I don't own Victorious - Dan does. I just abduct and molest the characters he created! :D

Chapter 4 - Gnosis

"KYA!" The force of her blow flowed down her arm, along the delicate bones of her wrist, through her hand, and into the bag. Trina thought she felt the energy of her throw moving through the bag and into Tomi's arms. She doubted herself, until she saw Tomi's eyebrows jump.

"Well done, Trina!" the instructor replied.

"KYA!" The right-handed blow landed, the bag jerked.

"Left!" Tomi called.

"KYA!" Trina yelled, but felt the blow fall differently than last time. What is it with this left hand?! she thought to herself... Trina could feel the way her power distributed through the bag, but only sometimes.

"Stop!" Tomi said, breaking her student's flow. "Okay, let's try something different." Trina returned to the fighting-neutral stance of attention. Just learning to stand this way was the focus of the first few days' lessons at Sora Hotaka dojo.

"Why can I feel it when my punch lands square, but I can't when it doesn't?" Trina asked. Normally, Tomi didn't mind questions, even if her answers were sometimes cryptic. This time all Trina got was a sharp hushing sound and an index finger pointing above her head.

"Bei!" Tomi belowed. Trina's back straightened completely as confusion settled into her head. This wasn't like Tomi at all.

"You mean, 'Bay like a wolf?'" Trina asked. It wouldn't be the strangest request made of her in the class...

"No," came the snapped reply, "Bei, as in Jubei. My little brother." Trina turned to where Tomi was looking, and felt her face flush. Bei was at least five inches taller than his sister and looked so tasty... She watched as he finished with the student he was working with and trotted over.

For Trina, class fell away. Gone were the students continuing class around her. The yelling, the counting, the names of the forms being announced before they were thrown... they all just faded into the background.

"Bei, this is Trina Vega. Trina, this is my brother Jubei."

"Hey!" Bei said. Or at least that's what Trina would have heard, if she'd been paying more attention to his words. Her attention instead wandered to his shoulders. He was slender but really toned, like Tomi. Bei looked like he spent a little more time outdoors; his hair was highlighted by exposure to sun, and what Trina could see of his skin was a subtler, warmer shade than his sister's.

Trina caught a glance at his backside in the wall-mirror on the dojo floor. I will *so* have to thank Tomi for introducing us...

"She's backwards." Tomi fussed. "Can you fix her?"

Trina's eyebrows shot upwards. "Wha-?" Trina started...

"Sure," Bei's smooth voice rolled. Without another word or glance, Tomi turned and left the dojo floor.

"Did I do something wrong?" Trina shot toward her retreating instructor. "And what did she mean 'backwards'?!" Trina felt her face grow hot as the venom returned to her voice. Never-mind the fact that her green belt was only a week away from being decided, that girl had the nerve to call her backwards!

"Trina. Right?" Bei asked. He reached out and lifted her hands, and Trina's fury fluttered across the room like a balloon released before being tied shut. She looked up at him, and felt the warmth of his hands under hers (even through the padded gloves). "Relax."

The heat along Trina's cheeks expanded down into her chest, warming the air in her lungs. Nascent anger changed. Wow, his mouth looks kissable... Bei turned toward the mirrors and pulled Trina along by the hand. They left the floor where the students were going through their paces and stood off to the side. He smiled at Trina, and started removing his gloves.

"So, are you dating anyone right now?" Trina asked...

"No." he said, with a little laugh. "Go ahead and take them off."

"What?!"

"Your gloves," Bei said, holding his bare hands up in front of Trina's face. "This exercise is for bare palms. You'll want naked hands." She could see a scar across the back of his left hand, a jagged line along the wrist and smallest finger that refused to tan with the rest of him. She also felt the heat flush her cheeks and the pit of her stomach.

Just the way he says 'naked' is almost too much! she thought to herself, Pull it together, Trina! Her gloves suddenly felt glued in place. Every move intended to get her hands free left her with gloves. She looked up at Bei and he was smiling still, focused on her hands. Eventually, his fingers dived into the knotted velcro and tape.

"Here. Be still."

Trina did so. As his attention fell to her hands, she looked over his shoulder back at the classroom. No one's seeing this, I hope! The room was full of the normal crowd, the white and yellow belts taking up the most room. The green and blue belts lined up near the back. She heard the "skritch" of the last bit of velcro coming loose. That was when she saw him. Beck Oliver was in among the pile of newbie white-belts, watching and imitating.

What the Hell is he doing here? she thought, Isn't he a pacifist or something?

"Trina?" Bei's voice sounded close, and it startled her back to paying attention. "Do this." he said. Bei put his hands together, like he was praying, and began to rub his palms together in a circle. Trina mimicked his move. "Not hard. Just like you're warming them up. Pay attention to how it feels."

"Okay." It seemed a little strange, but she did as she was told. Soon enough, her palms warmed and she could feel how smooth the skin of her inner hands was. Niiiiice!

"Warmed up?" Bei asked.

"Yes, sir!"

"Place your hands on mine, but just your fingertips on my fingertips." Bei was holding his hands up like he was playing patty-cake with an infant, but his fingers were relaxed and facing her. It took a moment, but she mapped her right thumb to his left, then the rest of his fingers on that hand. The she mapped her left thumb to his right, and the rest of her fingers found their position against his. She could feel the heat of his hands again.

"Okay," she asked, "Now what?"

"Keep our fingertips touching as I start moving my hands." Bei ordered. Then he began moving his fingers. First, he closed his fingers, like a flower whose petals shut for the night. Then the fingers opened up again. Trina felt he was applying just a little pressure against her hands, but didn't back off. After a couple more open and close cycles, Bei started moving his hands in clockwise circles while his fingers kept opening and closing.

"This feels..." Trina started to say 'weird', but that wasn't right. "Different."

"Good." It didn't slow down his movements. "Tell me more."

"Huh?"

"Tell me what it feels like." Bei said.

"Well, if I close my eyes," which Trina did to focus, "it doesn't feel like I'm pushing against someone's hands. All my hands can tell is that there's, like, a wall there. A barrier."

"But there is no barrier."

Trina opened her eyes and dropped her hands to her sides. They were beginning to get looks from the newbies. She focused her attention on Bei's face. He appeared to be waiting.

"So, the way you did that made it feel like there was a wall. Really smooth, like glass."

Bei smiled. His attention remained on her, like he was expecting something.

"This is about feeling!" Trina blurted. Where did that come from?! "It's about a wall that isn't real."

"Yep." Bei said. "It's about feeling. Hitomi thinks you're backwards. Evidently, you told her you felt your punches land differently when they were solid. Effective."

"You're saying I should feel for it first, then throw the punch?" Trina asked.

"Yep." His face was all smile and warm, brown eyes. "Don't over-think it. Just throw and land inside the target. Not on it."

Trina thought she could envision it. As her brow started to wrinkle, Bei took her hands again and began putting her gloves back on her. He was done super-fast.

"Don't think about it; Throw and penetrate. Either hand. Either foot. Any target." Bei walked over to the nearest bag, leaned into it, and yelled "Right!"

"KYA!" The sound of her own voice startled Trina. She felt the blow come to a stop well inside the bag. When the punch landed, Bei held it steady and absorbed the leftover force with his arms.

"Left!" he ordered.

"KYA!" She could feel the knot seize up, but the feeling was there. Trina felt the energy of the punch drag itself deep into the bag again. Bei nodded.

"You got it." he said. "You're ready for testing. You just need to get that knot in your shoulder ironed out."

"Thanks, Bei!" Trina said, and went around the bag to give him a hug. He felt warm all over. And toned, his hard muscles under smooth, soft skin. After an extended moment, he stood up and broke her hold on him.

"Any time!" Bei grinned at her.

"Bei!" Tomi called from across the floor. Trina could see her in the midst of the white-belts, the total-newbs, and she was trying to get Beck's arms into the first form.

"I hope you do well at testing!" he said, and made his way to the other side of the dojo.

Wait! Trina thought, the idea leaping into her head, how did he know about my shoulder?!

Thanks for your patience, folks! There will be more regular posts for the remainder of this story. Lots of pairings in the works, and not all of them with just Trina. :D

Feel free to read and review - reviews fuel my inspiration!