So the pace of the story is going to pick up a little - there's going to be more time between chapters. This chapter was really fun to write, and I hope you enjoy it! Please don't forget to follow, favorite, and review!
Three weeks later
Assassin glanced around the warehouse, his gaze sweeping the sleeping mats that lay around him in particular. Only Shade's and Spider's were empty; Shade was out casing a new group of apartments a few streets down. A small smile of anticipation pulled at his lips as he pulled a note out of his pocket and left it on his blanket; he didn't want anyone freaking out if they woke up and he was gone.
Checking one more time to make sure everyone was asleep, he crept across the warehouse and slid out of a back door, closing it quietly and cringing inwardly at the quiet squeak the hinges made as he closed it. Sin looked up and down the alleyway he had ended up in before striding down. He made a right and emerged into a small, dirty courtyard full of scattered rubbish and a couple rats.
At the other end of the courtyard, some five meters away from Sin, stood Spider, leaning against the spray-painted brick wall. There was barely an inch of wall that hadn't been vandalised in some way. It was mostly profanity, but here and there were pictures and pieces of art that Sin found he quite liked.
"Everyone else is still asleep?" Spider asked, not one to bother with greetings or small talk. Assassin nodded.
"Well, Shade's gone, but she said last night that she was going to wake up early and go get a look at the renters in that new apartment building."
Spider nodded. "Good - then she shouldn't be home for another couple hours at least. Now show me what we did last night." He heaved a slightly dilapidated but still functional punching mat up from the ground and bent his knees slightly, gesturing for Sin to hit the mat.
Sin nodded as he recalled their last session, and got into the proper formation. Without warning he launched a quick attack on the target, punching not just hard but all over the target, careful not to spend to long in one area.
"Your shoulders are good - remember to twist your hips a little more," Spider said as he watched Assassin's form, holding the target. Sin spat aside and nodded, continuing, making sure he twisted his hips. "There's power in your legs," Spider corrected, "Use it."
After ten minutes of reviewing his punches, Spider signaled for him to cease. Sin nodded and drew back, breathing heavily. He leant against the wall as Spider set the target down.
"You're doing well," Spider admitted with a wry smile. "Better than I expected, at any rate." Sin wasn't sure whether he should be flattered or offended. He's learned over the past few weeks that when it came to Spider, the two tended to come hand-in-hand.
"We've done punches and dodges and basic self-defense… today I'm going to teach you a very handy trick, especially if your opponent is a little bigger or more skilled than you are. Do you remember the open-hand punch to the nose? Smashing it with your palm?"
Sin nodded; that sort of thing was a little difficult to forget. Spider tilted his head slightly. "Good. Now this is almost the same concept - open palm to the forehead, knocking their head back. Now this move alone is a little useless, so you have to make sure you'll have time to follow through - otherwise you've just lost time and left yourself open." Sin nodded, letting Spider know he was listening.
"Well this move pushes their head back, leaving their throat exposed for a heavy punch. Punching someone's throat will leave them just as incapacitated as if you knocked the wind out of them, so it gives you time to launch your next set of moves without worry of retaliation or proper dodging."
Sin furrowed his eyebrows slightly before grunting in understanding; it made sense. It sounded incredibly useful; while Sin's punches had a long way to go before reaching Spider's power, he was just as fast. When he remembered to put his his entire body into the hits he usually did quite well.
"The adam's apple is particularly painful, but if you hit a little higher it can cause the gag reflex to spasm and they'll feel sick. If you punch the adam's apple they'll be completely incapacitated, but only for a short while - if you hit the gag reflex they'll still be able to fight, albeit at much lower standard, but it lasts a little longer."
Sin nodded. He was learning a lot more about street fighting than he ever thought he would; although he was reluctant to admit it now, before Spider had started training him he'd thought there wouldn't be much aside from learning how to punch hard and the occasional kick.
"Now let's see if you can put everything you've learnt so far together," Spider said, and the only warning Sin had was the slight tensing of Spider's form before he launched a fist and Sin's head. Sin barely had time to dodge out of the way before another punch came at his stomach. Sin wheeled back after the hit connected, wheezing.
"Your opponent isn't going to wait for a whistle before they start attacking you," Spider said sharply. "Always be ready." Sin didn't have time to reply before Spider was at him again. Sin was ready this time, though, and he managed to sidestep Spider's first two punches. He spun on his heel and socked Spider in the ribs. The older boy coughed and turned around ducking beneath another of Sin's attackes and bringing his fist into Sin's face. Sin leant back and the blow glanced off his cheek, barely grazing him. Sin was just starting to think he might not be doing so badly when he felt a searing pain in his groin; Spider had kicked him between the legs.
"This is a street fight, kid," the older boy said firmly. "Don't expect anyone to stick to whatever moral code you have." As he spoke, Sin barely registered his hips moving before Spider struck him in the chest. Sin drew in a labored breath before managing to dodge another blow, Spider's arm sailing over his head. Sin grabbed his arm and twisted it around; Spider let out a strangled yell before bringing his knee sharply into Sin's ribs.
Sin reeled backwards, his ribcage racked with pain. He gritted his teeth and barrelled toward Spider, who stepped out of the way easily. "Don't get frustrated," Spider reprimanded. "That's when you'll make mistakes."
Sin growled under his breath before swinging his foot up into Spider's side. He smiled with triumph as the older boy stumbled back, but his triumph was short-lived, for Spider grabbed his foot and twisted it sharply, before shoving him forward. Sin fell to the ground, but scrambled quickly to his feet; the ground was a very dangerous place to be, especially in a fight with no morals. He kicked up a small pile of rubbish into Spider's face before punching him in the arm and driving his small, bony elbow into his ribs. Spider grunted in pain and clipped the edge of Sin's jaw. Sin was about to retaliate when he heard someone clearing their throat behind him. He spun around, swallowing in trepidation.
"And what, exactly, is this?" Shade asked icily, raising a thin eyebrow. She took a step into the courtyard, her lips thin. At a glance she didn't look too angry, but when Sin got a glimpse of her eyes… it was then that he could almost feel the fury emanating from her. He'd never seen Shade so enraged.
In fact, had he seen her like this a few weeks ago, he would have flinched - he might have even cowered behind Spider. But he had learnt over the past month that Shade would never cause him harm - and even if she did, now he could do something about it.
"Heeeeyyy, Shade," Spider said guiltily, stepping in front of Sin, who realised that he was standing in front of his face, which held the most visible injuries. "I thought you were scoping out those new apartments?"
"I was," Shade replied coolly. "I came back to see if Sin wanted to come see how it was done." She cocked her head, her eyes narrowing. "It seems I wasn't the only one who wanted to teach him something."
Spider swallowed. "We weren't - you see, I wasn't -"
Shade cut him off. "What the hell were you thinking, Spider? He's nine! Nine, for God's sake!"
"I'll be ten in a couple months," Sin muttered under his breath, a little miffed despite the situation. Shade shot him a glare, and Sin didn't argue.
"Look, Shade," Spider tried, obviously having given up on pretending they he wasn't training Sin, "We need someone else who can do what I do! In case Smitherson gets me again, and you don't get to me in time. You know that we can't all survive on just what we manage to snatch from people's houses. Even if we managed to get enough food for all of us, what about supplies? What about clothes for the winter? What about the gadgets or whatever that Sparky needs that we can't find in the junkyard? What then?"
Shade's gaze wasn't any less fiery. "We would figure it out," she spat. "Or Hero would step up, if need be. Toxic would help to keep us alive. You're going to get Assassin seriously hurt, or worse, killed! You know what happens in that pit to those who are unprepared. How could you even -"
This time it was Spider who stopped her mid-sentence. "Except he's not unprepared! At first I wanted to train him just because of his magical edge, but he hasn't shown a drop of magic while I've been training him, and he's still good at it! He's an incredibly fast learner - he's mastered in three weeks what I learnt in two months! I reckon that he could already take at least half of the challengers in the Fights!"
Sin raised both eyebrows in shock. Spider thought he was that good? He couldn't help but feel a little smug.
Shade crossed her arms and didn't say anything. She just glared at them both before sighing and running a hand through her brown hair. She shut her eyes tightly.
"Fine," she said finally, and Sin grinned. Even Spider cracked a smile. "But," she added quickly, "He doesn't participate in the Fights until he's at least eleven. And he won't even go until he's ten."
Sin started to protest, but Spider nodded. "Okay." Shade gave Sin one last, almost pitying look, before rubbing her eyes and turning around. Spider turned back to face Sin.
"Where were we?"
I hope you enjoyed that! If you have any questions/comments/protests, please please don't hesitate to review! It makes me want to update faster. (I almost feel bad because I'm neglecting my TMI fan fiction, but this one's a little easier to write.)