World of Taroo

by Jimmy Eriksson

  Jay did have the upper hand and hit the man over the knee as he tried to guard from more strikes over the neck. But another one hit his hand hard making him drop his sword. The match was over as Jay kicked the weapon over the platform. Not too sure how his opponent would react, Jay stood ready to defend himself. But the man smiled and congratulated Jay for the win. They both left together, and Jay had to wait next to the judges together with the first winning fighter. A few more fights went, and then it was Jay’s turn again. The people in the room were having a great time, and Gon could see how many of them were betting on Jay then.

  As Jay headed up the steps to the platform, he was told he won’t have to. He looked surprised at the judge who told him the news. Senji could not believe the luck Jay had with the following fight as his opponent was injured, and Jay automatically advanced to the next fight. The crowd got to see some great fights, and when they finished, the last remaining four fighters stood on the platform. Gon was very happy for his friend and hoped he got to fight one of the men that looked like he could be tired. Jay was not that lucky then and had to meet a man from a school in the Darcolia land just outside the kingdom. He also had to start first which he would had preferred not to since he felt he needed some more rest. The man was clearly skilled, and Jay believed this fight would be the hardest one.

  They started and Jay found he was the one attacking and the man only defending. Jay remembered the man’s earlier fights and knew the man was studying him as he fought. Jay had a plan that he had thought about ever since he first saw how his opponent acted. He continued the attack like he only wished to swing uncontrollably. He struck and moved forward just as the other had and Jay knew what would be coming next. He made ready to stab but when he did, the other man tried to hit back using a skilful technique. It was a dangerous move by Jay who nearly avoided the strike that then came again. The man pushed on as Jay was about to lose his concentration. Jay opened up and the man took aim and believed the win was his. People at the arena room saw what happened and began to cheer loudly. The fight was over but not the way the man thought it would finish. Because as he tried to strike the open area of Jay that was wide open, he then looked upon Jay’s sword that was held over his throat and his sword under the arm of Jay. He was a little stunned over what happened which Jay took advantage of. The sword got pulled away by a swift move by Jay who also sent it over the platform onto the ground below.

  The judge called the fight to Jay since he was the only one with a sword. His opponent stood and watched as Jay walked off and wondered how it all happened. He was not ready for it to be over so quick and then began to laugh as he felt he made a mistake. The crowd was pleased and cheered loud for the winner. Jay was standing alone at the judge’s stand and could not see his friends since they were out of sight. He hoped he was not dreaming and that he actually had a chance to win. He thought about how far he had come which he believed was incredible.

  The last match before the final began with some heavy blows from both. He didn’t start to use a sword so long ago but every time he picked it up, it felt like it was part of him. He was about to fight for the victory and had a great chance to stand as champion. It might be just a small match but for him, it meant a lot. The fight finished when one of the men made a mistake due to him being tired. Jay would have to meet the remaining man that was from Shetana itself. Gon could hear the man had a lot of supporters that cheered him on. Jay had some supporters as well, and before the match started, he heard some of them. Senji and Gon stood on the round platform that surrounded the fighters and were cheering him on. A boost of confidence from his friends and he was ready for the final fight. Others joined in Gon and Senji where they stood, and then the arena was boiling over with the noise of the crowd.

  Several judges inspected the fighters, and at the betting board, there were too many bets to take. The fight began, and both the fighters delivered strikes and stabs very fast and both of them avoided them as well equally fast. They exchanged blow after blow that would had counted as win in the first couple of fights but then the rules had changed. It was then the winner must remove the sword from the other fighter and over the platform before victory was announced. Hits by the sword were not counted at all but none of the two fighters wished to be hit anyway. Blows were exchanged between them both and Jay got a light touch on his hand which hurt but not enough for him to let go of the sword.

  The fight suddenly became interesting when his opponent lost his sword. It happened after trying to stab Jay but he slipped on some sweat that had been built up during the fight. Jay could, with help of a simple twist of his body, remove the sword from the man so it almost went over the edge. He had no time to continue because the man rushed Jay who fell backwards and then he was able to pick up the sword again. The fight went on and in a brief moment, Jay felt he might lose if the fight continued on for longer. They were both tired which everyone could see but both tried hard to keep up the fight. Jay moved around, trying not to strike unnecessarily and kept his confidence as high as possible. He had taken over every fight so far and could tell his opponent was not performing great anymore.

  The many fights this day had made an impact on them both but Jay suddenly got a boost of energy. He made a quick decision that he hoped his opponent was too tired to ignore and it proved to be correct. He opened up and revealed an opportunity for the other fighter. The man wasted no time and struck over Jay’s arm which was hurt badly but also left the man open to attack. The man realised his mistake too when Jay kicked the man in the chest to then swipe his legs. The man still held his sword but Jay had something else in mind and grabbed the man by the feet. He would be too tired to swing him over the edge but it was not what he went for. He twisted the other fighter so he was on his stomach. He then jumped on top to hold the sword under the man’s head. He pulled it towards his throat and told the man to give up. The man said no and tried to swing his sword so he could try getting loose. But when Jay held the sword harder, he knew he had lost. An enormous relief came when the fighter threw the sword to the side. Jay got up and took the sword on the ground and let it fall to the side of the platform. He stood as the winner with many of the people watching cheering loud.

  It didn’t take long before Jay was once again up on the platform after a brief rest below. He was presented with the prize of a gold plated fighting figurine and 10.000 credits. Even if the fight was not the main event, Jay still felt great about what he had done and so did many that had come to see. The arena had not been full of people but those that had come had got their money’s worth. Jay displayed the gold figurine in the air and some of the other fighters clapped. A few more announcements, and then the judges declared the day to have come to an end.

  When Jay was finally free to leave, he met the others that gave him a hug outside of the room. Gon was very proud of his friend, and while they left, he told everyone who had not seen the fight how great his friend was. Well back at home, they continued to celebrate and Jay was looking like he had truly achieved something for himself. Even if a few days from then he would feel as normal, he did, at the moment, felt like a king.

  Power of Many

  Senji had come alone because Gon needed to train and Jay was working but she didn’t mind. She was walking with the girls who had trained for this day. She felt a little out of place with her new friends wearing revealing outfits, and she was all covered up. The women were powerful and their muscles could be seen all over the body. She had given them a special mix of herbs and liquids that would keep their energy on top all throughout the fight. She could see she was not the only one that had been hired to take personal care of the fighters. There were others that walked with jars of different mixtures and also, the shop keeper was there with a few others in an attempt to sell more remedies.

  They were let into their preparation room where they get to be alone for a while. Senji gave them a few bottles of the special blend she made before and told them to drink it just before they stepped in th
e ring to maximise the effect. She looked outside and saw the crowd was a little different than the one that came when Jay fought. Luan told her she had a spot just over their room so she could see everything that happened. They had paid for her seat and Thura handed her the ticket. Soon, Senji had to go but she wished them luck before she exited the room.

  Well up at her seat, she felt better being up there because there were less scary looking people where she was sitting. She shared space with some more well-off people that paid more money for the seats. She heard the bell ring, and all the doors opened up. Every team stepped out, and Senji could see many of the fighters looked strong. There were two other women in the fight together with two other teams but she still felt women shouldn’t fight as the men did. She intended to cheer on her new friends regardless of the outcome and saw Alivia wave at her. The judge called for silence and then explained the rules. ‘Four teams with max twelve people in each fight,’ he said first. Those that advanced had to have all the fighters ready to continue. Wooden weapons were the only weapons allowed and were supplied by the arena. The weapons were to be chosen each time they entered the arena, and they had to keep them until the next fight when they could change if needed. If called for, the judges might break the fights if they saw something that broke the rules. When one person got enough injured and could not continue, the fighter would be moved away by the guards set out to make sure no one died. The winners would take home 50,000 credits in prize money which was why many had come but none of the sisters Senji cheered on cared about the money. They had come only for the fame and title which they intended of claiming.

  After some speaking, the judge asked one person from each team to come up and pull a number to determine which people fought first. The sisters hoped to fight first to save energy but got to fight in the last group. They were accompanied by some big characters that looked like really mean people, Senji thought. The first fight with the twelve people began, and Senji looked on the violence that occurred. It looked like a big brawl, and one team got taken out almost immediately when they were unable to defend themselves properly. She could see that all of the teams looked organised and moved as one. Senji also saw the crowd across from her that was enjoying the fight with some starting to fight amongst themselves.

  A man next to her told her it happened every year because they had waited so long to see the fights. They all had bet a lot of money that their favourites would win. She learned the arena was open during only a few months a year to bring the interest for the fights up high. But he also said it was a little untrue since there was money to be made. He said when the arena was closed, they still held underground fights there for people to bet on. Senji continued watching on to what was happening. The big brawl stopped when a bell rang and two teams were declared as winners. Both the other girls were taken out, and she wondered how her friends would fair. The fight lasted for only 10 minutes but was intense so Senji’s ears hurt of all the shouting from everyone. Her friends were next, and they all stood up on a row looking ready to fight.

  The girls were eager, and as soon as the bell rang again, they charged at one of the teams that were standing closest to them. The fights were even more intense with thick wooden sticks being used against shields or wooden swords. The tactic from the girls was to avoid one of the teams with the largest fighters and concentrate to bring themselves to the final. The opponents were of similar sizes and they were able to handle them carefully. Luan got a sword over the knee that hurt a lot, but she still managed to take him down with a strike from her long stick after Thura kicked him in the head. Alivia got a sword over her breast but kicked him in the stomach in return. Thura got head-butted and then someone grabbed her from behind. The man laughed at her then told her he would comfort her after he won and grabbed one of her breasts. With a smile, she said she would give the same offer to him. She then grabbed his balls and squeezed them hard in her hand. He lost his breath, and she looked him in the eyes saying she had changed her mind as he was not man enough. She then kicked him in the chest so he fell down while holding between his legs.

  After a few minutes, they had taken the other team down and were ready to fight the others but also backed away to not cause any more injuries to their team. They talked amongst themselves that perhaps they should help the other team advance so they didn’t have to meet the bigger fighters. But the decision got taken away when the other team gave up. One hour’s rest was given, and Senji walked down to them again. She went in and saw Luan limp. The strike over the knee was worse than she thought, and Senji brought out her remedies. She told them the fights looked so much worse than she thought it would. Alivia told her that last year, two people died in the fights which was why the guards had been placed to make sure it didn’t happen again. Senji got terrified and could not understand why they would put themselves in danger for the stupid fame.

  Luan said it was not about the fame but also to prove to their father that they could do so much more. And it was not bad receiving the honour of being the champions. She said not only would they win but everyone that told them they were too weak because they were girls or too proper got to see what they could do. The knee felt better and Alivia asked to get something for her breast. Senji offered her something she could rub over them. They spoke about what strategy to use to win over the others. They knew a direct attack would be unwise and intended to fight cautiously. The hour went quickly, and soon, the bell rang again.

  Senji had to leave again but told them to eat one of the packages she made for them. When Senji sat down, she could see Luan and Alivia taking the package. They were full of energy again, but Thura put it in her clothes since she felt she was not tired yet. The package she gave them had a strong solution in them and would activate the adrenaline in their bodies more. The sisters looked at the other three teams that stood ready to fight and intended to attack one of the teams from the first group. Alivia took one of the swords and said she hoped to use it well before it broke then showed the crack in it to her sisters. Thura took a shield that she hoped would help her in the fight but saw it had also several small cracks in it. They knew the fight was hard on the weapons they used in the fights since they were made of wood. They still planned on attacking one of the other teams to increase their chances. But rather than becoming a controlled fight with one team against another team, it all turned bad.

  When the bell rang again, the teams from the first fight suddenly attacked together the men that were in the sisters’ group. The girls could tell this would end badly if they only stayed still and waited for them to finish off the bigger men from their group. Luan said they must have talked about helping each other to make sure they were the ones fighting last and said they would be next against six instead of three. They rushed in to fight but were held back by two that swung their sticks so the girls had to defend themselves.

  The men in their previous group were big but could not stand against two men each. One of them went down as soon as the girls came close by receiving several hard blows to his face. Thura managed to get her shield in and blocked a strike then let Alivia strike the same fighter over the head with her sword. They could help the men from their previous group by aiding them against the two teams working together. They moved out and the fight had then become a little different because the two men still standing from their group were next to them, ready to fight with them to take down the others. Luan believed the men from the other group had planned the whole thing and told everyone. ‘Correct,’ said one of the men against them who also said they lost the last year so they devised a plan to win.

  Alivia said they played an unfair game but the man said everything was allowed in the arena and got ready with the other team. The situation had become dangerous with then six people against five and one of the bigger fighters on the sisters’ side was hurt over the eye. Senji didn’t understand what was happening since she couldn’t hear anything that was being said below, but she knew something was wrong when she saw what was
happening. The judges did nothing despite knowing exactly what was going on, and Thura said they had to win regardless even if they needed to fight together with the other team to do so.

  Still full of energy, they got ready, and the men closed in slowly. Everywhere, there were people screaming and cheering on the interesting fight. The attack commenced, and the girls had to be careful with what they did. They knew that even if they had the men from their group on their side momentarily, they also were fighting for the win. They backed off and used their fighting skills to get a few strikes over one of the other team’s shield that broke. Thura got a stick hit on the leg, and the pain was strong but she had to hold back. Alivia got hit in the head by a punch after blocking a strike with a sword. The men fought well and organised as they had trained for it. Several blows were exchanged until Thura told the others they needed to take away the weapons so they had better chance. The team on their side agreed, and they all tried to hit the hands or break the weapons so they could not be used. It worked and a stick got cracked by a leg and the last shield broke so the man carrying it had to use an already damaged weapon only. A quick thinking from Luan when one of the men opened up to her. She could kick at his face, hitting just over the nose. The blood came and he had trouble seeing from all the blood then got taken out by one of the men on their side still standing. But he was then alone with the girls for his team mate with the cut over the eye went down after receiving a blow to the throat.