Everything is Martial Arts

Kiru stopped once the conscious martial artists indicated their dojo. The journey to the dojo was leading them closer and closer to the outskirts of the island. The track became uneven, the buildings and outlets more and more irregular as well as the quality of infrastructure dwindled with it. When he could finally see the dojo, it's run-down motif came as no surprise to him. There were three simple shed-like buildings, with limited paint and decals. In the front of the complex were a pair of wooden stumps, aloof from the buildings. Kiru only noted that it was significant because the leading martial artists commented on and observed it amongst themselves with clear sadness and shame.

They began to call out as they approached, eventually finding help and assistance in other Martial Artists with the same uniform as they had. The martial artist rushed over to Kiru, still carrying the unconscious fighter over his shoulder and they assisted him to the ground. Some began to administer first aid while the crowd grew. Eventually a leading elder in a similar but slightly more regal uniform approached them. The eyes of the students tracked the elder. Kiru could assume the man must of been the leading authority of the dojo as he walked with presence.

"What happened to him?"

"Master, forgive us!" pleaded one of the students, they both dropped to their knees and bowed their heads. The other did the same at the same time.

"W-we tried to win back our banner! We were just so desperate! The Crane school... they're the ones that beat Hideo. This good people stepped in to help us!" The elder paused, glancing up at Axel and Kiru. In his address he noted their clothes and Kiru's weapon.

"Outsiders." He labelled with a level of dismissal in his voice. "My students my have caused you some trouble and I thank you for saving them from any further harm, but if you knew the rules of this land you would have done well to mind yourself. Leave. Now." expressed the Master in a matter-of-fact manner.

Axel would look on with suprise as they got into the more and more desolate of the areas. Wondering why the dojo was in such a bad part of town, though soon when they reached the dojo and he saw them look on in shame he remembered his own past and accommodations. This caused him to look on sadly though he tried to hide it, he didn’t want them to know how he felt because it could make them feel worse.

Eventually he saw them carry the boy the later find out to be called hideo inside causing Axel to sigh with relief. He considered leaving then and there to go visit that tournament again but eventually realized that would be rude. Soon though the elder came out and addressed them, after he thanked them and basically told them to scram.

So Axel would smile and say “ well happy we could help, see ya then” now that he was told to leave he could without being rude so he would start to walk away. Now he could finally get back to what he was doing, hopefully he wasn’t to late and could go back to that awesome looking tournament he saw.

Kiru glanced at Axel, understanding that the man would make his exit. Kiru had every intention of doing the same, but was more mindful as to keeping his profile low and inoffensive. There was a learning moment here.


He asked. The Master turned back to Kiru, surprised that he was still there or even bothered to asked.  He looked back to his students again.

"Your heart was in the right place, but this island is governed by rules different to that of the mainlands. Truly, my student may have died without your actions, but he would have died in a fight he started. He was challenging another dojo spurred on by a heart as ignorant as your own, by the rules of this land, to die in combat in perfectly legal. More than likely they simply would have killed these three and claimed that they would not yield. You interrupted and official battle, with a weapon no less. That's enough to warrant you a criminal in the eyes of the wrong judge. Not everything you seeing will sit well with you, outsider, but if you don't understand, you shouldn't interfere... even if I am grateful you did."


Kiru took a knee at the feet of the master.

Kiru requested.

Meanwhile...

As Axel was travelling back towards the city, he would have noticed a large troupe of people walking in the opposite direction, they were wearing the same uniform as the bullies he challenged earlier and they were walking with purpose in the direction Axel was just coming from.

Axel would be leaving eager to see and possibly participate in the fights going on when he suddenly sees the crane school approaching. This makes him curious, he wonder if there going to try to push them into a match. Because of this he figures it wouldn’t be a problem to just watch to see how things progress. He immediately heads back to watch and see if they just attack or if they actually challenge them, he figures if they just attack then that gives him legal ground to help and the elder wont get mad.

As he heads back he makes sure to loop around and sprint, since would look suspicious if he just went back the way he came. If he arrived there before the crane school by sprinting he would inform them that a large group of crane school people are on the way.

Though if he arrived after them he would just stand there and watch to see what they do.

He hoped he would be able to intervene and that his reason was good enough. Though he couldn’t know for sure, all he knew was he really wanted to fight here.

Before the Master could make heads-or-tails of Kiru's request his experienced eyes strained at an emerging mass approaching. Before he could even decipher what was approaching, his instincts kicked in.

"They're coming!" he replied, tapping at Kiru's shoulder. Kiru turned round, seeing the same approaching mass. If not for the Masters words he wouldn't have had a clue who it was.

"I'll leave if you want," suggested Kiru.

"No. It's too late. If they find one, they'll find you all. They'll make sure you're criminalised before sundown.

"Then what would you have me do?" asked Kiru. "Just turn Myself in?"

"Hide young one, along with the students you brought back.  Yami! Ten! Help him escort the others to the barracks!" ordered the Master. Two of the students stopped looking up the street, bowing respectfully to their leader and helped their wounded brothers up. Kiru did the same for the unconscious one and the all went to hide. They were holed up in the sleeping area. Kiru was greeted by the sight of modest barracks and mattress. It was as bleak and shanty as the exterior led him to assume.

---

The incoming troop eventually marched to the boundary of the Turtle dojo lands, the beginning of a humbly tilled path in the dirt that trailed with meanders to the door of the main hut some tens of feet away. As they reached this event horizon, the troop rearranged themselves at the waving hand of the leading figure. They arranged into files of five, standing to attention as an army. Similarly, the turtle school stood in a similar formation, but their numbers and stature was pitiful by comparison. Kiru was keeping an eye on proceedings from the pane-less window.

"...That's the Crane school." explained a voice from the far corner. Kiru glance back at the student who spoke.

"...They outnumber you," remarked Kiru flatly, although with a sense of tongue-in-cheek.

"They out everything us. And they never let us live it down. You picked a really bad day to ask to join, and an even worse way of introducing yourself, but as a thank you, I won't bore you with the details."

"Since we'll be here awhile..." replied Kiru before slinking down agaisnt the wall to face the student. "...Bore me with it all."

---

The head of the Crane school began to walk forward, mirrored by the Master of the defending Crane school. As they approached each other, the head of the Crane School glances to the 2 wonky, broken wooden posts and smirked knowingly, reminiscing on what used to be there. The two stopped less than a couple of feet from each other. The Master palmed his fist as a gesture of respected and gave a brief bow. The Head put his hands behind his back and stood more erect than before, clearly in defiance.

"You refuse to bow in the presence of a fellow Grand Master?" remarked the Master.


"A seasoned warrior as you are, flippancy to tradition only disrespects yourself." rebutted the master, rising to stand tall with his hand behind his back, folded into his long sleeves. The Head did the same.


"I ordered no such thing."


"...Yes. They will be reprimanded for their actions, I assure you. Thank you for showing mercy and restraint. I would wager the wounds of their defeat do well to chastise them until they are fit enough to be punished." replied the Master, wisely trying to persuade his counterpart to take the compliment and ceased the imminent tirade. The Head laughed.


"That is quite the account-" began the Master.


"I know the honesty of mine. Foolish as they might be, the Turtle School Students abide by the Anti-Kumite rule of this school. They would not challenge nor accept a battle to the death... Surely it hasn't been so long since you graced these halls that you forgot that?" jabbed the Master.


"Have you not already had your fill? You have the banner. In mere weeks you will have it all." chastised the Master with narrowed eyes.


"You mistake pity with pain,"

.

"And think you will marched through here and drag them out to do so?" tested the Master.


Hearing only the countdown, Kiru by this point was looking around, eyeing a washing line out the window.

Axel would arrive to late causing him to softly curse under his breath, this was a really unpleasant turn of events, he hoped to warn them, but He couldn’t now. Because of this he would have to be watching patiently, it seemed like they were going to attack either way, but he didn’t want to move in to help till he was sure his presence wouldn’t make things worse.

He figured he could wait till they started attacking then move in after all he couldn’t let them get slaughtered. Plus he doubted it would get worse then total annhilation for them so him helping would either have no effect and they get annihilated anyway or his presence would help.

Axel really wanted to fight but he had to be careful, if he broke there laws and had the navy come after him he could be in big trouble. He also had no idea how strong these people were and as much as he wanted to test his strength, he couldn’t be stupid and just run off into battle especially when both sides may attack him at some point here.

The two students awake in hiding nervously waited, unsure of what the countdown truly meant, but figured it was for them to turn themselves in before something bad happened. One of them looked to their unconscious friend and then to the spot Kiru had been hiding in, noting that Kiru was no longer hunched against the wall.




"No! he's" pleaded the Master



"Technically... since last month." explained Kiru, looked to the Master. His gaze caused the Head to do the same. The Master didn't miss a beat, collecting himself as if he had been found out.

"He is an exchange student, come to learn hand-to-hand combat. We are trying to build funding through such programs with schools outside the island."


"...It's mad cheap. Why else." replied Kiru, drying a brief side-eye from the Master. The Head blinked twice before nodding.


"Either way- as a student of my school he does not class as outside interference. I didn't even know he was here yet. But this witch hunt is unnecessary. I implore you master to master that this misunderstand be settled in peace." urged the Master. The head narrowed his eyes glancing back and forth between the Master and Kiru.


"There was another student meant to come with this young man. He may have escorted the others to the hospital," lied the Master. The Head closed his eyes, his brow furrowing as this excuse seemed more and more plausible.


"...Then let us have a challenge and settle this with our fists in the ring as artists," insisted the Master. "Once and for all, two weeks from today." The Head sneered as a most devious plan manifested to the forefront of his mind.


"Yes... fine. HOWEVER - if the Turtle School is victorious... then you give back our banner, and before the council of Grand Masters you are to vouch that our schools be sister schools, never to come to arms ever again under any circumstances." replied the Master. The head wafted a hand flippantly.

Axel would be watching carefully hidden as the whole thing played out, the scene seemed crooked from the start. He recognized that the stranger appeared in the dojo as the swordsman but was shocked and worried about how things were playing out, this whole trip was turning out to be far more trouble then he originally anticipated. Though he figured he would have to in the end help out , after all it was the least he could do since this was his fault for stepping in even if it should’ve been considered justified. This whole situation stunk he figured or at very least hoped  they were lying, though couldn’t know for certain, it didn’t seem like a match to the death when he approached and he couldn’t really call the students out on lying.  

After listening to the whole thing he would wait till the crane school was gone, then approached the master and say “ hey i saw what just happened since its my fault for intervening i would be happy to help with my match but from what i saw it didn’t seem like a match to the death so why couldn’t you just say they were lying?” After that he would wait for the masters response and say “ so how do you plan on winning the match? If you couldn’t beat them before how will two weeks help?”

The master had no time to chastise Kiru before Axel declared his return with intrigue and questions. Before answering the Master looked back and forth between Kiru and Axel.

"Rules and tradition. They are the hallmark of all culture, both good and bad - even the ugliest. This is a country where local represent the banner not of houses, or jobs, crews or flagships, but of your dojo." Kiru took the moment to glance down at the Turtle insignia on the apparel he picked up. "Any challenge that cannot be proven outside of word of mouth is settled in the ring, with witnesses, rules and a means of claiming justice. In any system of law the guilty can be cleared of crimes and the innocent punished without sin. At least this way, only 5 of my students are at risk. Even if the odds seem insurmountable, even you 5 have a chance." explained the Master. He closed his eyes and thought pensively. Kiru understood it was elaborate, and very roundabout in manner, and relied on ability over logic to settle the dispute, but also appreciated that maybe the point wasn't about deciding a winner, but limiting the cost and expense of gaining a decision. If a duel or challenge such as this couldn't take the place of actually proof or evidence, then in the absence of inarguable evidence anything was valid. "...However, the other three are injured, having only two weeks to recover never mind prepare. I am grateful that you would honour the exhibition and appear, but I cannot in good conscience allow you to be lambs to the slaughter if my students are not even fit to compete. I have no plan, young one. I just have a chance."

Kiru had already declared his interest in joining the school, but considering how poorly his match with Axel went, he appreciated how likely he was in for an uphill battle, especially if he would be called upon to defend the dojo in just two weeks with whatever unarmed combat expertise he could muster.

Axel would listen to everything the master said and reply “that doesn’t sound like a very good way to settle things you then have weak schools like yours being picked on strong schools like the crane. “ he then listens to the rest eventually hearing the end and saying “ couldn’t we just fight our matches then sneak out after the match is over? That way even if the outcome would send everyone to jail we would be gone and you would only have to loose three members and can just say we snuck away?”

He would then wait for a response from the old master. He really didn’t want to see them go to jail but the master was right, it didn’t seem likely they were going to win and he wasn’t ready to go to jail just yet. Axel sat there pensively thinking wondering what they could do to shift the odds in there favor. There had to be a way and he intended to find it. Though sadly even if he could sneak away after the match it wouldn’t help the rest of the students, he wondered if the crane school planned this to happen from the start.

"You have accepted the challenge to defend the honour of this school, I can do no less than explain properly what is happening. This, the Turtle School of Martial Arts is seen as a relic of a bygone era. There were times when Martial Arts were so respected that taxes and government spending was distributed to Dojos to keep them funded. In return, Martial Arts was a free yet noble life choice to the people of this island and those that choose to visit. As times changed, so did the hearts of the people, and Martial Arts were no longer suitable to be government funded, and each Dojo needed business models to keep them afloat. The ways an manners by which the successful Dojo's flourished changed drastically to what it is now. My former master was one of the few hold-outs, a spirit he kept alive from his master before him, and he before that. As you can see, the way of thinking was good for people, but the establishment suffered. My Master grew terminally ill before his time. His son, groomed to take over the mantle, begged his father to rescind the way of old, so that at least the Dojo he gave his life for could live on. The Master knew the truth; that the beauty of life is it's temperance; that it is better that the Dojo die, but the legacy live on in tact as a place whee martial arts came before money. Seeing that his son would not head his words, my Master bequeathed the dojo in his will to me. His son... went on to create the Crane School of Martial Arts!" explained the Master while stroking his pristine white beard. Kiru breathed silently but deeply, realising why the Head of the Crane school clearly had his vendetta for this struggling, modest dojo.

"Because of that, I cannot sneak away if we lose this challenge. This may be the last days of my Dojo, my kindred; my way of life. I will see to it that until the very end, the sanctity of what this Dojo has always stood for will be recognised." he added, looking directly at Axel.



Insisted Kiru, stepping forward and taking off his tunic, which was too big for his size. The Master shifted his gaze to Kiru with delay, but nodded.

"...Very well. Two weeks is not enough time to teach you the Turtle School Style of martial arts, so I will focus solely on elements that will enhance the martial arts you already have. Yami! Ten!" explained the Master. At his call, the two students Kiru recognised from earlier reappeared. "You will each have a quick spar until I call yeild. Swordsman, you will go second with Ten. Yami, you shall go  first with...?"

Axel just stared on solemnly he didn’t really care about the history and he never asked about it though he guessed if he was going to be told it anyway it would be rude to ignore it. Plus it could come in handy later, so he casually waited till it was over as he listened in. After the story was finally finished he realized he misunderstood his question so he was about to correct him when he announced the person he was fighting.

Axel would then get ready to fight the man he would then start to circle around him casually in no formal stance. The moment he would see the man attack he would activate his muscle barrier technique to block the attack.

He would then quickly counter with a upper cut. If the man clearly wasn’t going to attack after the second time axel circled around he would try to charge him then feint with a punch to see how he would react. He was curious how this person fought and how strong he would be.

Yami did as instructed and the Master called for the fight to begin. Yami circled with Axel, having very conflicting feelings. On the one hand, as a student of the school, he was excited to help exhibit the strength Axel showed in saving them as he did genuinely believe Axel would be a great help. On the other hand, as a warrior he didn't want to concede ground to him just out of convenience. That was drowned out by the presiding thought of how open Axel's stance was. It seemed ill-practiced, noncompetent.

Finding his focus to hope for Axel success while trying his hardest to stand in the way Yami did a practised charging punch at Axel. It was an initiation he had confidence in and should be something Axel as a competent fight should not yield to in one hit. To his shock and that of the on lookers, his fist fluttered against Axel's chest like he had just punched into water, feeling not quite a solid impact nor a complete free mass. It was followed by an impact against his jaw that sent him to the ground. He shook off his addlement as quickly as possible to see Axel lining up another punch at him. Yami, not sensing the time to dodge completely, compacted his form and went into a high defensive stance.

Kiru noted that the uppercut Axel gave Yami didn't seem quite as quite as the one he felt earlier that day, and he'd assume not as powerful either. While the other students became enamoured with Axel's unique moves and skills, Kiru turned to look at the Master, noting that he was nonplussed.

Axel would notice the mans surprise at his fighting style though because he received no formal training he had no way of knowing anything other then what he taught himself from his training fighting wolves, bears, and other beasts. When the fist connected he felt a small throbbing sensation where the attack hit and took note of the relative force behind it.

Making sure to remember so could judge later attacks, after he lands his uppercut and attempts his next attack he sees him go into a defensive stance. Since he wasn’t one to wait for him to leave it he attempts to grab and throw him to the side to break the guard,  being careful to watch to see if he tries to attack.

He was pretty sure he could win this question was how hard would it be to win? He was pretty sure this was all just to see how he fought so the master could judge him and hopefully help him get stronger. He then just had to win the match they had planned.

Yami all of a sudden felt the clasp of Axel's hand give him a tilt-a-whirl as his feet left the ground and were raised above his head. With a thud Yami hit the floor. Yami rolled to his feet and took a step advancing towards Axel.

"Enough." called the Master, waving an outstretched palm. Yami paused and looked to the Master. The Master gave him a silent nod. Yami returned the gesture before looking to Axel and taking a respectful bow.

"Thank you for the fight. Your style is really hard to get to grips with. I hope to spar more with you in the future!" Yami exclaimed with a smile. Yami then stepped away from the fighting area to an applause from the other students.

Axel would watch as he got up quickly and then started moving towards him, he would quickly get into position to take the punch and counter when the master ends the fight. Then axel sees his opponent bow so he bows as well, he starts wondering why the fight was canceled so fast but figures it’s better this way so that they both are at full strength for the upcoming tournament.

He then hears his opponent start talking and thank him so he replies “your welcome and I appreciate the compliment i also look forward to sparing with you again some other time.” Axel then leaves the fighting area with his opponent as the other students applaud them he then sits down and waits for the next match, which he assumes is the man with the swords. He wonders if he will be able to fight without his swords this time since last time he did horribly without them.

He wonders how he is going to fight in the tournament if he has no idea how to fight without his swords. If he can’t fight still that means that he will most likely have to sneak out of the arena after his match with the men

The Master turned to Ten tentatively. Ten merely glanced back before entering the ring. Kiru watched the martial artist move and did the same, stepping into the fight area.

"Begin!" commended the Master. Ten, wanting to learn from the mistakes of his brother in arms, chose not to hesitate and advanced directly to Kiru with a cocked arm. He only made it two steps before he realised that Kiru had already dashed into his face. The speed with which Kiru move was significantly faster that Axel, to the point where only the Master had the eyes keenly trained to register Kiru's sudden movement. Ten was looking down at a crouched, poised Kiru while mid step and found he had to course-correct his attack. He arced his hand down into a chop to sink into Kiru's head. Kiru bounded forward, slipping through the chop and passed Ten. He priming his hand straight to simulate the edge of a blade and swung out in a spin at Ten's back._[1]

Before he could complete the chop, his wrist was grabbed firmly by the Master and held in place. Kiru noted the power of the Master, firmly able to grip his wrist so contently, as well as the speed to get into that range and the precision and technique with which the Master caught his wrist. The Master was clearly formidable, even to a martial arts novice like Kiru; this was honed ability and technique on display.

Ten turned round, doubly perplexed by the fact the Master was now in the fighting area but also that he seemingly saved Ten from Kiru's strike.

"I... I didn't even see it." murmured Ten.

"Enough," commented the Master passively before letting go of Kiru's hand. Ten's shame and embarrassment was etched on his face. He bowed nonetheless.

"I still have a lot to learn. Thank you for this spar." Ten expressed while bowing to Kiru. Kiru placed his hand in his palm as he did earlier in the day with Axel and bowed back.

"Axel - your fighting style is unorthodox, but lacks discipline and complete thought. Your best opportunity is a quick, relentless offence to decide a quick victory, yet you attack with hesitancy, continually watching your opponent's next move, giving them a chance to acclimatise to your rhythm and style. If I did not stop the match when I did, your lack of focus on your next decision as opposed to your opponents would have been your downfall." The Master said as he approached the young brawler. "Your training will be centred on making sure you call to action rather than just reaction and dictate the fight to suit yourself."

"Kiru - Your movements show training and discipline and your have considerable raw ability. Even more so than Axel, you would have lost within 5 seconds if I did not interject." explained the Master, turning to Kiru. "Even though your body and mind are in sync to a battle style, it hinges on you drawing your sword. Your spacing and timing necessitate extending your reach beyond that of your limbs with your weapon. That strike had your full power behind it and you were still 2 paces out of range of Ten. You would have missed. You don't have the experience of swinging that arm in battle without being weighted by your sword. You would be fighting your own body as well as Ten to compose yourself to move or guard. It would have been a destructive cycle. Two weeks is not enough time to adapt those in-built muscle memory for range and reach. No matter what, you will be fighting from an uncomfortable position without your sword. Your training will be to mentally prepare you for that.

Techniques Used:

Axel watches the match unfold and sure enough kiru had the same problem as before, though he was clearly pretty fast. Hopefully with speed like that he would be able to eventually win the match they had later on. Whats more interesting though is how fast the master of the dojo appeared to be. Though he was curious why he grabbed him to stop the match, if it wasn’t going to hit why does it matter? He eventually shrugs off the strange matter and listens to what the master has to say about both of them.

He soon hears about how he was to hesitant which didn’t make much sense to him since it seemed he would seem normal to do so to prevent taking damage. Though he wasn’t going to argue with the master on this particular issue he just had to figure out how to do what the master asked while still avoiding taking to much damage. After the master is done talking he decides to ask “ why stop the match the way you did with kiru?”

He pauses for a second before continuing “ You stated the attack never would’ve hit because he was fighting as if with a sword so why not just stop the fight the way you did with me to prevent him from loosing?” He then decided to wait there till the master told them where and how they would be training as well as answering his question.

The Master walked away from the stage area, waving a hand to his students, who dispersed back to their chores and training. He glanced to Axel as he asked his question. Kiru's eyes followed the master and he slowly and quietly nursed his wrist gripped in the iron vice of the Master's deft hands.

"Kiru's movement of his left arm is slightly move forcefully and aggressive than his right. Being left handed, it's probably the arm he uses to wield his sword. By now, the sword acts as a counter-balance weight in his hand. Without it, that swing he made probably would have dislocated his shoulder." replied the Master. Kiru listened, amazed as he was spurious of the Master's words. It was a leap for Kiru to accept the Master could deduce that much information about Kiru's patterns just from the way he attempted to make one strike. "In the end, this was only an exhibition for me to see how capable you both were. I did not need any more time seeing Kiru than what he displayed." explained the Master. "Look to the barracks, your uniforms should be ready. The training will be long a gruelling. I do not think you will survive... I expect you to succeed." he finished.

Axel looked on curiously as the master explained what would’ve happened. When he found out he was truly surprised It was truly a interesting deduction, he wondered how the master was able to tell. Regardless it was truly a amazing feat, after he was done explaining what the exhibition was for he mentioned the barracks and told them their uniforms are there.

Axel smirked saying “training where you may not survive is what I specialize in” though in retrospect he did wonder would happen if they would get injured during training. Normally it wouldn’t be a problem but if they had to fight soon it would take away from training time and worse they wouldn’t be at peak condition for the fight. Once he was done saying that axel went over to the barracks to go get changed and see if they were supposed to start their training there.

Once he arrived he would quickly put on his uniform then look around to see if he could find out where and how to train. If he couldn’t find it in the barracks he would head outside to search. If he found out where and how to train he would start right away.