On a String

Chapter 3

Kai said nothing, simply gestured for the Lighting Ninja to stand beside him. Jay followed the direction, coming to stand next to his team mate. There was a pause, before the blue Ninja carelessly asked "What happened to your cheek, Kai?"

("Don't you dare disobey me again, Ninja!" A sharp slash of pain, a stream of crimson...)

"Does that have anything to do with the lesson?"

"Uh, no," Jay had clearly been expecting some joke along the lines of 'cut myself shaving' and looked taken aback at Kai's abrupt tone.

"Good." Kai nodded coldly (cold was good, cold was safe. Heat was hot; heat was to be avoided) at the blue Ninja, missing the slight frown which flickered across Cole's face. "Now, can anyone tell me about any weakness they think Jay's fighting style displays?" There was silence. With a frown, Kai spoke again. "Could we please get Cole to spar him for a couple of minutes? Don't use your Spinjitzu, anyone. This is your weapon and your fighting style only,"

The Earth Ninja nodded, picking up his scythe and approaching Jay, who immediately pulled out his nun-chucks. After bowing to each other, the two Ninja began to circle. When Cole lashed out with his scythe, Jay flipped out of reach. Following up with another sweep of his weapon, Cole put pressure on Jay, effectively chasing the smaller ninja around the deck.

"Stop," Kai commanded, his voice carrying without having to yell. Cole and Jay lowered their weapons, looking at Kai for further instructions. Kai turned to the rest of the group. "Jay has an energetic personality, and this is present in his fighting style. The benefit of this is that he easily dances around Cole's weapon, avoiding getting hit. However, in his enthusiasm, he regularly misses openings, and this means that he often doesn't get the chance to retaliate and finish his opposition,"

The group remained silent while Kai gestured for Jay and Cole to continue to fight. "Look for openings and exploit them this time, Jay. Use your agility and energy to your advantage for both attack and defense. You need to use fewer moves that look 'good', and more that actually work. Don't let Cole chase you around the deck. This is a fight, not some competition,"

The two Ninja nodded, resuming the fight. After several more minutes, Kai stopped them again. "Thank you, Jay. You can join the rest of the group. Could we get Zane up here? I want people watching, ready to make comments on Cole and Zane's fighting styles,"

The two Ninja obeyed, Zane taking Jay's place. Kai signaled for the fight to begin, stepping back and watching. Like the previous fight, Cole started things off with a swing of his scythe. Zane was prepared for the move, though, ducking down under the weapon's blade before using a leg sweep to knock Cole to the ground.

The Ninja of Earth recovered fairly quickly, rolling away before Zane could come closer and finish the fight. He got to his feet, and the two Ninja looked at each other across the deck. After a pause, Cole ran forward again, while Zane flicked a Shuriken in his direction. Unprepared for the move, Cole was caught off balance and had to drop down to avoid the weapon. Zane ran in, launching into a spinning kick and following through with a front kick.

Cole took advantage of his strength and Zane's momentary loss of momentum by avoiding the kicks and knocking the Ninja to the ground. The white Ninja nonchalantly flipped back up.

"And stop," Kai ordered, walking over to the two Ninja with soft, catlike steps. "Now, what can we say about Cole's performance?"