A True Hero

14 - Two Truths and a Lie

Nicolette

I held the tray above my head, careful not to drop it. I could feel the Snapdragon flower quiver in its vase. All around me, I could feel the silent, swift motions of ninjas. Because of the blindfold over my eyes, I couldn't see where or who they were, but my sixth sense pinpointed their figures. To my right, I could feel Rose stalking up with her sword raised above her head. Turning my head, I threw the tray into the air and drew my right sword in one fluid motion and parried her attack, then forced her back as another ninja attacked from the left. Reaching out with my left hand, I caught the tray as it fell back down and flipped my sword handle-up, hitting my opponent in the face and throwing him away. Through the tray, I could feel the water stirring slightly but not rippling enough to cause any waves.

Sticking my katana into the ground and gripping the squishy handle, I lifted my feet up parallel to the ground while continuing to protect the Snapdragon. Two ninjas attacked at once, aiming to knock the tray from my hands, but I used my strength to swivel in their direction and kick them away. Because my sword was stuck in the ground and couldn't turn with me, I was relying solely on grip strength to spin around and hold my body horizontally above the ground.

Rose tried attacking again, but I turned in her direction and, churning my feet like I was running, kicked off of her and began traveling in a circle, propelling myself by kicking off of the ninja that had formed a circle around me. Once I was certain that they were temporarily disabled, I righted myself on the ground and reclaimed my sword. Three ninjas quickly recovered and attacked from three sides at once, so I cast the tray down along my arm, raised my leg as it slid down my back, and caught it on my foot while unsheathing my other katana. As if I was dancing, I spun on my toes and blocked their swords, turning around and around and waving my arms around me in circular motions while blocking each attack. The air around me began moving as I performed my swords dance, and an exhilarating feeling consumed me. I kicked the tray high up into the air and crossed my swords, feeling out into the space around me.

At first, I could only see the shadows of the figures rushing in on me, but upon recognizing Rose, I focused my chi on her. I began moving my swords around each other, gaining speed until the blades had become one fast propeller. I knew by the warm feeling leaving me that my chi had entered the swords, which caused what looks like gold dust to fly from the blades' ends. Soon, instead of seeing the outline of her figure from my sixth sense, I could see myself through her eyes. Under the blindfold, my eyes were glowing gold and the dust had become a tidal wave. I could see the six ninjas closing in on me in a circle, the training gym, and Yamikage watching the little spectacle from his spot on the far wall.

Using my new perspective, which was incredibly hard to use since I was watching myself and the situation from someone else's point of view, I jumped out of the way as a ninja leaped into the air next to Rose and crashed into his buddy behind me. Seeing someone approaching from my left, I crossed swords with him, trapping his katana in my two and swinging him around to the ninja next to Rose. With her as the only opponent left, I tried to make out what she was thinking.

Strike high and left, I read, or rather, she thought, and swung her sword that way. She's weak on her left side. Knowing her move, I quickly blocked it and did a back handspring out of the way to catch the tray, making sure to do so in a way that no water would spill. The poor little flower quivered again.

Oh gordo, she cursed, quickly retracting.

Language, I said telepathically to her.

What the- she thought, while I laughed and kicked her to the ground and held my sword in front of her. Leaving her head, I returned to my own and took off my blindfold. Looking around, I saw the other ninjas on the ground, moaning and slowly sitting up. Rose's eyes were wide in bewilderment as she took my hand and stood up. When I looked back over at the flower, no water had spilled from the vase, but a single petal had fallen.