The Life Of Normal-Taro

"So, how long are we gonna keep doing this?" Taro asked out of sheer curiosity.

"As long as you want it to. I mean, I'm not gonna pull out a move on you unless you attack me first." Harish replied with a smile.

"Hmm, you know that an entire period flashed by with us just standing here, right?" The Wadorian asked.

"I'm aware of that, yes." Harish nodded his head to that.

Taro sighed. "Why?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are you doing this?" Taro asked.

"What do you mean?" Harish tilted his head in confusion.

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about! Why the hell aren't you pulling out the first move? It's the most advantageous situation one can be in, right?" Taro asked.

"Funny, because I can ask the same question to you as well! How come you don't attack me first?" Harish smirked as he asked him the question.

"Well, it's my personal creed. My sensei asked me not to pull out attacks as much as possible." Taro replied honestly.

"So, what's the threshold?" Harish asked.

"Till I can no longer rely on just counterattacks to cover my bases." Taro answered. "So, since I've answered that, what about you? What's your reason?" He asked.

"Hmm, nothing like that. I kinda instinctively felt like you were a counter attack type of guy. So, I chose to be one as well." Harish shrugged.

"I see. So, now you're aware that I'm not JUST a counter attack type of guy, right?" Taro asked.

"Yup."

"Great. How about you put an end to it then? Attack me and we'll get the party started." Taro ordered.

"Well, just because I know that you're not just a counter attack type doesn't mean that I'm gonna go against my strategy. The current you are really comfortable with just dealing it with counters. Which means that you've practiced counters way too many times. So, if I'm to attack you, you're still gonna counter and win the whole thing." Harish analyzed.

"Hmm, surprisingly perceptive." Taro nodded his head to Harish's hypothesis. "You're right about that. It's the style that I used recently, even. So, people might think that I grew attached to counters when in reality, I really don't even care about it that much." Taro scoffed.

"Is that so? Why won't you just attack then? You getting afraid now?" Harish spoke in an almost mocking tone.

Taro took in a really deep breath before he spoke. "Don't tell me I didn't warn ya." He spoke.

"I won't," Harish smiled.

"Cool." The very next moment, Taro, who stood before him for a straight hour, was just missing. Like, literally no trace of the person was seen for a second or two.

This scene was so bizarre that kids started taking notice of it. After all the time, without even a single movement, suddenly there was a massive movement. And this excited the disciples. However, they were actually surprised when they realized it was not their sensei but Taro who made the decisive movement.

But here's the thing. No one saw Taro, even if they squinted their eyes. They could only see him once he landed a hit in the solar plexus of Harish. However, Harish was confident. He had trained his body for far too long for it to crumble down from a hit to the solar plexus.

Everyone around thought of it as a stupid move from Taro's behalf as well. He could've aimed a lot of places with the kind of leverage he got with his movement, however he chose to hit the most sought yet trained fatal point of the body. 

Although that was the case, no one believed what they saw next. They saw their master crumbling down onto the mat, gasping for breath from the hit. 

"Shit, why was I so confident about receiving his hit? How can I forget about the punch he pulled off in the tournament? He could've killed me with that punch of his." Harish thought as he coughed uncontrollably.

"So, shall we continue?" Taro asked.

"Nah, I give up this round. You won." Harish smiled.

"How is that even possible?" Some of the students shouted in admiration.

"Well, when the force in which you throw the punch is too much, you can actually manhandle the defence." Harish, who was gasping for air for a second, stood up and explained.

"I see. So, shall we train our strength considerably and be like Mr Sadanandan?" One of the disciples shouted and others followed it up as well.

Harish sighed. "Do you even know how long it might've taken Mr Sadanandan to be the level in which he is? It takes a lot. Not a novice play, you see." He spoke.

"Hmm, we're ready to follow through with it though." They cried.

This time around, Taro was the one who sighed. "Okay, look. Strength is not the only answer. A martial art can't be perfect with brute strength alone. If that was the case, what's the use of learning a martial art even? We could simply fight as barbarians. There are reasons we learn certain techniques. Consider me. If I didn't learn the basics, I wouldn't know when to strike and stuff—that is, if you take out my instinctual nature." Taro chuckled.

"Putting yourself up on the pedestal, eh?" Harish asked.

"Well, I simply spoke of the truth and nothing else." Taro shrugged.

"Ha, I just can't say any reply since you kinda deserve to be arrogant." Harish sighed.

"Wait a minute. Does that mean that Mr Sadanandan is better than our sensei?" One disciple called out.

"Hmm, not necessarily. In terms of strength and counters, possibly, yea. However, I feel like he has more polished moves and a lot of experience." Taro replied.

"... Strength and counter attacks, huh… It really does gel with each other. And this coalition makes it really difficult for the opponents." Harish analyzed.

"Think about it. Polished moves and counters. No matter how strong a person is, martial arts always finds a way for the weak person to take advantage of the opponent's strength as well. So, if it was my choice, I would've preferred my moves to be more polished than strong." Taro spoke.

"Hmm, you're right. Polished moves are fun to watch as well. I guess I'll go that path." Abhirami, who stayed silent for the most part, spoke up.

That day Harish's dojo received an extra fifteen or so students from the Heavenly Flame school alone. Truly a monumental day for Harish!

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