Bonus Short Story

Self-Defense

Around noon in the Garula Canyon, a simple table was set up beside the armored truck. Yogiri and Tomochika were taking a break, sitting across from each other after finishing their lunches. With the incident in the tower now behind them, they were on their way to the capital.

“I just thought that if you were a little stronger, even if you couldn’t do everything, we could still solve a lot of problems,” Tomochika said.

“I think that depends on what ‘a little stronger’ means,” Yogiri replied.

“If something like a dragon attacks us then there’s nothing we can do but use your power, but if it’s just human thugs, we should be able to deal with them with martial arts, right?”

“You’re not wrong, but most thugs in this world attack with the intent to kill us. Fighting with some martial art I’m not that experienced in is kind of dangerous, don’t you think?”

“But you don’t want to kill them all, do you?”

“Well, no. If I can get by without killing, I’d prefer to.” From Yogiri’s perspective, the power he had was literally overkill. It wasn’t that he particularly wanted to destroy the people he was using it against.

Your power is a bit like using a sledgehammer to swat a fly, but if all you have is a sledgehammer... Mokomoko commented, nodding.

“Why don’t you try learning the Dannoura style?” Tomochika offered.

“That’s archery, right?” Yogiri cocked his head. The bow that Tomochika had bought early on had been lost along the way. It would be pretty hard to practice without it.

“Don’t worry, you don’t need a bow.”

The Dannoura Way is only taught within the family. Does that mean this is an indirect proposal of some sort?!

“Not at all! A-Anyway! There might be some trouble we can avoid with basic self-defense, so I figured it might be a good idea for you to learn some.”

“I suppose. I guess I’ll give it a shot, then.” Before, the only options open to Yogiri had been the ultimate extremes: kill or be killed. He didn’t know if he could learn a martial art effectively enough, but he figured it wouldn’t hurt to try.

“All right, let’s start with what to do if someone grabs your hand. Try grabbing my hand from above.”

Tomochika stood up, urging him to do the same.

“Like this?” As instructed, he grabbed Tomochika’s hand—and an instant later, he was sitting on the ground. “I have no idea how that happened.”

“Uhh, well. You move your wrist up, trying to keep the part they grabbed as still as possible. Then you step in and stick your elbow out.”

As she explained, she repeated the motions slowly. She had stepped onto his foot and struck him in the chest. Of course, she had been going easy on him, so it didn’t hurt that much.

“What’s the move called?” Yogiri asked as he stood back up.

“The Dannoura Elbow.”

“This is a Japanese martial art, right?” He cocked his head again.

“Yeah, that was my response when I first heard the name, but that’s how it is.”

Indeed! The Dannoura Elbow! It is best to be easily understood!

“I feel like I’ve seen something similar before. Maybe in a fighting game? I seem to remember the line, ‘You’re ten years too young for this!’”

“You mean it looks like Bajiquan? I guess it is pretty similar, but that’s Chinese. The Japanese version is a bit different...”

She trailed off as the two of them turned to Mokomoko...who promptly looked away.

“No way. Is this just Bajiquan?”

You can’t copyright a fighting technique! the ghost argued.

“You stole it?!”

We assimilate any technique that demonstrates excellence. Ceaseless effort and study are what built up generations of the Dannoura family!

“But you didn’t say anything until we pointed it out, so you’re feeling guilty about it, aren’t you?”

It’s hard to bring up such things!

“No need to be so angry. Anyway, give it a try, Takatou,” Tomochika said, grabbing Yogiri’s wrist.

He did his best to replicate the movements she had shown him. He was able to shake off her grip surprisingly easily, but that must have been because she wasn’t trying all that hard to hold on. There was no way an amateur could shake off a skilled martial artist’s grip with so little effort.

He then tried stepping in and thrusting with his elbow, but she easily dodged it.

Come on, you’re supposed to let him hit you in the chest and then both of you get all adorably embarrassed!

“Of course I’m going to dodge it!”

Next up is a technique for when someone grabs you from behind!

“No, it isn’t!”

“Hey, can I ask something?” Yogiri said, a little doubtful.

What is it?

“Is the Dannoura style really just a bunch of techniques to deal with people trying to molest you?”

What? No! It’s totally different!

“I thought I’d start with something that seemed most like self-defense, but now that I think about it, I guess it was kind of pointless.”

“Yeah, wouldn’t it be better to do something more suited to proactively overpowering someone?”

A technique to counterattack when someone grabbed you seemed too slow. Yogiri felt like it would be better to know how to deal with the situation before it reached that point.

Even then, the Elbow Thru—the Dannoura Elbow is pretty useful.

“You don’t have to pretend anymore.”

The Dannoura Elbow is useful as a counter, a throwing technique, or a joint lock. It’s a very practical, adaptable technique!

“Really?!”

Just seeing it one time isn’t enough for you to understand it. The techniques of the Dannoura School appear simple but hide great depth. They have many variations for different practical uses!

“I guess the depth it hid this time was that it came from Bajiquan.”

Tomochika herself also had a lot to learn about the Dannoura style.