Blades of Death

Chapter 5

"What happened?" Khizo asked, looking at Kota.

"I got my wife killed." Kota replied, sinking his face.

"What did you do?"

"My birthplace is the city of Hotho. And when I was moving from Hotho to here, we were attacked on our way by bandits. But they weren't any match against me. Yet, when I drew out my sword to kill them, I hesitated. I couldn't bring myself to kill them. So I just tried to hold them off, but one bandit got to my wife and.... " Kota started sobbing.

Khizo looked at Kota, stunned. The sight of such a strong hardened man crying made him feel uncomfortable.

"So you hesitate a lot in killing someone. And yet, you own a fighting school?"

"I know everything about fighting. I was trained by the bravest warrior ever - Brojok. He liberated the people of Hotho from the injustice of its king. My family too was killed by that cruel king. So, Brojok took me in with the rebels. He trained me very well. But when the time for battle came, I couldn't bring myself to do it." Kota said, wiping his tears

"And what about your mentor now? Is he still alive?"

"I guess so. After liberating the people of Hotho from the injustice of the king, he crowned another person as the king and then went away from Hotho. He said he will bring justice to every other place. That's why he began to be known as 'The Injustice Slayer'. I haven't seen him in five years but he had sent me a letter eight times in these years. So, I guess he may still be alive."

"I'm sure he's still alive and someday he'll come to meet you as well." Khizo said, patting Kota's back. He then started going down the ladder.

"Oh, and Khizo," Kota called out making him stop in the middle of the ladder, "Your training begins tomorrow. Be ready at dawn."

"I will." Khizo promised, going back inside the house. Though it wasn't very late, Khizo decide to lie down on his bed. He had to wake up very early the next day.

However, his mind was filled with multiple thoughts and emotions waiting to explode as soon as he went to lie down. Tears started coming out of his eyes again. He had lost everything that day. And most importantly, he had lost his brother.

But he wasn't going to give up on Cloris yet. The wounds on Cloris's heart, he knew, would heal after some time. Then he can go and apologize to him.

He finally concentrated on calming down his thoughts and finally was able to accomplish sleep.

His eyes didn't open until Kota shook him awake.

"Today is a big day, Khizo. Get ready."

This time, Khizo didn't had to drag him up from the bed. There was a fire burning inside of him, which gave Khizo a new strength.

Within seconds, he was up. He got himself refreshed, wore a new pair of cloth and then went to the compound where Kota was waiting for him.

"In a few hours, my students will come. And when they come, you can't show your face because your wanted posters are all over the city."

"I will take care of it." Khizo assured.

"So, get ready then." Kota said, handing him a wooden sword. It was shaped just like a normal sword, but made of wood rather than metal.

Khizo held the sword with both his hands.

"You're doing it wrong. Hold it with one hand."

Kota said. Khizo immediately corrected himself.

"Good. So now you should remember that quickness is the most important part of sword fighting. You should master your quickness so much that the sword should feel like natural extensions of your arms." Kota instructed. "And now, let's have a dual. Attack me."

"What?"

"Attack me."

After a hesitation, Khizo charged at Kota but Kota defended the attack. He then spun around and gave Khizo a light hit on his waist.

Kota then attacked again, but this time, Khizo managed to deflect the attack with his sword. Kota gave Khizo a smirk and then went full aggressive on him, giving him blows continuously. Very soon, it turned from a duel to Khizo barely managing to defend the hits. Kota finally managed to hit him once more on his shoulder.

"Let's stop now." Kota said panting.

"So, you see," Kota said between his breaths, "If you're quick, you dominate the battle."

"I got it. I need to be really swift."

"Yes." Kota agreed, "And now I'll teach you to block properly."

And then, without saying a word, Kota charged at Khizo with all his power. In a reflex, Khizo managed to dodge it, but in the process, his sword went flying away from his hands.

Kota picked up the sword and handed it back to Khizo. "You need to hold the sword more firmly."

Khizo tightened the grip on his sword. When Kota attacked again, the sword didn't went flying away from his hand.

"Now, you'll listen to my commands and react to them." Kota instructed. Khizo nodded.

"Attack me." Kota commanded, and Khizo charged at Kota, continuously delivering strikes to Kota which he managed to defend. Kota however, didn't try to counter the attacks of Khizo.

"Don't attack at one spot, attack everywhere to confuse me."

Khizo did as he was told, attacking at different spots until he managed to hit Kota on his arm.

"Good job. Let's begin it one more time."

This time, Kota didn't kept on defending the attacks.  He also attacked Khizo.

"Attack. Attack. Defend. Defend. Defend. Attack. Defend."

The training continued for two hours without any break and when Kota finally decided to stop the training, both of them were out of breath and drenched in sweat.

"You have becomefastt with the wooden sword. But the actual sword will be a lot heavier than that. Now my students are coming and they cannot see your face. So you'll stay inside and practice attacks with a real sword." Kota said.

He handed Khizo a sword made of metal. Khizodidn't neededd Kota's warning to deduce that it was very sharp. When he lifted up the sword, he was barely able to handle the sword in his hand. It was so heavy for him.

"You need to strengthen your muscles. Practice with this sword this time. Your hands will grow more powerful then." Kota said.

"I will. Thank you so much for all of this." Khizo said, going inside the house.

He entered his room and pulled away his bed to make some space. Then he began his practice. Striking at the air with the sword.

It was an exhausting task. Khizo had to give his hands some rest continuously. However, he slowly grew more accustomed to the sword. Slowly and slowly, it began feeling light in his hand.

By the evening, Khizo could handle the heavy sword quite well. Though, he still needed more practice before he could fight with the sword as comfortably as he could with the wooden sword.

Suddenly, Kota entered his room.

"You training well?" he asked.

"Yes, it's not much difficult for me to handle this sword now." Khizo said

"Good, so let's call off the training for today. I've prepared the food." Kota declared, going out of the room.

Khizo followed him out of the room. Two platesthene kept on the table in front of him.

Khizo sat down on the chair opposite to Kota and started eating the food in silence.

"I am satisfied with your progress for the day. You're a quick learner. I'm sure you have inherited the gift of sword fighting from your father." Kota appreciated. 

"Tell me some more about my father." Khizo requested.

"Your father was the bravest man after Brojok that I've ever seen. He alone had once faced thirty soldiers and came out victorious in the battle. He was brave, highly skilled, agile and clever. He had all the qualities of a warrior."

"I wish I can turn out as great as my father."

"You will, Khizo. Maybe even better." Kota said. "Anyway, tomorrow will be the same practice as today. After that, I've decided to close my school for five days and focus only on you."

"But you don't have to do it."

"Khizo, you're facing something very powerful. If you want to survive, I'll have to." Kota said. "Now go to sleep. Tomorrow is another tiring day."

Khizo took one final bite, finishing the food and then got up from his seat. 

"Good night, Kota." he wished as he headed straight to his room.

Once again, thoughts flooded his mind as he decided to lay down on his bed. But today, he was feeling excited. The fire was still burning inside him, giving him strength and determination. A fire that could even make The Great Alliance tremble.