#sydow

"i see…"

teach nodded, before drawing his blade. without warning you, he attacked and you managed to jump to the side just barely.

"in a real fight, your opponent won't be waiting for you to draw your blade!"

he reminds you, as he strikes again. you quickly draw your blade, dodging another attack from teach.

"i wouldn't have it any other way! go all out on me!"

once you had your blade drawn, you were able to stop dodging and instead finally got to attack as well. teach wasn't an easy opponent, but he had taught you how to fight well, so you knew which tricks you had to pull to win this. just when it seemed like teach had you cornered, you finally landed the last strike, teach's blade shattered by yours.

"you fought well"

teach smiled and rested his hands on your shoulders. you were still breathing heavily, the fight having taken a toll on you.

"did you hold back…?"

"i didn't! you beat me fair and square. and you'll be able to defeat Z as well. i believe in you!"