The close contact maintained for one more second, with Bīng Xuě’s arm partially surrounding Aku’s neck and pressure adjusting milliter by milliter. The difference at that point wasn’t marked by force, but by exact placent of each support. Aku maintained low chin, forearm interposed between his throat and his companion’s arm, creating minimal but sufficient space to prevent control from closing completely. His rear foot slid a few centiters outward, seeking wider base, and his hip turned in the sa direction, breaking alignnt Bīng Xuě needed to complete control.
That adjustnt changed rhythm.
Aku pushed with forearm upward, freeing neck, and at sa ti introduced shoulder under Bīng Xuě’s arm, forcing him to release to not lose balance. Contact broke, and both retreated half step, but this ti Aku didn’t limit himself to recovering distance. His front foot advanced imdiately, entering line Bīng Xuě had just abandoned.
Transition was clean.
His guard remained compact, but torso tilted slightly forward. Muscle mory of body he inhabited began marking cadence. Wasn’t abrupt change, but accumulation of precise adjustnts. Weight distribution refined, hip rotation beca more efficient, and each impulse from ground found direct exit in movent chain.
First blow arrived without prior warning.
Straight from right, short, without unnecessary trajectory, directed toward chest center. Didn’t seek forceful impact. Sought to fix attention, force Bīng Xuě to close middle line.
Bīng Xuě reacted, lowering elbows slightly to intercept.
That was objective.
Second blow changed trajectory at last instant. Aku’s left hand ascended at closed angle, grazing Bīng Xuě’s guard and directing toward jaw base. Movent wasn’t wide. Was compact displacent of shoulder and elbow, taking advantage of space he himself had generated.
Impact wasn’t complete, but sufficient to displace Bīng Xuě’s head a few centiters to one side.
Aku didn’t stop.
Rear foot advanced, reducing distance even more. Hip turned precisely, and right fist descended in blow directed at side. Hepatic zone was again objective, but this ti angle was cleaner.
Impact was clear.
Soft tissue absorbed force, and Bīng Xuě’s body reacted with involuntary contraction. Breathing interrupted for instant.
Aku maintained pressure.
Didn’t seek isolated blow, but sequence. Left hand descended toward abdon, striking just below sternum, at solar plexus zone. Force wasn’t maximum, but placent was exact. Air escaped Bīng Xuě’s lungs again in more marked sound.
Rhythm control passed to Aku’s hands.
His body moved with growing efficiency. Each fiber responded precisely, as if each contraction were asured beforehand. Internal energy distributed uniformly, accumulating at impulse points and releasing at exact contact mont. Wasn’t brute force. Was total coordination.
Bīng Xuě retreated half step.
Aku advanced.
Distance remained constant.
Another straight.
Another feint.
Level change.
Combat beca more linear, but also more dangerous. Aku had found cadence that worked, and was exploiting it without deviating. His blows weren’t spectacular, but each forced Bīng Xuě to react, to close spaces, to absorb impacts.
Short hook again grazed jaw.
Body blow impacted again on side.
Accumulation began showing.
Bīng Xuě didn’t lose composure, but breathing beca heavier. Movents remained precise, but had lost initiative. Was responding.
Aku took another step.
Left shoulder advanced, feinting high blow. Bīng Xuě raised guard.
Blow didn’t arrive.
Right fist descended in straight line toward abdon.
Impact.
Bīng Xuě’s body contracted.
Aku took advantage.
Left hand rose in ascending blow, seeking chin from below.
Movent was fast.
Too clean.
For instant, seed combat tilted definitively.
But at that sa instant, Bīng Xuě changed.
Not in speed.
In reading.
Had absorbed sufficient information.
Rear foot turned, deviating body axis out of blow line. Chin withdrew barely few centiters, just enough for Aku’s fist to pass grazing without clean impact. Right hand didn’t block. Slid along Aku’s forearm, following trajectory, reducing residual force.
Contact didn’t break.
Transford.
Bīng Xuě used that sa arm as guide, pulling slightly from it while body displaced toward external lateral. Hip positioned outside Aku’s front line, and front foot positioned behind his.
Axis change.
Aku tried readjusting.
Weight was forward from offensive sequence. Base was solid, but at that mont was committed to advance.
Bīng Xuě took advantage.
Left arm surrounded Aku’s shoulder, not to hold, but to direct. At sa ti, rear leg pushed against ground, generating rotation that displaced Aku’s center of gravity outside base.
Wasn’t violent projection.
Was clean imbalance.
Aku lost alignnt.
Front foot didn’t find stable support attempting to correct, and body descended in controlled but inevitable form.
Bīng Xuě accompanied movent.
Didn’t just let fall.
Arm passed from shoulder to neck in continuous gesture, adjusting to correct position. Forearm placed under jaw, and other arm closed space, fixing structure.
Rear control.
Not complete yet.
But sufficient.
Aku reacted.
Hand directed toward Bīng Xuě’s forearm, trying to create space. Body tried turning, seeking less pressured side.
Bīng Xuě adjusted.
Hip descended, weight aligned with Aku’s back, and legs positioned to block lateral movent. Didn’t squeeze with excessive force. Didn’t need it. Placent was correct.
Pressure increased gradually.
Controlled.
Precise.
Aku stopped movent.
Not from lack of capacity.
From reading.
Escape margin in that position was minimal without resorting to sothing beyond physical combat.
Exchange had ended.
For second, neither moved.
Then Bīng Xuě loosened grip and separated, taking step back.
Aku stood up unhurriedly, adjusting posture.
Both looked at each other.
Without tension.
Without words.
Combat had made necessary clear.
From field center, laughter broke silence.
Natasha.
Loud.
Direct.
Wasn’t contained laugh.
Was open.
"That was a real combat."
Her voice projected clearly as she walked toward them. Gaze swept both, evaluating each detail, each adjustnt, each decision made during confrontation.
Stopped before them, crossing arms again.
"Thought this class was full of failures."
Smile marked barely second.
"Or so I believed."
Gaze stopped first on Aku.
Then Bīng Xuě.
"But seems not all of you are useless."
Wasn’t soft complint.
But recognition was there.
Clear.
Direct.
And sufficient.
***
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