Chapter 42: She Dares You to Touch, But Her Pounce is Deadly
After Kobayashi revealed his true reasons, he had thought Tatsumi would tell Najenda, but he was neither controlled nor assassinated.
Everything continued as usual.
It was just that Tatsumi seemed a bit off, always spacing out as if he were thinking about something.
At the training ground.
"Yo, Kobayashi, I'm your sparring partner for today."
Leone stood opposite Kobayashi, forcefully stretching her arms and legs, looking like she was ready for a brawl. Considering the fight that was about to happen, in her eyes, it was no different from a brawl.
"Sorry, can I request a different partner?"
Kobayashi didn't hide the look of disgust on his face.
Leone said, displeased, "What, are you disappointed that I'm your sparring partner?"
"How could that be? It's just that I feel my compatibility is better with Bulat."
"Kobayashi, you're really not right in the head sometimes."
Leone was already beginning to suspect that, just like Bulat, he was male, and his preference was also male.
"But unfortunately, Bulat has to specially train Tatsumi today, so he asked me to be your sparring partner."
"You actually volunteered, didn't you?"
Kobayashi retorted while glancing at the other side of the training ground, where Bulat and Tatsumi were in the middle of a heated clash, the air thick with exciting male hormones. To be honest, it made him a little envious.
But it was probably because Bulat had noticed something was off with Tatsumi, so he decided to give him a lesson in "tough love"... hmm, brotherly love.
Hearing him say that, Leone didn't deny it. She licked her slightly red lips and said seductively, "So, are you coming or not?"
"...I'm counting on you."
Kobayashi thought for a moment and agreed. After all, having a partner was better than having none, right?
"But we have to agree beforehand, no using your Teigu!"
"Of course!... not!"
She had been wanting to fight him for a long time. To ensure her absolute advantage, how could she give up her body-enhancing Teigu?
A flash of light emanated from Leone, and she instantly transformed into a wild beast-eared girl.
"Here I come!"
She stomped her feet hard, using the reactive force to instantly close the distance. At the same time, her furry hands balled into fists and smashed towards Kobayashi, like a fierce tiger descending a mountain, whipping up a cold, strong wind.
Tsk, she doesn't listen at all.
Helpless, Kobayashi could only defend passively.
But the beast-form Leone's speed and power increased dramatically; every punch and kick held immense force. Moreover, her attack style was extremely peculiar, with no discernible pattern, as she specifically aimed for her enemy's weak points. To put it nicely, it was unpredictable and mysterious. To put it bluntly, it was a wild, undisciplined brawling style, just flailing around like a madman.
And yet, with her Teigu, her speed and power far surpassed that of an ordinary person. A normal person would have no way to subdue her.
This was why Kobayashi hated fighting her. Because Leone didn't know how to hold back, she was his natural counter, and most importantly, he couldn't learn anything from her at all!
"Take this, and this, and this, and this!"
Leone got more and more excited as she fought. Jabs and straight punches came relentlessly, their speed increasing to form a flurry of left and right blows. Her swinging fists were powerful, forcing Kobayashi back again and again.
If she hadn't been shouting "Ora Ora," he would have thought she was using a Stand attack.
Coupled with the occasional whip kick and low kick, Kobayashi could only defend hastily and passively. The slightest misstep would earn him a punch or a kick.
There was no point in a spar if he was just taking a beating. He wasn't training his ability to take hits.
Therefore, in the opening created by Leone's whip kick, he pulled back to create distance and kicked out at her waist—two extremely fast kicks.
Unfortunately, the keenly perceptive Leone blocked them both.
But the real killing move came after!
He retracted his leg, twisted his waist, and spun!
The moment Leone saw him twist his waist and turn, she knew what he was going to do. Although his movements were more standard and powerful than before, in her eyes, it wasn't enough to be a problem.
"Hmph, I was watching from the side when you fought Bulat. Do you really think that move will work on me?"
Leone's lips curled into a contemptuous smile.
The next move is a spinning back kick!
...is what she thought, but no.
"Idiot. Of course I knew that you knew what my next move was. But you fell for it."
Kobayashi twisted his waist and turned but didn't kick. Instead, he ducked into a low side sweep kick, a favorite of old masters, forcefully causing Leone to cry out in pain and shift her center of gravity, making her subconsciously lean forward.
He wasn't finished!
Ducking down, Kobayashi used the opportunity to push off the ground with his legs, twisting his waist to increase his rotational force, and with his right fist clenched, he delivered a powerful uppercut from the ground to the air.
—Shoryuken!
"Pffft—!"
Leone, taking a heavy blow to the chin, was instantly thrown backwards.
"Phew!"
Kobayashi let out a light breath.
Although Leone liked to brawl wildly, she had a keen sense for danger, and any attack would put her on alert. But if it was a move she had seen before, she would lower her guard out of contempt. The two kicks plus the waist twist were all a setup for the subsequent low side sweep and the rising dragon fist.
"That hurt, that really hurt. I feel like my jaw is about to shatter."
Leone shouted in pain as she pushed herself up from the ground. The Shoryuken just now was powerful, but for her, whose recovery was also multiplied by her Teigu, it hadn't caused too much damage.
She rubbed her chin and complained, "Kobayashi, that punch really hurt. You really don't know how to be gentle with a woman."
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
Kobayashi also shook his numb arms and said with disgust, "If it were Sheele or Mine, I might have held back. But for a violent tomboy lion-girl like you, forget it."
"Violent... tomboy... lion-girl... hehe, hehehe, hehehehehehehe..."
Leone's laughter was exceptionally creepy. Her beast-form hair, now longer, was scattered behind her back, and a terrifying aura emanated from her body.
Danger!
Alarm bells went off in Kobayashi's head. Sensing the danger, he turned to run.
However—
In an instant, a flash of yellow light streaked past the corner of his eye. Before he could react, Leone had already tackled him to the ground, her posture like that of a lioness subduing her prey during a hunt!
He wanted to break free, but Leone's hands pinned his shoulders down, and her legs clamped around his waist as she sat on his thighs. He couldn't move at all.
This is bad!
Looking at Leone's eyes, which had turned into beast pupils from her excitement, Kobayashi felt that his situation was about to become very unpleasant.
He saw her clench her fists, a dangerous smile on her lips.
Before he could beg for mercy, a furry fist came crashing down. At the critical moment, Kobayashi instinctively tilted his head. The wind from the punch grazed his cheek like a knife and slammed into the ground with a loud bang.
Tsz—
A cut appeared on his cheek, and a thin trickle of red blood flowed out.
"Hey! Are you trying to kill me?!" Kobayashi roared in terror.
But Leone couldn't hear him anymore. She muttered, "Violent, am I? Tomboy, am I? Lion-girl, am I..."
The punches fell like rain, both the frequency and the force much greater than before.
It seemed she had been holding back earlier. But that was no reason to go berserk just because he said a few words about her!
Unable to dodge, Kobayashi could only raise his arms to passively take the blows, crying out in misery.
Leone was like a tireless little electric motor, her fists flying at high frequency, hammering against his arms. The massive number of hits in a short time caused his arms to turn red and hot. If this continued, they would soon be bruised, or even fractured.
No, I have to fight back!
Seeing the increasingly out-of-control Leone, Kobayashi was also very annoyed.
You started it!
I was thinking of having a martial arts fight with you, but all I got was a beating. Forget it, I'm laying my cards on the table: I can use magic!
—[Barrier]
He used magic, and a transparent film separated the two of them. Now, even if he lowered his arms, it would be fine, but to keep his secret, he could only continue to put on an act.
What should I do?
Wait for her to run out of stamina... unrealistic.
With her powerful recovery, Leone could easily punch at high frequency for an hour. Although he could block it all, that would expose the fact that he could use magic.
In that case, I have to take the initiative!
Take this, Heavenly King Lifts the Pagoda!
Hmm?
...Orbs?!
Kobayashi, who had just grabbed onto the cliffs and precipices, and the suddenly paused Leone stared at each other.
Green! Do you understand what green means!!!