Traipse Ch. 04

Story Info
Chapter four of a futuristic love story.
12.4k words
4.81
5k
7

Part 4 of the 5 part series

Updated 06/08/2023
Created 06/01/2016
Share this Story

Font Size

Default Font Size

Font Spacing

Default Font Spacing

Font Face

Default Font Face

Reading Theme

Default Theme (White)
You need to Log In or Sign Up to have your customization saved in your Literotica profile.
PUBLIC BETA

Note: You can change font size, font face, and turn on dark mode by clicking the "A" icon tab in the Story Info Box.

You can temporarily switch back to a Classic Literotica® experience during our ongoing public Beta testing. Please consider leaving feedback on issues you experience or suggest improvements.

Click here

Michael ushered us in through the door, smiling all the while and telling us how excited he was that we came. The interior of his home was just as tastefully decorated as the outside, and it was obvious that he loved both his modernism and his tradition. The decorations were decidedly Japanese, although some French paintings and dry flower arrangements could be seen methodically placed around the house. Michael led us to a long hallway and stopped at what seemed like a dead end. He pulled a tassel on a nearby lamp and the wall slid open to reveal a staircase leading downward. Star and I exchanged looks, both of us a little suspicious, but we were soon relieved when we heard talking and laughing coming from the bottom of the stair case.

We followed our host down until we reached the end, and what I saw impressed me. A large room surround by mirrors housed a full sparring area complete with lines and boxes for various tournament style fighting. The floor was natural hardwood, bamboo from the looks of it, and even the ceiling had the look of a traditional Japanese dojo. At least three dozen people or so sat around the room, cracking jokes and stretching, preparing for a full night of betting and good healthy sport combat. I did not feel at all as intimidated as I thought I would be, and even Starway was relieved to see six women sitting off to the side chatting it up amongst themselves. I surveyed the people quickly, most of them were of some sort of Asian decent, but I did see two Caucasians and one, very tall black man that stood out among the others; mainly because of his height.

Michael raised his arms and spoke loudly, though not at all obnoxiously, "Everyone, if I could have your attention for a moment." All in the room stopped what they were doing and turned to him. I could tell right away that they all had a great deal of respect for him, and I considered myself privileged to even have my talent noticed by him.

Michael continued, "This is Trask and his wife Star, they will be joining us for tonight' s events. I would consider it a personal favor to me if they were treated with the same respect that all of you already show for each other, although Trask here is willing to earn it for the two of them. Please do show them our hospitality."

Everyone in the room nodded, although I did see a few of the men eying me suspiciously, apparently trying to size me up. I couldn't blame them, and I tried to look as cordial as possible as Michael walked us around the room and introduced us to a few people. There was plenty of food and drink for everyone as well, and I discovered how social Starway is. She had no trouble working her way into the table where the women were sitting, and it wasn't long before she was talking and laughing along with them. I asked her if she were okay where she was, she said yes, so I went over to a corner of the room and began stretching. A few minutes later, two of the men approached me with smiles on their faces, and I turned to see what they wanted. It was one of the Korean guys, Trick they called him, and the tall black man, whom they called Boost. They seemed friendly enough, and Michael had introduced me to them a few moments earlier, so I figured there wouldn't be any harm in talking with them.

Trick spoke first and nodded to me, his accent was heavy but his English was impeccable, "We just wanted to welcome you to our little shindig, its not very often we get newcomers. We're a pretty tight group, and this is the first time Kurasuma has ever sponsored anyone, so naturally we're itching to see what you're made of."

Boost laughed heartily and slapped Trick on the back, "Take it easy Trick, you're scaring the kid. Seriously, we just wanted to see what kind of person Michael would trust to place his money on, we're not gonna do anything rough, we just want to size up your personality a little."

I sighed in relief, "That's good to hear. Its a pleasure meeting you both, you both seem like excellent fighters."

They gave each other looks and Trick laughed, "You're a highborn, obviously; no one around here with manners like that. And as far as us being good fighters, well, you'll see. How would you know anyway?"

I narrowed my eyes, "Honestly, I haven't been in a lot of fights, but I have had a lot of training. Just the way a person carries himself can give away what kind of martial art they train in; and sometimes how good they are at it."

Trick grinned maliciously, "Alright kid, what kind of martial art do I practice?"

I thought about it for a moment, "Taekwondo... likely with a bit of either Filipino or Korean style wrestling. Your biceps are unusually large for someone who practices only Hapkido, so Taekwondo with wrestling makes more sense."

Trick frowned sourly and Boost grinned widely, showing his row of pearly white teeth, "Ha! I like you already kid, don't concern yourself with Trick, he's an asshole, but he's not as bad as he would have you believe. How about me? What do you think I do?"

It took me a little longer to figure it out with Boost, but after about a minute or so of evaluating, I came to a passable conclusion in my head, "I can't put my finger on the exact style of course, but definitely jujitsu. Your muscles are toned as hell, they weren't built with some two week body building program. It's a slow, deliberate process you go through to get muscles like that, all strength and endurance with no unnecessary bulk weighing you down. Because of your height, I would consider you an excellent kicker, but that's more of a gut feeling rather than a logical conclusion."

Boost nodded, still wearing his smile and obviously impressed, "Right on. I've been trying to develop a little more on karate and judo, but jujitsu is my bread and butter. I hope you do well in the first few matches, I'd love to spar with you. Are you going with weapons tonight or trying your luck at hand to hand?"

I shrugged, "I feel good about both, though I seriously doubt I'd be able to trounce either of you at hand to hand. I'm opting for shinai and bokken tonight. I saw some escrima over there, I'd love to give that a try, but we'll see. If I did fight either of you I'd guess it to be maybe a close tie, "I said with a bit of intended attitude.

Trick scoffed and Boost laughed loudly once more, "I love your confidence! Tell you what, if you beat the first guy I'll put some money on your second fight. Trick and I are higher ups, so you're gonna have to do well to match up to us, but I'm expecting a lot out you, don't disappoint us."

I smiled in reply, "I'll look forward to watching your matches as well, see you out there."

The two departed, leaving me once more alone. I finished my stretching and Michael approached me a few minute later, a wry smile written over his face.

"We're about to begin, Trask. How are you feeling?"

I cracked my knuckles, "Good. I've decided to try the shinai first, then see how I do after that. Depending on how I feel and how much money there is to be made, I may stick around for awhile."

Michael nodded, "Excellent. Now let me lay out the rules for you a little more clearly. We have many events tonight, loose tournament style kendo being one of the main ones. Four sections of the room will be used during the first portion of the event, each of which a duel will take place. Since you're new, you'll have precedence, so you'll be one of eight participants. Your first fight will take place over there, and if you best your opponent you"ll move to the other fighting circle," he gestured to where the matches would take place as he explained to me. "If you beat your first two opponents, the final match will be held in the middle, and that is where the most betting will take place. You may bet on yourself initially, and your initial bet will roll over into your next fight. Your opponent's bet is added to your own, so, if you bet a hundred credits right off (the minimum if you bet at all), and win all three matches, your base earning will be at least eight hundred credits. Realistically however, most fighter's here bet a minimum of two hundred as their initial bet, so you're looking at a nice chunk of change when all is said and done. That's your winnings before you get your percentage from the house bet, so if you win them all you can expect to easily win over a thousand credits. Sound good?"

I nodded, trying not to count my chickens before they hatched, "Sounds good. If I may ask, how does one enter if one has no money at all?"

He nodded and stepped in closer to me, looking around to make sure no one could eavesdrop, "It is acceptable to enter the tournament without betting anything, although you won't get any of your contender's money. If you win you get the house money and can keep going, but if you lose you lose nothing but your pride. This way, everyone has a chance to make a little, or a lot, regardless of how much they come in with. Between you and me lad, I wish to front you the money for your initial bet, if you will allow it. If you lose, I will consider it nothing lost to me, though my reputation may falter slightly. If you do well, I plan to put a very large sum on your next fight, and that will be whatever you choose. You can pay me back if you win, if it would make you feel less indebted."

I nodded carefully, "I would feel more comfortable accepting your offer if I paid you back. How much were you intending on betting initially on my behalf?"

Kurasuma smiled, "Five hundred. Just enough to intimidate them but not enough to keep them from entering. Remember lad, give them a show. You bested me grandly, and most of these first few fighters are wet behind the ears. They are nowhere near my level, you shouldn't have any trouble with them, but if you win too fast the sharks will be swimming and we'll be up to our ears in thousand dollar bets. You still want to go through with it?"

I nodded confidently, having already made up my mind. I couldn't think of a way to make so much money in so little of a time frame, and the thought of not being able to put a roof over Star's head steeled my nerves until they were ironclad with determination. Besides, nearly all of the other fighters in the room weren't doing this to make ends meet, for some it was only a hobby, and it was obvious that many of them had money to burn.

Kurasuma noted my determination and handed me what looked like mahjong bones used for betting, "When we're in this room, this is our currency. No one brings their money here, for many reasons, security being one of them. Mostly we like to keep it simple, and the thought of securing that much money at one time is unnerving and unnecessary. When the time comes, give this to one of the men in blue hats, they double as the referees and changers. Your winnings or losses will be recorded and settled up via credit whenever you decide to leave. I await your victory lad, good luck."

I accepted the bones, "Wait, how much money are you betting on me apart from the initial bet?"

Michael sneered, "Please, don't concern yourself with that. As I told you before, my gut instinct has never failed me, and I have confidence in you. Also lad... don't forget that your lady is watching you."

I smiled nervously, "I haven't."

The fighting was underway five minutes later, and I found myself facing my first opponent. I honestly don't remember his name and the fight was easy, and I had already settled up with the changer and my bet was placed. The rules were loosely based on standard rules, first to score three hits wins, no hits below the belt; with the exception of the gear we were required to wear. I had only a mask on, as did my opponent, but besides that we wore the clothing we came in. Incidentally, I didn't have much in my pack so I simply went with a plain white t-shirt and black slacks. Starway said my ass looked good in them, not that that gave me much confidence in regards to combat, but at least I could give her something to look at while she watched me. I squared off with the guy and he grunted. I didn't know what his face looked like, but I could tell he was opting to end it quickly. I was fresh, ambitious, but I wasn't stupid, and even I could tell that this guy wanted to have me down and out in less than minute. A few people crowded around our circle as the ref dropped his hand and our fight began. As I predicted, my opponent rushed me and went immediately for the left side of my head.

I read him like a book, and stepped to the opposite side, striking his weapon aside then fluidly dropping it down to his left shoulder solidly. It wasn't a hard strike, but since we were fighting by traditional rules, it counted. The ref shouted and pointed to me, and my opponent backed up angrily, obviously irritated by either me or himself for being so reckless. We crossed our shinai once more and the signal was given, then we began our second bout. My opponent stepped back into a near perfect stance, as if to evaluate me for a moment. I didn't give him any time however, and rushed him much as he had done to me a moment prior. He blocked several times, and I toyed with him, figuring out quickly that he couldn't match my speed. I saw several openings and decided not to take them just yet, and out of the corner of my eye I could see a few people throwing more money into the changer's boxes.

Finally, when I felt the time was right, I parried a sloppy thrust my opponent gave, then brought my weapon down squarely upon his head. The ref shouted again and threw his hand up toward me, and my opponent reeled backward, obviously jarred. He was fine a minute later, but his body language spoke of a new respect and caution toward me that he lacked at the beginning of our match. I decided to let him have a point this time, intending to bait the crowd as Kurasuma had suggested, and I lowered my shinai ever so slightly, hoping the guy opposite me would take the opening. He saw it immediately, and as soon as the ref dropped his hand I pretended to botch up my footwork while he closed in. I received a good stout blow upon my shoulder than stung slightly, and he got a point. I smiled inwardly, figuring I had fooled the crowd into betting against me, as I saw a few of them throw some more bones into the box. We stood across from each other for the last time and I decided I'd had enough. I didn't want to wind myself with the small fries, and I had confidence that I could win, at the very least, the shinai competition. Once I had that in the bag, I could splurge a little on other tournaments, and the night would still be young.

The ref dropped his hand for a third time and we both rushed at each other, apparently intending to accomplish the same thing. I blocked a solid overhead hit and dove in for a thrust. He parried it and feigned a right, which I saw clearly, and met his left blow with a parrying strike of my own. He lost his balance momentarily, and I took the chance. I moved in too close for him to back up in time, and struck him hard in the back. I heard a loud 'oomph' come from him, and the ref shouted, signifying that the match was over.

I smiled despite myself and saw Starway waving to me, obviously not shy of anyone, "Yeah! Get em' babe!"

I chuckled a little and bowed. My opponent did the same and took his helmet off, "Damn you're good, no surprise there, Kurasuma knows how to pick em' I'm sure."

I nodded and told him it was a good fight but he threw up his hands at me and sighed with a disappointed smile. I walked over to the other circle where my second fight would be held and stood back as the two of them were still finishing their match. They were both good, but I could immediately tell who was better, and watched him more closely as he landed the final blow on his opponent. The ref waved his hand and the duel ended. I saw my new opponent bow to his former one, then I stepped up to replace him, sensing that my new challenger didn't intend to move until he either beat me or lost.

"No break?" I asked him politely.

He shook his head and said nothing. I shrugged as we lined up our shinai and we went at it as soon as the ref gave the signal. This guy was a lot tougher, and I quickly found myself defending more than I was attacking. I got beat back a little, and knew that if I stepped out of the circle that would grant him an automatic point. I crouched under one of his blows and parried wildly before that could happen, and surely turned the fight in my favor.

We fought for a long time, at least forty seconds, which is an eternity for one single bout, but eventually my stamina won over his and he stepped a little too forward on a thrust. I took the opportunity, and hopped to one side then struck quickly at his side. I got my point, though I was a little winded. My opponent however, was a lot more winded than I, but I decided that was tough luck since I wasn't about to give him any quarter like I had with my first match. We faced up again and began our second bout, and I attacked mercilessly, forcing the other fighter to tire himself by blocking. It only took a few seconds before he lost his nerve and his breath, and I crashed down on him to earn myself a second point. A few people grumbled around me, while some cheered, but I tried to focus on finishing what I'd started.

Before I knew it, we were in the middle of our last bout, and my opponent seemed to have gotten a second wind suddenly. I stepped in close to keep him from beating me backward once more, then jabbed at him in small movements, forcing him to either retreat or close. It was risky, but it paid off, and my opponent stepped back gracelessly. I shouted and feigned a lunge and he bought it, then I changed my direction at the last minute and struck him solidly in his mid body. The ref pointed to me and I sighed in satisfaction. My opponent never said a word to me as he walked away, still wearing his mask.

Less than five minutes later, nearly everyone in the room had gathered around the fighting circle in the middle of the great basement. I sensed everyone wanted to see what Kurasuma's new fighter was capable of, but it was obvious some weren't convinced to trust merely his gut feeling alone. People placed their bets and the ref stood between us and smiled, "First real fight of the night ladies and gentleman, Trite Stetton vs. Trask, all bets are placed for the first bout."

I tried not to spot out Kurasuma in the crowd but I knew he would be watching me. People placed their last bets as my opponent and I squared off against each other. He was a little taller than and probably weighed more, but his stance was perfect and I could tell right away that he was at least as fast as I was. He nodded to me and wished me good luck. I did the same, and a moment later the match began. We both stepped back, neither of us striking, trying to assess each other. It was obvious we were wary of one another, and the whole room went quiet as we circled calmly, just out of striking distance of each other.

Finally, he made a move, and I came in to meet him. I wasn't about to let myself get beaten back like the time before, so I met his blows with an equal amount of force. He raised his weapon high over his head and came down swiftly for my head. I blocked, but the force of the blow was so great that I knew I had lost the bout as soon as he'd struck. His weapon crashed down on me and I couldn't block the full force of it. I mitigated the hit, but it came down and glanced my left shoulder, which counted as a point. The ref threw his hand up at Trite and the crowd murmured every which way. We lined up again and I set my jaw under the helmet: It was a good move, but it was NOT going to work a second time. We began the second bout and this time I had a little more of an idea of my opponent's ability. Since he could put more force behind his blows, I parried more often than I tried to block, which inevitably left him using more energy than myself. During a feign of his, I saw an opening, and before he could strike I switched quickly from a defensive position to an offensive one, and struck like a cobra for his mid section. It worked, and I scored a point for myself. The fighters and spectators around us shouted and hollered, and I knew I would have to concentrate harder on finding a strategy for the next two, maybe three bouts.