Young Samurai_ The Way of the Sword - Chris Bradford [88]
‘Come on, Jack! You can take him!’ urged Saburo in response.
Jack faked a front kick as Kazuki advanced on him. The ruse worked and Kazuki dropped his guard to block it. Jack went on the offensive with a blistering combination of a front jab, reverse punch and spinning back fist. The back fist caught Kazuki hard across the jaw.
Stunned, Kazuki staggered backwards, slipping on the muddy ground and falling unceremoniously on his backside.
Yamato and Saburo let out a cheer.
‘I win,’ declared Jack in between ragged drawing of breaths.
‘It isn’t over yet…’
‘You’re bleeding.’
Kazuki wiped his hand across his mouth, a thin stream of blood running over it before quickly dispersing in the rain.
‘I bit my own tongue,’ spat Kazuki. ‘That doesn’t qualify as first blood.’
He then flung a handful of mud into Jack’s eyes, blinding him. In that moment of distraction, Kazuki scrambled to his feet and punched Jack in the face. Jack’s head rang and he tasted blood as his own lip split open.
‘That qualifies as first blood,’ announced Kazuki with vindictive glee.
But Kazuki didn’t halt his assault there. He began to pummel Jack as hard as he could. Instinctively, Jack’s chi sao training kicked in and he threw up his guard, locking himself against his opponent’s arms.
Jack sensed Kazuki’s attacks as each technique was thrown. He successfully slipped a series of jabs and attempted a counter. He heard Kazuki cursing in frustration at Jack’s unexpected ability to fight without sight.
Jack’s skill even amazed himself for a while, but then he was struck on the jaw by an unforeseen roundhouse punch.
His flow broken, Jack began to panic. The pressure of a real blind fight overwhelmed him as another strike from Kazuki caught him in the gut. This was not the same as sparring with Yamato. Kazuki fought differently and Jack was now finding it harder to predict his moves.
Jack lost all contact with Kazuki’s guard. An instant later, he found himself flying through the air and splashing down into a large puddle.
Kazuki dropped on top of him.
Before Jack could catch his breath, Kazuki had him in a neck choke and was thrusting him under the water. Jack gagged as his mouth filled with slimy mud. Struggling wildly, he managed to lift his head out of the puddle to snatch a lungful of air. The murky water had washed the remnants of mud from his eyes and he caught a glimpse of Akiko and his friends being restrained by the Scorpion Gang.
‘You’re going to drown him!’ Akiko was screaming as she clawed at Hiroto to free herself.
‘Excellent suggestion,’ agreed Kazuki, shoving Jack’s head back under.
Jack could no longer hear anything but the swirl of muddy water in his ears. He remembered the last time he’d been strangled by Kazuki. If Sensei Kyuzo hadn’t stopped the randori then, Kazuki would have continued the choke until Jack passed out.
This time, however, there was no teacher in charge.
Kazuki might actually kill him.
Fudoshin.
The word flashed in his mind like lightning as he surfaced again.
Kazuki was laughing in delight at his victory and, clamping down harder, he thrust Jack back under for one final time.
A samurai must remain calm at all times – even in the face of danger.
Sensei Hosokawa’s teachings swam through Jack’s head.
You must learn to stare death in the face…
Wrestling with his fear, Jack regained control of himself and, against all natural instinct, he let his body go limp.
He heard Akiko crying, ‘You’ve killed him! You’ve killed him!’
Kazuki immediately let go, suddenly aware he’d taken the fight too far.
Jack lay still a second longer.
Then he exploded out of the puddle.
Taking Kazuki completely by surprise, Jack elbowed his rival in the face and rolled on top. Back in control, he locked Kazuki in a head-hold, then drove Kazuki’s own face under the surface of the muddy pool.
‘SUBMIT!’