"Wakame-kun, you know what they say about pride, don't you?" Touko gets into a combat stance, a martial art of some variety, you don't know where she found the time to pick up a martial art, but... was she perhaps inspired by you to learn a variant of unarmed combat? Judging from her stance, she's managed to achieve a relative mastery of it too. You knew that she was a prodigy, but... in martial arts as well? Well, you can't really complain about her knowing martial arts, considering your own experiences with them.

"It goes before the fall" Touko's voice suddenly comes from directly behind you, and at that exact moment, a strong unyielding leg almost collides with your ankles, and it's only thanks to your instincts and speed that you're able to get out of the way of the crushing blow, intended to cripple you and take you out of the fight immediately. You leap away from Touko, noticing the image of Touko that you were talking to is still there, though flickering. An illusion?! When did she have the time?!

Part 44