Chapter Thirteen: The Grudge — Part 7

Jun was cautious, not knowing what to expect from an android that, however thin and feminine in appearance, could tear a hume arm from its socket with a quick snap of her wrist. Yap blocked and guarded with precision and speed, countering with careful blows that left bruises in muscles stretched over bone. Soon Jun was slow and tired, too sore to continue, worn down by eight well-placed jabs that left well-positioned charley horses just above and below all of her major joints. She could have escalated to using glyphs and more deadly moves, knowing full well that Yap could take the blows and also counter with equally devastating blows, but to do so might lead to either of them actually getting hurt. Yap allowed Jun to bow out and join the growing line of outmoded opponents, finding an old man facing her down, offering her a bamboo sword to match his own.

“Does the hairless old monkey really need to hide behind a sword?” Yap asked teasingly.

“The sword, my dear lady, is for your protection, I assure you.” Master Alon replied.

Master Alon’s smile was careful, yet crazed, and his motions cautious, as if he understood entirely the enemy that he faced. He moved only when Yap moved, striking out with deadly precision that caused looks of both confusion and surprise to mingle with varying degrees of intimacy across Yap’s face. After hitting her with close to a dozen deadly blows, Yap surrendered, placing the bamboo sword back into Alon’s hand, her smile one of considerable respect. Alon then found himself turning to face Bamboo. Bamboo was still blind, as Orchid had not solved the reactive issues associated with Bamboo’s immune system and therefore could not implant even robotic eyes into his body. Even with his bender helping out, he had taken to walking with a stick, so he could get a better sense of things close to his feet. Bamboo’s bender suit glowed with power, and Alon stood back, assessing the situation. Bamboo had not issued a challenge to anybody.

“Orchid sent me out to tell the lot of you that lunch will be served in an hour. She further expects those in the motherly way to relieve her of her baby sitting duties so she can get back to her research.” Bamboo turned to leave the training deck when he found himself under the insufferable assault of everybody but Master Alon.

Nikkei went for his leg, Jun grabbed one arm, Yap the other, leaving Joanie to scramble for his other leg. They were laughing playfully at first, but the moment passed as Bamboo, misunderstanding the event, went on the offensive. In seconds all but Yap was reeling from falls, kicks, jabs and throws whose accuracy inspired both respect and awe from his opponents. Bamboo caught Yap by the hair and knocked her across his leg, feeling around with his hands for the next attacker, who proved, much to his surprise, to be Master Alon. Bamboo found himself flat on his back, Master Alon’s bamboo sword pushed hard against his chest, pinning him to the ground.

“Tasteless, the lot of them attacking you like that.” Alon said. “I was highly impressed by the power of your response. However, I feel you are being more aggressive than is necessary for a training environment.”

“What is this? Beat on the blind guy day?” Bamboo asked, his head aching and his back screaming in pain.

Alon tilted his head. “I am sorry Master Bamboo, but you entered the training deck during practice. It would be assumed that a member of one of the five lines knows the rules of interaction during training.”

Bamboo could feel around him the painful movements of people he had injured, could feel in Alon a rise in power and focus that might lead to injury if Bamboo should continue to fight. The wood floor groaned under the weight of the people rising up and dusting themselves off, bowed physically with the force of Alon’s will.

Bamboo, lay still for a moment. “My apologies, Master Alon, but I lack familiarity with five lines drawn, cut, or scribed anywhere that would in some way be associated with me. Though I know what a training deck is, I had no idea I had stepped onto one. I’m taking lunch now, if you’ll let me have my way.”

Blue’s voice bellowed across the training field, so Bamboo could hear him. “The five ancestral lines, three hume, two android, all intertwined. As you are in the square, and as I challenge you to parlay, so must you accept my challenge. Let us see if the boy with the power can match wits with a dragon.”