originally posted in:The New Dojo
[b]Chapter Thirty[/b]
The bed was soft as Zane opened his eyes. As he looked around he found himself in a small, cramped room. The walls were dark and the single sized bed he slept in covered half the room. The desk that took up the other side of the room was covered in small pairs of clothing that looked like they would fit a small child. Then, as Zane looked at himself, he realized.
He was a small child.
[spoiler]For Zane.[/spoiler]
English
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"Common Aki, have a bit of confidence in yourself. We've been training for this kinda stuff, so we should be fine!"
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"Ya, but I'm only six. You're seven. Huge advantage there." Aki told Zane as the line diminished ahead of the siblings.
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"One year is nothing bro, just believe in yourself and know that your big brother and sister believe in you!"
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"Nah. He's gunna fall." Setsuna said with a sly grin. "Awe man!" Aki then let out. The line continued to grow shorter.
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He chuckled as he threw his arm around his brother. "She's just teasing you Aki, you'll be fine."
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"Really? Cause I think you're both gunna fall before you make be fourth level!" Setsuna then challenged her brothers.
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"Is that a challenge I hear? I bet I can make it to the top!"
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"That so?! Then let the games begin little brother!" Setsuna told Zane. Then, the siblings found themselves in front. The mistress looked at the group with a stern glare as she pointed to Aki. "Akira! Stop cowering behind your brother. You are doing the ladder no matter what do you may as well go first!" She demanded.
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Zane patted his brother on the back, trying to reassure him. "Remember Aki, you got this." He said with a grin on his face.
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"...ya." Aki still said unconfidently as he walked up to the ladder. He grasped the pole and Zane saw the shake in his hands. Then, he lifted himself up. He did a pull up, then dropped, then jumped up with his body and got the pole onto the second level cleanly.
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"That's it Aki...Keep doing what you're doing!" Zane whispered
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Aki prepared again, and he jumped. He got the pole onto the third level. There were only seven more. He went up again and got to the fourth now and the crowd of kids began to cheer him on.
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Zane began to cheer along side them, and stole a side glance at Setsuna to see her reaction.
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Setsuna had her hand raised to her lips as she watched her brother. She was quiet. Then, Aki jumped up to the fifth level... But the pole slipped them, and Aki fell to the ground. There was a [i]thud![/i] as he hit the ground. The mistress approached Aki and picked the boy up. Aki seemed to have gone unconscious from the fall and the mistress waved over a taller boy to take Aki away. The crowd was quiet now.
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"God damn it....He was so close....." He sighed in frustration.
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"Setsuna!" The mistress yelled. "Maybe you can make it more then half way!" Setsuna looked up at the ladder and let out a breath.
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"You got this big sis, and if you start to feel pressured just remember to block out all sounds."
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"Hey, I told you that one!" Setsuna said as she approached the ladder.
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Edited by SDK Zane: 5/28/2017 9:10:49 PM"That you did....Now climb that thing!" He shouted at her.
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Setsuna gripped the pole as the mistress set it back up. Then, she began. She jumped up to the second level, then the third, then the fourth, and then the fifth. The crowd began to cheer loudly as she made her way up.
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"Common, just a few more Sets. You got this....." He crossed his arms with anticipation, watching his sister.
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She went up again, and again. She mad it to the seventh level. There were eleven levels total so she was over halfway now. The crowd cheered more and Zane couldn't help but notice that the mistress had a bit of a grin on her face.
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He rose his eyebrow as he noticed the strange grin, then examined the ladder Setsuna was climbing.
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Setsuna made her way to the ninth level. She was nearly at the top now. Nothing about the ladder seemed to be out of the ordinary. Setsuna clenched her legs, and then went up. But, she didn't make it. The pole got up to the right side of the tenth level but it slipped off, and she lost her grip. She landed on the ground with a roll and did a little hop as her sweaty red face took in many deep breaths. "Oh...oh man." She let out. The crowd mumbled with disappointment. The mistress came up from behind Setsuna and gave her a light shove back into the crowd. "Smooth landing but it needs work." The mistress told Setsuna. "You're waking up earlier tomorrow for practice."
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He let out a sigh, but was relieved that his sister stuck the landing. "She was so close...."