We headed to the yard, and the silence broke when Noko's father stepped forward, cracking his neck and smiling in a way that I couldn't tell was friendly or a death warning.
"Ready, boy?" he asked, his tail swaying behind him like a whip about to strike.
"Y-Yeah, I'm ready," I replied nervously.
"Before we start, this fight will be without tricks, without magic, and without weapons. Just bare-handed combat." He crouched slightly into a fighting stance. "I want to see your strength."
Maya settled into a folding chair I didn't even know we had in the yard.
"This is going to be good," she said, as if it were a free show.
"I just hope Ren doesn't end up too injured," Zara said, arms crossed, her expression somewhere between worried and curious.
Noko was at the edge, waving her arms like a cheerleader.
"Ren-sama, don't let him knock you down in the first hit-nya!"
"T-Thanks, Noko..." I muttered.
"Begin!" Maya shouted, far too excited.
The feline vanished from my sight and reappeared in front of me in less than a second. I managed to step back and—WHAM! His claw didn't reach me, but the wind from the strike blew my hair back.
"Woah!" I said, trying to sound more surprised than scared.
"Your stance is bad," he said, pointing at my feet. "That won't impress anyone."
"Are we seriously giving lessons in the middle of the fight?" I protested.
He lunged at me again, but this time I ducked and slipped underneath, feeling his tail brush over my head.
I heard Zara's laugh from the side.
"Ren's not fighting that badly," she commented.
I got distracted for a second, and immediately the feline tried to grab my shoulder. I turned on instinct and managed to shove him back with a kick. Even I was surprised. Noko clapped like I'd just scored a goal.
"That's it, Ren-sama! Keep it up-nya!"
Noko's father smiled, showing his fangs.
"Not bad… but I'm not even using half my strength yet."
"Then can we stop here? I think we've already shown our skills pretty well," I said, trying to convince him.
It didn't work. He charged again, and in the middle of the exchange of blows, I ended up slammed onto the grass. I stood right back up, pretending it didn't hurt.
"Stop here?" he asked. "That would mean giving up, and I won't tolerate that."
"F-Fine," I replied. I didn't want to make him angry.
The last moves were fast: I dodged a rush, countered using his own momentum, and we both ended up apart again. I was already breathing heavily.
Noko's father relaxed his stance and looked me up and down.
"You've got guts. And strength… though you're still very green."
I straightened up, catching my breath.
"So… does that mean I passed the test?"
He nodded, then raised his voice so everyone could hear:
"Ren Mizuno… I recognize you as worthy of my daughter."
"Eh?" I froze.
"In other words…" he grinned broadly. "I accept you as Noko's husband!"
"WHAAAAT?!" My shout mixed with Maya's and Zara's.
Noko, on the other hand, jumped with joy.
"Yay! I knew you'd approve-nya!"
As I tried to process what had just happened, Maya and Zara were petrified with shock… and the Fungoids started throwing flower petals from who knows where.