Dojo Disruption

Oto had been explaining the picture to Hayami for several seconds, but, as he looked back at her face, he recognized the familiar slack jaw and absentminded stare of a girl uninterested in his explanation.

“Hayami,” he said, waving his hand at her. “Hellooo, you still with me? Hayami?”

But she was lost in her own world, and as he continued trying to regain her attention, he instead watched as the colour that filled her cheeks began to drain. Hayami’s expression weakened as her gaze grew increasingly distant.

Unsure as to what was happening, Oto looked back at the picture of his family and his father’s old work friends. He inspected the image closer than he had in years, locking his gaze on his brother, remembering him for the first time in almost as long. It had been seven years since he died eating lead, as his father had told him. But Oto could still remember the blood that poured over the marble floors of the family manor that morning. A mansion he had never returned to after that day.

Suddenly, Oto realized what was happening to Hayami. He looked at her distant gaze and shocked expression.

“Don’t worry, he’s not my twin,” Oto explained, pointing to his brother. “This photo was taken some twenty years ago now. So don’t worry, it’s not like we’ll pull an ol’ switcheroo on you.”

Oto laughed awkwardly to himself as Hayami remained in her own world of thought. With a huff, the boy stepped back and gently tapped the bamboo sword to the top of the girl’s head.

“You still owe me another match, remember?” He insisted, finally drawing her attention.

Hayami looked to Oto, her eyes wide as though she had seen a ghost. Something that she had experienced the moment she looked at the picture.

“What?” She replied numbly, pulling herself from the photograph, though still lost in a fog of thoughts.

“You owe—”

The door to the dojo slid open, cutting off Oto as a stranger pushed their way in. He was wearing baggy jeans and a hoodie with a camera around his neck. The stubble on his chin revealed that he had not yet taken the opportunity to clean himself, and as Oto examined the bags under the man’s eyes, he assumed he hadn’t slept either.

Admiration flashed in his eyes as he lifted the camera.

“Mister Hildebrand, over here!” The man shouted, snapping a photo.

“What?” Oto exclaimed as he reflexively struck a pose while maintaining a look of frustrated confusion. “Who let you in? This is a private estate.”

“The gate guard said we could come in—”

A dozen more figures began to push into the dojo. They hoisted their cameras high, clamouring over each other for the best shot. The bulbs flashed, casting faint shadows as Oto looked to Hayami.

She had not yet turned to face the paparazzi. Instead, she remained focused on him. Her gaze was wet with tears as she eyed his face, her lip beginning to quiver. Just the sight of her in that state began to break Oto’s heart, especially since he had no idea how a picture without him in it could evoke such an emotional response.

Looking back at the cameras, his gaze hardened as he had seen hers do many times before.

“Enough!” He bellowed, placing himself between Hayami and the paparazzi. “This is highly unorthodox and unprofessional. I do not even have a gate guard! Therefore, you are trespassing.”

The shutters of the cameras continued to click as more photos were snapped in the brief moments the photographers had.

“I demand you all leave this instan—”

“Miss Hayami,” A new figure spoke as he emerged through the door.

Wearing off-brand khakis, a white polo shirt and a navy jacket with security written on it, his gaze trained on the stunned girl before continuing.

“Huge fan.”

Oto watched as Hayami turned to acknowledge the figure who had addressed her directly. Her expression began to shift to terror as he slowly slid a hand into the jacket. Removing it, he revealed a silenced pistol that was quickly locked onto the girl.

“Mind if I get a shot?”

But Oto had already begun his movement. The minute he saw the gun coming into view, he knew that this fake security guard was, in fact, a bad paparazzi. Three steps were all it took to clear the distance between them, and with the shinai in hand, he gained the extra range necessary to strike.

With a loud clack, he snapped at the man’s wrist the moment before he fired. The pistol released a faint whisper as the gunman cried out. Behind Oto, glass cracked, but he wouldn’t have time to look. Instead, he followed through with another step to the side, now locking the bottom of the sword beneath the man’s wrist and throwing it up. His hands broke free of the weapon, sending the gun flying before Oto delivered the final blow. The bamboo cracked loudly against the man’s head, striking him on the ear with a forceful hit and sending his body to the ground.

The other paparazzi had begun screaming, quickly scattering with their cameras behind them. They snapped photos of Oto standing at the ready with his sword pointed at the motionless man.

A second passed before his gaze shifted, looking back at Hayami, still frozen in place where he had left her. Over her shoulder, missing the girl by mere inches, the bullet from the pistol had connected with the trophy case, tearing through one of his completion certificates.

“Hayami, are you okay?” Oto asked, staring at her shocked face. “Hayami! Say something!”

Hayami’s expression shifted as her gaze darted from Oto to the ground. Ferocity filled her face as, with narrowed eyes and clenched jaw, she returned from the abyss she had been staring into. Hoisting her arm up, she cocked the shinai back and threw it at Oto.

Except that the toss had not been at him, but near his feet. With a flinch, Oto jumped to the side, just in time to watch the wooden sword fly past and strike the paparazzi that had begun to stir. The gun he had picked up clattered once more to the ground as his head whipped back from the blow.

“Gyah!” He cried out, falling back to the ground, once again motionless.

“Hayami!” Oto yelled out in surprise, looking between the gunmen and his companion. “That is not how you use a shinai.”

“Shut up, idiot.” She growled, reaching for his hand. “We’ve got to get going! We’ve been compromised.”

“I don’t liiiiike—”

Hayami, now free of her shock, had taken control of the situation. Grabbing both the pistol from the ground and Oto by the keikogi, she raced from the dojo in her bare feet. As she stepped beyond the threshold, she trained the gun down the length of the building while the boy watched her work.

A group of paparazzi yelped as she emerged, her weapon pointed at them. All but one dropped to the ground in terror, while the final man had already drawn his gun. With a powerful push, Oto was hidden behind Hayami as she fired at the gunman before he could react.

“Oto,” She asked as she began to run, pulling him along with her. “Where’s G-I Giles?”

“He went back to the yacht to prepare for the return journey.”

Oto glanced at where she had fired her gun. The bad paparazzi he had noticed was now collapsed against a shrubbery, his head craned back uncomfortably, and his body limp.

“Perfect.” She pulled his vision away from the result of her violence. “Then we make for the docks, okay? Stay behind me!”

“But I’m hardly dressed for the ship! I don’t even have my nautical theme Pashmina Afghan!”

“Shut—”

Rounding a corner, Hayami cut herself off. She pushed Oto back, rolling behind cover once more as a spray of bullets impacted the wall. After a half-second pause, she peeked out with her pistol drawn. Three bullets coughed from the silenced weapon before she tugged at the boy once more and began her sprint.

“Shut up, Oto. You can buy new clothes when we’re alive on the mainland, okay? Oh, SHIT!”

“What? What? Hayami, are you okay? What happened?”

Hayami stopped at the gazebo that rested near the edge of the property before the short walk to the docks. Quickly checking her ammunition, she glanced back at the boy.

“It’s just—with Giles already on the boat, who’s going to drive our getaway car?”

“First off, Hayami,” Oto sighed, returning his gaze to her after scanning their surroundings for more paparazzi. “It’s a yacht. We’ve been over this. Secondly, we can’t get out to the yacht in a car, so we don’t need a getaway car.”

She growled, rubbing at her forehead with the top of the pistol’s barrel. Glancing around at the world before looking back to Oto, she chopped her free hand down on his head.

“Owww! What was that for?!”

“Oto, you should know what I mean.” She hissed in reply. “Who will drive our boat back to your—YACHT!”

“Me, of course! And the correct term is pilot.”

“You can drive a boat?!”

“Of course I can! I. Am. Rich.”

“So, you couldn’t drive a car, but you can ride a horse and drive a boat? Any other odd vehicles or animals you can handle?”

“Well, a helicopter—”

“You can fly a helicopter?!” She screamed at him. “What the hell?”

“I’m not very good at take off or landing, but yes! Why are you yelling at me? You asked!”

“Anything else?”

“Hot air balloon?”

Hayami stared at Oto in disbelief for a moment before releasing an exasperated sigh. Glancing around once more to ensure the coast was clear, she placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder and met his eye.

“Oto. You’re weird.” She stated plainly before patting the top of his head. “Stay close behind me.”