When Nick had heard about what Police Academy was like from Judy, he wanted to write a first draft of his will. However, it wasn't the whole package that frighten him. Sure, the obstacle courses sounded like something no one should ever go though. The about that was, well, Nick had been though that several times. It's called "being homeless in Zootopia." Sahara Square? A Sunday stroll. Rainforest District? Rather refreshing. Tundra Town? Practically his home turf.
No, what was keeping him up at night was the "enormous criminal" test. To most of the students of the academy, it wasn't that much harder that the courses; just a boxing match with a rhino. However, Nick wasn't most students. Most students were on the larger side; the smallest you see in most classes is a wolf. Nick, meanwhile, was only about 3 feet tall as oppose to his opponent's 8 feet. If his opponent so wanted, Nick would be a pancake in the middle of the ring.
And people call me a predator, Nick thought to himself while strangling his neck to look his opponent (McHorn, if Nick remembered correctly) in the eyes.
"So, you're the 'Nick' my partner keeps talking about," the rhino said just before the match.
"If your partner's name starts with 'Judy' and ends with 'Hopps,' then yes, I am."
"She wanted me to tell you that you will feel sore for a week after this."
"Well, it's nice to have that vote of confidence." While Nick might seem like his regular snarky self, it was just his way of coping with fear right now. In truth, he felt like changing his pants thrice. This guy was not only massive, he was also a seasoned cop who had years of fighting experience under his belt. Nick couldn't care how much padding his was wearing or how much McHorn was holding back. One punch would knock him out and break something in the process.
So when the match started and McHorn threw the first punch, Nick opted for his usual strategy when confronted with an aggressive mammal: get out of the way! Nick sidestepped the punch (and by "sidestep," I mean he jumped a foot from where he stood) and then found than he had perform an encore of his dodging skills. And another one. And another one. And another one. Soon, Nick was practically running circles around McHorn, desperate for an opening.
McHorn was getting annoyed. "Hey! I know you're probably better at dodging than hitting, but you could at least try to fight me head on!"
Nick thought about what he had just heard for a second, then smirked. "Okay, then. You asked for it."
With that, Nick charged at McHorn, his hand pulled back for the punch. Before Nick could hit him, though, McHorn threw a jab at him, hoping to end the match. However, he was confused when he didn't feel any impact even though he didn't see Nick get out of the way.
It didn't occur to him that Nick had ducked until he saw him climbing onto the rhino's arm.
Acting quickly, McHorn tried to punch him with his other hand. But Nick was agile and was able to jump over the punch, landing on the glove in the process. From that new vantage point, Nick leaped up and uppercut-ed McHorn square in the jaw. The resulting momentum caused McHorn to fall back a bit and then gravity took over from there. McHorn was down for the count.
Nick caught his breath. He couldn't believe it. He had knock the rhino down with just one well-placed punch. This was supposed to be the toughest part of Police Academy, and he just finished it on the first try. Forget anything that comes after, you might as put him on the street right now. He could hear Judy's praise right now. "Wow, Nick! That was amazing! He couldn't even scratch you! And that fake out! I sorry for doubting you're not paying attention, are you?"
Oh, wait. Judy actually was there trying to talk to him.
"Sorry, Carrots. Still high off that victory."
"Yeah, I kind of felt the same after I beat him."
"You were right about one thing, though. My arm's going to be sore for a week after punching him."
Sometime after the match, Nick and Judy were hanging out in the Academy's courtyard. Nick had changed into the Academy's standardized uniform, consisting of a blue shirt and black shorts. Judy, for her part, was wearing what she was wearing when she first arrived in Zootopia: pale blue shirt, lavender skirt, and black yoga pants.
"So, any particular reason you came to see me?" Nick asked.
"Not really. Just wanted to take a break from the city life, since, well, you know…"
Nick just nodded in response. The effect the Savage Disease (or SD for short) was having on Zootopia was quite well known at this point. Technically speaking, it's unknown if it is a disease in the first place. Investigations into the savage mammals haven't turned up any evidence on what is cause of their savagery. Most mammals just assume it's a disease because of what happens with the only medical team that happened to get a blood sample to investigate.
Namely, one member of the team went savage and killed the other members.
It didn't take long for the media to exploit the resulting paranoia for all it was worth. Soon, every news outlet was talking about what SD was, how to avoid it, if it was a sign for the end times, all that junk. Nick especially hated the articles about how dangerous SD is. The reason for that was simple: they were almost always anti-predator. On paper, it kind-of made sense. History has shown what a predator that only wants to kill can do. However, anyone who actually looks at who is considered a predator will quickly see that many "prey" mammals outclass, or at least match, predators any day. So to see mammals eat that kind of stuff up just sets something off in any predator.
For Nick, though, that wasn't the worst part. No, the worst part for him was that Judy was in that middle of it all. Now, it wasn't that she completely helpless. She was certainly able to outrun and outwit most opponents. At the end of the day, though, she's still a rabbit. Rabbits weren't exactly the most durable creatures on the planet. For the majority of Zootopia, all it would take would to take her down is just one well-placed strike. And she a cop on top of that, so she going to be right up in the action most of the time. To think that Judy could die at any moment made Nick's insides twist and turn like clockwork.
At this point, the silence between the two was becoming too long, so Nick picked the conversation back up.
"So… any more vacation planed in the future?"
"I don't know. I've been thinking about going back to Bunnyburrow for a couple days, but…"
"But what? Afraid of your avalanche of siblings?"
"No. Well, kind of. It's more that… I'm afraid of what my family might think when I come home to essentially run away and hide for a bit."
Nick stared at her with a look of mock-confusion on his face. "Who are you and what have you done with Judy?"
Judy giggled. "Nick, be serious for one."
"Well, I'm not the one who became the first rabbit cop, stood up to her superior, survived an encounter with Mr. Big, found fourteen missing mammals, deals with savage mammals on a daily basis for almost a month now, and is now suddenly afraid that her family will somehow think less of her for taking a vacation."
"…Okay, I'll go. But on one condition."
Nick could tell where this was going. "Let me guess. You want me to go with you."
"Well, yeah. My parents haven't met you yet, and I get the feeling that you meeting them would be great for both sides."
"Hey, I didn't say I was against the idea. I think it's a great idea to meet my future in-laws. So, when are we going?"
"…Promise me you won't make that joke in front of them, and we should be able to go when you have a few days off."
