Soukei Baku Episode 8: The Beginning of the End

Written By: Rasheem, MC
Soukei and Jai-Po were ready to begin their fight. No one within the academy
has ever seen Jai-Po in combat, but they were rumored that he
was the deadliest...and one of the best. For years, both clans eagerly waited
to see Jai-Po in action...they didn't know what to expect. However...
most has seen Soukei in a fight and thought he was the best...until now...
Homaru stood at the center of the ring and shouted for the match to begin.
Soukei and Jai-Po gently wrapped their hands around their swords.
Jai-Po started walking slowly toward Soukei...and then removed his hand
from the hilt of his sword. Soukei risen his eyebrow and dashed toward
Jai-Po with a smirk on his face.
"I've been waiting for this!" shouted Soukei.
When he closed within Jai-Po's melee range, Soukei unleashed his blade and
swung horizontally at Jai-Po's chest area. Afterwards, something unexpected
happened. Jai-Po stretched his left arm toward Soukei's swinging blade, and
stopped its path by using only his index finger to block the blade.
Soukei was shocked to see Jai-Po block a swinging sword with just one finger.
The students around the ring gasped at the block. No one at the academy has
ever blocked a sword with one finger. Usually when something like that happens...
the finger would be sliced off.
When Soukei's sword paused in mid-air, Jai-Po wrapped his left hand around
the sharp steel and yanked Soukei toward him. With a punishing fist,
Jai-Po drove the punch into Soukei's gut. The boy gasped at the power behind
Jai-Po's punch and lunged over. Soukei didn't expect Jai-Po to hit him as hard
like that, but this was a fight to prove who was good at what they do.
Afterwards, Jai-Po shifted behind Soukei, and delivered a harsh elbow into
Soukei's backside. The force behind the attack pushed Soukei forward, making
him stumble trying to catch his balance.
The distance between him and Jai-Po grew as they both turned around to
face each other. A slight smirk appeared on Soukei's lips.
"Not bad...Whats even more is that you didn't even use your sword yet. I was
really thrown off by the way you stopped my blade with just your finger...but
now I'm afraid I will have to add some tactic." Soukei snickered.
Osagawa grinned watching his nephew. He could imagine the look on Wu-Shin's
face when Jai-Po struck his son. Xaohu turned over to Wu-Shin to see
his reaction to Jai-Po's ability. Wu-Shin squenched his eyes and held his chin
up high.
The boys soon rushed each other yet again. Soukei used both hands to swing
his katana horizontally in the same motion he did before. This time, however,
he stopped his attack short, twirled counter-clockwise, and used the back end
of the blade to sweep Jai-Po off of his feet. Just when Jai-Po extended his
forearm out to block the swinging sword, he was caught off guard by Soukei's
change of attack. Instead, the boy attempted to sweep him off the floor.
Once the blade hit his shins, Jai-Po's body flipped through the air. Rotating in
a three-sixty degree motion, he landed on the far end of the ring. Their
distance grew larger now.
Jai-Po then realized that Soukei was also quite the adversary.
"...You changed to that tactic? Switching up your attacks in order to confuse me?
Heh...I gotta hand it to you, Soukei...that was pretty clever. But now since
you believe you can fool me, I'm just going to have to take this up a notch."
Naoki looked on at the fight...bewildered by the power behind Jai-Po's attacks.
She began to wonder if he wanted to critically hurt Soukei...
Lately, Jai-Po has been acting strange toward Soukei...but she didn't know why...
Jai-Po reached around with his right hand and withdrew his katana, now holding
the blade in a reverse angle. He pushed off of his right foot and lunged at Soukei, coming
down with a vertical sword strike. Soukei brought his blade in front of him, using
the length of the blade to block Jai-Po's attack. The sound of clinging steel ringed
in the air over the students surrounding the stage. Jai-Po lifted his left foot and
stomped down toward Soukei's knee. As his foot slammed down, Soukei was
forced to bend down just a bit, which forced his blade to lose its defense.
Jai-Po leaped in the air, flipping over Soukei and landed behind him. He dipped
low, and used his right leg to sweep Soukei from behind.
Soukei didn't exactly know what Jai-Po was planning, but instinct told him that
he tried to knock him down from below. Soukei simply jumped over the leg
sweep while turning his front toward Jai-Po. After dodging the sweep, Soukei
came down with a harsh sword strike at Jai-Po. Little did Soukei know, Jai-Po
kept his spinning momentum on the floor and came back around using both
feet as he kicked at Soukei's abdominal area, using both of his hands
as a leverage to hold his body in the air as he did so. The hit pushed Soukei back,
making the clogs he wore slide backward on the floor. Looking up, he saw
Jai-Po keeping that same momentum, as he then made several backflips on his
hands. Once Jai-Po was in range, both feet came down aiming for the top of
Soukei's head after coming out of the last backflip.
Soukei widened his eyes and was not expecting such speed. Once the two kicks
landed on his head, he slumped down on his sword which dug into the floor board.
He groaned and realized that he was beginning to lose the match.
Jai-Po landed on his feet, his back turned toward Soukei. Spinning around
counter-clockwise, the tip of his reverse blade came stabbing down at Soukei's
right shoulder. The down Amaretsu began spinning backward on his knees,
dodging the vicious stab from Jai-Po...but his adversary didn't stop at that. Jai-Po
kept coming with the same technique. Spin once, stab at his right shoulder...and
Soukei would continously spin on his knees to avoid getting stabbed.
Suddenly, Soukei found the time to rise up to his feet in time before his next dodge.
This time, Jai-Po decided to use Soukei's tactic and switch up his offense.
Jai-Po rotated his wrist, now holding his reversed blade in the regular style.
The length of the blade stretched out at Jai-Po's side. As he kept spinning along with
Soukei, the sword rapidly sliced across the wind at Soukei's abdominal area like
a whirlwind. Down below, the students looked in awe at the fight which became an
instant classic to them. Naoki shouted Soukei's name, telling him to be careful and to
watch out. At the moment, neither Soukei nor Jai-Po heard her.
Ryukaga looked on at Jai-Po and couldn't believe what he saw.
"So this is how Jai-Po fights...I see now...he doesn't fight like the rest of us...There
is something about his technique that frightens me...it's almost as if he was taught
different than the rest of us...This is why Master Xaohu kept his combat ability a
secret...Did Xaohu teach Jai-Po those moves...?" Ryukaga whispered under his breath.
After Jai-Po's blade connected with Soukei's abdominal area, blood flew off to the side, and
left a pretty deep gash across the designated target.
Soukei gritted his teeth and groaned at the pain. After the blade connected, Jai-Po
kept that same spinning momentum, this time using his right foot to kick out at the same wound
he just created. The kick only added more pain as it hit. Soukei could barely bare the pressure
on his wound. Afterwards, Jai-Po's blade came back around and sliced again across the
same wound. He did this multiple times until Soukei's feet was near the edge of
the ring. Jai-Po then stopped. By now...Soukei's entire torso was covered in blood.
Wu-Shin immediately stood to his feet and rapidly descended the stone steps down to
the ring. Soukei looked up and saw his father coming. He held the wound with his
left hand and dropped his katana at his side.
"...Argh...ugh....J-ai...po....Who...taught you those moves...?"
Jai-Po rolled his eyes at Soukei, then turned to spot Naoki who had tears forming in her
eyes. She immediately began rushing the stage in order to help Soukei. He growled...
Right before he dealt the final blow on Soukei, extending a tight fist to Soukei's face,
Wu-Shin intervened and grabbed Jai-Po's fist with his right hand. Jai-Po widened
his eyes. Wu-Shin began squeezing Jai-Po's fist, forcing the boy to
holler in pain. The match was over...and Soukei had been disqualified due to interference,
but Wu-Shin didn't care. No longer could he stand by and watch his son get
murdered.
"Soukei! Soukei!" screamed Naoki as she knelt down beside Soukei. Medics came
to escort the unconcious Soukei away. Before she followed, Naoki looked over
her shoulder at Jai-Po and then continued to follow the medics.
Wu-Shin continued squeezing Jai-Po's fist wanting to crush the boy's hand.
Jai-Po shouted in utter anguish.
"This tournament is over!" screamed Wu-Shin. "Jai-Po...what I've seen from you...are
techniques that I have not seen in nearly over three hundred years! Your style is
forbidden to ever enter any other tournament! You are expelled from this academy forever!"
"...H-Huh...? B-But..." Jai-Po was speechless.
Suddenly, Xaohu and Osagawa landed on the stage with their hands behind their backs. They
all smirked at Wu-Shin, as the old man set Jai-Po free. The boy held his hand that was
nearly crippled by the sheer force of Wu-Shin. Osagawa stepped forward.
"I don't think that will be happening. You see, Master Wu-Shin, you fail to understand that
you cannot expel someone who isn't your student. It is Xaohu's decision if he wishes
to expel my nephew. However, we all know that Jai-Po will stay here...or...he may come
with me." Osagawa smirked.
"Xaohu taught this boy techniques that has been passed down by legend! It is forbidden!
This very notion attacks the new treaty, and should never be forgiven! If he isn't expelled,
then I will take matters into my own hands!"
Jai-Po looked from side to side...confused at what they were talking about. Forbidden
techniques? a new treaty? What is going on?
Students around the ring had been dismissed and soon the entire Baku area dispersed.
Jai-Po was told to go back inside the building as well. All that was left in the Baku
were Wu-Shin, Xaohu, and Osagawa.
"You can try...Wu-Shin of the Sacred Blade." said Osagawa.
As the tension grew they all decided to disperse as well. There was something brewing
out of control here at the academy...and the battle between both clans had the potential
to spring back up again. Until the next episode of...Soukei Baku.