Never Change

Chapter 19

"You bear the true weight of responsibility, Perseus. You care for your teammates and inspire fierce loyalty in them. But it is Miss Nikos' decision in the end. There is no need to stress over such a thing. The benefits of the Maiden power outweigh the risks of her merging with one fourth of a soul."

"I... suppose that's fair... I'm worrying too much about her..."

"Would you like to worry a little less?" Ozpin smiled, taking another sip of his coffee.

"As good as your master brew coffee is, I don't really want it right now. I'm awake enough already; I don't need to be sleeping at two in the morning tomorrow."

Ozpin let out a snort of amusement, "No, I was thinking of something else..."

"What did you have in mind?"

"A spar."

"A spar?"

Percy was taken aback. A spar? Did Ozpin really want to get his ass beat up?

Ozpin chuckled at the dumbfounded expression on Percy's face.

"Beware of those in a profession in which men usually die young."

"Are you sure, Headmaster?"

Ozpin smiled in amusement, "Even I must stretch these old muscles out every once in a while, and I believe I haven't truly been tested in a while. You could give me a challenge."

Oh? Him give Ozpin a challenge, and not the other way around? Percy was fairly sure the man wasn't in over his head or anything, but the way he phrased it was interesting. Was he going to be better than Qrow? He would just have to wait and see.

"You're on, Ozpin," he grinned in anticipation.

-----

"Ready?"

Percy nodded, watching the headmaster as he pulled out a cane of all things.

Ozpin came towards him in a burst of speed, and in an instant, all the fancy new tricks and moves Percy had been planning to try out were thrown away.

Percy ducked, rolling away and putting some distance between them. Ozpin was almost too fast for Percy to react from. Ozpin pushed, and for the first time on Remnant, Percy found himself on the backfoot.

He was good. Like really, really good. The headmaster was a blur of strikes and speed, molded with perfect counters, and unpredictability. Percy missed a swing by a hair, and Ozpin punished him for it, heavily.

Hundreds of painful strikes flowed from the cane like water, and Percy could do nothing to stop it. Percy was forced back with a punch to the jaw, Ozpin's fist having surprising force, and he slid backwards on the ground. He tried to hook Ozpin's leg with a ward chain, but Ozpin stood his ground.

Percy was forced to give up on the attempt when the headmaster pushed again, his cane swinging at him. He left green afterimages in his wake, and Percy managed to parry his slashes, before swinging a haymaker into the man's chest, pushing him back.

He couldn't help but compare Ozpin to the gods and titans he'd fought before. Unlike those immortals, Ozpin didn't have an ego he could taunt, and he wasn't rusty; no, he was clearly in practice. He seemed even faster than Hyperion, the titan of light, which was saying something.

His actual stamina was in question, though. Percy could see he was beginning to slow down just the tiniest bit, which was why Percy disengaged, dancing away to let Ozpin chase him. The man had to keep on the offensive if he wanted to finish the fight and win. Raw skill couldn't win if his endurance ran out first. Ozpin's style emphasized adaptability, but none of that mattered when Percy could just keep retreating.