~*~*~*~
I was holding my bo staff so tightly that my knuckles were starting to turn white. I can't help it, I'm freaking out right now! I've only got one more student ahead of me to do weapons and then it's my turn... and that one more student has turned out to be Hanran.
We were sitting together, waiting for the current student in the ring to finish up before Hanran went on. Hanran sat on his knees with his hands on his lap. He was very still and very quiet. I don't know how he manages to keep his cool. We found out we were all going to compete yesterday. And Akira never told us just how many people would be watching, let alone that we would perform in front of shinobi legends.
“Nigaru-San?” I asked.
“Hmm?”
“Are you nervous?”
“No.”
Silence.
Hanran only said what needed to be said, nothing more and nothing less. He had his weapon wrapped around his waist like a belt. Hanran's weapon was a kusari-gama; a sickle attached to a long chain that was made to be over fifteen feet long. Hanran always carried his weapon on him, always. The Kitsune Clan gave out weapons to their students, the bo staff I've got is really Master Kitsune's weapon. However, that's not the case with Hanran's kusari-gama; he's had that weapon on him before he ever came to the clan. At least, that's what Cassie has told me.
The student that was currently performing was using a bo staff, just like me. She was from the Jade Dragon Clan, dressed in a jade-colored uniform. Every shinobi school had different outfits with one item in common; every single student had a steel-plated headband tied around their heads.
The Jade Dragon girl looked great, in my opinion. She had strong jabs and loud shouts in her kata. Once she was done, she bowed in front of the five judges and awaited her scoring. I watched each of the elderly judges faces. They gave the girl a 9.1, 9.2, 9.1, 9.0, and 9.3. The girl bowed to them and backed out of the ring.
In just a few moments, Hanran will enter the ring. “Nigaru-San, please explain something to me,” I whispered to him.
“What?” he asked.
“How does the scoring work? The girl ahead of you had a 9.3 as her highest score, is that good?”
“That's average. The judges can give a perfect 10 as a score but they never do, because in Ninjutsu there is no such thing as perfection. 9.0 is their medium; if a student doesn't do very well and messes up or loses focus, they'll probably receive an 8.8 or 8.9, etc. If they do the kata just fine, 9.0, 9.1, 9.2 are used. If the student does exceptionally well, the upper 9's are to be expected.”
Hanran really was great at explaining things. “Thanks,” I told him genuinely. “How do you think you'll do?”
“Hanran Nigaru of the Kitsune Clan, you're up,” a judge then announced.
For a quick second, Hanran's bright green eyes winked at me. “We'll see,” he answered. He stood up and craned his neck from one side to another. He walked slowly past the red line, now entering the ring. Silence fell once again.
Hanran was a tall and lanky guy, at least 6'1”. He stood at his full height with the bored expression on his face. Surely he won't look apathetic while doing his kata. The whole point is to look passionate and fierce. Hanran reached into his pant's waistband and slowly pulled out his kusari-gama. He let the sickle end slam to the ground and held the opposite end with the chain.
The judges looked like they were impatient. All the other students who went up had bowed and shot off with their kata. Was Hanran deliberately taking his time and getting them upset? Why would he do that?
He slowly sunk down into a deep back stance, lifting the right hand that held the chain up above his forehead like a high block.
…
…
…
BAM!
I shrieked in surprise. One second Hanran was holding his pose, the next second, he exploded forward with a front flip and a swing of his weapon. Whoa!
Never in my life have I seen Hanran move so fast. He swung his kusari-gama even faster. The sickle end of the weapon slashed through the air so precisely that it made a continuous whish sound as it cut through the air. The chain blurred in my vision, it was impossible for me to keep focus on the weapon's direction. Hanran swung it expertly, yes, but there was one second when I almost had a heart attack. His sickle nearly sliced a judge, specifically the middle judge that was sat down between the others. The judge didn't flinch at this display, however the two beside him did.
I'm sure almost cutting up a judge isn't going to score you very high...
Hanran retracted his blade and held the sickle's handle in his grasp. One hand had the kama side, the other had the wrapped up chain. Hanran began to step through stances and slash his kusari-gama, now simulating a close-range attack method, versus attacking from a distance with his swings. His moves were powerful. It was easy to imagine the damage that his kusari-gama could cause.
The worst part about it, however, was the look of rage on Hanran's face. He no longer looked bored. He looked deadly.
Hanran finished up with a final slash to the body while in a front stance. Then, he paused his motions, slid back to standing up straight, and put his kusari-gama back in his belt. He did not shout out a kiai or bow to the judges. He merely nodded his head once and took a relaxed stance.
A long and agonizing minute passed. I was rocking myself back and forth, I was so tense.
Finally, the five judges presented their scores: 9.4, 9.5, 9.4, 9.5, and 9.6.
In other words, Hanran did excellently.
He backed out of the ring and was finally finished. Cassie and Luna ran over to him with big smiles on their faces, congratulating him.
“Okay, Yami,” I told myself, “you can do what Nigaru-San just did. Just believe in yourself, believe in your inner power!”
“Pfft, what a pansy thing to say. Be a man and get in that ring.”
I sighed and looked behind me. Kuroi was sneering at me. I don't want to know how long he's been standing there, I'd rather accept that Kuroi just shows up when I least want him there.
“Giving myself a pep talk isn't unmanly,” I told him.
“YamiTsuki of the Kitsune Clan, you're up,” a judge then announced.
I stood up on my shaky legs. Here I go!
With my eyes shut tight, I barreled into the ring and held the bamboo bo staff of mine out in front of me. “Judges, if you'd be so kind as to give me permission, I'd like to perform!” I announced.
The center judge (who Hanran nearly sliced with his kusari-gama) was the one who nodded. “Hai,” he answered gruffly.
I began my bo kata, stepping through front stances and striking with side of the head strikes and uppercuts. My pace was slow, I certainly wasn't the fastest one who performed. But I also kept in mind what Geisha Rose had said about kata; grace, balance, power, and focus.
I turned over to perform my next movements and nearly tripped. It wasn't just my hands that were shaking, it was my whole body. I had one little stutter in my steps... for that, a judge on the end of the line made a face of discontent.
Oh no, I've blown it.
No Yami, keep going. Finish your form!
I braced myself and reared my bo back for the final jab. With a right front kick, I landed into a right front stance and cried out, “Kiai!”
There. I was done. I returned to my relaxed stance, bo at my side, and bowed to the five judges in respect. The shakiness was still there but not quite as bad. I guess as soon as I got it over with, my body stopped reacting harshly. That doesn't do me any good!
Now it was my turn to wait the agonizing minute it took for the judges to show their scores. They looked at each other and talked amongst themselves. Their mouths moved but they talked so quietly that I couldn't hear a word.
Finally, the wait was over. The judge's scores: 9.1, 9.2, 9.2, 9.3, and a 9.0.
In other words... I scored one-tenth of a point higher than the Jade Dragon Clan student! She got two 9.1's compared to my two
9.2's. Wow, I wouldn't have guessed that.
My happiness couldn't be contained. “Thanks so much!” I beamed.
“Just get outta there,” Kuroi commented from the sidelines.
I bowed for the final time, nearly falling forward from all the excitement. Then I backed out of the ring and joined my teammates. “Way to go, bro!” Luna whooped. She jumped up and punched my arm in congratulations.
Tabby was smiling as well, “You were great, Yami-San.”
“Thank you, thank you,” I said.
Kuroi merely shook his head. “What's with all the tripping you did there?”
I stopped smiling. “Oh, you saw that?”
“Yeah, everyone who was watching saw that.” Kuroi smirked.
Tabby hit my team leader's arm. “Quit being a behind!” she exclaimed. “You did fine, Yami-San. And look, we're doing great on the scoreboard.”
Huh?
“Scoreboard?” I asked. Both Tabby and Luna pointed to the wall my back was to. I turned and saw there was a huge black board; thirteen columns, thirteen rows, and each clan's performance and scores were written in white chalk.
The Kitsune Clan currently had a total score of 93.2. We were in third place! The clan with the highest score was the Tiger Rage Clan with 94.1. We're not that far off from first place.
“I think I understand how this will work,” I told my other teammates. “They're adding up everyone's score for one final result. That was just the weapons round. Now they'll add the scores from open hand kata, too.”
Our group shuffled to the sidelines where the spectators of the event were. Once I had a chance to rest, I assessed the current situation for our team. Luna and Cassie are doing open hand kata next, then Kuroi and Hanran will fight in sparring. Akira was currently a judge and sat down in the third ring. She was watching weapons being performed with a stone face. Her face didn't change, even when she gave a girl a 9.0 score. The girl looked ready to cry.
You know, maybe I should be glad that I went first, I thought to myself.
“Hey Yami, does the tea we packed taste off to you?” Tabby asked me. She was sat down beside me and holding the box of tea that we brought from the Kitsune Clan.
“It's just decaf,” I replied.
Tabby scrunched her face up. “Decaf? What the heck! The whole point of having tea is to wake up and get a boost, why decaf?”
Before I answered, Luna ran past the two of us with her arms swinging in the air. “Hey Kaze-San, can I borrow some money?” she called out to our team leader.
“Absolutely not!” was Kuroi's shouted answer.
I looked back at Tabby. “That's why,” I said plainly.