29 Sparring

Randy nodded. He took off his jacket and removed his gun. They both walked to the front. The two got into fighting positions and didn't move. Both parties realized the other was an expert and had no gaps in defense.

After an extended pause, Randy finally made the first move as he made a lightning fast punch towards Light. Seeing this, Light pivoted on his left foot and used his left arm to redirect the energy of the punch using the minimal amount of energy possible. Without waiting for the punch to finish or losing his balance, Randy followed up with a roundhouse kick towards Light's head. Light dodged once again.

This attack and defense pattern continued as Randy continued to aggressive attack and Light either dodged or redirected every hit with ease. While he did not make any attacks on his own, he also did not get hit by a single one of Randy's attacks.

On the side, the guards on duty were so amazed their jaws almost dropped to the ground. They had never actually seen a fight with such high intensity in real life. While the police force taught hand to hand combat and there was some sparring involved, most of their training was focused on disarming suspects with the least amount of combat possible and had a heavier emphasis on the use of a gun.

Aida and Xiao Ai treated this fight like a show as they watched on with interest. Aida even brought out some popcorn. She would eat a couple pieces and the bun beside her would nudge her until she was fed some popcorn as well. They continued this cycle until all the popcorn was gone.

Aida nodded her head in appreciation as she watched the fight. Light clearly lived up to his reputation as an aikido master, and Randy wasn't giving an inch either. She was surprised to find Randy was an agility fighter rather than a strength fighter. Randy was a big and tall man who almost seemed to tower over Light's lean figure. Despite this, Randy was extremely quick on his feet. If Light were not so proficient at reading body language and anticipating his actions, he might not be able to come out of this fight unscathed.

Within 5 minutes, the two had exchanged over 500 blows and continued. Right then, Aida felt Light's emotions change slightly despite showing nothing different externally. The only reason she could feel it is due to their connection. Light was preparing a counterattack to end this fight. Aida approved of Light's ability to conceal his emotions, he had the potential to become an assassin.

Light was blocking an upper jab from Randy and "lost balance" as he took an unsteady step back. Seeing this opening, Randy immediately charged forward throwing another punch towards Light. Expecting this, Light calmly sidestepped with perfect control and used the punch's momentum to throw Randy over his shoulder onto the ground.

Aida nodded, Light fought with a true tactician's mind. Fighting smart was worth far more than fighting hard.

Laying on the ground, Randy gasped for air as he acknowledged his loss. "I lost."

Light immediately let go of Randy's arm and bowed, "Good fight."

The sentry spectating this match applauded both parties. They greatly respected the strong and skilled.

Unphased by his loss, Randy readily hopped back up to his feet and waved towards Ace and the others. "Let me take you around the base. You can leave the cart here, we can bring them in after you are situated."

Hearing this, Light nodded. Light and Ace took the initiative to carry one child each while Aida carried Xiao Ai in her hands. From the other's perspectives, Xiao Ai looked like a plush toy so while it looked odd, no one thought it was extremely atypical. Xiao Ai also did not bounce around or float as she normally did as she was incredibly shy in front of larger groups, she just sat quietly in Aida's arms.

Patting Xiao Ai, they walked into the faction's headquarters. Within, they saw individual tents pitched despite being indoors to have some privacy. This was their housing area.

Now that they were walking around casually, Randy turned his attention to Aida again, "Hey lady, we meet again. Since we will be collaborating now, don't I have the right to know your name?" He said casually with a wink.

Before Aida could respond, both Light and Ace responded at the same time. "No!" "Absolutely not."

"…"

Randy laughed, not minding at all, "Looks like you got yourself a new guard dog since the last time I saw you."

"I'm just a nobody following this team to survive the apocalypse. There's no need to learn the name of someone so trivial," replied Aida in a deadpan voice and returned her surroundings.

Giving Aida a deep look, he stopped pestering her and turned his attention to the lab they had just reached. "This is where all the research on the virus is being done. I will go get the head researcher for you to discuss with."

Moments later, he came back out with the researcher. Surprisingly it was Noah whom they had encountered during the blood tests. Noah had an air of superiority and grandness around her that could only be acquired by experience as a leader. She conducted herself with grace and never appeared to be phased by anything, not even this apocalypse.

They went to a table and sat down as someone came and gave everyone at the table hot teas. Sipping hot tea while chatting, this was the first sense of normalcy since the apocalypse started.

They started with a round of introductions (Randy finally learned Aida's name) and Light opened the conversation, "As we mentioned to Randy before, our group would like to form a collaboration with you all. We are willing to offer you protection in return for information on the virus research."

Pushing her glasses up, Noah inquired, "What makes you think we have any useful information on the virus research?"

Chuckling lightly, Light responded while shaking his head, "We know the government is sending a helicopter to pick you all up. This is proof enough that you all have discovered something of material use."

Once Light said these words, the environment immediately turned cold as Noah and Randy both had their guard up. They both look poised for a fight.