Weakness

It was Friday night again which meant only one thing for Ban, Kickboxing class. Yup, as much as he enjoyed going out and drinking as much as the next person, (even if he wouldn't be legally able to for another 9 months. Hadn't slowed him down much.) he always gave up his Friday nights for something he loved more… fighting. It was technically sparring and running through moves with students, but the feeling of stepping onto the mat and using his fists and feet to defeat an opponent was such a euphoric experience for him that it was akin to a high. Ban couldn't get enough of it. He had been fortunate that his martial arts center had been hiring assistant instructors. He had easily gotten the job and now he was getting paid to fight and teach others how to fight. It was the perfect job.

Tonight he was setting up the mats for the beginner adult class. It had been going on for a few weeks and tonight they would begin sparring since the students now should know enough to manage it. Most kickboxing classes didn't have much sparring, but this center was known for offering the opportunity to spar with all their classes for those who wanted it. With some of the more advanced classes Ban would step into the ring, but not tonight. He would just be observing and offering commentary along with the instructor. If he got into the ring with these newbies, they'd be toast.

Not long after Ban had finished arranging the mats the instructor, Meliodas, arrived. The blonde may not look like much with his short stature, but he was deceptively strong and the only person Ban could go all out against and not win. There was a friendly rivalry between them because of it. However, when class started they were all business. Meliodas went over the plan for the day with Ban before the class arrived. At about 5:45 students started to trickle in. The first was always the tiny blonde girl. If Ban hadn't known better, he would've thought she was in the kids class. She was not quite 5 feet tall, couldn't weigh more than 90 lbs soaking wet, and had a total baby face. Ban thought her name was Ella or something like that, he was never good with names. She was always the first one to arrive to class and always very focused, but she clearly didn't have the natural physical ability it took to excel at kickboxing. She was probably the worst student Ban had ever seen and he wondered why the hell she even stuck with the class after the first few lessons. Anyone else would've quit by now.

Class started at six with Ban leading some stretches to loosen up the muscles. Then Meliodas reviewed some of the basic moves that they'd been learning. Normally after this, they would go over some new moves, but Meliodas wanted to focus on introducing the class to sparring and didn't want to risk an injury because some student messed up a new move that they thought they had down. The first few rounds went off without a hitch, the students managed to pretty much accurately perform their basic moves and when someone did mess up, the padding they were required to wear protected them from serious injury. What's his face with the broom-stache would definitely be feeling that crash into the mat in the morning and the African American girl was probably going to have a decent sized and colorful bruise on her thigh, but nothing that wasn't out of the ordinary for basic sparring. Then Meliodas called the tiny blonde to the ring. For beginners, it was always best to try to match body types, but this girl was the smallest one in class. It would be hard to find a sparring partner that would be a good fit for her. There was another petite woman in the class, but the silver-haired girl was still a good 5 inches taller and probably 20 lbs heavier. And she was definitely athletic and much more skilled with kickboxing than the tiny blonde.

They both stepped onto the mat. Meliodas called out for the girls to start. The silver girl immediately started in with some solid jabs. The blonde attempted to block them but was only partially successful. She tried to land a few weak jabs and a shaky straight against her larger opponent but failed quite miserably. It wasn't that the silver-haired girl was terribly good but her average skills were enough to easily hold off the weak blonde. The brunette advanced with a combination of jabs and straights, the blonde was so busy trying to protect herself and her face that she never saw the uppercut coming. If the blonde had correctly been blocking and keeping her head up, her opponent's attack would have only hit the padding of her headgear and maybe grazed her chin. But that was not what happened. Instead, in her attempts to protect herself from the initial onslaught, the blonde had turned her face down. This meant she took the full force of the uppercut right in her face.

The blonde dropped to the mat like a sack of potatoes. Meliodas immediately called a halt as Ban rushed over to check on the blonde. She was out cold and was quickly developing a sizable bruise on her left cheek. Her opponent was freaking out, apologizing, and swearing up and down that she hadn't meant to hurt her. Meliodas was attempting to calm her down, but it looked more like he was groping her. She was laughing nervously at this and Ban just hoped Meliodas wouldn't get another sexual harassment complaint.

Ban checked to make sure she was still breathing (she was) and checked her pulse (elevated, but that was normal) then carefully rolled her onto her side. He bent her top leg at a right angle with her hip and tilted her head back.

"Should we call 911?" This was the very tall brunette woman, D-something or other. Ban shook his head.

"Not yet. I'm a paramedic and I can handle this. But if she doesn't wake up soon I will need someone to call." Yeah, the nights when Ban wasn't working at the center he was riding around in the back of an ambulance. It had been part of the reason he'd been hired at the center. With the sparring, it was pretty common to have injuries and all the staff were required to have first aid training. Having Ban and his EMS experience around would help if something should go very wrong for whatever reason. Ban was about to check her eyes' responsiveness when they snapped open and she attempted to stand up. "Whoa! Easy! Don't try to move yet unless you wanna hurt yourself again. Do you know what your name is?" She looked at him with soft, nervous golden eyes.

"Elaine." Okay he had been close

"The name's Ban, I'm a paramedic when I'm not your assistant instructor so just stick with me, okay? You remember what happened?" She scrunched up her baby-face, looking utterly adorable... wait what? Where did that come from?

"I think so… I know Elizabeth and I were sparring and I looked down and…" She was communicating fairly well and seemed aware, but Ban would have to keep checking her over to be sure. And he couldn't keep doing that in the middle of the mats.

"Listen, I'm gonna have to move you off the mats so I can make sure you're okay." Elaine nodded and Ban carefully picked her up bridal style and carried her off to the side of the room. He set her down on a chair and grabbed the first aid kit. "Can you try to carefully take off the pads?" he said, digging around in the kit for the small flashlight and an ice pack. He turned around to see Elaine removing her helmet. Her blonde hair had fallen out of the tiny ponytail she'd had it in and had fallen loose just brushing past her shoulders, touching the thin straps of her white tank top. Underneath he could clearly see a pale pink sports bra, not that there was much to put into it. Then again Ban had never been one for big tits. He shook that thought out of his head.

"Look at me," Ban said, gently placing his hand underneath her chin. "Follow my light with your eyes." He moved the light around. She easily followed it with her large golden eyes, nothing was looking out of the ordinary. "How old are you Elaine?" he said as he turned off his light.

"18."

"Really?" he said. "You sure? Cause you look 12." She glared at him, her lip pouting. She looked like an angry kitten. Utterly adorable.

"I'm 18!"

"Okay! Okay! Easy there, girl! I'm gonna make sure you didn't break anything when you fell, so I'm gonna need to move your arms and legs. That cool?" She blushed a bit but nodded. Ban carefully moved her legs and feet, checking for injuries as he talked. "So tell me about yourself, Elaine."

"W-w-why!" She stammered out blushing red as he rotated her ankle.

"Thought it might be less awkward if we were talking instead of just staring in silence."

"Oh… um... that makes sense. I just started my senior year at Liones High and I graduate in May." Ban nodded, moving up to her arms. She was blushing brighter red. "I, uh, I had an older brother, but he's off traveling and I don't know when he'll be back, so it's just me at home for now." Ban nodded and began checking her other leg.

"Why are you doing this to yourself?" Ban asked.

"What do you mean?" Ban started checking her arm.

"Why are you still taking this class? No offense, but you are weak as hell and you are honestly probably the worst I've ever-" Ban froze. "What the HELL are THESE?" There were small, purple bruises on her arms and he could spot a few more healing ones underneath her white tank top. "WHO DID THIS?" He looked up at her, ruby red eyes flashing with fire. Her golden ones were sad, she looked like she was about to cry.

"It's nothing. Really."

"Bullshit! Nothing doesn't leave bruises. Nothing doesn't make you want to cry." She looked down, ashamed.

"I can't tell you. It's none of your business. Look if I'm fine can I go home?" Ban wasn't gonna let her get away that easily.

"Fine. We're going home then." He easily scooped her up into his arms and grabbed their bags. Elaine was beet red and shocked to silence. He turned back to where Meliodas was overseeing another match. "Yo Boss! I'm taking her home!" Meliodas nodded as the Elizabeth girl called out yet another apology to Elaine. Meliodas patted her to comfort her, but Ban thought it might work better if he wasn't patting her ass with his face shoved into her tits. Ban carried Elaine to his car. He shoved the bags in the back and gently deposited her into the passenger side seat, buckling her in before climbing into the driver's side himself and starting the car. "Where are we going then?" She was blushing and stuttering profusely.

"Wha-Wha-WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!"

"Taking you home."

"I NEV-"

"Listen here girlie. You got knocked out. You might have a slight concussion and you shouldn't be alone and you should definitely not drive. So I am gonna take you home whether you like it or not. But if you don't tell me where that is," he flashed her a wicked smile, "then we're spending the night at my place. And my bathroom door doesn't lock." Elaine immediately coughed up her address. They drove over in complete silence, except for Elaine's fiddling with the radio. Under normal circumstances, Ban would've hated this, but they had Usain Bolted past normal circumstances. Elaine lived in a small house with a large cherry tree in front. Ban parked in the driveway and turned off the car. He started to get out.

"WH-WH-WHY ARE YOU GETTING OUT!" Ban sighed.

"What part of you might have a slight concussion and you shouldn't be alone don't you get?"

"The part where you seem to be coming with me!"

"Look you said you have no one at home with you. If I leave you alone you could fall asleep. And trust me you DO NOT want that to happen." Elaine blushed.

"You were paying attention to all that?" Ban shrugged.

"Besides you still haven't told me where those bruises came from." Elaine went white.

"I told you that was none of your business."

"Not good enough Kid." Elaine sighed.

"I'm not gonna be able to get you to leave me alone will you?"

"Nope!" Elaine started fumbling inside her bag for her keys.

"Fine! I guess you can come inside then." She pulled out her keys, almost dropping them in the process. Ban followed her up the steps and waiting patiently as she unlocked the door, following her inside. The room was dark, Ban tried to stay out of the way as she fumbled for the light switch and took a step back.

"MMMRRRROOOWWWWW!" Ban leaped away as the lights flicked on. He saw his victim, a very put out, brown-striped cat.

"Oh, Bandit! What happened?" Elaine said. The cat whined and slowly (almost dramatically) walked over to Elaine. She picked him up and set him on the arm of a couch that was next to the door. She rubbed his ears. "Did the bad man hurt you, buddy?" The cat mewled pathetically. "My poor baby!" Elaine cried, sitting down and pulling the cat into her lap.

"The cat's fine!" Elaine glared at him and Ban could've sworn the cat smirked. "He's just acting up for attention.

"Bandit would never! He's a sweetheart! Aren't you buddy?" She scratched Bandit under his chin and the cat purred loudly. Elaine turned back to Ban. "Apologize to Bandit."

"But he's a cat!"

"APOLOGIZE!" Ban sighed.

"Sorry Cat." He went to stroke the cat, only to be nipped by his teeth. "He bit me!"

"You stepped on him!"

"Ugh! Let it go Blondie!"

"I will because you apologized. But that doesn't mean Bandit will." The cat purred on her lap and licked her hand until she petted him.

"Fine, but Bandit isn't the only one with a good memory." Ban sat next to her on the small turquoise couch. He looked her dead in the eye. "Where did those bruises come from?" Elaine looked away as she gently stroked her cat.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Not an option. Where did they come from?" The cat looked at Elaine and meowed. "See even Bandit thinks you should tell me. Is there some jerk boyfriend?" Elaine shook her head emphatically.

"No, I've never had a boyfriend." Ban felt a twinge of relief. Weird. Where did that come from?

"Then where are they coming from?" Elaine sighed and tears pricked her eyes.

"There's," she shuddered. "There's these… boys at school. They- they're really big and they'll corner me and…" She started sobbing. Ban's hands had been clenched into fists, but he unclenched and reached over to rub her shoulder. Bandit meowed and licked her tears. "They're just really mean. And they say terrible things about me and my brother. And they hit me and kick me and pull my hair. And they have girlfriends who spread rumors about me and…" She took a deep, shuddery breath and looked Ban in the eye. "I just wanted to defend myself. But like you said, I'm too weak and I'm the worst at kickboxing." Ban couldn't hold back anymore. He reached over and pulled her into his arms, Bandit hopping off her lap to sit next to his mistress. She wept into his shirt. "It just never stops. I don't have any friends at school. And my brother is God knows where doing whatever he wants. It's just gotten so bad lately.

"Over the summer my boss got worried about me, saying I wasn't acting like myself and told me to go see someone," Elaine continued shakily, wanting to get it all off her chest. "I went to the ER and they ended up sending me to a psych ward because I wanted to die because I was so lonely. I was in there for two weeks until they decided I wasn't in danger of suicide anymore and was on antidepressants." Bandit rubbed up against her and purred. She leaned back from Ban, reaching over to pet her cat. "I got Bandit as my emotional support animal, so I wouldn't feel so lonely. And he helps, but it's not the same. It hurts so bad and I'm so lonely." She was crying again. "I just always feel so alone." Ban hugged her and rubbed her back tenderly.

"It's okay. It'll be okay." She looked up at him.

"How?" Ban put his hands on either side of her face.

"Because I am gonna be here for you, okay? You won't be alone. I will be right here for you and if you EVER need me or want to die again I am just one phone call away." Ban gently kissed her forehead. "You don't ever have to be alone again. I promise." Elaine threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, smiling like she hadn't smiled in a very long time.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Ban hugged her back. "Can you please stay tonight? I don't wanna be alone." He raised his eyebrows at her and she smacked him. "Not like THAT!" She blushed red and laughed along with Ban. The two of them leaned back, Ban keeping his arm firmly around her shoulders as she rested her head on his chest. Elaine pulled out a remote and they found an old Kitchen Nightmares rerun marathon to watch. Bandit climbed into Ban's lap and was letting Ban pet him. Things were going well… until Bandit started making hacking noises. Elaine leaped into action before Ban realized what was happening. She picked up Bandit and dropped him unceremoniously on the floor. Bandit immediately threw-up onto the hardwood floors and trotted off. Elaine rushed into the kitchen floor some paper towels while Ban stared at the floor. As he watched her calmly clean the mess up, Ban finally spoke.

"I KNEW THAT CAT HAD IT OUT FOR ME!"

"Well, you did step on his tail," she defended her cat.

"I'm telling you that cat is evil."

"No, he isn't! He's a sweetheart!" Ban groaned, realizing he wouldn't be able to convince Elaine her cat was a bully. Which reminded him.

"Elaine," Ban said. She looked up at him. "Let me know if those bullies at your school mess with you again."

"Why?"

"Because if they do I swear I'll fucking murder all of them," he said seriously.

"Ban!"

A Few Weeks Later…

It was a Friday afternoon, just after the final bell had rung. Elaine was at her locker, loading her backpack with her textbooks. She was looking into her backpack to make sure she had all her books to do her homework over the weekend. SLAM! She looked up to see her locker door slammed shut. In front of her were her bullies: Zendris, Melascula, Derieri, Galand, Monspeet, and Grayroad.

"Hello, Elaine!" Zendris said, an evil look in his eye. "Long time no see."

"Zendris you're blocking my locker." She said, trying to be brave.

"Oh, Elaine, is that any way to talk to someone? Zendris was just trying to be friendly," Melascula said.

"I don't have time to talk to you guys. My ride is waiting for me."

"Oh? Did that cowardly brother of yours finally show up again?" Monspeet asked.

"No." Elaine looked down at her feet.

"Who would be picking you up?" Derieri sneered.

"My boyfriend," Elaine said, standing up straighter. They all laughed.

"There's no way you could have a boyfriend." Grayroad laughed.

"I do!"

"Then where is he?" Galand asked mockingly.

"Right here you assholes." Elaine felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and she was pulled into Ban's chest. She looked up at Ban. His ruby eyes were fierce and boring into her bullies. Ban towered over all of them, even Galand, and she could tell they were intimidated. "Are these the ones you were telling me about Sweetie?"

"Yeah," Elaine said, turning to look at the group. "They are."

"I see…" He glared at them, they winced and stepped back. Zendris was the first to snap back to his senses.

"Since when did THIS happen?" he exclaimed. Elaine and Ban looked at each other.

"Let's see? You started coming over about… 2 months ago?"

"Yeah, then I asked you out like a week or so later, I think."

"So," Elaine said. "About a month and a half ago?"

"Yeah, that sounds right." Ban turned back to Zendris. "Why you got a problem with it?" Zendris opened his mouth but, seeing the look on Ban's face, quickly shut it and shook his head. "Good. Come on Elaine, let's get out of here. You got your stuff."

"I think so. My locker was slammed shut before I could grab my math book." Ban looked over at the bullies again.

"I wonder how that happened." He knew full well how it happened.

"I think it was an accident," Elaine said, looking over at the nervous high schoolers. "Right guys?" They nodded quickly. "Well, we have to get going." The teens stammered out some goodbyes and scattered. Elaine opened her locker with a smile, grabbing her math book. Ever since she'd started dating Ban she'd been feeling much more confident. Ban was really helping her build up self-confidence and she'd been hanging out with his friends like Meliodas and his new girlfriend Elizabeth much more (although it got awkward whenever Meliodas would talk to them while his face was buried in Elizabeth's breasts). It had done wonders for helping her manage her depression. It was so much easier when she wasn't so lonely. Ban slung her backpack over his shoulder and wrapped his arm around her as they headed out the school.

"You ready for class tonight?" Ban asked. She shrugged.

"Come on you know I'm the worst in the class." Ban chuckled

"Is that why you're dating the teacher?"

"Actually I think Elizabeth got there first. I got stuck with his lame teaching assistant. That guy is a total wuss compared to Meliodas." Ban put his hand over his heart.

"Okay, Ouch!" Elaine laughed at him.

"But seriously, you know I'm a total weakling." Ban kissed the top of her head.

"You seem pretty strong to me."

"You're biased."

"So what? It's still true." Elaine blushed. "Blondie you're far from weak. You're the strongest person I know."

Hi Guys! Some of Elaine's experiences with the diagnosis of her depression actual is based on my own experiences. And Bandit is based on my own cat Marm. Yes, he actually did almost throw up on my boyfriend on our first date. My dad was proud. Thanks for reading and remember to review and favorite! I love hearing what you guys think!

~Mallorie a.k.a. Lilymaid620