Soldiers of Light, ch. 1: "Here we go again"

[Darth SS]

High guard, left jab, range out. Opening. Close, jam arm, right jab, false cross, right shovel. These were the thoughts going through Drak's mind as he sparred with his newest adversary. Normally he would ignore challenges, but the man had made a claim he could not refuse. Upon claiming that he could teach Drak how to bring an opponent off balance without tying up his hands, Drak became curious. Japan was an interesting place. It had all of the customs and tradition of France, but also seemingly had none of the irony or greed that accompanied it. People seemed to genuinely behave in a proper fashion because they felt that it was the right thing to do, not due to obligation or greed. No one's ass was kissed for sake of it, but rather respect was shown all around. This intrigued Drak more than anything. Nevertheless, he had a job to do.

"Now," said the kindly japanese man as Drak was stepping back. The man took a half step forward, stepping onto Drak's foot. A simple foot trap, he'd seen it before. Anyone else would have fallen back, but Drak brought his weight forward, and place his heel into the man's hip. With a quick push, his balance was gone.

"Thank you sir," said Drak, "Had I found you a month ago, I would have been most surprised by this technique. I regret to inform you that someone else has already demonstrated that technique to me." There was a faint murmur amongst the small crowd, so Drak felt compelled to keep talking. "I thank you very much for your time and wisdom." He bowed deeply, as seemed to be customary in this part of the world. Quickly, he gathered up his cane, put his shoes back on, and put on his coat. No sense dallying about. Upon slinging his bag over his shoulder he dusted off his pants with a quick pat, and continued on his way. He had been edge of the village, so it did not take long to break into the forest.

Farther down the path, he could see a gentleman he had seen a few times. Kura-something was his name. Drak had not seen much of him, but one experience stood out. They had been in a tavern where a skirmish had broken out. While Drak had used his cane to defend himself, Kurama had drawn a very unique sword. He struck with the flat of the blade, until a group had thrown a table at him. Kura-sumthinerother had clove the table in two without pause. Since that event, Drak had been overcome with curiousity as to the origin of such a blade.

Before his eyes, a figure spontaneously attacked Kura-watzisname, teleporting in doing so. Curious to see how he would respond to such random agression, but also too far away to do much, Drak slowed his pace.