Caliber's Adventure Log

Ruk looked up at him. "Oh?"

"That's right, I challenge you!" Caliber said, confident.

Ruk looked at him, and finished his drink. "Very well," he said. He walked out side, Caliber following behind him, and drew a large circle in the ground. "You remember the rules, right?" Ruk asked. "How sparring works?"

Caliber nodded. "Yup, and to be crystal clear, if I win I get my sword back?"

This time, it was Ruk's time to nod. "Correct."

Caliber grinned. Then he stepped inside the circle. "Come at me," he said. "I wanna see just how strong I've gotten."

Ruk smiled, and dashed inside the circle, sprinting at Caliber with the sparring stick raised. "Lets go!" He yelled.

Caliber blocked his strike, and tried to sweep him of his feet. Ruk jumped, however, and did a spin kick to the side of Caliber's head.  He didn't hit him hard, though. Caliber backed away, holding his head. He looked up at Ruk, and grinned. "So, your not gonna give me the match, huh?"

Ruk smiled. "You don't have time to talk, during a spar!" He said, as he again tried a sword strike. Caliber once again tried to block, but right before their sticks connected, Ruk's suddenly changed direction. Caliber stiffened, seeing the stick swinging fast towards his lower leg. His own stick too far away to help,  he decided to try that spin-kick for himself. But when he jumped into the air, Ruk immediately charged into him, knocking him away. Caliber landed on his back-hooves, luckily. But he barely had enough time to get ready before Ruk was upon him, unleashing a flurry of blows, left and right. Caliber was doing his best to guard, but Ruk was too experienced. The blows started landing, and Caliber was slipping up.

"Yield!" Ruk yelled.

"Never!" Caliber growled, as he began striking back. Caliber was trying to force Ruk over the edge, and Ruk knew that. So, Ruk played along, allowing himself to be pushed closer, and closer to the edge. When they got to the edge, Caliber tried for a stab, and Ruk side-stepped. He rounded behind Caliber, and shoved hard. But, Caliber had did the same thing at the last second, rounding behind him as a way to dodge.  Ruk shoved hard at nothing, and lost his balance. Teetering over the edge, Caliber threw his stick like a spear, and it hit Ruk square in the back. And that was it. Ruk lost his balance completely, and fell on the outside of the arena. Caliber was so surprised that it worked, he stared dumbfounded.

Ruk slowly got up, and brushed himself off. Then, he walked inside, and came out with Caliber's sword. "Here ya go," he said as he threw the sword at Caliber, who caught it. "Enjoy."

Caliber looked at him curiously. "That's it? No 'congratulations', no 'where will you go?', no nothing?" He asked, underwhelmed. "That's anti-climatic."

Ruk stared at him before adding "Congratulations," and then he smiled. "You have proven yourself worthy of possessing that sword."

Caliber gave a wide grin. "Okay, that's better!" Then his voice got softer. "So, I guess I'll be leaving then, huh?" He looked up at Ruk.

Ruk looked at him before shrugging. "That's up to you, Caliber. Whether you stay, or not, is completely your choice," he said, before turning around, and walking inside his house.

Caliber looked inside, and saw Ruk was stirring at the pot over the fire, which was filled with food for two. Caliber walked beside him. "I guess I could stay for one more day," he said, grinning. "I'll leave tomorrow."

Ruk looked at him. "Its decided, then. Tomorrow," he said, smiling.

THE NEXT DAY...

Caliber finished his breakfast, and looked over at Ruk, who had also finished his. "Welp, I guess this is good-bye," he said. "I just wanna say, thanks."

Ruk waved away his words. "Yeah, yeah...Be sure to visit, okay? In case you ever wanna try the nerve training again." He said, as he went outside and started his training.

Caliber grinned.  "I plan to." Caliber packed up his small collection of things into his travel-pack, and left the way he came, seven months ago.

As Caliber left, Ruk watched him. Then Ruk thought to himself. 'I wonder if that kid'll ever know that sword once belonged to Zenru...And If he'll ever realize that I threw the match...'