𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 [𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢]

• Chapter 8 •

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❝Sorry, Maki-san! You don't have a chance with this one!❞
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You and Inumaki walk alongside each other, following Maki to the center of the track. Panda has also made his way there, light blue bands on his wrists. Upon closer inspection, you can see that they have little pandas printed on them. You chuckle silently to yourself at the observation.

Meeting up with Panda, you place your bottle down swiftly on the grass, the uneven blades making it fall over. You hear Inumaki do the same, and the three of you walk closer to the giant cursed corpse. You're still a little amazed at the creation, and you have to admit you want to know all the details, although it might be too personal for casual conversation.

"Hey there! Are you ready for practice some hand-to-hand combat?" he greets. You look back at him nervously. Although your father taught you many techniques, you've never gotten to use them on a moving person before. He always refused to practice with you, saying he was behind on his work or making up other excuses. This led to you beating up a dummy for hours a day, sometimes using your cursed technique on it.

Apparently he notices your nerves and responds to his own question. "It's alright, I'll go easy on you." "Just don't make it too easy!" you say jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. He smiles at you, happy with how friendly you're being. He probably got the wrong idea due to Maki being the only one other than Inumaki around for so long.

You notice Inumaki and Maki already taking their stances next to you. You back up, making your way to the other side of the center. When you're happy with the distance, you lower your stance, facing towards the panda. You aren't quite sure how he's going to attack, so you decide to be extra cautious.

He does the same, mirroring your stance. "The first to prevent the other from moving for at least three seconds wins! Ready, start!" He immediately leads with a left hook, trying to knock you to the ground in one blow. You quickly bend down, dodging the attack. 'I think playing defensive until I get a basic idea of his fighting patterns is the best idea,' you think to yourself, blocking a straightforward punch with your wrists.

Your eyes widen at the magnitude of the punch. It was much more forceful than you expected an attack from a stuffed animal to be. You notice him smirking, so you quickly fix your stance and move to the side, trying to maneuver your way to the back of him. He quickly catches on, however, and lifts his leg up in a windmill kick to knock you off balance.

Unable to maneuver your body, you take the kick directly to the side and hit the ground with a grunt. The large panda then sits on your abdomen, making it harder to breath. "One, two, three, and that's a win! You need to loosen your stance if you still want to be agile," he says looking down at you."Here, get up. I'll show you."

He stands up, and you follow. You get into your basic stance, and he moves your arms and legs. "Doesn't that feel better? Try to move around now." "Alright, thank you!" you respond, arms in front of your face, prepared to take a hit. "Ready, go!"

Once again, Panda leads with a left hook. You dodge it the same way, then decide to show off your skills a little. You maneuver the same way at last time, running swiftly behind him. "You never learn, do you?" he says confidently. He starts to move his leg the same way as last time, and you smirk.

You jump into the air and tuck your upper body inwards, resulting in a no-hands flip over the kick. Landing quickly, you watch as he starts to lose his balance from the sudden momentum. 'Thanks for the tip, Panda!' Seeing this as a unique opportunity, you knock his ankle with a strong kick, one leg still in the air. Starting to wobble, an anxious expression spreads over his face.

Still not done, you run over and grab his right arm, then run around the opposite side of him, wrapping it around his neck. His already unstable leg falls to the ground, and you pin the arm along with his legs. You have to admit it's a little hard on a furry panda.

"One, two," you start, tightening your grip to secure your victory. You quickly double check you pinned his legs correctly so he can't kick you. Suddenly, you feel his legs move, so you look backwards. You immediately regret the act when his loose arm hits you square in the face. Still disoriented, he gets up and pushes you to the ground, then sits on you like last time. Your injured side aches from the sudden pressure.

"Great moves; I'm impressed! But they mean nothing if you don't know how to deliver the finishing blow. You were focused so much on my legs that you forgot about my free arm, which was weakly pinned. I recommend researching techniques and building up your strength for next time!" 'He can point out my flaws almost instantly...' you think, a little embarrassed.

"Don't take it too harshly, though!" he says, patting your shoulder. He stands up, and you stay on the ground for a second, taking in everything he just said. You get up and decide to watch Inumaki and Maki's match while he gets water. Your eyes widen at the moves.

Flips, blocks, and dodges: everything that happened was skillfully executed and done at the appropriate time. You realize just how much more work you need to put into training, and decide to take mental notes of their battle as a start.

After only a few seconds, Panda comes back and interrupts your analysis. "Hey, can you come over here for a second?" he says, signaling you over. "Sure, what's up?" you say, following him farther away from the match. Lowering his voice, he whispers something to you.

"I bet you like people with glasses, right?"

"What? Where did this come from?"

"Just a thought. So do you?"

"I don't really have an opinion, I guess. They don't add or decrease attraction in my eyes."

"Aw, ok." he says with a pout. Raising his voice, he shouts to the two duelers. "Sorry Maki-san, you don't have a chance with this one!" Losing concentration from the call, Inumaki knocks her off balance and pins her to the ground. "What is wrong with you, you animal? We're basically siblings!" she states frustratedly. "You never know!" he says quickly in response. She grunts and gets up swiftly after the loss.

You assume this is something he did often.