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18
‘The moment in between what you once were, and who you are now becoming, is where the dance of life really takes place. Dare, dream, dance, smile, and sing loudly! And have faith that love is an unstoppable force.’
Paul was on his way home after going to the home of the Viper killing them at a spot. He was a very good in guns. He was alone and was on barefoot. He had ordered his men not to follow him and didn’t take any of his car with him.
He decided to take the shortcut to his house and thus followed the forest route. The noise made by the owls and animals kept increasing in the forest but he wasn’t bothered by it.
He was walking, not making a noise, when he noticed a slight movement not far from where he was. A dark shadow was moving fast across the trees, jumping from one to the other. Paul saw it and something in him pushed him into following the dark shadow, just like the dark shadow, he was moving speed.
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Eric was on his way home when he sense someone following him.
He always follow the forest route to his house. It was the shortest way to reach his home quick.
He turned to look behind him but he couldn’t see anything. He continued his walking but stops when he heard a noise behind him. He stopped and managed to block a sharp shaped small star piece of metal thrown towards his direction.
It was a gloomy night but Eric could see perfectly around him. He wasn’t surprised when a single lone figure landed at his front from one of the trees surrounding them. He knew immediately who it was.
“Ivan what has come into you, why do you want to kill me?” Eric asked slightly confused by his act.
“I have been ordered to kill you by master.” Ivan thick baritone voice replied and pulled out his sharp sword from its sheath. Even the thick night couldn’t hide the long shining sword. “You only have two minutes to live Eric, prepare to die.” He added after he swung his sword sideways in a show off.
Eric pulled out his own sword in fear. Scared? Yes, he wasn’t as strong as Ivan. But he won’t die like a coward, he will fight to his last breath.
Ivan had always give a time of death to his opponent before he strikes. He normally keeps to it.
Going into his fighting stance, Eric waited for Ivan to attack him first which he did.
He barely dodged Ivan’s sword thrust when he felt a sharp pain below his stomach. Ivan had used the hidden knife he normally carries to cut deeply into his stomach when he was dodging his sword.
Ivan was amongst the Nine Fingers, normally called Nine. The Nine Fingers are Nine strong assassin which were trained specially by their master. They were faster and more deadly. The lesser assassin’s, like Eric, stands no chance against them in terms of swordfight. They were very fast in their movement and with their swords.
Eric slowly dropped his sword and held his stomach in pain as his blood kept pouring out like river.
Ivan stood in front of Eric who was bleeding profusely from the cut in his stomach. “You have one minute more to live Eric.” He said and raised up his sword in slow motion. “Good bye Eric.”
The wound has weakened him and so Eric closed his eyes to welcome the final blow from Ivan which will end him.
He waited for the last strike as he counted the seconds that would complete one minute, but the strike he was expecting didn’t come. He heard a clanging sound as if two swords clash.
Ivan screaming out in pains prompted Eric to open his closed eyes to see another figure blocking him from Ivan final sword thrust, using his own sword which he had dropped, and thrust it into Ivan’s heart quickly. Ivan fell down immediately, dead.
Paul bend down and touched his nose to be sure he was really dead. He had followed the said Ivan silently and had stood at a distance watching them. He noticed Eric was too slowly compared to the one he had followed.
He could have left them to settle their scores themselves but when he heard that it was their master who had sent Ivan, he decided to stay and watch instead of going his way.
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5 years ago, his father had introduced him to a samurai Lord who was very good in swords fighting. Robert Mirror took Paul to learn it.
“You never can tell what kind of weapon your enemies might use.” Robert Mirror told Paul. “Sometimes the enemies fight with hands, at times with guns or probably…. swords. Whichever way they come to you Paul, I want it to be an element of surprise to your enemies that you fight in thier way.” Robert Mirror concluded his talk.
Paul agreed to it and he was taught how to fight in a samurai way.Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.
As the days went by, his master saw that Paul fought his comrades in anger and hatred.
One day he called Paul privately.
“Paul having this hatred and anger in you won’t allow you to reach the final stage of samurai. You have to drop those two things if you really want to be a samurai master.”
“But my father don’t allow me to show any compassion on anyone.”
“Paul you’re not your father, he won’t live your life for you. You have to choose the part you wish to go, your father doesn’t need to know. A true warrior must hold that loyalty, courage, varacity, honor and compassion above all else . Only when you have find your way shall I teach you the Eight Virtues of the Samurai, with it, no one can match with your strength unless someone from the other side.” His master said not telling him what he meant by the other side.
Paul chose his own part. Hardly does he use his samurai skills to fight, he prefer using his guns.