1.34 – What the —

“So what is this about again? I’m not sure I understood.”

“I thought I made myself quite clear, Nathan.” Yukiko smiled, standing a few feet away with her arms crossed.

“I don’t think so.” He said. “Look, I know you’re strong, way stronger than I am. Hell, that Arthur guy showed me just how much I’ve got to catch up on, how far I’ve got to go before I touch someone like you, but still it doesn’t feel right hitting you when you are standing there defenseless.”

This was exactly what Nathan went through a few weeks ago. Actually, though, this time there wasn’t a clear sky above them, instead there was a roof, and he probably wouldn’t get to build as much momentum as before.

“Who said I would be defenseless this time around as well?”

What she said registered, and the memory of how she attacked him went through his mind. How Arthur humiliated him. “So, a duel again?”

“Kind of. I will block your attacks, but I will not use flight. And you are to only attack me with your fists. No flying rocks, no… anything of that sort. This will be about your fighting style, Nathan.”

“What does fighting style have to do with any of this?” He asked, curious. As far as he understood it, most heroes didn’t need any fighting style after they got to a certain level. What use was it to know judo when your opponent could fly away, or wrestling or boxing when your opponent was three times faster than you were?

“The use of it is that when you fight someone close to your own level of power, the one who actually knows how to fight takes the edge. I’ve spoken to Deadlock quite a bit.”

The memory of what he read from Deadlock’s feedback came back to him. He praised the use of Nathan’s abilities, but mentioned this very same thing: that his punches left a lot to be desired, that his form could be much better. He ignored it for the most part, though he did try to google how to box. It wasn’t like he had enough time to go to a boxing class anyway, except now he apparently got himself into something of the sort, but his opponent was a hero far beyond his own level.

“Do we really have to do this?”

“Do you want to get powerful or not? I’m not taking you on another mission unless you get stronger, Nathan.”

“Was I that bad?”

“Quite the opposite, but I don’t like seeing my favorite students get beaten half to death. Now show me what you’ve got.”

Nathan took a deep breath and stepped forward, surging towards where she stood, his arm behind his back; then he punched, aimed right at her jaw.

Yukiko sidestepped, and his fist hit nothing. He punched again, aimed at her torso this time, an uppercut. He used rock-skin mid-movement, striking harder. She used her left palm to direct his fist sideways, and before he realized it, knocked him on the ground.

He stood up and tried again, and again, several times over, and after ten attempts he realized that this was really getting nowhere.

“Are you supposed to be teaching me something, or are you just getting a kick out of seeing me drop on the ground?”

She chuckled from above. Nathan pointedly looked away. Her figure was on full display despite her wearing a more casual outfit. “A mix of the two, but I’m mostly just seeing where you stand strength-wise. You’ve fought with people before, haven’t you? I can tell.”

A memory flashed beyond his eyelids. “I have.”

“It shows, but how do I say this? You’ve got a lot to catch up on to compare to your classmates in classes C, B, A, or S rankings. They’ve been training since they were kids and had the best instructors available once they hit 18 or so and got their powers. You leave yourself open to almost all attacks.

She went on and on, and Nathan did his best to commit everything she said to memory. For someone who used her flight and someone who would probably never get any use out of most of these things, she sure knew a lot.

“Well, let me get you through the movements and see if you can learn and move up in the ranks. I have high hopes for you, you know? You have a future, Nathan. Let me see how much you are willing to fight for it.”

His muscles felt on fire; his breathing was ragged; his vision distorted, yet he couldn’t suppress the grin that was wide on his face. Vermillion Strike sat beside him, barely winded, waiting for him to finally stand up from the ground, but honestly he didn’t want to anymore. By all hells, he wasn’t even sure whether he could even if he wanted to.

“I guess we should end it here for today.”

“Thank… thank the gods.” He wheezed out, and she laughed.

“You’re strong, Nathan, and I see it in you.”

“See what?”

“The hunger, the need to be something. Not everyone has it, but you do. I’ll make something out of you.”

“Thanks, I guess?”

She scratched the back of her head. “Well, Alicia stopped exploding the room on the other side, and I only counted eight explosions. We should go check out what she’s up to.”

“I guess so. Just… give me a minute.”

“Ask and you shall receive.”

She stood in front of him, waiting for literally a minute before offering her hand. He didn’t want to take it. Honestly, he just wanted to fall asleep right then and there, but what choice did he have? He didn’t even know what time of the day it was, but he already knew that the first thing he would do when he came home would be to go to sleep.

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He grabbed her hand, and she pulled him up. His head swam immediately. God, was he really this tired out? The sudden lack of adrenaline made his legs feel like jelly, and the moment he stood up, he began falling again, forwards. He didn’t see what he hit, but it felt soft, like a pillow.

A fraction of a moment later, he realized what exactly he had hit. That at least made the adrenaline come rushing back.

When he looked at Yukiko, her face was almost as red as her hair was. “Well, that was unexpected.” She chuckled, facing away. The way she stood betrayed the fact that she was anything but relaxed, though.

“I’m so sorry, Yukiko, I didn’t mean to.”

“I know you didn’t. Just… give me a moment. Caught me off guard. And I’m really sensitive there, so—” She stopped herself suddenly, turning even more red. “Okay, you know what? Get Alicia. I’ll just go check if she’s fine. Sorry that you had to touch this.” She pointed to a scar on her neck.

“What? No, I’m sorry, I really didn’t want to. And what do you mean, sorry? You are—”

Before he could finish the sentence, she lifted into the air and disappeared through the door in one quick blur.

What the fuck, what the fuck, what the actual fuck?

And here was Nathan, thinking that things like this only happened in anime and video games. What the actual fuck was that? He really didn’t intend for that to happen. Why was she so insecure about her scars? It made her look cool, if anything. Sure, it was kind of masculine, but he seriously doubted that anyone that was interested in her would mind.