Greatest Swordsman Ever.

They’ll put that on my tombstone, Jerald thought to himself while his agent hovered around him. His assistant was getting the kakuobi to sit just right. The sounds of an eager crowd reverberating through the arena walls pleased him.

“…provisos and conditions all set for a no fault situation, no matter what happens or who gets hurt. Everyone signs, of course, for appearance sake—you, me, the announcer, the ring girl, and, well, you know…him.” His agent Tolly swallowed hard. As much as he’d done to set this up, he still wasn’t comfortable.

“My honorable opponent,” Jerald offered sagely.

Tolly scoffed, “Some terminally ill bean couter, father of three, agrees to let you slice him in half on national television? Seems a stretch to call him an opponent.”

The dry reply came, “He’ll have a sword.”

“And you’ll cut him in half as a, um, like a…”

“Demonstrate of the grace and power of the katana.”

Tolly only hung his head and left, leaving Jerald to his contemplative smile.