A/N: Hello everyone! Yes, I'm still alive. Holiday season kept me busy and all. Had a bunch of other projects to work on and such. BUT I have a special treat for you. This chapter wasn't written by me.
Nope. This was written by Aevari! She wrote this for me as a secret santa gift. So a huge thank you to Aevari for the effort in writing this chapter. Enjoy!
"Ha!"
Aisha's breath rasped as she brought forward her left fist in a lazy excuse for a strike, fortunately for her, Rena had agreed to start the girl's training the morning after she had officially signed up at the dojo.
An hour had passed by on day one of training, and for what it was worth the girl was spent. Sweat coated her body, her face was red and her breaths grew more coarse each time she went through the simple routine of 20 punches and 3 reps.
Her dawn training session had consisted of learning the correct way to carry herself, taking on a fighting stance with the final part of her session: perfecting the perfect punch.
"Aisha, come on! This is the third time I've told you – remember, when you perform a punch, your body needs to follow through with your fist, lean your striking side forward, it's not done with just the fist, but your entire body! twist on your toes, move that tiny waist to bring more power into it, Come on, you're getting slack, your punches aren't even considered punches at this point! Punch with your body!"
Rena slowly paced along the dojo floor ahead of Aisha, and not once did the Master avert her gaze from her newest student. Rena saw improvements here and there, but with each small improvement, the elf noticed weaknesses left unchecked and was sure to point them out to her student.
Aisha grimaced, she felt so exhausted, and struggled to keep up with the punches, each strike felt heavier than the last, was this what it felt like to be in an actual fight? She was only punching air, would she feel this exhausted while locked in combat with another person? Would it be this hard when she encountered the mysterious Eun again?
Even thinking briefly about the mysterious fox seemed to distract her as her form became even sloppier than before. Eun wasn't a weakling, surely if Eun had wanted to that day she could've really hurt the witch, and acknowledging just how weak she was in the grand scale of things stung. If she couldn't fend off some fox, could she ever protect or save those she cared about?
"Concentrate! Don't let your thoughts wander to anything other than training! Redo the set again!"
Aisha let out a yell for each new punch, her arms felt like they were burning from the pain, but if she stopped short, Rena would have her do the set again, no matter if she was doing the strikes correctly.
"Learning. To. Punch. Is. Hard!" the purple student gasped as she gave her final punch in the last set, only to quickly let her arm drop to her side in utter exhaustion, and although her body hurt like hell, deep down she felt… good, like getting an A on an exam, but much more physical.
"Of course it's hard," Rena nodded in total agreement. "So is kicking, dodging, parrying, countering, throwing and all that fun stuff... But, these are your first steps... It's obvious that you've never trained a day in your life." Rena stopped in front of Aisha with her arms crossed, "As you are now, you are outrageously weak, after your fourth punch the speed and power of your strikes reduced so much it's like your arms turn to cooked pasta! But, when you feel like your turning into a pile of spaghetti, you need to remind yourself of why you are here. Find that inner strength and push forward so that if the time ever comes where you have to defend yourself, you can stand your ground without worry. Find that reason; hold onto it."
The blonde smiled watching as Aisha placed her tired arms on her hips to catch her breath.
"No lady in my care will be left weak and defenseless, just you wait, put in the hard work and you'll be kicking the ass of any creeper that tries to make a move on you."
"R-right!" The student agreed, of course Rena didn't know of Aisha's background. She didn't know that instead of having creepers make moves on her, Aisha actively sought out the lowest ranking scum in District 3 to test and push the limits of her powers. When she thought of it like that, it sounded like she was just looking for fights.
Let's not get into that line of thinking right now… Aisha thought to herself as her attention was set back on Master Rena.
"Now that the pep-talk's over and done with," Rena gave Aisha a pat on the back. "I'd like to declare your first training session complete. Not a bad start, a lot of things you need to improve on, but we will get there."
Aisha smiled, "Thank you, Master."
"Here. I have something to give you." The green eyed elf reached into her pocket and pulled out a small white lily of sorts and handed it to Aisha. "Here you go. This is my dojo's emblem," Rena raised her right wrist, showing Aisha her own lily which was attached to a thin rope bracelet. "You can wear it wherever, or choose not to wear it at all, but do look after it."
Aisha cupped the tiny charm sized flower ornament and ran her fingers over the petals, it was cute.
"It means you're an official member of my dojo, and part of the family." Rena chimed in.
"Oh, thank you." Aisha smiled up at the elf, it was odd that Rena declared her part of her family so suddenly, but the girl couldn't deny the feeling incredibly grateful.
"Say, how about we grab some breakfast together?"
"Sure, I have a bit of time before I have class, but it'll have to be quick!"
Rena nodded, leading her student towards the dojo's exit, "Promise it'll be as quick as me doing a Sharp Fall on some creeps head! Elf's honor. Now, tell me a bit about yourself."
She was back in Adrian's private quarters. Eun was standing before her, looking strangely more animalistic than before with the addition of fangs and long claws. Eve lay unconscious at the Fox's feet, her weapon poised to strike the silver haired beauty.
Aisha tried to call out to Eve, but her voice would not come, dread overcame her body, she was no match for Eun, that was clear but Eve was about to die!
Move body, move! She urged herself to act, outstretching her hand she tried to summon her staff to no avail. Why, why wasn't it appearing!? Aisha bit her bottom lip, without her staff she was useless… but if she didn't act now, Eve would die.
Eun smirked, stabbing her spear into the ground, the sharp tip barely missing Eve's head as she then ran to meet Aisha head on, her teeth were bared, in the form of sharp fangs. Eun swung her clawed hand at Aisha's throat as the witch nimbly dodged it by leaning to the side.
Aisha brought her arm up as Eun swung her claws, slapping away Eun by the wrist she proceeded to counter attack with a strike to Eun's stomach. Her punch hit, as the Fox staggered back momentarily to catch herself, before diving back at Aisha with a kick to the face. Unable to dodge it in time, Aisha took the brunt force of the strike as Eun's toned leg slammed into the side of her face hard, dropping her to the ground with an audible thud.
Before the witch could get back on her feet however, Eun leapt over the purple haired girl and began to beat her black and blue, Aisha tried her best to block but Eun was much more powerful, and savage.
Laying battered and beaten on the ground, a bloody face Aisha kept her blurred gaze on the unmoving Eve until the barrage of attacks stopped.
"Weak." Eun hissed, having moved away from the witch and now over Eve. "You're much too weak. Give me the ring."
"I-I can't…" Aisha spoke as blood trickled down her lips.
"If you don't then I'll just end your friend right here and now! Give me the ring!"
Aisha blinked back bloody tears as she very slowly sat up on her knees. "…I can't…"
"Fine then." Raising her clawed hand Eun went to make the killing strike on Eve.
"No!" Aisha screamed, desperation clear in her voice as suddenly her staff finally manifested in her hand, with the last of her strength, Aisha slowed down time enough for her to crawl over to Eun. "Don't… don't touch her!" She cried, and with a labored thrust, she slammed the staff as hard as she could onto Eun's side.
As the staff connected, the time slow ceased, the cracking of ribs echoed through Aisha's eardrums as she watched Eun fly back by the force of her magical strike and slam into a wall, unconscious. The wall crumbled from the foxes impact and collapsed right on top of her with a loud bang, smoke enveloped the area, the debris encased Eun in a heavy tomb.
On her knees she sat, her purple hues gazed down on her staff, it held such power, it defeated Eun where she couldn't. The staff clearly compensated for her lack of skill. "I d-did it."
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP
Awaking with a start Aisha's hand stretched outward, fumbling on top of her bedside cupboard as she felt around for her alarm clock. After a few seconds of searching, the girl felt the familiar circular object and pressed the button, silencing the beeping.
"What was that dream…" Aisha brought her hand up to rest on her head as she tried to recall the dream that was already starting to fade from sleepy memory. The girl felt a feeling of dread overcome her body as she lay there, the battle felt so real. Gazing at the mysterious ring, Aisha gave a deep sigh, allowing herself time to calm, yet once the feeling of fear left her, Aisha allowed her thoughts to focus on the dream battle, she had felt such strength when wielding the staff, it felt… good.
"I need to get stronger, I just have to…"
After a moment of reprieve, Aisha turned her sleepy head and looked at the time on her clock. 4:30am, time to get up. She'd only been asleep for two hours, which was swiftly becoming her normal sleep schedule. In 30 minutes she'd have to meet up with Rena at the dojo for a morning session.
Aisha got up with a sigh, her body felt heavy, much heavier than before, likely because of the intense training that Rena had started giving her.
Usually, Aisha would enjoy a few more hours of sleep since she didn't have college this morning, but with her new found determination to learn to fight, she'd have to slot in training whenever she possibly could, between her classes, internship and training, she was thankful that Rena was flexible with times.
"I better get some caffeine into me and stat. I don't want to keep Rena waiting."
Day 4 of Martial arts training was similar to the last 3, however this time around Aisha, having already adequately learnt the proper basic punching and kicking actions was now learning the marvelous and fun world of countering and flipping and was also actively sparring with Rena, much to her Master's excitement.
"Ok, you've got me in the hold now, good, now, take me down – I'm just a regular person, no martial art's training at all. Take me out, do it!" Rena was somewhat hunched before her student as Aisha held onto Rena, wincing as her Master yelled in her ear the girl moved her leg swiftly to sweep Rena's own, sending the blonde haired elf to her feet.
"Hey, not bad." Rena laid on her side, and smiled up at Aisha. "I hope you feel proud of yourself for bringing me down."
Aisha brought a hand up to wipe her sweaty brow and gave a smirk of accomplishment, her face was pale, dark rings circled the under the lower halves of her eyes, she looked exhausted but happy. "I am, it's not every day I get to do that, it feels pretty good." The purplette outstretched a hand to Rena to help her up.
"Good…. Good…" Rena nodded and went to take Aisha's hand, however as she made contact with her student, Rena gripped her tightly and suddenly pulled the girl down off of her own feet. "Never let your guard down and relax your stance!"
Aisha fell to the floor with a thud, her face met the cushioned mat floor hard and squealed in moderate pain. "Ow! – Why'd you" Before Aisha had time to finish, Rena was already resting over Aisha's back, harshly pulling her arms back in a hold to pin the girl down.
"And now, I can do whatever I want with you!" Rena leaned down towards Aisha's left ear. "You failed. Honestly, if I were an assailant you'd be toast right now. I'm genuinely disappointed in you, you know better by now, I've drilled it into your head every minute of training, why can't you get that?"
Aisha's eyes brimmed with tears, the hold was hurting her. "Master let go." She asked in a whisper, irritation taking form in her voice.
"No, you don't get to ask me to release you. Aisha." Rena frowned, she was not yelling anymore but the sternness of Rena's voice told Aisha that Rena was disappointed. "If you want to make up for your blunder, tell me, how can you get out of this situation?"
The student winced, trying her best to wiggle free but to no avail, she could move her hips and legs a bit, Rena had her pinned there in a vice like grip. Aisha tried to think, her mind went blank, it hurt too much.
"Come on Aisha, times a'ticking, a baddie isn't just going to hold you here forever, unless of course they want to go about some evil monologue or something."
The staff. Aisha thought, in a situation like this, she'd ideally already be in magical girl form and could easily have slowed down time to avoid this whole situation. "I-if I had a weapon, it'd be different! Just give me a weapon and I'll show you!" Aisha spat, she was hurting, and feeling trapped her tone rose showing a hint of anger and a whole lot of frustration.
"Weapons again…" Rena sighed. "Every day you ask about them, and every day I say no. They aren't the answer to everything. This is our first little spar, instead of thinking about beating me with a stick, use that big brain of yours to figure a way out."
It was true though; Aisha thought to herself, her staff would have turned the tides of this situation. Her hands were balled into fists, the ringed fist clenched more tightly that the left.
Think, Aisha Think. What can I do… She thought to herself.
She needed to push her reliance on her powers to the side for now, this was clear as she definitely couldn't transform in front of Rena just to break through from a hold. What's more, the disappointment in Rena's voice told Aisha that there was some way out of this, something she'd already know from their training, but what?" The student took a breath to calm herself, I can't throw a punch… maybe a kick! Her legs were free enough to move!
Aisha suddenly brought her right leg up, bending the knee so that her heel struck Rena in the back. Master Rena didn't budge as Aisha began kicking her repeatedly. "Ok, that hurts, but I'm still poised strongly here." Rena, unbeknownst to Aisha was grinning, it seemed her student was finally getting on the right track.
"Gah!" Aisha tried her best to land a strong kick to Rena's back, but as it connected, still Rena didn't move, she had superb balance.
That's right! Balance! Aisha gasped, if she just surprised Rena, and shook her balance and center off, she could maybe maneuver out of the hold.
Let's see… Rena has my hands tied, she's kneeling over me, I can move my legs, it's only the upper body that's pinned. I'm like a worm right now… That's it! A worm!
Aisha let out a yell, and suddenly moved her legs, getting onto her knees, she pushed her hips upwards hard, moving Rena forward slightly. "Oh- Hey!" Rena gave a look of surprise, and in that surprise, Aisha used that opportunity to harshly slam her side against Rena's inner thigh and caused the pair to fall onto their sides.
"Get. Off!" Aisha yelled, and slammed her head back hitting Rena's with a thud as the Master released the student.
"Ow my face!" Rena cried out, giving it a rub as she painfully watched her student shakily get to her feet. "Not bad." Rena stood up, and complimented her student. "And you got free without a weapon. I'm proud of you, I was beginning to think you weren't paying attention to my instructions."
"I-I do…I'm just not used to … well…this." Aisha rubbed the back of her head, an egg already starting to form on it. "I'm… also sorry for snapping at you earlier."
"It's fine, I expected you to react that way. Most people do when they're beginners." Rena left the room momentarily, coming back with cold packs and some towels. "Here, towel to clean your sweat, cold pack for the egg."
"Look, Aisha, I don't know why you are so adamant about using a weapon, but you know I won't let you use one until you're ready."
Aisha accepted the items, and purposely turned her head away from Rena as she spoke.
"Your wrists are probably really hurting right, now, right?" Rena pointed out. "You bruise easily too." The Master pointed out the few bruises that starting showing on her arms from the past few days. "Some of them aren't from here either I don't think." Crossing her arms, Rena's green gaze was deadly perceptive.
"I don't know if you're being hurt outside of here or not… but even so, I will not let you use a weapon until I think you are ready. Weapons are dangerous, they can kill." Holding a cold pack to her forehead Rena watched Aisha's shoulders shrink forward and observed her body stiffen at her words.
"Look at me Aisha."
Aisha bit her bottom lip, what Rena was saying struck a chord with the girl, she recalled her run in at the convenience store in the past, her staff had done much more damage to the criminal at the time that she was expecting. Let's not forget how Eun turned out in my dream… Aisha thought to herself before shaking her head. Rena was right, she couldn't control her power despite the fact that she relied upon it so heavily.
Aisha turned to look up at Master Rena. "Whatever your circumstances are, breathe easy, chick." The elf rest her free hand on Aisha's shoulder. "I'm going to continue to train you, so that you can defend yourself without a weapon, and so that if you do need to use one, you won't do something you'll regret. Believe in me, I won't let you down."
Making her way back into Kuenbaran's Restaurant after college and her internship, Aisha hoped to use the next 2 hours or so to get a bit of rest in before she went out to look for action on District 3's streets.
"Ah, Welcome home Aisha." Kuenbaran inclined his head into a nod as he greeted his granddaughter from the bar, he was slowly plating up an order for a customer.
"Hi Grandpa, I'm home." Aisha tried her best to sound happy, but in truth she was anything but. She was tired, very tired. Her arms hurt from this morning's training with Rena, her head hurt from the training as well, and she had a slight headache after getting back from the internship. It had been a long day, and her new lifestyle was catching up with her and her body was suffering because of it.
Aisha moved behind the counter and kissed Kuenbaran's forehead softly, her lips were dry and coarse, was she keeping her fluids up enough?
"Are you alright?" The elderly man paused what he was doing as he gave his granddaughter a good look over. He had noticed a while ago that she may have been putting too much on her plate, but today she looked ready todrop dead before him. "You look so tired Aisha, I think I'll –"
Aisha winced as Kuenbaran went to hold her by the hand. "What's wrong? You've hurt yourself?" Concerned, he looked down at her hands and immediately noticed the bruises on not only her wrist, but along her arms as well. "What is… this? Aisha, what has happened, you must tell me now. We will go to the Police and get Elsword to-"
"I'm fine Grandpa, really!" Aisha shook her head and put a hand on his arm. "I've been taking self-defence training, the marks are from that. My teacher is strong and tough, but I'm learning." The girl tried her best to reassure Kuenbaran with a steadfast gaze, and it was then that the old man noticed the nice little bump on her head. "An egg?"
"I head butted my teacher a little too hard… Honest."
"Aisha, while I agree that having self-defence lessons is a good thing, I do think that this is a bit too much. I never thought such a class would be so… intense. To top it off, you already have School and your internship to focus on my girl."
"Grandpa, I'm fine. Master Rena is a great teacher."
"Oh, Ms. Rena." The old man recognized Aisha's teacher's name. "I know her, not as well as some as but more so than a stranger. She comes here occasionally. In fact, she was the hero who dealt with that thief back last Christmas, remember?"
"I remember Grandpa, It was one of the reasons I went to her for lessons."
Kuenbaran gave a slow nod. It seems that the old man had accepted her teacher, even if she may be getting a bit to physical with his granddaughter. "I see, well it's very good she's agreed to train you, although I might have a word with her about being less rough with you... If your father saw these marks-"
"Let's not talk about dad tonight, please grandpa." Aisha pleaded, giving the old man's arm a slight squeeze.
"Well, alright then." Defeated, Kuenbaran dropped the topic and instead went about finishing up the meal placement. "Aisha, Please take this to that young lady over there, she's a new regular here, I haven't gotten her name yet, but I will soon." His voice sounded quite happy at the notion of gaining another loyal customer. "After you've done that, you can settle in for the night. In addition, before you offer, don't worry about the restaurant, I can manage without you. I think you really need a good night's sleep."
Grabbing the plate, Aisha nodded. "I think I need one too Grandpa" Although, I think I would need more than just one full night of rest at this point. Maybe a week. She thought to herself, knowing that she would not be sleeping much at all tonight, she had to do some field testing after all.
"Here you go Miss. One Special and an orange juice." Aisha set the food and drink down on the counter in front of the lady.
The young lady in question had long black hair with grey streaks running through it and a large bow poised on her head. She didn't look up at Aisha but nodded her head stiffly in response. "Thanking…you. I hope… injury get… well soon."
"Thank you, I'll be fine." Aisha smiled, yet something clicked in the cogs of her mind, the lady looked awfully familiar… and her voice, although clearly not well versed in the common tongue she'd heard it before somewhere. "Say, have we met somewhere before? I feel like I know you."
Hearing Aisha ask this, the girl stiffened her posture and looked down at her food for a moment before she dug into it, refusing to say anything else to Aisha.
"Well." Aisha gave a slight shrug. "It was nice meeting you either way; I hope you enjoy the meal!"
"Get this thing off me!" A criminal yelled in the back alley somewhere deep within District 3's underbelly. Aisha had ignored her grandpa's advice about getting some much needed sleep, and instead snuck out to test not only her new powers, but her skills as a fighter, and what better place to do it than in her 'stomping ground'?
"I'll get it off of you once you tell me where your buddy has run off to. You know, the one who was helping you sell drugs and bailed on you the moment I took you down."
Aisha was standing in front of the man who was pinned to the ground, thanks to some quick footwork, her magic and an empty dumpster she had the man stuck under the dumpster's side, with a few bricks on either side of him to stop the large trash crate from crushing him. He wasn't crushed, but he was stuck.
The man wrinkled his nose as a dirty diaper had fallen just below his chin. "Please, I'll tell you! He's the main guy, I'm just a tag along."
The witch's staff rested on her shoulder as she nodded. "I need an address, I promise, I'll let you go." For the Police to handle.
"Ok, Jason's gone to our meet up place, behind Divine Ladies."
"The stripper place?" Aisha gave a most unimpressed frown.
"Yeah, that's the one. Red painted roof. And I've heard from a reliable source that those ladies like to be referred to as professional dancers or entertainers… Stripper is such a vulgar word. Now please let me go."
Aisha nodded. "Alright, one second, I'll call you a ride." The witch leant down and grabbed the guys phone from his top pockets, being careful to not remove any of the drugs that littered the ground around him and which were most likely also in his pockets. "What's your unlock code? Don't worry, I'll only call the police."
At that moment, Aisha spotted a shadow appear on the dumpster's side, it held something long. Quickly she dove to the side, dodging the downward swing of a crowbar that was aimed right at her head.
"Haha, Jason old pal, finish miss pink up and get me out of here and I'll give you your fix for free tonight man!" The trapped drug dealer announced to Jason, who was in fact, not a drug dealer but a drug user from the sounds of it.
"Stay still lady, you've got some nerve trying to stop my supply, I need these things to live a fuckin' normal life you hear me?!" Jason proclaimed as he raced towards Aisha.
Not good, he's got a weapon. Aisha got to her feet and readied herself, although her training had progressed quite well, she had not yet been given the ok to use a weapon to fight by Rena. Gritting her teeth, Aisha leapt back as Jason took another swing at her.
"Jason, put the weapon down, you're not a criminal, yet."
"Shut up, you don't know me and what I've done little girl." Jason dove at her again with another swing, and another as he forced Aisha back further down the alley.
I need to get that weapon off of him.
At the next swing came at her, Aisha quickly side stepped, spinning on her heels and driving her body into a turn she dodged a lethal downwards swing. This was her chance. As the crowbar swung to its climax, Aisha quickly brought a palm forward, moving her body like she was going to perform the perfect punch, she pushed Jason's arm forcibly away, causing him to lose his balance. From there Aisha brought her staff up and gently touched the man with it to slow him down.
She yanked the crowbar out from his hands, causing the time to go back to a normal pace and there before Jason had time to recover, Aisha spun on her heel, raising a leg as she performed a roundhouse kick to the guys side, causing him to fall to the ground in pain.
Jason lay there, his arms hurt from where Aisha pulled the bar free, but it looked like he didn't have anything broken.
I did it! I stopped a bad guy!
"It's not nice to sneak up on a girl you know." Aisha pointed her staff down at the man, however a flash of red and blue at the end of the alley caught the witch by surprise. She ran off, barely missing the encounter with the cops.
I can't believe I just did that, it just happened! Wow, Rena's training is really paying off.
The purplette looked down at her phone to check the time. "Ah! It's already 3am… not good, I have class early tomorrow…"
The subtle hum of Elsword's Hover car did little to stir the napping purple haired girl as her boyfriend drove her from home towards the University for her next class. As Aisha slumbered, Elsword's brows were furrowed and his lips set firm in a concerned frown as he let her nap, or at least for the moment as he reflected on their meetup just a few moments ago.
As soon as Elsword had picked Aisha up from Kuenbaran's he had noticed how exhausted she had looked, but said nothing on the matter, instead he had picked her up with a worried smile. Aisha had greeted him in the normal fashion, and smiled weakly at the young man.
"Thanks for giving me a ride to University Elsword, I really appreciate it." Aisha had told him, getting into the car, Aisha set her bag down onto the floor, and it was there that Elsword noticed the dark purple and black bruises peaking out from underneath her long sleeved purple shirt.
"Aisha, are you alright?" The red haired asked, concern visible in his voice.
"I'm a little tired," She admitted "and sore, but I'm ok."
"Hm.." Elsword waited until Aisha had buckled herself in before he left Kuenbaran's. "How's school and the internship going? I imagine it must take up a chunk of your time, huh."
Aisha had an elbow propped up on the door, her palm resting under her chin as she stifled a yawn. "Oh, it's very busy, I don't get much free time because of them, but I enjoy it." The girl looked over at him and gave him a sleepy smile. "You know how I like to keep busy, I'm making real progress on my studies, and I've been pulling a few all nighters to get this assignment done, but I'm feeling really good about it."
"That's great." The boy gave a half hearted smile, his red hues focused on the sky road ahead of them.
"As for the internship, it's really enlightening. I always seem to be learning something new, and I feel happy being there. I just…" Aisha trailed off for a moment. "I wish I could see Eve though."
Elsword sighed lightly, so she still hadn't been allowed to visit. The boy cleared his throat. "Try not to worry too much." He encouraged her. "I'm sure once she's feeling better, she'll ask to see you. And soon at that! After all, you two are best friends."
"Mm." Aisha gave a quick nod, her purple eyes focused on the ground near her feet. "You're right Els."
The boy nodded, "Well, I might not be right about most things, but my gut feeling is telling me this. And, it's usually right… 75% of the time."
Aisha brought her free hand up to cover her mouth lightly as she giggled, he was also right about that. "Like that time you helped Grandpa at the restaurant and thought it'd be an amazing idea to put pineapple on top of a customer's dessert and it turned out that the guy was allergic to Pineapple!" Aisha was visibly laughing now. "Pineapple was never meant to go on that chocolate and strawberry crepe, but because the guy had helped you out you thought you'd do him a solid, and your gut told you that pineapple was the perfect thing to pay him back with."
"Hey- Pineapple is the best fruit known to man I'll have you know. It goes great on anything! He seemed like a guy with great taste, so I thought he must like them."
Aisha set a hand on Elsword's shoulder and was laughing even more now, for a moment the boy laughed along with her, however he stopped as he once more caught sight of the bruises on the girls arm.
"Ok, hey enough of that." He said lightly, the pep in his voice had left him. "Aisha… has someone hurt you?"
The sudden question caused Aisha to pull her hand back in surprise. "No? No! of course not!"
The boy brought the car down to the ground to park at a fuel station. His gut was telling him he was about to tread into some sensitive territory, and would rather have the discussion with his full attention set on Aisha.
"I haven't said anything, but, Kuenbaran told me last week that you seemed tired all the time. We both put it down to your studies and internship; I mean working at that place would be like a dream for you so of course you'd give it 110% all the time." Elsword placed a hand over Aisha's as hers rested on her lap. "I've been busy with my own stuff so I haven't been around as much as I'd like to." He admitted.
"It's alright Els, I understand. I don't expect us to be able to be together every day." Aisha looked up at him, the reassuring look on Aisha's face caused him to squeeze her hand lightly.
"I get that too, but… can you tell me how you got those bruises?" His eyes fell on her arm.
"What bruises?" She asked, her sleeve covered them well enough she thought. The girl's shoulders stiffened, it was hard to lie to Elsword, but there was no way she could tell him the full truth. Downplaying the marks seemed to be in her best interest she thought.
"The bruises that are hidden under your sleeve. I saw them there, when you reached over."
The girl rolled up her sleeves. "Oh? These? Don't worry about them." She assured him. "It seems like grandpa didn't tell you." Aisha pulled her cell phone from out of her pocket, revealing the small lily ornament which had been made as a phone charm. "I'm a student at the White Lily Dojo, you know the one, it's not too far from grandpas."
"Wait – you're learning to fight?"
"Self-Defence classes." The girl corrected him. "I've been doing it for about a week and a half now. Grandpa already knows and he's fine with it." Aisha's fingers caressed the lily lightly. "This is the symbol of the dojo, showing I'm a fully-fledged member there. Rena, my trainer has been teaching me a lot. She's strict, but a really nice lady. Our sparring sessions do get a bit intense." Aisha chuckled lightly, trying her best to downplay the bruises. "But I've given her some bruises too. With her lessons I feel confident that I can defend myself against anything."
Elsword arched a brow. "Aisha, you don't need to do something like that." His voice was even, however somewhat dismissive. "I can, and will protect you. As your boyfriend but also as a police officer. It's my job. I don't like to see you getting injured for nothing."
"Els…" Aisha levelled with him, her smile was replaced by a serious line. "You can't protect me all the time, and that's a fact."
"Of course I can Aisha, don't think so little of me."
"I'm not!" The girl proclaimed, startled that he thought that. "I'm just saying, those incidents that happened in the past… Eve and my accident, the grocery store…. That Eun lady at my workplace. You weren't there at all, and each time I was left either battered, bruised or scared out of my mind. I need to learn to protect myself, because clearly you can't protect me all the time. When you are with me, of course you can. But you won't always be by my side." Aisha was frowning, her tired eyes brimmed as she fought to hold back tears.
Elsword seemed to shrink back slightly, it was obvious to Aisha that her words had stung him. Elsword valued those age-old traditions of men protecting women and chivalry, but views like that were flawed, Aisha's past experiences were proof of that, and she needed him to understand that.
"Then I just need to work harder." Elsword replied.
"Elsword-"
"Let's get going, at this rate you'll be late for class." Aisha sighed, and looked away from him, she was hurt, why wouldn't he understand her? She needed the defence lessons to protect herself, not only during her day to day life, but also during her field testing. After the encounter with Eun, Aisha knew she needed this, more than she'd needed anything else in her life right now.
"Ok." Was all she said in reply, and a few minutes later the girl would drift off into a light slumber, trying to catch a few winks before class.
Whack!
Aisha recoiled; her face was forced back as she fell to the ground with an audible thud. Her purple eyes with covered by the glassy shine of fresh tears.
"Agh! My face!" Laying on her back, Aisha immediately dropped her wooden practice staff and held her face with both of her hands as she writhed in pain.
"Hmph. That'll learn ya." Master Rena stood before her, twirling her own staff flawlessly in a display of mastery. "Instead of being hunched there like a zombie with 5 o'clock eyes, if you weren't so busy trying to fight away sleep, you would've seen my staff coming, Honestly… get up and go out into the back room and put pressure on that bloody nose of yours. We'll take a short break."
Some time had passed since Aisha had first joined the dojo, enough at least that Rena was finally comfortable with teaching Aisha to use a staff now. In fact, it was the second day since Aisha had started learning the ways of polearm combat.
Aisha returned a few moments later with tissues stuck up her nose and a bloodied towel resting over her shoulder. She moved slower than usual, with less pep in her step and more of a drag to it. The girl took a seat next to Rena on the floor and gave a long drawn out sigh.
"I've noticed that you've been coming to training more and more exhausted each time. It's progressively getting worse." Master Rena outstretched her hand, offering Aisha a drink of water. "I know I'm probably not the best teacher out there, and can be a little rough on students… but I wouldn't have thought I could be so bad that I'd be ruining your health."
Taking the water bottle appreciatively, Aisha shook her head. "You're a great Teacher, Master Rena."
Rena's green eyes observed her injured student silently. "I don't mean to bring my personal issues to the dojo… but." Aisha set the water bottle down after taking a swig of water. "Learning self-defence is actually turning into something I really enjoy, in fact… it's a source of positivity for me right now."
"Alright, so I'm not at fault. That's great, tell me what's really going on, then." Rena's green eyes observed her injured student silently.
"I'm actually pretty worried about my friend Eve and my internship."
"The girl who was in that accident with you, right?" Rena queried as Aisha gave her a nod of confirmation. After their first training session, the two girls had taken the time to get to know each other, and Aisha's internship and her best friend Eve were some of the things Rena had learnt about her student during that time.
"Yes that's right. Eve was the one who got me that internship. It feels wrong without her there." The student grabbed a cookie and continued. "There's something I haven't told you about the car accident that day, I… I believe it was staged."
"Staged?" Rena shoved the last bit of her cookie into her mouth before she leant back on her arms. "It was done on purpose?"
"Yes. After the crash, a number of people were at the scene. There was a woman, She wanted… whatever was in that truck" Of course Aisha knew what was in it, Eve had entrusted it to her, but she couldn't tell Rena that it was a magical ring.
"They didn't try to help us, in fact… I'm sure if they had the chance, they may have well hurt us if they saw us." Aisha looked at her half eaten cookie. "They left before they could get anything but the accident was no accident. I'm sure it was done on purpose."
"How scary…" Rena mused. "I'm so sorry you two had to experience that."
"Thanks… I'm also worried about Eve. I know she was hurt pretty bad, and I haven't been able to visit her or check on her condition at all, it's like I've been shut out. I'm worried."
"Aisha. Maybe... maybe you should take some time off from training. I know you won't back down on studying and working but… our sessions are elective. I think it'd be good for you to take some time off to rest, and reflect. Busying yourself is fine and well but, being unable to deal with these feelings isn't good for you."
"And how can I deal with them if I can't talk to Eve, Master Rena." It was a rhetorical question on Aisha's part. "I'm fine, honestly. I won't stop my training, I may not be able to get some answers right now, but I know I can learn to fight so that if something like this every happens again... I'll be able to protect Eve, and everyone else." Aisha crumpled the cookie in her hand without realising.
Rena leaned over and gave Aisha a hug with one arm. "I understand." The elf squeezed Aisha hard enough she thought the tissues holding her nosebleed at bay would pop out from her nostrils. "I'll do my best to give you the tools to make sure you can do that. Take a few more minutes to recover and then we'll pack up for the day. Let's go to Kuenbaran's, my treat."
"Hehe, that sounds like a great idea."
The sounds of Police sirens echoed throughout the trash laden parking lot of The Divine Ladies Exotic Dance Club, cuffing three drug dealers, who swore they were attacked by some purple haired girl who knew karate, it was obvious by the bruises on their bodies, they had their asses handed to them by this mysterious vigilante.
Kneeling on the Red Roof of the club, Aisha watched the police apprehend the drug dealers, giving a slight smile she silently disappeared from view.
Two weeks later, Aisha had been sparring with Rena, by now she was quite efficient in hand to hand combat, although nowhere near a master. Her Master had noticed the improvements in Aisha, and although her student still looked exhausted as ever, she couldn't help but smile seeing her student improve.
"You're getting a lot better. Almost like you've been practising in your free time."
"What free time is that?" Aisha asked as she went to strike Rena, who then parried. "Hah, you should know by now Re-Master Rena, that any free time I have is spent studying or very rarely… sleeping!"
The two continued to move, their actions seeming more like a fluid dance than a rugged fight.
"Well, who's to say you don't train through meditation or in your dreams." Rena joked and swung her leg around in a low leg sweep, to which Aisha leapt over in a dodge.
Breaking News. Crime is being swept up with the trash in District 3, with a number of Drug Cartels losing some of their distributors in the city thanks to the work of an unknown vigilante. Most Notably Crime Mongal, Thumbless Tom's business has taken the brunt of the mysterious clean up, we can expect some rumblings from him and his gang no doubt. Although Elysion Authorities have been unable to find any witnesses, alleged drug dealers have reported that the vigilante is in fact female, but with indistinguishable facial features, as each of the criminals in question have been unable to give an exact profile description. More to come...
Hearing the news report on the radio, Aisha could not help but feel immensely happy, what had started out as field-testing her powers had resulted in her making a notable difference in the District 3. It felt good knowing she was helping people.
"Alright, great warm up Aisha. Grab a staff, I think it's time you moved onto the next level with your staff training."
Standing in the elevator at Altera Tech, her purple hues were focused on the screen above the floor buttons. Aisha watched the number increase with each second somewhat anxiously, she had been contacted by Oberon to meet him at Adrian's private quarters.
I wonder why Oberon wants to meet me? Aisha tapped her foot in the elevator as she was carried higher and higher up the seemingly endless skyscraper. Perhaps Adrian finally wants to talk to me about the accident. If that is true I could tell him about the ring. I do have my notes on the field tests in my bag.
The elevator came to a gentle stop, the doors opened and Aisha was greeted by none other than the android butler himself.
"Good afternoon Miss Aisha, I'm grateful that you were able to make it here so quickly. Your punctuality is appreciated."
"Thank you Oberon, it's… good to be here." Aisha waved to him and offered the android her best smile. She liked Eve's butler, and she did appreciate the risk he took allowing her to attempt to meet with Adrian the last time she came here.
"Do I finally get to talk to Adrian? That would be great if I could Oberon. I could get a cup of coffee ready to help my chances." She joked.
"Unfortunately, Master Adrian is much too busy to meet with you Miss Aisha, and I regrettably inform you that it was not him who requested your presence." Oberon gave Aisha a slight bow.
The girl brought a hand to her chin and pondered for a moment, if she wasn't here to meet Adrian, then who? It couldn't be, could it? Was Elsword's words of encouragement the other day right on the mark?
"However, the good news is, it was Mistress Eve who asked to meet you."
"Eve did!? She's ok?!" Aisha could not contain her excitement as Oberon spoke, it had been some time since Aisha had seen Eve, in fact the last time she saw her was on Eve's birthday, hanging upside down in her wrecked car…
"Unfortunately I am not permitted to divulge any information regarding the young Mistress."
"Oh Eve…" Aisha brought her hand down to her chest and closed her eyes tightly to hold back tears of happiness. This was great, Eve was conscious. Finally, going so long without knowing what had happened to her best friend, she'd finally see her again. Withholding the urge to jump in excitement Aisha instead put her hands on Oberon's shoulders.
"Take me to her please, right now."
Aisha followed Oberon along the red and gold trimmed carpet, a visible bounce in each step she took, the usually tired and drained purplette seemed as energised as a brand new battery, it was as if all of her troubles had suddenly disappeared, all she could think about was Eve.
The familiar scent of pink and purple flowers encompassing the grand fountain helped calm her nerves a little, but not enough to remove the eagerness in her stride. Moving along the pair eventually made it past the hologrammed hall and through to Eve's personal quarters.
"Here we are miss." Oberon came to stand beside the slightly ajar bedroom door and gave Aisha a bow. "The Mistress is looking forward to seeing you again. Now if you'll excuse me. I'll take my leave until called."
Carefully, Aisha slowly pushed open the door and entered Eve's room. "Eve?" Aisha called out softly, a large curtain was drawn, shielding the bed from outside view. Receiving no answer, Aisha moved forward into the bedroom. She stepped over a series of wires which crawled along the floor like a snakes trail in the sand. Although this was Eve's bedroom, the room itself had many strange pieces of equipment set up. Each machine had its own bundles cords, It almost seemed like something straight out of a sci-fi novel.
"Eve?" Aisha spotted a silhouette moving behind the curtain as she got closer, but the state of the room left her feeling a little anxious, it felt cold, where was the usual warmth and light of the room.
What is all this? Is it for you? Is it a project perhaps?
Moving around the curtain, Aisha noticed that the room here is dark, with only a lamp providing soft light.
Aisha's eyes follow the numerous wires and cords, which eventually lead up and into the bed, where a familiar face sat.
"Hello Aisha."
"E-Eve!" Aisha gasped, a wave of relief came over her, expelling any uneasy feelings that she held. "Oh Eve, I'm so happy you contacted me! You're well... I'm relieved."
Eve shook her head and stayed silent for a moment. "Aisha, as good as it is to see you, please. You can see that I'm anything other than well."
Reaching to her side, Eve pressed a button on the remote as the lights in the room slowly turned on and increased their brightness. With the lights on, Aisha finally had a clear view of her best friend.
The silver haired beauty was sitting on her bed, wearing a light pink robe that was a little too big for her. Her slender hands sat on her lap, pale skin illuminated under the bright lights as a pair of cold, orange eyes held Aisha's gaze evenly. The wires ran up under her robes appearing to hinge onto her joints. She looked almost like a doll; a puppet, even. For the most part, she looked relatively normal, however Aisha blinked in confusion when she spotted two small familiar cones on either side of Eve's head were her ears would normally be. The cones were the same as Oberon's coned ears.
Aisha moved closer to the bed, looking over this person who looked like Eve, but at the same time did not - at least not to her. "E-Eve…. You're… you're an Android?" She gasped at the friend this machine claimed to be. She was ecstatic to see her friend alive… but heartbroken to see what had become of her. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know if she should say anything at all.
Despite the shock of the moment, a calm, serene smile appeared across the machine's lips. "No, Aisha. I am a Cyborg."