Free Summertime of the Dead by Gregory Hughes

shinai with a snap of the wrists. And with this strategy I struck Alex three times on the
men
. He was beaten and I bowed to him before switching opponents.
    Then I got the muscle-bound Miyamoto, who we call the mammoth. He was a big guy, but kendo requires thought rather than physical strengthand so his size was no advantage. Besides, he was slow and I was the more experienced. Through the bars of my
men
I could see him readying himself like a rhino. Then raising his shinai he charged. I blocked his blow with ease and moved to a defensive stance.
    There are three basic stances in kendo:
jodan
, an attacking stance where the shinai is held above the head;
chudan
, a middle stance where the shinai is held level, ready to attack or defend; and
gedan
, a defensive stance where the shinai is held down, making it difficult for the opponent to leap forward. But this meant nothing to the mammoth who kept wielding his shinai like a barbarian with a baseball bat. A dozen times I sidestepped him and struck him in the throat. I kept doing it over and over in the hope that he would do something different, but he didn’t. The best he’d do was dodge my shinai, which would then strike his shoulder. And he seemed happy with this. But kendo is based on sword fighting! If you get hit on the shoulder with a samurai sword you’re as good as dead. I was training for battle and they gave me this buffoon. I heard another train pass and I saw Hiroshi in my mind. Suddenly I sidestepped Miyamoto and struck him on the backof the
men
. He fell to his knees and I raised the shinai … !
    â€˜Yukio!’ Sensei Kubo came towards us. ‘Miyamoto, Anna is looking for an opponent.’ Miyamoto bowed and walked away and the sensei turned to me. ‘A clear mind can topple even the strongest will. How many times have you heard me say this?’
    â€˜Many,’ I said.
    â€˜But your mind is not clear, Yukio. Why don’t you sit to one side and watch. You can learn much by observation.’
    I sat on a bench and took off my
men
and head towel. The sensei was right. I’d need a clear mind for tonight. Otherwise I was done for.
    It was dark when I got up. I hadn’t slept, but I’d had a rest and it’s important to rest before battle. I switched on the lamp and took the long sword from its mounting. I was amazed at how new it looked, and when I felt the blade it was so sharp it cut my finger. Mr Sato had stripped both swords of their handles and cord wraps and left them to soak in a cleansing solution. He’d fitted new handles and wrapped new cord around them. He’d even replacedthe mounting for the long sword with one that fitted. He’d expected little thanks for his hard work and so I told him that, upon Grandmother’s death, the swords would go to the museum. And he seemed happy with this.
    I went to the bathroom to rinse my finger and then I did some katas. My room’s quite large and so there’s plenty of space to thrust and slash from the
gedan
and
chudan
stances. But the ceiling’s too low to raise the sword in the
jodan
. But it made no difference. I was just getting used to the feel of the sword. And there wasn’t much difference between the sword and the shinai.
    I put the sword in the black nylon bag and fixed it so it was resting on my back. Then I turned to the photograph of the twins, and kissing my fingertips I put it on their smiling faces. I bowed to both them and the statue of the Buddha before going out on to the balcony. I slid down the drainpipe and put the sword under the seat of the bike. I put on my helmet and pushed the bike out into the street. Then kick-starting the engine I rode down to Paradise to kill Kako.
    There wasn’t much of a plan. I’d put on my hooded top so most of my face would be covered.That way I couldn’t be identified by witnesses or CCTV. I’d park the bike where I could run to it but not too close. Then I’d head up