You were bored, finding your reflexes a little sluggish, too sluggish. So after you and Gardener had set up the training dummies you had found hidden away you started immediately battling them. Though battling… no, more like beating them up. Dummies couldn’t move… Well Gardner could, but not these dummies.
These dummies couldn’t move, couldn’t yell, or fight you back. But they served your purpose well. Landing lightning quick moves with your hands, legs, feet, elbows as you methodically moved around the dummies. Gardner cheering you on as he sat there watching you.
You felt a little less sluggish with each blow of the hand moving lightning fast landing against a dummies neck, or a well placed kick along the stomach. You made sure to hit the dummies that would be vital spots on a human.
As the time moved through the day to afternoon you had apparently; without realizing it, caught the eye of Regal. He had watched you earlier with Gardner moving around the garden taking the dummies out of their hidden spot. It certainly piqued his curiosity.
After living there for the bit of time you had he hadn’t seen you fight, he hadn’t seen you really do anything other than annoy his brother. Honestly Regal thought it was funny that you still called his brother “Master” knowing how his brother felt about that and how little his brother wanted any kind of responsibility. But now with his interest piqued he couldn’t help it, he moved down to the garden. He was happy you hadn’t touched the Butterfly Pea flowers. Thankful; silently, that you opted to move a bit towards the woods area.
As Regal moved closer watching you, he decided then and there you weren’t doing a good enough job. Yes you had good-ish movements, and speed was decent, not great. No no, you needed guidance. He was going to be the one to guide you. That was it, his mind was made up.
Gardner’s cheering went quiet, then you heard it, Regal’s famous “cough” a move he used to get your attention. Which worked as you stopped kicking the dummy and looked at him. Your eyes are still void of emotion, even so less now than before. The slight spark you had when training was gone replaced with… nothing. Absolutely nothing. You didn’t ask, you waited for him to speak though.
Regal didn’t take long; he spoke quickly. “I see you’re training. You have decent movements, but wasted on those dummies. So if you want to spar, then you shall spar against me!” he told you in no uncertain terms.
Nodding you and Gardner moved the training dummies out of the way first. Which Regal didn’t even bother to try and stop. He watched you as he got ready and pulled out two Kendo sticks from his dimensional storage in his phone. Once you and Gardner were done he handed you one. He was about to speak, to tell you what it was but stopped after he saw you take your stance. Clearly you knew what it was and what it was for. Good, saved him words anyway. Taking his own Kendo stick he wasted no time. He moved at you with lightning speed, kendo raised up and ready to come down landing a blow but then blinked realizing you weren’t there.
You weren’t stupid, you knew what that stick was, of course when you were training it wasn’t called a kendo stick, it was something else, but still the same premise. You grabbed it, took it, and held it with ease. You went slightly slack giving off an air of not completely ready, but aware of the fact that you were signaling that you were ready, knees slightly bent, feet apart. And of course as soon as Regal moved at you, you were gone, Jumping up making him miss his blow entirely. You watched as blinked caught off guard then as you landed back down your own blow ready you watched as he jumped back away from you, but once your feet were on the ground before you could even move he was on, attacking from the front. His stick hitting your stick as you parried and blocked his move by moving yours up and knocking him backward.
You weren’t stupid, you didn’t think he’d fumble or miss his footing. He didn't make captain by being slacked and dim witted. And once he was knocked back he was on you again but coming from a different angle. One you side stepped as you basically danced around him in a swirl as if some ballerina in a show.
But as you spun around and went to land your blow coming up from the bottom to the top he had already blocked you knocking you back which was fine, but you were determined to win. As he went to sweep downward intent on tripping you up, you jumped and twirled bringing your wooden sword to strike at his neck but he simply moved his sword to the back and blocked you, so you yet again switched coming up his side but again he moved, countered, and blocked, making you move, jump, twirl and swing out to hit his legs.
Regal was quick on his feet as he side stepped brought down his sword and hit you on the back of the neck, but just as he was thrilled he got a hit in he realized his mistake, you let the hit happen in favor of also hitting you right on the kneecap at the exact same time.
Regal couldn’t believe it, he hit your back, but you also hit his knee and he stared at you for a second, his eyelights looking you over as he finally saw it, a small, dim little twinkle in your eyes. You were enjoying this! Even if it was small, barely there he could see this is what you were meant for. You didn’t move slow and sluggish, you moved with precision. Straightening up he moved back as you moved forward the battle now on. One hit each.
Gardner at this point was just keeping score; he didn't want to cheer either on just to have that backlash on him. No no, he liked his new name, his job, he wasn’t willing to lose that because he cheered one on over the other.
“One point each”, Gardner yelled enthusiastically from the sidelines.
Regal grinned for a half a second, a quick passing of emotions. He was a little reluctant to admit was actually liking this. No no, he wasn’t going to give her that, so he remade his face into a mask, an emotionless mask as he had done so many times in the past.
As you moved forward he moved backwards, as you went to jab he thrust his sword forward and easily pushed you away, but as you came back with another jab to the side he was ready to parry that one too only to blink as you rerouted before the jab could even hit his sword and struck him on the other leg but since you also left yourself open and wide again he too landed a hit on the left side.
“Holy stars… two for two”, Gardner yelled happily, mixed with astonishment. Regal was not one to be outdone and yet here you were, little human you, keeping up with the Master of fight; Regal. The Captain himself.
You were sacrificing parts of yourself letting yourself be open to land a blow, clearly Regal didn’t think you were capable of landing blows, thinking you wouldn’t find his openings. Clearly he underestimated you. Others had also underestimated you and lost their lives. This was no longer a game, you were out to prove yourself to him, to show him that while yes could clean, cook, do laundry; none of that is what you were made for. No, this was your calling, and this is what you excelled at.
Suddenly he jumped out of view and you two jumped back and up into the tree. Giving you the advantage or so you thought, but Regal too was already in the tree, you jumped down, he followed, you jumped back he was on the attack, you went to block he jumped over you to land a blow to your back, but you were just as fast and rolled backward to make him hit the ground, you jumped up from the roll taking the moment to twirl back and lash out with your sword, making it an extension of your very arm, treating it like so. Which made him move back and a three step swirl but again you moved twirling and swirling now around him making it so you were now putting in other movements.
Foot sweep; which he jumped, leg kick; which he dodged, so you ran up the tree just as he advanced on you jumping over him and landing a blow on his back but so too did he thrusting his sword up and hitting you on head. It wasn’t hard enough to put you in a coma, but hard enough to make you fall, landing on your back as you shook off the feeling of a slow throb in your skull. Like a dull aching headache that was annoying.
Regal too felt the slight sting of the hit on the back and shook it off looking at you now, he kept his facemask up, but deep down he was gaining a semblance, a tiny bit of… No… he wasn’t going to say it, thinking it even would just make it come into fruition. No no, you had to earn that more. This little spar, this was nothing in the grand scheme of well everything.
Gardner was watching; all the rapid movements, that was what… three to three… it’s been a tie so far. He was literally shaking watching. “Three to three, the match of a century.” he beamed happily from the sidelines.
He desperately wished he could tell his cousins, but they were so far up the Queens butt that he knew he couldn’t. He’d lose his job, his home, his new found name. He liked the skeleton brothers they were nice, they paid well compared to other monsters and no, no he would keep this to himself. He had to.
Regal started using trick shots, blasting out magical bullets watching as each one got thrust away by her and how she dodge them with practiced ease. He used those as a shield effect to move around and get closer to you hoping for a good enough distraction, but it amazed him… no, no he couldn’t be amazed. Instead he just focused on getting closer to you, but you also moved around using everything as a means to absorb the magic bullets, systematically running up the trees as a bullet landed just below your feet, or jumping as it missed your head and jumping over his head to land behind him your feet spread apart as he moved around to meet you head on. A smirk slowly forming on his skull, a light, a spark of interest in your own eyes slowly forming.
It became trick shots, athletic abilities showing as you both moved around one another, both avoiding hits, both avoiding each other. Like a dance of two opposing forces both equal. Time moved on from afternoon well into the night, and both were aching as each got more and more hits here and there, if one landed a hit so too did the other. By the end of it both were sweating, both were aching, and both were tired. Each landing at least five hits or more. Honestly they were moving so fast towards the end of it that Gardner couldn’t keep up. And opted to just sit and watch with rampant amazement.
Regal went from scoffing thinking he’d have to teach her to landing on his both with his sword in her stomach, but her sword on his neck. Her looming over him, and him on his back staring up at her. He felt exhausted, she looked exhausted, but then and there he had another sparring partner. He’d no doubt seek her out, save face and claim it was for teaching. But both knew, it was unspoken, but both were on par. Both were great in their own rights.
Slowly Regal removed his sword which led her to removing her own sword. Both that night went to bed, aching, but happy.
_____________________________________________________
Commentary: I originally was writing this out as a three strike no dust rule, but then as i got into it and channeled Regal a bit better it became a bit more clear, he'd abandon his three strike, no dust rule in favor of a full on spar. Both resulting in becoming tired, aching, but both happy even if they don't show it. I know Sissy already read it, and I was given permission to post it. So enjoy and feedback is always welcome.
@maiuoart these are her characters, I was given permission to write. This is for a portion of the story Darkening Days which may or may not make the cut later, we shall see, but either way no claiming as your own, no copy and paste though as always you may reblog.
