2-10
“This is not working,” Jane said while pulling off her blindfold and throwing it to the ground.
It was later in the night. Everyone had gone home except Victor and the people Suneya had picked up that could use chi. They were all inside the dojo with the lights on, most of the people started pulling off their blindfold at Jane's complaint. Victor rolled his eyes, of course it wasn't working, that was obvious. “Sensei ripped a strip of cloth from my shirt and tied it around my eyes to help me learn it. I guess that is not going to work for you guys.”
Jane looked at the cloth in her hands, “How are we going to learn it then?”
Victor waved at the group to stop. Some of the more dedicated ones were grabbed and their blindfolds pulled off. Victor gave them a nod the headed for the back. He had seen this coming when they wandered around the back lot bumping into things. He came back out with a cardboard box and set it at his feet.
He reached inside and pulled out a wooden rod about two and a half feet long covered in the foam of a pool noodle. Victor held it out to Jane and she took it, giving the foam a squeeze. He nodded at the one in her hand, “You're going to put your blindfolds back on and then you're going to play a game of wack a mole with each other.”
Jane looked at the rod in her hands and watched Victor pass out the rest of them, “What are you going to be doing?”
“I am going to help you. Have you progressed in learning from the wood Sensei gave you?”
Jane let out a sigh, “I have tried. It is a struggle. Has Jacob made any progress?”
Victor shrugged and finished passing out the wooden rods, “If he has he hasn't said anything.”
He stood up and headed for the light switch, "Here's what's going to happen. I am going to put on my blindfold like the rest of you and then I am going to turn out the light. Your job is to come after me as a team and hit me with your foam bats. I will be hunting after you just the same. If you give up, take a seat on the floor.”
“How is that going to help you?” one of the people asked.
Victor gave a shrug, “Sensei taught me what I am trying to teach you. I learned it but she never said I mastered it.”
Victor watched them all tie their blindfolds back on and gave a nod. He raised his blindfold to his face and covered his eyes, shutting out the world. A twist of chi let him feel the world differently. Just knowing the technique let him heighten his senses quite a bit, letting him fight against stealth opponents but turning it on pushed that far. He could see the echoing of people's heartbeats as they waited for him to turn off the lights. The shifting of clothing as they moved their weight around shouted out like an alarm. Feet scraping across the mats felt like earthquakes.
Victor reached over and flicked the lights off with a click. Instantly he felt a few people jump up into the rafters of the dojo. Victor let out a sigh. So that's how it was going to be. He tightened his grip on his foam cover rod and took a step forward into the soon to be mess.
They spread out in a circle with Jane trying to flank him on his left. Victor took a large step to the side slowly to break their line of approach. He walked slowly and when he got close enough to one of them he raised his foam club and struck them across the face.
It made a thwack when it connected. The sound shot out and Victor watched real time as everyone else jumped and twisted at the sound. The person he hit flopped onto their back, unprepared for the hit. He took another step away, and watched through his technique. Their approach was chaotic this time, they didn't know where he was and had a general approach not a direct one. Victor could tell it was going to be a long night.
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Victor sat on the steps of the back of the dojo, his foam bat had snapped in half a few minutes ago and he called it quits. He was rolling the handle of it back and forth in his hands and he relaxed on the steps. Victor didn't know if what he was doing was helping them learn but he had to at least try.
It had been a few days and there was still no word from Suneya. He didn't know what to make of that. He had seen some video footage of her fighting something in Angle City. politicians were going rabid at the destruction. Whatever she was fighting must have been tough if she had to do that much damage to the city to put it down. He hoped she was safe and would turn up again, he didn't want to fight something that could put her down. Something like that would climb his oh shit scale quickly.
Jane stepped out of the back door and gave him a look, “Everyone is packed up for the night and they are headed home.”
Victor nodded at that then stood up, “Guess I should head home too.”
Jane shrugged, “Do you work tomorrow?”
“My family owns the dojo. It doesn't really matter if I show up late. Jacob will just know I was tired out and expect me at noon. I have done it before. Did tonight help at all?” Victor threw out.
Jane crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame, “I don't know. I think it's going to be one of those things that time will tell.” She let out a sigh and looked down, “I am going to follow them home.”
Victor watched her leave then entered the dojo from the back. He shut the door hard, jamming it then grabbed his bag from the floor. He walked through the dojo and nodded when he saw the group had put away all the mats and things used for teaching. Victor locked the front door behind him and gave the front sign of the dojo one last look then turned and started walking home. He ran to the dojo in the morning, Sensei said that was enough.
He walked beneath the street lights and the sounds of the city. He saw racoons out and about stealing trash and some rabbits as he walked. Some cars drove past him, but it was quite late and there were only a few. He was halfway home when a little red car drove by. It didn't stand out in the city but something about it made him perk up and pay attention.
It circled the block once then jerked to a stop ahead of him. He slowed his walk and watched an old lady in a robe scramble out of the car. At one time she might have been well put together but times had changed. Her hair was sticking out in odd places and she was baring her teeth in frustration.
Victor let his bag slide down his shoulder and he tossed it to the side when the lady got close. She was carrying a tanto that she pulled with a jerk when she got close. The lady pointed the blade at him and tossed the scabbard to the side. Her voice was shrill and cracked when she yelled at him, “You will bring me to your master! I have some things I need to discuss with her!”
Victor lifted his hands, palm out, and tried to distance himself from the blade pointed at him, “I don't know where she is. I haven't seen her in a few days and she hasn't showed up at the dojo.”
The lady curled her hand into a fist and lifted it. She started hitting herself in the head while her frustrated frown switched into something more of anger. She let out a hiss and stopped hitting herself then met Victor's eyes. He could see all that anger was suddenly funneled to him.
She lunged forward and tried to drive her tanto through his neck. Victor leaned back and to the side, he felt the wind from the blade slide across his neck. Fast. Victor instantly knew this wasn't just some crazy lady looking for Suneya, it was probably one of Jane's old teachers trying to settle a score. He didn't think he could beat someone with that much experience in chi so he back peddled and stayed on the defensive, trying to keep from getting cut up.
Sensei had taught him a defensive technique that would let him survive the blade striking him. It still wouldn't feel good. Getting hit by a steel bat wielded by someone using chi never does in his experience. The lady followed him swinging her tanto and he started using his martial arts experience to pick her movements apart.
She brought the blade across, level with his neck trying to cut his head off. He dropped his center of gravity and rolled under the blade, feeling the wind of it brush his hair. She stepped in and brought the blade back across in a back cut. He twisted at his hips and followed the path of the blade, when he was facing her again he felt air across his back letting him know his shirt was trash.
She drove the blade forward trying to spear his chest, he stepped to the side and let us pass under his arm. She twisted the blade and cut outwards trying to take his arm off and he lifted it as he continued moving to the side. She must have been out of it pretty bad because that movement left her wide open for retaliation.
Her arm holding the sword was swung wide to her side so Victor stepped in and did what Suneya taught him. He planted his feet, twisted at the hips, swung wide and slapped the barrel. The barrel being the ladies ribs. As soon as he connected he instantly knew why Suneya told him not to hit someone with this that didn't have chi. This lady had it and he felt her ribs shift and wiggle under his blow.
The lady folded under his blow. He completed the movement of the technique and she shot off his palm and bounced down the street. Her little tanto hung in the air before dropping to the ground with a clatter of dropped steel. Victor dropped his hand and let out a sigh. He watched the lady and when she didn't move from where she had stopped rolling he bent down and picked up her tanto.
He retrieved the scabbard and sheathed the blade before looking at the woman again. He walked over to her and saw that she was breathing. That she didn't end up in the middle of the street was a godsend. He debated on calling the police but decided against it, the people she was with would probably send ninjas or something to free her and he didn't want any of the students from the dojo to get hurt.
Victor turned and walked over to his bag before reaching down and picking it up. He gave the lady one last look and then started walking home again. This time he made it home without anyone stopping him. He pushed open the door and looked around his house. When he wasn’t attacked by more ninjas he decided the lady was a one off.
He dropped his gym bag and set the tanto on the table then he reached up and ran his hand through his hair. He paused, then did it again when he felt a bald spot. He was going to have to shave his head or his brother was going to see it and never let him live it down.