OPERATION: Steak Cuts! - A BotBots Fic Series

Swordsmanship Sparring - CHAP 1

"Why do you want to swordfight, of all things?" Bonz-Eye grabbed a plastic toy sword from the bin, tossing it at her fellow bot.

"Uh, because sword-fighting is only the single-handed GREATEST  form of skill, obviously!" Burgertron puffed his chest out proudly. "If I- I mean- we,  wanna make our selves look good for our squads, it'll be good to pick up some extra skills! And besides, it's great exercise!"

The mere mention of exercise made Kikmee perk up. "WE'RE DOING EXERCISES?!  Oooh, can I time you? I can spot you if you need me to-!"
"No, no. Not that kind of exercise, Kikmee." The leader held his hand up passively, to which the soccer ball deflated. "Aww..."
"Buuut, on the bright side! You can watch me and Bonz-Eye here demonstrate swordsmanship! It'll be a good way for us to show you the ropes and the do's and don'ts of swordplay!"

"I dunno, man, this just sounds like an excuse for you to hang out with Bonz-Ey--"
"Clogstopper."  The burgerbot stared dead at his teammate, who raised his hands defensively. "Relax, man! I was jus' sayin..."

"What did he say? I couldn't hear him." Bonz-Eye gestured to one of the hearing modules on her head, Burgertron wildly flapping his hand dismissively. "It's nothing! Don't- Don't worry. Anyways, the point of this exercise is to learn from us and then apply it in practice! Got it?"

The other bots nodded in understanding as the two took their places, aiming their swords high at each other as they stood in starting position.

"Burgertron."
"Yeah?"
"Your stance is wrong. You're holding your sword with both hands." Bonz-Eye put her weapon down and walked over to her opponent. "What? No it's not! All great swordsmen hold it like this." Burgertron objected, the bonsai simply rolling her eyes. She took the sword from him and held his hands.
"Hey, what are y-"

"Which is your dominant hand?" She asked curtly. Burgertron tilted his head.
"What?"
"Which hand do you write with?" She clarified, to which the leader lifted his right hand. "Then you hold the sword with your right hand, and rest your thumb on the blade. It allows for better pivot control."
She placed the weapon in his hand, and then adjusted his fingers so they were placed on the handle and blade correctly. The leader grunted impatiently, feeling his face burn up as she moved her hands away.
"Are you okay?" Bonz-Eye pointed at one of his cheeks. "You look like you're burning up." The burger-bot put his other hand on his face, looking away. "Oh- Yeah, I'm- fine!!! Don't... don't know why I wouldn't be, aha..."

She squinted at him, before relenting. "If you insist."

The two retook their positions.

"On three?"
Bonz-Eye held the blade high, a smirk on her face.

"On three!"
Burgertron grinned ear to ear.

1.

2.

3!!

Their plastic blades clashed together, the bots dodging each others' attacks nimbly and with precision.
"Keep your head high!" Bonz-Eye commanded, ducking below a swing. "Legs apart, keep yourself relaxed!"
Burgertron could feel his legs start to burn as he tensed up. His circuitry felt like it was melting as he stared down the bonsai-bot. She was so agile, so precise in her movement, it was like she was gliding through the room.

He loved it.

"HAVE AT THEE!" He cried as he expertly dodged a strike. "Good, good, you're starting to get it!"

She praised him! She PRAISED HIM!!
He felt like he was going to burst at the seams with joy. Her voice was like music to his ears...

Completely absorbed in his ego and admiring of his second-in-command, he was swiftly knocked over onto his rear end, groaning as he sat up.
A sword came up to his chin as he stared up at his opponent, who simply stared back down.

Bonz-Eye couldn't help but find herself enamored by how silly he looked. His mussed hair, helmet nearly slid off of his head, his face red from embarrassment, it was adorable. She found herself smiling as she crouched down, meeting him at eye level.

"And that, my dear friend, is why we keep our eye on the battle." She helped him up, adjusting his helmet back onto his head. "There we are." She tossed her sword aside, holding her hand out to shake. "You're very obviously a beginner, no doubt, but I do believe with time you'll be able to hone your skill into something great."
Burgertron took her hand, shaking it firmly. "Y-Yeah! You, uh...you're... really great! At swords. 'N stuff... aha..."

"...Are you sure you're okay? You look like a tomato." She poked his face.

"I-I'm fine, honest!"
"It doesn't look like it."
"I promiiiise, I'm alright!"

The other three watched as their superiors bickered, exchanging glances.

"So...we can all agree there's somethin'  goin' on with those two, right...?" Clogstopper whispered. "Oh, definitely. I've never seen the captain so...so flustered!  'Cept when he talks about his "girlfriend"," Kikmee said, air-quoting. "But he really  gets wound up around Bonz-Eye, and the way they talk to each other...It's almost like they're... Y'know." She gestured vaguely with her hand.
"Dating?" Dimlit spoke up. "Yeah! And did you see  the way Bonz was staring at him when he was on the floor? She totally  thought he was cute." Kikmee said confidently. "How do you know she wasn't just about to laugh at him...?" Clogstopper questioned. "I just do. Call it intuition." The soccer ball-bot smiled smugly.

The three looked at each other, before glancing back at the other two bots, who were still bantering back and forth, laughing as Burgertron elbowed the other. "C'mon, I was relaxed!"
"No you were not!  You were moving like a statue!"
"Nuh-uh! I was the  most composed out there. Promise."
"You lasted less than a minute on your feet. I managed to bowl you over by kicking at your legs."


"So... Are we ever gonna... tell 'em?  Or like..." Clogstopper shook his head questioningly.

"Mmm..." Kikmee pondered, before waving a dismissive hand. "Nah, they'll figure it out. I'm sure of it!"