Kung Fu Panda - The Adventures of Liu Zhang 02. Let me see your true self (part 8)
He took me to the palace staircases, and stared at the rising of the sun for a while. Then, he reminded me of Tai Lung's story, and the day my friends found out that he had escaped from prison. My mother, Tigress, hadn't accepted Po's destiny yet, and thought that she should be the Dragon Warrior and not him, then she sneaked out from the palace to go face the enemy alone.
Fortunately neither she nor our friends have died, but Shifu didn't want to just tell me that. He also made me promise that I wouldn't make the same mistake my mom did, and wait for the right moment to act, along with my friends. I understood and promised I wouldn't do the same as my her.
After that, we went to the kitchen, where Tuggsy, Koshi and Leona were already having breakfast. Once we all had finished, I went to change clothes, put my green jade shirt, my black trousers and sandals. I took a deep breath, when I realized that today would be a day even bigger than the previous ones, and ran to the Training Hall.
This time, the training was more focused on me. Only I made the list of exercises, the biggest that I did in these recent days: 360 waist twists, 100 squats, 200 inclined twists, 100 leg lifting, 600 sit-ups, 600 pushups, 2000 kicks and 5000 punches. The training exhausted my energies almost completely.
I'd a half hour break and then came back to train. We left the Training Hall and went to The Palace Arena, were Master Shifu asked us to train fighting, but this time it was me against my three friends. First Tuggsy, who attacked me with several different strokes, which was a great challenge to keep a pattern and rhythm during combat against the snow leopard. Then came Koshi, the black wolf attacked me in a similar way to Tuggsy's, but with much more speed and agility, I was most of the time defending myself, and when I tried to attack him, he dodged.
Finally, I faced Leona. The lioness was skilled, very quick and had a similar strength to my mother. Each stroke seemed to be an endurance test. I managed to hit her a few strokes, but she retaliated all, and obviously I didn't win a single fight.
Then, Master Shifu said: "Now, all of you against Liu" It made my legs shake. Seriously?!
I had to push myself very hard to keep myself standing. It was a restless fight, even when they attacked one at a time. The breathing technique in combat that Master Shifu taught wasn't enough for me to keep a good pace. The problem of training with other kung fu masters, is that when they try to hold themselves, they 'only' cause you large bruises, and today was a day of intensive training!
I was relieved when the workout was over. I almost couldn't stand on my feet. I fell on my back and stared at the sky, blue and cloudless. Tuggsy approached.
"*Gasp*...Phew! It's over...you okay?"
"*Gasp-gasp*...I think so...breaking some bones doesn't hurt at all...neither is tiring" I replied sarcastically. He reached out to help me up.
"You were great, Jade" Koshi praised me.
"Truth! You improved a lot in such a short time" Leona said then.
"Thanks, guys *gasp*...without you I wouldn't have gone this far" I thanked.
"It was so far that you haven't even gone anywhere" Tuggsy teased.
"Ha-ha! Very funny...I'd even laugh at the joke and punch you...if I'd the strength for it" said, supporting myself on my knees to keep from falling with exhaustion.
"And I just don't punch you...because I would take a beating" Tuggsy joked, making all of us laugh.
We had lunch, a delicious pasta with vegetables, which made me feel all my energy back. Then, instead of going to the Training Hall, Shifu took us back to the Moon Pool in the Hall of Warriors, to do that meditation again.
When we're done, I felt like the last time, without pain, in a good will and full of energy. Then we headed to the Training Hall, it was time, we'd do the training circuit, and this time I Had to complete 100 laps!
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes to concentrate. I inspired deeply with my nose and slowly exhaled air through the mouth. I opened my eyes slowly and I fixed my gaze on the Training Hall's end, my goal. When Master Shifu gave me the signal to start, I ran towards the obstacles.
Using everything I have learned in recent days, from the way of breathing to the fighting techniques, I went through all the training circuit obstacles, mats and wood with thorns swinging from one side to the other, the bowl, the wooden enemies and the minefield. Tuggsy, Koshi and Leona were my opponents, alternating in which of the obstacles they'd be as the training went.
I completed the first 50 laps without problem, then Master Shifu gave me my katana to use it against obstacles in the remaining laps, and to fight against my friends, who were also armed. Tuggsy had a staff, Koshi had a long two-handed and two edged sword, and Leona had a one-handed and single edged sword.
Hours passed, until I finally completed 99 laps. I was exhausted and in pain throughout the body, but my sight didn't blurr like the first time, and I wasn't even close to passing out. Just like me, the others were already pretty tired, and we were sweating so much that Tuggsy slipped on his own sweat sprawled on the floor.
I just needed to complete one more lap! I jumped and did spins in the minefield while fighting Koshi, made the sequence of blows in all wooden enemies, fought Tuggsy balancing myself in the edges of the bowl, and finally, fought Leona as I ran on the treadmills and dodged from the woods with thorns. I jumped out of the treadmills, throwing myself with the belly on the wooden floor at the beginning of the Training Hall, I had finished the training and completed the 100 laps!
I was exhausted and powerless, but I figured it out better when I stopped moving. My joints ached and I was totally breathless. I hardly hear my friends congratulating me.
"Nice work, Liu! You did it!" exclaimed Tuggsy, excited.
"That's the Jade I know!" Koshi said then.
"Yep! Strength and determination, no one could have done better" Leona said, smiling.
"I am very proud of you, Liu! Honestly, I did not expect that in a week you were..." I interrupted my master.
"...No! *gasp-gasp*..." everyone stared at me in amazement "*gasp-gasp-gasp*...don't say anything yet..." I said, and after doing a lot of strength, I stood up "*gasp*...Now, that I finished the workout and...I'm still standing, you can congratulate me" I joked. They all smiled at me.
After an hour of rest, Master Shifu let me have a snack before we continue with the training, which was very well suggested idea, I was starving! After some bean buns' bowls, we went to the Palace Arena, to continue training my skills with the sword. The day was long and tiring, and we only stopped when the moon was shining in the sky.
In the end of the day, all we took a bath, changed clothes, did that meditation again and went to have dinner at Mr. Ping's Restaurant. We returned to the palace and I had barely arrived in my room and I fell on my bed without wearing my pajamas to sleep.
It was a pleasantly cool and relaxing evening, I managed to recover all my strength and energy. This time I could sleep a little longer, and only woke up when the gong sounded. Today was the day! I got my special suit, which was a gift from Tuggsy, an all black outfit: shirt with hood, trousers, sandals which covered the toes and climbed almost to the knees, elbow pads, knee pads, and on the front of the shirt I could carry 6 throwing knives.
Then I went to have breakfast with Tuggsy, Koshi and Leona. Once we finished, I went to get one of my katanas in order to attend the event. The others said they'd wait for me in the palace's staircase, but I still had one more thing I needed to do before we left. I went to the dungeons of the palace, walked up to one of the relics' rooms and opened a drawer.
"Liu? What are you doing here?" it was Tuggsy. He surprised me, but I wasn't hiding anything.
"Hi, Tuggsy. *sigh*...y'know what we'll do after the event, right?" I replied calmly.
"After the event?"
"Shifu will send us on a mission to capture Po and the others...but the truth is that we have no chance of winning..." I continued.
"How can you be so sure of that? I mean, 'course, they're the greatest warriors of all China, and such..." I interrupted.
"Don't you know?...Shifu once told me that my mother had gotten into depression...it was shortly after Po had become the Dragon Warrior and defeated Tai Lung. She realized that Po was able to do many amazing things, and didn't need to try that hard for it, and she had needed years of training to achieve those same things, and even lost at all kung fu stuff for the panda. She felt useless and went days away from the palace. Until one day, she came back determined to show that she wasn't inferior to him. Do you remember the training we did yesterday: the list of exercises and the 100 laps in the training circuit?"
"Don't even remind me...why do you ask?"
"The list and the circuit were just her warming for her training during the morning" when I said that, Tuggsy was flabbergasted.
"WHAT?!" he exclaimed.
"And that's not all. After she finished the warming, she just ate some tofu cubes, drank a glass of water and began training. She stayed for Three Days without stop training! Not even to sleep. And when the others tried to stop her, well...let's say they've regretted doing it"
"B-but...this is insane! How did she do that?"
"No one can explain. We only know a few things from that day: one is that she destroyed a lot of equipments just to train, another is that she broke the record of the Training Hall and she is the only one who knows how many laps she completed, not to mention that no other Master have overcome it, not even Tai Lung had done that. And she almost died after she finished, when she Fainted, because of a flame of the minefield that hit her in the face" I told.
"Wow...amazing..." he said.
"See?! And I just told you about two of the ones we'll face, but Po and my mother won't be alone!"
"You're right...but, c'mon Liu! We are also good warriors, and we got Shifu, Koshi and Leona on our side! And maybe even those two foreigners gonna help us" he said, a little nervous with my comment.
"It may be so, but what if something goes wrong? Those 'bad parts' aren't normal! Po and the others are awesome warriors, and let's admit that they are Too dangerous, now. I don't know how we'll win this fight, not even If we gonna win" I continued, with the same worried tone.
"...Well...I admit that I'm also scared. But what exactly you want to do?" he asked, now more serious.
"Some time ago, I found out that I can do a legendary kung fu technique, very rare and dangerous, called The Flaming Heart of the Hero. It was thanks to it that I could defeat that big gorilla called Hiroito Li...the problem is that I don't know how to use the technique, but one thing I know: it appeared in one of the moments which I felt more anger in my life" I explained.
At that moment, Tuggsy froze as he noticed what I was holding in my hand, the Gong Lu Medallion.
"No...you're not thinking about..." I interrupted him.
"I'm not just thinking about it, that's also exactly what I'll do!"
"Are you mad? This thing...it gives to the one who wears it a greater power, b-but it's dangerous! It'll make your evil side dominate the good one! "He exclaimed.
"Exactly. I need the bad side to win this battle"
"No! Peng nearly killed Po and the others when he wore it! Neither He managed to control himself because of the medallion's power! You may end up doing what he almost did! What about if your bad side dominate you, and you end up using this flaming heart technique, thing?!" he exclaimed, desperate to try to convince me to give up wearing the medallion.
"You don't understand, do you?...Tuggsy, this battle may end tragically, and my friends are the ones who will fight both by my side and against me. My friends are like family to me! I've failed my mother, Po and the others once, but I won't fail with you guys. I can't!...If things get out of hand, I'll wear the medallion" I said.
As soon as me, Tuggsy, Koshi, Leona and Master Shifu were ready, we went to the event. The time has come! I'd finally have my rematch with Hina Hiroki, the reindeer apprentice of the great samurai Tamotso Utin.
The day was pleasantly warm, and the wind went smoothly inside the great place that looked like a gladiatorial arena. This time, there weren't so many people in the registration queue as before, after all, today was the day of the fights, and all citizens of the city of Jinzhou wanted to watch. The audience was packed and everyone was looking forward to what was to come.
I saw by far the two foreigners. Tamotso Utin and Hina were sat, meditating in the middle of the fighting area, where the damage Hina and I have caused were still visible, like the cut pillars, which were used some ropes to put back in place. Both were wearing a yoroi, the samurai armor. When me and others walked toward them, the audience looked on in amazement; Hina and Tamotso Utin opened their eyes and came to greet us then.
"Hello. Welcome, again. We were waiting you" Tamotso Utin greeted us. Me and others bowed and they bowed then.
"Hi! Wow...look...almost the whole city came to watch the fights. It'll be a great day for you, isn't it?" I said excitedly, while I looked at the hundreds of citizens who were in the audience, plus the registration queues. Hina was the one who answered me.
"Actually, Liu Zhang, event is almost over"
"But...it's still early, right? It isn't even lunchtime yet...and just look how many participants are still waiting" I asked, not understanding that. It was the great samurai who answered me.
"More than half of those in the audience have attended the event already. And those lines...well, not everyone found defeat just and are asking for the money back"
That worried me. There were many participants, and Tamotso Utin defeated them too fast! How was that possible? Well...now it wasn't the time to be afraid, neither to lose focus. I'd fight Hina soon, and I didn't want all my effort to be wasted.
"Wow! You guys could have gone a little slower...not everyone is a super samurai, y'know" Tuggsy joked.
"Yeah. *sigh* And I thought we were going to watch some fights today" said Koshi, a little disappointed. It was the great samurai who answered.
"Hehehe! I even would go slowly, but have not had the chance. Hina has not let me fight yet" he said, proud of his disciple. For a moment me and the others were quiet, not knowing what to say, because of our surprise to know that.
We already knew that only those who defeated Hina could try to fight Tamotso Utin. If only Hina had fought so far, that meant she had defeated all that crowd in the audience and many other participants, and she didn't show the slightest sign of fatigue.
"Hello, Liu-san. Glad you come. I am looking forward to be able to fight with you again" Hina greeted me. I was still a little tense with the struggle, and began to wonder if my training with katana would be enough to defeat her.
"H-hi! Hehe, I'm also...looking forward" I replied, half insecure.
So we went to the middle of the arena and Tamotso Utin explained the rules. Then he gave me a wooden katana, those used to train. That was a problem for me, I hadn't trained much with the sword, and the little I've trained was with My katana. I was used to it's weight and other factors, I surely would lose the fight if I used that thing. But I didn't complain, just walked away from them and started training a few strokes and cuts.
They founf it weard, especially by noticing that I couldn't handle well the wooden katana. Shifu was the first to say something.
"Er...Liu, is everything okay?"
"Yes, Master...I'm just trying to get used to this thing" I said, still practicing some moves.
"But isn't it the same thing?...Well of course not, I mean, you can use it as good as your own sword, can't you?" asked Tuggsy, who seemed to be the most confused.
"Well, there's only one way to know..." I replied, with a smile.
"How?!" he asked curiously. Soon after, I hit him with the sword's side in the head "Ouch!"
"Yep! I think I can handle it" I answered, laughing with my friends.
"Hey!" exclaimed Tuggsy.
The audience was very silent when Hina and I were facing each other in the arena. The young reindeer staring at me seriously without even blinking, and I did the same while the fight didn't start. Master Shifu and Tamotso Utin were on the sides of the arena, to evaluate the fight's score while Tuggsy, Koshi and Leona went to the audience, they were cheering for me.
I felt my muscles tense and a great anxiety came over me. The time has come! I'd finally have my revenge, and a fair fight. I remembered the breathing technique that Shifu taught me, then closed my eyes and took a deep breath three times, until I could hear every heartbeat of mine. My concentration was broken by the voice of Hina, who was at two meters from me and pointing her wooden katana in my direction.
"You trained much, Liu-san?" she asked in a soft voice but firm at the same time.
"Yes, you have no idea of how much I did"
"So tell me: how much you trained just for today?" she continued.
"Just for today?...Nothing" I replied. She stared at me firmly after my answer, then I continued "Although you also have inspired me to train harder, I didn't train just for today. I've trained for something much bigger and important"
"So this will great fight be from start to the end. Because I also fight for something big" she replied, then smiled.
"That's what I wanted to hear" I replied.
"Good luck, Liu-san"
"Good luck, Hina Hiroki"
So we both got in our fighting positions, held the sword firmly, fixed our eyes and await the beginning of the combat. The audience seemed not to breathe, they were as eager as us. Until Tamotso Utin spoke.
"Just remembering, this fight is won by score. The one who does 10 points first wins the match"
"Make a clean fight and give give best" continued Master Shifu.
"Begin!" they ordered together.
The audience screamed in excitement with the announcement of the start of the fight, but lasted just a while. Hina and I didn't move out of the place, we were waiting for the other to make the first attack. We continue to face each other for a few seconds, then walked in circle until we come full circle. At the same time, we tightened our eyes, we firmed our feet on the ground...and ran toward each other. The fight had begun!
I aimed a side cut on her shoulder, but she blocked my attack, then she tried to push me backwards with a strength that clearly didn't belong to a child at her age. I strained to keep from falling and then threw my sword to the side, opening Hina's guard. It was my chance to hit her. The problem is that she was faster than me, and was going to hit me a cut in the belly. I took a quick leap backwards, but it was late, I felt the tip of the wooden sword pull over on my stomach.
I had to do a somersault to avoid falling. I got up and prepared to go on the attack, but stopped as soon as I heard:
"Three points!" said Tamotso Utin.
"Whoa, whoa! What?! 3? She just hit my stomach!" I complained, indignantly. Was the great samurai lying for his disciple win?
"Liu! Look down" Master Shifu shouted by one side of the arena. I obeyed and saw the unexpected: my pants were soiled with a big risk of brown paint on both legs, and then I saw that there was another risk in my belly "She really hit you three times" he said with a serious tone. Tamotso Utin continued.
"Yes, little one. These swords have a resin in the cutting part, that when touches the skin or clothing leaves a mark to show if whether or not touched the opponent. Thus, there is no way to cheat..."
"Oops...hehe! Sorry" I apologized and then turned to my fighting stance, leaving my right leg behind the body and with both hands holding the sword in front of the body at the navel's hight.
It really was an interesting idea for the tournament, so there was no excuse that ' it haven't touched'. But one thing still bothered me: Hina hit me three times, but I just saw her move the sword once, when she made the cut on my stomach. She was even faster than before. She had the advantage of knowing how to handle the wooden sword and was considerably faster and more skilled than me. I needed a strategy, and fast.
But I didn't have much time, as soon as I got into position to fight, Tamotso Utin ordered the fight to continue. Hina ran towards me fiercely, trying to stick the wooden sword in my belly. I swerved to the side, then tried to hit her with a cut in the neck, but she bent down, gave me sweep and jumped in the air, to then try to stick her sword on my chest.
I turned my body to the side and she missed it, but then punched me in my right eye, leaving me dizzy, then put her sword on my neck. Tamotso Utin said that was a point, then Hina walked away from me slowly. I shook my head and stood up. Although that wasn't against the rules, it made me very angry. I got into a position to fight again and the great samurai told us to continue.
This time it was me who went to the attack. I aimed several attacks on her, some at the chest and stomach, and others at the legs, but Hina blocked all with simple and agile movements of her wooden katana. The audience cheered with all that action. After several attacks, Hina fought back, and I started to defend myself. But I couldn't defend myself as well as she did, and after a few strokes she managed to open my guard and hit two cuts, one at my chest and other at the belly.
Tamotso Utin scored the points and continue the fight. It was frustrating, no matter how hard I tried, it seemed impossible to hit her. There had to be somewhere that I could hit her! And it was after Hina attacked me again that I remembered from our previous fight: I could fool her by using blind spots, so maybe I'd have a chance to score points.
Amid several attacks from the little reindeer of 8 years old, I managed to make her slow down and made an attempt: I left one of my hands from the wooden katana, stretched my fingers and passed it in front of the eyes of Hina. She unwittingly diverted her look from the combat to follow the movement of my hand, so I took the chance to do a whirl on the spot and give a kick in the belly of Hina, throwing her away from me. It worked! Now I knew a way to defeat her.
She came running to attack me again. To fool her, I threw my left arm to the side, passing my hand next to her face, and she ended up again looking away. Then I managed to hit a cut on her belly, then I crouched. Hina was running and when I hit a blow on her, she lurched and stumbled on me, and ended up doing a somersault over me and falling flat on hre back. The public vibrated with my done.
Master Shifu scored my first point. Once Hina rose and they gave us the signal to move on, I ran toward her, I wanted to continue with the same strategy. But when I got close to her and ran my hand in front of her eyes, she grabbed my wrist with one hand and elbowed me in the stomach, then hit two cuts on my right leg and stomach, and gave me a kick in the chest that threw me away from her.
"The same trick is you can not do more than once against a samurai warrior, Liu-san! Will have to change strategy if you want to win fight" she said when I got up.
That made me really angry. But she was right somehow, I had to change my plan of attack. It was then that I noticed one thing: Hina was getting out of breath. She stared at me steadily, but couldn't hide that she was getting tired. It was then that I realized with satisfaction that I finally would have an advantage in the fight, it wasn't me who couldn't stand to fight for long anymore.
They ordered us to return to fight. This time I just needed to focus. I went to attack Hina, but after trying three attacks I came backwards, and the reindeer didn't notice that now it was her who was attacking me. I took a defensive position, just dodging and blocking her attacks, going backwards if necessary.
It was risky, because she knew how to break my defense with ease. If I wasn't careful, Hina would take the chance and score the last two points, defeating me and embarrassing me in front of everyone. For a long time it worked, she got tired quickly, after so many quick and repetitive strokes. I felt sweat running down my forehead, almost blurring my vision, but Hina was sweating even more than I, and soon began to slow down.
Wood slivers were leaving from our training katanas every time they touched. The audience screamed in excitement with every second that passed, they thought the fight was getting spectacular, and my friends cheered for me in the audience.
When I was confident that I could attack Hina, and saw that her rate of blows was going down, I went to the attack suddenly, taking her by surprise. I managed to open her guard and hit two cuts in her belly. After that, I stopped and waited for her to attack me again. She tried to hit me with a vertical cut from the bottom up, but it was slow, so I just moved to the side and made a lateral cut, stopping before hitting her on the neck.
Master Shifu scored my point. Hina stood still for a moment, as if she couldn't understanding what was happening. She pulled away with a glare, and as soon as the fight to continued, she attacked me with a incredible speed, much faster than the other times. For some reason I didn't know, I could follow every move and defend myself accurately. Hina was using too much strength to apply the attacks, but got even more tired with this, and then I managed to hit a cut on her, that struck her two thighs. Master Shifu scored the points and continue the fighting.
She seemed to be very angry with my score, and started pushing me back, with quick and hard blows to block, until I hit my back at one of the wooden pillars that surrounded the fighting area. Hina ran towards me and I tried to hit a horizontal cut on her belly, but she slid on her knees and went under my legs. I tried to turn around to hit her back, but incredibly she was so quick that she managed use the wooden pillar as support to jump over me before I could hit her, and tried to hit a cut on my back.
For a few centimeters she didn't score another point, but something strange happened: I felt as if something very sharp had scratched my back. How was it possible? Somehow, Hina could use that technique even with a wooden sword! But the worst part is that probably she didn't know that. Shifu told me one day that the technique of these two foreigners could become just a normal thing for them during a match, and they could do it in any movement with the sword.
Now things were getting dangerous, because now Hina's training katana was as dangerous as a real one! She kept attacking me, until we hit a sword against another, stopping both attacks, then Hina made a quick spin, hitting the side of her wooden katana on my right ear. I fell sideways on the ground. It hurt a lot and I was now hearing a terrible ringing inside the ear.
"LIU!" my friends and Master Shifu exclaimed, worried. I put a hand to the ear, worried, but it wasn't cut or something like that. But as the great samurai announced the news, my concern has changed.
"Point! Hina Hiroki made 9 points. If she makes one more, she will be the winner!" he said, loud enough so that everyone who was in the audience could hear him.
"Liu! You made 6 points so far. It's now or never!" Master Shifu warned me.
That was bad. What now? I needed to do 4 points, and it'd be impossible to do this without Hina score her last point. The audience roared with excitement, but my friends were as tense as me. It was time to react, take things much more seriously and concentrate in the fight.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I had to cut myself off from everything that was around me to be able to focus on my goal, the combat. I opened my eyes slowly, and now could barely hear the crowd screaming and asking to continue the fight, I returned my gaze only for the little reindeer, who was waiting for the signal to continue the fight. I felt like I was seeing things in slow motion, I could even see the flutter of her eyelashes when she blinked.
I've had this feeling before, and knew that it was the time when I could achieve a much higher level of my skills. Master Shifu and Tamotso Utin ordered us to continue. Hina ran towards me, and as she approached she tried to stick the wooden sword in my belly. I dodged going sideways, then I spin and hit a cut on her ribs. She looked at the risk of ink that was on her clothes and then growled in anger.
She ran for another attack, and I began to defend each blow using the side of my wooden katana. The audience seemed not to breathe while Hina tried to hit me with quick blows. Her speed was incredible, but I could see every one of her movements, and she couldn't break my defense. I was walking backwards, and soon realized that I'd end up hitting one of the pillars again. The problem actually was another: Hina's blows were cutting my sword, and soon I wouldn't have a weapon to fight and defend myself.
And it happened, Hina made a horizontal cut that literally cut my wooden katana in half, and then kept trying to hit me. I dodged her blows and then took a spin in the air, hitting a kick on her muzzle, throwing her away from me. I could no longer score points, so I had only one option and strategy: take her sword!
A great irony of fate I'd say, here we were again, I was unarmed and willing to take the sword from her hand. As soon as she got up, I ran toward her. Hina tried to hit a lateral cut on my waist, but I threw myself on the floor, sliding toward her and dodging myself from the blow. Then I jumped to get up and hit a knee on Hina's chin, and still in the air, hit a kick on her chest. She was dizzy for a while due to the combo.
I took the chance and grabbed her wrist, threw her on the floor, belly up, and climbed on her back. Then I started to hit her hand against the dirt floor to try to make her drop the katana, but she didn't seem to be willing to drop her sword.
"C'mon! Release this sword!" I screamed.
"No!" she answered.
"You will drop this katana, you hear me?!" I thundered, still hitting her arm against the floor.
"No! I will not drop katana, you will release my arm!" she replied, indignantly.
"You will drop, liking it or not!" I said.
After twisting her arm several times and in many different ways, she still hadn't let go of the katana. So I lowered my head and bit her hand, making her cry out in pain, but she didn't drop the katana!
"AAAAH! You freaking...Cannibal!" she shouted, and bit my tail.
I screamed in pain and jumped away from her. Then I remembered something very important, that Master Shifu told me. Hina ran towards me.
"Wait!" I shouted, stretching my arms toward her, begging for her not to attack me. "I...I can't continue without something to defend myself. Could you give me another katana to continue fighting?" I asked.
For a moment I thought she was going to mock me, say no and keep attacking me, but it wasn't what happened. To my surprise, Master Shifu was right, the samurais took their honor much more seriously than many, and Hina wanted to be a bugeisha onna (woman samurai). She left her fighting position, walked over to me and, with one hand on the handle and the other on the edge of the katana, she held the sword for me to take it.
"Of course. Take it" she said in a friendly voice, and everyone in the audience applauded for her act.
"Wow...thank you" I took the sword gently and bowed to thank "But...how you gonna fight?" I asked. She walked away from me and pulled another wooden katana from her back!
"With this" she said.
"WHAT?! How did you...I-I mean, how can..." I asked quickly, in amazement. But before I could really ask something she attacked me and we continued to fight.
We continued with our amazing fight, that seemed that would never end. My friends, who were cheering for me, and the whole audience hardly blinked with all that action. Hina tried to hit me several blows, quick as lightning, while I tried to use more agile movements and powerful attacks. I would say that 15 minutes passed before me and Hina were in our physical limits to continue, we were sweating a lot and our muscles ached like hell. But Hina was way more tired than I, and during a series of blows she was doing, I managed to open her guard and hit a quick cut on her thigh, another on her belly and aimed at her neck, but stopped before hitting her.
"*gasp-gasp*...I see...that you win *gasp* Liu-san" Hina said breathlessly, then fell on her back due to exhaustion.
I couldn't answer, and when she fell, I dropped my wooden katana and fell to my knees, also exhausted. Finally, it was over, each day of training and all my effort was worth it.
"The participant Liu Zhang scored 10 points!" Tamotso Utin said aloud to the audience.
"So, she is the winner of this fight" Master Shifu continued. The audience cheered and clapped us both.