Upon entering the forest this morning, Mr. Toruga informed me that I was going to be tested. Just to make sure I've mastered my Martial Arts.
"Alright! What is it? Running up more trees? Parkour? Target Practice?" I asked energetically.
"None of that has anything to do with Kung Fu." He grunted in response, "We're going to fight."
I gasped and froze in place. Fight? Him?! But he was an expert. A professional!
"F-Fight you...?"
"Well, not directly. You'll be fighting for this." Mr.Toruga continued as he pulled out a headband and tied it around his forehead, "All you have to do is get this off my head."
I stared. He could tell I was nervous. Why wouldn't I be? I've seen what he's capable of.
"You'll be fine." He assured me.
Yeah right.
We started by splitting up. He'd hide somewhere in the forest and I'd have to find him. No Techniques allowed besides "Gust Speed". Weapons such are allowed and considering Mr. Toruga is from the Koburo Region, he was bound to use shurikens and kunai knives. Kara was my extra pair of eyes, who'd watch my blind spots. Every slight noise coming out of the silence was enough to make me leap out of my skin. I was on high guard. He was great at hiding, even my attempts to scan the trees were unsuccessful.
"Any sign of him Kara?" I whispered.
Kara responded with a hiss and set her eyes on the tree in front of me.
"Wha-"
A kunai soared out of the leaves before I could speak. I had enough time to backflip to safety as it stabbed into the ground instead of my flesh. Mr. Toruga wasn't giving me any time to react. He was NOT playing around, because as I slid backward, I triggered a trip wire. A swarm of shurikens came out of nowhere. I ducked and rolled out of the way as they dug into the tree one by one with little "thunk" ing noises. That's when he chose to strike. In a flash, almost like he could teleport, Mr. Toruga was behind me. Kara made use of herself once again and alerted me with a hiss. I blocked a hard kick coming my way and grabbed him by the ankle. That didn't stop him. He thrusted his fist at my head but was blocked and grabbed by my other hand. Without even flinching, he swung his body upside down and used his free hand to punch at my stomach, but was pushed away with extreme force by me at the last second. He flew a couple feet away from me and landed safely on his feet. I was already out of breath, but he was the total opposite. What he just did just then, was probably a FRACTION of what he could really do. If I wanted to get that headband off his head, I'd have to make the next move. I let out a battle cry and charged at full speed. He just sighed and rubbed his neck. In a flurry of movements, we both traded blows to each other, most being blocked. I was able to block some of Mr. Toruga's attacks and land a couple of attacks myself. But he rebounded from them with ease. With all my strength, I swung twice and finished with a jump and kick, all of which he dodged without effort. While I was suspended in the air, he delivered a hard punch to my stomach which sent me tumbling to the floor. I rolled away to put some distance between us. This guy was just toying with me. I needed a plan if I wanted to pass this little test. But I was given no time to think of said "plan" due to Mr. Toruga's relentless attacks. I had no choice but to retreat to the trees.
"Gust Speed!" I bellowed and dashed to the safety of the tree leaves.
"Hiding won't do you any good." He shouted up to me.
The tree I retreated to rustled, and he instantly chucked a kunai towards it. Nothing happened. The wind blew the leaves out of the way, revealing my coat tied to Kara, who sat atop the branch and groomed herself. Meanwhile, I jumped out...
...from behind.
By the time Mr. Toruga realized what was going on, it was too late. I landed on his back, pushed him to the ground, and yanked the headband right off his head. Success. He got up and casually brushed himself off.
"Using your cat as a decoy and coming up from behind. Clever." He nodded and gave me a pat on the back.
We later took a break high up in the trees. I found it a good opportunity to ask him his reasoning for helping me again.
"Hm. There are two reasons actually. One being because I find it disgusting, the way people treat you." He answered, to my surprise.
"And the second...?"
"That's none of your concern."
"So...you're helping me because it feels right?"
He nodded.
"That's really nice of you..."
"Don't mention it. Literally."
I think him and I are making progress.