19 Ch. 19 - Fistfight

Crack-crack-crack-crack-crack

I cracked my knuckles as I approached Valde. Looking at his skinny build, I thought that no way would he be able to beat me in a fistfight. Not to brag, but I already have experience killing with these two fists.

Standing on the other end of the ring, Valde crouched low and entered a defensive stance.

"I thought you wanted to fight. What's with your turtle-like stance?"

"A wise man once said the best defense is the best offense." (Valde)

"We'll see about that."

I walked close to Valde before bringing up both my arms to protect my head. Valde still hasn't moved yet, and something doesn't feel right. He's too confident.

I held my gut feeling in high regard, it has saved me many times now, and I wasn't going to start doubting it now.

To test the waters, I went for a quick jab. Valde took it without trying to dodge. That's a red flag. Is he a grappler? Is he waiting for me to get close enough? Several different thoughts raced through my mind, and I needed confirmation. I went for a light jab again, deliberately stepping into Valde's reach. Still no reaction from Valde.

This is a bad spot for me to be in right now. Valde knows that I'm just poking him to assess his true abilities right now. My light jabs aren't going to damage him, so he'll just endure it. This way, he wouldn't reveal anything about his fighting style. The only way I could get him to show his true abilities would be if I could make Valde feel threatened by my attack, and I can't achieve that with only jabs.

I circled Valde looking for an opening to exploit. Occasionally I spot a gap on Valde's defense; however, I refused to exploit them because I knew they were traps set by Valde. He's trying to bait me in by purposely showing openings on his body. He's better than I thought.

"You're better than I thought."

"The same could be said about you." (Valde)

"Are you a grappler?"

"Maybe." (Valde)

At this rate, this spar isn't going to go anywhere. One of us needs to take the initiative. It's time for me to use a tried-and-true method of boxing. I got close to Valde and started swinging.

Jab. Jab. Cross. Left hook. Uppercut.

Valde used his front arm to block the two jabs, but my strong cross managed to disrupt his balance. My left hook got him right in the gut, causing him to let out an oof sound. Just before I performed my finished in the form of an uppercut, Valde leaned forward, forcing my uppercut to hit him prematurely in the chest when I was aiming for his chin. I'm in danger.

Valde's two hands grasped my shoulders, and that was more than enough to tell me that Valde was an experienced grappler. The next thing I knew, my back was on the ground, and Valde's thighs were tightening around my neck.

I struggled to get out of the headlock, but Valde's legs were firmer than its appearance would suggest. In the end, I lost. I tapped the ground three times to signal that I had conceded, and I felt Valde release the headlock.

I coughed a few times to recover my breath.

"How long have you grappled for?"

"I've been grappling since I was four." (Valde)

"Why so young?"

"It was my father's decision. What's your fighting style? I couldn't tell." (Valde)

"It isn't exactly a fighting style as it is a freestyling with bits of different techniques."

"Where did you learn that from?" (Valde)

"Street fighting."

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The warning bell sounded.

"We should head to our next class now." (Valde)

"I agree."