Delinquent Student and his Pet Teacher

Puss could still feel it in his paws that Muerte had his grip on him. The talk with Perrito surely strengthened his confidence, but he wasn’t back to full form yet. Long breath with his paws hovering over his sword didn’t calm the shaking at all. Especially when he knows he can’t take his time with this.

Puss wouldn’t take the chance of Muerte ambushing him in his own home and so he readied himself to stay outside for the rest of the day, he didn’t not want any harm on his home or… his way too nosy and vulnerable neighbours. He gave his front door one last glance before he left his home in a way that only he could know how. Hidden from plain sight he reaches the roof of a neighbouring building and tucks himself away in a cranny between two roofs meeting each other.

With his hat and cape ready at any point he calms himself again and waits until dusk.

He was sure that if he could just catch Muerte off guard he could easily get the upper hand in the fight and so he leaned back and tried his hardest to relax. Puss in Boots wouldn’t lose so easily again and he surely wouldn’t back down from a fight either.

His body sprung up from the tiniest nap as if moving on its own. He could feel something sinister sticking to the air.

This has to be him. 

As he stands up he feels his fur spiking up again, he hesitates to move until he hears the whistle ring through the air. So he really came as Puss predicted he would. He slowly turned towards the sound, that whistle was meant for him and he was ready.

The sun already set and the only splash of colour in the sky was a sliver of purple lining the horizon. Looking down to the streets, they were enveloped by shadows and only a few outlines of the buildings were visible. Puss was careful not to attract too much attention to himself even if the rooftops were always a pretty safe bet, nobody ever looks up there after all.

Deep in the dark shadows he still saw them. Those crimson eyes.

They were still visible even with so much distance between them, Puss watched as they made their way away from his home down the street.

Still singing his whistling tune he wanted to let Puss know he was there and looking for him. Puss couldn’t help but let out a small triumphant scoff though, didn’t find him in there now did he, eh Lobo? A small victory in his mind that made him think he was able to read the wolf and expect what he would do next. Now he only needed to be one step ahead of him.

Still, Puss wanted to invite the fight, the adrenaline mixed with nervous excitement in him and he felt right at home in them. He took a small stone and threw it in the direction of the wolf. His usual heists wouldn’t give him even nearly the same kind of rush as this did, yet the prospect of losing his life in this kept him grounded in the current situation. The stone clink clanked down the walls of the buildings and Puss kept his eyes intently on Muerte and waited to make sure he had noticed him.

And that he did. His eyes flashed with a glare as he looked up to see the cat stand there confident as ever. A deep growl vibrated through the air between them and the cat vanished as soon as it reached him.

—

After quite the chase through what felt like half the city Puss stopped, knowing the wolf was right on his tail, he had kept him there on purpose, of course. Puss had planned for him to follow him here after all. 

He could hear the wolf's chuckling get closer, it seems he has caught up to him and it seems like he thinks he got the cat cornered. Puss turned around to face him, “Are we done playing catch, Gato?” His teeth flashed with the same smile as they always did when he saw him but this time Puss returned it. 

Surrounded by walls and fences of abandoned factories, the wolf was wearing his black poncho over his school uniform it seemed. His paws in his pockets he slowly walks over  towards the cat, did he manage to take out some of his breath with the chase?  Puss didn’t back down this time, even if the wide eyed stare of the wolf made his skin crawl, he stood his ground.

“I’m done running, Lobo.” Puss pulls out his knife before the wolf could and points it at him as a challenge once again. “I’m not going down without a fight.”

He watches the wolf sniff the air and an even bigger grin filled with excitement shows on his face. “Well, well then…” His aura seemed more threatening again with the way he took out his knife like it had been ready in his paw. He spun it with enthusiasm as if this was just some kind of game to him, holding it out with the intent of going right for the kill right away. The snap of it opening echoes through the empty space around them.

Both were watching each other intently, the silence of the night hanging over them. Puss knew Muerte would rush in first and just as Puss shifted his foot, he did.

He could feel the anger that the wolf put behind his charge into the fight. Puss tried to meet him halfway and sprinted into the fight with his knife tightly grasped.

He dodges the first swipe jumping over the wolf’s paw, prepared for Muerte to switch his grip instantly; he strikes his own blade midair at the deep black knife that was already rushing at him again. A clash rings through the air and Puss manages to land behind Muerte. The wolf's knife now being in the hand furthest away from him, Puss takes his chance. This time it was Puss rushing at him.

Unexpectedly for the wolf he shifts his stance in anticipation for his next move, this time it’s Puss rushing a few swings at him. In the middle of what could be best described as dancing, they exchanged a quick glance at each other, both seemed to enjoy the fight a bit too much. The wolf watched with glee as Puss grew confident in his attacks, challenging him with his quick moves and dodges between the wolf’s legs, but he had no trouble defending himself against the cat. 

Puss had to disarm him, he had to, as quickly as possible. He watched him grow lax and Puss thought he grew too overconfident with his defences against him. Wanting to use the chance of Muerte getting sloppy he focused on getting that knife from him a bit too much. He didn’t notice that he had shifted his legs in a different way and just as he thought he had the perfect chance a kick square against his torso hit him with full force. It made him fly through the air and tumble hard over the concrete floor as he landed.

Puss made very sure they would fight in a space where he couldn’t get cornered. He knew the place inside out, a vent to his left and a tiny gap between walls to his right. To the wolf it looked like he had cornered him and so he stood still for a moment to look at the gasping cat that slowly pushed himself up.

“Unarmed again, Gato?” he chuckled, “What’s got you sprinting into death like this?” 

Puss noticed his knife wasn’t in his paw nor did it land anywhere near him. Not a good look on him once again, he curses at himself for a moment, but his spirit hasn’t left him yet. Oh no, he was still ready to go on and so he managed to get out a small chuckle as well.

“Why do you want me dead so badly anyways?” He meets the eyes of the wolf who had just started his walk towards him. Puss gets himself back up, cleaning the dirt off his shirt he sees his knife laying on the floor closer to the wolf then to himself.“You clearly don’t care about those goods I stole. This seems personal.” He hisses and takes a step further towards him.

Muerte didn’t quite get it, he stood there, cornered and unarmed and yet he was still so full of himself. Baffled, Muerte just watched the cat get back up and stand his ground. Was he really that eager to die? He bared his teeth as he felt a craving deep in his gut emerge between his anger. A craving he didn’t know where to put or what it was about, but he hated the feeling. In a slight rage Muerte just leaps back into the fight without giving any answers or any thought behind his attack. He was aiming right for the cat's eyes which he could feel were just looking down at him, as they did on everyone. His own arrogance holding him up high, having all the fun in the world, without even noticing it.

A split second later Muerte flinched as pain suddenly struck his hand. He didn’t notice that Puss drew his sword as soon as he ran into action. An experienced swing landed on his blade and redirected the attack, making the blade of the sword hit his hand right after. Another two swings at him and the Wolf jumped backwards with even more pain. He looks at his hand and sees fresh wounds emerging. Red lines travelling up his hand, a second later and both of his leather braces pop open and fall to the ground. Astounded, Muerte just stood and looked at Puss who raised his brows as if to taunt him.

“Seriously? Your Sword?”

Puss shrugs over the victory of the situation. His chest almost purring with pride he stood strong and felt his confidence right back to how it was supposed to be. “It does the job, doesn’t it.” His face adorned with a cheeky smile, Puss basket in the accomplishment of being able to stand his ground against La Muerte . 

He watched Muerte’s grin grow more sinister, surely he was absolutely mad with his sudden victory, completely taken by surprise, right? His growling seemed like a deep laughter escaping his throat. He licked the tiny droplets of blood off of his paw and discarded his knife with one fell swoop.

Now!

Puss couldn’t lose himself in his thoughts again, no matter what reason Muerte had to do this, he was unarmed and now was his chance to strike. He could feel his confusion turning into nervousness as he swung at the wolf, that’s why he acted fast, before it made him hesitate again. Muerte dodged him, but puss saw that it was only by a hair and spun for another swing.

A clash against metal took Pus by surprise now. Muerte had pulled out his other knife, a bigger one. One that was more easily able to defend against his sword. Not only that but his stance had changed quite drastically, as if both were locked in an old school sword fight, Puss dealt the blows and the wolf defended at first.

“Where did you learn that?” Puss asks in the middle of it. The wolf seemed to be somewhat able to keep up with him, even if it was very sloppily, Puss seemed impressed.

“Your duelling videos aren’t that hard to find, Mr. Boots.” He rolled his eyes. “You studied my fighting style?” Puss perked up. What an honour, the feared leader of the underground had watched his old duelling videos? To be able to compete with him? Of course they were somewhere on the internet to find, he guessed, but for him to go look for them? It felt weird feeling happy about his students' adoration at a moment like this.

Muerte doesn’t reply, changing from a defence stance to an offence one, well if you could call it that. Puss could tell he just took charge and went back into his old fighting stance. His swings get more aggressive as he grew annoyed with the cat. He just wanted to get rid of his sword which seemingly was a challenge for him.

Still, puss didn’t get an answer and so his thoughts lingered with the wolf studying him closely.

He took a quick glance at the wall behind him as he had to move backwards to it again. “Uh, Lobo, dare I say…” A cheeky smile flashes on Puss face as he meets eyes with the wolf. “... that you seem a little obsessed with the Gato?” He watched the wolf's eyes widen and felt his own cheeks flush in response, he couldn't possibly be right, right? Muerte’s moves suddenly got sloppy, did he catch the wolf off guard with it? Puss took the chance to take over the fight again and Muerte had to move back quite a bit to dodge his attacks. He got a few undefended strikes in and Muerte only dodged with wide open eyes. Puss really seemed to have struck a nerve. 

Puss huffs when he almost got Muerte where he wanted him, his gatito knife almost in range. A loud clash rings in his ear and snaps him out of his movements, his sword stopped pointed in the air. Puss Moves back immediately, bouncing a few steps back and taking a stance with his sword again.

“Did I hit a spot?” He dares to say and draws circles with the tip of his blade towards the wolf. “If you wanted an autograph all you had to do-” Cut off by the wolf's quick movement again he barely managed to fend off the swing at him, the blade almost reaching him. Now with his full body put behind every move the cat doesn’t stand much of a chance anymore.

Two clashes later the wolf changed his grip and aimed for the paw holding the sword. He pins the handle into the ground with force, grazing Puss’s paw while doing so. The wolf’s other hand grabs onto the cat and does the same.

Overwhelmed by the quick loss Puss can only breathe heavily and look at how he lost.

“You think this is personal? Then let’s get personal, Gatito.”