HA3 11.2 - Second Round

  Swish swish swish swish!

  Sw-swish!

  Swish swish swish!

  After Coach Kotaro switched to the smallest training knife, his swing became faster, more relentless, and more erratic. This kind of swing would deliver only shallow cut. It wouldn’t kill you right away, but it would slow you down, or even bleed you to death if the amount was too many and didn’t receive proper treatment in time.

  Most of all, it was very difficult to block this type of high-speed and formless swing, as Coach Kotaro could switching back and forth between conventional grip and reverse grip without pausing his attack.

  As the result, Hide was being forced into total evasive mode. He had no chance to launch counter attack. He couldn’t even see Coach Kotaro’s hand, so how he would counter his swing. Coach Kotaro also faithfully maintained deep and firm footing while chasing him like a madman.

  In a glance, it looked like it was just a matter of time before Hide received a cut or two. Yet, after four minutes of tight cat and mouse game, Hide still didn’t suffer any cut. He did indeed have to step out of fighting mat several times, but other than that he did a really good job at distance management and movement reading.

  And finally, the relentless chase came to a halt. Coach Kotaro had run out of breath. He needed some time to catch it back.

  “Hide,” Coach Kotaro said as he stepped back and maintained some distance from Hide. “Your skill to fight armed opponent won’t go to anywhere if all you do is evading my swing. Try to block it even only for once.”

  ‘Nope, no thanks, Coach,’ Hide calmly muttered.

  To launch a block, he had to stop his evasive movement. However, even if he was lucky enough to get a perfect block, he had no confidence to stop Coach Kotaro follow up attack, especially if he switched to rapid stabbing.

  In short, as soon as he stopped evading Coach Kotaro’s chase, he would either receive fatal attack or become walking mincemeat. That was not so bright of prospect.

  After taking a deep breath Hide replied, “Coach, blocking your swing is one hell of risky move.”

  “That’s the point of training,” Coach Kotaro calmly said. “Facing challenge head on and learn how to properly take a risk.”

  “Hide, don’t listen to that Old Fart,” Hayashida suddenly blurted out. “He wants you to make a rush move and give him window to bag this round. Right now, he has only one thing in his head. He has to regain his honor at all cost.”

  “Shut up, you Damnable Rascal,” Coach Kotaro vexingly said. “Don’t just randomly spit out nonsense.”

  Actually, what Hayashida said was true. Coach Kotaro really had only one thing in his head right now. He had to regain some of his honor. If his martial buddies knew he suffered a clean defeat from a newbie when he had knife in his hand, for the next several years they would use him as laughing stock every time they have drinking gathering.

  ‘I definitely can’t let that happen. I have to make the score even by bagging one round from Hide,’ Coach Kotaro muttered as he strengthened his resolve to defeat Hide by all means. “Hide, you are young. It’s fine to be hot blooded in occasion.”

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  “Shameless Old Fart,” Hayashida couldn’t help but blurted out another painful remark for Coach Kotaro.

  “Shut up, don’t disturb Hide.”

  In the end, Hayashida could only shake his head. At the same time, Hide caught the similarity between Hayashida and Coach Kotaro. The two were sore loser to the core. They were truly like father and son even though they had no blood relation.

  ‘It seems I have triggered Coach Kotaro’s fighting spirit in a wrong way, but I won’t back down. I will end this round quick,’ Hide muttered before saying, “Coach, let’s end this sparring.”

  “Hide,” Coach Kotaro said in a drop dead serious tone. “This round won’t end until one of us down in the mat.”

  “Coach,” Hide calmly said. “I don’t mean disrespect, but in long run I will win this round even though all I do is evading your swing. You are not young anymore. Your stamina will betray you sooner or later.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  After a short pause Hide said, “How about this? Throw your best swing at me. If I can catch it, it’s my win. If I can’t or move my feet to avoid it, it’s your win.”

  Big question mark instantly popped up in Coach Kotaro’s forehead. “Are you sure about that?”

  “Absolutely,” Hide firmly replied. “I have seen your swings enough. You also have slowed down a bit. I will definitely catch your wrist before your knife can touch me.”

  “I see.” After an ear-to-ear smile Coach Kotaro said, “It’s nice to be young. Reckless and brakeless, enjoy the challenge to the fullest.”

  “Yeah,” Hide said while loosened up his body and arms.

  A moment later, Coach Kotaro darted his body towards Hide. He was sacrificing his footing to enable the fastest swing he could deliver. He had no intention for follow up swing. He bet his chance to bag the round on this one single swing.

  Then, he saw Hide’s shoulder started to move, but he didn’t see he moved his arm. Then, as he launched a swing at Hide’s throat he realized something was wrong, but it was already too late.

  Baam!

  Without a warning, a round-house kick made a solid connection to Coach Kotaro’s temple. As the result, his consciousness arrived in Black Land even before his body landed in the mat with a thud. If he didn’t wear hard-headgear, the medic staff would already call ambulance before rushing in to give him first aid.

  “It seems I also bag this round, Coach,” Hide calmly said before stepping aside and gave the medic staff a room to check Coach Kotaro’s vitals.

  Hide really had no choice but to go full power with his kick. He did not only trick Coach Kotaro, but also kicked him in the head. If Coach Kotaro didn’t lose his conscious from the kick, he believed he would continue the sparring with intention to chop him for real.

  At the same time, in the edge of fighting mat Hayashida looked at Hide with complicated gaze. ‘This Little Rascal… He even has the gut to trick Old Fart as if it was nothing.’

  “Hide,” Hayashida said as Hide walked over to him. “Congrats, since the Old Fart started this gym, only you have ever bagged two solid consecutive rounds from him.”

  “Yeah,” Hide took a deep breath before continuing, “But, I get a hunch. Coach Kotaro will skin me alive next week.”

  “No, he won’t.”

  “Are you sure about that, Senior Hayashida?” Hide curiously asked.

  Hayashida gave Hide a firm nod. “He will look at you like a sulking toddler and ask you for a rematch, but he won’t do anything else other than that. He won’t even scold you for tricking him.”

  “I see.”

  “However, when you are away, he will train himself like madman, so brace yourself for the rematch.”

  “I will.” After a short pause Hide continued, “Senior, you really know a lot about Coach Kotaro.”

  “We bicker a lot, training together a lot, and eating together a lot,” Hayashida casually said. “It’s natural that I know him like my own palm.”

  “I see.” After a moment of silence Hide asked Hayashida another question, “Do you know what return gift I can bring for Coach Kotaro?”

  “Just buy him the cheapest local whiskey you can get from liquor store. He loves to use it to make Highball and ask me to make fried chicken to accompany it.”

  “Got it.”

  “But don’t buy him more than two bottles,” Hayashida said in a drop dead serious tone. “He drinks only booze he got as a gift, and three bottles a month is the limit before it can affect his health.”

  “Understood,” Hide firmly said. “And what about you and the others in the gym?”

  After a short ponder Hayashida said, “Just bring us three boxes of lemon pound cake. We eat only sweets we got as a gift.”

  “Okay.”

  After gulping down two mouthful of water Hide went back to the medic staff. Then, under the various gaze from everyone in the gym, he helped the medic staff to lay Coach Kotaro’s ‘remains’ in infirmary.

  *****