***
I howled with pain and dropped my practice sword as the old master cut through my defenses and struck me a savage blow on my forearm. He was 89 years old, but age hadn't put much of a damper on his focus as a swordsman. Of course, he tired far quicker than a younger man did, and wasn't nearly as agile any more. But he still had a few tricks up his sleeve.
“Pick it up,” he said, pointing at the sword. “We are not finished yet.”
“Yes, master,” I said, groaning with pain as I picked up the sword and prepared to fight.
“Something is unbalancing you. This is why an old man such as myself is able to defeat you, who are but my grandson's age. You must clear your mind of whatever is plaguing it if you are to defeat me.”
I breathed in deeply and slowly, doing my best to maintain a sense of clarity and focus.
Still, try as I might, I could not get thoughts of Lilah out of my head. I hadn't seen her since Wednesday at the pizza parlor. She'd evidently been going out of her way to avoid me. Perhaps that had been a good thing. I wasn't sure what I'd say to her, anyway.
I launched into a vicious attack, hoping that my superior strength and speed would be enough for me to overcome the dated man in front of me. I was wrong.
He deflected my powerful, but inaccurate attack with ease and flipped the sword out of my hand. Then he tripped me up so that I fell forward onto one knee.
I looked up, embarrassed, as I felt his wooden practice sword pressing firmly into the back of my neck.
“If this were a real katana, your head would be rolling at my feet right now, Sinclair-san.”
“If we were using real katanas, master, you would have beheaded me an hour ago,” I commented glumly. “And from then on, you would have kept beheading me over and over again.”
The old man raised his sword from my neck, took off his mask, and smiled sympathetically.
“Stand up, Sinclair-san,” he said. “I can see that something has caused you to lose your focus. We must speak of this. This is why you came here, is it not?”
I nodded.
“It is, master.”
“Come, then. We will visit the hot springs, and there you will tell me of whatever it is that is attacking you from within.”
A while later, we were soaking in the warm waters of the natural hot spring pools in the forest near Colonel Tanaka's estate and sipping on sake as we talked beneath the cool, starry sky above.
“It is a matter of the heart that troubles you so, is it not?” asked the old man.
“It is, Colonel, it is.”
He nodded.
“I gathered as much. Few things can alter one’s focus like the heart. Such things can weigh heavily on the spirit of the young—and the old.”
“And, this one has been weighing heavily on my heart for some time.”
“Tell me, Sinclair-san, in America, you are a powerful man. A man of prestige, respect, and immense wealth and standing, are you not?”
“I am.”
“And, you carry your grandfather's legacy of honor, do you not?”
“I do. I whisper a prayer for him every day, as you taught me to.”
“Good. One must honor one's ancestors. One way of honoring them is by behaving in an honorable manner yourself at all times. Have you conducted yourself in such a manner?”
“Always, I try to. Although many times, I fail.”
“You are young, and cannot expect to be infallible. Especially when it comes to matters of the heart, women, or love.”