Shadow within the Darkness
(Day 13 – Part 2)
By: Little Ucchan
"Honestly! How long can it take to pick out a sword?"
Absently tapping her foot against the wood floor, Laura sighed aloud, placing a hand on her hips. She knew exactly why they were taking so long. But she couldn't help but feel impatient. Or was she really just a bit edgy?
She raised her head, looking towards the back of the dojo to the wooden door held ajar. So much for a truce, Laura thought to herself. I wonder how he took it.
***
"Let me get this straight." Sage paused for a moment, waiting to see if his grandfather would interject. When he did not, he proceeded. "I'm fighting Laura instead of you. And not only that. But you made a deal with her that basically says that in exchange for you giving her sister lessons, she will be my sparring partner during my kendo practices?!"
He couldn't stop his voice from slightly rising as he spoke, but Grandfather Date paid it no mind. Instead, he only nodded his head from where he sat on the floor. "Keep in mind that it's not for all of your practices. How many hours I put in for teaching her sister, she will set aside for training with you."
"Does this mean that you are no longer going to train me yourself?" Sage asked.
"I never said that," his grandfather shook his head. "I will still continue teaching you. And Yayoi will still spar with you on occasion when she's not busy with her medical studies. The only difference is that your main opponent has been switched from me to Laura."
It was a good thing that he had coaxed his grandson into sitting down with him before explaining the whole situation. There was no doubt that Sage was angry with him at how he had made yet another decision involving his grandson's life without telling him first. But at least, as Grandfather Date knew, having had used this tactic a number of times before, while Sage was seated the amount of anger he might have expressed was toned down to a minimum. But that didn't mean that it wasn't present at all.
"Ojiisama…" the boy began, keeping his voice as close as he could to the polite and composed way he normally talked to his grandfather. "Why do you feel that this is necessary?"
He gathered his thoughts together before replying. "Sage, I'm old. When you were younger, it was easy for me to provide a good challenge for you."
"But you still do."
He chuckled lightly. "Yes. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. But… with the progress you've been making with your training, it'll only be a matter of time before you surpass even me." Grandfather Date closed his eyes thoughtfully. "Unfortunately, that won't be enough."
"What do you mean?"
Silence.
"Ojiisama?"
"…For you to excel in kendo, it's not enough to just defeat me," he explained. "You must continue fighting equal or stronger opponents than yourself. Being constantly driven forward, especially by another individual, will help perfect your art and make you a better fighter than you are now."
"Please don't think of it rude for me to ask," Sage began. "But why did you choose Laura to be my main sparring partner instead of… let's say Ryo, who already spars with me on occasion at the dojo?"
Grandfather Date took a moment to formulate his reply. "I've seen Laura fight before. I might be slightly off but I believe her level of skill would match yours. And as to why I didn't choose one of your friends… well they tend to hold back. So do you, even if you don't mean to."
So choosing Laura would guarantee that she won't go easy on me, he thought bitterly. Great.
"Plus she's the only one I know who would spar with you who isn't already a kendoist," his grandfather added.
"Why would it matter?"
"Well, it's a possibility that you might fight that person at the spring tournament," he said. "Besides, you've fought so many kendoists from the time you started your training that I thought it would be a nice change for you."
Nice? That's not exactly how Sage would put it.
"Also, a switch to combating someone who isn't familiar with the sport would be to your benefit," Grandfather Date continued. "You've been accustomed to dueling with fighters of the same style with only slight variation, that it's too easy for you to predict what move they'll make. By fighting someone who you can't read and who's style you are not familiar with, you'll be able to sharpen your reflexes even more, giving you a sharp edge over your opponents."
"Do you understand?"
Sage nodded.
"Then you agree with my decision?"
He hesitated in answering this next question. Not that it mattered if he agreed or not. Sage would still have to comply with his grandfather's wishes. But what made him stop and think was that he was about to give an answer that was completely contradictory to what he was fighting for to begin with! How could he just suddenly agree when he never liked the idea in the first place? Because he makes sense, a voice in the back of his mind told him. If Laura was as good as Grandfather Date said she was, then training with her would actually help him.
Sage sighed inwardly. I can't believe I'm going to agree with this.
***
Laura pulled back the sleeve of her shirt, looking at the time again. 15 minutes. That's how long Grandfather Date had been talking to Sage, leaving the girl alone in the vast, empty dojo. As she waited, she began to have second thoughts on the decision she made earlier.
Maybe I shouldn't have… Laura shook her head. No. Too late to back out now. She sighed. Just have to stick with it.
At that moment, Grandfather Date and Sage stepped out of the back room. She looked at the two men, mainly at Sage, trying to read his reaction to the whole thing. But she couldn't spot any expression on his face that would give away what he was thinking right now. Great. Now I won't know what to expect from him.
"My apologies," Grandfather Date bowed. "I didn't mean to take so long."
"Oh, it's alright," she said. "I didn't mind."
He smiled. "Well Laura, everything is settled. I will teach your sister in the art of kendo, and you will be my grandson's training partner."
"That's great." She didn't express as much enthusiasm as she should have, still watching Sage from the corner of her eye.
"But there's one more thing."
Laura blinked. What other thing?
"It's not that I doubt your abilities but…" The old man held out a bokken to her. "If you don't mind, I'd like to see how good your are against my grandson."
A pause.
"You mean…" Laura spoke after a considerable amount of time. "…right now?"
Sage blinked. Don't tell me she didn't know.
"Is it a bad time?" Grandfather Date asked.
"Oh no! It's not that." She shook her head. "It's just… well…" Looking for a good excuse to give other than she didn't feel like it and coming up empty handed, Laura just gave up all together. "Sure, why not."
Taking the wooden sword from his outstretched hand, she tested the weight herself, making a practice swing to the side.
"Is it alright?"
She nodded her reply. It was a comfortable weight for her, although the blade was a bit too long for her liking. Looks like I'll have to adapt my style from the short sword, she thought, checking how straight the back of the bokken was.
"Whenever the two of you are ready." With that Grandfather Date walked pass the two teens towards the front entrance of the dojo, sliding the door shut and deciding to watch the match from there. Sage was about to walk to his starting position on the left side of the dojo when a slender hand caught hold of his arm.
"Hey." The boy was taken aback, this being the first time Laura greeted him in a casual manner.
"Um…" Her eyes moved about uncomfortably while she searched for words to say to him. "Listen, I'm sorry about… well, about… this." She couldn't find a better word to describe their situation. "I didn't mean for it to happen. Sorry."
Sage didn't know what could have brought about this change in her. But her sincere apology and, so far, cordial way of speaking to him had all of a sudden put him in a brighter mood. "It's alright," he replied. "No need to apologize for it."
"No need to apologize?" she repeated, shocked. "But me agreeing with your grandfather practically forced you into compliance as well. And you didn't even have a say in the matter."
"True, I would have liked it better if Ojiisama told me beforehand. But…" He suddenly smiled at her. "I actually agreed with him."
"You did?"
He nodded. "It would be a help to me. Besides, that's why you agreed as well, right? Because the terms were to your liking?"
"Well… yeah."
"And since we both agree, you didn't cause any offense. So you don't need to apologize," Sage concluded, which earned him a very skeptical look from Laura.
"Are you feeling ok?" she asked. "Do you have a fever?"
He smirked. "I can ask you the same question as to why you're in such a good mood today."
She shrugged. "Dunno. Just feel like it."
"Well so do I."
Laura laughed a bit, shaking her head. "You know, in the right mood, you're not such a bad guy."
"Really? Are you paying me a compliment now?"
A slight smile played across her lips as she walked away from him. "Maybe I am."
***
Although both participants had finished their conversation and were now standing at their respective corners, the match did not start off right away. Mainly due to the fact that Laura wasn't prepared for it, usually warming up for at least fifteen minutes before even thinking about entering a match. Uncle would have me hanged if he saw me now, she sighed inwardly, doing a few stretches to get her muscles loose. A mischievous grin formed itself on the next thought. Good thing he's not here.
Quickly finishing the last of her exercises, Laura picked up the bokken she had set down on the floor. Standing up straight, she exchanged a formal bow with Sage before taking up a stance. Holding up the practice sword parallel to the floor, she took one last calming breath, lightly placing her free hand palm-open against the back of the blade. Let's see if I still remember how to do this.
Adopting the basic kendo stance, Sage watched Laura carefully when she took up her own, trying to decipher what each slight movement meant and what it could possibly tell him about her fighting style. She only has one hand on the sword, he thought, trying to determine why she did so. Laura's power would be cut down. A bad move since Sage had the advantage when it came to strength. If she was planning to approach that way, then it only meant one thing. She'll choose speed over power.
Grandfather Date had similar thoughts. Because she's smaller than Sage in comparison, she'll rely on evasive maneuvers and quick attacks to catch him off guard. It was a good tactic, but there was one problem. Sage was relatively fast himself. Laura would still most likely be faster, but the difference wouldn't be that much. In the end, it would come down to strength. How well she could fend off his grandson's attacks and also how much force she could apply to her own offensive strikes with only one hand. Grandfather Date smiled knowingly to himself. If last Friday was any indication, then I believe that this will be a close match.
But while examining the girl's stance once again, he noticed something that he had overlooked before. The stance is different. And, as he was pondering the matter further while the two combatants began circling one another, he concluded that the stance was not only different, but the manner in which she circled was as well. She's using a different style altogether. Grandfather Date decided to retract his previous assumption that strength would be the determining factor, for it wasn't. Nor was it speed, like what Sage was thinking. But the very element that the old man was hoping to find in Laura: unpredictability.
***
In an instant the match was underway, Laura making the first move and charging forward with a quick thrust. Sage automatically blocked, letting his innate swordsman skills rise to the forefront. He went in for a thrust of his own, but his opponent proved to be on the ball, parrying the move and causing both bokkens to lock momentarily before Laura broke the standstill and came in for another attack.
The dojo was soon alive with the sound of slapping sticks, the vigorous movement of frantic footwork, and the various vocal sounds ranging from a sharp intake of breath to an outright cry of battle, thrown in with the occasionally muttered curses from both sides. Neither one could get the upper hand at the outset of the fight. And if anyone were to walk in at that exact moment and witness the match, they wouldn't be able to determine the outcome.
That's how close it was, which surprised Sage for a number of reasons. One was that Laura was actually good. Just like his grandfather had promised, which made him consider the possibility that the girl has been training as long as he has. The other was that Sage's previous distraction because of his dreams did not hinder him when he started the match. So instead of struggling to concentrate, like he had assumed he would, Sage was actually carrying on the fight with a clear, sharp mind. And yet they were still dead even! A growing fact that was getting rather annoying. And apparently, Laura had the same thought. Time to step it up a notch.
There was no outward sign to what she was thinking. Neither in body movement nor in facial expression. And what sign she did happen to display was so subtle, expertly concealed underneath her other movements, that when Sage realized that she had suddenly switched her style Laura's foot had already connected with his midsection.
Taken by surprise, he stumbled back in pain, trying to recover from the blow as quickly as possible. But just as he regained his footing, Laura leaped forward, coming down with a hard vertical slash that would have instantly brought him to his knees just from the sheer impact of blade against blade. That is… if he had decided at that moment to block it. Instead Laura's bokken struck the wood floor, the power rebounding off the ground back up the sword and shaking her hand with its force. She glanced to her left, looking over the boy that had managed to evade her attack.
Sage was standing not too far off, bent over slightly and trying to regain his breath while holding a defensive stance. Half of his brain was patting himself on the back for being able to come out of that tight situation while the other half was viciously berating him for having had fallen into that predicament in the first place. But what could he have done? There was nothing to prepare him for it.
With that, Grandfather Date had to agree. He closed his eyes, using the break in the bout to mull over what he had seen. Although the stance and the way she moved was slightly different, Laura's approach was similar to the one he had seen when they had their own little match the previous week. One-handed sword style; maybe with a little more flare this time. But as to why she'd take this approach and also changed the stance and pace totally baffled him until the girl had executed that little combo on his grandson. Then all became clear.
Grandfather Date belatedly realized that Sage had never seen Laura fight before. So when the match began, he was instinctively more watchful, absorbing all the information he could gather about her skills in swordplay and quickly adjusting himself to how she fought. But Laura was actually counting on him to do that, deliberately keeping to a certain way of fighting for the sole purpose of throwing him off balance with her sudden switch. She's a calculating one, the elder man mused. Very good at tactics.
Laura might have been good at tactics, but she didn't succeed in ending the match like she had planned. The only reason strategies like that worked was if (1) you're able to catch your opponent off guard, and (2) you're able to keep them off guard long enough to end the fight. Failing at her first attempt, Laura only had a few more tries before Sage would come accustomed to this approach as well.
But she hesitated for a moment, a thought nagging at her from the back of her mind. Maybe she didn't even have that many attempts left. Maybe only one, considering how Sage had managed to dodge her bokken earlier when she was certain that he'd only have time to block it. She would have had him if he did. But the blonde was faster than Laura had first perceived. And keeping him off guard was going to prove to be difficult. Taking up a different stance, a semi leaned back position with the blade horizontally drawn to the right side of the head, Laura got ready for her next assault. Looks like I'll really have to keep the pressure on.
Before Sage could have another moments rest, he had to sidestep to the left to dodge Laura's incoming trust. He then was forced to raise his bokken for a block when the girl reversed the movement of her blade, going for a backhanded swing. She placed all her weight into the attack, their weapons trembling with resistance till again Laura broke the deadlock.
The abrupt release in pressure drew Sage forward as Laura spun, coming in now on the left side with her elbow on a collision course with the side of the boy's head. He jerked back, the blow narrowly passing in front of his face. But Laura wasn't done yet. When her elbow missed, she simply released her forearm in an extended swing that would have smacked him in the face anyway. Again, she witnessed that uncanny speed of his, ducking under her arm and also managing to block her next two sword attempts. Laura broke off after that.
Dammit! She cursed, gritting her teeth. Even if she had the upper hand and had forced him to stay on the defense instead of attacking her, Laura still couldn't land a solid hit. That one chance she had when she had managed to nail Sage in the stomach was thwarted when she had miscalculated his reaction time. And now she couldn't force him to drop his guard long enough for her to execute a finishing move. Just keep going at it, Laura convinced herself. Don't stop midway. Just go from one move to the next in rapid succession. He's bound to slip up eventually. But would 'eventually' come soon enough?
She had decided, charging at her opponent, that she'd make it come.
***
Sage saw her approach at his right, sword drawn across her body for an incoming side slash. He watched it with his eyes, ready to parry it. But the attack came too soon, purposely missing his chest by an inch. A feign!
I got him! Laura thought gleefully, noticing how Sage's eyes diverted to his left, following the path of her bokken and not the punch that was approaching fast from the opposite side. But her fist swiped through air. No way!
Lucky for Sage, he didn't need to rely on his eyes to spot upcoming attacks; a skill he had picked up as a Ronin Warrior and a long time kendoist. His senses were sharp. And his body always seemed to be synchronized with what his instincts told him. …Most of the time anyway. There were always those bad days. But right now, they were in perfect harmony. So even if he didn't see Laura's punch, he felt it and ducked out of the way just in time. And ducked again when her foot came out with a reverse roundhouse. He also managed to fall back a step and swerve to the right when the other foot shot up from below and, right after, tried another kick to his midsection.
Shit! Laura cussed again when her sword came to a halt against Sage's own. She was getting nowhere. And that revelation was enough to frustrate her. They were in a deadlock. Again! She had pushed herself harder. Harder than she normally would have during a match. And now, another stalemate! It wasn't enough. Sage's skill seemed to be rising, parallel to her own. Always keeping pace with hers. Will she have to take it another level higher?
Yes, she would. And she could, even if the last time she had used that much strength against a single opponent was when she had fought Naru. And that was three years ago.
Sage's eyes widened when Laura placed her other hand against the back of her bokken, adding more pressure against his sword. His arms began to strain with the added weight. She's… strong. He had to take a step back. And then another. The battle had been too long. And his arms were starting to feel its effect right at the most inappropriate time.
Dammit! Sage took another step, his back hitting the wall of the dojo. This isn't good. He tried to overpower her by force, but it wasn't working. The past week's wearisome endeavors and Laura's resolve to win, even if she had to use a strength that had been alien to her for three years, were probably what caused his bokken to come closer and closer to his face. He had to do something. But he didn't know what. C'mon Sage! Think!
The sound of Laura's voice surprised him.
"You know, I thought you weren't such a bad guy," she said, her tone becoming icy for the first time that day.
Her words bemused him. What had he done now?
"Why?" she seethed. "Why are you holding back?" The thought never struck her before. Not until she had increased her level to one higher. To the one she used three years ago and hasn't done since. Going that far to fight someone who was only defending. Sure, Laura had thought that he just didn't have time to switch from a defense to an offense and not suffer a hit in the process. But now, pinned against the wall and not doing anything, she knew. Knew he was holding back. Because if the roles were reversed and she was in Sage's position, she knew what she would do to get out of it. And he didn't attempt it. Because it would hurt her. He couldn't hit her. And that knowledge delivered a bigger blow to her pride as a martial artist than any physical wound could ever create. And now… she was angry.
"You think I can't take your hits, Sage? Are you just humoring me knowing that if you had really been serious I'd lose immediately?!" Her bitter words struck home. He didn't mean to offend her. It wasn't his intention to do so. Honest. But, Sage knew now that he had been unconsciously looking for chances to disarm her. Not strike her. And avoided all the blows he knew would land.
"Why don't you put your heart into it!?!" She was yelling now. "Be a real warrior and give it all you've got!! Fight me that way! Or we've got no point in training together if you won't even take me seriously!!"
"…You want me to fight you?" he asked after a pause, lavender eyes firmly locking with hazel ones.
"I want you to fight me," she repeated, not shying away from his gaze.
"And this is the only way I can make it up to you? By fighting you as if—"
"As if your life depended on it," she finished for him with a nod. "Yes. It's the only way."
***
Grandfather Date took in a sharp breath at what he saw. No sooner had she said that, a deafening silence followed, and then a sharp cry when Sage had kicked Laura in the stomach, sending her sprawling onto the floor. He was ready to scream at his grandson for taking such a route, even if it was the only way out of it. But then Laura got up, clutching her stomach with a smirk on her face, surprising everyone with her next words.
"That's better," she grinned. "Didn't think you could kick that hard. Since you're so scrawny."
Sage made a face. "Are we going back to insults now?"
She laughed shaking her head. "It was just a careless whim. No harm meant by it."
Laura then took up her second stance, which, now when Sage looked at it, had more Chinese traits worked in the posture opposed to Japanese. "Now, are you going to let go of your pride and fight me for real?"
Her smile and the renewed enthusiasm that radiated from her were contagious, causing Sage's lips to curl up as he replied, "Only if you can handle it."
Her grin grew wider. "Oh I will. Trust me."
***
Regardless of their bodies' protests for rest, they entered the fight as if it had just begun anew. And when Grandfather Date thought that the battle couldn't get more intense… it did. It seemed when one of them would gain the upper hand the other would call upon some hidden strength from within and then turn the tide. The race continued with both participants striving to be faster, stronger. It escalated with such speed that Grandfather Date was tempted to declare the match a draw before both Sage and Laura collapsed from exhaustion. But the fire he saw in their eyes made him stop short from doing so. They really want to do this.
As the match continued, Sage found himself tapping into his armor's power to keep up. A thought that troubled him for a second, causing him to wonder why he needed to do so against Laura. But, with the battle around him demanding his attention, he quickly concluded that it was because of her past history with her clan. Possibly her training when she was younger caused her to be so good. Leaving it at that, he allowed the details of the fight to occupy every space available in his mind.
Sage never realized how satisfactory it was to fight like this. He's fought before. But his life was always on the line. And even though Laura had wanted him to fight as if it was, it still felt different. More… fun. Invigorating, he supposed. And the simplicity of it all made it even more enjoyable. Win or lose. That's it. No death or shame tacked onto the loser. Nor was there any prize for the winner. It was now just an all out fight for the adrenaline rush. And even though Sage has also experienced fights like these when he trained with his friends, it was also not the same. He never fought this hard, drove forward with such force, pushed himself to the max when dueling with his friends. He might have once or twice when it was anger driving him forward, for it was bound to happen to everyone once in a while. But this fight… There was no malice. No strong emotion attached to it. Just the fight in its purity.
Laura and Sage deadlocked again, this time breaking off with a force that propelled both teens back a good distance. They were now roughly standing at the exact same spots they had started the match from.
Maybe it was a sign. The beginning and the end. For both only had energy left for one more attack. This was the deciding factor. The final round.
Battle cries ringing, they charged.