"Can't you two just talk this out? You're both adults, right? Do you really think this kind of small disagreement requires fighting?" Quang rubbed the side of his temple. "With metal weapons, no less."

"Told you it's not a real fight. It's a spar," Vic replied. He kept his weapons held tight while his eyes remained focused on Hualing's fans. "No one's actually going to get hurt. I'm not hitting her, and Hualing definitely isn't going to hit me. Maybe her fancy fans might get a bit dented but that’ll be it."

"Don't know why you're so confident," Hualing replied. She kept her eyes narrowed in on her rival. "If you think I carry these fans around just to deal with the Isla Lucrecia heat, you've got another thing coming!" 

"I believe that you know how to handle those things. But that doesn't mean it's enough to get through my defense. Go ahead and make your first move!" Vic's eyes shot towards Quang. "Keep an eye on the clock, Quang. Time starts after the first strike." 

"I'm not getting involved in this." Quang said, shaking his head.

"Five minutes man. That's all it'll take. Just look at the clock and let us know when five minutes pass!"

"Don't worry about it, Quang!" Hualing called out. She stepped closer, angling one fan in an offensive manner. "It'll be over soon. Then you two will have to book it. And take Selene with you!"

"If you’re so sure of yourself, then prove it!" Vic said with a grin. "Stop hesitating! I can tell by the way your lead foot is shaking that you're not all in on your confidence."

The singer inhaled through her nostrils and steadied her shaky nerves. Her stance straightened up as she advanced towards Vic. Hualing began by performing a frontwards spin kick, using her lead foot to balance on. Her leg soared through the air, creating a streak as it travelled towards Vic. He bobbed his head back, his face narrowly missing the edge of her shoe. The wind created from the motion of the attack sent Vic's hair blowing behind him. 

"You see that Quang? That means it's time to start the countdown!" Vic blurted out.

Quang rolled his eyes before looking up at the clock on the far end of the room. "Thirty-six. At forty-one, will you two start acting like civilized adults?"

"Of course!" Vic shouted back. He bobbed his head back again, dodging another circular kick from Hualing. With the attack missing, Hualing stood upright, taking an offensive stance. Both of her fans were opened wide and angled towards Vic. Contrary to the singer’s posture, he took a more defensive stance with the opposite ends of his sanjiegun crossed in front of him. He chuckled loud enough for Hualing to hear him. 

"Cocky jerk." Hualing stomped one foot on the ground. “You avoid a single kick and you think you’ve won already?”

With the distance between the two fighters increased, Vic slackened his posture a bit. "By your little temper tantrum, looks like you just realized that it's not going to be as easy as you first thought!" 

"Why can't you just keep quiet?"

Hualing went for an upwards slash with her right fan. Vic was quick to swat it away with one of the rods of his weapon. There was a loud clank as the two weapons met, making Quang wince from the loud noise. He looked at the swing doors to the kitchen to see if anyone would come out. "Can you two try to keep it down? They're probably doing important training stuff back there!"

The two combatants paid Quang's words no mind, evident by how Hualing swung overhead with her left hand. Vic's reflexes allowed him to deflect the blow the same way he did the previous strike. He continued to smile, only making Hualing's frustration more evident.

"If it makes you feel any better, you're doing a lot better than I expected!" Vic said as he stepped back, returning to his defensive stance. "Your execution is on point. But it seems like you're missing that killer instinct most talented fighters really have."

The singer grunted as she spread her arms apart. Her right went low while the left hand was raised high. She closed her arms together at the same time, her two fans closing in one Vic like a pair of scissors. Vic extended his sanjiegun straight and formed a straight line with it, blocking both parts of Hualing's pincer-like attack. 

Another clash rang out, even louder than the first. Quang darted up from his seat, looking back towards the kitchen room. It remained shut despite the ruckus in the dining area. Once Quang returned his attention to the sparring, he saw Vic and Hualing staring at each other while their weapons were locked against each other. Their emotions were complete opposites with Vic showing his confidence via a coy smile while Hualing's squinting eyes and frown made her frustration more than apparent. 

"Don't show off your emotions like that! You know how easy it is for someone take advantage of you if they know you're getting mad?"

"I didn't ask for a lesson!" 

With their weapons still interlocked, Vic pushed Hualing back, making her stagger backwards. Once there was a sizeable distance between the pair, he stole another glance at Quang. "How much time do I have left?"

"Only been a minute, Vic."

"See? Hope you've got more planned, Hualing. I can do this all day." 

The singer shook her head. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she took a low stance with one leg stretching out in front of her while the majority of her weight was put against her rear foot. She spun her left front leg forward 180 degrees, creating a half-circle sweep. Vic hopped over the kick, completely avoiding the attack altogether. Hualing then followed up with a rising rear kick from her other leg. 

The attack was swift. The bottom of her boot shot back in a perfectly straight line. For a moment, Vic's confident grin vanished and turned into a look of genuine shock as he crossed the two opposing rods. Hualing's kick hit the crossed rods of his weapon, sending him wobbling back from the force.

"That was a clean combination!" Quang said in awe. "Didn't think she'd actually make you break stance like that!"

Vic nodded his head, but his confident grin had faded. "I'll give credit where credit is due. That was a solid series of kicks. Still didn't count as a hit though."

"You're unbearable. I hope you know that," Hualing said as she set herself upright. "Couldn't have just let that last kick go through, could you?"

"Not with this much on the line!"

"A cheap fast-food meal means a lot to you, huh?" 

"That's important too. But I mostly meant my street cred. Gotta be able to back up my talk." 

"Why don't you try hitting me for once then?" Hualing said. "Give me a chance to show you my defense!"

Vic held his mouth shout, struggling to keep laughter from escaping. "You really think your fans are going to protect you from Shondell? I didn't want to challenge you to a real fight for you own safety!" 

"Yeah Hualing. That's a really bad idea," Quang said. "Vic knows his stuff. And if you let him go in, you'll regret it. I know I have." 

Hualing smiled, her breath still on the verge of panting. "I get it now. That kick combination of mine got you scared! You can't handle playing both offense and defense at the same time! Afraid you're going to make yourself vulnerable and get hit with a stray attack, huh?"

"That's not it. At all," Vic said seriously. 

"Uh-huh. Blocking and dodging are easy. Landing hits? Now that's a different story." Hualing folded up the fan in her right hand and pointed it towards Vic. "You keep blabbering about how tough you are. Let's see if you can actually follow through with what you say!"

Vic's eyes glanced up at the clock. Two minutes had passed since the start of the challenge. His eyes then looked back at the singer. "I don't want you accusing me of anything. If you get hurt, don't start crying about how you're gonna sue and call the cops. I hear that enough." 

"Deal. The rules of the challenge are still the same, except now you have to play aggressively. I don't want you running away for the last minute of the challenge! You've got to actually put work in." Hualing giggled. "A concept that's foreign to you, I'm sure."

Vic held onto one end of Shondell with only one hand. He raised it high and let it crash downwards a few inches in front of Hualing's feet. Startled the singer jumped back, opening up both of her fans and returning to her fighting pose with both of her weapons shielding her body. "You gotta pay attention. Just because we're chatting doesn't mean that we're not still fighting! The time's still running. And if this were a real brawl, you'd be down and out by now."

"We'll see about that," Hualing replied.