Narrated by John
We woke up as usual, and went out to the training area. Mr. Benji stood near a large grey square platform. It had square tiles, and each corner had a staircase connected to it.
He came to us, and said,"Here's the arena for sparring! How is it?"
Alex said,"Great! Can't wait to test my strength!"
"Hold your horses, I've still got some things to cover. Every Saturday, we'll have sparring matches here. Of course, you can even spar on other days, but on Saturdays, it's a must. We'll alternate between solo and team matches, and today, it's team matches. For now, the teams fight me, and in the evening, you can go head to head against each other. We'll follow the rules of a general tournament. To win, you can either get your opponent to give up, or knock him out, or send them out of bounds. No extra items are allowed, no attacks to the vital parts. Energy use is allowed too. Any questions?"
"Nope. But, can a team take turns fighting?"
"No. Teamwork is absolutely necessary here, and it helps by leaps and bounds. Both members should fight simultaneously."
"Alright," Alex muttered. Looking at him and Gordon, it was clear that they weren't on the best terms with each other.
Mr. Benji began to walk towards the platform. He hesitated just before the stairs, as if a past memory had struck him, but he shook his head and entered the arena. He turned to us, and said,"Who's gonna go first?"
I looked at Alex, and he nodded.
"I'm going!" Gordon entered the ring.
Alex sighed, and entered the ring along with him.
Mr. Benji said,"Good! Since you have just begun your training, it would be very hard, if not impossible, to knock me out of bounds, which is the easiest way to win. So, I'll give you an easier task. Knock me off my feet, and if my back touches the ground, you win!"
Gordon cracked his knuckles, and Alex took his stance. Mr. Benji casually stood, and didn't look like he was taking it seriously.
He smiled, and said,"Begin!"
Both of them began the offense on Mr. Benji, and he took no effort in dodging the flurry of punches and kicks that Gordon and Alex put on.
In the midst of this, Mr. Benji said,"You need teamwork! Come on!"
The flurry continued, but they didn't really do much to Mr. Benji. I might have imagined it, but I think I saw a small smirk form on Alex's face.
All of a sudden, Benji's eyes slightly widened, but he recovered, and began blocking their punches, and a small bit of seriousness formed in his face. What had happened?
I focused on the offense, and soon, I could see the teamwork between Gordon and Alex. Or at least Alex. Gordon was still randomly smashing his way into Benji's guard, but Alex used Gordon's attacks as a cover, to land coordinated and well-planned strikes of his own on Mr. Benji's body.
It was a very good strategy, and would have easily worked on me, or someone else, but Mr. Benji was too fast for it. He first looked slightly uncomfortable, but quickly adapted to it, and effortlessly blocked Alex's strikes, while dodging Gordon's.
"An excellent strategy," Mr. Benji said,"but I have the experience."
He grabbed Alex's arm, and threw him outside the ring. However, he didn't apply much strength, so Alex was just an inch away from ring out.
Gordon stopped the offense, and jumped back. Alex got up, and they looked at each other. Alex nodded, and went on the offense again, but this time, he focused on Mr. Benji's lower half. Even though he easily dodged it, Alex kept the pace up, and it looked like he was on to something.
He kept attacking Mr. Benji's legs, and went for a sweep. Mr. Benji jumped, and that's when Alex shouted,"Now!"
Gordon ran towards him, and went for a jumping kick. Mr. Benji was still in the air, and if the kick connected, there was no doubt that he'd go down.
As Gordon reached Mr. Benji, Mr. Benji moved and successfully dodged the kick. However, Gordon probably saw that coming, and extended his arm. He clotheslined Mr. Benji, and Mr. Benji fell down. There was no way his back wouldn't touch the ground.
It was game over for Mr. Benji.
Or so we thought.
Gordon and Alex looked back, and Mr. Benji was in the handstand position. He kipped back to his feet. How did he do that?
He dusted his hands, and said,"That was a great plan! You nearly caught me off-guard there! But, then again, I have the experience."
Gordon and Alex were too shocked to say anything. They shook their heads and looked at each other again. This time, both nodded, and once again, lunged at Mr. Benji.
Mr. Benji began dodging another set of random attacks from both of them, and I noticed that Gordon slowly started creeping towards Mr. Benji's back.
Alex continued his offense, and Mr. Benji failed to notice Gordon behind him.
He stumbled forward as Gordon pushed him from behind, and Alex's forearm connected head-on to his face!
He stumbled back, and began to fall, when he suddenly grabbed Gordon's collar, and in one swift motion, threw him outside the ring. Gordon went crashing into the ground.
Mr. Benji was still in the game. He said,"This wasn't bad either. I would have certainly lost, if it were not for Gordon, who was luckily behind me. I used him to support myself up, and eliminated him! I hope you're okay there, Gordon!"
Gordon groaned, and sputtered random jibberish, indicating that he was 'okay'.
Alex nodded,"I wasn't really expecting you to evade that one, but, then again, you're our master for a reason."
Mr. Benji laughed,"True! And I'm actually impressed that you progressed so much in just one week! Now, let's finish this."
He lunged at Alex, and started his offense. He was too swift, but Alex somehow managed to hold his own for a minute, before landing in the dust beside Gordon.
Mr. Benji said,"Very well done! I'm impressed!"
He turned to me and Anne,"Your turn now. Think you can top up their performance?"