"Who the fuck are you, you bastard?"
The prick turned toward Kyle, glaring at him with drunken, unfocused eyes.
"I’m the guy who’s about to teach you some manners."
Kyle pulled his arm back, his fist tightening.
"You motherfucker! I’ll deal with you before I’m done with that bimbo!"
The prick swung wildly, throwing all his weight behind the punch.
Kyle barely moved.
He ducked under the sloppy swing and stepped to the man’s left, letting the fist sail harmlessly past his head.
"You should learn to fight sober," Kyle said.
Before the prick could even regain his balance, Kyle moved behind him.
"And you should learn to respect women first."
*Thud.*
Kyle drove his foot into the back of the man’s knee. The prick’s leg buckled instantly, his balance disappearing as he crashed face-first onto the ground.
Kyle stood over him, calm as if it was normal.
"Now," he said coldly, "let’s talk about those manners."
Kyle looked at him with disgust. He wanted nothing more than to beat the bastard’s ass, but he restrained himself. This was store premises, and he worked here. Getting fired because of some drunk idiot wasn’t exactly part of his plans.
"Krggh... You bastard! I’ll kill you!"
The intoxicated prick became enraged and immediately forced himself back onto his feet.
"You really want a full course of these fists?"
The man stood up again, his expression even more furious than before. He was only an inch or two taller than Kyle, but he had considerably more muscle mass. From the way he planted his feet and raised his fists, Kyle could tell that the man had at least some fighting experience.
Yet Kyle didn’t feel even the slightest bit of fear.
[Slime his ass, brother! Your girl is watching!]
The system sounded almost excited as it watched the confrontation unfold.
’Oh, I will! I’ve learned quite a lot about fighting from the robot. I’m gonna show this bitch what I’ve learned.’
Kyle barely finished his thought before the man charged.
His fist came swinging toward Kyle’s face with far more speed than his drunken state suggested. Kyle raised his guard just in time, the impact making his arm sting.
’Damn, he’s strong.’
The man threw another punch.
Kyle ducked beneath it and drove his fist into the man’s stomach. The man grunted and stumbled backward, only to retaliate with a heavy hook.
Kyle leaned away, but the fist still clipped his cheek.
"Fuck!"
Kyle staggered a step and touched his cheek. Seeing the small smear of blood on his fingers made his expression harden.
The man rushed him again, throwing punches one after another. Kyle blocked the first, slipped the second, and barely avoided the third.
He remembered the robot’s lessons.
’Don’t focus on the fists. Watch the shoulders and hips.’
The man’s body always moved a fraction before his punches.
Kyle began reading him.
When the man’s shoulder dipped, Kyle stepped aside. When his weight shifted forward, Kyle moved out of range. Then he countered with a punch to the ribs and another to the stomach, forcing the larger man backward.
"Stay the—"
"FUCK DOWN!"
Kyle roared.
"Fuck you!"
The man roared back and charged again, throwing everything into one final right hook.
Kyle saw it coming.
He ducked underneath and stepped inside the man’s guard. As the bastard tried to pull his arm back, Kyle struck his hand with a sharp counter.
*CRACK!*
The man’s face went pale.
"AAAAAGH!"
He immediately grabbed his wrist.
"My fucking hand!"
Kyle stared at him for a moment, realizing he’d actually broken something.
[Critical hit!]
’You sound way too happy about that.’
[Because I am.]
Kyle sighed and looked down at the groaning man.
"Should’ve stayed down," Kyle scoffed.
"U-You bastard! Just you wait! I’ll tell my brother! He’ll teach you!"
The man cried out in pain, clutching his fractured wrist.
"Go tell your mommy too, fucker. You still can’t do shit to me," Kyle said cockily.
"Just you—just you wait! You and your bimbo bitch!"
The man staggered toward the exit, stumbling backward as he continued mumbling threats about revenge.
"I’ll teach you a lesson!"
"Stupid son of a bitch," Kyle muttered, watching him pathetically leave the store.
"Hey, thanks, you know."
A soft voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Thanks for what—"
"Thanks for protecting me."
Lira leaned closer and whispered directly into his ear.
"Eek!"
Kyle jumped and spun around instantly.
"What are you doing, Lira?!"
She giggled, clearly pleased with herself.
"Nothing. Just saying you were cool. Did you know that?"
She gave him a teasing smile.
"I—"
Before Kyle could finish, Lira placed a finger against his lips.
"Well, before you speak, let me take care of that."
She gently cleaned the cut on his cheek with disinfectant before carefully placing a bandage over it.
"Alright."
She stepped back and looked at her handiwork.
"There. Looking handsome all over again."
Kyle blinked.
The bandage was pink, covered in little Barbie-style decorations that looked ridiculously cute on his face.
He glanced at Lira.
’Why is she smiling like that?’
He genuinely couldn’t understand her expression.
"I might just get fired over this," Kyle sighed, relaxing his shoulders.
"If they fire you, I’m quitting too. Good luck to them finding someone else who can bring customers into this shop!"
Lira said it with such confidence that Kyle couldn’t help but chuckle.
The rest of the shift passed without any more trouble. After an hour or so, everything had returned to normal, and the two of them went back to chatting like nothing had happened.
Eventually, however, Lira brought something up.
"By the way, you told me you had something to do on Wednesday, right?"
"Yeah."
"Was it successful?"
"It was."
Kyle smiled faintly.
"That’s actually why I’m here."
Lira tilted her head curiously.
"I told you I was going to take you out on a date if I succeeded, didn’t I?"
"Yeah..."
Kyle suddenly felt strangely nervous.
He took a breath.
"So..."
He looked directly at her.
"Would you like to go on a date with me?"
****
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