"you want to be apply for the opening?" an officer asked the man before him. As a reply, the man simply nodded. He didn't look like much. Not very imposing. Then again, it was hard to make our his exact features.
"There are a number of tests that you'll have to undergo to prove your skill, and then you'll be monitored to make sure that you will not try anything on our Lord."
The man nodded again.
"Very well. Come."
He led the man through the castle, though he was surprised at how the man seemed to already know where they were headed. They came to the main practice chamber, and were met by other candidates, who looked at the man beside him in a mixtureof curiosity and disdain. It appeared that they, too, felt that the man wouldn't last long.
"What is your name?" the officer asked him.
Kyuuzou looked around and noticed that none of the men were from the area, so none would know him nor his history.
"Kyuuzou."
The officer merely nodded and took down his name before approaching the front of the room.
"You are all here as potential bodyguards. However, before we hire you, we must see that you have enough skill to be judged worthy and competent enough to work for us. The tests will be hard, and will test your speed, strength, and cunning before we put the ones who pass all the tests into duels. Only the top finisher will be made a bodyguard. Now, there has been enough time wasted. You will be split into groups and each group will go through the tests in a different order. The placement is random so that all may have an equal chance at succeding. Good luck."
Kyuuzou was in a group of four people. The first challenge that they faced was the one testing speed and agility. Kyuuzou went last, since he thought it would be unfair to show all his skills too soon. He watched all the others go and dissaproved. So clumsy. When he finally went, the skill gap was quite obvious. The man who was leading them through the tests was impressed, and made note of Kyuuzou's effortless movements. One of their group was eliminated.
The next test they had wasof strength. While Kyuuzou knew that he didn't have the strength that some of the others in his group had, that didn't mean he wouldn't be able to do what was required of him. If he could cut through thick Nobuseri armor, he could most certinaly cut through the obstacles he faced. Again, the skill gap was quite obvious. Another of his group was dismissed.
The third test they faced was one of cunning and intellegence. Kyuuzou found the other warrior's progress almost laughable. Once again, the skill gap was painfully apparent. It was only Kyuuzou that was left at the end.
"You did very well," said the soldier who had led them through the tests, his voice tinged with awe and a little bit of envy.
Kyuuzou said nothing.
When the soldier brought Kyuuzou back to the main dojo, many of the others were surprised.
"you sure he didn't cheat?"
The soldier looked offended. "I know what is before my eyes, and he did not cheat!"
The officer was still skeptical. "We'll see soon enough."
Once all the groups arrived, the officer spoke again. "You all have passed our rigorous standards; I congragulate you. However, now you must face each other. None of you have seen the other during the tests, so none of you know the other's styles. Duels will be held in seperate rooms so that there is no chance of cheating. It is direct elimination. I will call our names and room numbers. You will go there, and you will be judged by two of my officers. The first to draw blood wins. No killing allowed."
Kyuuzou was mildly annoyed by this. Some of the men present didn't deserve to be called samurai in his mind, so they should be removed from spreading their skills. Nevertheless, he would abide by the rules. He had to, if he wanted the job. He listened carefully and heard his name called along with a room number, and so went directly to it. He waited there with the officers until the other warrior(he didn't think most were worthy of the title of samurai) entered. Kyuuzou quickly looked the man over and sighed inwardly.
The man sneered at Kyuuzou, making note of his thin, girlish figure. Such a feminine man wasn't worth his time. He fell into a guard stance as the officers read the rules to them. Kyuuzou stood there, silent, focused. When asked if he was ready, he merely nodded, needing no words.
"Go!"
It was over in a heartbeat.
The warrior had had no time to react as Kyuuzou had moved across the room too quickly for him to follow. He was startled when he saw his sword hand fly off away from him, discovering that Kyuuzou was sudddenly behind him, sheathing his swords.
"Match goes to Kyuuzou!"
There was a short, angry silence from the warrior Kyuuzou had defeated before he lunged for Kyuuzou. Kyuuzou neatly sidestepped, and the warrior ended up having to roll tokeep himself from breaking his neck.
"BASTARD!"
Kyuuzou said nothing, but exited the room to wait in the main dojo again.
"He cut off my hand! That's against the rules!"
The officers lookede uncomfortable. "Actually, it isn't. He simply wasn't allowed tokill you. It said first blood or disarming the opponent. I didn't know he would take it so literally."
The other officer took the warrior away to have his arm bandaged and stop the bloodflow as the other officer waited in the room, thinking. That man...he was good. Very, very good.
The matches ended one after another, and Kyuuzou found that the ones he thought would win had actually done so. He had to face two other duels before the final. He swore not toexert himself too much. Not that he would anyway.
His name was called again, and he went to a different room this time, with judges who had not seen his skill before. The man he faced was wary of him. Good. He was read the rules again, and decided what he would do again.
"Go!"
He attacked, swinging one sword to the opposite of his sword arm, making his opponent block across his body. Kyuuzou then neatly cut off his hand at the wrist, and pushed him back into a wall.
It was over in less than a minute.
The judges were stunned again, and the man he had faced was in shock.
"Im-impossible! No one can be so fast!"he exclaimed hoarsely, holding his bleeding stump to his chest. Kyuuzou merely ignored him and walked out of the room to leave a medic, who had joined the group after witnessing the first few fights, to tend to the man he had disarmed.
Kyuuzou waited in the main dojo again until the other three warriors who were left joined him. They all looked tired, shirts soaked through. This wouldn't be too difficult. Too bad he wasn't tired at all. His name was called again, and he entered another room, the man he was going to fight following him. The two went seperate ways when they entered the room, and Kyuuzou found himself looking at a new group of judges. They had obviously seen the other warrior's skills before, judging from how they were looking at Kyuuzou. Kyuuzou would not underestimate this opponent. He should be better than the others he had fought. Kyuuzou stood in his typical, neutral stance, which puzzled the judges and made the warrior incredibly wary of Kyuuzou. No samurai did that unless they were sure of their skills or had a death wish. The judges reminded them of the rules, and checked their readiness.
"Go!"
Kyuuzou let his opponent move first this time.
He sidestepped the tired lunge and drew his sword too fast for anyone to register until the other warrior stumbled against the wall, his hand and sword at Kyuuzou's feet. Kyuuzou flicked the blood off his sword and left. Was no one here worthwhile?
The medic tended to the other warrior as everyone watched Kyuuzou leave, every one of them amazed and frightened of the silent enigma. Kyuuzou sat in the main dojo, and heard his final opponent come in. He looked up through half-lidded eyes, and observed the way the man walked. He was tired.
"You two are the last. I congragulate you on making it to the final match."
Kyuuzou had been an assassin, yes, so he had no moral issues with killing a tired man, but as a samurai he felt the match would be laughable.
"This match won't be fair."
"What?"
Both men looked over to Kyuuzou, those being the first words he'd spoken since he gave his name. The other man looked irked.
"I'm a samurai and can more than take on the likes of you."
Kyuuzou wanted to sigh. "I'm not tired. You are."
"what? How many matches have you fought?"
"3."
"And you're not tired."
"They were no challenge."
"I'm sure I'll be more than enough of a challenge for you, even if I'm tired!"
Kyuuzou gave him a dry look. "Idiot."
"We're dueling! NOW!"
Kyuuzou said nothing.
The officer looked a little nervous. "The last battle will take place here. Remember, first blood or when disarmed. No killing allowed. Are you ready?"
Kyuuzou's opponent nodde vehemently, glaring daggers at Kyuuzou. Kyuuzou inclined his head slightly.
"Very well. I wish you both luck."
There was a pause as the officer looked between the two, nervous about the outcome.
"Go!"
The other man could just follow Kyuuzou's movements, and so managed to block both his swords. he did not count on Kyuuzou ducking and sweeping his feet out from under him before casually lopping off his sword hand.
"Match." Kyuuzou said coldly and sheathed his swords before walking over to the officer. The officer stared at him, but gained his composure and air of authority quickly.
"You've won, Kyuuzou. I congragulate you. What time can you start working?"
"Now."
"You have no belongings?"
"My swords."
"oh...well, then. I'll show you to your quarters. Our Lord is attending to business matters right now, but I will make sure to introduce him to you later."
The officer made certain that he walked beside Kyuuzou, and not in front of him, since he had gained a lot of respect for the slight man. As they walked, the officer explained what his duties would be and gave a brief description of the inner workings of the castle. He brought Kyuuzou to the room Kyuuzou would be using and left him there, saying that he'd come get him when their Lord was back from meetings.
Kyuuzou looked around at the furnishings and bristled. How had they POSSIBLY managed to put him here? HOW? Kyuuzou was sure that somewhere, some deity was laughing at its handiwork.
He had ended up in the same room he had been in last time he was here.