Stretching, she walked over to her bag that was on the floor. She hadn't bothered unpacking yet, which she now regretted. Finding anything in the overstuffed bag was a pain in the ass. After searching for what she needed for about 2 minutes, she gave in and just dumped everything out onto the floor. She felt relieved when she finally caught site of her training clothes. Grabbing a long sleeved black under armour shirt, black workout leggings, and a pair of blue vans. She normally didn't wear shoes with her training, and she had let it slip her mind to even bring tennis shoes.
"I'm such a damn mess", she sighed loudly, "Already off to a great start this morning". She rolled her eyes and then headed over to the bathroom that was connected to her room.
She then brushed her long, tangled, auburn hair out and pulled it into a high ponytail. After splashing her face with some cold water, she stared at herself in the mirror. She knew bothering with makeup would be a waste of time today. It would all just sweat off anyways. She then began to get a sick feeling in her stomach, she was nervous. This would be the first time Sub Zero would see what she was capable of, she just hoped she didn't screw it up.
"Well...here goes nothing", she said aloud to herself, and turned out of the bathroom.
Grabbing a bottle of water off the night table, which she had previously packed, she headed out the door. As soon as she stepped out into the great hallway, she saw Jun leaning against a wall, eyes shut, and arms crossed tightly.
"Good Morning, Jun", she said.
His eyes fluttered open, a grin came across his face, "Morning, Addilyn".
He used his back to push himself up and off the wall, and walked over to Addilyn.
"The Grandmaster is waiting downstairs on the training grounds, I'll take you down there", he said, offering his arm.
Addilyn took it as they began to walk, "How long has he been down there?".
Jun shrugged, "Not sure, probably a while though. He usually wakes up a lot earlier than everyone else and gets his own training done before the day starts".
"He's very dedicated", Addilyn said.
Jun nodded, "Yes, he really is. But he does have his days off. Sometimes, after he's done, he retreats and doesn't leave his chamber for the rest of the day".
Addilyn laughed, "Ha, yeah, I know if I was in charge, I would be a lazy ass. So kudos to him for actually getting things done around here".
Jun returned the laugh, "Well, lets just be happy you're not the big boss around here".
She smiled, but it didn't last long. It was just then that she remembered what she was heading to, all the sick feelings she had before were coming back.
Jun quickly noticed and frowned, "You okay?".
Addilyn shrugged, "Eh...I guess. Just feeling a bit nervous, I don't want to disappoint him".
"You'll do fine", Jun reassured her, "You must be pretty impressive if Lord Raiden personally picked you himself".
"I suppose so", she replied.
"Aren't you in some type of fighting club?", Jun asked.
She nodded, "Yup, the Ultimate Fighting Championship".
"I think I've heard of that", Jun said, "Isn't that a pretty big deal in your country?".
"Depends on who you ask!", Addilyn answered, laughing. "But I'd say to a good amount of people it is, so yeah..I suppose so".
Jun smiled, "You're gonna do great, I have faith that you will surpass his expectations".
"I hope so", she replied, still feeling disheartened.
"Here we are", Jun said, stopping in front of a big door.
Addilyn looked over at it, and back at Jun, "Is it just behind this door?".
He nodded, "Just go through it, it will take you outside. There is a pathway right out there, follow it, take the first right path you see. There will be a big iron gate up ahead, behind it is one of the training grounds. You will find him there".
Addilyn nodded in response, "Alright...thanks Jun. You've been such a good friend to me. I appreciate all the help".
"Of course", he replied. "I would normally take you there myself, but I have to go get ready. My training starts in about 15 minutes."
"You're going to be late", she joked, "Get going!".
"Yes ma'am", he smirked.
She then turned towards the big door, and went over to open it. She began to to push on it, it was heavy..almost too heavy. Not wanting to look weak in front of Jun though, she pushed hard enough to get it to open to where she could squeeze through it. After she got outside, she turned towards Jun and waved.
He responded by waving back, "Good luck!".
"Thanks", she said, "I need it!".
She began to push the door shut, until it was fully closed and he was out of her sight. Turning around, she saw another big courtyard, and the path Jun mentioned up ahead. She inhaled and exhaled, seeing that it was cold enough to where she could see her breath. It was chilly outside, but the temple blocked the wind. She was grateful for that. She began to walk down the path, taking in the scenery around her. It was beautiful, it was still dark, but the sky held a luminous light that showed off the mountains in the distance. The landscapes in front of her brought a peaceful feeling, it had helped her calm down a lot. Soon, she came to a crossroad in the path. Straight ahead lead to what seemed to be a garden. To the left, it went somewhere she wasn't sure of. She turned right and walked down the path Jun said to take. Not too long after that, she caught sight of the big iron gate. Walking over to it, she pushed it open. It squeaked quietly as she opened it and closed it behind her.
Looking up ahead, she saw Sub Zero. He was sitting in a criss cross position, and he had his hands rested on his knees. He seemed to be meditating. She didn't want to disturb him, but she also didn't want to stand there looking stupid. She decided to quit pondering on what to do and just walked over to him.
As she got closer to him, he spoke up, "Good Morning, Addilyn. You're just in time".
She jumped a little, his deep voice surprising her, "Good Morning, Grandmaster".
He opened up his piercing blue eyes and looked up at her green ones, "I trust that you had no problems finding me".
Addilyn shook her head no, "Not at all, Jun has been awesome. He has been showing me around and helping me out".
Sub Zero nodded, "Good, he is an excellent warrior. I am glad you are both taking a liking to each other. He will set a great example for you".
He began to stand up, and turn towards her. It was now that she realized how much taller he was then her. He was a good foot taller than her.
"Greaaaaat", she thought to herself, "That's not intimidating at all".
He looked over at her and said, "Now, let us begin our stretches".
"Sounds good", she shortly replied.
They began to do the stretches, some were what she normally did, some of the moves were different. Either way, even now, she was distracted by her thoughts. She was calm on the outside, but on the inside she was a nervous wreck. Would she screw things up? Would she do horribly? Would he want her gone if she did?
"Addilyn", she heard someone say, breaking her out of her thoughts.
"Hmmm?", was her only reply, realizing that Sub Zero was talking to her.
Sub Zero's eyebrows furrowed, "You're distracted, is there anything you would like to discuss with me?"
She shook her head quickly, "Oh, no. Just mentally preparing myself. I will concentrate on my task now".
He simply nodded at her, and continued on with their stretching routine. After about 15 minutes of loosening up, he stopped and walked over to her.
"Alright, this is what I want you to do", he started, "I want you to show me anything you want to. I want to see what I have to work with and I want to know what you're capable of. I will simply block all of your moves and I will not strike you back."
She nodded, showing that she understood what he wanted.
He then said, "I would also like to mention that you get extra points with me if you are actually able to strike me without me blocking it".
Addilyn laughed, "Hope you don't mind getting your ass kicked then, Grandmaster".
He smirked, "I am hopeful that your skill is better than your trash talk".
Addilyn scoffed, but then laughed, she knew she wasn't the best trash talker. Which was sad, because with her career, she should have been the best at talking shit.
She began to get into postion, putting her right let in front of her and her left behind her. She raised her arms up in front of her, "Lets go then".
Sub Zero got into position himself, raising his arms, waiting for her to perform the first blow.
She began to ponder on what move she should do first, should she hit him in the chest area first? Or use her legs?
After thinking about it much too long, she decided to just go for it. She always did better when she went with the flow anyways. She stood still for a moment, waiting to see if he knew what she was thinking. After a few seconds, she went for it.
Walking up quickly, she raised her arm as if she meant to hit him with her fist. He went to block it and she could have cheered right then and there. She loved using this move. She would trick her opponent into thinking she was going to hit them one way, and when it was too late to block anything else, she would use a different move at the last minute.
As he went to block her fist, she raised her leg, and kicked him in the abdomen straight on. He stumbled back a little and she used this opportunity to do a looping overhand hit with her right hand. As she went in, he moved fast enough to where she merely got his bicep. She growled to herself, annoyed that she didn't get the hit right.
She decided to go in and perform a head kick. She was unsuccessful with hitting him in the head, but she did get him good in the side. He stumbled a bit, grabbing his side. She took advantage of the situation and did a sweep kick, causing him fall over on his side. She jumped on top of him and went in to do a hammer fist.
She raised her fist and went down, aiming for his face. He quickly moved his hands and caught her fist, right before it made contact with his cheek. She raised her left hand and tried to do the same thing on the other side, but he grabbed that fist as well. She tried to move her hands from his, but his grip was too tight. She sat there on top of him, both legs on either side of him, while her butt was rested on his pelvis area. She had to try and hide the blush rushing across her face. She liked her current position, but didn't want it to show. She began to act annoyed with him not letting go, and she thrusted her arms around to get loose. After a minute of fighting, and his face looking amused, she got free and jumped up. Stepping back, she got back into position, waiting for him to stand up.
As he stood up and straightened himself out, he looked over at her, "Very good, Addilyn. I see you have enough skill to at least defend yourself. Now, impress me". He went back to his fighting stance, waiting for her to perform another move.
"That was just a warm up", she smarted off, "Hope you look just as good covered in bruises".
This went on for the 2 hours. It was the most exhilarating 2 hours she remembered having in a long time. She was exhausted, really sweaty, and sore. Sub Zero walked over to her, his skin glistened. He looked so attractive, especially when he was all sweaty.
He patted her back, hard, "That was a remarkable session, Addilyn. I am very pleased. Tomorrow, you will begin learning the moves I wish for you to incorporate into your routine".
"I look forward to it", she replied.
"Good", he responded, "Because it will be much harder than today was. Today was just your warm up. I hope you will be extra ready tomorrow".
"Awesome", she responded sarcastically, feeling too tired to even think about work tomorrow.
"Now", he started, "Go and shower. I will come to get you in an hour for breakfast".
"Alright, Grandmaster. I'll be ready", she answered.
She looked over at him, admiring him secretly, "You look really good when your all sweaty, just so you know". Her eyes widened, did she really just say that out loud?
"Uh, sorry!", she quickly apologized, "I don't know why I said that, I should really watch what I say. I apologize for being unprofessional, Grandmaster".
He smirked, "Our training is over, you need not be so formal, remember?".
"Uh...oh yea...sorry...Sub Zero", she responded, feeling embarrassed. She was sure she was tomato red in the face.
"And Addilyn", he said, leaning in over to her, his face getting very close to hers. "I don't mind, stop apologizing".
Her blood began pumping faster, her heart felt like it was about to explode, he was so close to her face. She hated that he could see everything wrong with her, she was sweaty, red and she was sure she smelled now.
"I should go shower, I feel disgusting", she said, trying to change the subject.
Sub Zero stood back up straight and nodded, "You are dismissed, I will see you within the hour".
"Of course Grand...I mean Sub Zero", she replied.
"Kuai", she heard him say to her.
"Huh?", she asked, feeling confused.
"Just call me Kuai Liang", he said, a small smile on his lips.
She felt privileged, she assumed that this was his real name, and he was allowing her to say it. She was thrilled she was on his good side.
"Alright, thank you, Kuai Liang", she responded, smiling back.
"Of course", he replied, "Now, go on".
"Yes, sir!", she said, now turning to head back to the gate.
Once she got through the gate and out of the Grandmasters sight, she began running down the pathway and to the temple. She didn't want to waste any time, and her adrenaline was going crazy. As soon as she go to the temple, she ran to the door. She threw it opened, and found it was a lot easier to open this time around. She ran through the hallways, and up the stairs. As she came around a corner, she saw Jun again, up against a wall. This time, his eyes were open and he was in what she assumed was a training uniform.
He looked over at at her and said, "I see you survived your first day".
She smiled at him and lightly laughed, "Yeah, I did! It went really well actually. Turns out, I freaked out over nothing".
He smiled back at her, "That's great! I knew you would be excellent. The Grandmaster isn't as scary as he seems. Well...he can be, but you know what I mean".
"Yes, he's very intimidating", she said, "What are you doing?".
"We're taking a break for a moment, so my friend wanted to get something from his room. I'm just waiting on him".
"I see", she replied, "Well, I smell bad, I'll see you later!".
He laughed, "You kind of do".
"Jerk!", she yelled, and hit his arm playfully.
"I'm kidding!", he laughed, "Lets hang out later?".
"Sounds like a plan", she responded, starting to walk down the hall.
"It's a date then", Jun said, waving at her.
She waved back and began to quickly walk to down the hallway. She couldn't wait to get in the shower.
"I really do stink", she said aloud.