Author note: I don't know what exactly to type here, so use your creative imagination…
Spot stared at me oddly, making me feel a bit insecure.
"What do youse mean you lied?" he asked.
"Well, I said I couldn't fight, but I can…sort of."
"Explain," he demanded. I took that opportunity to explain the whole training thing to Spot, who seemed to be bit angry with me.
"Why didn't youse tell me?" he asked, after I finished my short story.
"I didn't have to," I shot back. Scout sighed from impatience,
"Can we please get on with this training?" Spot shot her a glare, but turned his gaze back to me.
"My training is next," Scout said, pushing Spot aside and standing in front of me. I smiled, and felt a little better training with Scout.
"In me lesson, class, we will learn how ta block kicks," Scout joked.
"Oh boy! I wanna go first!" Les shouted. Scout shook her head,
"No, dear Les. You aren't ready yet." Les pouted and watched us.
"Okay, can youse kick, Sage?" Scout asked me. I nodded, and waited for her instructions.
"Good. Now send a kick to me head." I looked down at my skirt, and then back up at Scout.
"Uh," I started.
"Don't worry, boys," Scout said. Spot and Les walked behind me and stayed put.
"Okay, now kick." I brought my leg up to her head and she caught my foot in her hand before I kicked her.
"Now, youse block me." She did the same thing as I did, and I caught her foot like she had did mine, although hers looked more professional.
"Good. Dat's pretty much all youse need to know 'bout blockin kicks. We'll jus' practice a little more." And practice we did. We kicked our hearts out, which probably looked kind of funny. Spot and Les watched from afar.
After about thirty minutes or so, I wasn't worried about hurting Scout anymore.
"Okay, okay, youse had yer turn, now let me train 'er some more!" Spot said, pushing Scout aside. I took in a deep breath and let it out.
"God, let me rest first," I said, trying to steady my breathing.
"C'mon, Sage. We's need ta do more punches," Spot said, pulling me over to his 'training' area. I sighed in frustration.
"Put up yer palms," he said. I did as I was told, and he began to punch them. Not hard, but then again not soft. I gave him a puzzled look.
"Youse do tha same." He put up his palms, and I began to do what he had just demonstrated. My punches weren't right. My arms wouldn't go the right way. Damn kicking made me forget how to punch. Spot put down his palms.
"Youse is doing it all wrong," he told me. I rolled my eyes,
"I'm pretty much aware of that!" I shot back, folding my arms over my chest. I could feel the sweat on my forehead running down my cheek. Spot, too, was sweating a bit, and so was Scout from the kicking.
"Here, let me show youse." He suddenly stepped behind me, placing his hands on my arms. He pulled my arms away from my chest, and told me to watch his arms.
"Make sure yer fists stay like dis," he said, showing me how to hold a fist. "And den when you bring it out make sure yer arm ain't too loose, or youse ain't gonna hoit yer opponent." He placed his arms over mine and moved them in a punching motion with his.
I could feel his breath on my neck, making me shudder, making my arm loose. Spot shook his head and traced his fingers along my arm and held onto my wrist. He pulled my arm into a line…sort of.
"Like dat," he nearly whispered. I flinched at his voice, and glanced back at him quickly. He made me air punch again, my arm in motion with his. It was kind of making me a bit uncomfortable. I glanced over at Scout, who seemed to be looking at us weirdly.
Spot then realized the awkward moments and immediately let go of me, stepping back a little.
"A-and dat's how…youse punch," he said. I nodded, and he once again me me punch at the palms of his hands. This time he told me not to use all of my force, making me grin.
After about thirty minutes with the punching, Spot ushered Spark over to us.
"Okay, Sage. Dis is yer dummy," Spot said, laughing at Spark's expression.
"Huh?" I asked.
"Youse is gonna practice on Spark." I looked at Spark, who crossed his arms over his chest.
"I don't wanna be here," he muttered, glaring at his shoes. I smiled, and waited for Spot to say start.
"Okay, start!" he said, stepping away. Spark rolled his eyes and sent a punch at my jaw. I blocked his punch, and instead of giving him an uppercut, I did what I do best. I kneed him. He let out a painful yelp and crashed to the floor…clutching…uh, yeah.
He immediately shuffled to his feet and slammed his fist into my gut. I coughed, and clutched my stomach. Spot began to run towards me, but was stopped by Scout.
Damn, that hurts. I regained my energy and sent a punch at Spark, nailing him in the jaw. His head went back, and he almost fell.
"Well he's gonna have a shiner," I heard Scout say. Spark shook his head and rubbed his jaw, wincing. He growled and kicked at my head. I caught his foot into my hand and jerked it, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground. Scout and Les cheered me on, while Spot just smirked.
Spark rose back to his feet and tried upper cutting me. Instead of blocking I jumped back, and sent another punch at him. He blocked it and punched me in the cheek. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit…that…hurts! I regained my senses and kneed him again, and crashed my elbow into the back of his neck. He went down with a thud and stayed down.
"Go Sage!" Scout cheered, running over to me. I rubbed my cheek and winced. Spot pulled my hand away from my face and examined it.
"Don't worry; it'll jus' leave a bruise." I sighed, and stared down at Spark who seemed to be in a lot of pain.
"Uh, guys?" We all turned to face Les, who seemed to be…dancing?
"I, uh, have to pee!" he said.
"Okay, go ahead," Spot said. Les's eyes widened,
"Not in front of girls!" he said.
"Go to an alleyway," Scout said. Les nodded and ran off. I laughed and turned to Spot and Scout.
"So, how'd I do?" I asked.
"Youse did really good for yer firs' day," Scout said. We then waited for Spot's judging.
"I think youse did okay," he said. My eyes widened,
"Just okay?" I nearly shouted. Spot shrugged,
"Youse still have a lot ta learn."
"Oh, jus' admit it, Spot. Youse don' like da fact dat Sage hoit yer arm," Scout said, laughing. Spot rolled his eyes and looked away.
"What's takin da kid so long?" Spot asked.
"He must've really had ta go," Scout said, removing her hat and fanning herself with it. Spark was up now, and glaring intently at Spot for making him do this. It was then that we heard a scream, coming from the direction Les had just ran. We all gave each other concerned glances and took off.
We ran to the alleyway that we had heard the screaming come from. There were five boys standing around a…motionless body. My heart skipped a beat as we saw Les's bloody body. My eyes widened and I clenched my fist, causing my fingernails to sink into my skin. I bit my lip, nearly drawing blood.
I glanced over at Scout who had 'murder' written on her face, and Spot…well, I couldn't read his expression, but it sure did scare me. Spark was just glaring.
The boys stopped laughing at Les's body long enough to notice us.
"What do you want?" one asked, sending us nasty glares. Scout immediately charged at him, punching him square in the nose. I don't know how it happened, but everyone began to fight.
I stood in front of one of the boys. I don't know what had possessed me, but I'm glad it did. I threw punches and kicks, hitting the target from time to time. It felt so right when my fist came in contact with his jaw, and I felt my stress being relieved when I kicked him. As for biting, well, I don't bite…but, I guess I can make an exception. The boy got behind and locked his arms around me, one of his hands over my mouth.
I sunk my teeth into his flesh, drawing blood. The boy shrieked and threw me to the ground, staring at his bloody hand.
"You wench!" His kicked his foot forcefully into my ribs, and I let out a small cry. I don't think I grabbed anyone's attention, since they were still fighting whoever it was they were fighting. The boy continued to kick my ribs. Before he could get another kick in, I grabbed his ankle and pulled him to the ground.
I placed my hand over my ribs and rose to my feet, leaning against the wall. I whimpered as pain struck through my body. The boy jumped to his feet and was ready to fight…again.
Scout was full of anger that was being released rapidly. Even if she manages to knock her opponent out she'll still beat him. Who? Who would want to hurt an innocent kid like Les? Who?
She punched her opponent, and punched him again. She gave him an uppercut and kneed him. He regained his energy and sent a punch flying into Scout's gut. She doubled over, and clutched her stomach. Scout growled, wanting to claw his eyes out.
Spark was easily dodging attacks from his opponent. He was very sneaky and quick; no wonder he was a spy. He did get hit a few times, but would return his own punches.
Spot was battling two guys at once since he was the strongest of the group. He punched one, and hit the other in the head with his cane. He kicked the one he had punched, in the gut and uppercutted the other one. He had a few scratches here in there, but he was okay.
The guy in front of me sent a punch towards my nose, but I ducked, causing his fist to collide with the brick wall. He screamed, and turned towards me. I stared at him, remembering how I had hurt Spot with all my force.
"All my force," I whispered, drawing my fist back. I punched the guy square in the face, and he hit the wall with so much force he was practically knocked out. I did it…My eyes grew wide as I stared at the boy's body. I…I won. I suddenly remembered my bruised ribs and clutched my side, bending over.
For some reason my heart got caught in my throat. I immediately twirled around, long enough to watch Scout crash to the ground, her head hitting a rock.
"Scout!" I screamed. Spot stopped his fight long enough to see what I was screaming about, and looked over at what I was looking at. His eyes grew wide, and he immediately ended his battle with butting the two guy's heads together.
I stared as Spark finished his battle, and Spot ran over to his cousin. He dropped to his knees and instinctively put his hand under her head. He pulled it back…and it was stained with blood. I felt tears brimming my eyes, and I allowed them to fall.
"No," I whispered. "No…"