Ten Years Later.......
Long Island, NY, USA
"Ladies and gentlemen!" said an announcer. "Welcome to the
Nassau Coliseum. Today's event feature live sword fights!"
The crowd in the large arena cheered and applauded with
excitement as they waited for the sword fights to begin.
Amongst the audience in front row seats were three agents
of the Special Forces, one man and two women.
The man was a very muscular African American who stood 6'8'', wore a
red beret on his head and a green uniform. On his arms are metals that look like they belong to a robot.
The two women
with him are both very beautiful. One was 5'9' with shoulder length blond hair and blue eyes. She wore a green jacket over
a tight gray shirt and black leather pants. Her shirt was short enough to show off her well-toned abs.
The other woman
stood 5'5' with straight dark brown hair, which fell to her waist and light blue eyes. She wore a black jacket over a tight
white shirt and light blue, gray, and black fatigue pants. Her complexion indicated that she was the youngest of the three.
"So who are we looking for again?" asked the brunette.
"A rogue swordsman named Blind Kenshi," answered the
man. "They said that he would be in this fight."
The announcer spoke again. "First up, the champion of sword fights
five years in the row in this country........Mike Thompson!"
Everyone cheered with more excitement a man in his early
forties entered the ring. He wore silver armor and a mask to protect his face. He pulled out his sword from behind his back
and raised it high in the air making the crowd go wild.
"Hmph," said the man in the audience. "Seems like a popular
guy."
"And now," the announcer continued. "A new challenger! He comes all the way from the east side of the world
to compete in the fight. Ladies and gentlemen......Blind Kenshi!"
The crowd cheered, but now with as much enthusiasm
as the Sword Fighting Champion. A man entered the arena. He wore a full-length black armor suit, which was also red on his
biceps, elbows, forearms, and knees. Over his right shoulder and wrapping around his left waist was a white cloth. The edges
were red with yellow Chinese writings going down. On his shoulder is a red dragon blowing fire. He also wore a red blindfold
over his eyes. Only his nose, mouth, ears, and his short dark brown hair showed.
Mike, his opponent, laughed a little.
"It's no wonder they call you Blind Kenshi! Ever thought about taking your blindfold off?"
Kenshi felt a little insulted,
but pushed the comment aside as if it was nothing but a mere fly. Mike has no idea what Kenshi was capable of, even blind.
Back in the audience, the three agents looked at Kenshi. "So that's him," said the blond woman. "The Rogue Swordsman."
"Yes," the man replied. "Special Forces want him to be part of the Outerworld Investigation Agency."
"It is
early," the brunette answered. "We're still working on the portal."
"True," said the man. "But Special Forces want
him as soon as possible."
The brown-haired woman nodded and looks back at the ring. Kenshi reached behind his back
and drew out his sword.
<He's blind, > the woman thought. <He must have very good senses in order to participate
in these fights. >
Both swordsmen got into their stances.
"Begin!" the announcer cried out.
The
men began to circle around each other. Kenshi held the sword out with both hands while Mike held his sword with one hand.
Then, Kenshi's sword began to glow in a red color.
Mike saw this and sprung his attack, his weapon above his head.
Kenshi could sense Mike getting closer. As Mike swung the sword, Kenshi quickly blocked it with his own sword.
Back
and forth, they collided their swords at each other. When one sword was closer, the other blocked it.
"Man, he's good,"
the male agent said with a whistle as he watched Kenshi.
Then, Kenshi started using his Charging Slash. He slashed
his sword a few times from side to side making Mika jump back. The last slash hit Mike's armor. Kenshi then jumped in the
air, but Mike saw this and lashed his sword out. It hit Kenshi's left calf but the armor prevented any damage.
Then,
as Mike slashed another move, Kenshi stepped aside and then swung his sword toward Mike's back. The sword left a big gash
on his back causing him to bleed. The hard impact sent Mike across the arena and he went down in pain.
The crowd became
stunned as Kenshi stood over Mike, who was still alive but in a lot of pain.
"The winner........Kenshi!" cried the
announcer. The crowd began to cheer and applaud with excitement.
The brunette agent looked at Kenshi as he tilted
his head upward holding his weapon in his hand. She was amazed that for a blind man, he fought well.
***
Three
Hours Later.......
The three agents show their badged to security guards as they made their way through the backstage
area of the arena. They were on their way to see the new Sword Fighting Champion Kenshi.
"They said his room is down
here," the blond agent said.
"Ta da!" the male agent said. He pointed to one of the brown doors with Kenshi's name
on it. "Here we are."
He knocked on the door. A minute later, the door opens revealing Kenshi. He was still wearing
his red blindfold, but was now wearing a white shirt and white pants, which were old looking and torn.
"Sorry if we're
interrupting anything," said the male agent. "The three of us here are with Special Forces."
"Special Forces?" asked
Kenshi with confusion. "What do they want with me?"
"We've heard a lot about you," said the blond woman. "My name
is Agent Sonya Blade."
Sonya took his hand and they shake.
"I'm Agent Jackson Briggs, but you can call me
Jax," the man said. The two shake hands. When Jax removed his hand, Kenshi's hand was still out.
"Isn't there a third
person?" Kenshi asked.
Jax and Sonya turned to the brunette agent. She has been staring into space, probably daydreaming.
"You there?" Jax asked her with a little laugh.
"Oh," the brunette cried out with embarrassment. She took
Kenshi's hand. "I'm Agent Alexandra Walker, but you can call me Alex."
"Hi," Kenshi replied.
"Anyways," Jax
said. "Special Forces have learned about your skills and we would like to have you with us."
"We want you in as a
free agent," said Sonya. "Right now we are developing the Outerworld Investigation Agency. We have two others involved in
the project; Agent Cyrax, a new recruit, and Agent Hsu Hao who is part of the Chinese Secret Military. We're building a portal,
which will help us access to every inter-realm."
The last sentence caught Kenshi's attention. <A portal with access
to every inter-realm? > he thought. <Maybe I can find Shang that way. >
"I'll aid you," Kenshi replied. "Where
is your base?"
"In the next county," replied Jax. "About a half hour from here. We will be leaving soon."
"I'll
join you in a few minutes," Kenshi replied.
The agents nodded and began to make their way out, except Agent Alex.
She stood there for another brief moment looking at Kenshi. Then, she began to leave.
"Alex?" she heard Kenshi say.
She turned around and looked at him in surprise.
"How did you know it was me?" she asked.
"Just a guess, I
felt your presence. I can also sense that you are thinking about something."
Alex smirked. Indeed he was correct.
She slowly walked over to him. "Nothing really. Just that for someone with ability to see, I give you all the credit in the
world and you're an amazing and talented swordsman."
Kenshi only knew this woman for only a couple of minutes, but
she indeed flattered him. "Um, thanks."
Alex quietly sighed. "Do you need any help with carrying your stuff?"
Kenshi
slowly walked back to his dressing room and picked up a red duffle bag and his sword case. "Nah. This is all I have, but even
if I have more luggage, it's not right for a lady to carry a man's bag."
Alex smiled. "Trust me, I'm used to it. At
least let me help you get out of here."
Kenshi nodded and put out his left hand. Alex slowly took it into hers and
they began to make their way out of the coliseum.
Alex began to earn Kenshi's trust, but Kenshi was not taking full
advantage of it just yet. The last time he let himself trust someone easily, they took his vision away and Kenshi will not
let that happen again.
