Grizzly

The winds were picking up, but not enough to cause us to panic on the top of this building. Only enough to set a little ambiance to the silent moment we shared staring at the mercenary.

His menacing gaze pierced through me, locking in his focus on my eyes alone. I was his target, and I made sure to return the glare.

My feet automatically stepped forward. Seconds after Ko and Ekko followed me. Then we stopped at the halfway point to the helicopter, of which Bear was blocking the steps up to.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” I said.

“I’ve got nothing better to do,” he stood with a grunt.

The crack of his knuckles was a broadcast of his intention to fight. He didn’t need to say a word to me. This had been brewing all night, and I wanted to turn up the heat.

With my hand stretched out, I blocked my allies from following as I marched forward. Now I was at the very top center of this building. It would be our makeshift fighting ring.

"But, we can take him together," Ekko argued against my decision to fight alone.

"No, that's not what this is about," Ko spoke up in my stead. "There's some things you have to let men like them deal with on their own."

"If he dies, we'll be in trouble."

"It’s about more than that. We have to trust in Kitsune.”

"Ko, what did that gas do to your head?"

"Nothing," Ko denied. "But given the relationship they both have, it seems like this fight was inevitable. Anyone of Bear's men could have interfered by now, but haven't. This is a test, so let's pray Kitsune is up to the challenge."

Bear let out a hardy laugh. “Listen to the little one. She’s a lot wiser beyond her years.” He didn’t take his eyes off me for a second. “I’m taking off the yoke, boy. If you die here, that’s on you.”

I thought he said that father didn’t want me dead, but the plans might have changed now that we were escaping. It’s also possible that Bear is just going rouge. Whatever the reason, it was my problem to deal with now.

Bear stepped up to the center, just far enough so that we were at the perfect proximity to become combatants. He undid the straps that held up his gear and tossed anything besides the clothes on his back aside. This fight wouldn’t have any tricks. It was just man against man.

“If you want me to say I’ll kill you, I won’t,” I said.

“Then you’ve already lost.”

Both of us ran at each other, quickly attempting to plant fists. But mid swing, Bear shifted gears and blocked my attack with his forearm.

After catching my hit, he continued his punch and had me on my ass.

“Kitsune!” Ekko cried out, nearly jumping in. Ko stopped her.

“Pathetic.” He came over and stomped on my torso. Shockwaves of pain shot through me as my ribs crushed under the weight of his boot. “The little cub is so quick to prove he’s a bear, but he doesn't have the strength.”

His taunting got me back on my feet. Adrenaline pumped through me as fury blinded me.

I jumped forward to attack again, using my size and speed to my advantage.

He caught my punch, but using his own strength against him I twisted my body up and kicked him right in the side of the head, finally getting my first hit.

“Is that it?!” He threw me down with all his might. “That’s the best your rage could do, little cub?”

I rolled back to my feet, getting back into a combat stance.

“Go to Hell!” I announced as I assaulted him with a barrage of punches and kicks, trying to keep myself on the side of him with the eyepatch.

Even focusing on his bad half, he still sensed me every move I made, tanking all those hits with his burly arms. I couldn’t get past his defenses.

Rather than simply send me back to the ground, he began to attack just as feverishly.

One of his punches went right at my face this time. Blood blasted from my nose as his knuckles collided with it.

I was thrown back at least a few meters. The pain from the head trauma was enough to cause me confusion. Sounds became dampened, my sight was blurry.

The only indication I had that Bear was approaching me was the ground shaking with every step he took. It became a stronger quake the closer he came.

His big hands grabbed me by the collar and lifted me back to my feet. One smack brought me back to my senses.

"Listen, boy." His hot breath filled my face. "Keep attacking like that and you'll die. You’ve got people to protect, so stop fighting like you want to kill yourself!"

My senses had come back just enough for me to say “I don’t want to die.”

“Then prove it!” He set me down and punched me out again. I barely kept myself standing.

I truly was fighting a bear rather than a man. And if the legends were true, he’d done it and came out on top. How does someone fight that?

When compared to the absolute rage one of those monstrous creatures of nature have, a human was nothing but a toothpick. There’s a reason we compare history's mightiest warriors to the strength and size of a grizzly. Challenging one, even as powerful as my biology had been selectively raised up to be, I didn’t stand a chance.

At least, I wouldn’t stand a chance in a fair fight. If I kept going like this, he really would kill me. The angrier I got, the stronger he seemed to get to match. I had to go beyond my rage, letting go of the frustration that drove my every move.

Losing anger wasn’t easy, but when my sight returned, I first looked at my sister and wife. Seeing their faces gave me a moderate amount of peace, especially knowing they were rooting for me to win. They believed in me, otherwise they would have both jumped to my rescue.

Rather than attack, I let him make a move.

I waited, blocking his punches with my arms and avoiding taking any major hits. My arms would be dust after this, but they were buying me time to figure out how this guy worked.

He reeled back for one heavy punch, and it broke my block. It was terrible pain, only made worse by his pause to breathe and let my pain sink in.

By this point, I was bloody and covered in bruises, but I kept going. Carefully analyzing anything and everything he sent my way.

Just when I was getting hopeful, he broke my guard with a heavy hit again.

“Won’t you ever learn?” he breathed out, waving his fists and getting himself together.

That heavy punch of his caused him to take a deep breath and pause for a very slight moment. It was more than enough time to get in an attack of my own. I’d missed my chance this time, but he’d surely do it again if I put in the same effort.

Block after block, I took his hits again, this time driven by the hope that once he broke my guard I’d be able to make a good attack.

Finally, he slammed his fist into my arms, then I sent my own hand crashing into his face, returning the favour for giving me a bloody nose.

Red liquid poured out of his nose. His hand explored the damage I’d caused, but it was nothing compared to what he’d done to me this far.

“Good hit, but you won’t get another.”