Side Character DxD

Chapter 14: Terracotta Punching Bag

A little fact I learned recently, Getting punched in the face by a clay statue hurts.

A lot.

"Again!" Hachiman stamped his foot on the grass again, my injuries were healed, and the Statue returned to its starting position.

Getting back into my position, I got ready for the statue to attack me again.

And it did.

I quickly ducked to the left and threw out a punch, gritting my teeth as my knuckles scraped on the hard clay body of the Samurai statue.

I stepped away quickly, dodging another telegraphed punch from the statue before I retaliated with another punch to the chest, injuring my other hand in the process and dodging the follow-up attack from the statue.

Only for my back to hit the barrier holding up the ring the two of us were fighting in, giving me no room to dodge the next hit.

"Enough!" Hachiman yelled, stomping on the grass again to heal my knuckles, "You get knocked down by just one punch? Enough of this! Go home, boy. We shall continue this tomorrow." The deity straightened his back and stomped on the grass again, causing the terracotta Samurai to crumble like dirt onto the floor, and the eight banners that made up the corners of the barrier flew into the sky, disappearing beyond the clouds.

I just nodded my head, too tired to argue with the God of War and Archery.

.........

"Yo Ken, did you even sleep?" Oki asked me as soon as we sat in class the day after.

"Yeah bro, you look like shit," Issei helpfully added, taking his seat.

"Heh, I feel like shit," I told them, an uneasy smile on my face as I tried to focus on what my friends were talking about whilst also coming up with plans to win against that damn Statue.

I can't punch it without injuring my hands, I don't have enough room to dodge repeatedly thanks to the small and enclosed barrier that Hachiman placed us in, And all it takes is one punch for the statue to knock me down.

There has to be a way to beat it...

"Ken, are you even listening?" Oki slapped me on the back, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Oh sorry, did you say something?" I replied easily, "I was too busy thinking about the size of your ears,"

"Hey! My ears are perfectly normal!" Matsuda quickly yelled, catching the attention of none other than Aika Kiryuu as she opened the door to the classroom.

"Don't worry Matsuda," She smiled teasingly at him, "I'm sure your ears are average for a boy your age," She giggled.

"Yeah, bro! I'll even say your ears are above average! Maybe even large!" Issei unhelpfully added, causing Oki to turn and look at him with tears rolling down his face.

"We're not talking about Dick sizes, Issei. We're talking about my actual ears..." He sniffed his nose, watching as Issei tried to think of some way to defend himself.

"Oh yeah... Did you see the newest trailer for Pocket Creatures X and Y?" Nice deflect there Issei!

"Oh yeah, I'm more interested in that rumored Dynasty Soldiers-type game for The Legend of Hilda," It seems that Oki Matsuda has returned to normal.

As the two guys started talking about upcoming video games, Aika took her seat and turned to look at me.

"Did anybody tell you that you look like shit?" She asked, resting her head on her shoulders.