A/N: Ok, so I know this update is so very late I can't apologize enough. It's also very short but I figured something is better than nothing, right? To be honest, I had up to chapter thirteen written, but the sequence of events felt off, so all of it is going through some major surgery right now before I can even think of updating the next few chapters. My summer class started as well, so I'll be mathing (is that even a word?) very hard the next few weeks as I try to fix the next few chapters.

Thank you so much for all of your support. I cannot thank you enough for sticking with this story even though I my updates have become irregular. I can't say thank you enough.

I'm dedicating this chapter to Mickey who told me to update after checking to see if I had updated or not, and realized that though he'd edited this a while back, I still hadn't updated. Thanks for being the best editor ever, pushing me to update, and teaching me to make an outline.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 10

I walked over to Dimitri who wasn't able to hide the shock from his face.

"He fights like you," Seth murmured quietly as I slipped my charmed ring into his waiting hands before walking towards Dimitri. He really hadn't changed in the past five years then. That thought was oddly comforting.

I stood facing Dimitri, who returned my gaze with an intensity that scared me. I had only seen him like this a few times. Heat rushed to my cheeks as I thought of the last time I had seen him like this, definitely not fighting me, but I couldn't look away from him. He'd been here for less than a day and this was the closest I had allowed myself to get to him since he'd arrived. The intoxicating smell of his aftershave surrounded me, reminding me of everything that had happened between us in the past.

Rose,

What we had wasn't love to begin with. Our feelings for each other... it was all infatuation. You were infatuated with the idea of loving me. I never loved you. Everything that happened between us was a mistake, one that will not be repeated again. You've progressed very well with your training and I truly believe you will become a great guardian. You will no longer need a mentor, and we will no longer have a reason to see each other again.

Goodbye,

Dimitri

We circled around each other, waiting, watching for the slightest movement, testing and then withdrawing, teasing and then shying away, looking for an opening we could cleanly attack. The old Rose Hathaway would have easily gotten impatient and thrown the first punch, yet earlier, he'd watched guardian after guardian make the mistake of attacking me first, and he'd seen how quickly those matches had ended.

So I threw the first punch, knowing it was exactly what he was expecting, and twisted out of his grip as he moved to grasp my arm. Doing so made me get closer to him, allowing me to catch a whiff of his intoxicating aftershave once again. Shit Rose, focus.

I was going to have fun with this and give everyone here the show they had been waiting for. Every punch and kick he threw at me, I blocked and countered. I knew what he would do before he did it: I understood his fighting style that well. He aimed for a low kick to throw me off balance. I sidestepped, countering with a punch to the neck. He was bigger, his weight giving him a slight advantage over me, but what I couldn't make up in height and weight, I made up for with agility and speed courtesy of Seth's training.

Even after all these years, Dimitri was still every bit a god as I remembered. The intensity, the strength, it was all there. Fighting him was repetitive and familiar, but in this familiarity I found myself treading on dangerous waters by thinking about the past.

I finally understood why Seth had said he wouldn't have missed this for the world. It wasn't the fact that Dimitri and I used to be mentor and student that made us equals in this fight. In his eyes, I had surpassed that level a long time ago. It was the past memories of Dimitri that would hold me back from fighting at my full potential, and Seth knew it. If I lost this fight, it proved that ultimately, I had succumbed to the memories of the past I had tried so hard to forget. And that wasn't okay with me.

What we had wasn't love to begin with.

All those stolen kisses didn't matter. All those moments, the lust charm, the trainings, the cabin – he had made it clear to me that it meant nothing to him, so why should I keep holding onto memories of the past that were just too painful to even think about?

You were infatuated with the idea of loving me. Except I hadn't been. I had loved him. I had loved everything about him.

He kicked, aiming for my head but I somersaulted backwards, creating distance between us. His eyes widened before he composed himself. That wasn't something he had taught. There was a lot I did that he hadn't taught. He had no idea how much I had really changed.

Everything that happened between us was a mistake.

We circled each other again. I moved in, aiming a roundhouse kick at him but he blocked, the force of the kick whirling me around so that my back was exposed to him. I finally tapped into Lissa's darkness. I'd taken away so much of it yesterday that it was barely there now, but it would be enough.

I never loved you.

I could hear him as he moved in and waited before I used a back kick to spin around, hitting his right arm with more force than I had originally intended. It didn't break his arm, but it would cause enough pain to prevent him from using the arm too much.

You were infatuated with the idea of loving me.

I paused, avoiding his eyes as I struggled to keep the darkness in control. Lissa had begun using her compulsion - not a lot – but enough for the darkness to cross the mental bridge I had just connected to let it flow into me.

I never loved you.

He aimed for my lower leg again, trying to sweep it so I would lose my balance and turn my back to him.

I love you, Roza.

I jump-kicked, aiming for his left shoulder, allowing the darkness to fuel me.

I never loved you.

He moved before my leg fully connected with him but he still staggered from the force of the kick.

What we had wasn't love to begin with.

I took advantage of the pain on his arms and aimed my next kick at his right leg. He moved away, anticipating it almost as soon as I thought about it.

We moved like predator and prey, but it was hard to tell who was the predator and who was the prey. His eyes watched me, waiting for me to give something away so he could attack my weakness. He would never know. I took advantage of the fact that we had been fighting for a while and knew he would be getting tired by now. Anyone would. No one had ever lasted this long in a fight against me or Eddie. I had let this go on for too long when I could have ended it a while ago.

So I let Dimitri knock me to the floor and straddle me. He looked into my eyes as he struggled to reach my heart. Not so fast. I smirked before turning us over, making sure his arms were twisted behind his back while I used my legs to lock his together. I pressed against his body as his eyes widened, then, before he could squirm out of my grip, I placed my hands over his heart.

"Dead."

A/N: Thanks you for reading! I'm sorry it was so short but please let me know what you though about the fight scene! Any ways I can improve the story? Is it moving too slow at this point? I think I'm almost done with the next chapter, but it all depends on how the chapters after play out... thank you again for reading!