Failure   von Chimamire
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                                Kapitel 2: Duel
                                ---------------


He had to undo the long ribbons of his Hakama and wrap them around his slender
waist all over again, because he hadn’t been paying attention to the movements
of his hands. Instead of tying neat knots, he had confused the different ribbons
and only realised the mistakes as his sister gave him a slap on the wrist for
being so thoughtless that he messed things up he learned as a young boy and did
every day.
It was actually the first time in years that he had gotten something so basic
confused. But this day was totally different since the challenger arrived at
Shiekan and the senior master decided to leave the fight to Souji. He had never
been in a serious match before, especially not against a full-fledged and most
likely ten or more years older samurai. 
He wasn’t even familiar with the Hokushin Ittou style after only practising at
one Dojo during his six years of apprenticeship. It was one of the most famous
styles throughout the country and it was known for being effective and
dangerous. But every style of fencing was dangerous, if it was done right and if
someone attempted to kill another person.
With this, his thoughts were already rushing on ahead to the match against the
alien fencer and by force of habit, he started to calculate how great his
chances were. They were not going to use edged weapons for such a match, but
there were still enough possibilities to get hurt by one of the bamboo swords
and even more chances to lose the fight.
On the other hand, he was the best swordsman at Shieikan since he had turned
thirteen years old. Most of the time, it took few exchanges of blows before his
opponent had to give in to his attacks. It wasn’t his strength that made him
win, though. In contrast to others, he relied on swiftness and sudden moves to
surprise his opponents. One second of mild confusion was usually enough to catch
the opponent off-guard and to carry him off his feet. Strike capability was
definitely not everything in fencing.
“Stop dreaming, Soujiro.” His sister interrupted his thoughts quite ungentle
and tightened the last knot in the ribbons of the Hakama so firmly, that he
gasped for air. “Otherwise you will not even get ready for the match.” She
added and observed his now decent clothes for a second, before she held a white
lace out to tie the long sleeves of his Kimono back. There was no use in
fighting, when the hilt got caught in the fabric every second move.
“I am sure this challenger can wait another minute. He can’t be waiting for
his defeat so eagerly.” He replied with a shrug and pulled the lace through
his sleeves before tying it in front of his left shoulder. Only a silent voice
of anxiety in the back of his mind whispered that he shouldn’t be too
self-confident about a fight with a fencer who had a lot more experience with
real matches than himself.
There was no time to listen to the voice anyway as his sister returned with a
piece of leather armour which would protect his torso against serious blows.
During training he usually relinquished any protection since there was hardly
anyone who could score a hit. But even bamboo swords could leave severe bruises
and crack bones and he wasn’t an admirer of black and bluish discoloured
skin.
He would never complain about bruises and scratches, though. He had not even
cried when he had fallen down a flight of steps and ripped half of his lower arm
open at the age of eleven, not even when Hijikata-san had patched the wound up
without much experience. It seemed as if nothing was able to be more painful
than the blazing flames that once had tasted his skin and licked it like a
lover’s lips.
“I am done.” Mitsu interrupted his thoughts once again and pulled the last
buckle of the armour in the right place. After she and Souji had moved to the
Shieikan Dojo, she had spent most of her time helping out at the kitchen or in
the fencing halls and knew perfectly well how to dress a swordsman for a match.
The armour fitted tightly to his chest, but it didn’t cut his breath short or
restricted his free movements. 
“Thank you, aneue.” He gave her a quick smile as he took a pair of gloves
out of her hands and put them on. Afterwards he grabbed the Shinai which had
been leaning against the wall the entire time. Compared to a Katana, the bamboo
sword was unfamiliar light and would give him the chance to attack with even
swifter movements. 
“Take care and don’t overdo it. It is only a match not a fight for life and
death.” She reminded him and held the helmet which also belonged to the common
training clothes out for him. He took it with another smile and reassured her
that he would be careful in the fight. Only in his mind, he wasn’t able to
understand her worries. He was good with his swords and he carried a real Daisho
since exactly 247 days now. The chances that he would get hurt in a match with
wooden swords were low.
“I will make you proud. And Kondou-san, of course.” He added with another
look to his sister, before he left the room and stepped in the narrow hallway
which led past the kitchen and to one of the major halls. Some students passed
him on his way and greeted with formal bows and a few silent words, but no one
dared to ask him why he was dressed up with armour he never wore under normal
circumstances. 
Nevertheless their eyes were curious and his heartbeat sped up with each step.
It was a great honour and a heavy burden at the same time to face a challenger
in place of the current master of the Dojo. One wrong step, one moment of
abstraction could destroy the good reputation of the school and - even worse -
the Tennen Rishin Style.
They already had trouble to find new students, because there were more famous
styles and richer fencing halls in other districts of Kyoto. If they lost to
Hokushin Ittou style now, it would be proven that the other fencing hall was
superior to them and it would become even harder to find new students to join
Shieikan. 
He was not going to allow that. He was going to defeat his opponent as he
usually defeated other students and prove that Tennen Rishin Ryu was worth
learning. There was no other way to keep his honour and to make everyone proud
after he had trained for seven years as if his life depended on it.
With those thoughts in mind, Souji entered the hall and bowed before closing the
door behind him. He remained there as it was common courtesy, until the senior
master of the Dojo waved him over to sit with him and the stranger before they
started the match. It seemed like they had a friendly conversation before, but
they didn’t continue it after Souji sat down on his knees and had placed his
hands on his thighs.
He was painfully aware of the dark eyes which observed him closely, but he did
neither move nor try to break the tense silence surrounding them. Discipline and
control over his body and emotions were important to get through a match
victoriously. Distraction and a lack of discipline gave an opponent vents in his
defence and increased the chances to be beat up within a few minutes.
“Soujiro, this is Yamanami Keisuke. He was a student of Chiba Shusaku Narimasa
and is a member of the Koryu Dojo at Edo.” The senior master introduced their
guest with his calm smile. Yamanami Keisuke nodded in return and gave Souji a
bland smile which awakened his doubts once again and made his heart drop a few
centimetres.
He was a man in his late twenties and he was quite a bit taller than Souji. He
had a slender body which almost hid his athletic constitution and kept a
constantly straight posture. His hair was tied back in a traditional Chonmage
and his thin face had the clean-cut features of a well-read scholar.
His dark eyes sparkled with slight amusement and hid his knowledge well. It was
easy to tell that he had been born in a family of high-class samurai  and that
he had been able to enjoy education since his childhood. Even his choice of
style of swordsmanship gave away that his parents must have been rich. The fees
for a popular school and a well-known teacher as Chiba Shusaku Narimasa were
expensive.
He himself was of samurai birth as well, but his parents had been poor and would
have been unable to pay for such a famous school.  Since they died even before
Souji could enrol at a Dojo, it had been pure luck that he got to learn how to
use a pair of swords. If his sister hadn’t married Rintarou who had a
connection to the family of Kondou Shusuke - the senior master - there would
have been no way for him to get proper education.
“It will be an honour to fight you.” Yamanami Keisuke broke the silence
after a few minutes and forced Souji to force his thoughts back to reality. He
would have liked to slap himself for losing his focus even before the match had
started. If he was going to keep this manner up, he was going to lose within the
first few seconds.
“The pleasure is all mine.” He replied with a confident smile without
averting his eyes. He was not thoroughly sure about his victory anymore, but
sometimes pretending was the key to  success. It had worked in the past, when he
had told himself that he was strong enough to beat an opponent, and he was going
to give it a try this time as well. Kondou-sama had put all his trust in him
after all.
“Then we should begin.” The senior master decided and stood up with smooth
movements. He was almost seventy years old, but the exercise and the teaching
had kept him flexible as a young tree. Only the wrinkles in his suntanned face
which especially appeared when he was laughing spoke of great life experience.
While Yamanami Keisuke went over to the other side of the room to put his armour
on and to tie his sleeves back, the senior master turned to Souji who had risen
from his place as well and gave him an encouraging smile. There was not even a
single spark of doubt in his eyes. Only trust gleamed in them. 
“Concentrate on your defence and don’t let it down under any circumstances,
especially at your flanks.” He gave a last advice, before he stepped back to
the side of the Dojo. He knew Souji well enough to know that he tended to be
careless about his defence once he was caught up in a fight. He did not
underestimate his opponents and he knew what he was capable of, but he was still
young and forgot the important things as keeping himself safe while attacking
from time to time. 
He looked after the master who knew all his weak spots howsoever small for
another second, before he picked the bamboo sword which had been lying on the
ground up and stepped in the middle of the hall. From this point on, he needed
to focus on his body and the movements of his opponent. Nothing else was going
to be important, until he won for the sake of Shieikan or was defeated to his
disgrace. 
The challenger of the Dojo took his place across the hall. Both of them bowed,
before they made one step closer to each other and waited for the sign to start.
Tension flared through the air and Souji needed all his concentration to keep
his hands from shaking. His beating of his heart sped up as if it wanted to jump
out of his chest right away and his breaths grew less deep and a little faster
than usual.
“Hajime!” The voice of the senior master echoed through the hall, finally
breaking the almost unbearable silence in half and allowing the opponents to
attack. But instead of closing the distance between them with rapid movements,
Souji forced himself to exercise patience and corrected his stance first.
His left foot was placed behind his right one with its toes pointed away from
his body and to the left side. Furthermore, he slightly pulled his left shoulder
back to have more freedom to move. The tip of his bamboo sword was pointed at
the throat of his opponent and did not move a tiny bit even as he took a step
forward. 
For a few minutes the two swordsman circled each other like hungry lions waiting
for a lack of defence or a second of distraction.  But as much as they both
hoped for a chance to end the fight quickly, it did not happen. The
concentration filling the hall was as intense as the tension before and even
Kondou Shusuke who had seen many bitter fights in the halls of his Dojo was
close to holding his breath.
After an eternity, Souji decided that he had been patient long enough. His
scream shattered the silence as he leaped forward and attacked with two accurate
and fast sequenced strikes. To his displeasure his opponent fended both of his
blows off with the greatest of ease. He did not even have to take more than a
backwards sidestep to avoid being knocked down by the momentum Souji had.
An annoyed groan escaped his lips as he backed off and took his stance again.
His opponent was faster than he had expected and his height gave him a slight
advantage as well. Standing head and shoulders above Souji, it would be hard to
make him lose his centre of gravitation and to overthrow him. In conclusion, the
easiest way to end this fight was probably to land a  blow which could be
classed as deadly.
Still pondering over the best way to attack further Souji lost a part of his
focus and left his opponent few seconds to catch him off guard. The vigorous
blow from above forced him to yank his sword up and to take a step back at the
same time. His bare feet started to slide over the wooden floor as his opponent
added even more pressure after the bamboo swords had made contact.
Souji clenched his teeth and tried to fight back as soon as he had been able to
find foothold again, but all he could do was withstanding the strength of
Yamanami Keisuke. It was only a matter of time until he would have to give in,
but to his luck his opponent decided against going to the bitter end right away.
He stepped back with a faint smile and allowed Souji to get his stance back.
It took him only few seconds to correct the position of his feet and to hold his
sword stable again, but his mind was a turmoil of emotions. For the first time
in his life, he was afraid of losing a battle at any moment. His heart was
racing and cold beads of sweat crept up on his forehead. 
The worst about it was that he was not able to figure out why he was so close to
losing. He had faced taller and stronger opponents before and he had been able
to defeat them without exception. Even Hijikata-san and the current master of
the Dojo had to surrender against his blade at some point of his apprenticeship.
But something about Yamanami Keisuke was different. Maybe it was his style of
fighting, maybe it was just because Souji did only know him since a couple of
minutes.
He had no time to come to a conclusion before his opponent attacked once again.
This time Souji reacted faster and dodged the combination of strikes with swift
movements instead of fending them off directly. It was a whole lot simpler than
holding against the strength of a superior opponent, but he felt like a coward
doing so. He fled from the sword of his opposite as if he was still a child.
The further he lost himself in the dance with the other blade, the more he
wanted to scream at himself and his stupid behaviour. His honour was going to be
smashed even before he lost the fight, if he kept running away. But his feet did
not listen to his mind and carried him further through the hall.
Another scream erupted from his throat and surprised everyone, including
himself. He dashed forward and prepared for a combination of three sequenced and
quite deadly blows. He moved his sword horizontal in front of his body. His
right hand pulled the hilt backwards at the height of his neck after he had
covered the remaining distance between himself and his opponent. He planned to
stop his sword before he actually hit the neck of the other man and to continue
with a strike against his left and afterwards against his right shoulder. 
But before he could even think about slowing down his movements and saving
Yamanami Keisuke from some nasty bruises, something crashed against his
forehead. The sound of splintering bamboo filled the hall and grated on his
ears. The flow of time seemed to stop for a few moments, until the pain reached
his mind and he felt like his head was going to explode any second. Black spots
whirled through his field of vision and he stumbled backwards, reaching a hand
up to his forehead. 
Something sticky seeped down from his hairline and spread out over his left
temple and cheek at a rapid pace. He did not look at it and took his hand away
when the voice of the senior master filled the Dojo after a few seconds of utter
shock: “Ippon!” He raised his right hand as a sign of Yamanami Keisukes
victory.
Souji showed his respect for the winner with a bow, before he turned away to get
rid of his armour. He took only one step, before his knees gave way. His world
was suddenly foggy and everything seemed to be spinning. Colours blended into
each other, until they turned to one compact black mass.

誠

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