A Final Duel

Boro and Mika stood in the sand circle as the two finalists. The animosity between the two was so thick in the air it was almost palpable. Boro stood in the ready form, Crane In The Water, standing perfectly balanced on one leg, his sword held out before him. Mika stood in a form that Boro didn't recognize. Boro prided himself on knowing all the forms of classical, and modern, sword art, the fact he didn't recognize this one was puzzling.

  This must be a form of his own making, He thought with both surprise, and unwillingly, respect. The form had Mika crouched low to the ground, his own hand and a half sword held upwards in front of him.

  When the call to begin was shouted, Boro took a cautious step forward and was immediately on defense as Mika struck at him with nearly blinding speed.

  Boro only barely blocked all the blows, sweat began to trickle down his chest and back from the effort. The sun had begun to rise in the sky, and so Boro maneuvered himself to be standing with his back to it.

  When did Mika get this good and why had he not shown off this skill any time before, Boro thought, his sword barely catching another unrecognized form. He jumped back and then leapt, moving into Tiger Hides in The Brush. He made as if to sweep out his legs, trying to catch him off guard, and then immediately hit him in the face with the pommel of his sword. Mika reeled holding a hand to his bloody nose.

  "You're going to regret that you scum" He said through gritted teeth, swiping at Boro with a back hand, a move that he then followed up with an upward slash. This one Boro recognized, Thrush Threads A Nest, it was a form normally used as a catalyst to kill a foe. He was setting Boro into position for a finishing blow.

  Boro moved into Wind Fans The Fire, stabbing his sword forward, and then in the process of Mika blocking, got up close to him, bypassing his guard. Boro slammed his elbow into Mika's exposed stomach causing him to hunch over. He followed up the blow by kneeing Mika in his face while he was holding his stomach. Mika flew backwards and landed in a heap; he had almost been knocked out of the circle. Boro moved towards him, curled up on the ground nearly in tears, he looked so weak. How could this man have been the one to face him now. He had always been cowardly, so how did he manage to come up with his own forms so successfully.

  "Get up Mika, let's finish this duel once and for all" Boro offered his hand to one of the men he hated the most in the world.

  Mika looked up, anger, resentment and something else besides shone bright in his eyes. He made as if to grab Boro's hand but at the last second he tossed sand at Boro's face. Most of the sand missed but some managed to hit his exposed face. He roared in outrage stepping back. Next thing he knew he was flat on his back, his feet had been kicked out from under him. He rolled once, hoping that would not take him out of bounds, and then leapt back to his feet.

  Mika was on him in a second, his sword forgotten in all his anger. He hit Boro right in the face and Boro felt something hot and wet flowing down into his mouth. It had a metallic taste and Boro knew it to be blood. Mika had broken his nose.

  "I said I'd make you pay" Mika hissed at him, hitting him over and over.

  When next Mika hit him, Boro grabbed his outstretched arm and tossed him over his hip. He dropped his own sword and then grappled with Mika on the sand. Boro slammed his palm into Mika's face, then wrapped his arms around Mika's throat putting him in a choke hold. He wrapped his legs around Mika's chest effectively immobilizing him. However, Mika seemed to have some experience with hand to hand combat, he must definitely have been training in secret. Mika slammed his elbow into Boro's ribs and then his fist into his face over and over, switching whenever Boro tried to block his blows.

  With little choice Boro let his hold go and took a brief respite to clear away his eyes. Still watery and blurry but able to see Boro zeroed in on Mika again, who had gone back to pick up his sword. Boro went for his own and then they both eyed one another again.

  Boro was sure he had at least two fractured ribs and a broken nose. Mika didn't look in better condition, his neck was red and beginning to bruise, one of his eyes were swollen shut and blood flowed from an open wound on his cheek.

  This turned out to be a better fight then I could have guessed, Boro thought, hating that he felt a small respect forming for Mika. Maybe he hadn't paid off the other fighters, he had probably hid his true skill this entire time, something that is not easy to do.

  Boro smiled at Mika, "You're better than I ever thought, much respect" he bowed his head slightly.

  Mika responded by spitting blood to the ground, "Enough talk, let's finish this"

  With that they jumped back at one another, swords moving at a blinding speed. Boro used every form he knew, going from one complicated form to the next. Wind Shakes The Willow, then Boar Charges The Hunter, Cobra Spits Its Venom, Fox Hunts The Rabbit. From one form to the next, Boro gained ground on Mika, who was covered in sweat, barely able to hold his sword aloft.

  By now the dark orange sun was fully in the sky, heat beaming down on to the two fighters. The sand began to get hot, Boro thought he could almost feel the heat through the soles of his caliages.

  Mika was near the edge of the circle, barely able to keep himself from being pushed out. His own blade made a soft whistling sounds when he whipped it back and forth trying to block all Boro's attacks. Both, in addition to the injuries to their heads, began bleeding from shallow cuts to their arms and legs, where they weren't fast enough to block a blow. Boro felt himself flagging, his stamina beginning to fade away. He needed to end this, and quickly, lest Mika take advantage and win.

  Boro closed his eyes and opened his mind, he was the void. He felt the air stir as Mika moved in to capitalize on this moment, thinking Boro had given up. He was dead wrong, Boro felt the blade move through the rising daylight, and moved his body almost as if on its own, without thought, acting on pure instinct. His blade, the same type of single edged sword his father had used, the one that he had named Honor, moved as if to block Mika's but instead he ducked, and moved around it, weaving under the path of the blade, and at the last second he turned his own so that the flat of it struck Mika on his wrist, breaking it cleanly. He then jumped and kicked Mika in his exposed chest, sending him flying backwards out of the circle. He landed back on one leg his sword outstretched, the same way he had begun the duel, Crane In The Water.

  There were a few brief moments of silence and then a roar as everyone shouted at Boro, the victor. Mika got to his feet slowly, his face pained and furious. He held his shattered wrist and slinked off to the medical center of the academy, his second place prize abandoned.

  For being the winner, Boro received an astounding 100 gold royals, practically a fortune, and a sealed letter of recommendation to be apprenticed by any Sword Master he wished. This more then anything was what Boro needed, he knew all the forms and had even made some of his own. His skill with a blade was excellent but what he lacked was real experience. Apprenticing under a master would allow him to gain the real world experience he so desperately wanted. With a master he could fight in actual battles and wars.

  He would come to realize that this want was childish and that he knew nothing of the real world.