Flights of Fancy [JJK Reader Insert]

Chapter 14: Out Sourced Tutoring

sorry for the lack of updates. if you want something slightly less delayed, check out the story on quotev! readers over there get updates first (a month or two earlier)! also have more stories going on there that I haven't crossposted on wattpad (but updates are also kinda wonky, too...!)

Maki was always shockingly faster, no matter how often you were pitted against her. The first time you saw her, you always processed her moves, even seconds after she landed a hit. To a martial artist, reaction time was everything. Analyzing your opponent's next defense, offense, and tactics...was all vital to the fight. You had learned early to adapt to this, but when it came to Maki, she was a whole other beast.

You couldn't help but be so damn awed and impressed by her.

Though after a few months, you think you'd grown to adapt to your spar sessions with her.

"That was good. Now spar with Kugisaki."

"Eh? What? No way!"

You ignored the girl's protests, quirking a brow toward Maki.

"That's new, but sure..."

You flip one of the wooden swords in your hands, noting how ambidextrous you've become. That lack of trait had been a problem before in your martial arts training. You subconsciously tended to favor your dominant side, which left you more vulnerable to openings on the other.

"You won't need those," she brushed past you, plucking the short wooden swords from your hands.

"What?" You asked in genuine confusion.

She gave you a pointed look, placing a sword to rest on her shoulder. "You're doing hand-to-hand combat today."

You squinted at her incredulously.

"Did Yuta finally send you mail? There's no way you-"

There wasn't even time for you to finish, as you narrowly avoided the sword vaulted at Mach speed toward you-a vein pulsing practically on the corner of her brow at your suggestion.

"Cut the crap, or else I'll quit being nice and personally see to more of your training myself!"

Right. Keep your lips sealed tight and count your blessings.

While the verbal warning wasn't needed, even before being nearly impaled by a wooden stick, that was more than enough motivation to behave for the rest of training today.

"She showed you," Kugisaki said with a cheeky grin.

You grumbled under your breath, walking to place yourself directly across from your female counterpart. With only a meter of distance between the two of you, either could reach out arm width's length and grab hold of the other. This was the more favored length for close combat sparring among the second years. It made the matches quicker and to the point.

At first, it was difficult not to be mindful of your space when doing these spar sessions, as in most matches in your martial arts classes, you engraved boundaries into the back of your mind. In these sparring matches, it was more about open space and tossed aside the notion of such rules.

"I've never seen you actually fight without your dummy swords," Kugisaki pointed out, stretching out an arm. "I had already forgotten that you don't like using them."

You grunted, "It's not that I hate using them...I just don't like sucking at using them."

"Same thing!"

"No, it ain't."

"Enough. How about some movement in the sparing circle?"

Figuring that Maki might decide to spar with you again if you didn't hurry, you took a simple stance, assessing Kugisaki's posture. She was taught the bare-bone basics, but she wasn't a brawler of any kind. Her cursed technique focused on long to mid-range attacks, so she didn't really need to learn much physical combat. However, Maki and Panda ensured that she could at least defend herself if it ever came down to it.