The tale of Cash
Part 19: he's a man, not a monster
Everyone was somber that morning. At noon, Ken arrived. " Where is he?" He inquired. " He's in the back yard, waiting for you. But please, Ken, don't do this! He's been through enough." Dave begged. " He's an abomination. So are your other boys They dishonor mankind, with their pretending to be human. And the outsider dishonored my Grandfather. He never acknowledged it, but I saw it when he didn't. This wasn't family. This was a monster that Grandfather treated like a man. You may love them, but thy are animals, not men!" " Well, all I have to say is that you'll never beat Cash." " Why's that, M. Seville?" " Because, your jealous of Cash. Your Grandfather paid more attention to Cash, than you. But, you see, in his eyes, Cash was another son. He missed being a father, from what I gather, and liked having another on to raise. And, you can't beat him, because, though you don't think he's a man, he's twice the man you'll ever be." Dave scolded. " You may be right on some of that, Mr. Seville. Maybe I was Jealous that grandfather had moved on. He didn't need to train me anymore, and Cash needed raising. But, he is no uncle or cousin to me. He is not Grandfather's by blood. He didn't deserve grandfather's attention and training. That freak had the gall to train in our style. He wields a sword Grandfather made with his own hands. I had to buy my sword. He's an outsider. He's not blood and the traditional style will be only used by blood. He's a mockery of the family." " I can't convince you can I?" " NO! That creature will die. That way, maybe I can shock you into realizing these demons have hypnotized you. I'll break that spell and save you. Then, I'll kill the others and you'll be free." " I love these boys as my sons. And You will not kill any of them. If you kill Cash, Your going to pay!" " You're a fool, Seville. They are a mockery of what man is. They shall pay." " Your possessed !" " Perhaps I am." " Just in case your wondering, I'm ready for you." That was Cash calling. He had heard everything. He was furious but he hid it. He'd make sure he'd beat Ken some how. He knew Ken was good, possibly better than him. Cash knew plenty of defensive moves to guard against attacks. However, since Ken used the style too, he'd have figured out ways around those by now. " Damn! Talk about being up a creek without a paddle." Cash thought. " Everything I can think of, I can think of a way he can counter it. Damn it! Looks like I'll just have to do my best to beat him." " Well, Are you ready?" Ken asked. " Cash, You don't have to do this. We can call the cops on this guy. He has threatened our family." Dave shouted. " Exactly! That's why I have to put him down. I heard what he said. Called us monsters. Said we hypnotized you, called you a fool. Worst of all, he threatened to kill my brothers. I will not let him get away with that. I'm fighting, not to defend myself, but to defend our family's pride and honor." Cash spoke." Then, let's get started." Ken shouted. He rushed head-on at Cash, sword raised high. Cash panicked a little, but caught himself. " Keep calm, Cash. You know the fastest way to lose is to lose your cool." he told himself. Cash avoided ken's attack, which had tuned into a horizontal slash. Cash returned with a vertical swipe of his own. Ken blocked this. Both knew what was going on. It was ' stage one' of the Ikebana style. This stage alternated between horizontal and vertical attacks. It also blocked horizontal with vertical attacks and vice-versa. Cash thought " Stage one's just a test really. It's meant to get a feel for how your opponent acts and reacts. He's just trying to get a grasp on my rhythm!"
The tale of Cash
Part 20: mix it up…or else
The battle had waged on for about ten minutes. Cash had received a nasty gash on his right arm when he misjudged which way Ken was attacking. However, Cash had returned the favor, with interest, but slicing both of Ken's arms for the same mistake. Also, at one point, Ken had knocked Cash down by tripping him. As Cash reached for his sword, Ken had stomped on Cash's left ring finger. Cash had reached it and gave Ken a punch in the leg in return. Cash also had a concussion, since Ken had hit him on the head with the back of the sword. The concussion had come only a minute ago. Now, Cash and Ken were facing off, both breathing hard. " Your tougher than I gave you credit for. Your no Ikebana, but you're a tough one alright. You can take a licking and keep on ticking. But, I'll win. Your out of league here." Ken gasped. Cash had to agree. Though he was getting his shots in, Ken was clearly on the winning side. Cash thought there was no way he could win. Ken attacked him again while Cash was lost in thought. Cash avoided the full force of the attack, but got another deep cut on the right side of his forehead. Now, blood was pouring into his eye. Cash wiped it away, leaving a red streak on his black sleeve. Ken wouldn't let up o Cash either. He rushed Cash as he wiped the blood away. Again, cash avoided the slash, but Ken elbowed him in the ribs incredibly hard. Cash thought for sure he had heard a cracking sound come from the ribs on his left side. Cash took stock of his injuries. He had a cut o his right arm and forehead, a broken left ring finger, a concussion and now at least one cracked rib. Cash wondered how he could beat Ken. Ken was twice his size and talented as hell with a sword. Cash looked at his brothers. Then, he remembered something Mr. Ikebana had told him. " To win a real fight, you must use the style you know. However, if the enemy is reading your movements to well, or knows the style as well, you will lose. That's why this style secretly ops for customization. I haven't told anyone this, but the style's true strength, the elusive stage two, is this customization. Don't let the style make you for it, make it work for you. No one else knows this, because the style becomes three times more dangerous when you add the power of it's user's imagination. So, what I'm saying is, mix it up…or else. Through something in there your opponent doesn't know. He won't know how to counter it, giving you the edge. Keep it up and you'll come out on top. But, keep this a secret Cash. You're the only one I've trained to have a soul pure enough to make me trust you with this knowledge. Only tell those you truly trust." Cash smiled. He knew it wouldn't take Ken down on it's own, but combined with the traditional style, the chipmunks personal fighting style may be the edge Cash needed. He knew Munk-fu was his ticket out of this mess. " Smiling in this face of your demise. You sure are a brave one." Ken said. " Oh, I'm not smiling at my demise, I'm smiling at your's. See, I know how to use the elusive stage two of the style. I'll never tell you what it is, but just know that your going down hard!" Cash said. " Your just being a cocky bastard!" Ken cried. " I'm not a bastard. I never have been. I've had my birth father, Mr. Ikebana and now Dave. Don't insult them like that! Speaking of Mr. Ikebana, I remembered something sensei told me once. To win a fight, you have to go off the beaten path. Make yourself unpredictable and you'll be invincible. I know now how to put you down!" " Then come prove it!" Ken cried. " Beat me if you can!"