went sailing into the air. Iaido paused instead of
delivering the coup de grace, the death blow.
Since this was just a demonstration, a kumite, the
match should’ve ended with the disarming. However the Sensei had other ideas.
Rolling out of the disadvantaged position to a nearby weapons rack on the dojo
wall, he pulled down a katana. Ripping the blade free from the scabbard, the
ringing of the steel filled the dojo as he moved quickly to the attack.
Parrying the wild attack, Iaido once again struck
the Sensei with his bokken. Even though blue sparks filled the room, the Sensei
seemed unaffected by the stun properties of the training weapon and again
pressed the attack. If anything, his attacks were more furious and faster than
earlier. The Sensei had abandoned all pretenses of defense and Iaido struck him
a dozen times but to no effect. Iaido was forced to use every trick and skill
he possessed to dodge or block the Sensei’s wild yet deadly attacks.
The change in Iaido’s mindset was simple. His
unconscious mind recognized that the earlier attacks to be non-deadly. Now that
the Sensei was wielding a ‘live’ blade, his responses were different. The
philosophy of an ‘eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth’ scenario was drilled into
him during his military days. Stepping up his own attacks, Iaido forced the
Sensei back with the force of his blows. Even if the stun aspect wouldn’t work
on the Sensei for some reason, a sharp whack to the side of the head should do
the trick.
One of the Sensei’s wild attacks clipped Iaido’s
shoulder, drawing first blood and knocking his bokken out of his hand. With a
spin, the Sensei lashed out with a wide slash parallel to the ground with the
intent of disemboweling his opponent.
Reacting without conscious thought, Iaido stepped
inside the swing and wrapped his left arm over and around the arms of his
master, while his right hand moved to the pommel of the katana. Rotating his
grip slightly and pivoting quickly, Iaido wretched free the blade. Continuing
the momentum of the turn, Iaido counter-attacked with a horizontal slash that was
perfection in motion. No one alive could’ve executed that move any cleaner.
The razor sharp katana slid through the flesh and
bones of the Sensei’s neck easily, separating his head from the rest of his
body. Due to the direction of Iaido’s spin, the blood flew off his blade to splatter
the wall and sling a line of blood across the ancient flag of Japan which hung
in a place of honor in the dojo. Unfortunately, the Sensei’s disembodied head
flew through the air to land at Sam’s feet with a loud thud.
The dojo was silent. The only sound was the slow
moving ceiling fans.
Iaido dropped the katana and fell to his knees. As
he stared at the headless corpse of his mentor and friend, a mixture of screams
and shouts filled the air.
It was only a matter of minutes before the police
came rushing into the dojo. Surprisingly it wasn’t just a few beat cops but a
full SWAT team in tactical armor led by Agent Smith.
As the SWAT team surrounded the mat, Iaido remained
on his knees just staring at the headless corpse before him. It could’ve been
hours or days for all that he noticed. One image froze in his mind’s eye; the twin
marks of puncture wounds on the base of his neck right over his mentor’s spinal
cord. One part of his mind remembered Diana mentioning similar marks had been
found on Amy’s body. What that meant, Iaido had no idea, yet.
Two SWAT grunts moved forward and slapped a pair
of handcuffs on the unresisting bounty hunter. Once he was restrained with his
hands behind his back, Agent Smith stepped in front of him.
“I knew you were trouble from the moment we met.” Without
warning or provocation, Agent Smith slapped Iaido across the face.
Several of the SWAT officers winced at the
unsolicited blow but were unable to interfere since the FSA agent was of a
higher authority and possibly had different rules of engagement. No
delivering the coup de grace, the death blow.
Since this was just a demonstration, a kumite, the
match should’ve ended with the disarming. However the Sensei had other ideas.
Rolling out of the disadvantaged position to a nearby weapons rack on the dojo
wall, he pulled down a katana. Ripping the blade free from the scabbard, the
ringing of the steel filled the dojo as he moved quickly to the attack.
Parrying the wild attack, Iaido once again struck
the Sensei with his bokken. Even though blue sparks filled the room, the Sensei
seemed unaffected by the stun properties of the training weapon and again
pressed the attack. If anything, his attacks were more furious and faster than
earlier. The Sensei had abandoned all pretenses of defense and Iaido struck him
a dozen times but to no effect. Iaido was forced to use every trick and skill
he possessed to dodge or block the Sensei’s wild yet deadly attacks.
The change in Iaido’s mindset was simple. His
unconscious mind recognized that the earlier attacks to be non-deadly. Now that
the Sensei was wielding a ‘live’ blade, his responses were different. The
philosophy of an ‘eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth’ scenario was drilled into
him during his military days. Stepping up his own attacks, Iaido forced the
Sensei back with the force of his blows. Even if the stun aspect wouldn’t work
on the Sensei for some reason, a sharp whack to the side of the head should do
the trick.
One of the Sensei’s wild attacks clipped Iaido’s
shoulder, drawing first blood and knocking his bokken out of his hand. With a
spin, the Sensei lashed out with a wide slash parallel to the ground with the
intent of disemboweling his opponent.
Reacting without conscious thought, Iaido stepped
inside the swing and wrapped his left arm over and around the arms of his
master, while his right hand moved to the pommel of the katana. Rotating his
grip slightly and pivoting quickly, Iaido wretched free the blade. Continuing
the momentum of the turn, Iaido counter-attacked with a horizontal slash that was
perfection in motion. No one alive could’ve executed that move any cleaner.
The razor sharp katana slid through the flesh and
bones of the Sensei’s neck easily, separating his head from the rest of his
body. Due to the direction of Iaido’s spin, the blood flew off his blade to splatter
the wall and sling a line of blood across the ancient flag of Japan which hung
in a place of honor in the dojo. Unfortunately, the Sensei’s disembodied head
flew through the air to land at Sam’s feet with a loud thud.
The dojo was silent. The only sound was the slow
moving ceiling fans.
Iaido dropped the katana and fell to his knees. As
he stared at the headless corpse of his mentor and friend, a mixture of screams
and shouts filled the air.
It was only a matter of minutes before the police
came rushing into the dojo. Surprisingly it wasn’t just a few beat cops but a
full SWAT team in tactical armor led by Agent Smith.
As the SWAT team surrounded the mat, Iaido remained
on his knees just staring at the headless corpse before him. It could’ve been
hours or days for all that he noticed. One image froze in his mind’s eye; the twin
marks of puncture wounds on the base of his neck right over his mentor’s spinal
cord. One part of his mind remembered Diana mentioning similar marks had been
found on Amy’s body. What that meant, Iaido had no idea, yet.
Two SWAT grunts moved forward and slapped a pair
of handcuffs on the unresisting bounty hunter. Once he was restrained with his
hands behind his back, Agent Smith stepped in front of him.
“I knew you were trouble from the moment we met.” Without
warning or provocation, Agent Smith slapped Iaido across the face.
Several of the SWAT officers winced at the
unsolicited blow but were unable to interfere since the FSA agent was of a
higher authority and possibly had different rules of engagement. No
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