Night fighting

Already very skilled with his sword, Adrian stood in the school's kendo dojo metal bastard sword in hand. His opponent was a dear friend and member of the kendo club. He wasn't the captain but he was skilled none the less. The two of them were practically on par with one another when it came to skill, but they had parted ways on the path of the sword. Adrian had turned his back on bushido, and had instead embraced the ancient code of the forgotten Knights. Samurai were well known for honor and he appreciated it, but there were things involved with the code of bushido he could never embrace. Instead he had taken to heart the code of the knights of the round table.

A knight is sworn to valor.
His heart knows only virtue.
His blade defends the helpless.
His might upholds the weak.
His word speaks only truth.
And his wrath undoes the wicked.

These were the things he had taken to heart. Up until he had sold his soul for power. He stood there, blade at the ready, his friend holding the katana. Both were skilled and knew one another enough to hold back with metal blades. They might get a cut, but neither would die of their injuries, no matter how long they fought.

They were both silent, neither moving, neither blinking. Adrian had trained his body well enough to block out distraction, and was quite adept at it. He let his grip go loose for a moment as he closed his eyes, readying himself for battle. In a one on one fight this was the perfect way to block out distractions. His eyes opened as he willed his vision to tunnel on his friend.

The two of them stood there watching one another, mentally playing the duel out. Both knew full well that they were doing the same thing. They drew their weapons back, taking the exact same stance. Their weapons were parallel with their bodies, their torsos turned lightly. Both had two hands on the hilt of their weapons.

Their movements were timed so perfectly that even the most practiced ballet teams in the world would have envied them. Adrian went high as Satsu went low. Their blades met in between and slid away from one another. Adrian spun to his right shifting his stance and grip to slash wide with his right arm. But Satsu had anticipated this and ducked, his own blade coming up. Adrian just continued the spin, his grip shifting yet again to knock the blade off course. It tore his practice kimono but drew no blood.

Satsu took the opportunity to spin as well, his blade coming around the same way Adrian's had but in the other direction. Adrian leaned back, his knees nearly giving out under him as he ducked just low enough for the blade to pass over him. Against another opponent he probably would have been struck, but this was Satsu. The two of them had fought enough that they could easilly calculate the other's movements based on their breathing, eyes, and even shift in weight.

"Not bad! You're getting better! If I didn't know better I'd say you were in the Matrix!" Satsu teased.

Adrian came up smirking his blade spinning in his hand as Satsu backed off. Both knew that in that position Satsu had the advantage and both had mentally given him the point. They reset their stances. But Adrian had tricks up his sleeve even Satsu hadn't known about. Had this been a real fight he would have summoned the Devil's Teardrop from it's pocket dimension and thrust it through the other man's chest for the win. But in a practice match he knew he couldn't give anything away.

"You're getting much better. But the captain would kill me if she knew I was giving lessons to someone outside the club. You should really join. You might like it. But you'd probably have to fight her first." Satsu stated, the two still in their stances.

"Maybe I will. In the morning if I feel up to it I'll come here and wait after class." Adrian responded while refocusing.

"So how is your research coming? Find any spirits yet?" Satsu chided.

Adrian knew Satsu didn't believe in spirits. At least not the way Adrian did. He believed in Heaven and Hell, but he didn't believe there were spirits wandering the world wreaking havoc or protecting the innocent. Adrian had argued with him time and again on the subject but had long given up the search since he had no way of proving it to the katana user.

"It's coming along quite well. I've found some interesting things here in town and deep in the western woods I wasn't expecting. Ready when you are." Adrian said, signaling the start of round two.

The two once more came at one another, each trying to overcome the other's strengths. The bastard sword Adrian held had more weight so it was easier for him to press back Satsu's assault, but it also meant it was harder to counter. If the two of them hadn't practiced so much together they would never have made it this far. The battle would have been over quick if it was a real one. Adrian's ability to summon his blade whenever he wanted was an edge over even the fastest drawn sword. But he couldn't summon it within an object or person. He had to be able to thrust. And that was where it came down to it. He was a perfect assassin when it came to stealth attacks. But in a true fight he had to have a huge edge over his opponent to win.

The two men locked blades, the hilts touching, neither willing to give in this lock. Had this been a video game both players would be button mashing at the moment trying to out mash the other. The blades sparked slightly as they scraped against one another. But Adrian was intent on winning. He shifted his weight, weakening his position for a moment before swinging a leg around, throwing Satsu to the ground.

"Dammit... Fine... Whatever." Satsu said getting up. "It's getting late. I have to head home. But think about joining. You'd be pretty good. You're very good with a bastard sword. I'd love to see the difference if you used a katana instead. See you!"

With that Satsu put the katana away and headed to the locker room to shower, change, and head home. Adrian himself stood under the shower, his eyes closed as he did, relaxing and going over the fight in his head. He sighed lightly before shutting the water off. He changed and left, heading back to the apartment he had on campus, the practice sword locked in his locker. He had already decided. He would try life with a katana for a few days. It never hurt to be well rounded in life, let alone combat styles. Besides there might be a few cute girls there. Or guys.
(1,178/1,000)