Chapter 41

The cunning Fox, known as Kitsuya the Devious, stopped dead in his tracks as he heard Jiro’s voice.

“How long have you suspected me, Jiro?” There was a sneer in the tall man’s voice as he clenched his fists, ready to fight his way out.

“I’d be lying if I said the whole time, but it was your bloodlust when we sparred that gave it away.” Jiro hadn’t turned to face the devious man yet, his hand still firmly on the hidden blade. “That, and a warning from a tiny rabbit that wandered in.”

“Where are the bells, old man!?” Kitsuya snarled, loudly.

Jiro grinned, still not making a move as he gripped the hilt of his blade firmly. “Now, now, aren’t you rather impatient all of a sudden, Kitsuya? All your effort to sneak in here and you’re going to wake up half the soldiers if you yell like that.”

“You and I both know there are only two people that can even hope to defeat me in battle and Takagi isn’t even in the palace right now!” Jiro quickly shifted in his chair, unsheathing the hidden blade and pointing it at the lithe man, kicking his chair away.

“Then… defeating you will fall to me!” Jiro thrust his blade out and Kitsuya lunged backwards, through the open door as Jiro gave chase. The wiry man was quite fast, turning left down the corridor, trying to lose Jiro. Yet Jiro was no slouch and no one had been in the barracks longer.

Kitsuya had no weapon on him and the old man knew that as long as he kept the slippery man unarmed, he would have the advantage. Kicking through one of the shoji, out into the courtyard, Jiro made a beeline for the weapons room, hoping to head off the devious one. He kicked off of the ground, slicing through another shoji, landing just outside the weapons room, staring down the corridor, Kitsuya’s only path through, his blade raised.

Sure enough, the lanky man came into view, his long red-orange hair giving an even more wild look to him as he lunged down the hall right at Jiro!

“I’ll let you in on a secret, Kitsuya!” Jiro said, raising his sword above his head, preparing to slice the man down once he was in range. “I can’t hold back when holding a real blade!”

Kitsuya brought his hand up, keeping it flat as if he was going to block the strike with one hand. “Even so, old man, I saw you when we were fighting. You’ve lost a step or two and that’s all I need!”

“TRY ME, YOU FOOL!” Jiro bellowed as he aimed to kill the traitor before him. The tall man’s hand came up and slammed against the old man’s wrist, knocking the blade from his hand before Kitsuya reared back, balling his left hand into a fist and slamming it straight into Jiro’s stomach, knocking the wind out of the old soldier and launching him through the door of the weapon’s room.

Jiro rolled across the floor and landed on his feet, skidding back, coughing and catching his breath as the wiry man bounced on his feet, looming in the doorway.

“How was that, old fool!?”

Jiro turned his head and spit, standing up before standing with his left arm extended, palm out, his right fist near his side. “Not too bad, but if you think the one they call the Unyielding will be stopped with a single punch, you’re mental!”

Kitsuya landed from his bouncing and lunged at Jiro with more speed than he had shown during their spar. Unfortunately for him, the old man had switched to defense as his outstretched arm caught Kitsuya under the armpit, his other hand gripping the wiry man’s shirt aiming to use his momentum to slam him into the ground.

Realizing this, Kitsuya rolled with the old man’s move, kicking off the ground at the last second and flipping to the left side, facing the now exposed torso of the old man.

The wiry man reared back and landed three heavy punches into Jiro’s torso, knocking him back into the wall and causing the old man to cough up blood. Kitsuya stood with his arms raised as the old man slouched against the wall, panting heavily, bouncing on his feet.

“Is this all you have, Jiro!? This is all the Unyielding can muster!? Disappointing! That fool Ryuta put up more of a fight before I killed him!”

Jiro felt his blood boil as he caught his breath, clenching his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palm, drawing blood.

“You want to say that again for this old man, you loathsome coward…?”

Kitsuya had a wicked smirk on his face as he saw the rage in Jiro’s eyes. “I killed Ryuta in that skirmish three years ago. His hitoden was pretty impressive, but the movement lacked polish. It’s amazing that someone with that many holes in their fighting style could ever make the Divine Trio. It’s when I knew Yuilen was weak.”

Jiro’s eyes were shaded by his bangs, as his arms quivered in anger. He was gnashing his teeth so roughly, it was audible to Kitsuya.

“You’re the one who killed my friend!? Then you had the audacity to waltz in here and try to take his place!” Jiro took a long, deep exhale, the tension in his body leaving almost instantly as if he had found peace in his anger, but his voice was dripping in venom as he snapped his head forward, a glare full of malice locked onto Kitsuya.

The wiry man, who to this point had the advantage on Jiro, took a few steps back upon seeing the bloodlust in the old man’s eyes.

“You killed that boy’s father and had the gall to act like a friend to him!?”

“Gakuto hasn’t turned a blade on me… Yet.” The way Kitsuya emphasized that sent Jiro to a whole new level of fury.

“You’re right, he won’t get the chance to turn a blade on you because I will end you here myself!” Jiro’s angry voice bellowed across the room and echoed down the corridors of the barracks, assuredly waking the sleeping soldiers.

Kitsuya revealed a pair of daggers hidden on his waist, smirking viciously as he pointed them at the old man.

“Your anger blinds you, old man. I’ve already shown that you can’t beat me.” Jiro reached up and ripped one of the blades mounted on the wall off, before pointing it at the wiry man.

“You underestimate me at your own peril, fool.” Jiro spat as he turned his blade towards Kitsuya, before lunging forward, aiming to thrust through the cunning traitor’s chest.

Two chimes later, with the moon at its highest point in the sky, the barely breathing body of the man they called the Unyielding lay in a pool of his own blood, as the court physician was working to keep him alive.

Kitsuya, the Devious Fox, was nowhere to be found.