What if I ain't no violinist?

44. Twoset Competitors III

Eddy repeatedly said to himself in his head.

Oh my god I'm not fangirling. I'm definitely not fangirling.

Eddy was definitely fangirling over Brett who was doing a kata, or solo practice demonstration.

Brett's swift manoeuvres did not waste a single movement nor were out of alignment. This meant there was not one time when Brett had to make even the smallest shuffle to correct his foot position EVER. Every single action made with his body was done with maximum efficiency and sharpness. A sharp rippling noise was made from the fabric of the uniform with every punch, block and kick – and he didn't need any starch to enhance the sound...! The perfect execution of each movement was fast yet stable and his kicks were held up in the air with complete stillness and strength for just a fraction of a second for all to admire before seamlessly moving onto the next move. Eddy was in awe.

Eddy also could not help notice Brett's stern look he gave to each direction he faced. It would've been very intimidating to receive a stare like that. It also would've made Eddy's heart skip a few beats, too. Eddy also could not help notice Brett's slender and white wrists and hands showing from the shortened uniform of Eddy's. He was so glad he cut the sleeves, otherwise, Brett's demonstration would've not looked as good with his wrists and parts of his hands hidden.

 Eddy's uniform was definitely too large for Brett, the length of the jacket was somewhat out of proportion and if you looked carefully Brett's name was missing from the lapel but since the white fabric overlapped, it was difficult to notice that the name was cut out from the base of the lapel. Eddy felt like it was a little secret between himself and Brett and let a little grin slip through his lips.

Shortly after Brett finished his demonstration, he approached Eddy who was gearing up for his first full-contact fight.

"Eddy"

"Brett. Yes?"

"Your competitor was disqualified, you're off to the second round."

"Oh. So it was that red dye guy..?"

"Yeah, um... so here's the thing."

"Yes..?"

"The judges recogn it's unfair for you not to do a first-round and not be as tired as the other competitors since none of them were seeded."

"Okay..?"

"So, would you be okay doing a full-contact demonstration with me before your second round?"

Eddy recoiled in horror.

"A WHAT !?!?!?"

Brett smirked.

"You heard me."

"Brett... I'm gonna end up like roadkill."

Brett burst out laughing.

"Brett.. you're gonna wipe the floor with my sorry ass.."

"Oh my god Eddy, please stop."

"Brett, I'm sorry I didn't recognise you, but I do know you. You won the worlds championship in LA in 2019."

"Yes.. which is 2 years ago. I haven't competed in 2 years. Besides, I'm fighting a higher weight division by going against you."

"Still... I can see my ass is fried already."

"Look, it's not a real fight. It's a demonstration. I have no intention of knocking you out and I hope you won't either."

Oh c'mon like I ever could knock you out.

Eddy was still very anxious. He knew smaller fighters were very fast. Brett looked fast and he probably was much faster than what Eddy expected.

Brett was indeed much faster than Eddy could have ever expected.

Each punch and kick Eddy received looked like it came in full force, yet Eddy barely felt any of them. Brett was exercising so much control in his movements, it was ridiculous. It almost looked like Eddy was some kind of hulk who couldn't get knocked down. How far from the truth that was.

Eddy's repeated attempts of push away Brett with his body weight was unsuccessful as Brett was much faster dodging out of the way. Eddy just managed to keep Brett at bay once, when he got a sidekick right into Brett's abs and held it there for a fraction of a second, holding the gap of space between them where Brett had no reach to Eddy even with his legs. It was the only moment when Brett looked pained for a fraction of a second because Eddy "got him". The rest of the time, it was obvious from experienced fighters that Eddy was simply peppered with a collection of attacks by Brett and if any of those were in full force, Eddy would not have been standing in the ring.

It was the longest 3 minutes of Eddy's life.

The whistle finally blew and the two men bowed to each other as the people around the ring gave a round of applause. Brett smiled through his black mouthguard as he walked up to Eddy and patted him on his back with his gloved hands. Eddy returned the same gesture.

"Hey Eddy, well done. You got me with that sidekick."

Eddy tried to reply back as he was heaving for air.

"...Just one sidekick... ..If you hit me with full force, ...I would have passed out on the ring 10 seconds in."

"Hey, don't be so hard of yourself."

"...I'll try not to. ...You don't get to spar a world champion every day. ...Thank you so much for the opportunity."

Brett stretched out his arms to see his Eddy's face and gave a wide grin. He then gave him a bro-hug. Eddy was too exhausted to even think of anything about it until much later.

"Hey, Eddy are you alright? Don't collapse on me now. You still have your real fight coming up."

Eddy groaned into Brett's shoulder while Brett chuckled and hugged him even tighter.