelt down to his level and lifted a hand. "Then I want you to punch my hand exactly how that other kid punched you."

Duke blinked. How had she connected those dots? Was watching supposed to make him some kind of memory machine?

"I'm waiting, kid," Kander pressed in a sing-song voice, still holding a cupped palm about a foot from his face. "Just like you saw it. Remember what he did and make it your own."

Duke took a deep breath and reached back into his memory. How did it go? He thought of the angle of the other boy's arm, the positioning of his fist, how the back of his hand lined up with the driving forearm, and commanded his body to recreate the image.

Kander snorted as his fist gave a soft thud in her glove. "I guess that whole getting knocked senseless thing might make it difficult to remember clearly," she noted, straightening up. "Allow me to give a refresher."

Already familiar with her dubious training methods, Duke yelped and covered his face as best he could before the inevitable punch came.

Only… it didn't.

"Hey, kid." It was hard to tell if Kander was annoyed or if that was just her usual tone of voice. "Remember when I said today's all about watching?"

Still blocking his face with his forearms, Duke blinked and peered out at his teacher.

"Alright… I'm gonna say something that I'm gonna trust you to not take the wrong way," she said slowly. Although he was pretty sure that meant she wasn't about to hit him, the statement still made Duke wary. Kander took her left hand and pointed below her waist. "Watch my hips."

Duke made a face but did as he was told.

Kander made a punch into empty air and turned to look at him. "You get it?"

"..." Whatever correlation he was supposed to be making between her hips and the punch wasn't coming.

"I guess you're not much for demonstrations, huh, kid?"

"Your hips moved," he offered after a moment. It wasn't much but it was true, at least. "Is it to distract the other guy? I don't think it's gonna work the same for—"

"Torque," Kander said curtly. Duke couldn't tell for sure, but he thought a smile was fighting to get on her face. "It gives the punch more power. Don't punch from just the arm, punch with your whole body, twist into the hit. Trust me, this has nothing to do with dirty tactics. That's a lecture for another day."

Duke took a moment to process the idea before planting his feet and trying it himself. His fist swung wide and he threw himself off balance, but Kander gave him an approving nod.

"It's a start," she said.

=Lesson 5: Get Inspired!=

"So kid," Kander said the next day as they began walking to the next village. "I can't help but notice you're not too thrilled at most of my lessons so far."

"...I… Um..." It sounded like she was fishing for a response but Duke didn't know if he should apologize or just acknowledge the obvious. After a moment of internal debate, he chose the latter. "Yes?"

Surprisingly, he heard her respond with a chuckle. "Catch."

Duke turned and raised his arms just in time to stop a book from colliding with his gut.

"Good, you're getting better at that," Kander noted, giving him a few emphatic claps of appreciation. "You ever learn how to read, kid?"

With the imminent threat of incoming projectiles neutralized, Duke turned the book over in his hands and flipped it open. It was a thick book. He hoped there would be pictures.

"Kid?"

"Y-yes?"

"Can you read?" she repeated, this time saying each word slowly.

"...A little."

"Great," She reached over to turn the pages back to the beginning and pointed to the top of the page. "Read me that first sentence right there."

Duke took a deep breath and tried to remember the bits and pieces of schooling he'd picked up by listening outside of studies. He couldn't afford lessons himself, but that didn't mean he hadn't snooped in on a few lessons someone else was paying for. "Th… throughout East H...heaven..." He began haltingly. "There roamed a… warrior named… Las-bard."

"Pronunciation needs work, but it'll do," Kander surmised, tapping a finger to her chin. She started walking again and he trailed after her. "Okay, Kid, from now on you'll be reading my book collection to get you inspired. These are heavy duty tales of the manliest of men and their road maps for how to not be a wimp. Take notes, all right?"

"Uh.. right!" he responded belatedly, looking up from the book to give her a nod.

The rest of the day was spent reading up on how Lasbard fought hordes of bandits and dark knights using only his fists, wits, and determination. After each battle, he would stop to dedicate his handiwork to the princess traveling with him. "Shall we go, m'lady?" Lasbard would say decorously, standing atop his fallen foes with crossed arms and a confident smirk.

Duke was mesmerized. He didn't think he much resembled Lasbard, but he was now convinced of what a hero looked like.

Without meaning to, he started to call Kander "M'lady". She didn't seem to mind it.

=Lesson 6: Appreciate What Beats You=

At some point in Lasbard's adventures, he was beaten by a wandering knight of the lost atelier. Instead of swearing revenge for his disgrace, however, Lasbard held his opponent in reverence and said he would look forward to the day they met again.

"I don't get it, M'lady," Duke said over dinner. "Why isn't Lasbard upset? He's supposed to be the most powerful guy around! Doesn't it bother him that the other guy made him lose?"

"First off, Lasbard's an idiot," Kander answered, not looking up from her carefully tended shish-kabobs. "He's a meat head looking for a fight. Philosophy isn't his strong suit."

"...Oh." Duke was beginning to think he'd missed the point.

"Second," Kander continued on without changing tone, "he's at least smart enough to recognize the importance of a dedicated rival."

Duke tilted his head. "A rival?"

"Yup, that one guy who can stand toe to toe with you in a fight," Kander explained. She lifted one of the skewers off of the fire and examined the meat. "You can learn a lot from someone like that."

"So, in other words… Lasbard's thankful he has someone to learn from?"

"Yeah, sure, that's one way to look at it," Kander mumbled. "Here, catch!" She tossed the shish-kabob like a dagger. Duke just barely caught it before the pointy end went into his nose. "Or maybe he just likes having someone who can stand up to him," she went on. "It gets lonely at the top."

Duke nodded, even though he didn't understand. The next day, he read further and tried to imagine how he would fight if he were Lasbard.

=Lesson 7: Train like you Mean it!=

They traveled around the countryside as Kander continued her quest for certification and Duke continued his quest to man-up. He'd read through her entire collection by the time they arrived at their third town and in the absence of further study he was growing eager to try out some of the techniques his favorite heroes used. He could visualize Lasbard's Cannon Arm sending foes flying, or Zangan's Final Heaven reducing shields of pure steel to splinters. He practiced every day on the road, leaving behind a path of badly mauled shrubbery and saplings. Whatever it took, he was determined to gain the power that these men had discovered. Kander, of course, was more than happy to give him a few pointers along the way.

"Keep your arms up!" She yelled over her morning tea while he hauled firewood.

"Yes, M'lady!"

"Twist into the punch!" She ordered as he practiced his form on trees.

"Yes, M'lady!"

"Be aware of your surroundings!" She reminded as she threw books at him without warning.

"Yes M'lady!"

"And make sure you treat ladies with respect or you'll never get a date in a thousand years!"

"Yes, M'lady!"

The days left him drained, but when he woke up in the morning he felt stronger. Maybe it was some of Kander's magic; Duke had read about invigoration spells in one of the books she'd given him. Whatever it was, he could feel his muscles getting faster and see his blows becoming more devastating. His body was ready, now it was all about technique.

=Lesson 8: Showdown=

Kander made sure Duke got plenty of practice. She started out fighting alongside him, but soon enough she was letting him handle things on his own. They wandered through valleys and forests, blazing a path of justice in their wake as she groomed him for bigger and better things. They sparred every morning and evening, each day she would hold back a little less.

Finally Kander took him to the top of a mountain overlooking the region. "I think you're ready," she told him, folding her arms. While her words were reassuring her mouth had taken on that measuring expression that she used to say she was still gauging where he was at. "Kid… here's where I'll teach you my ultimate technique."

"Really, M'lady?" Duke answered eagerly. He'd come to enjoy her guidance during their time together. He'd also come to understand the full extent of her power. She could uproot oak trees and outrun wolves, she was probably the most powerful person he had ever met outside of the book world.

"Really, kid," Kander confirmed. "Observe."

Faster than he could bat an eyelash, he found himself knocked backwards with his stomach throbbing numbly.

"That… that was incredible, M'lady!" He breathed, grinning up at her. "Just like Duncan's Phantom Rush!"

"Thank you," she answered curtly. "Now try to counter it."

"M'lady?" He asked, struggling to his feet. "But the only thing that could stop that would be—"

"A Vargas patented counter-lock suplex," she finished for him, brushing a stray lock of silver hair across her forehead. "You know what to do, kid, so what are you waiting for?"

"But I'm not Vargas!"

Kander gave a determined smile. "And I'm not Duncan. But let's pretend for the moment that we are, all right?"

Duke straightened up and obeyed his master. "Y-yes M'lady!"

In that instant, he was no longer himself. His eyes focused as he noted the details Vargas would note and tensed the muscles Vargas would tense. He braced before there was even a hint of impact and the world seemed to slow as he closed his eyes and let the flow of the wind guide him. He could sense Kander's movement without seeing it. Subconsciously, his hands moved as he'd read they should move and he grabbed her by the fist just as she was about to lash out her first strike. His eyes snapped open.

"Too slow!" he yelled, caught up in the moment. Just like Vargas would, he lifted his opponent into the air with a mighty leap before spiking her back down towards the mountain. Kander flipped and twisted in the air before making a graceful one handed recovery. Duke landed beside her and went for a Fang Leiden tackle. She deftly dodged and came right back with a Burning Rave a la Dincht. Duke performed a back hand parry and they exchanged an excited grin for one moment of empty space between them.

The next moment, fight was on. It was like a wall had broken down between the heroes of legend and their own beings as they each brought to life the signature techniques of Kander's library. Duke threw punches he'd ingrained into his waking memory and watched spellbound as Kander mimicked the fluid movements of every master he'd ever read about. He'd seen her in action before, but never like this. This was art, and he didn't want it to end.

They fought to a stand still. It was dark then, and Kander didn't think walking down the mountain exhausted in the dark was safe, so instead they just lay there panting in silence as they caught their breath and let their over exerted muscles rest. It burned like fire, but Duke didn't care anymore. He welcomed the pain, it was worth it.

"Well… I guess… that concludes… our partnership," Kander sighed between breaths.

Duke stayed on his back, but arched a little so he could look towards his master. "R-really… M'lady?"

"Yeah… you did good… kid."

"But… what do I… do now?"

"Heh," Kander gave a dry, croaking, laugh. "What do you... think? Go out and... live what I... taught you."

"O-of course, M'lady!"

"...I'll miss ya… kid..."

"And I... you… M'lady..."

They went back to quietly breathing until each of them dozed off to sleep. In his dreams, Duke said goodbye again, and rekindled the torch of all she had taught him.

=Lesson 9: Comraderie=

When morning came, Kander used magic to concentrate dew and coat their throats. It was enough to get them down the mountainside and to a proper river, but the entire walk down tasted like mud and dust.

Duke didn't care. He felt a fire within him. He could accomplish anything, walk any distance, take on any challenge. When they finally made it into town Kander bought him a drink at the tavern and they discussed future plans.

"Thanks for not giving up, kid," Kander said, lifting a foaming glass of root beer in his direction. "You're not as bad as I pegged you for."

"Thanks M'lady!" He grinned back and leaned forward. "...Why didn't you give up on me though?"

"Because I chose to believe you were more than what you looked like," Kander explained. For once her tone seemed to be completely honest. "Because sometimes we need people to believe in us before we decide to believe in ourselves."

"...I see," he answered as he bowed his head in humble reverence.

Her eyes glinted and she gave him a funny look. "It's also because that's what my master told me to do." She lifted a finger as she quoted her orders, "'Find the wimpiest kid you can and make him awesome'. Or, for less of a paraphrase… 'Do what I did for you.'"

The words resonated with Duke as he realized just what he was being entrusted with. This was a sacred order, a grand legacy, a never ending cycle that he had just become the next link to. From now on, he would—

"Hey now, don't think I don't know what that look means," Kander teased, bringing him back to the present. "Don't go thinking you'll have to do what I did. I've still got one last order for you, and it's not gonna be some lame copycat."

Duke grimaced as he reset his expectations and Kander took an unceremonious swig of her root beer. So much for that idea then…

"No… instead of going through all that trouble, I just want you to go out and be someone's hero," she went on, putting her mug down on the table and smiling with her eyes. "Go make a name for yourself. And don't let anyone tell you it can't be done, okay? I taught you better than that."

"Y-yes M'lady!"

"'Atta boy, Duke," Kander said, and took another draught. She reached across the table and playfully tapped the side of his head. "You got your credentials right up here, now go show 'em what ya got."

=Lesson 10: Application=

Duke became a wandering hero. He didn't see Kander again, but she did eventually send him a letter to tell him she'd passed her certification thanks to the tales of her young protege. By the time he was twenty, he'd mastered every major technique known in the region and had moved on in search of new material. Some thought he was searching for new fighters, but others knew he'd always gotten his techniques from books. He bought his own copy of The Amazing Adventures of Lasbard eventually and kept it as his road guide alongside Fists of Fury and The Burning Palmstrike. He had to stay true to his roots, after all; he was a fairytale come true.

It was around that time that he ran into a silver haired woman dressed in mage's garb carrying another letter. She brought him to a tavern and had him buy her a root beer while she explained her situation. "My sister says you're a decent body guard," she said in a disinterested tone, playing with her long, snowy locks. "Ever considered treasure hunting?"

Duke took the letter and immediately recognized Kander's signature. "M'lady," he told the woman with a smile. "I'm the best there is."

"Great," she replied flatly. "And just why is that?"

"I believe," he told her simply, spreading his arms. "Therefore, I am."

The woman gave him a skeptical look before she swallowed down a grimace. "I'll believe it when I see it."

"So you don't want my help?"

"That's not what I said," she corrected him. "I just mean you're fired if you can't prove it."

Duke smiled again and leaned back in his chair. "I'll take those odds."

He hadn't seen what he was up against, but that didn't matter. He already knew how he was going to win.

~fin~

-Author's Note:-

Hmm… yeah, I need to work on my climaxes and falling action.

This is a story I've wanted to write for a long time and I like to think of it as the origins of Duke: that one guy in Threads of Fate/Dewprism who could make shadow clones and fly like a star just because he read a book and believed he could. I know this one-shot has no mention of how the heck he could do Starlight Duke shenanigans, but I like to think that since it establishes his confidence and the general gist of how his powers work that it's a fair foundation.

Also, for those looking for TSoS [Classics], you may note that this is a [Backstory] tale to the main canon and that Kander (and later Belle) act as [Foil Characters] to Duke. I've still gotta find a way to sneak [Chekhov's Gun] into one of these, but… well, you can't really force that one.

But wait, what's this guy going on about with TsoS and Classics and whatever? Why, it's Twelve Shots of Summer! Looking for a seasonal challenge to keep your writing sharp? Please drop by the forum and join our community as we strive to get weekly one-shots out and spread encouraging feedback! Looking for some good summer reading now that you're out of school? Check out any other story with a [Twelve Shots of Summer],[Twelve Shots of Summer: Second Raid], or [Twelve Shots of Summer: Trinity Limit] tag for some good reads! I promise you'll find something good there.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I'll see you next week if you care to drop by again! Until then,

-CG