WAR #2
As he suspected, Simo blocked every shot, laughing all the time.
Nevertheless, he began changing the order of attacks, but Simo was having too good a time blocking his strikes.
Without thinking, a Kendo wrist strike came from nowhere and contacted hard against Simo’s wrist. Suddenly, Xander flew backwards and managed a sloppy back-roll from Simo’s shoulder slam.
“Hey, pussy boy, that all you got?” Simo laughed as he advanced. “Your attacks are pathetic. Halo could hit harder than you.”
Xander smiled to himself, thinking that he’d suffered her ire already in training.
“Been there, done that.” Xander laughed, then launched an attack and immediately was hit hard on the arm.
It suddenly went numb, and he was struck twice on each of his deltoids as he tried to recover.
Then his head strike at Simo’s big head missed and Xander, himself, got rapped upside the head as a result.
Even after that brutal hit, the strikes still came.
Xander raced away, holding his stinging head.
“Hey Xan, let’s make this interesting. How about if you can’t beat me, I go to your house and pay Halo a nice visit? You know, from a real Greek!”
Xander felt his rage build at that remark but kept quiet by grinding his teeth hard. He centered himself and calmed his heavy breathing.
Then Simo was all over him again. He was being pummeled by every other shot he blocked. Ribs, legs, arms were all stinging from the impacts. He began retreating again, staying out of reach of those deadly sticks.
“Looks like you lost. I’m going to go to Halo’s house and fuck her hard… maybe Athena will be there?” He laughed.
Finally, Xander snapped, “Like hell you will, malaka!”
“Who’s going to stop me, you?” Simo laughed and pointed his sticks at him.
“Fine, asshole!” Xander yelled, cocked his arm back, and threw one stick hard, spinning it toward Simo’s head.
Simo swatted it away as Xander threw the other and caught Simo upside the head.
Then Xander ran off the mat, grabbed his shinai off the wall, and sprinted toward Simo, howling like a banshee from hell.
Simo did not see the second stick flying at his head until it was too late and felt the impact across his head and face.
Next thing he knew, Xander was racing at him screaming like a madman; his shinai held high like some crazed Samurai from a crappy B movie.
He readied himself for the overhead strike, but suddenly Xander was diving, dropping his shinai into a low strike.
He barely managed to jump up away as Xander’s strike missed his knee.
He came down unbalanced. Xander was all over him, screaming and keeping him on the retreat.
His sticks came up as he desperately tried to defend against Xander’s attack.
Suddenly, his wrist was struck brutally hard and went numb, causing him to drop his stick.
Xander pressed his attack harder. Simo tried to attack back with one stick but was rewarded by a hard, ripping strike across his belly.
He dived into a roll for his second stick and managed to grab it.
As he came up, he was struck hard across the back of his shoulders.
He shrugged it off, spun, and shot to his feet, making Xander jump back.
“Come on, fucker! Let’s finish this!” Simo yelled at him.
He leapt toward Xander and was surprised when Xander didn’t back away.
Suddenly, Xander was on his knees spinning, the shinai was whipping around fast and caught Simo across the side of his knee.
He pitched forward from Xander’s hit and managed to roll away.
No sooner was he up than Xander screamed and attacked him again with a flurry of strikes.
He was managing to hold Xander at bay when, oddly enough, he suddenly found Xander spinning away from him.
He was surprised when, out of the blue, Xander’s sword arm suddenly extended full range, and the tip of Xander’s shinai ripped across his temple as if his shinai were a rapier.
With his vision blurred, Simo managed to lunge at Xander and return a strike that glanced off the top of Xander’s head.
He watched as Xander spun away with deathly determination still in his eyes.
“Come on, fucker! I said let’s finish this! I will go fuck your woman, you fucking pussy boy!” Simo howled in fury at Xander.
Simo watched as Xander smiled coldly at him, panting heavily. “Only way you are leaving here is over my dead body.”
“Now you’re talking!” Simo howled and rushed at Xander, his sticks spinning so fast they were making a whistling noise.
Xander kept both hands on the leather hilt of the shinai.
The tip of the shinai was pointing down behind him and nearly touching the floor.
He kept still as the charging giant hurled toward him.
At the last possible moment, his Kiai, or yell, was so loud that Simo’s eyes widened in surprise.
That was his opening, and he unleashed his attack at Simo.
Slashing diagonally upwards with all his energy in play, his shinai smashed into the first stick, then instantaneously into the second stick with a loud cracking noise, sending Simo’s sticks flying out of his huge hands.
Xander dived sideways, came up to his knees, and swept his shinai toward Simo’s knees.
He was prepared for Simo’s jump and came back up, delivering a vicious strike across his lower back, causing Simo to arch in agony.
Rolling away, he jumped up and advanced on Simo, keeping him away from the fallen sticks.
Even though his arms felt like lead weights, Xander began pummeling him with a flurry of strikes.
Suddenly, Simo lunged and grappled him, locking his shinai in-between them.
Together, they toppled hard onto the mats, locked together in rolling rage.
Xander felt the big man begin to roll on top of him, but he managed to jam the tip of the shinai up under Simo’s throat. Using what strength he had left, he pressed it up hard under that huge Adam's apple. Simo refused to relent as his bear hug began squeezing the air from Xander’s lungs.
Through the ringing in his ears and fading vision, he heard Simo choking on the shinai tip.
Simo was desperately trying to turn his head aside to dislodge it, all the while continuing to squeeze him to death.
With the very last of his strength, Xander drove his leg into Simo’s balls.
Simo’s grip lessened for only a moment, but Xander managed half a breath and jammed the shinai’s tip up so hard Simo’s big head was pushed all the way back.
Xander squeezed a hand out from between them and reached up.
With the shinai in his other hand still pressing up, Xander reached behind and began pulling forward on Simo’s ponytail, while driving the tip deeper into Simo’s throat.
Simo was choking on the tip of that damned shinai.
The risk of Xander crushing his hyoid bone in his throat dawned on him, and he suddenly rolled, releasing Xander and launching him off, sending him flying.
Simo was gasping for air and saw Xander rolled badly and sprawled out on his back as well, heaving in great gasps of air, watching him.
And yet Xander still had that damned shinai in hand.
“Are you boys done trying to kill each other yet?” Jessie’s voice came from the doorway.
Simo never took his eyes off Xander and waited until Xander turned to the door. Then, and only then, did he look at Jessie. Not only was Jessie there, but Eleni and Chen. Eleni was casting angry glances at him, and Chen was simply smiling.
Simo rubbed his throat and looked at Xander, who was still on his back breathing hard. Sitting up, he called over to Xander, “Now that’s how you will ALWAYS fucking fight… no more dancing bullshit. We done?”
He saw Xander nod. Then he saw Xander finally relax his grip on that damned shinai.
Jessie came over and extended her hand to Xander.
He accepted it, and with surprising strength, Jessie pulled him up to his feet.
She steadied him and whispered into his ear, “Not bad, handsome.” Then she offered her hand to Simo, who reluctantly took it and let her help him up.
Simo pointed to the onlookers. “Xan and I need to talk in private.” Simo caught Chen gesturing to Eleni, but she ignored him and kept staring at Simo angrily.
Chen leaned in and whispered something in her ear.
She nodded and let Chen direct her away.
“Ok, Boss. I’m out.” Jessie smiled and left with a wink at Xander.
Simo could see that as Jessie left and they were alone, Xander’s grip tightened on his shinai. Simo pointed at it. “You can hold on to that… if it makes you feel better.”
“I’m not sure I can trust you.”
Simo laughed. “Ah… Xan, you can. Sorry I pushed so hard… ah, about what I said, I could never ever hurt Halo or Athena, my word on my honor. That, at least, you can trust.”
Xander eyed Simo for a moment, then left the mat and put the shinai away. “Now what?”
Simo looked at the clock on the wall. “We have some time before you need to be home. Let’s talk on the way there?”
“Ok…” Xander picked up his bag, but he was too sore to put on his socks, so he simply slipped on his boots and left them untied.
He limped over to the exit and waited for Simo.
Simo led the way out and back to his car.
Xander tossed his bag in the back, and, with cramping muscles, he gingerly eased himself onto the passenger seat.
He watched as Simo just as gingerly eased himself in, too, and he felt somewhat vindicated.
Simo didn’t start the car; he turned and met Xander’s speculative gaze. “You did good. Your father would be proud.”
Simo’s comment caught him wholly off guard. “Oh… uh, thank you?”
Simo smiled. “The man who trained me when I was just starting EKAM was trained by your father…”
Xander’s mouth came open. “Oh? I—I never knew him as you did…”