Disclaimer: You really are still asking about this, huh? Well to confirm your suspicions, no I don't own G.I. Joe or any other recognizable references. What a shock!
My feet unconsciously took me to the elevator and after that my room, where I spotted my katanas and decided to blow off steam by training. It'll at least get my mind off of this grim situation. So with that I quickly changed into a sports bra and tank top with some old battered sweat pants that I rolled up to just below my knees. I grabbed my sneakers and slid them on. Also, I retightened my bun after it came loose during the emergency session. After I determined that I wasn't forgetting anything I grabbed the straps on my katanas' sheathes and made sure my Browning was secure in my waistband along with a box of extra bullets in my pocket in case of target practice.
The walk to the training room, which was veritably on the other side of our floor beside the bunker, allowed me to clear my head a little. Along the way I noticed small footsteps following me. It must be the other kids, they have to train sometime, is what my subconscious told me.
To confirm I took a peak behind me, and sure enough, there was little Sarah with her collapsible bo staff, and the only boy her age trailing next to her with a container of throwing stars. His name slipped by me for now, but I am not their full time babysitter so why should I know? Not to mention he's new, maybe only a month at most? Okay, maybe I should still know his name, but I'll just ask Crock later.
Anyways we reached the training room and I held the glass door open to the kiddos. One entire wall is glass so the adults can observe our progress behind another sound proof barrier. Not to mention the stupid mirror feature put on during trials. But we learned to hack that almost as soon as we moved in. Its times like these that I'm seriously considering that they think we're just brainless soldiers. So once again, they are idiots.
Nevertheless, it's no time to dwell on that now. Sarah and the boy happily stepped through and nodded to me. When I followed in after them I noticed the mirror feature as it turned on. But really I don't care right now. People can observe me all they want; all I'm doing is regular training. Although I strongly considered flipping the mirror off just for the slight entertainment value.
I carefully placed all my weapons on a bench near the wall and the two kids followed suit. We all went through the standard stretches together, although mine were a little more difficult. After the time taken to warm-up our muscles I was itching to shoot or slice something.
"Hey, Chloe?" Sarah asked in a small voice.
"Um, yeah Sarah?" A serious case of what-the-hell was running through my mind. When it comes time to train this girl isn't shy at all.
"How about a little sparring?" She asked, a bit more confident.
"That would be unfair Sarah. I'm twice your age and experience," Most other people would've taken that as a condescending comment. It seemed to egg her on.
She scoffed, "I didn't mean alone."
My arms crossed as I sized up what she was getting at. "So you want me to spar the both of you? Is this some kind of team-up-and-take-me-down plan?"
"Let's just call it… practice."
A smirk fell right in place with my decision. "You know what? You got a deal Short Stack. But how about we make it a little more interesting, hmm?" With a swift nod from both kids I continued, "You win and I'll go pick up those desserts you like from the bakery in town. I win and you help me get Crock back for the boot incident last week."
They exchanged a quick glance and the boy looked at me with a wicked smile, "We're in."
"Rules are this. No weapons, only hand to hand. Besides that there really are no rules."
With that they slid into fighting positions with their fists raised in front of them. I took my time to get in position and I used that time to sum up their weaknesses. The boy's stance was off by an inch, a quick swipe behind the ankle should send him to the ground if he can't correct himself in time. But Sarah didn't have much of an opening. She kept most of her known weak spots guarded, key word being most. A small portion of her stomach on her left side was exposed and she is extremely ticklish.
Before the kids could react I ducked down and swung my foot out and caught the boy's ankle in the crook of my foot. I pulled up as I sent a quick jab in Sarah's stomach and she inverted on herself. As the boy fell on his back (with a girlish yelp I might add) I linked my other foot around the back of Sarah's knees and caused her to fall forward. Victory.
The boy got up with a groan and rubbed his lower back which had taken the brunt of the impact. I've known that feeling. Somebody really needs to bump up the matting on the floors. Well, actually, maybe not, it'll teach the kids to take a hit.
For some reason Sarah had a grin on her face. I would say that she took getting beat well but that was almost never the case. Add another case of what-the-hell to today's roster. Sarah continued to smile as she stood back up. You know, I actually don't care what she's thinking. It's probably some horse shit about unicorns and rainbows.
"Short Stack," Sarah's grin fell a little. "You need to keep your arms closer to your body. Alright?"
She nodded as she realized I was only giving fight advice. I signaled for her to fall back into stance and she complied. With a quick correction to her arms her sides were effectively guarded and one of her most vulnerable spots was safe.
"You," I gestured to the boy. I could barely remember his name. Billy? Bobby? Something like a lame sitcom name for a son. "Fix your stance, it was too wide. You stay wide and you stay unbalanced, got it?"
He slid back into stance and I nudged his front foot back a little more. Better, but if he doesn't keep corrected whoever he's fighting is going to have him for breakfast.
"Alright, remember that when you guys train tomorrow." They nodded. "Now, I'm going to go shoot, do you want me to set you up for the throwing stars?"
With a more enthusiastic nod from each brat I opened the box and grabbed half the stars, leaving about twenty left over. I divvied up the stars so they each had ten and pulled them so they were both five feet away from their own targets.
"The goal is to hit a bull's-eye. You do that you take a step back. All you need to focus on is aim so don't worry about how long it takes you to get the shot. Just breathe and throw at your own pace," I mentally smacked myself because I was starting to sound like an actual teacher.
Nonetheless the brats got to it as I grabbed my gun and extra bullets off the bench. My katanas should be safe enough just sitting there because everybody knows not to mess with them. Everybody. Let's just say it didn't end well for the last moron who decided to touch them.
I fell into my shooting routine by setting up a target at the very end of the range and put on the noise muffling earmuffs. A quick flick of my finger turned off the safety and I pulled the hammer back. With a loud blast that I only half heard my bullet ripped through the paper target. I continued like that for a while and ended up emptying a full clip. Pressing the button next to me brought up the paper target so I could see it better. And sure enough, just as I had aimed it, there were bullet holes that formed a smiley face across the head. I internally scoffed, nobody's going to make fun of my aim again.
The earmuffs were taken off and I pulled my target down to put it with the rest of 'em in my room. For some reason I like keeping the ones I make a cool pattern in. Right as I finished with that a shrill muffled voice reached my ears, "You don't want to do that."
Sarah must be yelling pretty loud for me to hear that in here. So with gun in hand, extra bullets in my pocket, and target folded under my arm, I went to see what the commotion was about.
The sight that awaited me really sucked. What I was expecting was some kind of prank from the kids. But no, what I saw with my own eyes was Less-Than-Competent messing with my katanas. He had one out of the sheathe and was staring at it.
"You better put that down if you know what's good for you," I warned as I pulled the hammer of my gun back. He didn't know that the clip and chamber were empty, not to mention the safety was on. But if he's messing with my swords than he can think whatever he wants to as long as it scares him shitless.
"Now kid, you don't wanna do anything hasty."
"And apparently you don't wanna put down my katana."
He slowly put it back down on the bench next to it's sheathe. "I don't want any trouble now."
"Then you shouldn't have messed with my katana. Now get your ass out of my training room before trouble starts!"
Needless to say he pretty much ran out of the room. Sarah and the boy were staring at me with wide eyes and open mouths. They know not to mess with my swords, but they've never seen the punishment for it.
"Oh close your mouths. The gun's on safety and it's not even loaded," I assured them as I carefully slid the katana back into it's sheathe and my Browning back into my waistband.
They snickered, now realizing that I never meant any harm. "He almost peed his pants," The boy pointed out with another laugh.
"And that is why you don't mess with my swords."
I was gathering up my stuff and getting ready to leave when I noticed a shadow casting just behind my foot. With a quick turn on my heel I stood face to, um, mask with Mr. Ninja.
My eyes instantly narrowed into a solid glare, "When did you get in the room?"
No answer.
"Fine, don't talk then. But I'm guessing you saw the katana ordeal about a minute ago?"
A single nod.
"Well you're going to have a tough time lecturing me if you don't talk."
No answer.
"Alright then, the ninja stare down is getting old." I contemplated my options. "How about we make a deal? We spar and if you win then I have to go apologize."
He nodded and made a small gesture towards me.
"If I win then I get bragging rights. I'm not going to blackmail my way into your group. If I'm ever getting that spot then I would rather earn it."
Mr. Ninja didn't nod or shake his head in response. Instead he went over to the training mat and stood waiting for me. He also made a gesture to the rack where the body padding was for when sparring gets rough.
I couldn't help but scoff. "I don't do padding. If I take a hit then so be it."
He nodded and slid into a fighting position.
With a wary glance at the sword handles peaking up over his back I followed to the mat. "No weapons right?"
With another nod he flicked his front figures in a bring-it-on gesture. Oh this poor ignorant fool won't know what hit him.
My feet slid into measured position and my arms went up to keep my sides blocked while my hands were in raised fists that were level with my chin.
We seemed to be in a stare down for a while and the kiddies behind us were holding their breath.
His weight is mainly on his back foot so no tripping him. He has body armor galore on, so straight hitting isn't going to have as much of an effect. But there were small spots in between his armor where it was only fabric. That was my best bet for now.
I struck out first with a kick aimed at his front knee. But he stepped back and my landing made my balance drop. Mr. Ninja used that to his advantage and swung his foot around my unbalanced leg just like I did with the boy earlier. Fucking irony. Either way it made me fall into the splits. In that moment I was eternally grateful for all the flexibility training because that would've made most others scream for their mother.
With a quick movement I swung my back leg around and towards Mr. Ninja. I didn't care if that hit landed, but him backing away again gave me time to get back on my feet. When on my feet I slid back into position and waited for him to make a move.
It took quite a while for him to do anything, he just stood there, like a statue almost. But waiting paid off because he finally struck a solid punch towards my right shoulder. I matrix-ed it and bended back to dodge. That didn't work to well because while I was still bending back he slid one of my feet out of position. It forced me to do a full back bend to regain my balance. As I flipped back up, though, my Browning fell out of my waistband and to the mat.
Time seemed to slow down as the charm on the hammer bounced slightly on the mat. Mr. Ninja seemed to notice the charm and stopped fighting all together. How many times do I have to think what-the-hell today?
I slowly reached down to grab my gun while he kept staring. An opportunity resounded in my head and just as I was about to grab the gun I reached out for Mr. Ninja's ankle instead. With a hard tug he fell to the floor. A small oomph noise escaped him. Only sound I've heard so far.
While I was still crouched down I stuck my gun back in my waistband. When I stood up I offered a hand to Mr. Ninja. "Tie?" I conceded.
He grabbed my hand and I helped him up. It was then that I noticed red stripes on his upper arm. Four broken stripes and four full stripes. I regarded it curiously and he noticed my stare. He pointed at the stripes to confirm suspicions. I nodded and grabbed my katanas. With a quick slide I unsheathed one and showed him the same symbol on the metal of the sword. The kids took that moment to leave.
"These were a gift when I was younger, I don't know when exactly but I can remember who gave it to me. Not an actual name, some call sign. Storm Shadow, do you recognize it?" I was basically talking to my sword because I couldn't look at Mr. Ninja for some reason.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and brought my eyes up to meet Mr. Ninja's mask. "So you do?"
He gave a tight nod.
"What happened to him? I haven't seen him for about five years."
Mr. Ninja seemed to be holding something back.
"Let me guess, more secrets?"
He must've been arguing with himself in his mind because he kept looking at the door and then at me, but never moving besides that. After what seemed like a long while he adjusted his hand on my shoulder to grabbing my arm. I didn't get a chance to ask why because he started dragging me off.
"What the hell?! Let go of me!" I screamed at him as he pulled me towards the door. The possibility of cutting him to make him let go of me disappeared as he grabbed my sword from me. What the flying fuck?
My screams fell on deaf ears as he continued to haul me towards the door. We finally reached it, much to my disgruntlement. In the moment it took him to open the door I seized my opportunity. I dropped to the ground as far as his hold would let me and swung under his legs. He fell and I ran like hell. Except there was one major problem with that. The fact that Red stuck her arm out just after the doorway is the major player there.
My back hit the tile floor with a solid thunk. "Fuck," I muttered as air finally complied to go back in my lung. Near my lower back there seemed to be something I was laying on. As I reached under my back my hands caught on the grip of my Browning. I cast it to the side without a second thought and focused on breathing again. From my position on the ground my eyes rested on Red, "Was that really necessary?"
Red never gave me an answer. She was staring at my gun, more accurately, the charm on the hammer. Why are they so interested in it?
That was the moment it clicked in my head. Red hair, check. Ninja-ness, check. Charm on my gun that was the only trace Barakov could find of my parentals, check.
I covered my face with my hands, "Oh Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus," I exclaimed just a little too loud. But I have an excuse; as far as I know I'm related to a mute ninja and an annoying red head. Well fuck my luck. "You know, Red, we really, really need to talk," I pointedly directed towards her. I'm not sure if she even heard me or not, though.
A/N: Well… surprise? Two surprises actually, both will be explained more either next chapter or the one after that. There's the Storm Shadow one, and the painfully obvious parental one. I've been getting about two reviews per chapter, let's at least get three with this one, hmm? I won't hold a chapter back if there's not at least three reviews, but I write faster when there's more reviews, just saying.
