Chapter Twelve
I breathed in the cold mountain air, letting it calm me. I watched my opponent carefully. He was well-trained, and wielded his weapon with a high degree of proficiency. However, I'd spotted an opening in his style.
I charged in, careful not to let my center of gravity get too far forward. My opponent swung downwards, trying to nail me on my head. I stopped, and stepped back, letting the weapon slip by. When it was past, I threw a back kick. My opponent stepped around the back kick, spinning as he did so, and swung his weapon right into my side with enough forced to knock me over.
I grunted as the nunchaku slammed into me. I fell and rolled, coming up a few metres away from Koike. He grinned at me. "You lose, Ryou. I could've killed you by swinging at your head."
I grinned at him. "Lucky strike."
He's gotten better. I'm still slightly faster, but his strength has far surpassed me.
Shigehito scowled, and threw a small pouch at Masato, who caught it while grinning. I swore I heard what sounded like the clinking of coins.
Yuki spoke up "Emi, you're up next."
I watched as Emi stood up, her staff in her hand. I took stock of my body. I'd received quite a few hits from Koike, and my forearms felt tender. But overall, I could still fight at full strength.
I breathed out, trying to regain my sense of calm. After the fight with that enemy Ningenbanare, I'd decided not to use the Heart of Fire, Mind of Ice technique that Shigehito taught me. Because of the anger that pumped through my body, I'd killed the man before I realized what I was doing. That technique was too dangerous. At least, with my new technique, Frozen Soul, I'd be in control if and when I wanted to kill. The strength advantage offered by Shigehito's technique was outweighed by the risk.
Emi stood in front of me, and raised her hands, one palm curled around a fist, in the traditional Chinese wushu salute. I returned the gesture, and bowed. She held her staff expertly, waiting for me to move.
Okay. With that staff, she can attack and defend simultaneously. That means punches and kicks won't work. I wouldn't feel right about hitting her anyway. So, I'll try to disarm her. That means judo moves.
I shifted my feet, adopting a wide stance, and held my hands in front of me, palms facing her. I kept my eyes on her face, looking for any signs that she was going to attack. I also watched her staff in my peripheral vision.
Emi doesn't have much patience. She'll be attacking any minute now…
She moved, front foot sliding forward, staff arcing upward.
Fast!
I side-stepped the swing, and moved in, trying to grab her shirt so I could throw her. I'd forgotten about the other end of her staff. Emi was kind enough to remind me by forcefully introducing it to my jaw.
Ooh…Pretty stars…
My instincts flared, and I brought both my arms up in a cross block, stopping Emi's staff just before it hit my head. I grabbed her staff, and twisted, trying to get it out of her hands. She twisted with the motion, and landed, planting her feet firmly, and yanked when I was off balance. The staff slipped right out of my hands. She swiped at me, and I jumped back.
I'm stronger than her, but she's waaay fast.
Emi stepped forward, her staff whirling. "Six Harmony Staff: Arrow Pierces the Moon!"
I blinked, and suddenly Emi's staff was an inch away from my forehead. Masato and Shigehito winced, and threw two small bags to Yuki and Miharu.
"Awright! Show em, Emi!" Suki cheered.
After the attack on the headquarters, Yuki and the others had taken us to the mountains for training. Suki, Ralph, Bruno (The big guy with the broadsword) and Hino (A girl with red hair, and an expert with all staff weapons including spear and longsword) had followed as our bodyguards. We'd all gotten to know each other quite well. Suki was my bodyguard, Ralph was Koike's bodyguard, Bruno was Asuka's bodyguard, and Hino was in charge of Emi. Emi's improvement was faster than all of us, possibly because she had two teachers, Yuki and Hino.
I trudged over to Suki. "Gee, thanks for the support." She giggled, and ran her hand through my hair.
"I know this will only motivate you to train harder."
I smiled. "You know me too well."
"Just don't overdo it, alright?"
I smiled innocently at her. She sighed. "You're gonna overdo it, aren't you?"
I grinned. "At least I'll have you to take care of me when I pass out."
Shigehito shouted. "OI! Get over here, boy! It's obvious I haven't been training you hard enough!"
My eyes glinted. "Bring it, grandpa!
This is gonna be tough as hell.
Cool.
